Social Medical » health

THE WONDERS OF POMEGRANATE

Nancy — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:15:36 +0000

With the fear of experiencing the unknown side effects of medicinal pills produced by pharmaceutical companies, it is not surprising why people have turned to natural remedies in addressing their health issues. A fruit which has grown abundantly in Iran and Northern India, and now presently being grown in Middle Eastern Countries, Southern Europe and California, has high level of antioxidants which help destroy those nasty cancer cells and even lower cholesterol levels. This is just the tip of the ice berg, because drinking this wonder of nature will also help address respiratory problems since it will help circulate the needed oxygen to our blood cells and prevent them from clumping with another, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack. Some people choose to drink pomegranate juice since it can also prevent, or even slow down Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing this, maybe we better switch to drinking pomegranate juice instead of iced tea or orange juice, what do you think?

EFFECTS OF WATCHING TELEVISION ON CHILDREN

Nancy — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:25:59 +0000

While television has brought great entertainment value to all of us and may have even at one time educated our kids, we should always remember that watching television should be monitored and modulated. If our kids become too glued to the television, they tend to pick up bad habits. They become lazy, refuse to exercise, and this can be quite damaging to their health. They tend to separate themselves from the outside world and refuse to make new friends. Sometimes, they may even avoid family time and refuse to do their homework. To them, the television is their friend as it entertains them. So the best way to avoid this is to make sure that our children do not stay too glued to the television. Encourage them to go out and play, exercise their limbs and body. While watching television is good, watching too much of it should not be tolerated.

PEPPERY GOOD HEALTH

Nancy — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:27:49 +0000

Not many people are aware of the fact that peppers contribute a lot to a person’s well-being and good health. It has been proven that eating peppers could help deal with those nasty colds and sinuses, and even decrease the number of headaches which one may be having. It has proven to be a good depository of Vitamin C, though it is not often advertised as such, and helps ease blood circulation. In fact, this vegetable can help out those people who love to smoke a lot since ingesting this food helps circulate the blood very much. Who would have thought that this little red thing would be able to contribute a lot to a person’s well-being? Now while adults may have grown accustomed to these peppers, the next difficult thing would be how to make our kids eat it because most of them do not eat this stuff. Nevertheless, mom and dads would agree that eating these peppers, while admittedly hot and even cause a tingling sensation, can still prove to be one of the very few vegetables which can give the total health package.

SLEEP ANYONE?

Nancy — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 04:51:36 +0000

For insomniacs, the search for the cure to their sleeplessness is never ending. A lot of companies have come out with medicines practically assuring a good night’s sleep, though none has ever come so close in fulfilling it. Fortunately, there are certain natural remedies available which can help insomniacs with their problem. The use of lavender or chamomile actually helps sooth and relax the mind, which paves the way for the road to snoredom. It is actually even better to try out these natural remedies since it does not pose much health risks, as compared to medicines suggested by pharmaceutical companies where we do not know what effects it will have on our bodies. For these natural remedies to work, it takes time, like ordinary sleep medications. Sleep inducement under the natural method does not happen overnight. While it is quite understandable that the typical insomniac would want immediate results which is why they resort to prescription medicines, the consequences and risks may well not be wroth it.

Problem with your bones?

Nancy — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:24:04 +0000

Osteoporosis – a common bone problem encountered by all walks of life. Calcium and phosphate are two components needed to develop healthy bones. As we age, our bones become brittle because these two minerals are reabsorbed into our bodies, thus denying our bones of their sustenance. Since our bones do not receive the much-needed minerals to stay strong, it grows weak and later develops into a major bone problem.

The osteoporosis problem is brought about in the drop of estrogen level for women or testosterone drop in men. It is prevalent in people aged over 50. Though there are no known symptoms in its early stages, people who suddenly feel tenderness in their bones, back and neck pains or stooped posture are likely candidates for osteoporosis. The best way to determine if we are suffering from it is to undergo a bone mineral density testing or even a spine CT scan, in rare cases.

Medical Tourism

Nancy — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:31:01 +0000

With the advancement of technology, the diseases have also become very complicated. The complexity in the diseases requires the treatments to be specialized. Thus the specialized skills of treatments are not available at the same place, and are distributed across the world.

Thus in order to ensure that the right kind of medical treatments are obtained for the diseases. The travel and media agencies across the world have come up with a concept of medical tourism. This is growing in popularity at a fast pace. Some of the specialized surgeries include joint replacement (could be Knee or Hip), Heart Surgery, Dental Surgery, or can be to get a make-over through cosmetic surgery.

