Images of Mexicans donning surgical masks in a bid to prevent swine flu infection may make Canadians wonder if they should follow suit. But except in certain health-care settings, experts say such a step isn’t warranted – at least not yet.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Andrew Simor said surgical masks are recommended for staff in the close confines of hospitals and long-term care centres to prevent transmission of flu viruses and other microbes from patients to care providers.

The risk of health-care workers contracting influenza from an infected patient is increased because of prolonged close contact and medical procedures that may cause the patient “to cough and splutter all over you,” said Simor of Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

But when it comes to the public at large, wearing masks would have little benefit, he said. “Those things don’t happen as you’re sort of going about your daily business buying groceries or watching a movie.” Read more »

1. Eat at Home
Dining out is an expensive proposition. Just about any nutritious meal that you buy in a formal restaurant can be made at home for a fraction of the price. Even good coffee is cheaper to make if you do it yourself. Fast food is excluded from the category, as high-calorie, low-quality food can be had a bargain price, but the impact on your long-term health overrides the benefit of short-term savings. (If you love restaurants, try investing in them instead of eating at them. To learn more, see Sinking Your Teeth Into Restaurant Stocks.)

2. Eat Before You Shop
When you are hungry and you walk into a building full of food, there’s a high likelihood that you are going to fill you cart with unnecessary and expensive purchases that appeal to your taste buds. To keep your costs down, eat first and shop on a full stomach.

3. Shop With a Plan
If you stumble around the grocery store and fill your cart with everything that catches your eye, chances are you will spend a lot more money that you needed to spend. To minimize your cash outlay, prepare a shopping list before you leave home. Plan your meals for the week ahead, and make careful note of what you need to buy in order to prepare those meals. Once the list is made, purchase only the items on the list, and avoid impulse buys. (Learn how to create a budget. See The Beauty Of Budgeting and Get Your Budget In Fighting Shape.)

4. Put on Blinders
Grocery stores are designed to make you go through a maze to get to the most basic items you need in the hope that you will make a few impulse buys along the way. If you keep to your planned list of needed foods, you won’t be tempted when you get forced down the junk food aisle to get at the milk. Because most necessities and basic cooking items are found along the outside perimeter of the store, start there and work your way around the edge of the store, only stepping into the maze to grab any leftover items on your list.

5. Avoid Prepared Foods
Our fast-paced society encourages convenience, and the grocery store has capitalized on this trend. Ready-made meals are easy to buy, but come with a premium price tag. Instead of putting that rotisserie chicken and macaroni salad in you cart, buy the ingredients and prepare the meal yourself. The same concept applies to frozen entrées, baked goods and any other food that has been prepared in some way for added convenience.

6. Skip the Bottled Water
If you don’t like the water that comes out of the tap, buy a water filter. The per-gallon cost is significantly less than the cost of bottled water – and without all the plastic bottles to discard, it’s a lot easier on the environment. (To invest in water, read Water: The Ultimate Commodity.)

7. Shop Without the Kids
Hungry, tired, cranky kids increase the amount of time it takes to get your shopping done. Every extra minute that you spend in the grocery store increases the likelihood of extra items finding their way into your cart, including toys and snacks designed to keep the kids quiet while you try to focus on finding a few bargains.

8. Buy in Bulk
Bulk buying can save you a significant amount of money. Pay attention to the prices and pick up the family size package if the per-unit cost is lower and you have a place to store it. Shopping at big-box bulk retailers like Sam’s Club and Costco can also save on your bill if you shop there frequently enough to cover the cost of membership, but pay careful attention to your spending habits. The big boxes are often no bargain at all when compared to sales prices and coupon savings at other stores. In addition, they may encourage you to buy more than you need, driving up your grocery bill.(Bulk purchases aren’t for everyone. To learn more, check out The Dark Side Of Bulk Buying.)

9. Use Store Reward Cards
If the store that you visit most frequently has a reward card, be sure to sign up. In some cases, stores raise their prices when they offer reward cards, and without the card your bill will certainly be higher. If the reward card offers other benefits, such as a ham for the holidays or a discount on gasoline, be sure to maximize your benefits by paying attention to the cutoff dates and cashing in your points before they expire.

