Call for your Health

In 1995, many women were crest­fallen when a popular over-the­counter contraceptive choice and an FDA-approved product, Today’s sponge, was taken off the market. After an FDA inspection raised concern over the air and water quality in the plant that manufactured the sponge, there were some questions over the potential for an abundance of bacteria, an exposure the FDA felt could have compromised the safety of the product and women who used it. As a result, despite the fact that the product itself still met all FDA standards, the manufacturer halted production due to the prohibitive cost of upgrading the plant in order to pass inspection.

Now under different ownership, Allendale pharmaceutical company has addressed the environmental issues of the plant and plans once again to stock the shelves with, today’s sponge. The product will be no different than its last configuration. It has retained its donut­shape and continues to be coated in nonoxynol-9 spermicide. Its ease of use requires simply inserting it into the vagina and pushing it up to cover the cervix. Removal is equally simple; just pull on the loop, This device can be inserted up to 24 hours before intercourse and does not require repeat applications for repeated intercourse.

The demise of the sponge in 1995 became part of contemporary folklore when it was parodied on the popular television comedy, Seinfeld. When one of the characters, “Elaine,” found herself hoarding the limited supply of sponges still on the shelves, she also began to use it as a basis for rating the romantic potential of men she met. A relationship that had potential was considered to be spongeworthy, which meant Elaine might be willing to dip into her precious supply of sponges at some point. As in many cases, pop culture served as a fair barometer of contemporary society as the show reflected the feelings of many women around the country who felt a real loss when the sponge was no longer produced, Soon there will be no need for anymore hoarding.

Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is a condition which accounts for onset of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease along with their attendant symptoms. As a first step effort should be of both preventive and curative measures. If the basic cause is not ruled out and eliminated, the resultant diseases may seem to have abated, for the time being, but may surface again in the absence of corrective measures. The damage and the ravages, caused by arteriosclerosis, may not be fully brought under control, but their further and the damages, that are likely to surface, can be easily minimized, if not fully eliminated. High blood pressure exerts adverse effects on sensorium brain, heart, kidneys and some other vital organs. If blood pressure is controlled then further damage to vital organs can, at least, be suspended. It may again be mentioned that high blood pressure, like diabetes, can only be controlled and treated but not cured once forever. Do not feel elated if blood pressure is found to be normal for some days and this progress should not be construed to mean that, since blood pressure is under control, there is no. need to take any anti­hypertensive drugs. In fact, such treatment and the medicines, suggested therefore, should never be delayed or discontinued, except under medical advice. This is more true in cases of essential hypertension, when the real cause has not been deduced. If the real and basic cause has been discerned, then treatment of the affected organs will in itself, let the blood pressure remain under normal limits. The latter condition is known as primary hypertension, which is far cashier to cure than the former condition. Let all the hypertensive patients never forget that they will be simply exposing themselves to far horrible risks and, at times, even with irreversible symptoms, leading even to fatal end. Imagine what would the condition of a person if he loses his vision or he gets paralyses, due to sheer negligence.

Coronary heart disease and high blood pressure are merely extended forms of the accumulation, in higher concentration, of cholesterol which, in turn, owes its origin to wrong habits and, more so, of wrong food habits and faulty living life style. The chief cause is wrong food and rise in cholesterol is merely a result thereof. Had there been no food fads and wrong eating, there would have been no rise in cholesterol. Some of the prominent symptoms of blood pressure may be summed up as : Tension, worries and cares of modern life style and self-imposed indiscretions and relaxations, blurred vision, severe headache, throbbing of blood vessels and temples, reddened face, insomnia, bleeding (in extreme case) from any orifice (opening) of the body, palpitation, pain in chest, swelling in the face and ankles, excessive sweating, dizziness, nausea or vomiting.

All the above conditions surface when, due to accumulation of cholesterol in the arteries, the passage becomes narrower and the blood exerts pressure on the walls of the arteries which, due to lack of flexibility and narrow passage, are not in a position to cope with pressure of blood. As result of blockade and hardening of the arteries, the blood supply to the heart is retard, resulting in palpitation and, sometimes, pain in heart region. It can now be deduced that cholesterol is the main cause for all the heart diseases, kidney problems and for that matter, all of the symptoms mentioned above. Following steps may help in reducing blood pressure and keeping the same within normal confines.

