Aloe Vera for Health

Just like an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a cup of Aloe Vera juice a day will keep your health problems, skin problems and hair problems away.

Aloe Vera is full of nutrients. It has magnesium, zinc, potassium and vitamins like A, C, E and B12. Apart from replenishing your body with powerful antioxidants, it helps balance your metabolism, promote oral health, boost immunity, keep blood pressure in control and also support normal circulation of blood. Many have also claimed that it normalized their blood sugar and promoted their heart health.

Aloe Vera is extremely good for your skin. Applying Aloe gel directly to dry skin, skin injuries and skin burns helps in quick healing. You can even consume Aloe and gain the same kind of benefits. It has anti-aging properties that keep you younger forever. Being rich in proteolytic enzymes, Aloe Vera also promotes hair growth.

There are about 400 different types of Aloe. Each one of these has its own chemical composition. You need to know which ones you need to pick if you are making your own Aloe juice. If you are not too sure, it is better to go for one of the branded products that include Aloe extract.

Benefits of Aloe Vera

If you are still not too sure of whether you should go for it or not, here are a few benefits that can give you many reasons to take the right decision:

Aloe Vera has high anti-inflammatory properties that can cure bowel problems. Apart from curing constipation, it also reduces the symptoms of heart reflux, thereby stabilizing the alkaline levels in your body.

If you have rheumatism, arthritis or inflammation in your eyes or ears, having Aloe juice for about two weeks at a stretch, can help you feel better. You can also apply the gel for joint and muscle pains.

If you want to maintain your cholesterol level, Aloe is the way to go. It can also stabilize your metabolic rate, help you burn fat and reduce your lipid levels.

Aloe juice can provide instant relief from mouth ulcers and cold sores. It also reduces plaque formation and gingivitis.

Diabetic patients can consume the juice of this miraculous plant to keep their blood sugar levels under control.

Drinking a glass of water with two teaspoons of fresh Aloe Juice is a great way to cleanse or detoxify your system.

If you often experience redness or irritation in your eyes, you can add in two teaspoons of Aloe Gel to a cup of water and make your own natural eye-wash.

The presence of magnesium lactate, makes this a great antihistamine for those who are suffering from sinus or chest inflammation. It is one of the best natural solutions for bronchitis, flu, coughs, cold, stuffy nose and various other respiratory disorders.

Amino acid deficiencies can be replenished by regular consumption of Aloe Vera juice. It strengthens your self-defense mechanism by boosting up your immune system.

That's not all! Aloe juice can also help you fight cancer too. It's anti-carcinogenic properties stop tumors from growing.

If you find it difficult to extract Aloe Juice all by yourself, you can choose from many ready-made products that are available in the market. Most of these Aloe Vera products are branded and manufactured by reputed manufacturers.

Healthy Eating - Four Reasons to Take Probiotics

If you are someone who is interested in maximizing your health, one thing you might be considering is your intake of probiotics. These healthy bacteria live in the stomach and help keep your immune system strong, promote optimal digestion, and keep your entire body working in proper order.

While everyone needs to be consuming a healthy dose of probiotics on a regular basis, there are particular times when you need to increase your dose.

Let's take a closer look at the main times when serving yourself a little extra dose of probiotics is a wise move...

1. When You Are Ill. Because probiotics play a vital role in keeping your immune system in top shape, it is important you focus on consuming these probiotics when you are struggling with your health.

If you are currently ill, an extra dose can give you the power your body needs to fend off whatever it is fighting: helping you get back to optimal health. When you have a common cold or the flu, as well as when you are struggling with a health issue, an additional dose could be helpful.

2. After You Have Completed The Prescribed Antibiotics. While you are sick and need antibiotics, they can be useful. What they won't be good for is your gut health. Antibiotics will kill any harmful bacteria currently residing in your system. However, they will also take out all the "good" bacteria.

Serving yourself an extra dose of probiotics during this time can help bring your gut environment back to optimal, ensuring your immune system stays strong.

3. Before And During Travel. The next time it is a smart move to add a few extra probiotics to your daily menu is before and during travel. Before travel, the goal is to make your immune system as healthy as possible, which will help fend off any viruses present in the area you are going.

During the traveling period, taking the probiotics will help keep your system as healthy as possible, and help you avoid any digestive woes that may occur due to eating foods, not your typical dining choices. If you are all about trying local cuisine when you travel, your taste buds may enjoy this, but your stomach may feel otherwise. Using a probiotic may help prevent unwanted issues from occurring.

4. Throughout Pregnancy. Finally, the last time to make sure a probiotic is present in your life is throughout pregnancy. Keeping your body extra healthy at this point is important, and a good quality probiotic may help to reduce your risk of suffering from birth-related complications such as Gestational diabetes.

As you can see, a probiotic is not something you want to slough off and take lightly. It is a must-have in any diet plan aiming to keep you as healthy as possible.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets.

For nearly 25 years, Beverleigh Piepers has searched for and found a number of secrets to help you build a healthy body. Go to http://DrugFreeType2Diabetes.com to learn about some of those secrets.

The answer isn't in the endless volumes of available information but in yourself.

How to Find Quality Caregivers for Residential Care Homes

It can be sometimes difficult to find quality caregivers for residential care homes, also called personal care homes. A quality caregiver should be someone who provides daily activities for the residents, show initiative and quick response, demonstrate sound judgement and provide confident care.

Hiring a caregiver at times can be a little overwhelming. There are many issues to consider before opening the classifieds, calling caregiver agencies, and searching the Internet for independent contractors. Since this is stepping into unknown territory, it's a good idea to leverage word of mouth referrals from family members and friends. Knowing what to do, how to do it, and when to do it is a huge part of finding a quality caregivers for residential care homes. With that said, here are three suggestions to help find quality caregivers for a residential care homes.

Caregiver Agencies - Hiring caregiver agencies can be expensive, but a lot of them are bonded and insured. It is important to ask the agency if they provide employees to do the work. Some agencies recruit caregivers looking for work from a referral list and do not perform background checks before hiring them. Reputable agencies ensure their caregivers pass criminal background checks, screening for communicable diseases, and are trained in CPR and first aid. However, if the caregiver does not work out, you can request a replacement. Also, agency CNAs may have nurses assigned to the residential care home to ensure that policies and procedures are being followed. Remember, you are hiring quality caregivers for a 24/7 operation. Bottom line, it takes money, time, and energy to provide consistent, high-quality care to your residents. It should not be something you enter into lightly.

Independent Contractor - This may be more affordable, but be careful! Find out if the caregiver has a current certified nursing assistant license. This will ensure the person can provide basic care for your residents. Also, perform a criminal background check and verify the caregiver's references. If everything seems legitimate, ask family members to sit in during the interview to confirm they feel comfortable with this person before caring for your special loved one. One thing you can do is call CNA schools to get staff members. CNA schools are always looking to place their qualified students in externships, temporary and permanent jobs.

In-Home Respite Care Services - It is vitally important to take care of yourself as you take care of your residents and loved ones. Plan your relief by assessing your needs. Some of these might include personal free time during the day to run errands, transporting residents, or daily activities (e.g., cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.). Some caregiver agencies offer this service to provide temporary or regular support to caregivers that work a 24/7 schedule. Other forms of nonmedical respite breaks can be provided by family, friends, neighbors and volunteers from local retirement groups. Also consider college-bound students that need to fulfill community service hours, faith-based and non-profit organizations to cover short, nonmedical in-home intervals.

