Health Specialist » Alcohol

Acid Reflux Mechanics

Health Specialist — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:10:06 +0000

Everytime you turn on the television these days, there is a downpour of over-the-counter and prescription medications for the relief and prevention of acid reflux. As with medications for any ailment, there are theories regarding the disease and how well the medications work.

From a medical point of view, acid reflux is a condition caused by acidic contents from the stomach moving upward into the esophagus, which results in a burning sensation. When the valve found at the lower end of the esophagus is dysfunctional, it allows the acidic content of the stomach to be regurgitated, where it would block this behavior when functional.

Another belief is that acid reflux is caused by an individual’s eating habits. As the civilized world eats more and more junk and processed foods, the majority of the food ends up in the stomach undigested. This undigested material turns into acidic waste, which causes stomach spasms. These spasms create stomach gas which pops open the valve between the stomach and esophagus, allowing the acidic content to return to the esophagus.

Others believe that acid reflux is related to aging. As we age, the activity of the stomach is reduced. This also reduces the ability to produce hydrochloric acid. The result is the stomach turning into a breeding ground for infection which can cause stomach pain and acid waste irritation.

Whatever the cause behind acid reflux, it is often a chronic disease. Therefore, most medications for the disease merely relieve the burning and other symptoms and cannot actually cure the condition. As medications relieve the symptoms caused by acid reflux, they can cause several undesirable side effects due to the fact that they cut down the acid production in the stomach, leading to a reduction in ability to digest food. These medications can make you more susceptible to diseases and microbes transmitted through food. This may increase your risk for food poisoning and a host of other problems.

Before you choose a medication or a natural method to rid yourself of the burning that accompanies acid reflux, you should first make a thorough assessment of the food you eat and your lifestyle. Studies show that foods such as citrus, chocolate, garlic, onions, spicy, fried and fatty foods all contribute to and can aggravate acid reflux. Limiting your intake or avoiding such foods as much as possible is a good first line of defense against future acid reflux bouts.

Lifestyle modification, such as losing weight, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine, sleeping with your head raised six to eight inches, and waiting three hours after eating before going to bed can assist in reducing the number of acid reflux episodes you may have.

Though you should discuss your options with your physician, something as simple as lifestyle improvements and dietary changes can help to keep you from adding an acid blocker or acid reflux medication to your daily diet.

Drug addiction

Health Specialist — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:02:33 +0000

When looking at drug use, drug abuse, drug dependency and drug addiction, one finds that there are many divergent opinions about these terms and how they identify the drug-using behaviors of the public. Dr. Alan Leshner, the Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse for the U.S. Government, states “There is a unique disconnect between scientific facts and the public’s perception of drug addiction,”

From a lecture in March, 1998 at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Leshner explained how brain function is modified by drug use and how that change persists after an individual stops taking drugs. Addiction also has to be recognized as a result of many bio-behavioral factors.

Dr. Leshner said a user does not have control over the change when voluntary drug use becomes a compulsive addiction. He likens the change to a flip of a switch, although the change may be a result of opponent processes where changes have accumulated over time. Regardless, Dr. Leshner believes it is important that people understand that once addicted, a person is literally in a different brain state.

Anyone that has known and witnessed the changes in behavior and ethics in a person caught in the thralls of addiction can see the declining spiral of personal care and ethics, work ethics, emotional stability and generally, a feeling that one hardly recognizes the addicted person as being the same individual as they were before the drug use.

One very important point to know is that any drug use may set off these destructive behaviors in an individual and that using drugs recreationally is playing Russian Roulette with ones life. The effects of these poisons on the brain and nervous system are always destructive, but the timeline of when the effects will be obvious varies from immediately to, sometimes, after years of casual use.

The scientists say that one of the tasks of treatment is to revert the brain to its original state or repairing the damage that these poisons can do. Some scientist believe that this can be done by introducing other drugs, then called medicines, into the delicate brain chemistry of someone suffering from drug addiction. That is what National Institute of Drug Abuse NIDA is doing now as it begins to design new medications. “We have molecular targets,” Dr. Leshner said. We don’t need serendipity.” Serendipity is defined as a natural gift for making useful discoveries by accident.

