Constipation and Remedies at Home

September 14, 2009
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First things first, what do we know about Constipation? Do we know enough to treat it right? Now, to give you a quick start, let me give you the meaning of constipation, a Registered Nurse’s way.

Constipation, costiveness, or irregularity is a condition of the digestive system in which a person (or animal) experiences hard feces that are difficult to expel. This usually happens because the colon absorbs too much water from the food. If the food moves through the gastro-intestinal tract too slowly, the colon may absorb too much water, resulting in feces that are dry and hard.

With this definition, let’s unravel treatments that are not only safe but are…

Can Healthy Eating Become a Bad Habit?

September 13, 2009
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Have you ever heard of the word Orthorexia? As far as I can remember I have only heard of two eating disorders – Anorexia and Bulimia. And it’s so intriguing to know that there is another term that adds to this famous eating disorders list – Orthorexia. It is not yet an official medical diagnosis, and it is not yet listed in the DSM-IV.

Orthorexia or orthorexia nervosa is a term coined in 1997 by Steven Bratman, a Colorado MD, to denote an eating disorder characterized by excessive focus on eating healthy foods. In rare cases, this focus may turn into a fixation or obsession so extreme that it can lead…

Stay Free From Kidney Stones with “DASH” Diet

September 1, 2009
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Kidney stones are usually caused by accumulated salts in one’s system.  The underlying cause of this could be your frequent snacking on Lay’s or infrequent drinking of water or both.  When you don’t get enough fluids in a day, your body cannot flush out your waste products inside.  There is a certain level of every electrolyte in our blood that must be maintained.  With adequate hydration, the excesses are passed to maintain balance.

Too much or too less is not good for our bodies.  However, to avoid kidney stones, there is another effective way aside from increased oral fluid intake:  Get into the DASH diet–short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

So,…

Lower Your Alzheimer’s Risk Through Good Food and Exercise

September 1, 2009
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Wouldn’t it be nice if you grow old together with your spouse and still know each other’s names by the time you hit the age of 60 or more?  Sometimes, that could be the sweetest thing, considering the fact that you become more at risk for Alzheimer’s Disease at around that age.  So to keep your love story going on, take measures to keep Alzheimer’s at bay.  If you have not taken on a healthy lifestyle yet, here’s another reason to start a healthy diet and a regular exercise program.

A study of 1,800 people in their seventies, undertaken by Columbia University, found that diet and exercise are both factors in…

How to Stay Awake Minus the Caffeine

August 26, 2009
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It is imperative that you stay awake at work lest you get fired.  With the many expenses of every family nowadays, no one can survive without a paycheck unless she’s an heir of some million-dollar company.  But the rich are few; many are on the average-earning ground if not below average.  So for most of us who cannot afford to lose our jobs, let us invest in our health by taking healthy measures to stay awake while on duty.

Ditch the coffee habit or anything else that’s super high in sugar.  Their effects are short-term and the risk of developing substance dependency is high with these types of wake-uppers.  Not only…

Will Not Eating Pork Spare You From Swine Flu?

August 25, 2009
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Poor pigs, they have been discriminated against for quite a while now after the outbreak of the H1N1 Flu, which was named after them: Swine Flu.  The inappropriate labeling of the endemic has certainly caused uproar among the public and the media, resulting to a meltdown in the swine industry.

It all apparently started in a small town in Mexico when a person contracted a virus from a pig, and then this virus mutated and began to spread from person to person, or so we were told by the media. But, is this how it really happened?

Now that extensive genetic testing has been performed on the virus, it has been shown…

Following Portion Sizes Seems Like a Difficult Task to UK Shoppers

August 18, 2009
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What do you think of portion sizes?  Or a better question would be, do you follow portion sizes?  If your answer is no, that’s understandable.  But if your answer is yes, do you actually enjoy doing that thing you do?

Following portion sizes sounds like a chore to a perfectly normal human being.  But it just might be totally okay with those who have obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Imagine having to measure every different element on your plate before you eat.  Lunch time is over before you have already finished counting green peas and cutting steaks.

Fast-food chains and restaurants also do not seem to be too concerned about portion sizes.  For instance, you…

High-Alcohol Intake Increases the Risk of All Sorts of Cancer

August 15, 2009
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Bar hopping could be fun especially at the end of the week when you’ve got nothing to worry about the following day.  Well, that’s what you thought.  It turns out, there’s actually a lot to worry about after bar hopping—a lot of cancer types, that is.

The risk of developing different types of cancer, such as esophageal, stomach, colon, liver, pancreatic, lung and prostate cancer, is increased by regular heavy drinking.

So you see there are three parameters:

1) You drink.

2) You often drink.

3) You drink a lot in one sitting.

But it is also important to note that for heavy beer and liquor the cancer link was stronger than moderate intake of wine.

The…

U.S. States to Dole Out a Trillion Dollar Budget to Control Obesity

August 11, 2009
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Imagine that you are in a beauty pageant and the emcee says, “It was reported that obesity costs the U.S. healthcare system $147 billion a year.  How will you solve this problem?”

Well, you must be surprised by the news and is still pondering for an answer.  Good thing you’re not in the actual pageant.  However, here’s an easier question for you: Do you think Obama’s intervention for this matter would make a winning answer?  Read on.

It has been reported that the United States government is throwing a bunch of money at the problem.  One official said that the amount of cash to be doled out to stop obesity is “significant.” …

Obese People Pay an Extra $1,500 on Health Care Compared to Normal-Weight Individuals

August 11, 2009
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When you are obese, everything is bigger, just like Texas.  You would spend $1,500 more on healthcare every year and that is 41% more than an average-weight person spends each year.

All in all, 9% of all medical expenses are spent every year for obesity in the United States.  That is a whopping amount of $147 billion.  And that could even worsen as nowadays, the average American is 23 pounds overweight.  The figures are rising with the expanding body mass indices of the population.

The higher price tag extends to all areas of medical spending, including prescription drugs and Medicare.

The average American dishes out $3,400 on medical expenditures every year, but that…