Do You Want the Best Caregivers? - Are you comfortable with the people representing your brand? Are these people exceeding your expectations when it comes to implementing your systems, policies and procedures? Do you feel confident that your residents are receiving the best 24/7 care possible every single day? Now that you know how to find a quality caregiver, when are you going to spend the time, money, and energy to do it? Who is responsible to ensure that your residents are receiving the highest standard of care? Each caregiver has a lasting impact on your business, your residents, and your bottom line. Pick and choose wisely.

Sharman Lawson is the president and senior consultant at Care Consulting and Training, LLC. As a care home consulting firm, Care Consulting and Training, LLC has helped hundreds of people get licensed throughout the country using their customized products, services, training, and consulting programs. President, Sharman Lawson is the author of the book "12 Steps to Eliminate Debt Forever" and an e-book "The Blueprint to Start and Run a Personal Care Home." Sharman Lawson has appeared and been featured in Money Magazine for Women, The Oregonian, Atlanta Live, Good Day Northwest, and other local and national media.

Healthy Living - Why Not Try These Natural Means to Overcome Nausea?

Are you dealing with nausea? Whether you are overcoming illness, not feeling well, or have been traveling by air or water and are dealing with motion sickness, nausea is no fun to deal with. Rather than turning to medical treatments, however, which may come with unwanted side effects, why not try some of the natural means of overcoming this issue?

Let us take a look at a few of the best ways to naturally combat nausea you need to know about...

1. Try Ginger. Ginger is one of the most tried and true methods to help yourself rid nausea and one you should be considering. Whether you choose to opt for sugar-free diet ginger ale, you add a little ginger into the meal you are cooking, or you decide to chew on dried ginger pieces, this can help curb in a hurry, those feelings of nausea.

Ginger is also calorie free unless it is preserved with sugar, so something you won't have to worry about impacting your body weight.

2. Eat Smaller Meals. Another thing you can do is focus on eating smaller meals. For some people, nausea tends to come on more often after eating huge meals, so breaking those meals down into smaller, more manageable ones, can be a smart decision.

Try keeping your meals at a maximum of 250 to 350 calories and see if the smaller amount of food helps to reduce your nausea. As an added benefit, you might just find this helps out with weight loss as well. Frequent eating encourages the body to burn fat instead of muscle tissue.

3. Pop Some Peppermint Gum. Peppermint may also have some great anti-nausea benefits, so that is another consideration you will want to note. Popping a stick of peppermint gum after you eat your meals may help you ward off nausea, while also freshening your breath.

It is another calorie-free option you will want to try.

4. Have A Glass Of Lemon Water. Another great way to combat nausea is to drink a glass of lemon water. Fresh lemon tends to suppress nausea naturally, and anything sour will also do the trick quite nicely as well.

Sometimes those who suffer from nausea are not tending to their hydration needs well enough, so this may help you offset the dehydration as well.

There you have a few of the best tips to help you manage your nausea. Which of these have you tried?

Managing your health can be challenging, You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight, your blood sugar levels and if you experience nausea, prevent it naturally.

For nearly 25 years, Beverleigh Piepers has searched for and found a number of secrets to help you build a healthy body. Go to http://DrugFreeType2Diabetes.com to learn about some of those secrets.

The answer isn't in the endless volumes of available information but in yourself.

Homeopathic Remedies Cure Patients Holistically

Homeopathy, which dates back to the 1700s, is an alternative medicinal practice that uses small doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would create symptoms of disease. In order to help treat or cure a disease Homeopathy uses the fewest possible quantity of an active element, even if this same component has resulted in the illness in the first place.

Homeopathy is the second largest therapeutic system in use in the world, according to WHO.

Now, hundreds of diverse homeopathic remedies are available. A range of natural substances are used in Homeopathic medicine. They are either derived from animals or from minerals or plants. Activated charcoal, fresh or dried herbs, garlic, vinegar, caffeine, crushed bees, white arsenic, mountain herbs, stinging nettle plants, and poison ivy are used by a homeopathic doctor to treat a patient. To create the sweet pills, gels, skin ointments, creams or drops, these substances are extracted or processed in another way.

How Homeopathy Works

We have already discussed that the same substance which contribute to an illness is used to treat the very same illness in Homeopathy. Homeopathy is based on the belief that this practice helps the body's natural ability to heal and stimulate the immune system. The School Of Homeopathy states, "that which a substance is capable of causing, it is also capable of curing."

In Homeopathy, treatments are tailored to each person's specific symptoms, body, history, and needs. It focuses on "individualized" and holistic cure. For instance, just imagine that two people are suffering from fever or migraine. But if they go to a Homeopathy doctor he/she will give different recommendations for them. Medicines will be prescribed based on their distinctive situation and also after analysing how their body is expected to respond.

Homeopathy is different from conventional medicine. When you consult a Homeopathy doctor he will ask you about your likes and dislikes, food habits, behaviour, etc. This is because in Homeopathy a patient's personality and emotions are very important. A patient is treated based on these factors.

Some patients might need higher doses than others because patients react in a different way to a range of doses of homeopathic medicines.

Depending on the patient's needs Homeopathic remedies - whether minerals, adaptogen herbs, animal products or medicinal mushrooms - are diluted to a certain potency. The aim is to always use the minimum dose possible.

Apart from asking patients about their relationships, stress levels, family, personal characteristics, and so on, lab tests are also normally carried out to help the homeopathic doctor learn about the patient's condition.

However, a Homeopathy doctor never prescribes medicines only based on lab tests. They are always self-reported and viewed in light of the patient's symptoms. A Homeopathy doctor will not just fix standard medications after simply taking urine, blood, hormone or other tests. To learn about the patient's expectations and entire experience is the goal of the homeopathic doctor. This is an effective way to help heal a patient "holistically" without any side-effects.

10 Life Hacks for Seniors Which May Prevent Insomnia

1. Make Changes in the Bedroom
Family caregivers should make sure their loved one`s bedroom is the most comfortable place for them. Your loved one`s sleeping area should be comforting and all the outside lights should be blocked by using curtains which may not cause sleep disruption.

2. Don`t Consume Heavy Meals
Eating heavy meals and high fat foods may leads to a distressful sleep in some seniors. Your loved ones can choose whole grain foods, smoothies, and drink more water which may provide a comforting sound sleep.

3. Avoid Electronic Device around the Bed
Seniors may have a hard time sleeping if they have a TV or laptops in their bedroom. These electronic devices may distract your loved one`s sleep and may change their sleeping patterns. These devices may also enhance stress level of your loved ones.

4. Create a Routine before Going to Bed
To enhance melatonin which is a sleep inducing hormone, your loved ones may create soothing changes every night before going to bed. Yoga may help some seniors in getting their body and mind relaxed. Family caregivers can also suggest their loved ones to have a warm shower which may boost a comforting sleep.

5. Avoid Stimulants if Not Necessary
Caffeine, alcohol, energy drinks and high sugar foods are some of the stimulants which may cause insomnia in some seniors. Drinking coffee or black tea may prevent your loved ones from having a good night sleep. If your loved one has a habit of drinking tea everyday then he or she can consume it 6 hours before going to bed. In this way their habit may not cause sleep disruption.