As a rule all saturated fats, tobacco, tea, coffee, strong drinks, meats should be avoided but should be substituted by unsaturated fats, bland diet, rich in green leafy vegetables, fruits. Avoid all types of irritant and precipitating factors. Foods, rich in cholesterol, as mentioned earlier also, bears repetition. Beef, mutton chicken, oyster, chicken, crab, shrimp, lobster and eggs increase cholesterol in blood, as far as meat products are concerned. Saturated fats like cream, ghee, butter, dalda (vegetable ghee), margarine, coconut oil should be ruled out from diet, or at least tapered to minimum level of consumption. Vegetable fats should be substituted by soyabean oil, maize oil, sunflower oil, generally. Adopt the habit of low salt, low calorie, low fat diet.

It is also important to detoxify body, by means of juices of fresh fruits and vegetables. The obese must try to shed extra weight by means of regular physical activity, dietary regimen. Avoid sleeping during early hours in the morning. Cultivate an active habit of ‘Early to bed and early to rise.’ Keep your bowels in good humour. Avoid constipation at any cost and, if there is any problem on that count, try to meet the situation by aid of natural means, but not by laxatives or purgatives. Do not ever agitate your mind or disturb your digestive system. Never hurry, worry or scurry. Feel normal and act and behave like a normal person.

As soon as you notice symptoms of high blood pressure, never delay seeking medical guidance and advice. Any delay can prove suicidal and damaging, at times with dangerous/fatal consequences. Before concluding on this topic, it would be in order to resort to natural means but, if the situation demands medicinal use, it should never be delayed. There is no reason or cause for any alarm, under any circumstance, but a dilatory and complacent approach is also suicidal. An old adage will go a long way in pressing home our view point (viz, a stitch in time saves nine). Always avoid an acute angle approach. Sedentary and inactive life style, so called compulsions and constraints of modern life, unnatural living pattern, which seeks divorce from nature, is never a favourable option. If it is a matter of option, then why not opt for a better and healthier way in life instead of falling a prey into the hands and clutches of mad race for ‘modernity.’

Human body is compact whole of organs of senses, brain, heart, lungs, respiratory system, urinary system, skeleton of a bony cage, blood vessels. No other organ can even function in the absence of a perfect digestive system, It is the food, rather a well-balanced and nutritious diet, that (after undergoing various metabolic changes) is required to feed the body. Let us have a close look, as to how our body’s digestive system has to undergo various processes to convert food-intake into a living force or energy to sllstain and nurture it. ‘Food’ accounts or all the edible eatables, including beverages, water, animal and sea products, meats, vegetables etc.

Food is devised to serve the body for discharging its various functions, depending on each person’s physical and work-based requirements. It is a basic principle in Ayurveda that if stomach is not in order, whole system would stand disturbed and further, if one bas got costive bowels (constipation) he will extend invitation to lot of many problems. In Nature cure also, keeping the functioning of stomach normal is a prime requisite and all efforts are directed to achieve the said end. Wrong type of diet is held mainly the cause of many ills of body. In order to rectify the wrongs done to our digestive system, people resort to taking laxatives or purgatives so that toxins are purged from the body.

Digestive Process

Our food consists of sugars, proteins, starches, fats, vitamins, oils and salts. Our system consumes and utilises only a part of the food we ingest and the rest of the useless portion thereof is expelled in the form of excreta and urine, two major excretions of the body in addition, of course, to perspiration of the body. Our teeth break the solid portion of our food into small & tiny parts when, during the course of mastication, saliva gets mixed with it, so that liquefied food is swallowed easily. The more we masticate, more the saliva mixes with the food. Saliva is an alkaline fluid which is secreted and released by salivary glands. Food, gulped down in haste, is neither masticated properly nor does it have advantage of mixing of saliva. Process of digestion of food starts from the mouth itself, from where it enters pharynx which is an expanded cavity behind mouth. Here pharynx is common to food and air passages alike. From there it slips down to the gullet which is a muscular organ and is capable of forcing the food along, as and when necessary. The usual length of gullet is around 9″ and ends up in the stomach. This ends initial stage of digestive process.

