7 Diet Secrets of the Stars

Celebrities always look fabulous. Whether appearing in television or films or
strutting down the red carpet during movie premiers and awards, they never
cease to fascinate us with their larger than life presence. The truth is, it
takes a lot of effort to look the way they do, and being the public figures
that they are, they cannot afford to slack off when it comes to taking care of
their physical appearances. Their livelihood largely depends on how they look. 
Aside from the clothes, the hair and the makeup, celebrities have to take good
care of their bodies. 

So it is no surprise that these stars have their own secrets when it comes to
staying fit and gorgeous. Their health agenda can range from extreme workouts
to well-planned meals. Who doesn't want to know their secrets in staying
absolutely sexy? Here are some of the diet secrets of seven women celebrities. 

1. Jennifer Aniston: The star of the phenomenal television show "Friends" not only
mesmerized audiences with her adorable comic sense and her famous hairstyle, she
was also known for having one of the sexiest bodies in Hollywood, as she
appeared in countless magazine covers. To stay trim, Jennifer follows the
40:30:30 diet method. The diet consists of:

40% Low glycemic carbohydrates -Foods such as beans, fruits and vegetables, 
legumes

30% lean proteins -Tofu, fish, chicken, turkey, beef and low fat dairy products

30% essential fats -nuts and seeds, fish and olive oils

It is essential that every meal should contain macronutrients to attain the
balance of hormones and maximum weight loss. 

2. Kate Hudson: The gorgeous daughter of actress Goldie Hawn gained 60 pounds
during her pregnancy, which she needed to shed quickly before commencing on her
next film. From her previous eating plan, she switched to a higher protein diet. 
She consumed high protein meals in smaller portions, and she combined this diet
with an exercise program that includes weight training and cardiovascular
workouts. After getting a lot of flak because of her post-pregnancy figure, 
Kate removed all that baby weight in only four months and has gained abdominal
muscles that gained the envy of many in Hollywood. 

3. Oprah Winfrey: As one of the most successful talk-show hosts in the world, 
there is no question that Oprah needs to maintain her physical appearance for
her millions of audiences. Known as one of those celebrities who are constantly
battling weight gain, she has recently toned up her figure and has never looked
figure in age 50 by combining a regular exercise regime and diet plan. Oprah
works out five days a week, spending 30 minutes on the threadmill and doing
free weights. Her eating plan consists of legumes, fish, nuts, fruits and
vegetables, chicken and dairy products that are lowfat. She limits her
consumption of white sugar and flour. Oprah also credits her trim figure to her
habit of not eating anything after seven in the evening. 

4. Gwyneth Paltrow: A lot of people may find it hard to believe that the
perpetually slim Academy award-winning actress actually needs to diet. Gwyneth
actually follows a healthy eating plan that resembles Oprah's, avoiding sugar
and white flour. She usually follows a macrobiotic diet, eating foods like
vegetables, brown rice, and lean meat. She also eliminated dairy from her diet, 
and does yoga everyday. 

5. Madonna: The pop star known as the Material Girl has always flaunted a body
that is to die for, and has become a true fitness paragon over the years. She
keeps herself in tip-top shape by having Ashtanga Yoga, and follows a strict
diet that mostly shuns junk foods. She adopted a macrobiotic eating plan that
includes organic foods rich in lean protein. 

6. Claudia Schiffer: The bodacious German supermodel eats salad and steamed
vegetables for dinner and eats only fruits before the afternoon. While on
locations, she prefers to eat black grapes and drinks tomato juice and herbal
tea. 

7. Christie Brinkley: Long-time supermodel maintains her all-American good looks
by being a vegetarian. She does not keep junk foods of any kind inside her home
to make sure that she does not eat them when cravings occur. She snacks on
sweet potatoes in place of candy bars, and she adopts a liquid juice diet when
she needs to slim down fast. 

Celebrities are just like ordinary people. They need to maintain their figures
just like anyone else, and there is more pressure on their part since they are
constantly in the public eye. Ordinary folks can have celebrity-like bodies, 
too, and by following these diet and fitness plans, they can also look like
red-carpet worthy. 

Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

One of the most undemanding and the most workable ways to knock over blood
sugar amount, eliminate the dangers of "cardiovascular disease," and perk up
health and welfare in general is exercise. 

In spite of that, in today's inactive world where almost every indispensable
job can be carried out online, from the ergonomic chair in front of a computer, 
or with a streaming line of messages from a fax machine, exercising can be a
hard argument to win over. 

The Weight of Exercise

Everyone should exercise, yet the health experts tells us that only 30% of the
United States population gets the recommended thirty minutes of daily physical
activity, and 25% are not active at all. In fact, inactivity is thought to be
one of the key reasons for the surge of type 2 diabetes in the U. S., because
inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance. 

The good news is that it is never too late to get moving, and exercise is one
of the easiest ways to start controlling your diabetes. For people with type 2
diabetes in particular, exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, lower the
risk of heart disease, and promote weight loss. 

Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is on the rise. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes every
year increased by 48% between 1980 and 1994. Nearly all the new cases are Type
2 Diabetes, or adult-onset, the kind that moves in around middle age. Symptoms
of Type 2 Diabetes include increased thirst, appetite, and need to urinate;
feeling tired, edgy, or sick to the stomach; blurred vision; tingling or loss
of feeling in the hands. 

The causes of type 2 diabetes are complex and not completely understood, 
although research is uncovering new clues at a rapid pace. 

However, it has already been proven that one of the reasons for the boom in
type 2 diabetes is the widening of waistbands and the trend toward a more
deskbound and inactive lifestyle in the United States and other developed
countries. In America, the shift has been striking; in the 1990s alone, obesity
increased by 61% and diagnosed diabetes by 49%. 

For this reason, health experts encourage those who already have type 2
diabetes to start employing the wonders that exercise can do for them. Without
exercise, people have the tendency to become obese. Once they are obese, they
have bigger chances of accumulating type 2 diabetes. 

Today, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that over 80%
of people with type 2 diabetes are clinically overweight. Therefore, it is high
time that people, whether inflicted with type 2 diabetes or not, should start
doing those jumping and stretching activities. 

Getting Started

The first order of business with any exercise plan, especially if you are a
"dyed-in-the-wool" sluggish, is to consult with your health care provider. If
you have cardiac risk factors, the health care provider may want to perform a
stress test to establish a safe level of exercise for you. 

Certain diabetic complications will also dictate what type of exercise program
you can take on. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact
aerobics can possibly pose a risk for people with diabetic retinopathy due to
the risk for further blood vessel damage and possible retinal detachment. 

If you are already active in sports or work out regularly, it will still
benefit you to discuss your regular routine with your doctor. If you are taking
insulin, you may need to take special precautions to prevent hypoglycemia during
your workout. 

Start Slow

For those who have type 2 diabetes, your exercise routine can be as simple as a
brisk nightly neighborhood walk. If you have not been very active before now, 
start slowly and work your way up. Walk the dog or get out in the yard and
rake. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park in the back of the lot and
walk. Every little bit does work, in fact, it really helps a lot. 

As little as 15 to 30 minutes of daily, heart-pumping exercise can make a big
difference in your blood glucose control and your risk of developing diabetic
complications. One of the easiest and least expensive ways of getting moving is
to start a walking program. All you need is a good pair of well-fitting, 
supportive shoes and a direction to head in. 

Indeed, you do not have to waste too many expenses on costly "health club
memberships," or the most up-to-date health device to start pumping those fats
out. What you need is the willingness and the determination to start exercising
to a healthier, type 2 diabetes-free life. 

The results would be the sweetest rewards from the effort that you have exerted. 

Exercise and Pregnancy

Prescribing a medication for pregnant women is a complex process. 

Before obstetricians and gynecologists decide which dose of which drug can best
treat a condition without putting any harmful side effects on the mother and the
baby, they consider the patient's age, general health, the number of months
before delivery, tolerance for medications, and any other drugs the pregnant
patient may be taking. 

Prescribing exercise on pregnant women has to be just as scientific and
precise. The type, intensity, frequency, and duration of a "dose" of exercise
are all critical. One person's healthy, vigorous workout could be hazardous to
another. These dangers may be greater in pregnant women because they are more
likely to have strains and other serious side effects for the would-be mother. 

However, if exercise will be implemented and carried out in a normal, average
range, exercise will not have an effect on the overall condition of the
pregnancy and especially on labor or delivery. 

Pregnancy

Quality prenatal care should be given to a mother during her pregnancy. She
should be prepared for the normal delivery of a healthy baby. Complications
should be prevented at all costs. 

All of these things are boiled down to the fact that a pregnant woman should be
cared in such a way that she will not be compelled to do vigorous work but
should not also stay in bed and be inactive until she gives birth to her baby. 

Consequently, a pregnant woman's condition varies in relation to the growth and
development of the baby in side her womb. Therefore, it is necessary that proper
health guidance be provided by her physician during her visit. 

Moreover, it is important to keep the pregnant woman's life active in order to
promote good health, not only for her but also for the baby most importantly. 

Physical conditions like blood pressure, weight and health status is usually
monitored during the pregnant woman's visit to her doctor. For this reason, it
is significant to note that exercise can be the number one factor in order to
keep these aspects in good condition. 

As the health experts contend, adequate physical and emotional information is
needed by a pregnant woman to prepare herself for delivery. She needs practical
health messages in keeping herself and the baby healthy. 

Hence, for mothers or would-be mothers who are not yet aware why they should
exert some effort in engaging into moderate, normal exercise, here is a list of
some of its benefits so that you will be able to understand the reason why
pregnant women have to exercise regularly:

1. Defiance against fatigue

As muscle becomes fatigued, it produces less force. To accomplish a task like
climbing the stairs, for example, or shoveling snow, more units of muscle must
be called into play to back up the wearied muscles. 

The tired muscles are both less efficient and less effective. Hence, this will
just put more strain on the pregnant woman because of the weight that is
continuously adding up each day. That is why tired muscles will usually result
to leg cramps or sore muscles. 

What every pregnant woman must know is that exercise improves the condition of
the muscles and their ability to work longer without fatigue. 

2. Reduce backaches

Even when you sit or stand, some muscles are working, and such relatively easy
postures can tax some muscles and cause fatigue. The muscles of the lower back, 
for example, can be exhausted and worn out by the effort of keeping erect when a
pregnant woman stand still for several hours. 

With exercise, a pregnant woman can correct this error by developing her
posture. 

3. Increase the amount of oxygen

Work and exercise rely on glycogen, a substance produced by the body from
complex carbohydrates and stored muscles and liver. The supply of glycogen in
the muscles determines and limits the duration of activity. Exercise depletes
the glycogen in the muscles and leads to tiredness. 

However, when glycogen is depleted by strenuous activity, it is replaced in
quantities greater than before, as if the body recognized the need to lay in a
larger supply of fuel. 

Hence, oxidation is essential for converting glycogen to the energy that
pregnant women need to wiggle a finger, flex a muscle, or practice the lungs
and heart for some blowing action during normal delivery. 

These are just some of the many benefits exercise can bring to pregnant women. 
Besides, nothing is completely wrong for a pregnant woman doing some moderate
exercises. The only important thing to remember is that before starting an
exercise program, whether pregnant or not, it is best to consult your doctor. 
As they say, doctors know best!

Exercise and Hypertension

It seems as though many Americans are living a life that leads to high blood
pressure or hypertension. As people age, the situation gets worse. Nearly half
of all older Americans have hypertension. This disease makes people five times
more prone to strokes, three times more likely to have a heart attack, and two
to three times more likely to experience a heart failure. 

The problem with this disease is that nearly one third of the folks who have
hypertension do not know it because they never feel any direct pain. But
overtime the force of that pressure damages the inside surface of your blood
vessels. 

However, according to experts, hypertension is not predestined. Reducing salt
intake, adopting a desirable dietary pattern losing weight and exercising can
all help prevent hypertension. 

Obviously, quitting bad habits and eating a low fat diet will help, but the
most significant part that you can do is to exercise. And just as exercise
strengthens and improves limb muscles, it also enhances the health of the heart
muscles. 

Heart and Exercise

The exercise stimulates the development of new connections between the impaired
and the nearly normal blood vessels, so people who exercise had a better blood
supply to all the muscle tissue of the heart. 

The human heart basically, supply blood to an area of the heart damaged in a
"myocardial infarction." A heart attack is a condition, in which, the
myocardium or the heart muscle does not get enough oxygen and other nutrients
and so it begins to die. 

For this reason and after a series of careful considerations, some researchers
have observed that exercise can stimulate the development of these life saving
detours in the heart. One study further showed that moderate exercise several
times a week is more effective in building up these auxiliary pathways than
extremely vigorous exercise done twice as often. 

Such information has led some people to think of exercise as a panacea for
heart disorders, a fail-safe protection against hypertension or death. That is
not so. Even marathon runners that have suffered hypertension, and exercise
cannot overcome combination of other risk factor. 

What Causes Hypertension?

Sometimes abnormalities of the kidney are responsible. There is also a study
wherein the researchers identified more common contributing factors such as
heredity, obesity, and lack of physical activity. And so, what can be done to
lower blood pressure and avoid the risk of developing hypertension? Again, 
exercise seems to be just what the doctor might order. 

If you think that is what he will do, then, try to contemplate on this list and
find some ways how you can incorporate these things into your lifestyle and
start to live a life free from the possibilities of developing hypertension. 
But before you start following the systematic instructions, it would be better
to review them first before getting into action. 

1. See your doctor Check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program. 
If you make any significant changes in your level of physical activity --
particularly if those changes could make large and sudden demands on your
circulatory system -- check with your doctors again. 

2. Take it slow

Start at a low, comfortable level of exertion and progress gradually. The
program is designed in two stages to allow for a progressive increase in
activity. 

3. Know your limit

Determine your safety limit for exertion. Use some clues such as sleep problems
or fatigue the day after a workout to check on whether you are overdoing it. 
Once identified, stay within it. Over-exercising is both dangerous and
unnecessary. 

4. Exercise regularly

You need to work out a minimum of three times a week and a maximum of five
times a week to get the most benefit. Once you are in peak condition, a single
workout a week can maintain the muscular benefits. However, cardiovascular
fitness requires more frequent activity. 

5. Exercise at a rate within your capacity

The optimum benefits for older exercisers are produced by exercise at 40% to
60% of capacity. 

Indeed, weight loss through exercise is an excellent starting point if you wan
tot prevent hypertension. Experts say that being overweight is linked to an
increased risk of developing hypertension, and losing weight decreases the risk. 

Exercise and Cellulite

When Mike turned 65, he was 25 pounds overweight. By strict dieting, he shed
the extra pounds, but he lost more weight; he also lost his energy and
vitality. He was always exhausted, and his friends, seeing his gaunt, drawn
face, worried about his health. 

By the time volunteered for a particular fitness program two years later, he
had put 25 extra pounds back on. After 6 months of exercise and some willpower
at the dinner table, Mike slimmed down again. This time he felt better than he
ever had, brimming with energy and glowing with good health. 

What made the difference? The first time Mike lost weight; the second time he
lost fat. The distinction is important. According to research, a large portion
of the weight lost by dieting alone is active tissue, such as muscle and
connective tissue, while a smaller fraction is excess fat. Exercise has the
opposite effect. It increased his lean body mass and decreased his excess fat. 

Same thing goes with cellulite. Most people tend to think that cellulites are
only present to people who are obese. That is why they sometimes associate
cellulite with fats and obesity. 

Actually, even if cellulite refers to the chain of wrinkled "fat cells" and
"subcutaneous connective tissues" beneath the layer of the skin, it should
never be associated with people who are fat or obese. In fact, there are many
people who have cellulite but are not fat at all. 

In reality, nobody knows the main reason why some people accumulate cellulite. 
However, there are some factors that health experts are considering such as the
structure of the fat cells or the poison that entered the body. Some experts say
it may be caused by some hormonal changes in the body. But none of these things
has been proven to cause cellulites. 

However, the only main reason why most of the cellulite cases are abundant in
women is that the connective tissues of women are more rigid and firm than men. 
Hence, whenever a woman gets fat, the fatty cells tend to swell and get bigger. 
It creates a protruding appearance to the skin producing an "orange peel" look. 

For this reason, women are more prone to cellulite than men. That is why it is
important for women to be more careful on their body as they have higher
chances of accumulating cellulite. 

Fats and Cellulite

With the many cases of obese people having cellulites in their body, most of
them believed that their cellulites are caused by being too fat. 

Even though not all those who are obese develop cellulites, being overweight
can really trigger the development of cellulites. This is because too much fat
under the skin tend to push the connective tissue creating a strain on the
skin. Thus, cellulites form. 

However, this is still dependent on the structure of the cells. If an
individual's cell structure does not inhibit the tendency to bulge or expand
even if fat deposits accumulate, then there will be no cellulites. 

So, the most important thing to remember here is to keep those connective
tissues firm and strong and avoid accumulating excess fats so as to avoid the
development of cellulite. 

How? Start an exercise routine program. 

Transforming food into fat seems all too easy for most of us. Losing fat is far
more difficult, and to accomplish this, we have only three alternatives: (1)
decrease food intake and keep activity constant; (2) increase activity and keep
food intake constant; or (3) combine both approaches: diet and exercise. 

Physical activity can help reverse the results of inactivity. An hour of
vigorous exercise burns up 300 to 600 calories. If you also cut 300 to 500
calories from your daily menu, you can also lose weight at the rate of one to
two pounds a week. 

Without exercise, you would have to eat 500 to 1, 000 fewer calories a day to
lose the same number of pounds in a week. Exercise is not for everyone who is
over-fat, however. The severely obese person should exercise only under medical
supervision to prevent strain on the cardiovascular system and connective
tissue. And no one should restrict food intake drastically without consulting
doctor. 

Resorting to this kind of activity will only get the matter worse. Remember
what happened to Mike? He thought that when he started dieting, he would
eventually lose all the excess fats he has accumulated. The problem is that he
lost those connective tissues rather than excess fat. 

For people who are prone to cellulites, this will be a greater problem. Losing
connective tissues instead of fat by strict dieting can only make the skin more
prone to greater problems but the fat cells are still there. That only means
that the problem is not solved at all. 

Hence, if you wish to loose those cellulites, it would be better to loose those
fats first. The idea here is to burn those fats by increasing your metabolism by
7. 5% to 28% more than your normal rate. 

It is for this reason that exercising is an important factor in losing
cellulite. So for a more cellulite free body, always engage in an exercise
routine. 

Exercise and Arthritis

Your bones hang out in a lot of joints. Knee joints. Hip joints. The joints in
your fingers and the joints in your toes. 

Wherever bones meet, there is also cartilage, a rubbery, protective layer that
ensures your joints bend smoothly and painlessly. But even cartilage cannot do
this tremendous job alone. A thin membrane called the "synovium" provides fluid
that lubricates the moving parts of the joint. When the cartilage wears out of
the synovium becomes inflamed, the result is generally a case of
"osteoarthritis" or "rheumatoid arthritis."

In osteoarthritis, the cartilage can be eroded so much that bone does rub on
bone. Thos type of arthritis develops gradually over a lifetime as a simple
result of the wear and tear placed on your joints over the years. Very few
people escape some degree of osteoarthritis, though the severity varies a great
deal. 

As a matter of fact, if you are over the age of 50, you are likely to have at
least one joint affected by osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis affects men and
women equally and is by far the most common type of arthritis, with almost 16
million Americans in the list. 

In rheumatoid arthritis, damage to the synovium is at the source of trouble. 
Doctors and researchers are not absolutely sure what causes it, but most think
that rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system actually
attacks certain tissues in the body, including those that connect the joints
and the synovium. 

Rheumatoid arthritis begins with swollen, red, stiff, and painful joints, but
it may progress until scar tissue forms in the joint or, in extreme cases, 
until the bones actually fuse together. Almost 75% of the 2 million people with
rheumatoid arthritis in the United States are women. The disease can hit as
early as teen years. 

Exercising Your Prevention Options

Investing a little time in developing a good weight-bearing low-impact exercise
and stretching plan can add up to great results when it comes to staving off
arthritis pain. Strong muscles help protect the joints from wear and tear, and
the movement keeps joints flexible. 

That is why the quest for fitness is at hand, even if you are 50 years and
over. However, most Americans over 50 are still right where they always were
sitting back and watching others jog by. Most of them contend that that is just
for people who have been athletic all their life, or some say exercise is for
young people and engaging into exercise will do them more harm than good. 

There are still some that insist on excusing their selves in exercise routines
because they do not just have time or they have less energy than ever before. 
These are all lame excuses. Hence, it is time to start to get rid of those
pains. Start exercising. 

Consequently, preventing arthritis is not an exact science, but physicians have
discovered a few ways to lower your risk. Here is how:

1. Do not weight around

The single most important measure anyone can take to prevent osteoarthritis of
the knee is to lose weight if they are overweight. Extra weight puts extra
stress on your knees. If you are 10 pounds overweight, for example, you put 60
pounds per square inch of extra pressure on your knees every time you take a
step. That extra pressure can slowly but surely erode the cartilage in your
knees, leading to arthritis. 

A study has clearly supported the theory that weight loss weighs in on the side
of prevention. In the study, overweight women who lost 11 pounds or more over a
10-year period decreased their risk of developing osteoarthritis of the knee by
50%. 

2. Stretch those muscles

Any kind of stretching is good as long as you do not bounce, which can lead to
a muscle pull. This is according to some of the professors of clinical medicine
in New York City. 

Try to hold a slow, steady stretch for 15 to 20 seconds, then relax and repeat. 
It is best to flex up by stretching before any exercise, especially running and
walking. But it is also a good idea to stretch each day. Ask your doctor to
teach you stretches that focus on potential arthritis trouble spots, such as
the knees or the lower back. 

3. Walking is always the best exercise

Take a good long walk at least three times a week or participate in a
step-aerobics or low-impact exercise routine maximum results. There is no proof
that running is bad for the joints, but remember, it may aggravate an injury if
you already have one. Just remember to check with your doctor before starting a
new exercise program. 

The bottom line is that of all the healthful habits, exercise is the most
important. This is because people are designed to be active. Hence, it is
really important for people to exercise in order to stay healthy and keep those
joints free from wear and tear. 

Just keep in mind that the unexercised body, even if free from the symptoms of
illness or problems like arthritis, is not at its full potential. Hence, start
exercising right now!

Cross Training for Fitness and Fatloss

The numbers on your scale do not indicate whether you are fit or fat. Far more
significant than your total body weight is the composition of your body tissue. 
If a man's fatty tissue is bigger than 14% up to 15% of his body mass, or if a
woman's is more than 20% to 22%, he or she is overweight, or more precisely, 
overfat. 

A small amount of fat is needed for padding the internal organs and as
insulation under the skin. Excess fat leads to such diseases as diabetes, gout, 
high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and gallbladder problems. There
are very few, very fat persons. The reason is that the fittest, not the fattest
survive. 

The problem now is focused on how to resolve the problem. The problem with most
people who want to lose weight is that they have the propensity to concentrate
more on getting those numbers lower than what they are seeing now. What happens
next is that they strive harder to achieve a lower weight, according to the
"ever reliable" result of the weighing scale. 

It would be more important to think of the human body as a heat-exchange engine
that works on the basic principles of energy physics. The caloric balance equals
the total calorie intake minus the total calorie expenditure. 

Some of the calories people ingest are used for basal metabolism. As people get
old, their bodies require fewer calories for this basic upkeep. Some calories
are excreted as waste products. Some go into "work metabolism," the energy
expenditure required for any physical activity. 

Hence, if people take in more calories than are used by these functions, there
is a definite caloric excess. By the laws of physics, energy is transformed
rather than destroyed. In this case, each excess of 3, 500 calories is changed
into a pound of fat. If people want to reverse this process, they have to burn
up 3, 500 calories to lose a single pound. 

Winning the War Against Fat

When you think of fighting fat with exercise, you probably think of hours of
hard, sweaty exertion. If this is the case, then, you will not get any farther. 
This is because people who are so much into losing more by exerting more effort
tend to get bored easily. 

Why? Because experts contend that when people exert more effort than what they
are capable of doing creates a tendency to develop weariness and ennui. Hence, 
they give up, stop doing their routine exercises, and end up sulking in the
corner with a bag of chips that seems to have all the bad calories in this
world. 

Now, you might ask,"What should be done instead?" The answer: cross training. 

After some intensive studies and experimentations, health experts were able to
come up with the concept of incorporating cross training in order to overcome
or break the monotony or dullness in an exercise program. 

Cross training refers to the integration of diverse movements or activities
into a person's conventional exercise routine. The main purpose of
incorporating cross training into an exercise program is to avoid overdoing
excess muscle damages and to put a stop to an imminent boredom. 

Three of the most commonly used activities whenever a person decides to engage
into cross training are swimming, running, and cycling. 

In cross training, distance is one way to extend your activity as your
condition improves. For this reason, you need to traverse a measured distance. 

If possible, swim the course and measure the distance. If you will be using a
running track, such courses usually are a quarter-mile per lap for a complete
circuit. 

Cross training offers a variety of benefits for fitness and fatloss. It builds
up the strength and endurance of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It has
also some tranquilizing effect on the nerves, and it burns up calories as much
as it makes your "losing weight" more bearable. 

Cross training has three basic components:

1. Endurance exercises to condition the heart, lungs, and blood vessels and to
induce relaxation. These begin with a careful planned walking and jogging
regimen, depending on fitness level. 

2. Exercises to strengthen the muscles, particularly those important to good
posture. These include some activities that are selected to encourage some
people who are already burnt out with a particular routine. 

3. Exercises to improve joint mobility and prevent or relieve aches and pains. 
These consist of a series of static stretching positions that are safe and
effective for most of the people who wish to try to lose some fat. 

Indeed, cross training is a great way
to modify the concept of exercising and losing fat without having to endure
monotonous activities. In fact, the idea of exercising is to like what you are
doing, hence, if you engage into cross training, you will be aware of it that
you have already achieve your desired weight. 

Boiled down, cross training is, certainly, one way of having fun. 

Benefits of Using a Stability Ball in Your Training

If there is one equipment you should not miss in your training, it is the
stability ball. The market comes up with new training tools every now and then. 
Yet you are not sure if they do work and if they are safe. So for one that is
guaranteed to work, use the stability ball. 

What Is a Stability Ball?

This is a large and inflatable ball used as an exercise equipment. Despite
being air-filled, it is generally heavy-duty and capable to hold 600 to 700
pounds of weight. It is comfortable and gives good support. It perfectly suits
the trainee as it easily goes with the structure of the body. 

This exercise tool is also sometimes called as the physioball or the Swiss Ball. 

The good thing about using the stability ball is it reduces the perception of
'working' in training, especially for beginners. It gives some element of
'play' as you get rough with the training. It adds some fun and excitement as
you advance in the movements and techniques. 

Another good point with the ball is that it can be used by anybody. No fitness
level is required. It is very portable and light weight, easy to bring along
even when traveling. It is also inexpensive compared to other exercise
equipment and it could last for a very long time. 

How Stability Balls Came About?

The use of the stability balls for training can be traced in rehabilitation. As
early as the 1900's, physical therapists have been using balls in addressing the
neurological disorders of their patients. 

Then, in the early 1960's, Aquilino Cosani, an Italian toy maker, made the ball
and sold it, known then as the 'Gymnastik.' Two decades after, Cosani came up
with a company called Gymnic and became the major supplier of the stability
ball to most rehabilitation programs and centers. 

The ball then shifted from the rehabilitation to the athletic area, in the
90's. It was used to condition the body of professional athletes. From then on, 
the ball became very prominent in the fitness community. 

At present medical specialists and fitness professionals very much recommend
the use of the stability ball by the public. It serves more than solving
physical problems. It is good in preventing you from having one. 

What Are the Benefits of Using a Stability Ball?

The stability ball definitely is best to improve the strength of the abs and
the lower-backs. It improves as well the functional strength, balance and
flexibility of the body. 

1. Proper Alignment: Using the ball during training will test the body to make
use of the different parts to maintain the proper balance. The dynamic
movements during exercise will improve the natural motor reflexes of the body
as different muscles are utilized in movement, especially the ones that are not
usually used. The challenge posed by the ball is to maintain balance. As one
aims to get the proper balance, the alignment of the body parts is also
improved. 

2. Great Abs: For people working out to achieve great abs, this ball can
definitely target the abdominal areas. The abs and the back muscles are
simultaneously moved as you work in your balance. Just imagine the good feeling
of having a flat stomach area and you will definitely love this ball. 

3. Muscle Strength and Endurance: The stability ball can help in alleviating any
back pain and preventing one in the future. As all the major muscle groups are
exercised, the muscle tone, strength and endurance are also improved. Thus it
gives the body flexibility, stability and resistance. 

4. Core Stability: This concerns the major muscles that helps stabilize and
support all of the body movements. This is made up of back and the deep
abdominal muscles. With the ball, no matter how 'deep' or 'into the core' these
muscles are, they are still exercised. This is something only the stability ball
can guarantee. 

5. Stretching: The ball is a good companion during stretching exercises. With
this, you can easily move into and move out of different stretching positions. 

6. Losing Weight: Of course, with all the good benefits of using the ball, you
will not miss out on the aspect of losing weight. With regular exercises and
trainings done with the stability ball, a person can lose some unwanted pounds
as the body is firmed. 

Health is definitely your most important asset. So do your regular exercises
and maintain a healthy diet. Furthermore, have a happy and fun training with
the stability ball. 