6. Reduce Stress
Minimize the things which may cause stress and anxiety in your loved one`s life. Family caregivers should not put things in their loved one`s bedroom which are work reminders or sleep distracters. Stress and depression may also cause insomnia in some seniors and may make it difficult for them to sleep longer.

7. Consult a Doctor
One of the best ways to decrease insomnia in seniors is to consult a doctor. In this way your loved ones can receive an expert`s advice on treating insomnia and may reduce the stuff that is enhancing it. The doctor may go through your loved one`s medications and can provide a tailored routine and lifestyle changes for them to follow to decrease insomnia.

8. Limit Sleeping During Daytime
Senior adults who may face difficulties in sleeping at the night can limit their afternoon sleep. This may help them in feeling sleepier during the night. Your loved ones can avoid daytime sleep entirely which may make them more likely to sleep longer at night.

9. Exercise
To reduce insomnia in seniors, exercise may help in regulating their sleeping patterns. Your loved ones can start aerobic exercises such as running, cycling, and doing sports which may assist them in decreasing insomnia.

10. Adapt Ways to Slow Down Brain Activity
Your loved ones can avoid mind stimulating things like TV, computer, work load pressure, and stress to ensure good sleep and to tackle insomnia. Seniors can perform calming activities before going to bed which may help in turning off their brain.

5 Things You Need To Know Before You Sign Up For Home Hemodialysis

As with the majority of treatments for kidney disease and failure, patients have the option to include home hemodialysis as part of their daily regimen. The ability to maintain a life outside of a dialysis center can almost inspiring for some patients, especially those that feel as though their independence is being hindered by their treatments.

However, because hemodialysis is going to be taking place in someone's home, the patient and his/her caregiver (if applicable) will be responsible for maintaining the treatment. This is no small task, and while it does grant a patient a major boost in confidence because they are a part of the process, it does ask a lot of them as well.

Before deciding that home hemodialysis is right for you, consider the following:

1. The history of hemodialysis does lend itself to having a place at a patient's home. Within ten years of hemodialysis being used as a treatment, nearly half of these patients received treatment at home. For a patient considering home treatment, this is good to hear.

2. There will be an initially large amount of anxiety for involved in the process. Remember, many of the patients taking on their hemodialysis at home do not have a background in medicine. Their caregiver, who is usually a spouse, also may not have medical experience, so both of you will experience some level of hesitation and worry about making sure everything goes right so as to not make the patient vulnerable.

3. There is less social interaction experienced by patients who manage their hemodialysis at home. Dialysis centers are set up for the comfort of patients who, at times, must be at the center multiple times a week for hours at a time. It becomes a new normal, however, and patients sitting next to one another become close because they have a common bond. Patients receiving treatment at home may either interact with their caregiver or, if they live alone, possibly no one unless they receive visitors.

4. Per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), "Hemodialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that uses a machine to filter your blood outside your body." In short, this treatment is necessary for your kidneys to do their job, which is essential to you staying alive. You and/or your caregiver will also need to undergo weeks of training to make sure you can handle treatments at home. There is a major 'if' attached to that because if you and/or your caregiver cannot handle the steps in treatment, then a safe environment cannot guaranteed.

5. The law requires that patients must be notified that they have a choice regarding at-home hemodialysis treatment. They must receive information regarding where they can go to receive training on the process, as well as where they can receive general education on treatment options.

Home hemodialysis can be a fitting way for a patient becoming accustomed to a new way of life to feel as though they still have independence and are not being hindered by their kidney failure. However, this independence does have quite a large amount of responsibility, and it is the job of all parts of the healthcare team, including the patient, to understand this responsibility and choose the treatment option that is optimal for their health.

Top 7 Proven Home Remedies for Leucorrhea Treatment

Excessive vaginal discharge, foul smell, spotting on underwear - yes we are talking about the leucorrhea. Leucorrhea is one in most filthy female vaginal infections. This condition is enough to make the women feel peeved and uncomfortable. It is awful but these days it has become a common problem among the females. To manage this vaginal infection, leucorrhea natural treatment is fruitful.

It is scientifically proven that to treat the leucorrhea naturally, use of home remedies is quite effective.

Why does leucorrhea haunt the females?

Female's genital parts are moist and covered most of the times that's why females are highly prone to this infection.

Possible causes of leucorrhea

Poor genital hygiene
Hormonal imbalances
Improper lifestyle
Unhealthy eating habits
Bacterial and fungal infections
Genital wounds due to excessive itching
Diseases like menorrhagia and diabetes
Indigestion
Constipation
Anemia
Stress and anxiety
Here we are listing the Top 7 Proven home remedies for Leucorrhea Treatment

Banana

Bananas are considered as an effective home remedy to treat leucorrhoea naturally. Being disinfected in action Banana helps to extrude the harmful microorganism from a vagina.

Directions to use

One can consume one to two overripe bananas daily.
Repeat it until you observe the noticeable change.
Ladyfinger (Okra)

Ladyfinger also comes in the category of effective home remedies for leucorrhoea. Mucilaginous nature of ladyfinger helps in the elimination of mucus from a body. In leucorrhea, it works well to reduce the vaginal discharge.

How to use

Take ladyfingers, wash them and cut into small pieces.
Boil these pieces 15-20 minutes in the water until water is reduced to half.
Allow cooling and strain it.
Add some honey and consume 2-3 times in a day.
Pomegranate

Therapeutic properties of this fruit help to ward off the vaginal infections. Fruit, its leaves, and rind are very helpful to treat the leucorrhea. Hence, it is an effective home remedy to treat leucorrhoea naturally.

How to use

Consume one glass of fresh pomegranate juice daily for one month.
Grind 25-30 fresh pomegranate leaves with 8- 10 black pepper.
Add this mixture in half glass of water.
Strain and drink it two times every day until you observe a noticeable change.
Another option makes powder of dried rind of a pomegranate.
Make the powder of dry the rind of pomegranate.
Mix 1/2 to one tablespoon of this powder in 3-4 cups of water.
Use this solution as a vaginal spray.
Fenugreek Seeds

Fenugreek seeds are loaded with the immunity booster properties. In leucorrhea, this helps to balance the pH level and micro flora in a vagina.

Directions to use

Take two- three teaspoons of fenugreek seeds in 3-4 cups of water and boil for 25-30 minutes.
Strain and let it cool.
One can use this water as a vaginal wash many times daily until the symptoms get lessen.
Indian Gooseberry (Amla)

Being a good source of vitamin c, it helps to boost up the immune system. Moreover, Amla is loaded with the antimicrobial properties that help to ward off vaginal infections.

How to use

Make a thick paste by mixing one - two teaspoons of Indian gooseberry powder with honey. Consume it two times in a day.
Another option is to boil one teaspoon of dried Indian gooseberry root powder in one cup of water until it reduced to half. One can add little sugar or honey as per taste. Eat it on an empty stomach every morning.
Cranberry

Cranberries packed with the antimicrobial, antifungal and antioxidant properties. These properties help to fight against the bacterial, viral and fungal infections. In leucorrhea, cranberry helps to eliminate the bacteria from vaginal wall.