However, dont be fooled by the scientist since they have yet to discover any medications that restore a person to full and, more importantly, enthusiastic living. These medicines are always a tradeoff in giving up some of the beauties of life to keep the addict from using a more destructive drug. For a total cure, one should pursue getting the original poisons out of the body and letting the bodys natural repair mechanism restore the person to his original, functional and loving self.

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Alcoholism Disease Or Not?

Health Specialist — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:58:03 +0000

Alcoholism can be given a lot of definitions and all of them stress the fact that there is a terrible disease that involves addiction to spirits. Apart from the physical dependence on alcohol, there are other psychological, genetic and social factors that may play a role in the development of alcoholism. Many social, economic and public health problems are determined by this very serious disease.

When alcoholism is concerned, symptoms include craving for alcohol, incapacity to have control over the use of alcohol, a greater tolerance to its effects, and withdrawal symptoms during the periods of abstinence. One should as well know that many alcoholics deny having a problem. In many cases intervention is necessary in order to persuade them to start treatment. Treatment in cases of alcoholism usually includes detoxification, counseling and psychotherapy, as well as treatment of associated medical problems, and different programmes for recovery and support.

Alcoholism involves physical and psychological addiction to the alcohol, and it often gets to a chronic, progressive form. There are situations in which it can become fatal, when alcohol consumption begins to interfere with your health, your social life or your occupational functioning. Alcoholics often continue to consume alcohol in huge quantities despite the multiple negative consequences of the disease. Nowadays, alcoholism is the most serious form of alcohol abuse. Alcoholism can be also defined in terms like “having a problem with drinking”. If one has a problem with drinking, that can result in health or social problems drunk driving, for instance, but that doesnt make one yet dependent on alcohol and it doesnt mean one has fully lost control over using spirits – as in the case of alcoholism.

Jatropa Curcas The Bio Diesel Medicinal Plant

Health Specialist — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Jatropa Curcas or locally known as Tuba Bakod in our country has been used by our ancestors as a folkloric medicine for rheumatic pains, snake bites and also insecticide. The leaves are used as medicine for muscle ailments like rheumatic pains. Simply by applying oil on the leaves and heated by flames and then applied to the skin on where the ailments are. Although it has medicinal properties, the fruit and seed is not edible and poisonous when ingested. The leaves have anti-inflammatory properties but toxic when excessively used internally. The pounded leaves when pounded and made into a poultice can be used to aid in snakebites and also effective as an insecticide.

This shrub is erect and the leaves have a usually somewhat rounded at the base, pointed at the tip and toothed at the margins. Distributed though out the Philippines and neighboring Asian countries.

Although this is an important addition to the many medicinal herbs which you can also find some Philippine medical plants in my site on the resource box link below, it is now been discovered as a good bio diesel alternative or additive. Very cost effective and very close to the chemical properties of fossil diesel fuel we are using today. Unlike the coconut oil or alcohol additive, which are expensive to produce, Jatropa curcas or tuba is much cheaper. A liter of pure coco bio diesel would cost over P120 or US2.50, which is why only small amounts of it can be mixed with regular diesel fuel to produce a competitively priced alternative.

Since there are no much demand for tuba, and very easy to propagate the plants, it is cost effective. And imagine you can extract 1 liter of oil from 3 kilos of seeds. There are no complicated processes of extracting oil from the seeds unlike coconut oil and alcohol bio diesel. Seeds are sun dried and grounded to extract oil from it.

India now leads in the development of Jatropa curcas bio diesel fuel and now people in our country are becoming aware with the help of media. And hoping that the government will push through in promoting this bio diesel fuel. Research on jatropha biodiesel production in the Philippines is being undertaken by the research and development facility in Diliman, Quezon City, of PNOC Energy Development Corp.

In India they are talking about planting jatropha in as much as 33 million hectares of wasteland. The proponents envision plantations that can produce enough oil seeds from which biodiesel could be extracted to meet Indias current diesel fuel requirement of 40 million tons annually. Five tons of jatropha oil seeds can produce two tons of biodiesel.