Multivitamins -- A Ticket to Daily Health

An increasingly number of the world's population is now eager and interested in
looking after their health and in keeping tune with their well-being. It is
important to note that this awareness is progressively contributing to the
creation of several health supplements to benefit both the adults and the young
ones. Dietary and vitamin supplements have constantly proven their worth to
health conscious individuals. 

An excellent daily multivitamin supplement does not only develop your general
bodily functions but also improves your mental and physical condition and well
being. Occasionally specification is needed in appropriately supplementing
nutrients to deal with any individual needs. An example would be in heart
disease patients, they would have to take in CoQ10 in preventing the said
condition. Alzheimer's disease can be effectively prevented by a regular
combination of Vitamin C and E intake. 

Multivitamin supplements necessarily include all the vitamins and nutrients
essential for recommended daily dosage. Multivitamin supplements may also be
formulated to meet the needs of individual conditions like pregnancy and
specific age brackets. It is a well settled fact that multivitamins in liquid
form are more efficient than the ordinary pill forms. This is due to the fact
that the body can easily absorb liquid nutrients five times more than ordinary
multivitamins in tablet or capsule form. 

Basically, the body needs 13 essential vitamins to function properly. In
regulating the crucial performance of the body, it has to have vitamins A, B, 
C, D, E, K, B12, and the 7 B-complex vitamins. Majority of these vitamins are
obtained by our body through the food that we eat. The danger of illness or
even mortality is in the deficiency of some of the essential vitamins. This is
where vitamin supplementation comes in. It counteracts the illness caused by
such deficiency. With this fact, it is very unlikely for someone to refuse
vitamin supplementation on a daily basis. So the question now is, why is it
necessary for individuals to take multivitamins when majority of our daily diet
can provide us with the basic nutrients we need? It may not be compulsory, but
everyone can profit from daily multivitamins. 

As previously mentioned, the clear benefit of daily intake of multivitamins it
to prevent vitamin/nutrient deficiency. Some personal circumstances may
increase dietary needs. Pregnant women, during their first trimester, are
recommended by their doctors to take multivitamins. This does not only provide
the mothers with sufficient nutrition but also proper vitamins to benefit the
unborn child inside their womb. Taking multivitamins everyday reduces the risk
of transmitting malnutrition from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby. Other
conditions such as old age, alcoholism, smoking, and exposure to excessive
pollution have long-term detrimental effects to the body system which can be
successfully counteracted by multivitamins. 

Stress is also one risk factor which needs serious supplementation that
multivitamins can provide. Especially with people who have so much to do and
have a hard time in keeping up with their health needs, multivitamins are a
must to keep them always on the go without any health complications in the long
run. Stress formulations benefit both your mental ability and daily endurance. 
Aside from the mentioned benefits, daily multivitamins also minimize the risk
of cancer or any cardiovascular disease. 

Several people, if not all, testify to have a feeling of comfortable health in
regularly taking in multivitamins. This is due to the synergistic or combined
effects of the supplemental ingredients found in multivitamins. A fat-soluble
antioxidant vitamin, like the Vitamin E, works to neutralize probable harmful
free agents in the body. This vitamin also maintains healthy skin through
protection of cell membranes, blood circulation, heart, nerves, red blood
cells, and muscles. Another antioxidant is the Vitamin C which effectively
fights blood cell infection and is vital in collagen formation, wound healing, 
and formation of bone structures, capillaries, and teeth. Vitamin is also
helpful in the iron absorption from plant sources. Vitamins A, D, K and other
supplemental nutrients found in multivitamins have specific functions that
benefit the bodily functions. 

While daily intake of multivitamins may have proven beneficial, it is not a
100% guarantee to be free of serious illness attributed to other factors. It is
often a misconception that symptoms of disease may always be cured by taking
multivitamins. Health experts have the better opinion of immediate medical
assistance rather than resorting to multivitamins alone. 

Benefits of Stretching

The body is flexible. It is supposed to be flexible. You must be able to bend
and reach that something you dropped on the floor. You must be able to zip the
back of your favorite dress on your own. You must be able to reach that book
you need to read at the top shelf. 

These are simple activities. Nothing grand about them, you merely stretched out
a bit. However, if there are difficulties in doing such simple motions, then you
have to stretch your limits. You already need a stretching program. 

What Is Stretching?

Stretching is simply the act of extending to full length the body or simply a
part of it. This activity involves straightening or stretching the structure or
the limbs. 

How Does One Do the Stretching?

Stretching is fairly easy. As mentioned in the introduction, it is involved in
the normal activities. It can be done by any people, regardless of age. 

However the extent of stretching and flexing differs. The muscles tighten as a
person ages. The range of joint movements can be minimized. This can very well
obstruct an on-the-go lifestyle. That is why as the person grows older, bending
or flexing becomes more limited. This is why stretching regularly, as part of a
routine is very important. 

Simple stretches can be done everyday. It can be incorporated in the lifestyle
and the daily activities. It does not require much of your time. 

Stretching exercises can also be done while training. Actually, stretching is
an essential part of any training or sport. It must be done first before
anything else. Stretching the body and the limbs is a good preparation for a
more rigorous activity. 

Most athletes would do the sit and reach, wherein they position on the floor, 
extend their legs and reach the tip of their foot with the tip of their hand. 
Actually, most trainers actually require their athletes to really do the
stretching before playing. 

There is actually an ideal length of time in stretching. It is best to do it in
10 minutes. This will give the body enough opportunity to move and flex the
muscles, thus preparing it for more complicated and strenuous movements. 

Experts however would frown upon going way beyond 10 minutes. Stretching the
exercise to 30 minutes or more will already wear out the body. This will not be
favorable if one is preparing for a game. 

What Are the Benefits of Stretching?

1. Increase the Range of Movement: As one constantly do the stretching
exercises, the length of the muscles and the tendons are also increased. This
will help in increasing the range of your movement. Thus, the limbs and joints
will be able to move, way before an injury can take place. You are definitely
physically fit. 

2. Increased Ability to Perform Skills: When you have a wide range of movement, 
the more you will be able to do more things. For example, you can jump high
without feeling any pain when you land back on the floor. This will also help
you start a new sport or improve more if you are in one. Stretching in this
aspect also allows you to have a more active lifestyle. 

3. Injury Prevention: One can prevent injury to joints, tendons and muscles with
stretching. When the muscles and tendons are well-flexed, they are considered in
good working order. This will help in a faster recovery and decreased soreness. 
The muscles of the body will be able to take more exhausting and rigorous
movements with less probability of being injured. 

4. Reduce Muscle Tension: If the muscles are given their regular exercises and
stretching, it is less likely that they will contract. This will definitely
relieve you of any muscle pain or problems. 

5. Enhance Energy: Being able to move more will also give you more energy. 
Stretching will also help enhance your awareness, like knowing that you have a
body that is capable of doing many things. As such, you are going to be more
driven to move rather than sulk in the corner. 

6. Reduces Cholesterol: Research also shows that doing prolonged stretching
exercises, like yoga, will help reduce the cholesterol in the body. This of
course must be done with a healthy diet at hand. This could prevent and even
reverse the hardening of the arteries, allowing you to avoid coronary diseases. 

Incorporate stretching in your everyday lifestyle. It has benefits you can not
say no to. It also does not require much. It can be your usual activities, 
bending and flexing every now and then. After all, your fitness is everything
so do what it takes to keep the body healthy. 

Benefits of resistance training

Do you want to have a stronger and more beautiful body? Then the best thing to
do is get on your feet and start doing the resistance training. 

What Is Resistance Training?

Resistance training involves activities that use weights, machines and even
body weight to work out the muscles properly. It is also known as strength
training or weight training. This can be very helpful in achieving a healthier
body. 

This kind of training is usually associated with athletes who have to build up
their bodies. Most people would think that when resistance training is done, 
the body will grow bigger. Actually it will not. Resistance training is simply
about increasing the strength of the body, not its size. 

Actually, this can be practiced by anyone. It basically builds and tones the
muscle to give the body a better look. This training program is even very much
advisable to the elders. The usual training programs undergone by the elders
are standing free-weights resistance or the moderate-intensity seated machine
training. 

How Does Resistance Training Work?

A resistance training program will include the use of various exercise
equipment and machines like the bench press, dumbbell or barbell. When the
equipment is used, the muscles of the body will be pitted against the weight. 
The cells of the body will then adapt to the extra weight. This will then
result to hypertrophy or the enlarging and increasing of the nerve cells to
help in the muscle contraction. 

Before doing any resistance training, it will be best to consult first with the
doctor. This goes especially for people who have medical conditions or are
overweight. This kind of training is not something that you can explore on your
own. You have to know the proper equipment for the needs of your body. The body
must also be conditioned first before taking in the weights. 

Resistance training can also be done without resorting to the equipment. Doing
push-ups is one good example. You can do it just about anywhere where there is
enough space for you to move. This time it is your own body weight that will be
pitted against the muscles. So those who are a bit constrained in the budget can
still do resistance trainings. 

What Are the Benefits of Resistance Training?

1. Increase Bone Mineral Density: Bones are constantly remodeling, meaning the
tissues break down at the same time they build up. The peak of remodeling takes
place during puberty. However, as a person ages, there may be problems with the
bone mineral density as the remodeling may not be as active anymore. This is
especially a problem to post-menopausal women. 

Bone mineral density is usually supported by the hormones. To address the
problem of not having the hormones to maintain the bone mineral density, 
physical activity is the next best option. Resistance training is one physical
activity that can address this. 

2. Increase Strength: Strong bones and strong muscles will be developed as you
undergo the resistance training program. 

3. Increase the Range of Activities: When your body is strong enough to carry
some considerable weight, then definitely you will also be capable of doing
more strenuous activities. You are less likely to be lazy and you can live a
more active lifestyle. 

4. Reduce the Body Fat: Pitting the weights on your muscle will definitely give
it the body the exercise it needs and get rid of the undesirable fats. Thus
expect the tone of the body to improve. Even more, expect the body to look
better, to be leaner. 

5. Improve State of the Elders: For the elderly, undergoing a resistance
training program will help improve their health and decrease the risks brought
about by the age. They can be more independent, without needing to rely on
other people for doing simple things. Being able to do so will also decrease
the risk of injuries in the elders

6. Improve Heart Condition: Regularly doing resistance training can result to a
lowered heart rate and lowered blood pressure, especially after exercise. The
risk of heart diseases is reduced to a considerable extent. 

This kind of training however must be properly done. It requires commitment and
consistency. It will have to be done in a regular basis, following a schedule
that the doctor or the physical trainer would recommend. If done incorrectly, 
the benefits of the program may not be enjoyed and it can even result the
injury. 

The key here is to simply take your time. Do things one step at a time
correctly. As your body condition improves, then move on to more challenging
tasks. The strength of the body and its overall look are at stake in the
resistance training. So you better be sure to do it properly. 

Benefits of Cardio Training

Being fit and healthy is the in thing. Actually, it really never goes out of
style. That body is the most valuable asset you could have in your lifetime. 
Thus it is important that you take good care of it. Give it the proper
attention it needs. 

When it comes to ensuring and maintaining the health, the best option is to do
cardio training. 

What Is Cardio Training?

Cardio training involves any activity that requires the use of the large muscle
groups of the body in a regular and uninterrupted manner. It elevates the heart
rate between 60 to 85 percent of the fastest heart rate you could get. 

Some of the usual cardio training activities are walking, jogging, running, 
aerobics, cycling, tae bo, swimming and rowing. Cardio training is considered
an aerobic exercise as one is required to move from one exercise to another. 

What Are the Benefits of Training?

1. Gives Energy to the Body: You can expect more energy and higher endurance
after some time of regular cardio training. 

2. Prevents Diseases: One could prevent heart diseases with regular cardio
training. It is also helpful in preventing other variety of diseases like
diabetes, obesity and even high cholesterol. The cardiovascular training
strengthens the heart and the lungs. The low to moderated type of cardio
exercises are required for people seeking to prevent diseases. Examples of
these are walking, brisk walking or jogging. 

3. Control Your Weight: With cardio training, you are able to burn more
calories. This will help one who needs to lose weight. While those who already
achieved their ideal body mass, the training will make it easier to control the
weight. 

Cardio training helps burn calories. However this generally depends on your
current weight and the kind of cardio training you are undergoing. Better
consult this matter with your physician or trainer, to know the proper type of
training for your needs. 

4. Lose Body Fats: Some people do not have problem with their weights. However, 
there may be some excess fats that keep bothering. Cardio training will help in
getting rid of those. The activities involve the movements of large muscle
groups. Regularly doing the training will make you leaner. 

5. Get Rid of Boredom: Cardio training is fun. It pumps up your system. You will
definitely feel more energized and on the go. 

Recommendations to Better Enjoy the Benefits of Cardio Training

Cardio training is essential when you need to make health improvements. For
starters, it is best to do the 30 to 45 minutes of exercises, 3 to 5 days a
week. If you are aiming for weight loss, the training must be done 5 days a
week. The more frequent you do it; the more likely it is that you will lose
weight. However, avoid exhausting yourself too much in exercise. Avoid going
beyond 45 minutes. Remember, it has to be done in a regular basis. 

Start now. Walk or ride the bike around the neighborhood now. Follow that
aerobics video you purchased. Set a goal and follow that goal. At the same
time, modify your diet too. Eat healthy food. 

As you increase in the fitness level, the intensity of the training must also
increase. This is to have an area of variation and there should always be room
for improvement. Implement this by intensifying some parts of the training. If
you are into jogging or running, increase speed every 5 minutes for at least a
minute or two. It is important that you challenge yourself, so as not to be
stuck in a stump. 

Avoid doing the cardio exercises before bedtime. You will have a difficult time
sleeping if you do so as the energy level of the body will stay high for
sometime. 

If you are undergoing weight training too, do the cardio exercises right after, 
not before. 

It is best to take a snack 30 minutes before doing the cardio exercises. Do not
start with training in an empty stomach. This will not help in achieving the
proper momentum when you train. At the same time, avoid indulging in large
meals too before exercise. Just give your body the proper supply it will need
to sustain exhausting movements. 

It is good to do the cardio exercises outdoors. This way you can easily
interact with nature and breathe fresh air. You can also simply enjoy going
around the neighborhood as you get your system healthier by the minute. It is
possible to make some friends among the people who also do their exercises. 

Be consistent and stick with the training once you have started it. This is the
only way that cardio training will benefit your body and your health in the long
run. 

Benefits of Cardio Interval Training

In a long-term study of the health of the people of in the United States, the
U. S. Public Health Service documented the chances of developing heart disease
among various groups in the population. Long before the any symptoms appeared, 
epidemiological research could identify high-risk groups. 

Among the highest risk factors are male sex, age over 35, cigarette smoking, 
high blood pressure, high levels of certain blood fats, and a family history of
cardiovascular disorders. 

Other researchers have added to this list another risk factor: the compulsive, 
hard-driving, highly anxious personality. The greater the number of severity, 
the greater the person's overall risk. 

These threats to the heart can be divided into two main categories: those
beyond individual control, such as age, sex, and heredity, and those that can
be controlled, avoided, or even eliminated. Among those in the second category
are what cardiologists call "the triple threat." These are the high blood
pressure, cigarette smoking, and high cholesterol levels in the blood. 

If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, your risk of having a heart attack is
twice that of a nonsmoker. If you smoke, have hypertension, and eat a diet high
in fats without any exercise at all, your risk is five times greater than normal. 

The Healthy Heart

If these risk factors endanger the heart's health, what enhances its well-being
and improves its odds of working long and well?

Obviously, quitting cigarettes and eating a low-fat diet will help. The next
best thing you can do for your heart's sake is to give it what it needs:
regular exercise or a complete cardio interval training. 

The heart is a muscle, or, more accurately, a group or "package" of muscles, 
similar in many ways to the muscles of the arms and legs. And just as exercise
strengthens and improves limb muscles, it enhances the health of the heart
muscles as well. 

Since World War II, several large-scale statistical studies have evaluated the
relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease. One
well-known survey compared 31, 000 drivers and conductors of some bus companies. 
The more sedentary drivers had a significantly higher rate of heart disease than
the conductors, who walked around the buses and climbed stairs to the upper
level. 

The why and how behind these statistics were bet explained by classic
experiments with dogs whose coronary arteries were surgically narrowed to
resemble those of humans with arteriosclerosis. Dogs who were exercised were
had much better blood flow than those kept inactive. 

The exercise seemed to stimulate the development of new connections between the
impaired and the nearly normal blood vessels, so exercised dogs had a better
blood supply to all the muscle tissue of the heart. The human heart reacts in
the same way to provide blood to the portion that was damaged by the heart
attack. 

To enable the damaged heart muscle to heal, the heart relies on new small blood
vessels for what is called collateral circulation. These new branches on the
arterial tress can develop long before a heart attack -- and can prevent a
heart attack if the new network takes on enough of the function of the narrowed
vessels. 

With all these facts, it is now boiled down to a single question: What should
be done in order to prevent such dilemmas?

Some studies showed that moderate exercise several times a week is more
effective in building up these auxiliary pathways than extremely vigorous
exercise done twice often. 

The general rule is that exercise helps reduce the risk of harm to the heart. 
Some researches further attested the link between exercise and healthy heart
based from the findings that the non-exercisers had a 49% greater risk of heart
attack than the other people included in the study. The study attributed a third
of that risk to sedentary lifestyle alone. 

Hence, with employing the cardio interval training, you can absolutely expect
positive results not only on areas that concerns your cardiovascular system but
on the overall status of your health as well. 

This particular activity that is definitely good for the heart is a cycle of
"repeated segments" that is of intense nature. In this process, there is an
interchange periods of recuperation. It can both be comprehensive activity and
moderate motion. 

Consequently, the benefits of merely engaging into this kind of activity can
bring you more results that you have ever expected. These are:

1. The threats of heart attack are lessened, if not eliminated

2. Enhanced heart task

3. Increase metabolism, increase the chance of burning calories, therefore, 
assist you in losing weight

4. Improves lung capacity

5. Helps lessen or eliminate the cases of stress

Indeed, cardio interval training is the modern way of creating a healthy, happy
heart and body. 

Staying Motivated to Exercise

Exercise is always a do-it-yourself venture. No other person and no machine can
do it for you. Hence, it is important to have those motivating factors so that a
person who is into exercise in order to lose weight will hang about. 

This is what people who are overweight should learn to understand. However, 
even if it so easy to set for instructions and easy to follow, this is not the
same case for almost 35% of Americans who are unable to prevent being
overweight. 

Of course, once we are overweight, we usually want to trim down for a whole lot
of reasons, some related to physical condition and fitness, while others would
want to enhance their physique and appearance. And it is never too late to be
fit. 

In the past 50 to 75 years, physical activity has become the exception rather
than the rule, both at home and on the job. People tend to drive where others
once walked. People tend to flick a switch and machines do the hauling, 
lifting, pushing, and pulling for them. 

However, people who try to lose weight tend to believe that weight gain is
likely to happen if they will not take forward-looking steps to stop it. 

The point here is that health experts believe that people lose their way, 
especially when it comes to dieting. They tend to go back to their old eating
habits even after they learn to enjoy low-fat eating. They tend to return to
sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising. 

But despite the momentum toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening, 
experts say. And there are plenty of good reasons to avoid excess pounds, 
reasons that go beyond vanity or social appearance. There are many reasons in
order to keep you motivated to exercise and stay healthy for the rest of your
life. 

Ways to Lose Big

1. Have an explicit goal

A simple statement like,"I want to lose some weight," is an ambiguous and an
indefinite statement. It will not the least motivate you to start doing
exercises right away. 

What is important is to be precise on your goals. It would be better if you
will set some detailed amount of pounds that you really want to lose. Envisage
yourself what you will look like after reaching your desired weight. Doing this
will inspire you to lose weight. In fact, maybe even more than what you have
planned in mind. The idea is to use that figure to assist you to remain
resilient and dedicated. 

2. Develop a strategy

Strength of will does not work alone! To lose weight and stay with it, your
strategy must comprise of both exercise and diet, and not either of the two. 

Try to start motivating yourself by throwing away your clothes that have bigger
sizes. This will put you in a situation where you only have your sexy clothes
and that you have to make a choice by staying motivated to exercise or not wear
any clothes at all. Which do you prefer?

3. Make out little, calculable measures

Put into practice actions that will suit your lifestyle. This means you have to
implement moves that you and you alone will benefit from it and not somebody
else. 

The idea here is to opt for a more positive and attainable goal and not just to
shun away from being plump and chubby. 

4. Produce monitoring that has an important effect

It would be better to have somebody willing to take note of your progress or
development. This will inspire you to keep on doing what you have started. 
Having somebody to listen to your achievements is definitely a better prize
than just achieving your goal alone. 

Besides, having an extra hand to support you and cheer for you when things
start to fall short. It is that simple way of hearing somebody believing on
what you do is one of the greatest motivations to keep you exercising for more. 

5. Construct a vigorous, sensible timeline

What do you plan to achieve in a year? Try to suit your objectives to your
calendar, and do not look forward to see the results in just a snap. 

The bottom line is that in order to stay motivated to exercise entails a lot of
hard work, which is contrary to what most people tend to think. The main idea is
to let people change their lifestyle because it is only through this way that
they will absolutely change their weight: for the better. 

Quick Tips to Boost Your Metabolism

There are a lot of people who would give a lot to increase their metabolism. 
Having a high level of metabolism enables one to maintain burn fat and lose
weight fast with the least amount of activity. Metabolism is the rate by which
the body produces and consumes energy and calories to support life. 

There are several factors that affect the metabolism of a person, such as the
amount of muscle tissue, the frequency of the meals one consumes, genetics, 
stress levels, personal diet and activity levels. Metabolism slows done due to
the following: loss of muscle because of not enough physical activity, the
tendency of the body to cannibalize its own tissue because there is not enough
food energy to sustain it, and the decrease of physical activity that comes
naturally with old age. 

Here are several ways to fire up one's metabolism:

1. Build up on lean, mean body mass. It is only natural that metabolism
decreases along with age, but it is possible to counter the effects. The amount
of muscle a person has is a very strong determinant in the ability to burn
calories and shed fat. So it goes without saying that exercise is essential. 
Build strength and resistance by working out at least twice a week, preferably
with weights. Do easy exercises in between workouts. Simple tasks such as
walking the dog and using the stairs in place of the elevator can already take
off calories. The key is to match the amount of eating to the amount of
activity one has. Here are some guidelines in getting the right exercise:

For strength training

-Increase the amount of repetitions of a particular exercise. -Add the level of
resistance -Utilize advance exercise techniques if possible

For cardiovascular training

-Insert intervals between exercises -Perform cross-training and combine the
exercises -Add up on resistance and speed

2. Eat breakfast. A lot of people are ignoring the fact that breakfast is the
most important meal of the day. Surprisingly, the ones who eat breakfast are
thinner than the ones who do not. Metabolism can slow down considerably if
breakfast is taken during mid-morning or if one waits until the afternoon to
eat. 

3. Avoid sugar. Sugar enables the body to store fat. It is recommended that a
person consumes food that helps sustain an even level of blood-sugar. 
Additionally, progressive execerise 2-3 times a week should be in order to
stabilize blood sugar. 

4. Eat spicy foods. Hot cuisine with peppers can increase metabolism. 

5. Sleep more. According to research, it is riskier for people who do not get
enough sleep to gain weight. Also, muscles are regenerated during the last
couple of hours of slumber. 

6. Increase water intake. Water flushes out toxins that are produced whenever
the body burns fat. Majority of bodily functions involves water, and lack of
water causes the body system's operations to decrease its speed, and produces
unneeded stress as a result. 

7. Eat smaller meals. It is advisable to consume 4 to 6 small meals that are
timed 2 to 3 hours apart. 

8. Never skip meals. People tend to skip meals in order to lose weight, which
is a big mistake since it slows down metabolism. 

9. Plan meals in detail. Always prepare the right amount of food to be consumed
at the designated intervals. Do not commit the mistake of eating meals in
sporadic patterns. 

9. Ditch the stress! Stress, be it physical or emotional, triggers the release
of a steroid called cortisol, which decreases metabolism. Also, people tend to
eat excessively when stressed. 

10. Guzzle up on green tea. It can be used as a substitute for coffee. Tea has
the ability to stimulate metabolism, and unlike coffee, it has no undesirable
side effects when too much is consumed. 

11. Include more energy foods in the diet, such as fruits and vegetables, beans
and whole grains. 

Achieving the desired body weight is never impossible if one has the
determination and patience needed to stabilize the metabolism level, which
plays an important role in weight loss. A person needs to realize that eating
right and working out is not just a passing fancy, but a way of life. 

Importance of Warming Up Before Exercise

Since a lot of people are involved in physical exercises, it is imperative that
the importance of warming up before any strenuous activity should be discussed. 
Many have repeatedly ignored going through the warm up stage before working
out, not knowing the consequences in doing so. 

Why warm up? Several changes takes place in the body once physical activity is
initiated. A person's respiratory rate, blood flow, and oxygen and nutrient
levels delivered to the cells increases. The rate of increase should be
regulated in a steady pace to prepare the body for the physical stress that
exercise will demand. If one foregoes this priming procedure, the body will
function less efficiently and the workout will produce less quality results. 
Warming up preps up the nervous system, heightens mental awareness and
alertness, and loosens up joints and muscles to make them less prone to
injuries. Warm ups jump starts the fluid located in the joints, minimizing the
risk for wear and tear of the muscles. It gives the heart a suitable period to
adjust and pump up blood and nutrients into muscles. 

This is vital for older people, since they have tissues that are less supple;
they have joints with less fluid, and weaker hearts. Sudden exercise can
produce heart attacks to older people. 

How does a person warm up properly? Initially, it can be done in any procedure
that enables the heart to beat faster. One can simply walk and jog, or if a
cardiovascular equipment is available, such as rowing machine or a bicycle, it
can be utilized. Start at a gentle pace, and then slowly increase the pace
until heart beat rate increases and the body temperature rises. It important to
note that the pace should be in accordance to one's current fitness level, where
the activity will leave the person energized and not exhausted. 

After working up a light sweat (suggested time is 3-5 minutes, longer if the
person is working out in a cold environment) one should do dynamic stretching. 
Stretching helps in developing overall flexibility, particularly in the spine, 
shoulder, and hip areas. The kind of stretching depends on the type of activity
a person plans to engage to. For instance, if one is about to play sports, the
recommended kind of stretching would be the ones that mimics the movements that
will be done in the court or field. If one is about to do martial arts, light
sparring can be done in the quarter of the normal speed, or just simply do the
movements in slow motion. Be certain that the major muscles groups are
stretched for 8 seconds minimum. It is necessary to remember to keep feet
moving or do leg exercises whenever the upper body is stretched to keep prevent
blood from pooling in the legs. Remember, one should only do stretching if the
muscles are already warmed up. Do not bounce while stretching. It leads to a
contraction that can result in muscle tear or pull. 

For weight-lifters, this is what should be done after the initial warm up. Load
the bar with about 50-60% of the heaviest weight to be done for the session and
perform the number of repetitions that will be done for the heavy sets. For the
second set, the weight will be increased to 80%, then eventually to 90%, 
decreasing to 2-3 repetitions. Afterwards, rest for about 30 seconds, then
repeat the steps. After this warm up, one can now proceed to the heavy lifting
for the day. The advantage of doing the procedure is that the heavy sets will
feel less daunting and can now be performed with considerably less stress. 

After warming up and proceeding to the main workout, it is equally important to
cool down. When a person suddenly stops exercising or lifting weights, blood
gathers in the muscle and oxygen is blocked. When this happens, a person runs
the risk of having a heart attack. So cooling down should have the same
importance as warming up. 

Exercise is good for the health. Everyone is encouraged to pump it up, just
remember to remember all the necessary precautions not only to maximize the
workout, but also to stay safe and healthy. 

How to Read Food Labels

You cannot measure every morsel that passes your lips, but it is a good idea to
measure most foods and beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes. 

It is a supersized world out there, and most people are surprised to find that
their idea of a single serving is actually two or three. 

If you are into bells and whistles, there are food scales that are
preprogrammed with nutritional information, as well as scales that will keep a
running total of your daily food and nutrient intake for you. The only tools
you really need, however, are a simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and
liquid measuring cups, and idea on reading food labels. 

Among all of the mentioned tools, reading food labels seem to be the most
effective way of determining the right kind of food to be bought in the
supermarket. It lets you make sensible food selections. Through the "Nutrition
Facts" section in a particular item in the grocery, you can identify the amount
of serving sizes provided in that product. 

With food labels, you can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients
that are provided in the item. Usually, it contains the information on
saturated fat, sodium, total fat, fiber, and cholesterol amount "per serving."

However, understanding and reading these food labels can be very perplexing. A
typical consumer would definitely ask what those numbers mean and how it will
affect her diet intake if ever she will religiously follow the serving guide as
stipulated on the food label. 

To further have a clear and more comprehensive understanding of the items
stated in the food label, here is a list of things that you need to know:

1. Serving size

This is the primary item you will see in a food label. 

The amount of servings stated in the food label refers to the quantity of food
people usually consume. However, this does not necessarily mean that it
reflects your very own amount of food intake. 

Moreover, serving size determines the amount of nutrients that enters the body. 
This means that if you will follow strictly what the serving size is, you will
obtain the same amount of nutrients according to the serving size that was
given in the label. 

For instance, if the serving size says one serving size is equal to 54 grams, 
that would mean you have to measure 54 grams and eat that and you have just
eaten one serving. So to speak, the amount of nutrients stated in the food
label is the same amount that has entered your body considering the fact that
you have just eaten 54 grams. 