How to use

Drink one glass of fresh cranberry juice once or twice for best results.
Fig

To manage the leucorrhea, consumption of figs is very good. Laxative action of figs helps to eliminate the toxins and waste materials from the body. They work in an amazing way to resolve the problem of excess white vaginal discharge.

How to use

Soak 5-6 figs in overnight in one cup of water. Next step in morning is to blend the soaked figs in water. Consume this solution on an empty stomach.
Alternatively, you can grind the equal quantities of the bark of the fig tree and banyan tree to make a fine powder. Add half -one tablespoon of this powder in two-three cups of water. Use this solution as a vaginal wash.
Additional tips

Maintain the proper hygiene.
Wash your undergarments daily and let them dry under the sun.
Don't wear dirty, tight or synthetic undergarments
Change undergarments at least 3-4 times daily.
Wash the vaginal area and surrounding area.
Wipe from front to back after using the toilet.
Avoid oily foods.
Avoid coffee, alcohol and aerated drinks.
Dr. Vikram Chauhan (MD - Ayurveda) Is an expert herbal practitioner based in Chandigarh and participating in Mohali, India. He is spreading the knowledge of ancient healing treatment of Ayurveda not only in India but also abroad. He has researched age old formulas from ancient Ayurvedic text books to restore health and save human beings from the worst side-effects of chemical based treatments. He is the author of 'Ayurveda- God's Manual For Healing', an informative book for people interested in learning the basics of Ayurveda, diet and principles of healing according to Ayurveda.

Important Factors You Cannot Forget When Buying An Essential Oil Diffuser

Essential oils have gained so much popularity because of their numerous benefits. They are largely used for aromatherapy and this kind of therapy is no longer limited to spas, but has found its way into homes. Most people love the calming effects of essential oils and use them not only to control moods, but to also enjoy restful peaceful nights.

A diffuser is used to release the selected essential oil or oils in just the right amounts and intervals depending on the preferences of the user. With the increased popularity of the oils, different kinds of diffusers have been created. It can be confusing if you are not very familiar with the diffusers, but using a few helpful factors it becomes easy to select the best.

Diffuser type

The mode of operation is what determines the type of diffuser. Generally there are ultrasonic diffusers which create ultrasonic vibrations that break down essential oil particles released into the air; nebulizing diffusers which work by blowing air on the surface of the oil creating fine spray or mist. There are also heat diffusers which heat the oils leading to their dispersal and evaporation at rapid rates and evaporative diffusers that blow air on pad saturated with the essential oils. Look at each of the options and the advantages of each to make an informed decision in the end. It is also important to remember that some of the diffusers work silently whereas some may produce noise as they operate.

Area coverage

Diffusers are not as large and hence finding the right spot for them in your home should not be that hard to do. However, it is important to consider how much of the space in the room they will be able to diffuse and circulate the essential oils to. A diffuser that covers a considerable amount of space is better than getting multiple devices to cater to your needs. Know the exact needs you have as far as coverage goes and you will be able to select the device that suits your space best.

Cost

When it comes to cost, the type of diffuser, the brand and the size may determine the prices attached. The design of the diffuser can also determine the amount you pay for it. It helps to do a comparison between the best essential oil diffusers so you are able to choose one that falls within your budget and one that is also bound to serve all your needs effectively.

Quality

Aromatherapy is something you may want to enjoy for a long time to come and this means that you need to settle for a high quality diffuser. Look at the materials used in making the diffuser so you can choose a durable piece. It may not be very advisable to go for very fragile materials considering you are prone to knocking it over, especially if you love it on your bedside stool. Think long term when weighing between best oil diffuser options.

Essential oil diffuser reviews can be helpful in getting you the best one for your home. Consider all options when looking for the best aromatherapy diffuser including the mode of operation and it will be easy to settle for a good device.

5 Common Myths About At-Home Dialysis Treatment

Medical science has allowed human beings to lead longer lives than once was thought possible, and part of these advances is the implementation of at-home dialysis treatment. Given the prognosis of either chronic disease of a vital organ or total organ failure, survival was not imaginable. Now, dialysis allows those with major kidney malfunction to lead longer lives.

The questions that remain regarding at-home dialysis, however, are due, in part, to the unknowns surrounding how it works and what will become of not only the patient but also his/her family. As was the case with our ancestors, a lack of knowledge on a topic led to a creation of a mythology surrounding that which we didn't know.

Here are five prevalent myths about at-home dialysis treatment and the information you need to actually know:

1. "Dialysis treatment of any kind is going to be painful." You shouldn't experience pain during your treatments, notify someone ASAP. There are some patients experience low blood pressure, which can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, or cramps, but this is not the case for the majority of patients.

2. "Because of my treatments, I'll always be stuck at home." You can actually travel on dialysis, but it requires a little forethought planning. In that respect, perhaps the quick road-trips may be impacted. For those on home dialysis, you can work with your dialysis team (your doctors, caregiver, and possibly a social worker) to have supplies to be delivered ahead of your prospective travel so that you'll meet them at your destination. Plus, a number of home dialysis machines come with a traveling case.

3. "I won't be able to work anymore." If there is one thing that dialysis does not aim to do is take away your independence. Yes, your life has changed in a major way, but unless you've been told that it poses a significant threat to your health, going to work or school is still a part of their lives.

4. "Dialysis costs too much, which means I can't afford it." Between aid from the state and federal governments and support from private health insurance, cost should not be the reason to be unable to afford your treatments. If, however, you are experiencing financial woes, there may be resources available to help.

5. "I'm no longer important enough to listen to because of this machine." Dialysis patients, either going to a treatment center or maintaining treatment at home, may be hit by waves of emotion due to their new circumstances. Part of these emotions may include feeling as though they are not being listened to and that their input means nothing. As the patient, you are the most essential part of the process. Keep in mind that patients have a Bill of Rights that is in place to make sure patients are being heard while also having tenets regarding quality care and privacy.

At-home dialysis treatments, or dialysis as a whole, is not a death sentence. By virtue of the life-saving procedure, those whose lives would have been lost before now have a chance to still lead productive lives. By talking to your doctor and understanding what is involved in your treatment, you become an active part of your own well-being.

Click here for more information about dialysis and other questions you may have about it.

Acidity - Home Remedies

If you are suffering from acidity, then you can try some home based remedies to obtain instant relief from it. Therefore, below we are mentioning some home based remedies to cure acidity problems.

Following are the Home Remedies for Acidity:

Consume water:

Water is considered as a natural remedy, and consume a minimum two glasses of water in the early morning on a regular basis. This will be useful to maintain the acids level in the stomach.

White Vinegar:

Whenever you consume meals then add white vinegar, which is useful to lessen the acidity and also useful for the better digestion of food. It is suggested to take 2 spoonfuls of white vinegar with your meals.

Jaggery:

Consume jaggery in appropriate quantity is one of the most effective home based remedies to cure acidity. It really works out if you consume a small quantity of this product i.e. near about 10 grams along with your meals.

Holy Basil:

Holy basil is regarded as an effective way to treat the acidity problem. The persons who are suffering from that, it is advised to consume holy basil leaves on a regular basis.

Milk:

Another remedy to cure acidity is milk, which is a popular way to treat acidity problem. You can also consume other dairy commodities so as to keep it away the problem. It is recommended to consume the milk after your meal.

