Physical health & diseases – Page 6

12 JAN

What You Need to Know About Heart Attacks

My high school teammate Tommy called to tell me that the father of one of our friends had died at home. I was devastated by this news. As a typical teenager, I believed that we and all those around us were immune to the misfortunes of sickness and disease. Our friend’s father was 35 years old and had no history of cardiovascular disease. We later learned that the day before he died he had developed aching in his left arm and slight nausea, but believed this to be only the fatigue of hard work. He had mistaken cardinal symptoms of myocardial ischemia (not getting enough oxygen to the heart muscle) for minor aches and pains.
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01 JUL

Sleep Apnea and Restless Limb Syndrome affecting your sleep?

I can fall asleep, but I wake up throughout the night and never seem to feel rested the next day. How do I get a good night’s sleep?

There are several different stages of sleep that need to be reached in order to achieve quality rest. Many things can disrupt your ability to achieve quality sleep, including your external environment and medical problems.

Your external environment
An uncomfortable bed, constricting clothing, bright lights, and noises can be distracting while you slumber. Even a disruptive spouse who snores or tosses and turns could be the reason you don’t get rest!

01 MAR

A Top Doctor’s Advice on How to Fight Diabetes

Vibrant Life: Give us an idea of the scope of the diabetes problem.

Dr. Barnard: It is reaching epidemic levels. There are 200 million people or more who have it. Year by year it gets more common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that children born since the year 2000 have a one in three risk of developing diabetes at some point in their lives. Most of them will not develop it as children but as adults, but one in three is an astronomical figure we’ve never had before.

01 JAN

Tips for Strong and Healthy Nails

Everything that Dr. William W. Jih, medical director for Loma Linda University Family Medical Group, had to say about maintaining healthy fingernails didn’t fit in the magazine. Here’s the complete interview.

I’ve heard characteristic on fingernails can indicate health problems. Should ridges and brittleness worry me?

Nail changes may not be the window to the soul, but they certainly can give a glimpse into the potential health of a person. Elements of the human body that are constantly growing and regenerating–such as skin, hair, and nails–are very susceptible to major changes in the overall health of the human body. Just like rings in a tree trunk, nails can develop lines after a particularly stressful illness that inhibits the body’s resources to grow healthy nails. Auto-immune disorders or disease in which your immune system is affected can have nail manifestations. Additionally, vitamin and iron deficiency have been known to cause nail changes and brittleness. Although these changes can be a clue to systemic illness or deficiency, these changes may also be the result of external damage. Exposure to chemicals and common cleaning agents–and even prolonged exposure to water–can have a harsh effect on nails leading to crumbling, pitting, and development of lines in the nail.

01 SEP

Clean Inside Out

The Americas

Deep in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, medicine is an herbal-based art in which healing is interconnected with spiritual beliefs. It’s rooted in the dark shadows of shamanic customs in which the healing traditions are orally passed from shaman to apprentice. The herbs chosen are tailored to the individual person and their condition.
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01 MAY

All-season Skin Care

Let’s face it. Tanned skin is gorgeous. Some even think it looks healthy. But no matter how stunning you may look walking around the office four shades darker than everyone else, you may be setting yourself up for a rather un-gorgeous future.

“Pigmentation is a response to injury,” says Henry A. Greenblatt, M.D., a dermatologist in Newburgh, New York. He says that your skin becomes tan “only to protect itself from further injury. I have patients who’ll go to a tanning booth and they’ll say, ‘Well, I’m going on a cruise to the Caribbean and I want to get some tan before I go so I don’t have problems down there.’ And I say, ‘Then you’re damaging you’re skin now and you’re damaging it later. Why don’t you skip both?’”

Greenblatt’s advice is simple and to the point. “Wear sunscreen, avoid the midday sun, and make sure you don’t burn. Do whatever that takes—whether that means covering yourself with clothing or staying in the shade. There are a variety of ways to avoid damage.”

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