However, if you have eaten everything, and the food label says that each pack
is equivalent to 4 servings, you have to calculate the amount of nutrients that
have entered your body. This means that if the food label says 250 calories per
serving that means you have to multiply it to four to get the total amount of
calories you have taken. 

2. Nutrients

This refers to the list of available nutrients in a particular item. It is also
where the nutritional claims of the product based on the recommended daily
dietary allowance are stated. Usually, the nutritional amounts are based on
both the 2, 500-calorie diets and the 2, 000 recommended dietary allowances. 

In order to understand the numeric value of each item, you should know that the
"% daily value" that the food label indicates is actually based on how a
particular food corresponds to the recommended daily dietary allowance for a
2, 000 calorie. 

If in the event that you have purchased an item that has a dietary allowance
different from the 2, 000-calorie diet, you just have to divide the stipulated
amount by 2, 000 and you will be able to identify the "%daily value" for the
nutrients. 

3. Ingredients

This refers to the list of the ingredients that were used to manufacture the
product. The listing is usually arranged from the main ingredients that have
the greater amount by weight up to the smallest quantity. This simply means
that the actual quantity of the food includes the biggest quantity of the main
ingredient or the first item and the minimum amount of the very last ingredient. 

4. Label claim

This refers to the kinds of nutritional claims of a particular food item. For
instance, if an item says it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per
serving or a low fat item actually contains 3 grams of fat or less. 

Indeed, reading food labels can be very tedious and confusing. Nevertheless, 
once you get the hang of it, it would be easier for you to watch your diet
because you can already control the amount of food that you take. 

The Importance of Working Your Core Muscle

Suppose that at a distance you see a short, stooped figure walking with short, 
slow steps. Most likely, you will conclude that the person is old. The hunched
posture gives you the clue. 

Why does aging contort so many bodies in this way? The reason is that many
people, throughout their lives, never extend the neck to its full range, and so
the muscles shorten. Long hours of reading, sewing, typing, or standing at a
workbench take their toll. Eventually deposits of calcium salts in the joints
complete the process of immobilization. Once this calcification takes place, 
nothing can be done to reverse it. 

Fortunately, older persons can take action before it is too late. The best
action is regular exercise that stretches the muscles and improves flexibility, 
with special considerations on the core muscles. This kind of response is
relatively important for a number of factors that when taken for granted will
only lead to serious health problems. 

What Are Core Muscles?

Core muscles pertain to the muscles found at the obliques, abdominals, lower
back, and the glutes. These four areas of the body are the ones that usually
frame the posture of a person. Hence, a good posture reflects the good
condition of these muscle areas. 

What people do not know is that core muscles are actually the "core" or the
central part for all the strength that is needed to boost carry out different
physical activities. This only means that if an individual's core muscle is
physically powerful, it will maintain equilibrium on the body and will
stabilize the system every time the person is working out and moving. 

Strengthening Core Muscles

The main responsibility of the core muscles is to provide enough power to the
body in order to enable it to cope up with the dynamic challenges of every
physical activity that a person encounters. 

For this reason, many health and fitness experts have realized that it is
relatively important to strengthen the core muscles than with the other muscles
in the body. Through some series of experiments and research, they have found
out that having a stronger core can lessen a lot of health problems concerning
posture. 

For instance, a well-conditioned core muscle can project good posture. It can
also improve the endurance of the back all the way through the day. 

Why? Because muscles that are included in the group of core muscles are
actually the ones that initiate the proper stabilization of the whole upper and
lower torso. 

So, for those who wish to know and understand why it is important strengthen
the core muscles, here is a list of some of the benefits that you can use as
references:

1. Strengthening core muscles will improve posture and prevent low back pain of
the muscular origin. 

This means that as you incorporate stretching exercises in your routine, taking
a particular focus on the muscles of the upper and front part of the trunk, 
including the abdominal and trunk muscles, the activity has the tendency to
strengthen the muscles of the back that extend to the spine. 

2. It will help tone the muscles, thereby, avoiding further back injury

Exercising your core muscles will strengthen and tones your lower back muscles
and buttocks while stretching the hip flexors and the muscles on the front of
the thighs. 

Achieving this state will deter you from any serious lower back injury. 

3. Improves physical performance

Exercising the core muscles with slow, static stretching is just as effective
in relieving stiffness and enhances flexibility. Once the flexibility of a
person has improved, it follows that he will be able to perform his physical
activities at a better state. 

4. They do not cause sore aching muscles

Static stretching for core muscles is best for the muscles and connective
tissues. And because it employs slow stretches only, it will not cause any
soreness, as do the quick, bouncing exercises that rely on jerky muscle
contraction. 

5. Lengthen muscles and avoid unbalanced footing as you get old

Core muscle exercises lengthen the muscles that have contracted as a result of
pain. It also prevents pain from vigorous exercise if they are included at the
end of each workout. 

Health and fitness experts highly recommend starting core work out immediately
and repeating the routine at least 2 times a week. The process can be done
after the workout or even during the activity, for about 10 to 20 minutes only. 

Indeed, core muscles are absolutely important in determining the good posture
of the body. Strengthening them can absolutely eliminate those nuisances of
back pains. 

Why You Can't "Spot Reduce"

People have problem areas. Even people, who have achieved their ideal body
weight, will still have problem areas. It could be the love handles, the flabby
arms, the sagging skin or the hips. Then you will find the market offering all
sorts of products, from creams and applications to get rid of the fats to
gadgets and machines to tone the arms, thighs or the abs. 

However, there is one reality check you have to make. You cannot spot reduce. 
The attempt to do so is not going to work and it will not be for your good. 

Why Can't I Spot Reduce?

The market misinforms the public of the benefits that can be expected from
their so-called revolutionary products when in fact there really are no
revolutionary results to look forward to. 

1. Healthy Diet Is Important: Diet is an important element to get rid of the
undesirable body fats. The foods that you eat have calories and cholesterols
that get stored in your body, probably amassing on those problem areas of
yours. The diet is the main culprit for presence of fats. 

So no matter how much you depend on those gadgets in the market, it will remain
defenseless if you keep indulging in sweets, fatty foods or junk foods. 

2. Spot Reduction Is a Mere Myth: It is not healthy to believe what those people
say about the productivity of spot reduction efforts. The products you see on
the market require nothing but merely attach or apply them on the problem
areas. What about your other body parts? What about the other requirements of
the body?

In any healthy endeavors, you must be on the top of your physiology. You should
know what it takes to achieve a goal. For example, if you want six-packs in your
stomach, you have to know what it takes to get them. 

Some people out there would claim that if you want to improve the look of your
stomach, you simply have to concentrate on abdominal exercises or use the
gadgets that will do the exercise for you. Again, you cannot spot reduce. You
cannot achieve the goal with simply doing that one abdominal exercise. 

The fat can not just come off on its own by just using a gadget. Genetics has
to do with it. Diet has to do with it. Lifestyle has to do with it. 

The truth is, before you can even aim for the six-packs on the stomach, you
will have to take away the fats first. So doing 500 crunches a day will only
exhaust you but it will not get rid of those fats. Your body will not burn the
fats stored in that spot you are targeting. Actual workouts can actually
address this. With this, the fats are burned one at a time, and not just in one
area. It has a more integrated system of reducing the fats in the body. 

Then you will also have to gain body mass. At this point, the only way you can
only get rid of the fats and get some body mass is to have a healthy diet and
do cardio exercises. 

Only after surpassing the diet and cardio requirements can you focus on the
abdominal exercises. This is the only proper time to really focus on working
out for the six-packs. 

3. There Are No Shortcuts: Miracle diets, pills and potions are mere shortcuts
that will lead you to a dead end. If a healthy body is aimed, you have to work
for it. You have to earn it. 

We truly are living in a fast world with the advancement of technology, but
your body still is very much natural. Thus you will still have to be grounded
to what is naturally required by the body, healthy diet, regular exercise and
considerable amount of time to develop that desirable state. 

4. Health and Fitness Require Commitment: Your dedication to the health of your
body is a lifelong commitment. Even if you achieved a good body now, it will
not remain so forever if you abuse on your diet and lifestyle. It needs to be
loved and taken care of, regularly. 

That is why if you will depend on the spot reduction claims, it will really
bring you nowhere. You can only hope, but you cannot expect. So if you aim for
the healthy body; get an exercise program for your self and make some changes
in your diet. Give your self a holistic development. Improve not only the body, 
but your outlook in life as well. 

Do It the Proper Way

With all these points raised, the bottom line is to simply get healthy the
proper way. The saying still holds true. No pain, no gain. So do not be a
victim of the misleading information and empty promises thrown upon you. Simply
know the proper options. Take the matter into your own hands and enjoy the
benefits of a healthy body. 

Why Muscles Get Sore

As people age, they begin to complain more of pains in their muscles and
joints. They seem to stiffen up with age, and such commonplace activities as
bending over for the morning paper can make them wince. 

Such pain can grip so fiercely that they are sure it begins deep in their
bones. But the real cause of stiffness and soreness lies not in the joints or
bones, according to research at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, but in the
muscles and connective tissues that move the joints. 

The frictional resistance generated by the two rubbing surfaces of bones in the
joints is negligible, even in joints damaged by arthritis. 

Flexibility is the medical term used to describe the range of a joint's motion
from full movement in one direction to full movement in the other. The greater
the range of movement, the more flexible the joint. 

If you bend forward at the hips and touch your toes with your fingertips, you
have good flexibility, or range of motion of the hip joints. But can you bend
over easily with a minimal expenditure of energy and force? The exertion
required to flex a joint is just as important as its range of possible motion. 

Different factors limit the flexibility and ease of movement in different
joints and muscles. In the elbow and knee, the bony structure itself sets a
definite limit. In other joints, such as the ankle, hip, and back, the soft
tissue -- muscle and connective tissue -- limit the motion range. 

The problem of inflexible joints and muscles is similar to the difficulty of
opening and closing a gate because of a rarely used and rusty hinge that has
become balky. 

Hence, if people do not regularly move their muscles and joints through their
full ranges of motion, they lose some of their potential. That is why when
these people will try to move a joint after a long period of inactivity, they
feel pain, and that discourages further use

What happens next is that the muscles become shortened with prolonged disuse
and produces spasms and cramps that can be irritating and extremely painful. 
The immobilization of muscles, as researchers have demonstrated with laboratory
animals, brings about biochemical changes in the tissue. 

However, other factors trigger sore muscles. Here are some of them:

1. Too much exercise

Have you always believed on the saying,"No pain, no gain?" If you do, then, it
is not so surprising if you have already experienced sore muscles. 

The problem with most people is that they exercise too much thinking that it is
the fastest and the surest way to lose weight. Until they ache, they tend to
ignore their muscles and connective tissue, even though they are what quite
literally holds the body together. 

2. Aging and inactivity

Connective tissue binds muscle to bone by tendons, binds bone to bone by
ligaments, and covers and unites muscles with sheaths called fasciae. With age, 
the tendons, ligaments, and fasciae become less extensible. The tendons, with
their densely packed fibers, are the most difficult to stretch. The easiest are
the fasciae. But if they are not stretched to improve joint mobility, the
fasciae shorten, placing undue pressure on the nerve pathways in the muscle 
fasciae. Many aches and pains are the result of nerve impulses traveling along 
these pressured pathways. 

3. Immobility

Sore muscles or muscle pain can be excruciating, owing to the body's reaction
to a cramp or ache. In this reaction, called the splinting reflex, the body
automatically immobilizes a sore muscle by making it contract. Thus, a sore
muscle can set off a vicious cycle pain. 

First, an unused muscle becomes sore from exercise or being held in an unusual
position. The body then responds with the splinting reflex, shortening the
connective tissue around the muscle. This cause more pain, and eventually the
whole area is aching. One of the most common sites for this problem is the
lower back. 

4. Spasm theory

In the physiology laboratory at the University of Southern California, some
people have set out to learn more about this cycle of pain. 

Using some device, they measured electrical activity in the muscles. The
researchers knew that normal, well-relaxed muscles produce no electrical
activity, whereas, muscles that are not fully relaxed show considerable
activity. 

In one experiment, the researchers measured these electrical signals in the
muscles of persons with athletic injuries, first with the muscle immobilized, 
and then, after the muscle had been stretched. 

In almost every case, exercises that stretched or lengthened the muscle
diminished electrical activity and relieved pain, either totally or partially. 

These experiments led to the "spasm theory," an explanation of the development
and persistence of muscle pain in the absence of any obvious cause, such as
traumatic injury. 

According to this theory, a muscle that is overworked or used in a strange
position becomes fatigued and as a result, sore muscles. 

Hence, it is extremely important to know the limitations and capacity of the
muscles in order to avoid sore muscles. This goes to show that there is no
truth in the saying,"No pain, no gain." What matters most is on how people
stay fit by exercising regularly at a normal range than once rarely but on a
rigid routine. 

Heart Rate Monitors

Heart rate monitors used to be exclusively operated by physicians and nurses
alone but that was soon rectified with today's multi-tasking generation. Every
person seemed to want to know about everything that was related to them and
that of course included monitoring their own heartbeats. 

What is a Heart Monitor? Also known as a cardiac monitor, a heart monitor is a
piece of electronic equipment that can be used to track or observe heart
functions continuously. It allows people to place a numerical value on their
healthiness based on their heart rate and have a target heart rate to work for. 
The more complex versions of the heart monitor allow physicians to see any signs
of deterioration or improvement and make the necessary adjustments immediately. 

Types of Heart Monitors: Today, heart monitors are produced by the millions and
designed to cater specific types of individuals. Some heart monitors are
primarily designed for weight loss programs while others are meant for the use
of athletes or fitness programs. Some are wireless or come as a built-in
feature of exercise equipment like a treadmill or an exercise bike. It can be
strapped to your wrist or of considerable size. It may or may not emit any
electromagnetic waves, depending on its purpose. A fetal heart monitor, for
instance, must not produce any waves at all as this may affect the health of
the baby. 

Factors on Selecting the Best Heart Monitor for You

ECG-Accurate Monitors with Chest Straps -- Heart monitors that come with chest
straps are more often not the most accurate of heart monitors. The chest strap
is strapped around your chest, a few centimeters below your breast. It contains
a device that's able to detect electrical activity of your heart and transmit it
to the brain of the machine -- just like an ECG. The results are shown on the
display monitor, which most of the times is attached to your wrist like a
watch. Others however prefer results to be transmitted through audio messages
via earphones. 

Upon choosing heart monitors with chest straps, you need to remember to keep
the strap constantly connected to your body lest you want the heart monitor to
produce inaccurate readings. 

Lastly, the only alternative against buying heart monitors with chest straps
are the ones that rely on pulses on your fingertips. These however do not
provide readings as accurate as those with chest straps. 

Heart Monitor Features -- Basic and lower end models tend to display only your
heart rate and maybe the elapsed exercise time as well. This of course does not
provide sufficient information if you want to know exactly how much you need to
improve before you can be qualified as a completely healthy individual. Higher
end models will naturally offer a wider range of features -- for a price. 
Examples of such features are -- but not limited to -- heart rate zone alarms, 
timers and number of calories burned. It may also allow users to set
pre-programmed workouts along with a targeted heart rate. 

Ease of Use -- Lastly, you must purchase a heart rate monitor that you will
have no problems of using. What good would a high end heart monitor do if it
takes you an hour to operate it? Are the numbers and words appearing in the
heart rate monitor readable? Can it be used in no-light situations? Are buttons
well-labeled and ergonomically positioned?

To Buy or Not to Buy a Heart Monitor: Heart monitors can be especially costly, 
more so if you are intent on purchasing higher-end models. If you have a
limited budget, you should ask yourself whether or not you truly need to buy a
heart monitor. You can of course purchase one of the lower-end models but low
quality heart monitors can lead to inaccurate results and that sort of defeats
the purpose of buying one. 

If you are intent on purchasing a heart monitor, you need to ask yourself
another question: do you need to make a solo purchase or is it alright with you
to use the heart monitor that comes as a built-in feature of a treadmill?
Lastly, you should remember as well that you can always pay your doctor regular
visits and have him monitor your heart rate for you. 

Benefits of Whey Protein

In recent years, the subject of whey protein has come up often in health
discussions. Know what whey protein is, its possible benefits and side effects
and more as you read on. What is Whey Protein Whey protein is actually a term
used to describe a group of globular proteins that can be separated from whey. 
When cow's milk is used to manufacture cheese, it also leads to the production
of whey, which may or may not be discarded. It is a mixture of lactoglobulin, 
alpha-lactalbumin and serum albumin. Similar to protein found in egg white, 
whey protein can also be irreversibly changed by heat. When made part of the
pasteurization process, it becomes less bio-active. If not, whey protein
naturally becomes bio-active which basically means it contains a high
concentration of cysteine and consequently glutathione, an antioxidant that is
essential to improved fitness and health. Bio-active whey protein is an active
source for protein but exposure to extreme heat can easily reduce the amount of
cysteine in it without affecting its protein content and basic food value. 
Native whey protein What Makes It Good for the Body Because whey protein
contains an inordinate amount of essential and non-essential acids, it
frequently plays a prominent role in most low-carb and high-protein diets. 
Another reason for this is because of its low content of fats and of course, 
carbohydrates. 

Why Pregnant Mothers Love Whey Protein: A number of OBs have advised their
gravid patients to increase their intake of whey protein because it will
provide the basic amount of amino acids needed by the growing infants inside
their bodies. An increased intake of whey protein will naturally improve and
speed up the development of the baby. Also, increased intake of whey protein
will indirectly improve the immune system of the baby. In its growing stages, 
it is highly vulnerable to different types of illnesses. With the help of whey
protein, it grow faster and better and more equipped to defend itself against
any health complication. 

Whey Protein for Bodybuilding Enthusiasts: For bodybuilders, muscle growth is
everything and that's why they love whey protein so much. Studies have
satisfactorily proven that whey protein can lead to acceleration of muscle
development. This is welcomed news especially for bodybuilders who are only a
few weeks away from the date of competition but is still in high need of muscle
growth. 

How it Helps Athletes Busy Recovering from Old Injuries: In this case, whey
protein saves the day once more because it can be used to supplement diets of
individuals who are suffering from compromised immune systems. Basically, it
helps athletes heal faster and feel better. 

A Weapon against Degenerative Diseases: Although you can't truly say that any
disease is less painful than the other if both have life-altering consequences, 
it is an inarguable fact however that degenerative diseases are one of the worst
health complications to suffer from. These illnesses tend to subject people to a
protracted form of suffering and with symptoms with increasing levels of
severity. They commonly affect three systems in particular: the nervous system, 
the muscular system and the skeletal system. 

Although rarely curable, degenerative diseases can be treated through
chemotherapy, surgical operations and the proper diet. Whey protein is often a
part of this diet because of its rehabilitative benefits especially when it
comes to muscle growth. Cancer, diabetes and AIDS have symptoms that causes
muscle strength and growth to deteriorate -- an undesirable effect that can be
combated with increased intake of whey protein. 

Where to Buy Whey Protein: Are you sufficiently convinced of the benefits of
whey protein then? If so, you should be happy to know that you can avail of
commercial whey protein product in most supermarkets and specialty food stores
specializing in healthy food. 

Ending with a Warning: Whey protein is good for the body -- no doubt about it --
but too much consumption of anything is never beneficial. Too much intake of
whey protein can lead to unnecessary complications of your liver. And need we
remind you that the liver is the next most important organ in the body? Lastly, 
lactose intolerant individuals must consume whey protein isolate rather than the
normal variety as the former has less lactose content. 

The Wondrous Benefits of Soy Protein

Soy protein is emerging as one of the great alternative protein sources for
human consumption. Health experts are all excited about how soy protein can
change the face of nutrition. What's all the rage? Here are some great reasons
to get with soy protein. 

Soy Protein is Plant Protein: Soy beans contain complete protein and have one of
the best protein digestibilities among all protein sources. Soy beans also
contain little or no fat and have virtually no cholesterol. Lactose intolerant
ones will be pleased to know that soy beans contain no lactose. 

Being a plant protein, soy is free from steroids and antibiotics animal protein
contains. It is also free from the parasites that contaminate some of these
products. They also contain none of the diseases one can contract from mean
sources such as Mad Cow Disease, and Foot and Mouth Disease. 

Vegetarians love this bean as it provides a comparable -- if not better --
source of protein as compared to its animal counterpart. It provides a protein
that is better and easier to digest and is comparable to most protein
supplements. 

Soy Beans are Versatile: Soy beans are very versatile. Various cuisines, 
especially Asian ones recognize the value of the humble soy bean. A variety of
naturally yummy delicacies are all soy based: tofu, soy pudding, Soya milk, and
meat substitutes -- not to mention condiments such as soy sauce, and hoi sin
sauce. 

To counter the problem of world hunger, the growing of soybeans has been
suggested. Not only are soybeans easy to grow and harvest, they will grow
pretty much anywhere and produces much in a little time. There have been
farmers reported to have replaced their entire crop line with soy bean plants. 
These hardy little plants produce much per harvest, and, as said earlier, can
grow in even the most trying terrain. 

The Great Substitute: Soy is low in fat and can be used to substitute most
protein sources. When cooking, you may use soy substitutes instead of flour for
a low fat alternative. This makes it a great protein source for those that are
looking to lose weight without compromising their protein requirements. 

Bodybuilders are considering how this can make their jobs a lot easier. Without
the fat and with all the protein goodness -- easily digestible at that --
bodybuilding has just received a great blessing of a food. 

Although these bodybuilders are currently debating how soy can be a help to
bodybuilders, it doesn't take away anything from what soy can contribute to the
overall health of a person. 

It is very advisable to stick to natural protein rather than processes protein
if possible, as processed foods typically have some risk attached to them. The
best use of this food can be attributed to how it perfectly fits into anyone's
low-fat, high-protein diet. 

Soy products can be incorporated into shakes and drinks. And being
lactose-free, lactose intolerant people will still be able to get their
milkshake fix without having to suffer so. 

Soy products are also a great source of other nutrients such as saponins, 
isoflavones, and phytosterol. Saponins help support a healthy immune system. It
also combines with cholesterol to avoid increased absorption of cholesterol in
the body. Phytosterols also help reduce the absorption of cholesterol in the
body in the same way saponins do. 

Isoflavones are powerful antioxidants and prevent the effects of free radicals
in the body. They prevent many of the signs of aging and have been known to
help prevent cancer. This alone makes soy a miracle protein source in its own
right. 

Isoflavones, along with vitamins A, C, and E are among the front liners in the
fight against such disease -- they also counter the effects of pollution, and
stress. 

How Much is Too Much? Unlike other protein sources, it is pretty safe to consume
a wide amount of soy products. While allergies to soy products exist, cases are
few and far between. When changing to a soy diet, however, it would be best to
consult your physician or your nutritionist. Ask specifically if the soy
interferes with any prescription drugs you are taking. 

Soy can be great blessing for people who are looking for a great source of
protein that does not entail the side effects of most of the other sources. It
would be advisable for one to explore how it can improve one's diet. 

Benefits of Liquid Vitamins

Vitamins and minerals can be absorbed by the body in a number of ways. They
first enter our body through the food we eat. Secondly, we can take vitamin
supplements to increase the amount of pertinent vitamins and minerals. There
are different methods of taking medication and one of the most common methods
is absorbing it in its liquid form. Do the advantages of liquid vitamins far
outweigh its disadvantages -- if there are any? Read on and find out. 

Better or Easier Absorption for Kids Although liquid vitamins may taste worse
than vitamins in flavored, chewable tablet forms, they are however easier to
absorb. There are numerous cases in which children have problems with choking, 
breathing and swallowing simply because of their inability to absorb medication
or vitamins in this form. 

This is the same problem as well for adults who have lost their ability to
control their jaws or are unable to digest anything that is not in liquid form. 

Liquid Vitamins are More Effective: Because of its form, liquid vitamins can be
assimilated immediately into the blood stream for a more systemic
administration of the vitamin and its average absorption rate is approximately
90 to 98%. It is also three to five times more concentrated than vitamin pills
and this lead to higher bio-activity and greater therapeutic benefits. 

The Link between Antioxidants and Liquid Vitamins: Have you ever wondered
whether or not liquid vitamins contained oxidants as well? Vitamins E, C and A
are examples of antioxidants and they are commonly found in vitamin supplements
but what about liquid vitamins?

And the answer is an absolute YES. Liquid vitamins must in fact contain such
antioxidants or they'll prove to be ineffective compared to other vitamins. 
Remember that the most important of all antioxidants -- Vitamins A, C and E --
are not internally produced by the body so they must be a regular fixture in
our diet. Antioxidants are our main defense against effects of damaging
oxidation reactions. Antioxidants are our best weapons against suffering from
any form of cancer. Without it, we are basically weaker and less healthy. 

Liquid Vitamins versus Digestive Acids One reason why people refuse to
acknowledge the benefits of liquid vitamins is because of the supposed
destruction by digestive acids of any vitamin or mineral that it does not
recognize as part of the process of digestion. The opposite is, in fact true. 
Our digestive system actually prefers or is able to better absorb liquid
vitamins and minerals rather than those made in pill or capsule form. 

A vitamin pill or tablet has to be digested completely before it can benefit
the human body. It must be broken down into absorbable nutrients or only up to
thirty percent of it will be absorbed by the human body. Liquid vitamins
however provide a better and easier solution for the digestive system. Because
it does not depend in any way on mechanical digestion, an estimated 90% of it
can be absorbed directly by the body. 

It's vital to remember that digestion does not mainly function to destroy
vitamins and minerals but rather to transform them into substances it can use
to improve the general constitution of the body. 

Liquid Vitamins: Toxic or Not? Another problem posed is the amount of colloidal
minerals found in liquid vitamins. Are they harmful or not?

In truth, even plants and fruits contain a trace of such minerals in them. 
Apples, for instance, contain 3-5 mg of aluminum as it's one of the most
abundant elements that can be found in the surface of the Earth. But do you
hear anyone telling you that apples are dangerous to your health? On the
contrary, what we are more likely to hear is that an apple a day keeps the
doctor away. 

And so it must be with liquid vitamins as well. Containing a slight amount of
colloidal mineral doesn't mean it's bad for our health right away. Colloidal
minerals, are above all else, naturally occurring elements and can not
therefore be avoided. 

You Have a Choice At the end of the day, however, it's still up to you whether
or not you wish to take vitamin supplements in liquid or solid form. What
really matters is what you prefer and which will ultimately work better for you. 

Benefits of Fish Oil for Fitness and Health

When the words oils and fats are mentioned, health-conscious individuals tend
to run for cover. What they fail to realize is that there are good fats and bad
fats. Complete avoidance of intake of oils and fats would actually be
detrimental -- rather than beneficial -- to their health. 

The Truth about Fish Oil: Essential fatty acids must always be part of our daily
diet -- without them, we take one step closer to our deaths. Essential fatty
acids are divided into two families: omega-6 EFAs and omega-3 EFAS. 

Although there are only very slight differences to distinguish the two groups
of essential fatty acids from each other, studies have revealed that too much
intake of omega-6 EFAs can lead to inflammation, blood clotting and tumor
growth. The good news, however, is that the opposite is true for omega-3 EFAs. 
Omega-6 EFAs can be found in vegetable oils while omega-3 EFAs can be found in
fish oils among other foods. 

Omega-6 vs. Omega-3: Physicians and scientists are of the same opinion that the
cause behind increasing cases of heart disease, hypertension or high blood
pressure, obesity, diabetes, premature aging and certain kinds of cancer is
none other than an imbalanced intake of omega-3 and omega-6 EFAs. 

As mentioned earlier on, omega-6 EFAs can be found in vegetable oils. This
includes but is not limited to corn oil and soy oil, both of which contains
high amounts of linoleic acid. Omega-3 EFAs on the other hand can be found also
in marine plankton and walnut and flaxseed oils. It should be significant to
take note that fatty fish and fish oils contain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), fatty acids that have been observed to provide many
benefits to the human body. In the early 1970's, a study on Greenland Eskimos
have revealed that one of the major reasons why they rarely suffer from heart
diseases is because of their high-fat diet (mainly composed of fish). 

The two essential fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are also helpful in preventing
atherosclerosis, heart attacks, depression and various forms of cancer. Fish
oil supplemented food have also proven to be useful in treating illnesses like
rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, Raynaud's disease and ulcerative colitis. 

Other Benefits of Fish Oil: There are a lot more illnesses and situations in
which intake of fish oil has proven to be significantly beneficial. 

Making the Heart Healthier: The heart is inarguably one of the most important
parts of our body and having an unhealthy heart means having to suffer a rather
limited lifespan. Naturally, it's in our best interests to keep our hearts happy
and healthy and one way of doing that is eating food that contains fish oil. 

In Athens, Greece, for instance, a study was made to show if there was a direct
relationship between high fish diet and inflammation of blood vessels. The
results revealed that those who ate more fish than the others had a lower level
of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, factors that are commonly used to
measure likelihood of blood vessel inflammation. These benefits remained even
when the various risks associated with high fish diet were taken into account. 

Fish to Become Thin: In Perth, Australia, a study had revealed that fish
consumption can be used against hypertension and obesity. Researchers of the
UWA (University of Western Australia) have discovered that a weight-loss diet
which includes a regular amount of fish consumption can be quite effective in
reducing blood pressure and improving glucose tolerance. 