Ginger:

Ginger is a natural remedy to obtain relief from acidity. Actually, it is advised to add flavor of ginger to each and every food product to stay away your body from acidity problem.

Mint Leaves:

Mint leaves, which is an ideal thing to chew with boiled water to keep acidity at bay. Additionally, mint juice is also great thing to obtain a relief from acidity.

Anise Seeds:

Anise seeds along with boiled water are the best way to cure or treat the acidity. Afterwards, allow the mixture to leave it for some time and then add a spoonful of honey to increase its effectiveness in curing the problem.

Juice of Ginger:

A juice of ginger mixed with roasted cumin seeds and rock salt can be considered as the best choice to treat the acidity.

Coconut Water:

Coconut water and aerated drinks are keenly useful in targeting acidity and reviving the normal secretion of stomach acids.

Aloe Vera:

Aloe plant can also be regarded as the best home based remedy to cure the acidity, according to the experts.

Pineapples and oranges:

By adding salt in pineapple and orange juices is also an effective way to obtain relief from acidity.

9 Months in, Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury Continues to Improve Paralyzed Patient's Life

Asterias Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company, which is dedicated to regenerative medicine. Recently they have launched a new medicine AST-OPC1 that offers embryonic stem cell based treatment for patients with spinal cord injuries. The medicine was under trail for a while and now it has been declared completely safe and highly effective for patients with spinal cord diseases.

The trial involved injecting the medicine into the affected area and patients showed improvement in their upper body function within 3 to 6 months after the therapy. Asterias Biotherapeutics conducted a press release in June, 2017, in which they have clearly stated the effectiveness of the medicine. It also recorded the detailed results after 9 months of the trial.

It was conducted on 6 patients. Each one of them received an injection of 10 million AST-OPC1 cells after 2 to 4 weeks of their injury. After 9 months, it had been noticed that all the patients showed improvements in their finger, arm, and hand movements.

Spinal cord injuries affect more than 17,000 people around the world every year. With the announcement of AST-OPC1, certainly they now have hope to restore their upper body movements. Dr. Edward Wirth, Chief Medical Officer of the trial said, "The new efficacy results show that previously reported meaningful improvements in arm, hand and finger function in the 10 million cell cohort treated with AST-OPC1 cells have been maintained and in some patients have been further enhanced even 9 months following dosing."

Coming back to the trial, it involved patients who were suffering from severe spinal cord injuries in the neck that resulted into lack of feeling and loss of neck down upper body movement. The team at the Asterias Biotherapeutics quantified the results of the therapy by referring them as "motor levels" of improvements. These motor levels were associated with different levels of movement abilities. In the press release, the team confirmed that restoring the movement abilities, "can result in lower healthcare costs, significant improvements in quality of life, increased ability to engage in activities of daily living, and increased independence."

After 9 months of clinical trial, the researchers at the Asterias confirmed that 50% of the patients (3 out of 10 patients) showed two motor levels of improvement. And all the 6 patients involved in the trail, showed at least one motor level of improvement. However, some of the experts might say that recovery from spinal cord injuries is possible without stem cell therapy. This is true. But no other study or therapy showed patients regaining their two motor levels of improvement within 9 months of the treatment.

Earlier data from 62 untreated patients showed that 29% patients got back two motor levels of improvement with 1 year whereas AST-OPC1 promises massive improvements within 9 months. Dr. Edward Wirth also confirmed it when he said, "We are increasingly encouraged by these continued positive results, which are remarkable compared with spontaneous recovery rates observed in a closely matched untreated patient population."

Two motor levels is equivalent to higher quality life. For any person suffering from spinal cord injuries or upper body paralysis, achieving two motor levels is a dream and with AST-OPC1 it does not seem a distant dream at all.

5 Ways to Make Your Seniors Happy

As your senior loved ones age, they're likely to feel a bit isolated. This is the time when you need to be with them and help them in any way you can. Your efforts will go a long way in keeping their health intact and making them happy. It will also assist your senior's live-in caregivers do their job properly. Here's a look at five simple ways to make your senior's day.

Communicate
Make it a point to talk to your seniors regularly and address all their emotional needs. Many seniors tend to keep their feelings and emotions to themselves and do not want to be a burden on their families. If you notice any changes in their behavior, engage in a casual conversation with them and try to find out what's troubling them.

As your seniors progress in age, their self-esteem may lower. At this stage, your attitude and behavior towards them can uplift their mood or add to their misery. Consider gifting your loved one a senior-friendly cell phone and teach them how to use social media and keep in touch with them.

Be Available
Give your seniors the assurance that you'll always be just a phone call away. It is important that they know who to call if they suffer from any injury or any other condition. As a responsible adult and caring individual, you should learn how to provide first aid help in case of an emergency and teach your senior loved one what to do in a critical situation. This will reduce their stress and anxiety.

Provide Groceries
Leaving the house, going to the grocery store and shopping for groceries can be a tiresome experience for your seniors. You can help them by supplying their basic needs to their door, if you can. Also make sure to get them their medicine refills.

Online grocery shopping has made the lives easier of several shoppers all over the world. Whether or not your senior is tech savvy, it is best to teach you senior how to shop for groceries online. This will save you both the hassle.

Depression
Your senior may be going through a hard time due to the recent loss of someone close to them. This is made worse by a rapid decline in their mental and physical abilities. For these seniors, your senior loved one faces a high risk of depression. If your senior is refusing medication, be gentle and considerate with them. Help them with a few simple tasks to boost their confidence. You can consult a psychologist for this purpose.

Internet
Senior citizens often fall prey to a number of online scams- such as medical insurance and car insurance frauds. It is necessary to take out some time and explain to your senior loved one all the online scams that exist.

Find information brochures or any other documents you can to help them be aware of investment frauds, online identity theft and phishing scams. If your senior uses the computer regularly, make sure to keep them away from scams and malware. Install a trusted antivirus in their electronic gadgets and teach them how to use and update it.

Author Bio:

With Home Care Chandler on your side, caring for an aging loved one is no longer a daunting responsibility. Instead, it is a loving and rewarding experience. Our revolutionary home care approach known as the Balanced Care Method™ guarantees that your loved one receives the highest quality of care in the comfort of their own home.

Does Your Heart Stop When You Sneeze: What's the Truth?

You already know how it feels to sneezing - you sense that threatening tickle in the back of your nose first followed by the gasping intake of breathing and a cathartic blast in the end. Anything that irritates your nasal passages could allow you to sneeze. Discomfort in your nasal passages signals the brain, and then your body responds by managing the muscle tissue in your nasal passages to expel air powerfully. There are several myths and interesting facts associated with sneezing. Some people say sneezing makes your heart stop. Is it true?

Does Your Heart stop when you sneeze?

The simple reality is no! Sneezing does not make your heart stop. There is an increase in the intrathoracic pressure when you sneezing. When this happens, the blood circulation to your heart is decreased. This consequently creates your heart modify its regular heartbeat for a short time to adjust. What it means is that your heart does not stop when you sneezing, and actually, there is a change in the rhythm of your heartbeat, which may make you feel that your heart has skipped a beat. Does your heart stop when you sneeze? Now you know the response.

A sneezing is an involuntary nasal reaction caused by irritation to the mucous membranes. There are many traditional beliefs about sneezing, such as the notion that the heart stops beating momentarily during a sneeze, essentially "killing" you for an instant, which is why it's common for someone to "bless you" after a sneezing. The truth, though, is a little different.