The Indian proponents of jatropha biodiesel point out, among others, that the plants grow on poor degraded soils and are able to ensure a reasonable production of seeds with very little inputs. They are not grazed by animals and are highly pest and disease resistant.

High Blood Pressure and the Effects of Alcohol

Health Specialist — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Alcohol has a meaningful outcome on high blood pressure, so it is important people pay more attention on the relation of alcohol and blood pressure and its outcome on the health.

People who drink large amounts of alcohol often show signs of having higher blood pressure than people that drink less. This becomes important, especially in incidents where people are regular drinkers. If the alcohol consumption is kept fairly limited, that is, occasional drinking then the blood pressure level is not so incline to lean towards dangerously high readings.

For instance, a person may have an alcoholic drink, such as 12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine, each are considered a single drink per day. Some males may take 1 or 2 drinks and be within safe levels. Now a female may take only 1 drink in comparison as females do not have the same level of tolerance towards alcohol as males. When the consumption of alcohol is increased over this safe level by both males and females, there is an affect on the flexibility of the blood vessels and this can increase their blood pressure measurements towards critical levels.

Due to drinking habits, alcohol and blood pressure changes are reasons for concern by physicians who deal with these types of hypertension patients, another problem they need to take into account are people drinking alcohol in large amounts may develop weight increase problems due to the elevation in calories.

If the blood pressure is elevated because of weight problems, then further medication may have to be prescribed to control the hypertension. This can be difficult to administer because of the alcohol in the person’s body can have an dangerous effect from the medication being prescribed for them.

Thinking about the strong relationship between alcohol and raised blood pressure, it’s obvious that drinking less alcohol is a must. So people with cardiac illnesses such as myocarditis, severe high blood pressure or congestive heart failure should avoid alcohol based beverages at all cost. If they can’t stay away from alcohol completely, they should keep their drinking down to a bare minimum.

From the intake of alcohol calcium and magnesium in the body can become decreased. By supplementing them may lead to their own indirect problems such as increase in blood pressure. So any patient with an alcohol dependence problem should have all their medicines thoroughly and carefully prescribed and monitored by their physician.

People with a drinking problem are prone to increased blood pressure and on top of that one of the problems of trying to correct the blood pressure with medication is the effect alcohol with the prescription has on the patient. It can increase its potency thus causing further medical problems.

A patient who has an alcohol problem and raised blood pressure should be well-advised and given support to reduce their drinking as much as possible. Limits and guidelines should be administered for drinking by the physician and these should be stuck to as much as possible by the patient.

Saunas and Alcohol Do Not Mix

Health Specialist — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:52:00 +0000

Saunas are well known to provide a healthy pleasurable experience. A nice relaxing sauna session can be the prelude to other social interactions. I am sure that on many an occasion, a sauna owner has planned a special evening with his or her significant other and incorporated a session in the sauna into their plans. A couple of drinks, a nice meal, hit the sauna to get that invigorated feeling and then move on to more romantic endeavors. This is all well and good as long as you keep the alcohol consumption to a safe minimum because over consumption of alcohol and sauna use can be hazardous to your health.

The consequences of drinking too much alcohol and sauna use can vary from minor injuries to fatalities. Finland, a country that is renowned for the use of saunas, is the perfect source for a study into the effects of alcohol and saunas. A Finnish Research Laboratory conducted such a study and found some startling facts. It found that sauna and alcohol related accidents of a minor nature such as sprains and burns were commonplace. Some more serious sauna accidents such as head trauma, heat stroke and occasional passing out were also common in saunas. Although these types of accidents can occur without the use of alcohol, it is generally accepted that they occur far more frequently when alcohol is consumed prior to sauna use.

In a country of just under 15 million individuals, many of them sauna users, the study found that between 20 and 25 deaths are directly attributed to the combination of alcohol and sauna use. That is quite a sobering fact. If you consume large quantities of alcohol and have a sauna session, your ability to maintain blood pressure is diminished. This may lead to the aforementioned fainting, minor contusions and worse. It was found that sauna bathing and drinking or sauna bathing while being hung-over also presented health risks. The short and skinny of it all isDo not drink too much alcohol and use the sauna!