Fish Oil to Combat Asthma: People suffering from respiratory problems like
asthma tend to be perceived as unfit and unhealthy. They should now be pleased
to learn that certain studies have revealed the benefits of fish oil for
asthma-burdened-individuals. Statistics show that approximately 20 to 25% of
children today suffer one form of asthma or another at a certain point in their
lives. And certain evidence reveals a regular diet of food with high linoleic
acid content as the reason behind it. 

Researchers of UW (University of Wyoming) conducted a study by subjecting a
number of children to a high-fish diet while others continued with their
regular diet. Results revealed that the participants who ate more fish were
less prone to asthma attacks and were able to breathe more easily as well. 

Consult Your Nutritionist Now: Nothing is good when consumed or used excessively
but complete avoidance of a particular food type is equally harmful as well. Ask
your nutritionist for the right amount of fish intake for your age and health
status. 

Benefits of Detoxing for Fitness and Health

It seems to be a little disgusting when you are detoxing or cleansing. Your
body shows some signs that you have built up toxins. These toxins can affect
your whole body fitness and health. 

There are times that you feel sluggish and feel the stressful. Your body may
experience continuous aching, diarrhea, constipation, and feeling of
clumsiness. Rapid weight gain and the incapacity to lose the excess weight can
also be signs of having toxins in the body. 

Moreover, the toxins found in the body are found and stored on your fat cells. 
For Americans who are taking the usual American diet, a person may consume 70
trillion garbage cans for each cell. In detoxing your body and cleaning that
unwanted garbage in your cells, you should pay attention on your elimination
organs. 

There are particular organs in your body that deal on cell waste management. 
These organs play a major role in the detoxing process for a fit and healthy
body. 

1.  Your liver is the organ that recycles the unwanted chemicals in the body. 
It sorts out the toxins and places them to the organ for elimination during the
process of circulation. The principal elimination organs will back up the liver
on where these toxins will be stored and then eliminated. 

2.  The lymph glands also play an important role in eliminating the toxins. A
network of tubing brings out the excess waste of the cells from the body and to
the final eliminating organs. The appendix, thymus, tonsil, and spleens are
major lymphatic glands that help the major organs of the body in cleansing and
detoxing. 

3.  The kidneys help in the water management of the body. They are the ones
that keep the good chemistry of the blood alkaline by eliminating the dissolved
acid waste. You can help your kidney to function very well by drinking plenty of
water. It is much better if you drink fresh alkaline juices and purified water. 
You may take 1/2 ounce of alkaline everyday to see positive results on your body
weight. 

4.  The lungs are the organs that keep the blood air purified. They allow the
oxygen to go directly to the bloodstream. It is also responsible in removing
waste gases that are found in every cell of the body. Deep breathing and fresh
air is very helpful in keeping the lungs healthy and free from toxins. If you
are in the urban area, it is recommended that you find an oxygen rich area
where you can perform deep breathing. 

5.  The colon is a solid waste management organ in your body. Medical
practitioners have found many peolpe that may have an 80-pound mucus and rubber
like solid waste that are found on the walls of the colon. Detoxing and cleaning
the colon can be a real tough thing to do. However, having a free waste colon
can certainly provide you good benefits of having a clean and healthy body. 

If you are experiencing some signs of detoxification, you may try doing a
regular walking exercise. Exercise is a good key in having a fit and healthy
body. Many diet doctors also suggest that you drink plenty of lemon water. This
is an effective way of maintaining a very good circulation and can increase the
rate of detoxification inside the body. 

Benefits of Boxing Training for Fitness

You may improve your health and have a physically fit body by getting into
boxing training fitness programs. This is the best way for you to have a
stronger body and gain confidence. Boxing workouts can help you to be at your
best fighting form as well. 

Many people see positive results from boxing trainings. You may build stronger
and more defined arms and legs. These programs and classes also help you to
gain a sense of inner strength and emotional balance. 

Boxing training classes got across to the mainstream of physical fitness
training a few years back. They have seen the benefits on the cardiovascular
and toning of the muscles by these boxing training workouts. Tae bo work out
videos also popularized these boxing and kickboxing exercises. 

Cardio boxing training classes and the innovative variations of the sparring
jabs, power punches, defense, and fitness has all blends of aerobics exercises. 
You will learn the proper execution of the punch and kick combinations for a
more intensive workout that can help you become stronger and more confident. 

The combinations you perform on the blocks, jabs, and kicks are executed to an
imagined opponent. You may see classes where participants throw punches and
kicks on the air. You will also find training camps that have quality equipment
such as punching bags and you may also have the option of getting a partner that
has padded hands. 

You may also enjoy more benefits aside from the physical aspects of boxing
trainings. Cardio kick boxing workouts allow you to burn out 350 to 500
calories in just an hour. It also helps maintaining the heart rate at 75
percent to 85 percent regular beat. This has been proven to be good and is the
recommended range if you are exercising or into training. 

Moreover, these boxing training classes improve your speed, resistance, and
strength. Flexibility and the reflexes of the muscles are also enhanced. 
Repetitive motion on arms by sparring and jogging while you punch helps your
arms and legs gain strength and power. 

These workouts also enable your joint movements to build very efficient fitness
results. These movements require you to develop balance and coordination that
enables your body to be stable and maintain a good form. 

These physical benefits you gain from boxing and kickboxing are just few of the
many benefits that they can provide. You will be able to learn more about
defense mechanism skills, which you may use in case of unwanted instances. You
will also feel the satisfaction when you punch or kick. Relaxation and
self-motivation is also developed. 

You will feel a sigh of relief and feel that you are released from stressed. It
also helps you to get rid of that anger that is inside of you. Once these things
are releases, you may feel lightness into your body and peace of mind as well. 

Many aerobic and fitness experts recommend boxing training lessons for
beginners. It allows you to workout on your desired pace and body condition. 
Boxing classes let you to push yourself to the limit as long as you are safe
and well conditioned. 

Positive results await you with boxing training. You will enjoy a physically
fit body and will keep you in better shape. You have the option working out and
exercising at your preferred level and skill. Enjoy the fun of these boxing
training programs. 

Your Thyroid and Weight loss -- The Connection is Real

Your thyroid dictates much of your metabolism, any malfunction or disease
afflicting this area may cause you to have problems in metabolism leading to a
drastic problem with your weight -- you may either gain weight, lose weight, or
may find that losing weight is harder than usual. 

Those that plan diets do not take into consideration how their thyroids and
metabolism may affect their weight loss program. Most experts and even the
media pitch in and recommend that the best way to lose weight is cut calories. 

Those with a condition called hyperthyroidism suffer from an overactive thyroid
leading to one having his or her metabolism skyrocket. If this is the case, then
you will probably lose weight fast. This is a nice proposition for some who wish
to lose weight. However, this is actually hazardous to the health. 

Aside from the medical difficulties such a disease brings, one will also notice
weight problems as a result. These people have trouble keeping on weight and may
notice weakness and bulging of the eyes. This disease may need special treatment
from doctors. 

Hypothyroidism on the other hand works in the other direction -- slowing
metabolism until the body gains weight at an incredible rate. Like
hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism causes a general weakness in the body. It too
may need special treatment and may cause serious health problems if left
unattended. 

While cutting calories in itself can be very hard for most people -- imagine, 
the people involved in life and death struggles at the supermarket regarding
whether to buy that extra box of sweets, some have exactly the opposite problem. 

Instead of eating too much calories -- which is a problem in itself, they eat
too little calories instead. 

Problem? What Problem The problem with some is that they believe that since the
experts say that they have to cut calories, cutting calories to an inordinate
amount will reap greater results. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. 
While cutting calories helps diets, consuming too little calories pushed the
body into a hoard mode, the body's metabolism slow to adapt to the lesser
amount of available energy. 

If your body enters this mode, your body will work at such slow metabolism that
losing weight becomes impossible. The technique here should be to reduce
calories without the body slowing its metabolism. Only then can losing weight
become easier. 

Another problem that can arise from decreased metabolism is that when your
metabolism slows due to a drastic reduction in metabolism, and then you
suddenly eat a good, hearty, calorie-filled meal, you are bound to gain more
weight owing to the increased surplus of energy. 

This is why an imbalanced meal is highly discouraged among those that seek to
lose weight. The sudden loss and increase of calories will cause an imbalance
in one's energy consumption directly affecting fat deposit. 

Here is a simple computation to help you get to the right amount of calories
you will need per day so that you get your nutrients in the right balance. 

First of all, multiply your weight in kilograms by 30. If you only know your
weight in pounds, divide it by 2. 2 to get to its English equivalent. We divide
this number by 30 because that is the number of calories you need to maintain
your weight per pound of weight. 

For example if your weight in pounds is 150, divide it by 2. 2. That will give
you a figure of 68. 18. This is your weight in kilograms. Multiply this by 30
and you will arrive at the amount of calories you will need per day to maintain
150 lbs. 

You may consult a nutritionist to help you come lose weight. In the end it all
comes down to math. If you consume more that your body needs, it stores it as
fat. Now is probably a good time to start studying the back of those grocery
cartons. 

Try to keep your diet at a 40% protein, 25% fat, and 35% carbohydrate meals at
300 calories per meal. Spread out these meals in a day for optimum results. 

While it may be simple computation to get at numbers, do not forget the earlier
mentioned fact that the body adapts to its condition. Expose it to extreme ones
and you may find yourself getting results you never wanted. Consult a
nutritionist for more advice. 

Importance of Resistance Training For Women

Many women nowadays are into resistance training. Many get into resistance
training programs engaging into sports. Resistance training is important for
women. It allows you to be active and have a healthy body. You may also gain
the needed strength and physically built muscles. 

Before you start lifting weights, you should know the proper ways on how to
execute the exercise. Many women seriously encounter injuries when they
incorrectly lift weights. It is important that you get rid first of the excess
weight that you have by walking or jogging. You may also purchase weight loss
equipment such as treadmills, cross bar platinum, and nutrition boo guides for
a better health. 

Women usually do not have the natural muscle structure that most men have. They
may not also have the same strength to carry heavy loads or the same resistance
that men have. What more if you get older? Your body may no longer have the
same strength when you were still young. This happens because of the lifestyle
you have or just because of aging process. Your resistance may have just
decreased and your body tends to weaken. 

You can benefit many things when you get into resistance training. Even if you
are not an athlete or a body-building enthusiasts, you can get into resistance
training programs. Having an active body and well-toned muscles can provide you
the more strength and good resistance. You can do some workout outdoors like
walking or jogging to get a better blood circulation. 

You may also do some stretching and warm up exercises to allow the blood
nutrients go to the muscles and joints of your body. Muscle stretching also
helps in lessening the risks of injuries and muscle pains after the work out. 
Muscles tend to sore and get strained if you are not well warmed-up and do the
proper stretching techniques before the work out. 

In addition, muscle stretching also gives you more flexibility. You will be
able to execute exercises comfortably and effectively. It is advisable that you
do repetitive stretching and warm ups. Repetition of exercises makes your
muscles and joints more enhanced and more adapted to the motion you are
executing. 

When you are ready to lift weights, you should first work on your larger
muscles then the smaller ones. You may then finally go to the muscles that are
isolated. You may execute push-ups that can enhance the upper muscles of the
body. Before doing triceps extension exercises, you should first focus on the
larger muscle groups such as the muscle found in your butt. You may execute
exercises like repetitive squatting, box step-ups, and lunges. 

You may also work on your quads which is the muscle found on the front thigh. 
You may perform repetitive squatting and lunges as well. You may also use the
leg extension machine and the leg press machine for a well-executed exercise. 

You should always remember that you work on the opposite muscles. Muscles tend
to get imbalanced especially if the amounts of exercises you do are not equally
distributed. When performing triceps extension, it is advised that you also do
bicep exercises. If you work out on the chest and the stomach area like
crunches, it is important that you do back extension exercises to get a
balanced upper muscle toning. 

Always take a rest after your resistance training work out. Allow your muscles
to cool gradually so that you will not feel any sore or strained muscles. After
the resistance training, you will see that you are more ready and physically fit
for many kinds of sports. 

HERNIA

Introduction

Hernia is an abnormal protrusion of internal organs through an abnormal opening
in the wall of the cavity. A combination of increased pressure inside the body
with weakness in the wall is responsible for this condition. In this condition
internal organs or parts of organs are protruded out forming a swelling which
will increase the size with coughing and lifting weight, and while passing stool
and urine. In lying down position the swelling goes inside except in strangulated
and irreducible hernia. 

Causes:

1, Weakness in the body wall:-

a) Congenital weakness. 

b) Acquired weakness due to injuries, wasting of muscles, suppurative lesions in
the wall and presence of weak natural openings, obesity, lack of
exercise, repeated pregnancy. 

c) Surgical operation with improper suturing or sepsis of operated site. 

2) Increased pressure inside the body. 

a) Chronic constipation. 

b) Recurrent cough. 

c) Weight lifting. 

d) Stricture of urethra. 

Common sites for hernia:-

Hernia can occure anywhere in the body. However there are some common sites for
hernia. Due to the presence of hard bony covering chest wall is normally not
affected. Hernia in the lower back is also rare due to spine and back muscles
and tough ligaments and sheeths. The common site for hernia is abdominal
wall. Compared to other parts the abdominal wall is weak due to the presence of
some natural orifices. There are some areas wherein the abdominal muscles are
weaker and thin and all these factors make a chance for herniation. The common
sites for hernia are following. 

a) Inguinal hernia:

Here the abdominal contents protrude through the inguinal canal (passage in the
lower abdominal wall just above the inguinal ligament. It is seen on either
side). This type is common in males. Initially the swelling comes only while
straining and goes back while lying down. Later the large portion of intestine
may come out which may not go back easily. 

b) Femoral hernia:

This type of hernia is more in females. Here the abdominal contents pass through
the femoral canal which is seen just below the junction between the thigh and
lower abdominal wall(Inside the femoral triangle). The contents pass downwards
and comes out through saphenous opening in the thigh and forms a swelling under
the skin. 

c) Umbilical hernia:

This is common in children. The umbilicus is the weaker part of the abdomen. The
contents of the abdomen may protrude as a bulb like swelling while crying and
defecating. 

d) Incisional hernia:

These hernias are seen in operated sites. Due to improper suturing or sepsis
the operated site becomes weak resulting in hernia. 

e) Epigastric hernia:

Here the hearniation occures in the epigastrium. It is a rare type. 

f) Lumbar hernia:

Here the hernia appear in the lumbar area on either side of the lumbar spine(in
the lumbar triangle). This is also a rare type. 

g) Obturator hernia:

This is a rare type of hernia. Here the contents pass through obturator foramen
in the pelvic bone. 

Complications of hernia:-

1) Strangulation:

If the hernial orifice is narrow the abdominal contents may not go back easily, 
and later the blood flow to the herniated tissues may be blocked due to
constricition. This can cause death of protruded intestine. 

2) Intestinal obstruction:

This occures when the whole portion of the intestine is protruded in to the
hernial sac. The narrow hernial orifice will block the passage of bowels. 

3) Infection and peritonitis:

If there is strangulation with death of a portion of intestine there will be
spread of infection to the abdomen resulting in peritonitis. 

Treatment of hernia:-

Initial treatment: In the initial stages of hernia the following steps may be
useful

1) Use of hernia belt:

Special types of hernia belts are available for each type of heania. This will
prevent the protrusion and will reduce pain. 

2) Constipation, recurrent cough, urinary obstruction ect should be treated. 

3) Fat reduction will increase the strength of abdominal wall. 

4) Abdominal exercises to increase the muscle tone. 

5) Take plenty of leafy vegetables, fruits and fibrous diet for easy bowel
movements. 

6) Try other systems like Homoeopathy, Herbal medicine and ect

If no relief by the above steps consult a general surgeon for surgical
management. 

Surgical treatment. 

The following operations are done depending up on the type and nature of hernia. 

1) Hertniotomy : In this operation the contents of hernial sac is pushed in to
the abdomen and neck of the sac is ligated with transfixion ligature and the
sac is cut off. 

2) Herniorrhaphy: Here along with herniotomy the posterior wall is repaired. 

3) Hernioplasty: This operation is done if herniotomy is not possible due to
wide neck of the sac. Here the repair is done with the healp of non absorbable
materials like tantalum gauze, polypropylene mesh or stainless steel mesh. 

FOOD POISONING

Introduction:

Food poisoning is an acute gastroenteritis caused by the consumption of a food
material or a drink which contains the pathogenic micro organism or their
toxins or poisonous chemicals. Food poisoning is common in
hostels, hotels, communal feedings, and festivel seasons. 

A group of persons will be affected with same type of symptoms, and they give a
history of consumption of a common food before few hours. 

Types of food poisoning

1) Bacterial food poisoning:

Here the micro organisms called bacteria are responsible. The food material may
contain the pathogenic bacteriae or their toxin and will be ingested along with
the food. 

2) Non bacterial food poisoning:

Due to the presence of toxic chemicals like fertilizers, insectisides, heavy
metals and ect. 

Since bacterial food poisoning is common it is discussed here. 

Bacterial food poisoning:

All bacteria are not harmful. There are some pathogenic bacteria which secrete
toxins and cause clinical manifestations. These organisms enter the human body
through food articles or drinks. 

How food poisoning occures:

1) Presence of bacteria in the water. 

2) The raw materials for the food may contain toxins. 

3) Premises where the food is prepared may contain micro organisms or toxins. 

4) Food handlers may have some infectious diseases. 

5) Some animals like dogs, rats may contaminate the food. 

6) If prepared food is kept in the room temperature for a long time and heated
again can make a chance for food poisoning. 

7) Purposely some body mixing toxins in the food. 

Some common bacterial food poisonings. 

1) Salmonella food poisoning:

There are three different varieties of salmonella bacteria. (salmonella
typhimurium, salmonella cholera suis, salmonella enteritidis) These bacteria are
present in milk, milk products and eggs. Symptoms of this food poisoning
include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Fever is also common. 

2) Botulism:

This is the dangerous type of food poisoning caused by clostridium botulinum. 
The spores of these organisms are seen in the soil and enters the human body
through pickles and canned fish ect. Compared to other food poisonings here
vomiting and diarrhoea are rare Mainly the nervous system is affected. The
symptoms starts with double vision, numbness with weakness. Later there will be
paralysis with cardiac and respiratory failure ending in death. 

3) Staphylococcal food poisoning:

It is caused by staphylo coccus aureus. These organisms usually cause skin
troubles like boils and eruptions. It causes mastitis in cow. Through the milk
and milk products it enders and causes gastroenteritis. There will be
vomiting, abdominal cramps with diarrhoea. 

4) Closteridium food poisoning:

This is caused by closteridium perfringens. They are present in stool, soil and
water. They enter the body through, meat, meat dishes and egg ect. If food
articles are cooked and kept in room temperature for a long time and heated
again before eating can result this food poisoning. Symptoms include vomiting
, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps. 

5) Bacillus cereus:

The spores of these organisms can survive cooking and causes enteritis. 
Diarrhoea and vomiting is common in this infection. 

How to investigate food poisoning?

1) Examine each and every person affected. 

2) Water sample should be tested. 

3) Kitchen, store room and food samples should be examined. 

4) The cook and food handlers should be questioned and examined. 

5) Samples of vomitus and stool of all victims should be tested to identify the
bacteria. 

How to prevent food poisoning:

1) Only purified water should be used. 

2) Hygiene should be maintained by all persons keeping contact with food. 

3) Workers should use masks, cap and gloves during cooking and serving. 

4) Sick individuals should not come in contact with food materials. 

5) Kitchen and premises should be neat and clean. 

5) Vessels should be washed with soap and hot water. 

6) Should not keep the prepared food for a long time in room temperature. 

7) All food materials should be kept in closed containers. 

8) Animals like dog, cat, rat ect should not come in contact with food
materials. 

9) Vegetables should be washed before cooking. 

10) Meat should be fresh and should be purchased from recognised slaughter
house. 

EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON THE MEMBRANES. 

The parts which first suffer from alcohol are those expansions of the body
which the anatomists call the membranes."The skin is a membranous envelope. 
Through the whole of the alimentary surface, from the lips downward, and
through the bronchial passages to their minutest ramifications, extends the
mucous membrane. The lungs, the heart, the liver, the kidneys are folded in
delicate membranes, which can be stripped easily from these parts. If you take
a portion of bone, you will find it easy to strip off from it a membranous
sheath or covering; if you examine a joint, you will find both the head and the
socket lined with membranes. The whole of the intestines are enveloped in a fine
membrane called peritoneum. All the muscles are enveloped in membranes, and the
fasciculi, or bundles and fibres of muscles, have their membranous sheathing. 
The brain and spinal cord are enveloped in three membranes; one nearest to
themselves, a pure vascular structure, a network of blood-vessels; another, a
thin serous structure; a third, a strong fibrous structure. The eyeball is a
structure of colloidal humors and membranes, and of nothing else. To complete
the description, the minute structures of the vital organs are enrolled in
membranous matter."

These membranes are the filters of the body."In their absence there could be
no building of structure, no solidification of tissue, nor organic mechanism. 
Passive themselves, they, nevertheless, separate all structures into their
respective positions and adaptations."

Membranous deteriorations. 
------------------------

In order to make perfectly clear to your mind the action and use of these
membranous expansions, and the way in which alcohol deteriorates them, and
obstructs their work, we quote again from Dr. Richardson:

"The animal receives from the vegetable world and from the earth the food and
drink it requires for its sustenance and motion. It receives colloidal food for
its muscles: combustible food for its motion; water for the solution of its
various parts; salt for constructive and other physical purposes. These have
all to be arranged in the body; and they are arranged by means of the
membranous envelopes. Through these membranes nothing can pass that is not, for
the time, in a state of aqueous solution, like water or soluble salts. Water
passes freely through them, salts pass freely through them, but the
constructive matter of the active parts that is colloidal does not pass; it is
retained in them until it is chemically decomposed into the soluble type of
matter. When we take for our food a portion of animal flesh, it is first
resolved, in digestion, into a soluble fluid before it can be absorbed; in the
blood it is resolved into the fluid colloidal condition; in the solids it is
laid down within the membranes into new structure, and when it has played its
part, it is digested again, if I may so say, into a crystalloidal soluble
substance, ready to be carried away and replaced by addition of new matter, 
then it is dialysed or passed through, the membranes into the blood, and is
disposed of in the excretions. 

"See, then, what an all-important part these membranous structures play in the
animal life. Upon their integrity all the silent work of the building up of the
body depends. If these membranes are rendered too porous, and let out the
colloidal fluids of the blood the albumen, for example the body so
circumstanced, dies; dies as if it were slowly bled to death. If, on the
contrary, they become condensed or thickened, or loaded with foreign material, 
then they fail to allow the natural fluids to pass through them. They fail to
dialyse, and the result is, either an accumulation of the fluid in a closed
cavity, or contraction of the substance inclosed within the membrane, or
dryness of membrane in surfaces that ought to be freely lubricated and kept
apart. In old age we see the effects of modification of membrane naturally
induced; we see the fixed joint, the shrunken and feeble muscle, the dimmed
eye, the deaf ear, the enfeebled nervous function. 

"It may possibly seem, at first sight, that I am leading immediately away from
the subject of the secondary action of alcohol. It is not so. I am leading
directly to it. Upon all these membranous structures alcohol exerts a direct
perversion of action. It produces in them a thickening, a shrinking and an
inactivity that reduces their functional power. That they may work rapidly and
equally, they require to be at all times charged with water to saturation. If, 
into contact with them, any agent is brought that deprives them of water, then
is their work interfered with; they cease to separate the saline constituents
properly; and, if the evil that is thus started, be allowed to continue, they
contract upon their contained matter in whatever organ it may be situated, and
condense it. 

"In brief, under the prolonged influence of alcohol those changes which take
place from it in the blood corpuscles, extend to the other organic parts, 
involving them in structural deteriorations, which are always dangerous, and
are often ultimately fatal."

EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON THE BLOOD. 

Dr. Richardson, in his lectures on alcohol, given both in England and America, 
speaking of the action of this substance on the blood after passing from the
stomach, says:

"Suppose, then, a certain measure of alcohol be taken into the stomach, it will
be absorbed there, but, previous to absorption, it will have to undergo a proper
degree of dilution with water, for there is this peculiarity respecting alcohol
when it is separated by an animal membrane from a watery fluid like the blood, 
that it will not pass through the membrane until it has become charged, to a
given point of dilution, with water. It is itself, in fact, so greedy for
water, it will pick it up from watery textures, and deprive them of it until, 
by its saturation, its power of reception is exhausted, after which it will
diffuse into the current of circulating fluid."

It is this power of absorbing water from every texture with which alcoholic
spirits comes in contact, that creates the burning thirst of those who freely
indulge in its use. Its effect, when it reaches the circulation, is thus
described by Dr. Richardson:

"As it passes through the circulation of the lungs it is exposed to the air, 
and some little of it, raised into vapor by the natural heat, is thrown off in
expiration. If the quantity of it be large, this loss may be considerable, and
the odor of the spirit may be detected in the expired breath. If the quantity
be small, the loss will be comparatively little, as the spirit will be held in
solution by the water in the blood. After it has passed through the lungs, and
has been driven by the left heart over the arterial circuit, it passes into
what is called the minute circulation, or the structural circulation of the
organism. The arteries here extend into very small vessels, which are called
arterioles, and from these infinitely small vessels spring the equally minute
radicals or roots of the veins, which are ultimately to become the great rivers
bearing the blood back to the heart. In its passage through this minute
circulation the alcohol finds its way to every organ. To this brain, to these
muscles, to these secreting or excreting organs, nay, even into this bony
structure itself, it moves with the blood. In some of these parts which are not
excreting, it remains for a time diffused, and in those parts where there is a
large percentage of water, it remains longer than in other parts. From some
organs which have an open tube for conveying fluids away, as the liver and
kidneys, it is thrown out or eliminated, and in this way a portion of it is
ultimately removed from the body. The rest passing round and round with the
circulation, is probably decomposed and carried off in new forms of matter. 

"When we know the course which the alcohol takes in its passage through the
body, from the period of its absorption to that of its elimination, we are the
better able to judge what physical changes it induces in the different organs
and structures with which it comes in contact. It first reaches the blood; but, 
as a rule, the quantity of it that enters is insufficient to produce any
material effect on that fluid. If, however, the dose taken be poisonous or
semi-poisonous, then even the blood, rich as it is in water and it contains
seven hundred and ninety parts in a thousand is affected. The alcohol is
diffused through this water, and there it comes in contact with the other
constituent parts, with the fibrine, that plastic substance which, when blood
is drawn, clots and coagulates, and which is present in the proportion of from
two to three parts in a thousand; with the albumen which exists in the
proportion of seventy parts; with the salts which yield about ten parts; with
the fatty matters; and lastly, with those minute, round bodies which float in
myriads in the blood (which were discovered by the Dutch philosopher, 
Leuwenhock, as one of the first results of microscopical observation, about the
middle of the seventeenth century), and which are called the blood globules or
corpuscles. These last-named bodies are, in fact, cells; their discs, when
natural, have a smooth outline, they are depressed in the centre, and they are
red in color; the color of the blood being derived from them. We have
discovered that there exist other corpuscles or cells in the blood in much
smaller quantity, which are called white cells, and these different cells float
in the blood-stream within the vessels. The red take the centre of the stream;
the white lie externally near the sides of the vessels, moving less quickly. 
Our business is mainly with the red corpuscles. They perform the most important
functions in the economy; they absorb, in great part, the oxygen which we inhale
in breathing, and carry it to the extreme tissues of the body; they absorb, in
great part, the carbonic acid gas which is produced in the combustion of the
body in the extreme tissues, and bring that gas back to the lungs to be
exchanged for oxygen there; in short, they are the vital instruments of the
circulation. 

"With all these parts of the blood, with the water, fibrine, albumen, salts, 
fatty matter and corpuscles, the alcohol comes in contact when it enters the
blood, and, if it be in sufficient quantity, it produces disturbing action. I
have watched this disturbance very carefully on the blood corpuscles; for, in
some animals we can see these floating along during life, and we can also
observe them from men who are under the effects of alcohol, by removing a speck
of blood, and examining it with the microscope. The action of the alcohol, when
it is observable, is varied. It may cause the corpuscles to run too closely
together, and to adhere in rolls; it may modify their outline, making the
clear-defined, smooth, outer edge irregular or crenate, or even starlike; it
may change the round corpuscle into the oval form, or, in very extreme cases, 
it may produce what I may call a truncated form of corpuscles, in which the
change is so great that if we did not trace it through all its stages, we
should be puzzled to know whether the object looked at were indeed a
blood-cell. All these changes are due to the action of the spirit upon the
water contained in the corpuscles; upon the capacity of the spirit to extract
water from them. During every stage of modification of corpuscles thus
described, their function to absorb and fix gases is impaired, and when the
aggregation of the cells, in masses, is great, other difficulties arise, for
the cells, united together, pass less easily than they should through the
minute vessels of the lungs and of the general circulation, and impede the
current, by which local injury is produced. 

"A further action upon the blood, instituted by alcohol in excess, is upon the
fibrine or the plastic colloidal matter. On this the spirit may act in two
different ways, according to the degree in which it affects the water that
holds the fibrine in solution. It may fix the water with the fibrine, and thus
destroy the power of coagulation; or it may extract the water so determinately
as to produce coagulation."