Just before sneezing, a lot of people relax slowly. This improves pressure in the chest and briefly inhibits the blood flow to the heart, which can reduced hypertension and boosts the heart rate. But as you exhale, your blood pressure improves and heart rate, consequently, goes down. At one time, sneezing arouses the vagus nerve, which operates from the brain through the stomach. In general, any moment the vagus nerve is stimulated, the body's reaction is to reduce the heart rate. The effect of this is minimal, however, slowing the heart perhaps only a single beat.

• No Sneezing with Sight Open

Have you ever asked why you can't be on the lookout while sniffling? Your eyes reflexively shut every time you have a coughing scene, and specialists have diverse clarifications for this. Some belief in it is a transformative modification primarily to defend your eyes from anything that leaves your nose or mouth as a result of coughing. Others are from the perspective that it happens because of muscle withdrawal. At any rate, the old spouses' story about eyelids shutting to defend your eyes from taking out is surely not genuine.

• Numerous Factors can Cause Sneezing

You may think just dirt and spice up could allow you to sniffle, yet the truth is several elements could allow you to wheeze.

Dust, clean, and spice up are the typical guilty parties, however, you may wheeze when you sniff impactful smells. Any modification in temperature, particularly colder air could allow you to wheeze. You may furthermore sniffle while culling your eyebrows predominantly in light of which it bothers the nerves associated with your nose. Many people may furthermore wheeze while popping pimples or rubbing their eyes. A number of people even wheeze when they are presented to brilliant lights, and this is because of an acquired characteristic called photic sniffling.

• Sniffling and Superstitions

Strangely, significant amounts of superstitions are connected with wheezes. The old Romans and Greeks were of the viewpoint that coughing to the privilege would bring you luckiness, while something awful would happen for sniffling to one side. Many people say "favour you" when they hear somebody wheeze, while others may say "to your wellbeing" in the same circumstance. Those people believe in that coughing is your spirit's approach to leave your body, however, it packs back in when somebody says "favour you".

• No Sneezing in Sleep

The mucous layers swell when you rest, which allows you to touchier to the dust particles noticeable all around, so you should sniffle more in relaxing. In nevertheless, all muscle tissue other than the ones that management your eyes get to be deadened when you enter profound relax, such as muscle tissue that management a sniffle. Amid superficial relax, the nerves that cause a sniffle are furthermore stifled, so you are additionally not prone to wheeze in shallow rest.

For a lot of people, this goes unnoticed. But in certain cases, when you sneeze, it can slow the heart rate or lower the blood pressure to such an extent that it causes a person to pass out. In the medical literature, this is known as sneezing syncope. Some people may also have an exaggerated reaction to a sneezing or a cough if they have a genetic heart abnormality, or if they are taking medications affect their heart rate, like beta blockers.

Improving Digestion - Tips, Tricks and Essential Facts

Given the important role played by the digestive system in ensuring proper functioning of the human body, every individual must take an interest towards improving digestion.

While a good digestive system has a positive impact on the overall functioning of the body, the reverse is equally true. There are several ways in which poor digestion can throw your system out of gear and this in itself should provide sufficient motivation for you to learn how to improve digestion.

Poor Digestion - Causes and Effects

Digestion is described as being poor if it is slow and this has two-fold implications. Firstly, the body is unable to absorb nutrients from the food in quantities that it should, eventually leading to deficiency within the body. Secondly, food left undigested in the stomach for longer duration soon becomes a breeding platform for harmful bacteria which in turn can lead to several illnesses.

If ignored over a period of time, poor digestion assumes a chronic nature and can lead to problems like fatigue, constipation, bloating and even allergies. But what causes digestion to slow down? Some factors that contribute towards poor functioning of your digestive system are -

· Eating habits - Living in an era which is dominated by fast foods and processed foods has its repercussions in form of inefficient digestion. On being constantly bombarded with excess sugar, salt and unhealthy oils your digestive system has little choice but to slow down.

· Lack of exercise - Given the sedentary nature of contemporary lifestyle, most people do not indulge in as much physical exercise as they should. This causes their metabolism to slow down which in turn has an adverse impact on digestion.

· Insufficient water and fiber intake - Water is the best catalyst for your digestive system in addition to being the ideal cleansing agent. From this it draws that drinking insufficient water would interfere with proper breakdown of food and also flushing out of toxins. Likewise, not consuming fiber in sufficient quantities has been found to lead to constipation which is indicative of poor digestive health.

Ways of Improving Digestion

An ideal digestive cycle is defined by four Rs', namely remove-repair-restore-replace. Removal entails flushing out of toxins from within the body followed by repairing of tissue and digestive track. Next, you must try to restore digestive health by including probiotics and fiber in your diet and making it a point to drink water in sufficient quantities. Having restored it, further improving your digestive system entails replacing unhealthy food groups with organic and healthy choices.

How About Using Digestive Health Supplements?

Diet and lifestyle changes notwithstanding, another way by which you can improve digestive health entails using digestive supplements, preferably those that are based on natural elements. There are indeed natural ingredients, like licorice, chamomile, peppermint and ginger that are capable not just of sorting out your digestive problems but also improving the overall condition of your digestive system. Mint and cinnamon are other natural products that soothe your digestive system and hence are recommended for improving digestion.

How would you react if told that many of these natural ingredients can be combined to form an effective digestive? Yes, it is indeed possible to combine several ingredients like licorice, black salt and certain species of leaves to form a powder that can play the role of a digestive. All you need to do consume a teaspoon or two with a glass of hot water for improving digestion and enjoy the benefits without any fear of side effects.

Final Word

Natural digestive supplements are based on the premise that the best way to restore good health is for the body to be as close to its original mechanism as possible. Combine this with the fact that digestion is one of the most important processes that can ensure good health for many long years to come. So, to use one to achieve the other does seem to be the logical path to take to enjoy long-term benefits.

5 Things To Keep In Mind While You're Researching Home Hemodialysis Companies

It's hard not to notice the number of dialysis centers popping up all over many areas of the country. Though these dialysis centers are considered to be specific in providing this life-saving procedure in-house, many of them have taken the term 'in house' very literally by also touting their place as home hemodialysis companies. As the medical landscape changes from day-to-day, so, too, does the idea of undergoing a medical procedure in the comfort of your own home.

There's no doubt that you are already being bombarded by the trials and tribulations of being diagnosed with kidney failure, which is why you need to undergo dialysis. The last thing you need to worry about is how to approach treatment, and for those looking to maintain their lives as normally as possible, having treatments at home sounds fantastic. There are, however, a few things to keep in mind when deciding the best course of treatment for you:

1. How is Training Handled? If you're thinking that home dialysis is right for you, you have to think about who exactly will be in charge of running the procedure. Both you and, if applicable, a partner or family member must be trained to handle the materials & machinery involved. When looking for the right dialysis company, find out if they provide training.

2. How Much Does This Cost? Depending on whether you're operating from health insurance or government program, you need to take into account how much treatment will cost. You may find that perhaps holes in your health plan may not cover some costs or that your government-assisted health program covers only so many treatments for a week. Remember that training also costs money, so you'll need to be sure to talk things out with your health plan provider to see what options you have available.

