Heart attacks

One of the most common causes of natural deaths that we hear about, both on television and in our daily lives are the heart attacks. In fact, one of the leading killers of both men and women in United States. Heart attacks usually occur when blood flow to one of the heart muscles get blocked. If the flow isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die.They are most often caused by the result of a condition called coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD in turn, is caused by the accumulation of a fatty material called plaque over the coronary arteries over a period of many years. Eventually, an area of plaque ruptures resulting in the formation of a blood clot on the surface of the plaque. If the clot is large enough, blood flow is blocked to the heart muscle serviced by the artery. Doctors say that most patients can be saved if they are treated within one hour of the beginning symptoms. Recent technological advancements have made sure of that. Thus, it is in our hands to ensure that if someone nearby is suffering from a heart attack, then we take all efforts possible to ensure that they get prompt treatment.

Need to know facts about Asthma

This post is directed towards the young parents who ought know about this chronic medical condition so that they can proper care to ensure that their child is as safe as possible. Though Asthma is known to occur in people across all ages, it is in a young age, where it invariably strikes. It is a lung disease that causes inflammation of the airways causing shortness of breath, extended periods of wheezing and coughing.The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs.As the airways swell due to asthma,they tend to react strongly to certain substances that are breathed in.This in turn causes the muscles around them to tighten,thus narrowing the airways and letting only less air to enter the lungs.The swelling can cause the airways to become narrower.This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are irritated. It's important to treat the symptoms as early as possible to prevent the symptoms from worsening. Though Asthma can't be cured and is always present within us,the advancements in medicine have ensured that even people with Asthma can lead a normal life. But, it is essential that we know completely about it and deal with it in an effective and prompt manner

Importance of daily exercise

In our increasingly hectic lifestyle, we hardly have time for ourselves in a day. Even when we do get few minutes of leisure time, most of us spend it watching television or browsing the net. Hence, most of us do not take the efforts to look after our health until our body starts showing symptoms of our neglect through pot bellies, frequent sickness and so on. Hardly few of us realize the importance of daily exercise. Even when people do think about entering the realm of exercise, there are always umpteen number of people who are there by his side to discourage him, saying that daily exercises would be too painful, too hard or even that it can't be done everyday.Often the toughest task is to get started- just like a train engine uses up most of its energy to get itself started. So the priority should be on starting as early as possible. We can also motivate others to take up this habit as well. After that, we need to allot a fixed amount of time at roughly the same period of day for exercise-sort of slotting in the exercise into our daily routine as well. Then we can reap the rewards in no time at all.

Flu scare all over the world

Recently WHO upgraded the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 indicating that a global pandemic is underway. More and more countries around the world are reporting cases of human infection. In such a case, it is to our benefit to take extra precautions to ensure our safety,right?The flu is generally a contagious respiratory illness caused by the human influenza virus and can result in mild to severe illness. But, swine flu has been known to cause several deaths in Mexico, though it hasn't caused any deaths in any of the other countries. Fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing, which are all symptoms of the human influenza virus, are identified to be the most common symptoms of swine flu as well.The flu has been known to transmit through coughing, talking, sneezing, through the air. Indirect spread by touching someone's sneeze on a telephone, doorknob or any public space and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes(all points of entry) can result in flu as well. Though wearing a mask would provide you with the utmost protection, in most cases, it is often enough to wash your hands prior to touching your mouth, eyes and nose, and prior to eating and drinking.

Do oxygen bars really provide benefit as they claim that they would?

The latest rage in the spa/salon industry has been the oxygen bars. So many of them have sprouted up like mushrooms suddenly.These bars offer customers purified,scented oxygen through a nasal hose with a relaxed atmosphere usually accompanied by soothing background music.This idea was first said to have taken off in Japan, Mexico and South America, with all of these regions notorious for its polluted air. An increase in physical energy and stamina, enhanced concentration and clearer thinking, reduced stress, reduction of symptoms of headaches and hangovers, an increase in metabolism have all been reported as benefits of the sessions at these oxygen bars. Further, it is said that Oxygen provides enhanced absorption rates of vitamins and minerals, and healthier - younger looking skin. Naturally, with all these benefits to be gained, there has been no dearth in the number of people lining up to have a session at one of these bars.Although these bars do offer some respite from the polluted air found in large cities, there are many who believe that it doesn't offer much more than what a building or car with an air filtration system does.Moreover,people with respiratory problems can have their conditions worsened by taking excessive oxygen.Thus, there has been no clear verdict on whether these oxygen bars are beneficial or not in the long run. The jury is still out.

Do your friends smoke?

One of the chief reasons given by youngsters to take up smoking is peer pressure.Too frequently we come across students and youths taking up smoking to look cool amongst their friends' circle. This is because of the human need to feel accepted, to feel that they belong. In fact, studies have shown that rate of smoking amongst individuals who have 3 or more friends who smoke, is 10 times greater than for an individual who doesn't have smokers as friends.Though it is possible that individuals may be subjected to coercion from their peers to smoke, it is more likely that they took up the habit of their own accord,to show others that they can do it as well. But these youngsters do not realize the detrimental effects of smoking, both to themselves and to those around. We also do come across smokers who try to warn their friends to keep away from the harmful habit of smoking. But they are often few and far between.All of us must understand that an ideal friend would never encourage his/her peer to take up smoking.Most importantly, we must also realize that all chain smokers started out as casual smokers. Once you pick up the habit, it is very difficult to quit. Thus, it is in our best interests to not pick it up at all.



If an individual is bullied it is crucial for the individual to talk to someone for example a parent, teacher, or friend for help. During adolescence, children try to declare their independence and discover their identity. However, they still yearn for the endorsement of their action by peers. They are often unnecessarily bothered about the prospect of being discarded. It has been established that adolescents act in accordance with their observation which do not at all times correspond to reality.