Precautions to be taken while combing hair

Hair combing is a routine activity of almost all people. Some people keep a
particular hair style throughout their life and some especially younger
generation adopt new styles according to new trends and fashion. Hair styles has
got close relation with the personality of a person. The hair of an unhygeinic
person is usually tangled and dirty because of lack of washing and combing. To
have a healthy scalp hair proper nutrition is needed. General health has got
direct relation with the quality and quantity of hair. Regular washing, use of
hair oil, proper combing ect are also needed to make the hair beautiful. General
hints for combing is discussed here. 

1) Different varieties of combs are available in the market. The best comb is
selected by considering the nature of hair(hard or soft, long or short), style
and convenience. 

2) Combing should be done with utmost care and concentration. Some people
especially gents think about some other matters and comb without any care which
may be harmful to the hairs. 

3) Combing should be gentle. A vigorous combing can increase hairfalling. 

4) Do not comb if the hair is wet. First dry it with a towel and then put some
oil and gently massage it. Now the combing will be easy and harmless. 

5) Should not be combed in the opposite direction of hairs. This can increase
hair falling. 

6) Vigorous combing in backward direction can produce traction baldness. 

7) Frequent combing can damage the scalp and the hair follicles. Those who carry
pocket comb use it frequently and make it a habit. Combing two or three times in
a day is sufficient. 

8) The tooth of the comb should not be sharp and it should not be pressed too
tightly on the scalp. 

9) Always clean the comb before and after use because hair and dirt deposited
in the gap will make combing diffucult and painful. 

10) Others comb should not be used. This helps to prevent fungal and bacterial
infections. Head lice can also spread from one person to other by sharing the
combs. 

11) Combing the tangled hair is difficult and painful. Hence use some shampoo
for cleaning and after drying put oil and make the hairs free for an easy
combing. 

CEREBRAL PALSY

It is a non progressive neuromuscular disorder causing mild to severe
disabilities throughout life. This condition is manifested as a group of
persisting qualitative motor disorders which appear in young children due to
damage to the brain during delivery or due to some pathological conditions in
the intrauterine life. The neuroligical problems are multiple but non
progressive in nature. Approximately 2 per 100 live birth is having this
problem. This disease is having no hereditary tendency. 

Causes of cerebral palsy:

1) Injury to the brain during delivery. 

2) As a complication of forceps delivery. 

3) Lack of oxygen supply to the baby during delivery. 

4) Infections during delivery. 

Signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy:-

The signs and symptoms may not be similar in all babies affected. Depending upon
the damage to the brain there may be mild to severe lesions. 

Mild cases:- 20% children will have mild disability. 

Moderate cases:-50% cases are having moderate disability. The affected children
require self help for assisting their impaired ambulation capacity. 

Severe cases:-About 30% of the affected children are totally incapacited and
bedridden and they allways need care from others. 

Abnormal findings in cerebral palsy:

1, Abnormal neonatal reflexes. 

2, Stiffness of all muscles with awkward motion. 

3, Extention of extremities on vertical suspension of the infant. 

4, Scissoring of the lower limbs due to spasm of the adductor muscles of the
   thigh. 

5, In severe cases the back bend backwards like and arch. 

6, May have total or partial paralysis. 

7, Arrest of neurological and behavioral developement. 

8, Swallowing may be difficult in some cases. 

9, Drooling of saliva. 

10, Mild to severe mental retardations. 

11, Abnormal movements are seen in some cases. 

12, Tremors with typical movements. 

13, If cerebellum is affected there will be loss of muscle tone with difficulty
    in walking. 

14, Complete or partial loss of hearing. 

15, Speech may be affected. 

16, Squint and other visual problems may be associated. 

17, Convulsions may be seen in some children. 

Cerebral palsy is diagnosed by detailed clinical examination and by eliminating
other similar diseases like brain tumour, progressive atrophy ect. All
investigations like CT scan, MRI and routine investigations are needed to
ruleout other diseases. 

Management of carebral palsy:-

General management:

This includes proper nutrition and personal care. Symptomatic medicines are
needed to reduce convulsions and muscle stiffness. Diazepam can reduce
spasticity and athetosis. Dantrolene sodium helps to relax skeletal muscles. 

Physiotherapy:

Here massage, exercise, hydrotherapy and ect are needed. Special training is
given to train walking, swallowing and talking. The affected children are also
trained to hold articles for routine activities. 

Rehabilitation:

Moral and social support should be given to these children. They should be send
to special schools where special training can be given by trained
staff. Mentally retarded children need special training. Depending up on the
disabitity special instruments and machines are given for locomotion and to
assist their daytoday activities. 

Occupational therapy:

This is given by occupational therapists. They train the disabled people to do
some suitable works so that these people can have their own income. 

Homoeopathy for bad breath

Offenssive smell from the mouth is a common complaint in the day to day medical
practice. It mainly affects those who mingle with others very closely. Bad breath
is noticed mainly by the friends & family members or some times person himself
feel it and come to the doctor. Many badbreathers develop depression which
forces them to be away from the society which in turn hampers their activities. 

The protein in the food debris are degraded by the anaerobic bacteria present
in the mouth. Offenssive odor is produced due to release of some gases like
hydrogen sulphide, skatol ect due to bacterial activity. Formation of a thin
sticky membrane on the tongue favoures bacterial growth. Bactrera are also seen
in the crypts of tonsils, dental caries, dental pockets ect. Bad breath is
associated with oral hygiene, caries, gingivitis, tonsillitis, tonsillar
plaques, food habits, water intake, tobacco chewing, stomach and liver diseases
and ect. 

Homoeopathy is a system of medicine introduced by a german physician Dr Samuel
Hahnemann. Homoeopathy treats the diseased individual as a whole rather than
treating diseased parts or organs. The physical, mental, emotional, social spheres
of a person is considered for a permanent cure. This system believes that the
diseases are caused due to the derangement of vital force which is an invisible
power in every individual. In a healthy state the vital force maintains the
equilibrium of mind body and soul. During this man will have normal sensations
and functions. When the vital force gets affected there will be external
manifestations in the form of signs and symptoms. The imbalance in the body
functions makes a shelter for forign organisms(bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa
ect) and allow them to proliferate &produce so called diseases. Homoeopathy
believes thet the real desease comes before the bacteria & viruses, hence the
root cause of the disease has to be treated for a permenent cure. The
antibacterial and antiviral agents only remove the secondary causes mentioned
above. 

Diseases are produced by noxious morbific agents called Miasms which are
dynamic influences which affect the vital force. There are mainly three miasms
PSORA, SYPHILIS&SYCOSIS. These three causes are accepted by other schools of
medicine but called by different names. Psora causes functional disturbances, 
syphilis cause structural changes in the form of destructions and sycosis
causes changes in the form of overgrowth. These three miasms can act
individually or in combined form producing different disease conditions. 

To treat bad breath with homoeopathic medicine is easy if correct remedy in
suitable dose is given. In the homoeopathic medical repertory by Dr Robin
Murphy there are 140 homoeopathic drugs mentioned for bad breath. So just giving
one drug for bad breath may not give good result. To come to a correct remedial
diagnosis we should have the symptomatology of the person. It is the total
symptoms of a person which includes mental generals, physical
generals, particular symptoms ect. Bad breath is considered as a physical general
symptom. Eventhough it comes only from a part of the body it affects the whole
individual. 

Symptoms related with appetite, thirst, bowels ect are included in physical
generals. All signs and symptoms (mental&physical)of the person is taken in
detail. Knowledge about past illneses, family history of diseases, food & bowel
habits, relation to climatic changes and constitution ect are noted down in a
systematic order. 

Mental symptoms:

example: fear, anxiety, depression, anger, jealousy and ect.. .. 

Physical symptoms:

example: Body
makeup, appetite, thirst, desires, aversions, bowels, urination, sleep, taste, nature
of smell, discharges any abnormal sensations like pain, burning, climatic
changes, thermal relations, and ect.. .. 

Peculiar uncommon symptoms:

This is the speciality of homoeopathic system of medicine. For the selection of
a suitable remedy these symptoms are very important. common symptoms which are
seen almost in all patients are least important. 

particular/local signs&symptoms:

This include signs &symptoms related to body parts &organs. 

example: Coating on the tongue, nature of mucus membrane of oral cavity, 
tonsils, gums, teeth, ulcers, discolourations ect are considered here. 

Systemic & general physical examination:

Bad breath can be due to various systemic and disorders. Hence all systems (
respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system, cardio vascular system and
ect )and parts from head to foot should be examined. 

provisional disease diagnosis; Here probable diseases are diagnosed. In
homoeopathy disease diagnosis is not that much important for the selection of a
remedy, but needed for general management and to know the prognosis. 

Investigations:

This includes lab investigations and other methods to find out any other major
illnesses. 

Final disease diagnosis:

After doing all investigations the disease is diagnosed. 

Remedial diagnosis:

This is the most importnant part as far as homoeopathy is concerned. For this
the selected symptoms are arranged in a systematic order on the basis of
importance. Symptoms are analysed to find out the importance of each symptom
for the selection of a remedy. Remedies are selected on the basis of
similarity. [the basic principle of homoeopathy is 'similia similibus curenter'
means like cures like. A medicine which can produce some symptoms in a healthy
man can be used as a remedy to trea the similar symptoms in a diseased
person. Each homoeopathic drug is proved on healthy human beings and the
symptoms collected by this process(drug proving) is written in meteria medica. ]

Suitable remedies are diagnosed by a process called repertorisation. Here books
called repertories are used. Repertory is the index of symptoms of materia
medica(books which contain the symptoms of drugs). Nowadays computer softwares
are used for repertorisalion. By this process we will get the remedies covering
maximum important symptom of the patient. 

Amoung this group of remedies the most suitable remedy is selected by referring
various books and history of the patient.. The selected medicine is given in
suitable potency & dose. 

ANTI MIASMATIC TREATMENT:

The root cause of disease is miasms which should be eradicated using suitable
anti miasmatic drugs. Every drug can eradicate the miasm if there is symptom
similarity. There are anti psoric drugs, anti syphilitic drugs and anti sycotic
drugs. After diagnosing the miasm suitable anti miasmatic drug has to be given
to complete the cure. 

[In homoeopathy medicines are prepared from different sources like minerals, 
plants, animals, toxins, diseased parts ect. Medicines are prepared from these
substances by a special process called potentisation. Here the soluble
substances are potentised by diluting with spirit and insoluble substances by
grinding with sugar of milk. The crude drug substance is first mixed with a
calculated quantity of spirit and water and kept for few days. From this
mixture extract is taken and is called mother tincture(denoted as Q). From this
mother tincture dilutions are prepared by potentisation. Potentisation is a
mathematical process by which the quantity of original drug substance reduces
but medicinal power increases. Depending upon the ratio of quantity of drug
substance and vehicle(spirit or sugar of milk)there are different scales for
this process. Each scale has got different potencies which indicate power of
medicine. Example in decimal scale 3x, 6x. 12x ect. in centisimal scale there is
30c, 200c ect, in LM poteny there are 0/1, 0/2, 0/3 ect. potency is written after
the name of every medicine]

Same medicine is available in different potencies. Suitable potency is selected
according to so many facters like sevearity, depth of disease, condition of the
patient, nature of disease, type of symptoms, age of patient and ect. 

Some useful homoeo drugs for bad breath. 

Arnica montana, Antim crude, Ars alb, Asafoetida, Aurum met, Baptisia, 
Bryonia, Borax, Calc carb, Carbo veg, Cinchona, Chelidonium, Graphites, Kali bich
, Kreosotum, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Merc sol, Natrum mur, Nitricum acidum, Nux
vomica, Plantago, Pulsatilla, Phos, Pyrogen, Sulphur etc. 

1) Arnica montana:

This medicine is useful for fetid breath. Mouth is very dry with thirst for
water. Bad breath associated with fever. There is bleeding from the gum, may be
after tooth extraction or after injury. Offenssive gas pass upwards and
downwards from stomach. Petient is very sensitive to touch with sore and bruised
feeling allover the body. 

2) Antim crude:

Useful for bad breath with gastric complaints and coated tongue. This medicine
act mainly on filthy persons with aversion to bathing. Tongue is coated white
like fur. Nostrils and lips are cracked. Eructations are putrid. Very useful for
badbreath in children

3) Ars alb:

All discharges are having cadeveric smell. Saliva is bloody with bad odor. Thirst
for warm water is well marked. This medicine act well in debilitated and
emaciated persons. Bad breath associated with gastric disorders. Vomiting from
slightest food or drink and intolerance of vegetables and watery
fruits. Mentally these patients are fastidious with an insecurity feeling. They
are having fear of death or serious disease with restlessness and anxiety. 

4) Asafoetida:

Useful for bad breath associated with eructations. Great distension of abdomen
with sensation of a ball rising in throat. All discharges are offenssive. Reverse
peristalsis with loud eructations. This medicine act well on hysterical persons. 

5) Aurum met:

Useful for bad breath in girls at puberty. There is ulceration in gums with
putrid or bitter taste. Destruction in body tissues like bone is noticed in
these patients. This medicine act well on persons who are tired of life with
suicidal thoughts. They also have a feeling that they have done an unpardonable
crime. 

6) Baptisia:

Breath fetid with bitter taste. Gums sore and ulcerated. Yellowish brown coating
on centre of tongue with glistening edges. Surface of the tongue is
cracked. These patients feel difficult to swallow solid food. Tonsils are
enlarged without pain. Useful for painless tonsillitis & pharyngitis with putrid
smell. All discharges are offenssive. This medicine act well on persons having
besoted look. There is a tendency for stupor and delirium in these persons. 

7) Borax:

Useful for bad breath associated with apthous ulcer in the mouth. Also effective
for fungal infection of the mouth. Mouth is very hot and tender. Ulcers bleed on
touch. Very useful for bad breath in children with ulcers in the mouth. Child is
having fear of doward motion. 

8) Bryonia:

Irritable persons who always talk about business. Lips parched dry and
cracked. Tongue coated dark brown with bitter taste in the mouth. Thirst for
large quantity of cold water is well marked. Heaviness in abdomen after
eating. Usually constipated with hard dry stools. 

9) Calcarea fluor:

Plugs of mucus are continually forming in the crypts of the tonsils. Unnatural
looseness of the teeth with or without pain. Prone to get caries with
discolouration. Tonsils are enlarged with recurrent infection. 

10) Carbo veg:

These patients are weak and debilitated. All body discharges are profuse with
cadeveric smell. Gums are retracted and bleed easily. Frequent putrid eructations
with distention of abdomen. Complaints ameliorted by passing flatus. Can't
tolerate meat and fat. Involuntary diarrhoea at night. Wants to be fanned from a
close distance. 

11) Chelidonium:

Tongue yellow with imprint of teeth. Bad odor with bitter taste in the
mouth. Useful for bad breath with liver complaints. Thirst for hot
liquids. Patient feels better by eating. Constipation with hard round
stools. Constipation alternating with diarrhoea. 

12) Graphites:

This medicine act well on obese patients with skin troubles. Breath smells like
urine. Rotten odor with salivation and blisters in the mouth. Sour eructations
with gastric complaints. Skin complaints with sticky discharges. Gastric pain
ameliorated by eating. 

13) kali bich:

Bad breath with gastric ulcer. There are round ulcers in the mouth. Saliva
viscid. Vomiting with bitter taste. Tongue is smooth. Craves bear. Gastric
complaints alternating with rheumatism. 

14) kreosotum:

Teeth dark and crumbly. Bitter taste in the mouth with putrid odour. Very rapid
decay of teeth. All discharges are very offenssive. Gums spongy and bleed
easily. Bad breath associated with caries and gastric complaints. 

15) Lachesis:

This medicine act on dark restless patients with jelousy. Tongue is black
coloured. Complaints are aggravated during sleep. Wants fanning from a long
distance. Cannot tolerate tight cloathing around body. Complaints aggravated in
hot climate. 

16) Lycopodium:

Act well on intelligent people who are physically weak. They have lack of self
confidence. Useful for badbreath associated with sour eructations with burning
in throat. Teeth excessively painful to touch. There are blisters on the
tongue. Wants warm food and drinks. These people are usually constipated. Craving
for sweets well marked. 

17) Merc sol:

Sweetish metallic taste in the mouth with bloody viscid saliva. Gum is spongy
and bleed easily. Mouth is moist with increased thirst. Teeth indented. Crown of
the teeth decay. Fetid odor from the mouth can be felt all over the
room. Ulcerations in the mouth with bleeding. All body discharges are
offenssive. All complaints are aggravated at night. 

18) Nux vomica:

This medicine act well on people who lead a sedentery life. They are very short
tempered and become angry very easily. They are very busy in their occupation
and enjoy modern civilised life with all types of food and drink. Bad breath is
more after meals and in the morning. Posterior part of the tongue is coated and
anterior part is clean. Sour taste in the mouth with nausea in the morning. They
have got frequent urge for stool. Heavy feeling in abdomen after food is noticed. 

19) Plantago:

Dental caries with severe toothache. Pain better by eating. Salivation is better
by eating. Toothache with swelling of gums. Gargling plantago Q is useful to get
relief from toothache due to caries. 

20) Pulsatilla:

Act well on mild and gentle ladies with a yielding disposition. Patient is very
timid with a weeping tendency. Bad breath is noticed mainly in the morning. Mouth
is very dry but dosn't want to drink water. Yellow or white tongue covered with
a tenacious mucus. Taste is altered. Taste of food remains in the mouth for a
long time. Patient wash the mouth frequently. 

21) Psorinum:

Act well on unclean patients with bad odor. Hawking up of cheesy, pea like
balls of disgusting smell and taste is the main cause for bad breath in these
patients. Tonsils are swollen with profuse offenssive saliva. Quinsy with tough
mucus in throat. All body secretions are filthy. Eructations taste like bad
eggs. Very hungry and getup even at midnight for food. Swallowing is painful with
pain in ears. 

22) Pyrogen:

Bad breath of septic origin is cured with this medicine. Taste terribly fetid
with horrible breath, tongue red, dry, smooth asif varnished. Bad breath
associated with high fever and coffeground vomiting. In general patients body
is very sensitive to touch, can't rest on bed because of bruinsed pain. All
discharges are offenssive. 

23) Sulphur:

This medicine act best on dirty & filthy people with offenssive odor and a
tendecy for skin diseases. Lips dry bright red with burning sensation.. Tongue
white with red tip & borders. Bitter taste in the morning. Eructations are
putrid. Burning in all parts of the body. Aversion to bathing is well marked. Not
bothered about hygiene, still they believe that they are having superhuman
powers. These individuals are very selfish. 

Some homoeo mother tinctures (Q) useful for bad breath. 

[mother tincture should not be taken directly because it can produce burning
sensation, hence 10 drops should be mixed in half glass of water and taken
internally or used for gargling]

1) Cinnamon Q : This mother tincture can be used for gragling after diluting
with water. Also useful for bleeding from gums. 

2) Eucalyptus Q : This tincture can be used as a mouth wash after mixing with
water. Internal use of this medicine can remove mucus from the respiratory
tract. Also useful for cold and coryza. 

3) Zingiber Q : Useful for bad breath associated with gastric complaints. This
medicine can improve digestion. Also used for gargling. 

4) Rhus glabra Q : Gargling of this tincture is very useful for ulcerative
lesions in the mouth like aphthous ulcer. Internal use of this tincture can
reduce the bad smell of stool & flatus. 

5) Oleum caryophyllum Q : Gargling of this tincture can reduce toothache. Due to
it's fregrant quality very useful to reduce bad breath. 

6) Balsamum peru Q : This medicine can remove the mucus from respiratory tract
hence very useful in chronic bronchitis and lung abscess. Can heal the ulcers in
the mouth by gargling this tincture, it can also produce pleasent smell from the
mouth. 

7) Menthol Q : This is a main ingradient in tonics and syrups. Gargling of this
tincture reduces bad breath. 

CURE OF BAD BREATH

Bad breath is a common health problem in the society. Offenssive smell from the
mouth may be due to various reasons. The main reason is the presence of
anaerobic bacteria in the biofilm formed on the tongue. These bacteria degrades
the proteins present in the food resulting in the production of some offenssive
gases like hydrogen sulphide, skatol ect. 

Bad odor from the mouth in the early morning is seen in almost all
individuals. This can be controlled by maintaining oral hygiene. Even after
cleaning the mouth some individuals may suffer from bad breath due to some
problem in the mouth or in the nearby areas. Some general disease condition can
also produce bad breath. Exact cause has to be identified and should be treated
accordingly. Some common measures to cure or reduce bad breath are discussed
here. 

1) Oral hygiene:

Mouth should be kept clean every time to reduce the bacterial action. After food
gargling with lukewarm water is very essential. Even after small food articles
like snacks, sweets, buscuits cleaning with water is needed. Brushing should be
done twice daily. It is said that early morning brushing is for beauty and bed
time brushing is for good health. 

2) Brushing techniques:

Normal brushing technique should be followed for better result. Many people
brush vigorously causing damage to the gums. Brushing after every food and drink
can damage the enamel. Bristles of the tooth brush should be smooth but hard
enough to remove the food particles from the gaps. The direction of brushing is
the most important thing. The upper teeth should be brushed in a downward
direction and the lower in upward direction. This is applicable to both inner
and outer surfaces. Next comes the crown of the teeth;here brushing is done in
anterior and posterior direction keeping the brush in same direction. This
applicable to both upper and lower set of teeth. 

3) Tongue cleaning:

White or yellowish coating on the tongue can cause bad breath. This is more well
marked in the morning and should be removed twice daily with the healp of a
tongue cleaner. Tongue cleaner must be used gently without damaging the taste
buds on the tongue. 

4) Tooth pick:

Tooth pick is a small strip of wood or plastic with a pointed end. This is used
to remove food particles lodged between the gaps. Very useful after eating meat
and fish. Should be used gently to avoid damage to gums. 

5) Gargling:

After every meal gargling with lukewarm water is useful. For better result
little common salt is dissolved in the lukewarm water. Different types of mouth
wash is available in the market in different trade names. Gargling with mouth
wash can also reduce bad breath. 

6) Food habits:

Protein containing food articles are known to produce bad breath. Example;
meat, milk, fish, egg etc. If these food articles are taken proper cleaning is
essential. Some food articles are known to produce particular smell which may be
unpleasent for others. Raw onion is the best example. It is said that an apple a
day keeps the doctor away and a raw onion a day keep every body away. Small food
articles taken in between can also cause bad smell(nuts, fried items
etc). Maintaining regularity in food timing is the most important thing. 

7) Water intake:

Dryness in the mouth can make a favourable condition for the bacterial activity
resulting in bad odor. saliva is needed to keep the mouth moist and to reduce the
bacterial proliferation. Production of saliva is closely related with water
balance of the body and hence sufficient quantity of water should be taken to
maintain the production of saliva. 

8) Mouth freshners:

Natural and artificial mouth freshners can reduce the intensity of bad breath
to some extent. Spicy articles are commonly used for this purpose. Chewing spices
like clove, cumin seed, cardomom, cinnamon, ginger ect are useful. All citrus fruits
can reduce bad odor. Mouth freshners and chewing gums are available in the
market. these products are also helpful, but some may cause damage hence should
be used with caution. 

If the above things doesn't work then what to do ?

Consider the following:

1) Remove the cause:

Bad breath is common in some general and systemic diseases like
diabetes, fevers, gastric disorders, liver diseases and ect. By removing or
reducing the primary cause the bad breath will go automatically. 

2) Modern medicine:

If bad breath is due to any infection suitable antibiotics, anti fungal or anti
viral medicines will help. If it is due to any autoimmune or chronic inflamatory
conditions steroids may also be used. Saliva producing tablets can also be used. 

3) Dental cleaning:

Dental cleaning done by a dentist can remove the dental plaques and tartar. 
This can reduce the severity of bad breath. Visit your dentist atleast once in a
year. 

4) Filling of caries:

Since caries are one of the main cause for bad breath it should be filled by a
dentist. Earlier silver amalgam was used, nowadays it is replaced by synthetic
materials. If the pulp cavity is affected by the caries root canal treatment can
be done. 

5) Tooth extraction:

If caries are deep with destruction of teeth with bad smell extraction is the
better choice and a dental implant can be kept in the gap. 

6) Tonsillectomy:

Patients with recurrent tonsillitis can have bad breath due to offenssive
discharges and release of pasty materials from the crypts of tonsils. Such
patients get great relief after tonsillectomy(removal of tonsils). 

7) Psychological counselling:

Those who suffer from bad breath may be very much depressed and they be away
from the public. This isolation hampers their daytoday activities. Such people
should understand the fact that all humanbeings are having bad breath, but with
slight differences in intensities. Mostly all people control it by taking
personal care. Every human body has got it's own smell, that may or may not be
tolerable for others. They should be adviced to do all hygienic meashures to
reduce the intensity of smell. Improving the quality of life by all possible
means can also help. Moral support from friends and family members are needed
for such people. 

Some individuals visit the doctor for bad breath without any real problem. It is
included under somatisation disorder. They usually complain about pain, 
breathlessness, abdominal discomfort, bad smell ect. proper diagnosis is needed to
rule out any real causes. These patients should be managed with a psychological
approach. 

8) Homoeopathy:

In Homoeopathy medicines are selected on the basis of physical
, mental, emotional, and social aspects of the diseased person. Considering the
whole aspects a constitutional homoeopathic medicine is selected and given in
suitable potency and dose. By this all health related problems including bad
breath will be solved. On the basis of coating on the tongue, type of smell, cause
for bad breath, and other associated complaints a medicine can be given to get
relief from bad breath. In the homoeopathic medical repertory by Dr Robin Murphy
there are 140 homoeopathic drugs mentioned for bad breath. On the basis of signs
and symptoms of the individual a suitable medicine is given. Commonly used drugs
are arnica, antim crud, pulsatilla, sulphur, psorinum, nux vomica, ars alb, merc
sol, kreosot, hekla lava, silicea, asafoitida, graphites, kali bich, acid nitric
etc. 

Homoeopathic mother tinctures like cinnamon Q, kreosot Q, zingiber Q, rhus glabra
Q, menthol Q and ect can be used for gargling after diluting in water. 

[POINTS MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE IS FOR GENERAL AWARENESS. ANY BODY SUFFERING
FROM BAD BREATH SHOULD CONSULT A DOCTOR. ]

BAD BREATH

Causes of bad breath ?

Bad breath is a common health problem which greately affects the daytoday
activities of somany people. The offenssive odor from the mouth is unpleasent
to those who come in close contact with bad breathers. The problem will be
doubled by psychological trauma leading to depression. The sufferers from this
problem wil be isolated from the society. This can even lead to marital
disharmony. 

Literally speaking all humanbeings are badbreathres. Oral cavity contains
millions of anaerobic bacteria like fusobacterium and actinomyces which acts on
the protein of food materials and putrifies them. This process results in the
formation of offenssive gases like hydrogen sulphide, methyl
mescaptan, cadaverin, skatol, putrescine ect causing bad odor. If oral hygiene is
not maintained properly all will suffer from bad breath. Most of us control
this by regular brushing, tongue cleaning and gargling. Even after maintining
cleanliness in the mouth some individuals suffer from offenssive smell due to
various causes which has to be diagnosed and treated properly. 

Some common causes of bad breath. 

1) Poor oral hygiene:

If oral hygiene is not maintained properly the mouth becomes the seat for
millions of bacteria which produce offenssive gases by degrading the food
debris. Bad breath is severe in those who do not brush their teeth regularly
and clean their mouth after every food. Snacks taken inbetween meals can also
produce bad breath because of improper cleaning. Badbreath is common in almost
all people in the morning on waking. During sleep there is less production of
saliva. Saliva has got some antibacterial properties which help to keep the
mouth clean. Saliva conains oxygen molecules which is needed to make oral
cavity aerobic. So the reduction in it's quantity during sleep makes a
favourable condition for anaerobic bacteria. 

2) Food habits:

The main cause of bad smell is due to degradation of protein by the bacteria
and hence all food products rich in protein favours bad breath. Meat, fish, milk
products, eggs, cakes, nuts, pear and ect can cause bad breath. Some food articles
can produce particular type of smell which may be unpleasent. Raw onion can
produce typical bad smell. It is said that an apple a day keeps the doctor
away, a raw onion a day keeps everybody away. Eating groundnuts can also produce
bad smell. However if proper cleaning is done smell can be reduced irrespective
of the nature of food. Irregularity in timing of food can also produce bad
breath. Small food articles taken in between the meals can also produce bad
smell. 

3) Biofilm:

There is formation of a thin sticky coating called biofilm on the tongue and
oral mucosa. This coating is thick on the posterior aspect of the tongue where
millions of gram negative bacteriae are seen. The thick coating on the tongue
is always associated with badbreath. Even a thin biofilm can make anaerobic
condition favourable for bacterial proliferation. 

4) Dental caries:

This is a destructive process causing decalcification with distruction of
enamel and dentine resulting in cavitisation of the tooth. These are produced
mainly by the lactobacilli. Food particles are deposited inside these cavities
and are putrified by the anaerobic bacteria producing bad smell. Normal brushing
will not remove the food debris easily and hence they are putrified completely. 
Caries are common in schoolgoing children and in those who donot maintain
proper oral hygiene. Calcium and vitamin deficiency can also predispose caries. 

5) Gingivitis:

Gum is a mucus membrane with supporting connective tissue covering the tooth
bearing borders of the jaw. The main function of gum is protection. Gingivitis
is the inflammation of the gum. Due to various causes gum tissue get infected
resulting in swelling, pain and discharge. If the condition become worse the
infection spread towards peridontal area leading to continuous discharge called
pyorrhoea. Some times the infection goes deep producing alveolar abscess with
discharge of pus. Infection can even reach the bone causing osteomyelitis. All
these conditions can produce offenssive smell. 