3. Is Your Home Equipped for Home Hemodialysis? This is a bit of a complex question. For starters, you'll need to be sure your house can work with the machinery your treatments will use. You'll also need to see if you have a layout that handles any physical changes you'll need to make to accommodate this machinery. The complexity arises when you consider whether you or your proposed partner are ready to handle treatments. Extended medical care can be very taxing on the person being treated & on those administering treatments. It would be a good idea to ask if any home hemodialysis companies have social workers available to help when times get a little tough.

4. What Else is Offered? in doing your research, find out if these companies provide other services to patients such as disaster response assistance or general educational programs.

5. Always Remember the Risk - Some of the main risks you'll need to be aware of are low blood pressure & infection. The right training helps these be less common, but still keep in mind more severe risks such as air embolisms & blood loss.

Natural Trauma Care

What if the unthinkable happens? You have an accident, but you are nowhere near a hospital. What do you do?

Is there such a thing as "natural trauma care"? The answer is a resounding YES.

1. Small nicks, cuts or scratches: You can dab on cornstarch. It will stop the bleeding almost immediately. Additionally, oddly enough, spider webs work very well if you can find some. Grab a good sized spider web, blow off the spider and any other bugs or debris and wrap it around or place over the injured area. Once the bleeding stops, remove the web and clean the cut thoroughly.

2. A bloody nose: If you are experiencing a bloody nose open a bottle of vinegar and inhale deeply through your nose. Keep doing so and the bleeding should stop within a short time. Vinegar burns the blood vessels cauterizing them closed.

3. For a bleeding wound: Apply a little sugar and let it melt over the wound. This will stop the blood from continuing to flow.

4. If you suspect a blood clot: You can take the herb Dong Quai to help break up the clot but do try and seek out medical attention as soon as possible as blood clots can be incredibly dangerous depending on location.

5. Ice: Reducing the temperature drastically slows bleeding as well as helps prevent future inflammation and bruising at the site of injury.

6. Small wounds: Cayenne pepper sprinkled into the wound will help to stop the bleeding as well black pepper.

7. Splinters: To remove small splinters from the skin easily, wet a bar of soap and rub the sharp end of a sewing needle in it, so that the needle has a liberal coating of soap. Then rub the soapy needle in the opposite direction of the splinter. As soon as the splinter has some soap in it, squeeze it, and it should come right out. This method is painless and is good for use on children. For removing splinters of glass from the skin pour some hydrogen peroxide on the skin. The splinter will bubble itself out after a few minutes. Do not squeeze as more tissue damage may occur.

8. Burns: The best thing for a burn is to apply cool water liberally. Do ensure that the water is not too hot or too cold. Blisters will be formed, but that is a part of the natural healing process. If you want to avoid blisters you could try one of these home remedies. Cut a tomato into wedges and rub one slice on the burn. The acid from the tomato takes the pain away and the burn will not blister. You can also use cold water and vinegar compresses until the pain goes away and then apply potato slices on the area.

9. After any injury for overall healing - Arnica Montana 1M (trauma care blend) Specifically designed to speed recovery from a major physical trauma, TraumaCare™ is generally considered too strong for a minor bump or bruise.

Is Aluminium Cookware Toxic To Your Health?

Cookware is for cooking, right? And as long as your food gets cooked, what does it matter whether you've used an iron pan or a scratched Teflon pan?

It might matter much more than you've believed. A growing body of research evidence appears to point to a strong link between aluminium accumulation in the body and Alzheimer's disease - a disabling loss of mental ability that is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and the 5th leading cause of death among those age 65 and older and also cause of disability and poor health. As per statistics in 2017, more than 5.5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, an approximately 5.3 million are age 65 and older and estimated 200,000 peoples are below age 65 and have younger-onset Alzheimer's. Almost 2/3 of Americans with Alzheimer's are women.

Is this cause for worry?

We believe it's time to start taking precautions:

Rita Hayworth, not so long ago, made Alzheimer's a household word. A disease that usually occurs at 50 and over, Alzheimer's is characterized by severe forgetfulness initially, leading to a gradual waning of the ability for abstract thinking (including the ability to perform simple calculations, exercise judgement and solve everyday problems.) The person finally becomes severely disoriented to time, person and place. Post-mortems show the brain to be highly shrunken, the brain chambers to be abnormally dilated and a marked reduction in the number of brain cells.

To date, there is no sure care for Alzheimer's. Nor do scientists agree on what causes it, though there are several theories, and research is going on apace to identify the culprits.

It was way back in the mid-1970s that researchers first noted higher-than-normal levels of aluminium in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. The question raised by this discovery was whether this excess aluminium caused the Alzheimer's or the aluminium accumulation was a result of the disease process.

It's a big question. Aluminium, it turns out, is a major player in our lives. It's the third most common element on earth.

Aluminium, like other materials is present in all our bodies, though there's no evidence that it's an essential mineral. We all consume aluminium every day. A small amount of that consumption is due to aluminium that occurs naturally in some foods. But most of our aluminium intake occurs because someone, somewhere, added that aluminium to our food, drink, water, medicine or cosmetics.

And in our kitchens, aluminium pots and pans are widely used in cooking: being cheaper, lighter and easily available, they are preferred by a majority of the population.

But the aluminium in your cookware doesn't stay there. Aluminium is highly prone to pitting corrosion, a localized form of corrosion that occurs due to small impurities in the metal. Says Dr. K.R. Satyanarayan, Head of the department of metallurgy, College of Engineering, Pune, India, "Even anodized aluminium vessels, i.e. those coated with a protective oxide that increases corrosion resistance, are not completely safe: the protective layer wears off with time, and there is no obvious indication to a lay person that this has happened."

The risk of corrosion increases when food is cooked in aluminium vessels over a long time, and over high temperature. The greatest amount of leaching (of aluminium into the food) occurs when acidic food is cooked in aluminium vessels or stored in them. Try the acid test at home and you'll believe!

"Try this at home: Want to see some dramatic evidence of the effect of acid foods on aluminium? Line a container with aluminium foil, place some leftover tomato sauce in it, cover with foil so it touches the food, and leave it in the refrigerator for a week or two. When you take it out, you will probably find holes in the foil where the aluminium has been dissolved by the salt and acid in the food."

Nor is Teflon-coated (non-stick) cookware an automatically safer option. The coating is a layer of PTFE (polytetrafluorethylene), a polymeric material that is highly corrosion-resistant. But when the coating wears off, the underlying aluminium layer is exposed, and the pan becomes prone to all the effects of aluminium leaching.

What exactly are these effects? The Scientists have reported laboratory studies that have shown that aluminium binds to the body's chemical energy, ATP (adenosine tri phosphate) and could thus interfere with the body's energy storage system.

How Aluminium works? Dr. Theodore Kruck, Ph.D., member of a leading team of aluminium-investigating scientists at the University of Toronto, offers his explanation of how aluminium damages nerve cells in the brain, based on research he and his colleagues have conducted:

"All living cells must perform 'house-keeping' to maintain their normal functions. To do this, they read 'recipes,' which are stored in the DNA molecules of their chromosomes. When we extracted the active chromatin (the chemical that contains the DNA molecules in our cells) from the brain cells of Alzheimer's patients, we found aluminium levels in the chromatin that were nine times the normal levels. We believe that this aluminium reacts with the chromatin and makes it 'sticky,' and this prevents the cell from maintaining itself. It's as if someone put glue on some of the pages in the recipe book. If enough pages get stuck, the cell can't get the information necessary for its maintenance and it will slowly die."