Now the food descends into the stomach which is a hollow muscular bag and is lined by a glandular mucus membrane that secrets gastric juice. Gastric juice comprises of salts, pepsin, water and hydrochloric acid. In the stomach, food is mixed and rotated, to render it in more liquefied form so as to absorb above mentioned stomach juices. Now the proteins are changed to such a form that they can pass through the wall of stomach so that it could be absorbed to nourish the system. Proteins and starches, then, get activated, even though not completely digested. Now oil and fat are also broken up to set free the oil. From the stomach the food descends to small intestine which look like a coil that measures 8.62 mtrs more than 20. Thereafter pancreatic juice, intestinal juice and bile mix up with the food which passes through the intestinal wall into lacteal and then spills over to blood.

Small intestine is divided into 3 parts viz.

Duodenam (I part of small intestines) -2.54mts Total

Jefunum (II part of small intestines) -2.43 mtrs length

Ilium (III part of small intestines) -3.65 mtrs 8.62 mtrs

Largest organ of the body is liver which weighs about 3/2 to 2 kgs. It is situated on the right side, under the diaphragm. Liver has within it, fine tubes called Bile Ducts into which bile is secreted by cells of the liver. Hepatic duct is formed by joining together of bile ducts. Now the hepatic duct carries the bile to first part of the small intestine (duodenum). Bile is yellow tinted fluid that contains bile salts and mucus. Bile acts on the fat and oil substances of the food and breaks them into small drops.

Sugar also remains stored in the liver and is gradually released into the blood stream, as and when body requires energy. In diabetes, liver is not in a position to retain sugar and quite often it releases sugar in the blood. Problem is further complicated when the pancreas also fails to release insulin. If liver has sufficient storage capacity and also releases sugar into the blood stream gradually, then the incidence of diabetes is not that grave, but is rendered graver due to insulin deficiency. In addition to insulin pancreas releases other juices that act on the proteins, fats and starches to metabolize, thus aiding further in the process of digestion.

Large intestine is a tube-shaped part, about 1.82 mtrs long and has nothing to do with the digestive process, except retaining residual part (remnants of food) of food for one or two days, after which such residue is expelled (after it hardens in the large intestine for about 24­36 hours) by way of rectum.

The whole process, from ingestion to the stage of expulsion, is carried out in such a smooth and noiseless pattern that we never know as to how faithfully and silently digestive organs of the body discharge their assigned functions in such an amazing and uniform manner. If your diet is well balanced and you neither starve nor overload your system with the food items, that are not suited to your body, you can rarely have a chance to fall ill. If, at all, you fall ill, the intensity and duration of the illness will be negligible and short-lived. On the contrary, dietary indiscreet violations, if continued for a larger period, are bound to spell disaster for you which can manifest in the form of stomach and abdomen pains, loose motions or constipation, acidity or acidic vomiting, with or without nausea/vomiting, gurgling sound, flatulence, locking of gas etc.

Remember, body has immense capacity to absorb human absurdities and irregularities, but it will surely send warning signals initially. If the initial warning signals are ignored, the results can be too horrifying to describe. So, always try to remain within confines of Nature’s laws, because nature’s kindness must never be taken for granted. Sometimes, one has to pay a very heavy price for flouting the laws ‘Of the nature with impunity. Remaining healthy should be your aim and for that your diet must measure up to your various demands on the system. It takes time to regain health. For any illness, let us search within our hearts and try to deduce and pin-point the real cause of malady and, finally, eliminating the basic cause. In most or the cases, it would often be found that the diseased state has surfaced due to wrong use of diet. Diseases relating to sensorium, heart, urinary tract, respiration arc generally attributed to our wrong life-style and ill-placed food habits, resulting in poor and sluggish digestion.

If you have decided to build your body and has hit the gym, then congratulations! You are in the right track buddy. Your fitness is the key to a happy and stress free life. It has been found that people who are fit stay happier and stress free more than those who are not fit at all. But exercising demands balanced amount of nutrition for your body. Though we try to stick to some diet plan, but we cannot meet the exact amount of nutritional requirements of the body. In such case supplements come to great rescue. There are vitamin supplements in the market for both exercisers as well as those who suffer from vitamin deficiency.