6) Gum retraction:

When the gums retract from the teeth a gap is developed which will lodge food
particles and cause bad breath. 

7) Dental plaques and tartar deposits; Plaques and tartar is deposited mainly
in the gaps between the teeth and gum. This will provide shelter for the food
debris and bacteria causing bad breath. 

8) Ulcerative lesions& coatings:

Almost all ulcerative lesions of the mouth are associated with bad breath. 
These lesions may be caused by bacteria, viruses, food allergies or due to
autoimmune disorders. Apthous ulcer is the commonest amoung ulcerative lesions. 
Others are herpes, fungal infections, vincents angina, infectious
mononucleosis, scarlet fever, diphtheria, drug reactions and ect. Cancerous ulcers
produce severe bad breath. All fungal infections produce white
coating(candidiasis). Leucoplakia is a white thick patch on the mucus membrane
of the mouth & tongue. It is considered as a precancerous condition. Offenssive
breath is associated with these conditions. 

9) Diseases of the salivary glands:

Saliva is very useful to supply oxygen to all parts of the oral cavity. Even a
thin film of coating called biofilm can provide an anaerobic condition in the
mouth. Saliva can wet these layers and make an aerobic condition which is
unfavourable for the bacteria. Any condition which reduces the production of
saliva can increase bacterial activity. Some times the salivary duct is
obstructed by stones or tumors. Cancer of the salivary gland is associated with
offenssive odor. In suppurative parotitis purulant dischrge in to the mouth
causes bad breath. 

10) Tonsillitis:

Tonsils are a pair of lymphoid tissue situated in the lateral wall of
oropharynx. Inflammation of the tonsil is called tonsillitis. Bad breath is
seen in both acute and chronic tonsillitis. Quinsy or peritonsillar abscess can
also produce bad breath. 

11) Tonsillar plaques & tonsillar fluid:

If bad breath persists even after maintaining proper oral hygeine there is
possibility of this condition. Serous fluid secreated from the folds of tonsil
is very offenssive. Some patients complain that they hawk some cheesy materials
from the throat;which are very offenssive in nature. These are formed inside the
tonsillar crypts which contain thousands of bacteriae. In such conditions
tonsillectomy gives noticiable relief from bad breath. 

12) Pharyngitis& pharyngial abscess:

Pharynx is a fibromuscular tube which forms the upper part of the digestive &
respiratory tract. Inflmmation of the pharynx is called pharyngitis, caused
mainly by bacteria and viruses. Bad breath is present in pharyngitis along with
other signs like cough and throat irritation. Abscesses in the wall of pharynx
can also produce offenssive discharge of pus in to the throat. 

13) Dentures:

Denture users may complain about bad smell due to lodgement of small food
debris in between. Proper brushing may not be possible in denture users
especially fixed dentures. 

14) Tobacco:

Tobacco chewing is associated with bad breath. The smell of tobacco itself is
unpleasent for others. Tobacco can irritate the mucus membrane and cause ulcers
and coatings. Gingivitis and pyorrhoea are common in tobacco chewers. Tartar is
deposited on the teeth mainly near the gums. Tobacco chewers get gastric
acidity with eructations. All these causes offenssive smell. 

15) Smoking:

Smokers always have bad smell. It can also produce lesions in the mouth & lungs
causing bad breath. Smoking increases carbon dioxide in the oral cavity & reduces
oxygen level, causing a favourable condition for bacteria. Smoking reduses
appetite & thirst hence acid peptic disease is common in chain smokers. 

16) Lesions in the nose & ear:

Bad breath is occasionally seen in sinusitis(infection of para nasal sinuses). 
In case of post nasal dripping bad breath is common due to the presence of
protein in the discharges. These proteins are degraded by the bacteria. 
Infection in the middle ear with discharge of pus in to the throat through the
eustachian tube(passage from middle ear to the throat)can also cause offenssive
odor. Chronic rhinitis(infection of mucus membrane
of nose) and forign bodies in the nose can also produce bad smell in the
expired air. 

17) Diabetes mellitus:

Mostly all diabetic patients suffer from bad breath. Coated tongue, ulcers
&coatings in the mouth, increased sugar level in tissues ect are responsible
for bad breath. Bacterial growth in diabetic patient is very faster than non
diabetic individuals. 

18) Fevers:

Bad breath is common in almost all fevers. Even an acute fever can produce bad
breath. Severe bad breath is seen in typhoid. Other infectious diseases like
Tuberculosis, AIDS ect produce bad smell. 

19) Fasting & dehydration:

Dry mouth favours bacterial activity. So any condition which produce dryness in
the mouth makes the breath offenssive. Eventhough the food particles are known
to produce bad breath, fasting can also produce the same. Production of saliva
is also reduced during fasting. Chewing and swallowing also helps to keep the
mouth clean. 

20) Bedridden patients:

Bedridden patients suffer from offenssive breath due to thick coating on the
tongue. water intake is also limited in these patients. Regurgitation of food
aggravates the condition. Since they talk less aeration in the oral cavity is
reduced which favours anaerobic bacteria to become active. 

21) Diseases of stomach & esophagus:

Eructation of gas and food produce unpleasent smell. Abnormality in the
function of lower sphincter can allow the food to regurgitate upwards causing
bad breath. Bad breath is also common in gastritis, gastric ulcer and cancer of
stomach. 

22) Intestinal diseases:

Bad breath is common in patients suffering from ulcerative lesions of intestine
like ulcerative collitis.. Other diseases are malabsorption syndrome intestinal
tuberculosis, peritonitis ect. 

23) Diseases of lungs:

Lung diseases like pneumonia, lung abscess, chronic
bronchitis, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, lung cancer ect can produce bad odor
during expiration. 

24) Liver disorders:

Liver diseases like hepatitis, cirrhosis, can cause bad breath. Gall bladder
diseases with vomiting also causes unpleasent odor. 

25) Psychiatric patients:

Bad breath is common in psychotic patients due to poor hygiene, irregular food
habits, less water intake and ect. 

26) Somatisation disorder:

This is a psychiatric disorder charecterised by the presence of a physical
symptom that suggest a medical illness. These patients come with physical
complaints like pain, nausea difficult respiration, bad smell ect. This
condition is diagnosed after detailed examination of the patient with all
investigations. Since this is a psychiatric disorder it has to be managed with a
psychological approach. 

[ THE POINTS MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION. ANY PERSON
HAVING BAD BREATH SHOULD CONSULT A QUALIFIED DOCTOR ]

CAUSES OF LOW BACK PAIN. 

Low back pain is a usual symptom amoung the modern civilised people. It affects
mainly the middle aged and young adults of both sexes. People who work on the
chair with out exercise and those who carry heavy loads regularly are prone to
get this complaint. We can hardly find a person who has not suffered from back
pain atleast once in life. The causes of low backpain ranges from simple reasons
like muscular strain to cancer of spine and hence backache should not be
ignored. The pain is felt in lumbar and sacral region and may radiate to nearby
sites. 

The following are some causes for backache. 

1) Backache due to diseases in the back. 

2) Backache due to gynaecological problems. 

3) Backache due to problems in other parts of the body. 

1) Backache due to diseases in the back:-

a) Injuries :

1) Compression fracture of the vertebral column. 2) Rupture of intervertebral
discs. 3) Injuries to ligaments and muscles of back. 4) Lumbosacral strain. 5)
Intervertebral joint injuries. 6) Fracture of processes of vertebra. 

b) Functional backache due to imbalance:

1) During pregnancy. 2) Pot belly. 3) Diseases of the hip joint. 4) Curvature
in the spine due to congenital defect. 5) Short leg in one side. 

c) Backache due to inflammatory conditions:

1) Infection of the bone due to bacteria. 2) Tuberculosis of the spine. 3)
Arthritis. 4) Brucellosis. 5) Lumbago or fibrositis. 6) Inflamation of the
muscles. 7) Anchylosing spondylitis. 

d) Backache due to degenerative diseases in the back. 

1) Osteoarthritis. 2) Osteoporosis in old people. 3) Degenaration of the
intervertebral disc. 

e) Tumour in the spine:-

1) Primory tumour of the bones in the spine. 2) Metastatic tumours from other
sites like prostate, lungs, kidneys, intestine ect. 

2) Backache due to gynaecological problems:

a) After childbirth. b) After gynaecological operations. c) Prolapse of the
uterus. d) Pelvic inflammatory diseases. e) Cancerous lesions of the pelvic
organs. f) Endometriosis. 

3) Backache due to problems in other parts of the body. 

a) Renal stones. b) Ureteric stone. c) Cancer of prostate. d) Pancreatitis. e)
Biliary stones. f) Peptic ulcer. g) Inflammations of pelvic organs. h)
Occlusion of aorta and illiac arteries. 

Investigation of a case of backache:

1) Complete blood count. 

2) Routine urine examination. 

3) Ultrasonography of the abdomen and pelvis. 

4) X-ray of the lumbar and sacral region. 

5) MRI of the spine. 

5) CT scan of abdomen and pelvic region. 

6) Examination of rectum, prostate, genito urinary organs. 

Treatment of back ache:

1) Removing the cause for backache. 

2) Symptomatic treatement. 

2) Back exercises. 

3) Traction. 

3) Yoga. 

5) Surgery. 

7) Homoeopathy. 

ALCOHOL HAS NO FOOD VALUE. 

Alcohol has no food value and is exceedingly limited in its action as a
remedial agent. Dr. Henry Monroe says,"every kind of substance employed by man
as food consists of sugar, starch, oil and glutinous matter mingled together in
various proportions. These are designed for the support of the animal frame. 
The glutinous principles of food fibrine, albumen and casein are employed to
build up the structure while the oil, starch and sugar are chiefly used to
generate heat in the body". 

Now it is clear that if alcohol is a food, it will be found to contain one or
more of these substances. There must be in it either the nitrogenous elements
found chiefly in meats, eggs, milk, vegetables and seeds, out of which animal
tissue is built and waste repaired or the carbonaceous elements found in fat, 
starch and sugar, in the consumption of which heat and force are evolved. 

"The distinctness of these groups of foods," says Dr. Hunt,"and their
relations to the tissue-producing and heat-evolving capacities of man, are so
definite and so confirmed by experiments on animals and by manifold tests of
scientific, physiological and clinical experience, that no attempt to discard
the classification has prevailed. To draw so straight a line of demarcation as
to limit the one entirely to tissue or cell production and the other to heat
and force production through ordinary combustion and to deny any power of
interchangeability under special demands or amid defective supply of one
variety is, indeed, untenable. This does not in the least invalidate the fact
that we are able to use these as ascertained landmarks". 

How these substances when taken into the body, are assimilated and how they
generate force, are well known to the chemist and physiologist, who is able, in
the light of well-ascertained laws, to determine whether alcohol does or does
not possess a food value. For years, the ablest men in the medical profession
have given this subject the most careful study, and have subjected alcohol to
every known test and experiment, and the result is that it has been, by common
consent, excluded from the class of tissue-building foods."We have never,"
says Dr. Hunt,"seen but a single suggestion that it could so act, and this a
promiscuous guess. One writer (Hammond) thinks it possible that it may
'somehow' enter into combination with the products of decay in tissues, and
'under certain circumstances might yield their nitrogen to the construction of
new tissues.' No parallel in organic chemistry, nor any evidence in animal
chemistry, can be found to surround this guess with the areola of a possible
hypothesis". 

Dr. Richardson says: "Alcohol contains no nitrogen; it has none of the
qualities of structure-building foods; it is incapable of being transformed
into any of them; it is, therefore, not a food in any sense of its being a
constructive agent in building up the body." Dr. W. B. Carpenter says: "Alcohol
cannot supply anything which is essential to the true nutrition of the
tissues." Dr. Liebig says: "Beer, wine, spirits, etc., furnish no element
capable of entering into the composition of the blood, muscular fibre, or any
part which is the seat of the principle of life." Dr. Hammond, in his Tribune
Lectures, in which he advocates the use of alcohol in certain cases, says: "It
is not demonstrable that alcohol undergoes conversion into tissue." Cameron, in
his Manuel of Hygiene, says: "There is nothing in alcohol with which any part of
the body can be nourished." Dr. E. Smith, F. R. S., says: "Alcohol is not a true
food. It interferes with alimentation." Dr. T. K. Chambers says: "It is clear
that we must cease to regard alcohol, as in any sense, a food". 

"Not detecting in this substance," says Dr. Hunt,"any tissue-making
ingredients, nor in its breaking up any combinations, such as we are able to
trace in the cell foods, nor any evidence either in the experience of
physiologists or the trials of alimentarians, it is not wonderful that in it we
should find neither the expectancy nor the realization of constructive power."

Not finding in alcohol anything out of which the body can be built up or its
waste supplied, it is next to be examined as to its heat-producing quality. 

Production of heat. 
-----------------

"The first usual test for a force-producing food," says Dr. Hunt,"and that to
which other foods of that class respond, is the production of heat in the
combination of oxygen therewith. This heat means vital force, and is, in no
small degree, a measure of the comparative value of the so-called respiratory
foods. If we examine the fats, the starches and the sugars, we can trace and
estimate the processes by which they evolve heat and are changed into vital
force, and can weigh the capacities of different foods. We find that the
consumption of carbon by union with oxygen is the law, that heat is the
product, and that the legitimate result is force, while the result of the union
of the hydrogen of the foods with oxygen is water. If alcohol comes at all under
this class of foods, we rightly expect to find some of the evidences which
attach to the hydrocarbons."

What, then, is the result of experiments in this direction? They have been
conducted through long periods and with the greatest care, by men of the
highest attainments in chemistry and physiology, and the result is given in
these few words, by Dr. H. R. Wood, Jr., in his Materia Medica."No one has been
able to detect in the blood any of the ordinary results of its oxidation." That
is, no one has been able to find that alcohol has undergone combustion, like
fat, or starch, or sugar, and so given heat to the body. 

Alcohol and reduction of temperature. 
-----------------------------------

instead of increasing it; and it has even been used in fevers as an
anti-pyretic. So uniform has been the testimony of physicians in Europe and
America as to the cooling effects of alcohol, that Dr. Wood says, in his
Materia Medica,"that it does not seem worth while to occupy space with a
discussion of the subject." Liebermeister, one of the most learned contributors
to Zeimssen's Cyclopaedia of the Practice of Medicine, 1875, says: "I long since
convinced myself, by direct experiments, that alcohol, even in comparatively
large doses, does not elevate the temperature of the body in either well or
sick people." So well had this become known to Arctic voyagers, that, even
before physiologists had demonstrated the fact that alcohol reduced, instead of
increasing, the temperature of the body, they had learned that spirits lessened
their power to withstand extreme cold."In the Northern regions," says Edward
Smith,"it was proved that the entire exclusion of spirits was necessary, in
order to retain heat under these unfavorable conditions."

Alcohol does not make you strong. 
-------------------------------

If alcohol does not contain tissue-building material, nor give heat to the
body, it cannot possibly add to its strength."Every kind of power an animal
can generate," says Dr. G. Budd, F. R. S.,"the mechanical power of the muscles, 
the chemical (or digestive) power of the stomach, the intellectual power of the
brain accumulates through the nutrition of the organ on which it depends." Dr. 
F. R. Lees, of Edinburgh, after discussing the question, and educing evidence, 
remarks: "From the very nature of things, it will now be seen how impossible it
is that alcohol can be strengthening food of either kind. Since it cannot become
a part of the body, it cannot consequently contribute to its cohesive, organic
strength, or fixed power; and, since it comes out of the body just as it went
in, it cannot, by its decomposition, generate heat force."

Sir Benjamin Brodie says: "Stimulants do not create nervous power; they merely
enable you, as it were, to use up that which is left, and then they leave you
more in need of rest than before."

Baron Liebig, so far back as 1843, in his "Animal Chemistry," pointed out the
fallacy of alcohol generating power. He says: "The circulation will appear
accelerated at the expense of the force available for voluntary motion, but
without the production of a greater amount of mechanical force." In his later
"Letters," he again says: "Wine is quite superfluous to man, it is constantly
followed by the expenditure of power" whereas, the real function of food is to
give power. He adds: "These drinks promote the change of matter in the body, 
and are, consequently, attended by an inward loss of power, which ceases to be
productive, because it is not employed in overcoming outward difficulties i. e., 
in working." In other words, this great chemist asserts that alcohol abstracts
the power of the system from doing useful work in the field or workshop, in
order to cleanse the house from the defilement of alcohol itself. 

The late Dr. W. Brinton, Physician to St. Thomas', in his great work on
Dietetics, says: "Careful observation leaves little doubt that a moderate dose
of beer or wine would, in most cases, at once diminish the maximum weight which
a healthy person could lift. Mental acuteness, accuracy of perception and
delicacy of the senses are all so far opposed by alcohol, as that the maximum
efforts of each are incompatible with the ingestion of any moderate quantity of
fermented liquid. A single glass will often suffice to take the edge off both
mind and body, and to reduce their capacity to something below their perfection
of work."

Dr. F. R. Lees, F. S. A., writing on the subject of alcohol as a food, makes the
following quotation from an essay on "Stimulating Drinks," published by Dr. 
H. R. Madden, as long ago as 1847: "Alcohol is not the natural stimulus to any
of our organs, and hence, functions performed in consequence of its
application, tend to debilitate the organ acted upon. 

Alcohol is incapable of being assimilated or converted into any organic
proximate principle, and hence, cannot be considered nutritious. 

The strength experienced after the use of alcohol is not new strength added to
the system, but is manifested by calling into exercise the nervous energy
pre-existing. 

The ultimate exhausting effects of alcohol, owing to its stimulant properties, 
produce an unnatural susceptibility to morbid action in all the organs, and
this, with the plethora superinduced, becomes a fertile source of disease. 

A person who habitually exerts himself to such an extent as to require the
daily use of stimulants to ward off exhaustion, may be compared to a machine
working under high pressure. He will become much more obnoxious to the causes
of disease, and will certainly break down sooner than he would have done under
more favorable circumstances. 

The more frequently alcohol is had recourse to for the purpose of overcoming
feelings of debility, the more it will be required, and by constant repetition
a period is at length reached when it cannot be foregone, unless reaction is
simultaneously brought about by a temporary total change of the habits of life. 

Driven to the wall. 
-----------------

Not finding that alcohol possesses any direct alimentary value, the medical
advocates of its use have been driven to the assumption that it is a kind of
secondary food, in that it has the power to delay the metamorphosis of tissue. 
"By the metamorphosis of tissue is meant," says Dr. Hunt,"that change which is
constantly going on in the system which involves a constant disintegration of
material; a breaking up and avoiding of that which is no longer aliment, making
room for that new supply which is to sustain life." Another medical writer, in
referring to this metamorphosis, says: "The importance of this process to the
maintenance of life is readily shown by the injurious effects which follow upon
its disturbance. If the discharge of the excrementitious substances be in any
way impeded or suspended, these substances accumulate either in the blood or
tissues, or both. In consequence of this retention and accumulation they become
poisonous, and rapidly produce a derangement of the vital functions. Their
influence is principally exerted upon the nervous system, through which they
produce most frequent irritability, disturbance of the special senses, 
delirium, insensibility, coma, and finally, death."

"This description," remarks Dr. Hunt,"seems almost intended for alcohol." He
then says: "To claim alcohol as a food because it delays the metamorphosis of
tissue, is to claim that it in some way suspends the normal conduct of the laws
of assimilation and nutrition, of waste and repair. A leading advocate of
alcohol (Hammond) thus illustrates it: 'Alcohol retards the destruction of the
tissues. By this destruction, force is generated, muscles contract, thoughts
are developed, organs secrete and excrete.' In other words, alcohol interferes
with all these. No wonder the author 'is not clear' how it does this, and we
are not clear how such delayed metamorphosis recuperates. 

Not an originator of vital force. 
-------------------------------

which is not known to have any of the usual power of foods, and use it on the
double assumption that it delays metamorphosis of tissue, and that such delay
is conservative of health, is to pass outside of the bounds of science into the
land of remote possibilities, and confer the title of adjuster upon an agent
whose agency is itself doubtful. 

Having failed to identify alcohol as a nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous food, not
having found it amenable to any of the evidences by which the food-force of
aliments is generally measured, it will not do for us to talk of benefit by
delay of regressive metamorphosis unless such process is accompanied with
something evidential of the fact something scientifically descriptive of its
mode of accomplishment in the case at hand, and unless it is shown to be
practically desirable for alimentation. 

There can be no doubt that alcohol does cause defects in the processes of
elimination which are natural to the healthy body and which even in disease are
often conservative of health. 

PROSTATE CANCER

Introduction:

Prostate is a glandular organ present only in males. It surrounds the neck of
bladder & the first part of urethra and condributes a secretion to the semen. 
The gland is conical in shape and measures 3 cm in vertical diameter and 4 cm
in transverse diameter. It has got five lobes anterior, posterior, two lateral and
a median lobe. Since the first part of the urethra pass through it any lesion in
the prostate will produce difficulty in passing urine. 

Diseases of the prostate gland:

1) Prostatitis:

This is the inflamation of the prostate gland due to bacterial infection. 

2) Benign enlargement of the prostate:

This is a non cancerous tumour of the prostate seen after the age of 50. 
3, Cancer of the prostate:-This is the 4th most common cause of death from
malignant diseases in males. 

Cancer of the prostate. 

Cancer of the prostate is directly linked with the male sex
hormones(androgens). If the levels of sex hormone increases the growth rate of
cancer also increases. It is found that after the removel of testes there is
marked reduction in the size of tumour. 

Site of tumour:

Prostate cancer is seen mainly in the posterior lobe. Non cancerous enlargement
is seen in other lobes. 

Changes in the gland in cancer:

The gland becomes hard with irregular surface with loss of normal lobulation
. Histologically prostate cancer is an adeno carcinoma(cancer of the epithelial
cells in the gland)

Growth :

Growth rate is very fast in prostate cancer. The tumour compresses the urethra
and produce difficulty in urination. 

Spread of tumour:

Metastasis in cancer of prostate is very early. 

1) Local spread:

From the posterior lobe the cancer cells go to the lateral lobes and seminal
vesicles. Tumour cells also move to the neck and base of the urinary bladder. 

2) Lymphatic spread:

Through the lymph vessels cancer cells reach the internal and external illiac
group of lymph nodes. From there cells move to retroperitonial(Behind the
peritonium) and mediastinal lymph nodes(in the chest)

3) Spread through the blood:

Spread of cancer cells takeplace through the periprostatic venous plexus and
reaches the vertebral veins while coughing and sneezing and finally enders the
vertebral bodies of the lumbar vertebrae. 

Signs and symptoms of prostate cancer:-

Signs and symptoms depend upon the stage of the cancer. The following symptoms
may be seen. 

1) No symptoms:

Tumour is small and only in the posterior lobe. This is diagnosed accidentely. 

2) Slight difficulty in urination:

Here the tumour is enlarged and urethra is slightly compressed. Shortly there
will be frequent urge for urination with difficult urination. 

3) When the tumour spread to all nearby areas including neck of bladder and
urethra there will be painful urination with bleeding. Urine comes drop by drop. 

4) Retention of urine:

When the urethra is completely compressed there will be retention of urine. This
can lead to hydronephrosis, renal failure ect. In this condition patient may get
convulsions due to renal failure and finally coma. 

5) Signs of metastasis:

Some patients come with the signs and symptoms of metastasis. 

a) Lumbo sacral pain due to spread of cancer cells to lumbar and sacral
vertebrae. 

b) Fracture of spine due to cancerous growth in the spine. 

c) Swelling, pain and fluid collection in the abdomen due to lesion in the
abdomen. 

d) Respiratory complaints due to cancer of mediastinal lymphnodes and lungs. 

e) General weakness due to spread of cancer to different parts of the body. 

f) Anaemia due to involment of bone marrow and increased destruction of RBCs. 

Clinical examination :

Includes per rectal examination to feel the prostate gland, palpation of abdomen
to feel the swelling in kidneys and any tumours. Patient is examined from head to
foot to find out any lesions. 

Investigations:

1) Complete blood investigations;

RBC, WBC, Platlets, ESR, bleeding time, clotting time ect. 

2) Urine analysis:

Microscopic examination to detect pus cells, occult blood, casts, Crystals ect. 

3) Renal function tests:

Blood urea level, serum creatinine level, electrolyte level ect. 

4) Serum acid phosphatase:

Increased in cancer of prostate. 

5) x-ray of the spine:

To detect any tumour or fracture. 

6) Ultra sonography;

Gives idea about prostate, bladder, kidney ect. 

7) C T scan:

More detailed information about organs and tumour. 

8) MRI of the spine:

Gives detailed information about spine, disc and nearby soft tissues. 

9) Lymphangiography:

Gives idea about lymphatic spread of cancer. 

10) Biopsy to confirm cancer:

Biopsy is taken from the tumour and is send for histopathological examination
under the microscope. This will detect the presence of cancer cells. 

Treatment:

1) If there is retention of urine catheterisation is needed. 2) Dialysis if
kidney failure. 3) If there is coma monitoring of all vital functions
along with parentral nutrition and electolyte supply. 4) Specific treatment is
prostatectomy(removal of prostate)

Partial prostatectomy:

Here only the affected lobe is removed. 

Radical prostatectomy:

Total removal of prostate along with nearby lymphnodes. 

5, Hormone therapy:

Stilbestrol is given to reduce tumour growth. Since this treatement increases
the chance for cardiovascular disease phosphorylated diethyle stilbesterol is
used nowadays. 

6) Chemotherapy:-Drugs like cyclophosphamide, cisoplatim ect are given. 

7) Radiotherapy is also done for some cases. 

8) Homoeopathy:

Homoeopathic drugs like carcinocin, conium, sabal, crotalus, thuja, iodum, 
selinium, staphysagria, sulphur ect can be given according to
symptoms. Constitutional homoeopathic medicine will give great relief and can
increase the life span. 

9) Yoga and meditation is also healpful. 

BRIEF IDEA ABOUT PILES (Hemorrhoids)

What is piles ?

Dilatation of radicles of rectal veins within the anal canal is called
piles. The medical term for piles is hemorrhoids. Compared to arteries veins are
weak due to thin walls and hence any backpressure in the veins can make them
tortuous. There are three rectal veins namely superior, middle and inferior
rectal veins. Any obstructions or increase of pressure in these veins can
predispose piles. 

Depending upon the situation there are two types of piles. 

1) External piles. 2) Internal piles. 

1) External piles:

This type of piles is seen outside the anal opening and is covered by skin. It
is black or brown in colour. This type of piles is very painful due to rich
nerve supply in this area. 

2) Internal piles:

It is inside the anal canal and internal to the anal orifice. It is covered by
mucous membrane and is red or purple in colour. These piles are painless. 

Some times internal and external piles occure in same individual. 

Factors responsible for piles:-

1) This is a familial disease. 

2) Piles is seen only in animals maintain an erect posture. This is due to
congestion in the rectal veins due to the effect of gravity. 

3) It is common in individuals having chronic constipation. Those who have a
habit of visiting the toilet due to frequent urge for stool may develop piles
in future. 

4) Piles is common in those who take excess of chicken, prawns, spicy food
ect. Those who take vegetables and fibrous food are rarely affected. 

5) Some ladies get piles during pregnancy due to compression of rectal veins by
the uterus. 

6) Cancerous lesions in the rectum can obstruct blood flow and result in piles. 

Signs and symptoms of piles:-

1) Pain:

Pain is common in external piles which will be worse while straining at stool. 

2) Bleeding:

Bleeding comes in splashes while pressing for stool. Bleeding may be profuse in
some cases. 

3) Protruding mass:

In external piles the swelling can be felt around the anal orifice. In case of
internal piles initially it can not be felt. When the disease progresses the
piles protrude during stool and will go inside automatically. When the condition
becomes worse the protruded piles will not go back in to the anus. 

4) In some cases there will be discharge of mucus with itching around the anal
orifice. 

Complications of piles:

1. Infection: The infection can spread to deep veins resulting in septicaemia. 
2. Fibrosis: Here the piles become fibrosed with hardening of anal orifice. 
3. Thrombosis: Here the blood inside the piles will form clots and can obstruct
   blood flow. 
4. Gangrene: Here the tissues in the piles and nearby skin die due to lack of 
   blood supply. 
5. Suppuration: When the piles suppurate it can produce abscess with discharge 
   of pus. 

Treatment of piles:

Initially it is treated on the basis of symptoms. Constipation should be
treated. If there is anaemia iron should be give. Homoeopathic medicines can give
good results. If medicinal treatment is not giving any result the following can
be tried. 

1) The thrombosed external pile is excised under local anaesthesia. 

2) Sclerosant injection therapy can reduce the size of piles. 

3) Rubber band ligation around the neck of piles is useful in some cases. 

4) Cryosurgery is very effective. 

5) Anal dilatation can reduce constipation and pain. 

6) Haemorrhoidectomy is the surgical removal of piles. 

How to prevent piles?

1) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. 

2) Take fibrous food. 

3) Avoid excess intake of meat, prawns, crabs ect. 

4) Keep a regular timing for food. 

6) Drink sufficient quantity of water. 

7) Keep a regularity in bowel habits. 

8) Take treatment for constipation. 

ACTION OF ALCOHOL ON INTERNAL ORGANS. 