This helps overcome the difficulties faced by patients in claiming insurance, wherein the feedback is that the surgery does not get covered by the insurance you have taken. Thus through medical tourism, you will still get the best care for a lesser price.

Oil what? How?!!?

Nancy — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:55:44 +0000

Oil Pulling is an age old tradition followed in Indian households from the times of ayurveda. This is a therapy that is practiced by swishing and swirling of about 10ml of cold pressed Sesame seed oil in the mouth for about 20 minutes till the oil turns into a white watery liquid that has lost all its viscosity.

This results in cleaner teeth free of all the germs hidden between the teeth. This practice has been re-popularized in modern times by Dr Karach of Ukraine who had declared in a medical conference that he had practiced oilpulling and saw relief from some of the un-curable diseases on him. Oil pulling is gaining popularity in India as there is a company that sells Sesame oil suitable for Oil Pulling in sachets with just the quantity required. Numerous websites, blogs on the benefits of oil pulling and also to evoke discussion on the same. I have personally practiced oil pulling and find that my teeth actually get whiter and my gums get fresher. People claim that oil pulling has cured them of diseases such as Asthma, etc.

Online Smoking Support Groups

Sarah — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:00:12 +0000

As they say, old habits die hard, and they die especially hard if they’re tough-to-break habits like smoking.
If you find yourself on that familiar loop of quitting and starting up again and quitting and starting up again, you need to sit back and figure out what you’re doing wrong.

A common sentiment with a lot of people is that if they had someone to hold them accountable, saying no to tobacco would be a lot easier. That’s why a lot of doctors recommend support groups.

When you’re trying to quit, you often feel like no one in the world understands what you’re going through or how hard it is to kick the habit. So it’s a huge relief when you meet someone else who’s struggling with quitting. They’ve tried and failed and tried again– just like you have.

If you need support but don’t have time or are a little shy, online support groups can be a great alternative to in-person groups. Although it’s online, it’s a great platform to share your frustrations and successes among encouraging people.

You can meet people from home, who you can turn to when the temptation starts to creep in.
So if you find yourself backsliding after you vowed to quit, check out online support groups and meet others who will tell you, quitting is possible and to keep up the hard work!

Online Diagnosis is Convenient, But Not Always Credible

Sarah — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:48:32 +0000

I had a friend of mine recently joke with me about how after she lost her health insurance; she had to resort to Googling her symptoms when she had a problem. But apparently she isn’t the only patient seeking the internet’s “expertise”.
A recent study done by Scarborough Research found that over half of teens use the internet as the primary way of diagnosing their illnesses. And only 75 percent of people are verifying the credibility of the information they find.
Online, you can find a range of diagnosis services, that allow you type in your symptoms and find possible causes. But with this convenience, comes the need for caution and careful evaluation of the information being given.
Sites like Yahoo and Wiki offer users a platform to post threads, a place where many divulge their health questions, and get answers from other users. Although sometimes it’s beneficial to hear from someone who has experienced the same symptoms as you, only a doctor can accurately assess your ailments. Things like your medical history need to be taken into consideration when diagnosing, something a computer program may overlook.
A big problem with online diagnosing is that a range of symptoms can be caused by a range of health problems. A search for “abdominal pain” or “stomach discomfort” could lead to a range of illnesses such as indigestion to colon cancer.
All in all, neither you nor the internet is a trained and licensed physician. So take the information you find with a grain of salt. Verify its credibility and if the problems are really serious, you should go see a doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Can Health Care Technology Really Reduce US Debt?

Sarah — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:11:28 +0000

The Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP Action) released a report analyzing how health care modernizations will affect our federal budget. After reading through the report in detail, here is a brief overview of our current situation, our future reform expectations, and a estimation of the future.

The problem?

Health care is going to (and is) cost us a fortune if something doesn’t change. It currently costs about 16 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) and we are currently wasting about $700 billion dollars a year on ineffective solutions. At this rate there is no way we are going to be able to afford health care, and if we don’t change now, we won’t be able to afford health care reform either.

The Solution?

According to the CAP Action report health care needs to be modernized and the federal government has been planning a basic four step plan that summarizes the changes these include, “investing in infrastructure; measuring what is done and how well it is performed; rewarding high-value care, not just high-volume care; and realigning consumer incentives to encourage better health behavior.”

The Results?

Though unknown, the expected results of modernizing health care is pretty awesome. These include the increasing the productivity growth in health care by a maximum of 2 percentage points within 4-5 years, saving $6billion in 10 years and $9 trillion in 25 years federally and offsetting the cost of insurance for all (yes ALL) Americans.

To get a detailed look at modernizing health care and saving a lot of money, read the full report at the CAP Action Fund online.