As far as smoking cigarettes is concerned, children are undoubtedly guided by the action of their peers. Studies have revealed that the rate of smoking among children with three or more friends who smoke is 10 times greater in comparison to the rate among children who do not have friends who smoke.

"Everyone else is doing it"

How often have we heard this from our friends, who encourage us to have just one sip/peg/glass of alcohol. Last post, I had talked about peer pressure forcing youngsters to take up smoking. Well cases of youths taking up alcohol consumption to please their friends, are no less in number. Studies have shown that peer pressure is one of the most widespread excuse that youngsters give to explain why they were doing something that they know they should not have done.
While peer pressure influences the wardrobes of youths, music they hear,and even their leisure activities-these are some of the relatively harmless effects compared to these youngsters taking up the habit of alcohol consumption because of their friends. At one time or another, most adolescents choose to go along with group expectations in exchange for having their needs met.These teens must understand that drinking too much, too soon can lead to psychological disorders, damage to many important organs of our body, addictions and even arrest.Most people don’t want to risk making others feel bad, but it’s important to stand up for yourself.It is important to say no assertively, stand up for your friends who haven't tried alcohol yet, but are in danger of doing so, if you don't act soon.

Some easy steps to lose weight

Losing weight can become a hassle to most people as it can be both straining and time consuming, especially if you have got a lot of weight to lose. But when the excess weight starts to take its toll on your health and lifestyle, then it is clear indication that it is now time to shed the weight. Nowadays there are many weight loss products that are on the market to fit every individual’s lifestyle. Here are some of these weight loss products and how they work:Firstly, there are weight loss products that are available in capsules, that is, diet pills. Depending in the manufacture’s instructions, they can either be taken before or after a meal respectively. Some of these pills work by speeding up your metabolism while others reduce your cravings for oily and sugary foods.Another weight loss products on the market is a drink that works similar to the diet pills but is available in liquid form. This drink usually made of natural products that are low on calories works to detoxify the toxins in your body that prevent rapid weight loss.The above mentioned products are just some of the many products that you can use to fit your lifestyle. Other weight loss products include equipment such as the treadmill, allowing you to choose a weight loss product to suit your lifestyle.

Body Mass Index

BMI is a number calculated from a person's weight and height.It is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people Weight categories for health problems are now calculated using BMI.It gives an account of how healthy a person based on his weight and height. But it does not measure body fat. Thus due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most widely used diagnostic tool to identify weight problem within a population including: underweight, overweight and obesity. Though it was invented between 1830 and 1850, BMI became popular during the early 1950s and 60s as obesity started to become a major problem in the Western societies. It can be calculated by dividing the individual's body weight by the square of his or her height. It can also be determined using a BMI chart. BMI chart displays BMI as a function of weight (horizontal axis) and height (vertical axis) using contour lines for different values of BMI or colours for different BMI categories. However, BMI has become controversial because many people, including physicians, have come to rely on its apparent numerical authority for medical diagnosis, contrary to its original purpose,which was to use it as a simple means of classifying sedentary individuals with an average body composition. It is reported that a BMI of 18.5 to 25 may indicate optimal weight; a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight.

Avoiding Junk food

Fast foods(also known as junk food) like French fries, hot dogs, burgers, pizzas, snacks, chips etc. are now counted as amongst the chief reasons for obesity and various diseases among the developed countries and developing countries. Obesity is becoming the largest health concern of the developed world and is more prevalent amongst children. Obesity increases the risk for high cholesterol and fatty streak development, which translates into greater risk for cardiac disease and cardiovascular related disease such as high Blood Pressure and Diabetes. Also high content of monosodium glutamate or salt contents is bad for the kidney and health. Canning, dehydrating, freezing are processes which effectively destroy the necessary vitamins and minerals from the food items. The food may taste and look better by coloring, etc but it is not good for health. Also, high salt content is never good for the body and the oil used for the fried foods will add to the fat content and will not help in the diet control.

Drinking Water

It's amazing how, we sometimes neglect some of the most basic precautions needed to maintain our health. One of these would be drinking lots of water. Almost any doctor or nutrician, that you contact will tell you about the importance of water consumption, especially if you live in an arid region. A lot of our organs depend on proper intake of water for their daily functionality-chief amongst them being our kidneys.One of the most important benefits of proper water consumption is the help that it provides to the digestive system.Thus it helps in releasing proper nutrients to the body. Besides removing unwanted toxins out of the body, it keeps the immune system strong and prevents dehydration. It has even led to deaths though the number of people who have died of too much water consumption is very few. But, as with anything, too much of water can lead to reverse intoxication. Studies have shown that we should consume at least 10 glasses of water. This amount will make the body work properly and also help it in reducing fat. But,it is important to understand that the amount of water needed by a body can vary from person to person and can depend on a lot of factors including the amount of exercise or other physical activity, climate.

Skin Care

Just like the dress that we wear, it is equally important to take a lot of care in maintaining our skin. This is often a neglected aspect. Though ,there are people born with natural beautiful skin, not all of us are so lucky. If proper care is not taken about our skin, it can even lead to various skin diseases. Hence top skin care is most essential. The problem associated with this approach is that skin differs from man to man and you cannot expect the same effects with identical cosmetics on the skin of every person.Some have dry, oily, and patchy skins for which there are different methods to ward off their long lasting affects. Actually, there are no universal rules that can be applied to skin care. Proper skin care starts from knowing the type of skin that we have. Then face packs and masks can be used to regain the past glow of our skin. Earlier, people were afraid to use cosmetic products because, they were afraid of the chemicals present in them and the harm that these chemicals could have on them. But, nowadays, most of the top skin care products do not contain harmful chemicals and hence no harm is caused when you use them.