Action on the stomach. 
---------------------

The action of alcohol on the stomach is extremely dangerous that it becomes
unable to produce the natural digestive fluid in sufficient quantity and also
fails to absorb the food which it may imperfectly digest. A condition marked by
the sense of nausea emptiness, prostration and distention will always be faced
by an alcoholic. This results in a loathing for food and is teased with a
craving for more drink. Thus there is engendered a permanent disorder which is
called dyspepsia. The disastrous forms of confirmed indigestion originate by
this practice. 

How the liver gets affected. 
---------------------------

The organic deteriorations caused by the continued use of alcohol are often of
a fatal character. The organ which most frequently undergoes structural changes
from alcohol, is the liver. Normally, the liver has the capacity to hold active
substances in its cellular parts. In instances of poisoning by various
poisonous compounds, we analyse liver as if it were the central depot of the
foreign matter. It is practically the same in respect to alcohol. The liver of
an alcoholic is never free from the influence of alcohol and it is too often
saturated with it. The minute membranous or capsular structure of the liver
gets affected, preventing proper dialysis and free secretion. The liver becomes
large due to the dilatation of its vessels, the surcharge of fluid matter and
the thickening of tissue. This follows contraction of membrane and shrinking of
the whole organ in its cellular parts. Then the lower parts of the alcoholic
becomes dropsical owing to the obstruction offered to the returning blood by
the veins. The structure of the liver may be charged with fatty cells and
undergo what is technically designated 'fatty liver'. 

How the Kidneys deteriorate. 
---------------------------

The Kidneys also suffer due to the excessive consumption of alcohol. The
vessels of Kidneys lose elasticity and power of contraction. The minute
structures in them go through fatty modification. Albumin from the blood easily
passes through their membranes. This results in the body losing its power as if
it were being run out of blood gradually. 

Congestion of the lungs. 
-----------------------

Alcohol relaxes the vessels of the lungs easily as they are most exposed to the
fluctuations of heat and cold. When subjected to the effects of a rapid
variation in atmospheric temperature, they get readily congested. During severe
winter seasons, the suddenly fatal congestions of lungs easily affects an
alcoholic. 

Alcohol weakens the heart. 
-------------------------

Consumption of alcohol greatly affects the heart. The quality of the
membraneous structures which cover and line the heart changes and are
thickened, become cartilaginous or calcareous. Then the valves lose their
suppleness and what is termed valvular disorder becomes permanent. The
structure of the the coats of the great blood-vessel leading from the heart
share in the same changes of structure so that the vessel loses its elasticity
and its power to feed the heart by the recoil from its distention, after the
heart, by its stroke, has filled it with blood. 

Again, the muscular structure of the heart fails owing to degenerative changes
in its tissue. The elements of the muscular fibre are replaced by fatty cells
or, if not so replaced, are themselves transferred into a modified muscular
texture in which the power of contraction is greatly reduced. 

Those who suffer from these organic deteriorations of the central and governing
organ of the circulation of the blood learn the fact so insidiously, it hardly
breaks upon them until the mischief is far advanced. They are conscious of a
central failure of power from slight causes such as overexertion, trouble, 
broken rest or too long abstinence from food. They feel what they call a
'sinking' but they know that wine or some other stimulant will at once relieve
the sensation. Thus they seek to relieve it until at last they discover that
the remedy fails. The jaded, overworked, faithful heart will bear no more. it
has run its course and the governor of the blood-streams broken. The current
either overflows into the tissues gradually damming up the courses or under
some slight shock or excess of motion ceases wholly at the centre. 

HOMOEOPATHY -- Introduction

Homoeopathy is a system of medicine introduced by a german physician Dr Samuel
Hahnemann. He was basically an allopathic doctor who has left the practise
because of side effects and temporary relief of symptoms of allopathy. For his
bread and butter he started translating the medical books to different
languages. While he was translating cullen's materia medica he came across a
herbal medicine called cinchona. It was written that cinchona can cure malaria
and it can also produce symptoms similar to malaria on healthy individuals. This
point clicked hahnemann's brain and he prepared an extract of cinchona bark and
taken himself. To his surprise he developed some symptoms of malaria like chills
and achings. He started doing the same experiment on different individuals and
the result was the same. 

By this experiment hahnemann came to know that any drug which can produce a set
of symptoms on a healthy humanbeing can be used to cure the similar symptoms in
a diseased person. He gave cinchona to various malaria patients and the result
was wonderful and a system called homoeopathy originated. The word homoeo means
similar, pathy means suffering. The basic principle of homoeopathy is 'similia
similibus curantur' means like cures cure. Hahnemann prepared some other drugs
using alcohol as a vehicle and started experimenting on different age groups
and noted down the symptoms produced in them. He proved nearly 30 drugs and the
symptoms produced were noted down systematically. The symptoms collected by drug
proving were categorised in the order in a book form named materia medica pura. 

Hahnemann noticed that by diluting the crude drug substences in spirit a
dynamic power is developed and is responsible for producing the symptoms on
healthy people. Hahnemann started giving treatement to somany diseased persons
with the medicines prepared by him on applying the principle similia similibus
curantur and got wonderful cures and homoeopathy started spreading all over the
world. 

He gave medicines to some patients and noticed that symptoms are coming back
again. So he understood that the cause for the disease should be treated. After
doing experiments and observations he came to know that diseases are actually
caused by some dynamic forces and he named them as miasms. [psora
, syphilis, sycosis] He noticed that to cure a person completely these miasms
should be eradicated using a similar dynamic force. This idea lead to
antimiasmatic drugs which are drugs having disease producing power similar to
miasms. He developed anti miasmatic drugs and experimented on diseased persons
and got wonderful cures. 

Developement of homoeopathy

The principles of homoeopathy was written in book form and he named it organon
of medicine. Lateron he started publishing these works and six editions of
organon were published. Right from the beginning of homoeopathy somany doctors
of other system started working against homoeopathy. But those who were against
homoeopathy lateron came to know the truth behind homoeopathy and started
practising the same. Physicians like Dr J T Kent, Dr Hering, Dr Boenonghausen ect
followed Dr hahnemann's mission and developed the system. They all started
preparing somany other drugs on the basis of guidlines given by Hahnemann. 
Physicians came to know that by diluting the drug substance in spirit in 
a systematic way the medicinal power is increasing eventhough the quantity of
drug decreases. Since diseases are due to dynamic causes the medicine also should
be dynamic. By a process called potentisation same drug in different levels of
potencies were made. They found that by increasing the potency the penetrating
power of medicine is increased so that it act on a higher level than the usual
material form of drugs used in other systems. This unique nature of homoeopathic
medicine is the reason for the wonderful cures of even the mental diseases. 

General principles

Homoeopathy treats the diseased individual as a whole rather than treating
diseased parts or organs. The physical, mental, emotional, social spheres of a
person is considered for a permanent cure. This system believes that the
diseases are caused due to the derangement of vital force which is an invisible
power in every individual. In a healthy state the vital force maintains the
equilibrium of mind body and soul. During this man will have normal sensations
and functions. When the vital force gets affected there will be external
manifestations in the form of signs and symptoms. The imbalance in the body
functions makes a shelter for forign organisms(bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa
ect) and allow them to proliferate & produce so called diseases. Homoeopathy
believes thet the real desease comes before the bacteria & viruses, hence the
root cause of the disease has to be treated for a permenent cure. The
antibacterial and antiviral agents only remove the secondary causes mentioned
above. 

Diseases are produced by noxious morbific agents called Miasms which are
dynamic influences which affect the vital force. There are mainly three miasms
PSORA, SYPHILIS&SYCOSIS. These three causes are accepted by other schools of
medicine but called by different names. Psora causes functional disturbances, 
syphilis causes structural changes in the form of destructions and sycosis
causes changes in the form of overgrowth. These three miasms can act
individually or in combined form to produce different disease conditions. 

Preperation of medicine in homoeopathy

In homoeopathy medicines are prepared from different sources like minerals, 
plants, animals, toxins, diseased parts ect. Medicines are prepared from these
substances by a special process called potentisation. Here the soluble
substances are potentised by diluting(mixing with spirit with a downward
stroke) with spirit and insoluble substances by grinding (trituration) with
sugar of milk. The crude drug substance is first mixed with a calculated
quantity of spirit and water and kept for few days. From this mixture extract
is taken and is called mother tincture (denoted as Q). From this mother tincture
dilutions are prepared by potentisation. Potentisation is a mathematical process
by which the quantity of original drug substance reduces but medicinal power
increases. Depending upon the ratio of quantity of drug substance and
vehicle(spirit or sugar of milk)there are different scales for this
process. Each scale has got different potencies which indicate power of
medicine. Example in decimal scale the drug substance vehicle ratio is 1/10 and
the availables potencies are 3x, 6x. 12x ect. In centismal scale the ratio is
1/100 and the available potencies are 30c, 200c ect, in LM potency the ratio is
1/50000 and the available potencies are 0/1, 0/2, 0/3 ect. Potency is written
after the name of every medicine

Same medicine is available in different potencies. Suitable potency is selected
according to so many facters like severity, depth of disease, condition of the
patient, nature of disease, type of symptoms, age of patient and ect. 

Subjects studied in homoeopathy:

History of medicine

History & developement of homoeopathy

Pioneers of homoeopathy

Organon of medicine

Homoeopathic philosophy

Materia medica

Homoeopathic pharmacy & pharmacognosy

Homoeopathic repertory

Homoeopathic case taking

Homoeopathic therapeutics

General medical subjects:

(Anatomy, physiology, pathology, microbiology, parasitology, toxicology, forensic
medicine, social & preventive medicine, surgery, ENT, gynaecology & obstetrics, 
opthalmology, dentistry, orthopedics, surgery, general medicine, pediatrics, 
dermatology, psychiatry and ect)

Homoeopathic case taking and prescription. 

Cure by a homoeopathic medicine is rapid, gentle and permenent if correct
remedy in suitable dose is given. Just giving one drug for one disease
(specific drugs)may not give good result. To come to a correct remedial
diagnosis we should have the symptomatology of the person. It is the total
symptoms of a person which includes mental generals, physical
generals, particular symptoms ect. 

All signs and symptoms (mental&physical)of the person is taken in etail. 
Knowledge about past illness, family history of diseases, food & bowel habits, 
notable causes, relation to climatic changes and constitution ect are
noted down in a systematic order. 

Mental symptoms:

Example: fear, anxiety, depression, anger, jealousy and ect... 

Physical symptoms:

Example: Body makeup, appetite, thirst, desires, aversions, bowels, urination, 
sleep, taste, nature of smell, discharges any abnormal sensations like pain, 
burning, climatic changes, thermal relations, and etc... 

Peculiar uncommon symptoms:

This is the speciality of homoeopathic system of medicine. For the selection of
a suitable remedy these symptoms are very important. common symptoms which are
seen almost in all patients are least important. This is the reason for giving
different medicines to different individuals suffering from same
disease. Example: Five people suffering from typhoid may get five different
remedies because of changes of individual symptoms. 

Particular/local signs&symptoms:

This include signs &symptoms related to body parts &organs. 

Example: Part affected, any swelling, discolouration ect. 

Systemic examination:

Different systems are examined in a systematic order. (Respiratory system
, digestive system, nervous system, cardio vascular system and ect... )
Vital signs

Pulse, blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate ect are checked here. 

General physical examination:

Here body parts are examined from head to foot to findout any changes. 

provisional disease diagnosis; Here probable diseases are diagnosed. In
homoeopathy disease diagnosis is not that much important for the selection of a
remedy, but needed for general management and to know the prognosis. 

Investigations : This includes lab investigations and other methods to find out
any other major illnesses. 

Final disease diagnosis:

After doing all investigations the disease is diagnosed. 

Remedial diagnosis:

This is the most importnant part as far as homoeopathy is concerned. For this
the selected symptoms are arranged in a systematic order on the basis of
importance. Symptoms are analysed to find out the importance of each symptom
for the selection of a remedy. Remedies are selected on the basis of similarity. 

Suitable remedies are diagnosed by a process called repertorisation. Here books
called repertories are used. Repertory is the index of symptoms of materia
medica(books which contain the symptoms of drugs). Nowadays computer softwares
are used for repertorisalion. By this process we will get the remedies covering
maximum important symptom of the patient. 

Amoung this group of remedies the most suitable remedy is selected by referring
various books and considering the life space investigation of the patient.. The
selected medicine is given in suitable potency & dose. 

ANTI MIASMATIC TREATMENT:

The root cause of disease is miasms which should be eradicated using suitable
anti miasmatic drugs. Every drug can eradicate the miasm if there is symptom
similarity. There are anti psoric drugs, anti syphilitic drugs and anti sycotic
drugs. After diagnosing the miasm suitable anti miasmatic drug has to be given
to complete the cure. 

HOW ALCOHOL RETARDS DIGESTION. 

And here, in order to give those who are not familiar with, the process of
digestion, a clear idea of that important operation, and the effect produced
when alcohol is taken with food, we quote from the lecture of an English
physician, Dr. Henry Monroe, on "The Physiological Action of Alcohol." He says:

"Every kind of substance employed by man as food consists of sugar, starch, oil
and glutinous matters, mingled together in various proportions; these are
designed for the support of the animal frame. The glutinous principles of food
fibrine, albumen and casein are employed to build up the structure; while the
oil, starch and sugar are chiefly used to generate heat in the body. 

"The first step of the digestive process is the breaking up of the food in the
mouth by means of the jaws and teeth. On this being done, the saliva, a viscid
liquor, is poured into the mouth from the salivary glands, and as it mixes with
the food, it performs a very important part in the operation of digestion, 
rendering the starch of the food soluble, and gradually changing it into a sort
of sugar, after which the other principles become more miscible with it. Nearly
a pint of saliva is furnished every twenty-four hours for the use of an adult. 
When the food has been masticated and mixed with the saliva, it is then passed
into the stomach, where it is acted upon by a juice secreted by the filaments
of that organ, and poured into the stomach in large quantities whenever food
comes in contact with its mucous coats. It consists of a dilute acid known to
the chemists as hydrochloric acid, composed of hydrogen and chlorine, united
together in certain definite proportions. The gastric juice contains, also, a
peculiar organic-ferment or decomposing substance, containing nitrogen
something of the nature of yeast termed pepsine, which is easily soluble in
the acid just named. That gastric juice acts as a simple chemical solvent, is
proved by the fact that, after death, it has been known to dissolve the stomach
itself."

It is an error to suppose that, after a good dinner, a glass of spirits or beer
assists digestion; or that any liquor containing alcohol even bitter beer can in
any way assist digestion. Mix some bread and meat with gastric juice; place them
in a phial, and keep that phial in a sand-bath at the slow heat of 98 degrees, 
occasionally shaking briskly the contents to imitate the motion of the stomach;
you will find, after six or eight hours, the whole contents blended into one
pultaceous mass. If to another phial of food and gastric juice, treated in the
same way, I add a glass of pale ale or a quantity of alcohol, at the end of
seven or eight hours, or even some days, the food is scarcely acted upon at
all. This is a fact; and if you are led to ask why, I answer, because alcohol
has the peculiar power of chemically affecting or decomposing the gastric juice
by precipitating one of its principal constituents, viz., pepsine, rendering its
solvent properties much less efficacious. Hence alcohol can not be considered
either as food or as a solvent for food. Not as the latter certainly, for it
refuses to act with the gastric juice. 

"'It is a remarkable fact, ' says Dr. Dundas Thompson, 'that alcohol, when added
to the digestive fluid, produces a white precipitate, so that the fluid is no
longer capable of digesting animal or vegetable matter.' 'The use of alcoholic
stimulants, ' say Drs. Todd and Bowman, 'retards digestion by coagulating the
pepsine, an essential element of the gastric juice, and thereby interfering
with its action. Were it not that wine and spirits are rapidly absorbed, the
introduction of these into the stomach, in any quantity, would be a complete
bar to the digestion of food, as the pepsine would be precipitated from the
solution as quickly as it was formed by the stomach.' Spirit, in any quantity, 
as a dietary adjunct, is pernicious on account of its antiseptic qualities, 
which resist the digestion of food by the absorption of water from its
particles, in direct antagonism to chemical operation."

HOW ALCOHOL CAUSES MENTAL AND MORAL CHANGES. 

The transforming power or alcohol
is marvelous, and often appalling. It seems to open a way of entrance into the
soul for all classes of foolish, insane or malignant spirits, who, so long as
it remains in contact with the brain, are able to hold possession. Men of the
kindest nature when sober, act often like fiends when drunk. Crimes and
outrages are committed, which shock and shame the perpetrators when the
excitement of inebriation has passed away. Referring to this subject, Dr. Henry
Munroe says:

"It appears from the experience of Mr. Fletcher, who has paid much attention to
the cases of drunkards, from the remarks of Mr. Dunn, in his 'Medical
Psychology, ' and from observations of my own, that there is some analogy
between our physical and psychical natures; for, as the physical part of us, 
when its power is at a low ebb, becomes susceptible of morbid influences which, 
in full vigor, would pass over it without effect, so when the psychical
(synonymous with the moral ) part of the brain has its healthy function
disturbed and deranged by the introduction of a morbid poison like alcohol, the
individual so circumstanced sinks in depravity, and "becomes the helpless
subject of the forces of evil,"which are powerless against a nature free from
the morbid influences of alcohol."

Different persons are affected in different ways by the same poison. Indulgence
in alcoholic drinks may act upon one or more of the cerebral organs; and, as its
necessary consequence, the manifestations of functional disturbance will follow
in such of the mental powers as these organs subserve. If the indulgence be
continued, then, either from deranged nutrition or organic lesion, 
manifestations formerly developed only during a fit of intoxication may become
permanent, and terminate in insanity or dypso-mania. M. Flourens first pointed
out the fact that certain morbific agents, when introduced into the current of
the circulation, tend to act primarily and specially on one nervous centre in
preference to that of another, by virtue of some special elective affinity
between such morbific agents and certain ganglia. Thus, in the tottering gait
of the tipsy man, we see the influence of alcohol upon the functions of the
cerebellum in the impairment of its power of co-ordinating the muscles. 

Certain writers on diseases of the mind make especial allusion to that form of
insanity termed 'dypsomania', in which a person has an unquenchable thirst for
alcoholic drinks a tendency as decidedly maniacal as that of homicidal mania ;
or the uncontrollable desire to burn, termed pyromania ; or to steal, called
kleptomania. 

Homicidal mania. 
--------------

The different tendencies of homicidal mania in different individuals are often
only nursed into action when the current of the blood has been poisoned with
alcohol. I had a case of a person who, whenever his brain was so excited, told
me that he experienced a most uncontrollable desire to kill or injure some one;
so much so, that he could at times hardly restrain himself from the action, and
was obliged to refrain from all stimulants, lest, in an unlucky moment, he
might commit himself. Townley, who murdered the young lady of his affections, 
for which he was sentenced to be imprisoned in a lunatic asylum for life, 
poisoned his brain with brandy and soda-water before he committed the rash act. 
The brandy stimulated into action certain portions of the brain, which acquired
such a power as to subjugate his will, and hurry him to the performance of a
frightful deed, opposed alike to his better judgment and his ordinary desires. 

As to pyromania, some years ago I knew a laboring man in a country village, 
who, whenever he had had a few glasses of ale at the public-house, would
chuckle with delight at the thought of firing certain gentlemen's stacks. Yet, 
when his brain was free from the poison, a quieter, better-disposed man could
not be. Unfortunately, he became addicted to habits of intoxication; and, one
night, under alcoholic excitement, fired some stacks belonging to his
employers, for which, he was sentenced for fifteen years to a penal settlement, 
where his brain would never again be alcoholically excited. 

Kleptomania. 
----------

Next, I will give an example of kleptomania. I knew, many years ago, a very
clever, industrious and talented young man, who told me that whenever he had
been drinking, he could hardly withstand, the temptation of stealing anything
that came in his way; but that these feelings never troubled him at other
times. One afternoon, after he had been indulging with his fellow-workmen in
drink, his will, unfortunately, was overpowered, and he took from the mansion
where he was working some articles of worth, for which he was accused, and
afterwards sentenced to a term of imprisonment. When set at liberty he had the
good fortune to be placed among some kind-hearted persons, vulgarly called
teetotallers ; and, from conscientious motives, signed the PLEDGE, now above
twenty years ago. From that time to the present moment he has never experienced
the overmastering desire which so often beset him in his drinking days to take
that which was not his own. Moreover, no pretext on earth could now entice him
to taste of any liquor containing alcohol, feeling that, under its influence, 
he might again fall its victim. He holds an influential position in the town
where he resides. 

I have known some ladies of good position in society, who, after a dinner or
supper-party, and after having taken sundry glasses of wine, could not
withstand the temptation of taking home any little article not their own, when
the opportunity offered; and who, in their sober moments, have returned them, 
as if taken by mistake. We have many instances recorded in our police reports
of gentlemen of position, under the influence of drink, committing thefts of
the most paltry articles, afterwards returned to the owners by their friends, 
which can only be accounted for, psychologically, by the fact that the will had
been for the time completely overpowered by the subtle influence of alcohol. 

Loss of mental clearness. 
-----------------------

Alcohol, whether taken in large or small doses, immediately disturbs the
natural functions of the mind and body, is now conceded by the most eminent
physiologists. Dr. Brinton says: 'Mental acuteness, accuracy of conception, and
delicacy of the senses, are all so far opposed by the action of alcohol, as that
the maximum efforts of each are incompatible with the ingestion of any moderate
quantity of fermented liquid. Indeed, there is scarcely any calling which
demands skillful and exact effort of mind and body, or which requires the
balanced exercise of many faculties, that does not illustrate this rule. The
mathematician, the gambler, the metaphysician, the billiard-player, the author, 
the artist, the physician, would, if they could analyze their experience aright, 
generally concur in the statement, that a single glass will often suffice to
take, so to speak, the edge off both mind and body, and to reduce their
capacity to something below what is relatively their perfection of work. 

A train was driven carelessly into one of the principal London stations, 
running into another train, killing, by the collision, six or seven persons, 
and injuring many others. From the evidence at the inquest, it appeared that
the guard was reckoned sober, only he had had two glasses of ale with a friend
at a previous station. Now, reasoning psychologically, these two glasses of ale
had probably been instrumental in taking off the edge from his perceptions and
prudence, and producing a carelessness or boldness of action which would not
have occurred under the cooling, temperate influence of a beverage free from
alcohol. Many persons have admitted to me that they were not the same after
taking even one glass of ale or wine that they were before, and could not
thoroughly trust themselves after they had taken this single glass. 

Impairment of memory. 
--------------------

An impairment of the memory is among the early symptoms of alcoholic
derangement. 

"This," says Dr. Richardson,"extends even to forgetfulness of the commonest
things; to names of familiar persons, to dates, to duties of daily life. 
Strangely, too," he adds,"this failure, like that which indicates, in the
aged, the era of second childishness and mere oblivion, does not extend to the
things of the past, but is confined to events that are passing. On old memories
the mind retains its power; on new ones it requires constant prompting and
sustainment."

In this failure of memory nature gives a solemn warning that imminent peril is
at hand. Well for the habitual drinker if he heed the warning. Should he not do
so, symptoms of a more serious character will, in time, develop themselves, as
the brain becomes more and more diseased, ending, it may be, in permanent
insanity. 

Mental and moral diseases. 
-------------------------

Of the mental and moral diseases which too often follow the regular drinking of
alcohol, we have painful records in asylum reports, in medical testimony and in
our daily observation and experience. These are so full and varied, and thrust
so constantly on our attention, that the wonder is that men are not afraid to
run the terrible risks involved even in what is called the moderate use of
alcoholic beverages. 

In 1872, a select committee of the House of Commons, appointed "to consider the
best plan for the control and management of habitual drunkards," called upon
some of the most eminent medical men in Great Britain to give their testimony
in answer to a large number of questions, embracing every topic within the
range of inquiry, from the pathology of inebriation to the practical usefulness
of prohibitory laws. In this testimony much was said about the effect of
alcoholic stimulation on the mental condition and moral character. One
physician, Dr. James Crichton Brown, who, in ten years' experience as
superintendent of lunatic asylums, has paid special attention to the relations
of habitual drunkenness to insanity, having carefully examined five hundred
cases, testified that alcohol, taken in excess, produced different forms of
mental disease, of which he mentioned four classes: 1. Mania a potu, or
alcoholic mania. 2. The monomania of suspicion. 3. Chronic alcoholism, 
characterized by failure of the memory and power of judgment, with partial
paralysis generally ending fatally. 4. Dypsomania, or an irresistible craving
for alcoholic stimulants, occuring very frequently, paroxysmally, and with
constant liability to periodical exacerbations, when the craving becomes
altogether uncontrollable. Of this latter form of disease, he says: "This is
invariably associated with a certain impairment of the intellect, and of the
affections and the moral powers ."

Dr. Alexander Peddie, a physician of over thirty-seven years' practice in
Edinburgh, gave, in his evidence, many remarkable instances of the moral
perversions that followed continued drinking. 

Relation between insanity and drunkenness. 
----------------------------------------

Dr. John Nugent said that his experience of twenty-six years among lunatics, 
led him to believe that there is a very close relation between the results of
the abuse of alcohol and insanity. The population of Ireland had decreased, he
said, two millions in twenty-five years, but there was the same amount of
insanity now that there was before. He attributed this, in a great measure, to
indulgence in drink. 

Dr. Arthur Mitchell, Commissioner of Lunacy for Scotland, testified that the
excessive use of alcohol caused a large amount of the lunacy, crime and
pauperism of that country. In some men, he said, habitual drinking leads to
other diseases than insanity, because the effect is always in the direction of
the proclivity, but it is certain that there are many in whom there is a clear
proclivity to insanity, who would escape that dreadful consummation but for
drinking; excessive drinking in many persons determining the insanity to which
they are, at any rate, predisposed. The children of drunkards, he further
said, are in a larger proportion idiotic than other children, and in a larger
proportion become themselves drunkards; they are also in a larger proportion
liable to the ordinary forms of acquired insanity. 

Dr. Winslow Forbes believed that in the habitual drunkard the whole nervous
structure, and the brain especially, became poisoned by alcohol. All the mental
symptoms which you see accompanying ordinary intoxication, he remarks, result
from the poisonous effects of alcohol on the brain. It is the brain which is
mainly effected. In temporary drunkenness, the brain becomes in an abnormal
state of alimentation, and if this habit is persisted in for years, the nervous
tissue itself becomes permeated with alcohol, and organic changes take place in
the nervous tissues of the brain, producing that frightful and dreadful chronic
insanity which we see in lunatic asylums, traceable entirely to habits of
intoxication. A large percentage of frightful mental and brain disturbances
can, he declared, be traced to the drunkenness of parents. 

Dr. D. G. Dodge, late of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, who, with. Dr. 
Joseph Parrish, gave testimony before the committee of the House of Commons, 
said, in one of his answers: "With the excessive use of alcohol, functional
disorder will invariably appear, and no organ will be more seriously affected, 
and possibly impaired, than the brain. This is shown in the inebriate by a
weakened intellect, a general debility of the mental faculties, a partial or
total loss of self-respect, and a departure of the power of self-command; all
of which, acting together, place the victim at the mercy of a depraved and
morbid appetite, and make him utterly powerless, by his own unaided efforts, to
secure his recovery from the disease which is destroying him." And he adds: "I
am of opinion that there is a "great similarity between inebriety and insanity. 

"I am decidedly of opinion that the former has taken its place in the family of
diseases as prominently as its twin-brother insanity; and, in my opinion, the
day is not far distant when the pathology of the former will be as fully
understood and as successfully treated as the latter, and even more
successfully, since it is more within the reach and bounds of human control, 
which, wisely exercised and scientifically administered, may prevent curable
inebriation from verging into possible incurable insanity."

General impairment of the faculties. 
----------------------------------

Dr. Richardson, speaking of the action of alcohol on the mind, gives the
following sad picture of its ravages:

"An analysis of the condition of the mind induced and maintained by the free
daily use of alcohol as a drink, reveals a singular order of facts. The
manifestation fails altogether to reveal the exaltation of any reasoning power
in a useful or satisfactory direction. I have never met with an instance in
which such a claim for alcohol has been made. On the contrary, confirmed
alcoholics constantly say that for this or that work, requiring thought and
attention, it is necessary to forego some of the usual potations in order to
have a cool head for hard work. 

"On the other side, the experience is overwhelmingly in favor of the
observation that the use of "alcohol sells the reasoning powers,"make weak men
and women the easy prey of the wicked and strong, and leads men and women who
should know better into every grade of misery and vice. If, then, alcohol
enfeebles the reason, what part of the mental constitution does it exalt and
excite? It excites and exalts those animal, organic, emotional centres of mind
which, in the dual nature of man, so often cross and oppose that pure and
abstract reasoning nature which lifts man above the lower animals, and rightly
exercised, little lower than the angels. 

It excites man's worst passions. 
-------------------------------

Exciting these animal centres, it lets loose all the passions, and gives them
more or less of unlicensed dominion over the man. It excites anger, and when it
does not lead to this extreme, it keeps the mind fretful, irritable, 
dissatisfied and captious.. .. And if I were to take you through all the
passions, love, hate, lust, envy, avarice and pride, I should but show you that
alcohol ministers to them all; that, paralyzing the reason, it takes from off
these passions that fine adjustment of reason, which places man above the lower
animals. From the beginning to the end of its influence it subdues reason and
sets the passions free. The analogies, physical and mental, are perfect. That
which loosens the tension of the vessels which feed the body with due order and
precision, and, thereby, lets loose the heart to violent excess and unbridled
motion, loosens, also, the reason and lets loose the passion. In both
instances, heart and head are, for a time, out of harmony; their balance
broken. The man descends closer and closer to the lower animals. From the
angels he glides farther and farther away. 