As with just about anything worthwhile in life, moderation is the key to keeping things healthy and safe. Saunas do provide overall health benefits and alcohol consumption in limited levels does not interfere with your enjoyment of your sauna. Nothing can ruin that romantic evening you had planned faster than a bone-crunching spill in your sauna just because you had one too many.

Remember to re-hydrate yourself because fluids lost through sweating during a sauna session must be replenished. Most of the body weight lost through the use of a sauna is due to water loss through sweat. Alcohol consumption also has a negative influence on fluid retention. Fluids should be taken before the sauna, during the sauna and after the sauna, especially if the individual consumed alcoholic beverages.

By no means is this article intended to preach in any way to anyone. It is merely intended to point out the findings of a study on the hazards associated with drinking and sauna use. I, of all people am not the one to be preaching about the safe use of alcohol or when to draw the line. On many a day I have found that line rather blurred myself. Nevertheless, please try to drink responsibly and have a great life, with or without a sauna.

Alcohol And Drug Abuse In Mental Health

Health Specialist — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:34:00 +0000

Alcohol abuse is overrated, while drug abuse is underrated. The DSM manual suggests that substance abuse there are differences in the definition of drug and alcohol use. To confuse matters worse the law has its own version of who is an alcoholic or drug addict. Some of the symptoms that help professionals determine if alcohol and drugs are a problem include, excessive drinkingdrugging, problems with the law, withdrawal symptoms, shaking of the hands, and so forth.

If a person drinks everyday of the week and relies on alcohol, then you are probably dealing with an alcoholic. There are philosophers who claim if a person needs a drink at breakfast, that he or she is an alcohol. Some philosophers claim that if you drink more than six-pack weeks then you are an alcoholic.

The fact is, most of the people nagging or evaluating alcohol and drugs has a problem them self or has gotten help someone in their lifetime to treat their own problems. Therefore, as you can see addictions, dependant alcoholics, and other types of alcoholics and drug addicts may alter. First all, any chemical that causes harm is a potential danger to your being.

In other words if you start out drinking when you are fourteen and continue through your lifetime without alcohol causing you trouble, or else landing you a spot in jail, then you are probably not an alcoholic according to few. The fact is the ones that are drinking and driving and getting caught are alcoholics according to the system although the level of alcohol in the blood plays a role in the determination.

The truth is the law sometimes over dramatizes and the system is out to make all the money they can, so we all might be alcoholics by the time they are done with us. Alcoholism and drug addictions are complex, in the sense there are too many misconstrued inputs and often the label is placed on individuals according to culture and history. If you parents drank alcohol then the system sometimes will claim you as an alcoholic.

The fact is, Jesus drink wine in moderation, so drinking in moderation is not a bad thing. The problem becomes a problem when the person has difficulty putting down the bottle andor increases their intake as well as combining drugs with the alcohol to get an affect they was had. If someone will steal or lie to get alcohol or drugs then you know they have a real problem.

However, most alcoholics and drug addicts have bigger problems than addictions and this is often ignored. For example, people with mental illnesses often resort to alcohol andor drugs to find relief of their symptoms. Now if a professional is treating this person for his or her diagnose and progress is moving along the person often feels healthy and the alcohol and drugs are out the door.

In my studies and opinions, I disagree with alcoholism and drug addictions if the person is able to stop once the mental illness is treated. This means that the person was suffering and the substances was a mechanism to help them cope.

On the other hand, if the person is treated for mental illnesses and his or her drug and alcohol habits continue, then I think you had better get out the chair and start talking one day at a time. Alcohol was once known as the Devils Drink. The White men are the originator of the source, and since its beginning it has caused serious complications, including death, abuse, and other related crimes.

Drugs are optional since the system often makes them available by teaching individuals what the drugs contain. The root of all-evil is money, and if a person sees that he or she can gain, they may take advantage, but fall into a snare in between. The system is overwrought, since they put alcoholics and drugs addicts in jail and not seeking help for them.

The solution to humankinds problem is helping and not hurting or promoting. If we cant get along now, what makes you think you are going to heaven?