Dr. Kruck says, "We have progressed to the point where we now have a smoking gun (aluminium) lying beside a dead body (the Alzheimer's victim). Although we still can't prove conclusively that the bullet came from that gun, we now believe there is very strong circumstantial evidence that aluminium is the murder weapon." Let's look at some of the evidence against the metallic defendant:

Aluminium's Toxic Litany. Several independent lines of investigation have clearly established that aluminium can be highly toxic to our nervous system:

Animal experiments show that injections of aluminium into the brains of cats (animals often used in such experiments because of their tissue's close resemblance to the human variety) will produce memory loss and other behaviours similar to Alzheimer's. And the damage to the cat's brain cells is in the same parts of the brain as in human victims of Alzheimer's. Experiments with rabbits show similar results.
People with kidney failure, can develop "dialysis dementia" - a condition resembling the symptoms displayed by Alzheimer's victims - when aluminium from the water used in the dialysis treatment accumulates in their brains.
Natives of certain regions in Guam and Japan (where there are high levels of aluminium in the soil and water) suffer from an increased frequency of neurological diseases in which their brains develop aluminium-containing lesions similar to those in Alzheimer's victims.
The excess aluminium in the brains of Alzheimer's victims isn't found throughout the organ. The aluminium build-up is in the exact same brain cells that are physically damaged by the disease.
The only way to make a 100 per cent certain diagnosis of Alzheimer's is to examine the brain after death to confirm the presence of nerve fibre "plaques" and "tangles" in the brain cells. Although aluminium occurs naturally in the brain, in Alzheimer's-diseased brains aluminium levels are elevated where these plaques and tangles are found.
Dr. Kruck and his colleagues feel that, while they are still far from having all the answers, the mounting evidence against aluminium justifies some recommendation.

How the risks from aluminium cookware may be minimized?

If an aluminium vessel is to be used for cooking, make sure it's anodized aluminium - but not an old anodized vessel where the protective layer might have worn off.
Never use a high flame when cooking in aluminium. Aluminium is a soft metal; therefore higher temperatures cause greater leaching. The risk is less when water-based food is cooked, in which the temperature does not rise above the maximum of 100 degree C, than if dry cooking like roasting is done, when the temperature rises higher.
As far as possible use a wooden spoon to stir food being cooked in aluminium vessels; the abrasive action of metal spoons or forks will get the aluminium off the vessel and into your food.
Don't cook acidic foods in aluminium - the risk of leaching multiplies greatly.
Salt also reacts with aluminium, so transfer cooked food into a stainless steel container before adding salt. (That goes for vinegar too).
Avoid boiling tea or coffee for long hours in aluminium kettles. American researchers have found 30 times the recommended WHO limits of aluminium in kettles in which water has been boiled for long periods.
Avoid storing cooked food in aluminium vessels or in aluminium foil, especially acidic food.
Avoid scouring soiled aluminium vessels with an abrasive sponge. Instead, use a soft sponge and warm soapy water. It is best to discard very badly burnt vessels.
As a better option consider cast-iron sizzler pans. Made out of an iron-zinc alloy, these pans retain heat and, like non-stick pans, require very little oil. They can be used instead of non-stick pans to make anything from omelettes to dosas. Also available are iron pans, which are ideal for making all kinds of foods. (The iron you may ingest from these pans will probably be beneficial to you, considering those who are iron-deficient).
If you have a malfunctioning kidney, you need to be particularly careful about aluminium ingestion: the kidney is one of the body's prime mechanisms for controlling and guarding against overload of any metal.
Children, particularly infants, are similarly susceptible, because of their immature controlling mechanisms. Don't go overboard with tinned milk powder which comes in aluminium containers.
We 'humans' have got the life a billion years ago. There have been five mass extinctions in earth's history. We are living through the sixth. And now we too are running at a pace to end it all. This time it will be our fault.

The new discoveries and inventions have made our lifestyle full of convenience. But our bodies require work. Just like the sedentary water starts smelling, the sedentary lifestyle has given rise to many chronic diseases like the heart problems, diabetes and hypertension.

Today, the health researchers are suggesting that most of the chronic diseases that have appeared in man's life are due to STRESS. From where it has come. It is the bi-product of our so-called modern lifestyle.

We are standing at the edge of cliff. Immediate actions are required to bring back the healthy days. We must incorporate exercise, balanced diet, sound sleep, and the most importantly happy and positive thoughts to our lifestyle to get rid of all health problems.

I believe "The opposite of great truth is also true."

Day and Night, Work and Rest, Art and Science... they all looks opposite but my viewpoint is they compliment each other.

The more you relax, the more you active. Life is a balance between what we can and what we cannot. Learn to live between effort and surrender.

The Value of a Pediatric Endocrinologist

Pediatricians are an important part of the society and they come in handy in any place where there are children in need of medical assistance. Just like different physicians, a pediatrician needs to have traits such as patience, dedication, perseverance and so on.

Extra traits for pediatricians

There are other traits that pediatricians should possess so as to make them ideal for their post. They should be easy going in their profession, sensitive, a personality that is good-natured, outgoing, enjoy activities, comfortable with children even when they are sick, tolerant of the faults they may see in others, enjoy interacting at a very high level, be willing to give direct care, able to accept gratification even when it is delayed, enjoy teaching and also they should be able to accept any kind of schedule disruptions. The above are some of the qualities you should look out for when you are choosing the ideal pediatrician.

Pediatric Endocrinologist

As with other areas of medicine, there are pediatricians who are able to specialize in different areas. If your child has got specific issues, then specialized treatment may be recommended by your doctor.

Just like other people, children sometimes suffer from very specific ailments. Endocrinology is a medical specialty that deals with endocrine system kind of disorders that may affect human beings. There are pediatric endocrinologists that handle this particular area and who should be contacted should your child be in need of such services.

Endocrine system comprises the thyroid, pituitary, hypothalamus and the parathyroid glands. The adrenal cortex, gonads, and pancreas are also a part of the system. These are actually glands that are responsible for the production of hormones and they are also responsible for a set of different functions like growth, metabolism, and sexual development and so on. If the hormones were to fall out of balance, then abnormalities may occur. Disorders can also occur and they can be fatal at times.

If your child is diagnosed with such issues, then you may be redirected to a pediatric endocrinologist. The child will be diagnosed, evaluated and then treated for the specific condition that they may be having. Most of the conditions come as a result of a deficiency in the endocrine system as well as overactivity.

You need to choose a specialist or hospital that has all the facilities that are needed for the investigation as well as the treatment of the issues in pediatric patients.

Why they are important

Pediatric endocrinologists are very important especially when a child has hormonal conditions that need to be handled. This is not the kind of scenario where you stick to the primary doctor and if a suggestion is made to see a specialist, then the step should be taken as quickly as possible.

Endocrinologists are true specialists and they have had time to study different hormonal conditions and so they are well capable of giving the best treatments. The best professional in the filed should be aware of all the latest developments in his area of specialization and be able to offer this and so much more to the pediatric patients.