A sad and terrible picture. 
--------------------------

The destructive effects of alcohol on the human mind present, finally, the
saddest picture of its influence. The most aesthetic artist can find no angel
here. All is animal, and animal of the worst type. Memory irretrievably lost, 
words and very elements of speech forgotten or words displaced to have no
meaning in them. Rage and anger persistent and mischievous, or remittent and
impotent. Fear at every corner of life, distrust on every side, grief merged
into blank despair, hopelessness into permanent melancholy. Surely no
Pandemonium that ever poet dreamt of could equal that which would exist if all
the drunkards of the world were driven into one mortal sphere. 

As I have moved among those who are physically stricken with alcohol, and have
detected under the various disguises of name the fatal diseases, the pains and
penalties it imposes on the body, the picture has been sufficiently cruel. But
even that picture pales, as I conjure up, without any stretch of imagination, 
the devastations which the same agent inflicts on the mind. Forty per cent., 
the learned Superintendent of Colney Hatch, Dr. Sheppard, tells us, of those
who were brought into that asylum in 1876, were so brought because of the
direct or indirect effects of alcohol. If the facts of all the asylums were
collected with equal care, the same tale would, I fear, be told. What need we
further to show the destructive action on the human mind? The Pandemonium of
drunkards; the grand transformation scene of that pantomime of drink which
commences with, moderation! Let it never more be forgotten by those who love
their fellow-men until, through their efforts, it is closed forever."

HOW ALCOHOL AFFECTS THE BRAIN. 

I once had the unusual, though unhappy, opportunity of observing the same
phenomenon in the brain structure of a man, who, in a paroxysm of alcoholic
excitement, decapitated himself under the wheel of a railway carriage, and
whose brain was instantaneously evolved from the skull by the crash. The brain
itself, entire, was before me within three minutes after the death. It exhaled
the odor of spirit most distinctly, and its membranes and minute structures
were vascular in the extreme. It looked as if it had been recently injected
with vermilion. The white matter of the cerebrum, studded with red points, 
could scarcely be distinguished, when it was incised, by its natural whiteness;
and the pia-mater, or internal vascular membrane covering the brain, resembled a
delicate web of coagulated red blood, so tensely were its fine vessels engorged. 

I should add that this condition extended through both the larger and the
smaller brain, the cerebrum and cerebellum, but was not so marked in the
medulla or commencing portion of the spinal cord. 

The spinal cord and nerves. 
-------------------------

The action of alcohol continued beyond the first stage, the function of the
spinal cord is influenced. Through this part of the nervous system we are
accustomed, in health, to perform automatic acts of a mechanical kind, which
proceed systematically even when we are thinking or speaking on other subjects. 
Thus a skilled workman will continue his mechanical work perfectly, while his
mind is bent on some other subject; and thus we all perform various acts in a
purely automatic way, without calling in the aid of the higher centres, except
something more than ordinary occurs to demand their service, upon which we
think before we perform. Under alcohol, as the spinal centres become
influenced, these pure automatic acts cease to be correctly carried on. That
the hand may reach any object, or the foot be correctly planted, the higher
intellectual centre must be invoked to make the proceeding secure. There
follows quickly upon this a deficient power of co-ordination of muscular
movement. The nervous control of certain of the muscles is lost, and the
nervous stimulus is more or less enfeebled. The muscles of the lower lip in the
human subject usually fail first of all, then the muscles of the lower limbs, 
and it is worthy of remark that the extensor muscles give way earlier than the
flexors. The muscles themselves, by this time, are also failing in power; they
respond more feebly than is natural to the nervous stimulus; they, too, are
coming under the depressing influence of the paralyzing agent, their structure
is temporarily deranged, and their contractile power reduced. 

This modification of the animal functions under alcohol, marks the second
degree of its action. In young subjects, there is now, usually, vomiting with
faintness, followed by gradual relief from the burden of the poison. 

Effect on the brain centres. 
---------------------------

The alcoholic spirit carried yet a further degree, the cerebral or brain
centres become influenced; they are reduced in power, and the controlling
influences of will and of judgment are lost. As these centres are unbalanced
and thrown into chaos, the rational part of the nature of the man gives way
before the emotional, passional or organic part. The reason is now off duty, or
is fooling with duty, and all the mere animal instincts and sentiments are laid
atrociously bare. The coward shows up more craven, the braggart more boastful, 
the cruel more merciless, the untruthful more false, the carnal more degraded. 
' In vino veritas ' expresses, even, indeed, to physiological accuracy, the
true condition. The reason, the emotions, the instincts, are all in a state of
carnival, and in chaotic feebleness. 

Finally, the action of the alcohol still extending, the superior brain centres
are overpowered; the senses are beclouded, the voluntary muscular prostration
is perfected, sensibility is lost, and the body lies a mere log, dead by all
but one-fourth, on which alone its life hangs. The heart still remains true to
its duty, and while it just lives it feeds the breathing power. And so the
circulation and the respiration, in the otherwise inert mass, keeps the mass
within the bare domain of life until the poison begins to pass away and the
nervous centres to revive again. It is happy for the inebriate that, as a rule, 
the brain fails so long before the heart that he has neither the power nor the
sense to continue his process of destruction up to the act of death of his
circulation. Therefore he lives to die another day. 

NAILS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. 

Introduction:

The nails are present at the end of each finger tip on the dorsal surface. The
main function of nail is protection and it also helps for a firm grip for
holding articles. It consists of a strong relatively flexible keratinous nail
plate originating from the nail matrix. Under the nail plate there is a soft
tissue called nail bed. Between the skin and nail plate there is a nail fold or
cuticle. Normal healthy nail is slight pink in colour and the surface is convex
from side to side. Finger nails grow 1 cm in three months and toe nails take 24
months for the same. 

Importance of nails in disease diagnosis:

The colour, appearance, shape and nature of the nails give some information
about the general health and hygiene of a person. Nails are examined as a
routine by all doctors to get some clues about underlying diseases. Just looking
at nails we can makeout the hygiene of a person. The abnormal nail may be
congenital or due to some diseases. The cause for changes in the nail extend
from simple reasons to life threatening diseases. Hence the examination by a
doctor is essential for diagnosis. Some abnormal findings with probable causes
are discussed here for general awareness. 

1) Hygiene:

We can make out an unhygienic nail very easily. Deposition of dirt under the
distal end of nail plate can make a chance for ingestion of pathogens while
eating. If nail cutting is not done properly it can result in worm troubles in
children. When the worms crawl in the anal orifice children will scratch which
lodges the ova of worms under the nails and will be taken in while
eating. Prominent nail can also complicate a skin disease by habitual
scratching. Sharp nails in small kids cause small wounds when they do feet
kicking or hand waving. 

2) Colour of the nails:

a) Nails become pale in anaemia. 

b) Opaque white discolouration (leuconychia) is seen in chronic renal failure
and nephrotic syndrome. 

c) Whitening is also seen in hypoalbuminaemia as in cirrhosis and kidney
disorders. 

d) Drugs like sulpha group, anti malarial and antibiotics ect can produce
discolouration in the nails. 

e) Fungal infection causes black discolouration. 

f) In pseudomonas infection nails become black or green. 

g) Nail bed infarction occures in vasculitis especially in SLE and
polyarteritis. 

h) Red dots are seen in nails due to splinter haemorrhages in subacute
bacterial endo carditis, rheumatoid arthritis, trauma, collagen vascular
diseases. 

i) Blunt injury produces haemorrhage and causes blue/black discolouration. 

j) Nails become brown in kidney diseases and in decreased adrenal activity. 

k) In wilsons disease blue colour in semicircle appears in the nail. 

l) When the blood supply decreases nail become yellow. In jaundice and
psoriasis also nail become yellowish. 

m) In yellow nail syndrome all nails become yellowish with pleural effusion. 

3) Shape of nails:

a) Clubbing: Here tissues at the base of nails are thickened and the angle
between the nail base and the skin is obliterated. The nail becomes more convex
and the finger tip becomes bulbous and looks like an end of a drumstick. When
the condition becomes worse the nail looks like a parrot beak. 

Causes of clubbing:

Congenital Injuries

Severe chronic cyanosis

Lung diseases like empyema, bronchiactesis, carcinoma of bronchus and pulmonary
tuberculosis. Abdominal diseases like crohn's disease, polyposis of
colon, ulcerative colitis, liver cirrhosis ect.. . 

Heart diseases like fallot's tetralogy, subacute bacterial endocarditis and ect.. 

b) Koilonychia:

Here the nails become concave like a spoon. This condition is seen in iron
deficiency anaemia. In this condition the nails become thin, soft and brittle. The
normal convexity will be replaced by concavity. 

c) Longitudinal ridging is seen in raynaud's disease. 

d) Cuticle becomes ragged in dermatomyositis. 

e) Nail fold telangiectasia is a sign in dermatomyositis, systemic sclerosis
and SLE. 

4) Structure and consistancy:

a) Fungal infection of nail causes discolouration, deformity, hypertrophy and
abnormal brittleness. 

b) Thimble pitting of nail is charecteristic of psoriasis, acute eczema and
alopecia aereata. 

c) The inflamation of cuticle or nail fold is called paronychia. 

d) Onycholysis is the seperation of nail bed seen in psoriasis, infection and
after taking tetracyclines. 

e) Destruction of nail is seen in lichen planus, epidermolysis bullosa. 

f) Missing nail is seen in nail patella syndrome. It is a hereditary disease. 

g) Nails become brittle in raynauds disease and gangrene. 

h) Falling of nail is seen in fungal infection, psoriasis and thyroid diseases. 

5) Growth:

Reduction in blood supply affects the growth of nails. Nail growth is also
affected in severe ilness. when the disease disappears the growth starts again
resulting in formation of transverse ridges. These lines are called Beau's lines
and are healpful to date the onset of illness. 

MENTAL DISTURBANCES CAUSED BY ALCOHOL. 

The physical disasters that follow the continued use of intoxicating beverages
are sad enough, and terrible enough; but the surely attendant mental, moral and
spiritual disasters are sadder and more terrible still. If you disturb the
healthy condition of the brain, which is the physical organ through which the
mind acts, you disturb the mind. It will not have the same clearness of
perception as before; nor have the same rational control over the impulses and
passions. 

Heavenly order in the body. 
-------------------------

In order to understand a subject clearly, certain general laws, or principles, 
must be seen and admitted. And here we assume, as a general truth, that health
in the human body is normal heavenly order on the physical plane of life, and
that any disturbance of that order exposes the man to destructive influences, 
which are evil and infernal in their character. Above the natural and physical
plane, and resting upon it, while man lives in this world, is the mental and
spiritual plane, or degree of life. This degree is in heavenly order when the
reason is clear, and the appetites and passions under its wise control. But, 
if, through any cause, this fine equipoise is disturbed, or lost, then a way is
opened for the influx of more subtle evil influences than such as invade the
body, because they have power to act upon the reason and the passions, 
obscuring the one and inflaming the others. 

We know how surely the loss of bodily health results in mental disturbance. If
the seat of disease be remote from the brain, the disturbance is usually
slight; but it increases as the trouble comes nearer and nearer to that organ, 
and shows itself in multiform ways according to character, temperament or
inherited disposition; but almost always in a predominance of what is evil
instead of good. There will be fretfulness, or ill-nature, or selfish
exactions, or mental obscurity, or unreasoning demands, or, it may be, vicious
and cruel propensities, where, when the brain was undisturbed by disease, 
reason held rule with patience and loving kindness. If the disease which has
attacked the brain goes on increasing, the mental disease which follows as a
consequence of organic disturbance or deterioration, will have increased also, 
until insanity may be established in some one or more of its many sad and
varied forms. 

Insanity. 
-------

It is, therefore, a very serious thing for a man to take into his body any
substance which, on reaching that wonderfully delicate organ the brain, sets up
therein a diseased action; for, diseased mental action is sure to follow. A
fever is a fever, whether it be light or intensely burning; and so any
disturbance of the mind's rational equipoise is insanity, whether it be in the
simplest form of temporary obscurity, or in the midnight of a totally darkened
intellect. 

We are not writing in the interest of any special theory, nor in the spirit of
partisanship; but with an earnest desire to make the truth appear. You must not
accept anything simply because we say it, but because he sees it to be true. 
Now, as to this matter of insanity, let him think calmly. The word is one that
gives us a shock; and, as we hear it, we almost involuntarily thank God for the
good gift of a well-balanced mind. What, if from any cause this beautiful
equipoise should be disturbed and the mind lose its power to think clearly, or
to hold the lower passions in due control? Shall we exceed the truth if we say
that the man in whom this takes place is insane just in the degree that he has
lost his rational self-control; and that he is restored when he regains that
control?

In this view, the question as to the hurtfulness of alcoholic drinks assumes a
new and graver aspect. Do they disturb the brain when they come in contact with
its substance; and deteriorate it if the contact be long continued? Fact, 
observation, experience and scientific investigation all emphatically say yes;
and we know that if the brain be disordered the mind, will be disordered, 
likewise; and a disordered mind is an insane mind. Clearly, then, in the degree
that a man impairs or hurts his brain temporarily or continuously in that degree
his mind is unbalanced; in that degree he is not a truly rational and sane man. 

We are holding your thought just here that you may have time to think, and to
look at the question in the light of reason and common sense. So far as he does
this, will he be able to feel the force of such evidence as we shall educe in
what follows, and to comprehend its true meaning. 

Other substances besides alcohol act injuriously on the brain; but there is
none that compares with this in the extent, variety and diabolical aspect of
the mental aberrations which follow its use. We are not speaking thoughtlessly
or wildly; but simply uttering a truth well-known to every man of observation, 
and which every man, and especially those who take this substance in any form, 
should, lay deeply to heart. Why it is that such awful and destructive forms of
insanity should follow, as they do, the use of alcohol it is not for us to say. 
That they do follow it, we know, and we hold, up the fact in solemn warning. 

Another consideration, which should have weight with every one, is this, that
no man can tell what may be the character of the legacy he has received from
his ancestors. He may have an inheritance of latent evil forces, transmitted
through many generations, which only await some favoring opportunity to spring
into life and action. So long as he maintains a rational self-control, and the
healthy order of his life be not disturbed, they may continue quiescent; but if
his brain loses its equipoise, or is hurt or impaired, then a diseased psychical
condition may be induced and the latent evil forces be quickened into life. 

THE GROWTH AND POWER OF APPETITE. 

One fact attendant on habitual drinking stands out so prominently that none can
call it in question. It is that of the steady growth of appetite. There are
exceptions, as in the action of nearly every rule; but the almost invariable
result of the habit we have mentioned, is, as we have said, a steady growth of
appetite for the stimulant imbibed. That this is in consequence of certain
morbid changes in the physical condition produced by the alcohol itself, will
hardly be questioned by any one who has made himself acquainted with the
various functional and organic derangements which invariably follow the
continued introduction of this substance into the body. 

But it is to the fact itself, not to its cause, that we now wish to direct your
attention. The man who is satisfied at first with a single glass of wine at
dinner, finds, after awhile, that appetite asks for a little more; and, in
time, a second glass is conceded. The increase of desire may be very slow, but
it goes on surely until, in the end, a whole bottle will scarcely suffice, with
far too many, to meet its imperious demands. It is the same in regard to the use
of every other form of alcoholic drink. 

Now, there are men so constituted that they are able, for a long series of
years, or even for a whole lifetime, to hold this appetite within a certain
limit of indulgence. To say "So far, and no farther." They suffer ultimately
from physical ailments, which surely follow the prolonged contact of alcoholic
poison with the delicate structures of the body, many of a painful character, 
and shorten the term of their natural lives; but still they are able to drink
without an increase of appetite so great as to reach an overmastering degree. 
They do not become abandoned drunkards. 

No man safe who drinks. 
---------------------

But no man who begins the use of alcohol in any form can tell what, in the end, 
is going to be its effect on his body or mind. Thousands and tens of thousands, 
once wholly unconscious of danger from this source, go down yearly into
drunkards' graves. There is no standard by which any one can measure the latent
evil forces in his inherited nature. He may have from ancestors, near or remote, 
an unhealthy moral tendency, or physical diathesis, to which the peculiarly
disturbing influence of alcohol will give the morbid condition in which it will
find its disastrous life. That such results follow the use of alcohol in a large
number of cases, is now a well-known fact in the history of inebriation. The
subject of alcoholism, with the mental and moral causes leading thereto, have
attracted a great deal of earnest attention. Physicians, superintendents of
inebriate and lunatic asylums, prison-keepers, legislators and philanthropists
have been observing and studying its many sad and terrible phases, and
recording results and opinions. While differences are held on some points, as, 
for instance, whether drunkenness is a disease for which, after it has been
established, the individual ceases to be responsible, and should be subject to
restraint and treatment, as for lunacy or fever; a crime to be punished; or a
sin to be repented of and healed by the Physician of souls, all agree that
there is an inherited or acquired mental and nervous condition with many, which
renders any use of alcohol exceedingly dangerous. 

The point we wish to make with you is, that no man can possibly know, until he
has used alcoholic drinks for a certain period of time, whether he has or has
not this hereditary or acquired physical or mental condition; and that, if it
should exist, a discovery of the fact may come too late. 

Dr. D. G. Dodge, late Superintendent of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, 
speaking of the causes leading to intemperance, after stating his belief that
it is a transmissible disease, like "scrofula, gout or consumption," says:

"There are men who have an organization, which may be termed an alcoholic
idiosyncrasy; with them the latent desire for stimulants, if indulged, soon
leads to habits of intemperance, and eventually to a morbid appetite, which has
all the characteristics of a diseased condition of the system, which the
patient, unassisted, is powerless to relieve since the weakness of the will
that led to the disease obstructs its removal. 

"Again, we find in another class of persons, those who have had healthy
parents, and have been educated and accustomed to good social influences, moral
and social, but whose temperament and physical constitution are such, that, when
they once indulge in the use of stimulants, which they find pleasurable, they
continue to habitually indulge till they cease to be moderate, and become
excessive drinkers. A depraved appetite is established, that leads them on
slowly, but surely, to destruction."

TONGUE IN DISEASE DIAGNOSIS:

Introduction:

Tongue is a muscular organ associated with the function of deglutition, taste
and speech. It acts as an easily accessible organ for the assessment of health
of an individual and shows the state of hydration of the body. It is said that
tongue is the mirror of the gastrointestinal system and any abnormal
functioning of the stomach and intestines will be reflected on the tongue. 

Some characteristic changes occur in the tongue in some particular
diseases. That is why the examination of the tongue is very essential and will
give some clues for diagnosis. All doctors examine the tongue and they consider
the changes in size, shape, colour, moisture, coating, snature of papillae and
movements ect. 

Appearance of tongue in some abnormal conditions:

1) Movements of the tongue:

a) In one sided paralysis of the body(hemiplegia)tongue moves towards the
parylised side when protruded. 

b) Tremulus movement of the tongue is seen in diseases like thyrotoxicosis, 
delirium tremens and parkinsonisum. Tremor is also seen in nervous patients. 

c) In progressive bulbar palsy there will be wasting and paralysis of the
tongue with fibrillation. Eventually the tongue gets shrivelled and lies
functionless in the floor of the mouth. This condition is associated with
dribbling of saliva and loss of speech. 

d) In chorea(involuntary rhythmic movements) the patient may not be able to
keep the protruded tongue in rest, it will be moving involuntarily. 

2) Moistness of the tongue:

The moistness of the tongue gives some indication about the state of hydration
of the body. Water volume depletion leads to peripheral circulatory failure
characterised by weakness, thirst, restlessness, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, 
dry and parched tongue. 

Dryness of the tongue is seen in following conditions. 

a) Diarrhoea b) Later stages of severe illness c) Advanced uraemia d)
Hypovolumic shock e) Heat exhaustion f) Hyponatraemia g) Acute intestinal
obstruction h) Starvation i) Prlonged fasting. 

3) Change in colour of tongue:

a) Central cyanosis:

Cyanosis is the bluish discolouration of the mucus membrane due to decrease in
the amount of oxygen in the blood. This is seen in heart failure, respiratory
failure and in anoxia. In cyanosis tongue, lips ect becomes pale bluish. 

b) Jaundice:

This is the yellowish discolouration of all mucus surfaces of the body
(including tongue)due to increase of bilirubin in the blood. Jaundice is seen in
hepatitis, bile duct obstruction, increased destruction of RBCs and ect.. . 

c) Advanced uremia:

This is the increase of urea and other nitrogenous waste products in the blood
due to kidney failure. Here the tongue become brown in colour. 

d) Keto acidosis:

This is the acidosis with accumulation of ketone bodies seen mainly in diabetes
mellitus. Here the tongue become brown with a typical ketone smell from the mouth. 

e) Riboflavin deficiency:

Deficiency of this vitamin (vitamin B2) produces megenta colour of the tongue
with soreness and fissures of lips. 

f) Niacin deficiency:

Deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3)and some other B complex vitamins results in
bright scarlet or beefy red tongue. 

g) Anaemia:

It is the decrease in haemoglobin percentage of the blood. In severe anaemia
tongue becomes pale. 

4) Coating on the tongue:

a) Bad breath:

The main cause for bad breath is formation of a pasty coating(bio film) on the
tongue which lodges thousands of anaerobic bacteria resulting in the production
of offenssive gases. Those who complain about bad breath may have thick coating
on the posterior part of the tongue. 

b) Typhoid fever:

In typhoid fever tongue becomes white coared like a fur. 

c) Candidiasis;

It is a fungal infection which affects the mucus surfaces of the body. On the
tongue there will be sloughing white lesions. 

d) In diabetes and hypoadrenalism there will be sloughing white lesions. 

e) Secondary syphilis:

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted diseased caused by trepenoma pallidum
infection. In secondary stage of this disease we can see mucous patches which
are painless, smooth white glystening opalescent plaques which can not be
scraped off easily. 

f) Leokoplakia:

Here white keratotic patches are seen on the tongue and oral cavity. This is a
precancerous condition. 

g) AIDS:

In these patients hairy leukoplakia is seen. 

h) Peritonitis:

It is the inflammation of the peritonium(inner covering of abdominal cavity
which also covers the intestines and keep them in position) in this condition
there is white furring of the tongue. 

i) Acute illness:

Furring is also seen in some acute diseases. 

5) Papillae:

These are small projections on the rongue associated with taste. There are
different type of papillae on the healthy tongue. In some diseases there are
some abnormal changes which are following. 

a) Hairy tongue:

This condition is due to elongation of filiform papillae seen in poor oral
hygeine, general debility and indigestion. 

b) Geographic tongue:

Here irregular red and white patches appear on the tongue. These lesions looks
like a geographic map. The excact cause is not known. 

c) Median rhomboid glossitis:

In this condition there is smooth nodular red area in the posterior mid line of
the tongue. This is a congenital condition. 

d) Nutritional deficiency:

In nutrional deficiency there is glossitis(inflammation of tongue) leading to
papillary hypertrophy followed by atrophy. 

e) Benign migratory glossitis:

It is an inflamatory condition of the tongue where multiple annular areas of
desquamation of papillae appear on the tongue which shift from area to area in
few days. 

f) Thiamine and riboflavin deficiency:

Deficiency of these vitamins cause hypertrophied filiform and fungiform
papillae. 

g) Niacin and iron deficiency:

In this condition there is atrophy of papillae. Smooth tongue is encountered in
iron deficiency. 

h) Vitamin A deficiency:

This causes furrowed tongue. 

i) In nutritional megaloblastic anaemia tongue becomes smooth. 

j) Folic acid deficiency:

Here macrocytic megaloblastic anaemia with glossitis is seen. 

k) Cyano coblamine deficiency:

Here glossitis with macrocytic megaloblastic anaemia and peripheral neuropathy
is encountered. 

l) Scarlet fever;

In this streptococcal infection there is bright red papillae standing out of a
thick white fur, later the white coat disappear leaving enlarged papillae on
the bright red surface and is called strawberry tongue. 

6) Ulcers on the tongue:-

a) Apthous ulcer:

These are round painful ulcers appear in stressed individuals frequently. May
be associated with food allergy. Usual sites are tongue, lips, oral mucosa and ect. 

b) Herpes simplex:

It is an acute vesicular eruptions produced by herpes simplex virus. When these
vesicles rupture it forms ulcers. 

c) Ulcer in cancer:

Cancerous ulcers are having everted edges with hard base. Bleeding is also
seen. Cancer of the tongue is common in tobacco chewers. 

d) Syphilitic ulcers:

Syphilitic fissures are longitudinal in direction. In primary syphilis extra
genital chancre is seen on the tongue. In secondary syphilis multiple shallow
ulcers are seen on the under surface and sides of the tongue. In tertiary
syphilis gumma may be seen on the midline of the dorsum of the tongue. 

e) Dental ulcers:

These ulcers are produced by sharp edges of carious teeth. 

MEDICAL TESTIMONY ON ALCOHOL. 

Dr. Ezra M. Hunt says: "The capacity of the alcohols for impairment of
functions and the initiation and promotion of organic lesions in vital parts, 
is unsurpassed by any record in the whole range of medicine. The facts as to
this are so indisputable, and so far granted by the profession, as to be no
longer debatable. Changes in stomach and liver, in kidneys and lungs, in the
blood-vessels to the minutest capillary, and in the blood to the smallest red
and white blood disc disturbances of secretion, fibroid and fatty degenerations
in almost every organ, impairment of muscular power, impressions so profound on
both nervous systems as to be often toxic these, and such as these, are the oft
manifested results. And these are not confined to those called intemperate."

Professor Youmans says: "It is evident that, so far from being the conservator
of health, alcohol is an active and powerful cause of disease, interfering, as
it does, with the respiration, the circulation and the nutrition; now, is any
other result possible?"

Dr. F. R. Lees says: "That alcohol should contribute to the fattening process
under certain conditions, and produce in drinkers fatty degeneration of the
blood, follows, as a matter of course, since, on the one hand, we have an agent
that retains waste matter by lowering the nutritive and excretory functions, and
on the other, a direct poisoner of the vesicles of the vital stream."

Dr. Henry Monroe says: "There is no kind of tissue, whether healthy or morbid, 
that may not undergo fatty degeneration; and there is no organic disease so
troublesome to the medical man, or so difficult of cure. If, by the aid of the
microscope, we examine a very fine section of muscle taken from a person in
good health, we find the muscles firm, elastic and of a bright red color, made
up of parallel fibres, with beautiful crossings or striae; but, if we similarly
examine the muscle of a man who leads an idle, sedentary life, and indulges in
intoxicating drinks, we detect, at once, a pale, flabby, inelastic, oily
appearance. Alcoholic narcotization appears to produce this peculiar conditions
of the tissues more than any other agent with which we are acquainted. 
'Three-quarters of the chronic illness which the medical man has to treat, '
says Dr. Chambers, 'are occasioned by this disease.' The eminent French
analytical chemist, Lecanu, found as much as one hundred and seventeen parts of
fat in one thousand parts of a drunkard's blood, the highest estimate of the
quantity in health being eight and one-quarter parts, while the ordinary
quantity is not more than two or three parts, so that the blood of the drunkard
contains forty times in excess of the ordinary quantity."

Dr. Hammond, who has written, in partial defense of alcohol as containing a
food power, says: "When I say that it, of all other causes, is most prolific in
exciting derangements of the brain, the spinal cord and the nerves, I make a
statement which my own experience shows to be correct."

Another eminent physician says of alcohol: "It substitutes suppuration for
growth. It helps time to produce the effects of age; and, in a word, is the
genius of degeneration."

Dr. Monroe, from whom "Alcohol, taken in small quantities, or largely diluted, 
as in the form of beer, causes the stomach gradually to lose its tone, and
makes it dependent upon artificial stimulus. Atony, or want of tone of the
stomach, gradually supervenes, and incurable disorder of health results. Should
a dose of alcoholic drink be taken daily, the heart will very often become
hypertrophied, or enlarged throughout. Indeed, it is painful to witness how
many persons are actually laboring under disease of the heart, owing chiefly to
the use of alcoholic liquors."

Dr. T. K. Chambers, physician to the Prince of Wales, says: "Alcohol is really
the most ungenerous diet there is. It impoverishes the blood, and there is no
surer road to that degeneration of muscular fibre so much to be feared; and in
heart disease it is more especially hurtful, by quickening the beat, causing
capillary congestion and irregular circulation, and thus mechanically inducing
dilatation."

Sir Henry Thompson, a distinguished surgeon, says: "Don't take your daily wine
under any pretext of its doing you good. Take it frankly as a luxury one which
must be paid for, by some persons very lightly, by some at a high price, but
always to be paid for. And, mostly, some loss of health, or of mental power, or
of calmness of temper, or of judgment, is the price."

Dr. Charles Jewett says: "The late Prof. Parks, of England, in his great work
on Hygiene, has effectually disposed of the notion, long and very generally
entertained, that alcohol is a valuable prophylactic where a bad climate, bad
water and other conditions unfavorable to health, exist; and an unfortunate
experiment with the article, in the Union army, on the banks of the
Chickahominy, in the year 1863, proved conclusively that, instead of guarding
the human constitution against the influence of agencies hostile to health, its
use gives to them additional force. The medical history of the British army in
India teaches the same lesson."

But why present farther testimony? Is not the evidence complete? To the man who
values good health; who would not lay the foundation for disease and suffering
in his later years, we need not offer a single additional argument in favor of
entire abstinence from alcoholic drinks. He will eschew them as poisons. 

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