The market is flooded with such vitamin supplements and nutritional products from different brands. Trust a brand which is popular and is prescribed by trainers or doctors. There are some herbal products which claim of great nutritional values because of herbal extractions. They spell names of herbs you never heard! So be cautious before you believe in it and start taking it. Ask a doctor or a naturopath about the importance of such herbs and supplements. The over all mens health is important.

Intensity refers to the degree of vigorousness of a single session of exercise. The intensity level recommended by the american college of sports medicine (ACSM) in 1990 for the purpose of developing physical fitness was 60% to 90% of the maximal heart rate. HRmax can be measured by a physical work capacity test on a treadmill or cycle ergometer. Because most people do not have access to such tests, HRmax can be estimated by subtracting age from 220. A 20 year old person has an estimated HRmax of 200 beats per minute. This formula predicts rather than measures HRmax; therefore a measurement error of approximately plus or minus 10 beats per minute is associated with its use.

After the HRmax has been determined, the target for exercise may be calculated. The target zone for exercise provides the desirable heart rate for the development of physical fitness, For the 20 year old individual whose HRmax is 200 beats per minute.

This 20 year old person should exercise at a heart rate between 120 and 180 beats per minute, depending on objectives and level of fitness. The target for a person whose level of fitness is average is 150 to 160 beats per minute for exercise. The training effect occurs at heart rate levels below the maximum.

Another method for calculating exercise heart rate, the karvonen formula, considers fitness level and resting heart rate. The training heart rate is calculated with this formula by using a percentage of the heart rate reserve, which is the difference between the HRmax and the resting heart rate. The best way to determine the resting heart rate for this method is to count the pulse rate for 15 seconds while in the sitting position immediately after waking in the morning. You should repeat this for 4 to 5 consecutive days and average the readings for a relatively accurate representation of resting heart rate. If you cannot decide which category is the most appropriate. Your performance on these should place you in a category that reflects your physical fitness level.

Learning to take the pulse rate quickly and accurately is necessary to monitor exercise intensity by heart rate. Two of the most commonly used sites for taking the pulse rate are the radial artery at the thumb side of the wrist and the carotid artery at the side of the neck . You use the first two fingers of the preferred hand to palpate the pulse. At the wrist, the pulse is located at the base of the thumb with the hand held palm up. For the carotid pulse, you should slide your fingers downward at the angle of the jaw below the earlobe to the side of the neck. You apply only enough pressure to feel the pulse, particularly at the carotid artery. Excessive pressure at this point stimulates specialized receptors that automatically slow the heart rate, leading to an underestimation of the rate actually achieved during exercise. The wrist is the preferred site for the palpation (examination by touch or feel) of the pulse rate. You should use the carotid pulse if you cannot feel your pulse at the wrist.

You should locate and count the pulse rate immediately after exercise stops. You count the beats for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to get beats per minute. You may start the count by assigning a zero to the first beat that is felt, or you may, as nurses do, start the count by assigning the first beat felt a value of one. Regardless of which technique you use, you should be consistent in its application. Some practice is required to locate the pulse quickly and to count it accurately.

Another method for monitoring the intensity of exercise is by rating your subjective perception of the effort. On some days, exercise seems easier than normal, and other days it may seem more difficult. The intensity level of exercise for most people should fall in the categories of 11 to 15, and this should correspond approximately to the target heart rate. In other words, if you are in the appropriate target heart rate zone, the perceived exertion will probably be between 11 and 15.

In 1995, the ACSM issued its newest guidelines for physical activity. To reiterate, the statement recommends that all adults should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most if not all days of the week. This recommendation was not intended to replace the 1990 guidelines, but rather to motivate the inactive and sporadically active to become regularly active for the purpose of health enhancement. Those who are following the 1990 guidelines should continue to do so, while those who are following the new guidelines should attempt to move to a higher level.

Let’s discuss first the radiologist’s contributions in diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis is most important. Surgical or medical treatment, no matter how brilliantly done, is useless if directed against the wrong condition. Therefore, the diagnosis has to be right.

Suppose you are sick. The key to your recovery is an accurate diagnosis. Somewhere in your doctor’s study of your illness, it is likely that an x-ray examination will be required. Shall you have any doctor or commercial technician just “take an x-ray” or shall you have a thorough x-ray examination by a qualified radiologist? A competent x-ray examination is not just “taking a picture.” It is the careful study of your inner structures by a doctor who is trained to use x-rays as his special instrument.

Nearly every organ in the human body may be explored by x-rays. This means that in every field of medicine the x-ray examination is a most valuable diagnostic contribution. As a result, the radiologist might be referred to as the “detective” in the fight against sickness. In trained hands all these examinations

The American Board of Radiology is one of the National Qualifying Specialty Boards. The Board examines the candidates to see if their training has been satisfactory. Members of the Board are outstanding professors and practicing radiologists. When the doctor passes the rigorous examinations given by the Board of Radiology he becomes qualified as one of the following specialists.

Radiologist qualified in the use of x-rays, radium and radioactive substances for diagnosis and treatment. Roentgenologist (RENT-gen-ahl-oh­jist) : Qualified in the use of x-rays alone for diagnosis and treatment are safe.

Because you have been referred to the radiologist by your doctor, who wants to consult with him after you have had your x-ray examination, the radiologist is called a “consulting physician” by his fellow M. D.’s. He is a doctor’s doctor.

Preparations for Examination

You may fret and wonder about certain necessary requirements for a radiological examination, but all the requirements are necessary to obtain clear x-ray films free from confusing shadows.

The table you may lie on will not be padded because the pad might cast a shadow on the finished film. All hairpins, earrings, and even false teeth have to be removed for examination of the head. A special gown usually is provided for examination because jewelry, buttons, safety pins and belts will cast shadows on the film which might either hide a disease process or appear as a shadow suggestive of some disease process.

Before some types of examinations the radiologist will ask the patient not to eat or drink for a certain number of hours, again to avoid misleading shadows. Various tablets and liquids will be given the patient for different examinations, and enemas are required in others. (These will be explained later in descriptions of specific examinations.)

The patient may be placed on a table which can be tilted so that the radiologist can examine him in different positions. In most instances it is necessary to get different views of a body structure on x-ray film to better comprehend the patient’s difficulties.

In a fluoroscopic examination the radiologist probably will wear a special apron and gloves to protect him from the radiation that he works with every day. He may appear in the examination room wearing red goggles they are to adapt his eyes to the dark and he will have worn them for about 20 minutes before he starts your examination.

When a simple radiograph (x-ray film) is needed you may be prepared for the examination by an x-ray technician; and under the radiologist’s direction, the technician may take the x-ray and develop it. But the technician is not qualified for any film interpretation and does not attempt any.

Now, let’s look at what some specific x-ray examinations by a radiologist will mean for you or your family.

For more than a generation the staff of the health department laboratory has worked to promote the public health. This they have done by testing drinking water for evidence of bacterial contamination, by analyzing milk and other dairy products for purity and nutritive value, by checking food handlers for evidence of communicable disease, and the like.

More recently, the clinical pathologist in his laboratory has developed techniques for evaluating the personal health of the individual. By testing apparently healthy individuals at regular intervals he has learned to detect disturbances of function before organ disease has occurred. Modification of diet or habits may then correct the functional disturbance before actual illness develops.

The diseases that may be prevented by these means are the chronic diseases, slow in onset and dangerous when un­detected, especially those which tend to appear in middle age and to cause prolonged illness and death.

The physician must give careful thought to the selection of laboratory tests to be used in the health examination. In general the tests which are most useful are “screening tests” which provide a broad surveyor’ profile of the various organ systems, especially those systems which are most apt to be affected by chronic diseases. If one of these tests yields an abnormal result, the physician then extends the examination in order to pinpoint the diagnosis.

Recommended tests will differ some­what for different individuals, depending upon their history of familial diseases, prior illnesses, occupational or environmental hazards, social contacts, diet, habit, age and sex. Since most persons undergoing annual physical examinations are mature adults, certain tests are commonly used for all, and to this group are added other tests that are appropriate for the specific individual.

There are a great many tests which may be employed with benefit in health maintenance, but considerations of cost, convenience and safety to the patient tend to reduce the list to those procedures most likely to yield useful information.

Ideally, patients should be in a baseline state at the time their specimens are collected for laboratory examinations, since certain blood chemical studies may be influenced by food intake and physical activity. If specimens are always taken before breakfast and after a good night’s sleep, the results will reflect the true basal state and can be compared to normal values.

By regular annual repetition of the whole series of laboratory tests, it is sometimes possible to recognize a beginning functional disturbance, even before the test result is definitely abnormal. Thus if a man in his middle thirties has shown consistently a blood cholesterol of 175-200, and then in his forties his cholesterol values rise to 250, it would seem wise to give consideration to this change in spite of the fact that the new value is still not definitely abnormal.

In the following section are listed certain tests and procedures that are commonly used as part of the annual physical examination. For a brief explanation of the various tests, see definitions at the end of this chapter.

Human body is prone to deformations and as a result, we can see people with huge weight hanging from their bellies. The people suffering from excessive body fats are often left bar behind in the race of achieving success. The weight loss pills come for the rescue of such people and bring them in par with other people. But, you need to get each diet pill reviewed from experts before consuming it.

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First of all, these pills are fabricated from naturally existing products like acai berry and thus, don’t contain any types of addictive chemicals. Secondly, majority of these pills are free from any type of side-effects. However, these pills are often considered to contain the potential of posing threat to human body. If experts are to be believed, these rumors are baseless and far away from the truth.

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As people attain a level of fitness that meets their needs and further improvement is not desired, the program switches from developing fitness to maintaining it. At this point the principles of overload and progression may be set aside, but both are necessary for the improvement phase of fitness. Overload involves subjecting the body to unaccustomed stress. Challenging the body to periodically accept a slightly increased level of work forces it to adapt by attaining a higher level of fitness. When to impose each new challenge involves the principle of progression. The workload is increased only when the exerciser is ready to accept a new challenge. For aerobic exercise, target heart rate and/or perceived exertion may be used to establish criteria for scheduling the progression of exercise. For example, if you jog, swim, or cycle a certain distance, the exercise heart rate will decrease over time as your body adapts to training. When the exercise heart rate drops to a predetermined level, you should adjust the pace and/or distance to return to the original target zone.

The principle of specificity of training suggests that the body adapts according to the specific type of stress placed on it. The muscles involved in any activity are the ones that adapt, and they do so in the specific way in which they are used. For example, jogging prepares you for jogging but is poor preparation for cycling. Cycling does not prepare you for swimming. Although all these activities stress the cardiorespiratory system, they are sufficiently different that there is little fitness carryover among them.

The principle of specificity is particularly important for competitive athletes. Competitors attempt to maximize the returns from their training effort; therefore runners must train by running, swimmers must swim, and cyclists must cycle. The focus is on maximal improvement in one activity so that the body is trained in a specific manner. This locks athletes into regimented training programs, but people who exercise for health reasons are not under such constraints. They can vary activities and prevent the boredom of participating in the same activity week after week. Cycling, jogging, swimming, racquetball, cross country skiing, and weight training may be used in any combination or order for the development of physical fitness. This is the essence of cross training. Not only does cross training relieve boredom, it may reduce the incidence of injury because the same muscles are not being stressed in the same way during every workout.

Cross training has many advantages and is an excellent technique for attaining the health benefits of exercise. Variety, the major attraction of cross training, can also be a disadvantage. By participating in many different activities, you seldom become proficient in anyone. However, if the objective is health enhancement, proficiency is incidental.

Identifying goals provides some direction for the activities selected and the way the principles of exercise are to be manipulated to increase the probability of success. Only one or two major goals should be selected, and these should be as specific as possible so that an effective exercise program may be devised. Activities, objectives, and principles must match.

When you have identified the objectives and know what you wish to achieve from the exercise program, the means for sustaining the program must be identified next. The resolve to exercise is shakiest during the early stages of the program, usually because people push untrained bodies beyond their limits. This results in sore muscles, stiffness, and possible injury. The drop out rate is highest in the beginning of any exercise program. The irony is that the greatest return for the effort is attained during this phase.