10. Use Coupons
Coupons provide an easy way to save money. Clip them and cash them in, paying particular attention to stores that double the value of manufacturers’ coupons. A number of websites also offer coupons exclusively, and they are a great place to search for discounts on the items you have on your list. If you frequent a website of your favorite brands, they will often offer discounts to their faithful public. A few minutes of surfing online can make a difference at the till.

11. Buy Locally
Locally grown or produced food is often available at a cheaper price because you don’t pay for long transportation costs. Farmer’s markets, fairs, and the local aisle at your grocery store are all game for deals on tasty and fresh food.

12. Look Down
Stores often place the most expensive items at eye-level. To find less expensive items, look down. Also, looking around your brand-name food can find you a cheaper generic alternative. Generic label products are often nearly identical to name-brand goods (in fact, they’re often produced in the same factory), so don’t pay for packaging when what you really want is the food inside.

Cell phones harbor thriving colonies of bacteria and viruses. Researchers say, for example, that cell phones are major carriers of superbugs in hospitals. Now, a new gadget helps you sterilize your phone!

It’s no wonder cell phones are so disgusting. Our hands are dirty — we shake hands with people who are sick, touch bathroom door knobs and pet the dog — and our mouths spew whatever disease-causing viruses and bacteria are infecting our bodies. Cell phones are constantly coming into contact with both hands and mouth. When they’re not, they tend to be tucked a way in pockets, a nice, warm environment that promotes the growth of microorganisms.

Researchers at Ondokuz Mayis University in Turkey tested the cell phones of 200 doctors and nurses and found that nearly all — 95 percent — were tainted with bacteria, with some carrying the MRSA superbug that can sicken and even kill patients and that cannot be defeated with any antibiotic. They concluded that doctors and nurses were infecting patients with their cell phones. In the US, MRSA is the cause of most hospital infections.

There are several things you can do to protect yourself and others from your own cell phone. The easiest is to frequently clean your phone with rubbing alcohol.

You can also use a new product from PureLight, a company that makes UV wants for sterilizing large surfaces. Their new portable wand is designed for cell phones.

For the best protection, you can also use one of the methods above, plus use a Bluetooth headset most of the time, to minimize the mouth and hand contact with the phone.

After years of struggling with weight, many people resort to surgery as the only solution. As medical research advances, more and more surgical solutions are presented. However, while surgery is convenient and may be the only answer for a select few, it is dangerous and costly, and should be considered very seriously before proceeding.

Being informed is vital to making a mature decision. Consult a bariatric surgeon and ask as many questions as you need to ask before you have decided that you know enough to make a choice. Do not feel that asking a certain question will make you appear stupid or ignorant, it is absolutely vital that you know the facts. If you are not entirely comfortable with the doctor, or are wary of his / her reputation, find another one. In fact, it is wise to obtain at least 2 or 3 opinions before proceeding with surgery anyway.

If you are sourcing information from other sources before visiting a surgeon or doctor, be careful about the origin. The Internet is a fabulous tool, but is still a free medium, and information is not always verified before submission. So, be sure to consult reputable sites.

Surgery of any kind is a major procedure for the body to endure. The anaesthesia alone is a delicate task, and one that often presents side effects for long after. Be informed of the possible sensations, pain, and concerns you may experience after surgery.

There are two main types of weight loss surgery – RESTRICTIVE SURGERY and MALABSORPTIVE PROCEDURES.

Restrictive Surgery

This surgery basically works to decrease the amount of food that can be consumed at a time. The nutrients are still able to be absorbed from the food effectively, so that digestion is as efficient as before. This procedure is simply a shrinking of the stomach, so that the eater’s capacity is reduced. From the stomach, food carries on into the intestines and colon and nutrients are absorbed as usual. Recovery from this procedure requires dedicated adherence to strict rules. Patients need to eat less food (usually between half a cup and a cup of food at a time), at a slower pace, and avoid drinking large amounts of liquid. The stomach is able to stretch, so patients must keep to this amount of food to ensure that it stays at the reduced size. Exercise is always recommended to accompany such a procedure to ensure that weight loss is achieved in a balanced, healthy way while the health and fitness of the patient is achieved on multiple levels.

Malabsorptive Surgery

Restrictive surgery is most effective for patients that are unable to control their intake or who are hungry all of the time. As a result, some patients have found that it did not have the anticipated results. Therefore malabsorptive surgery was developed to work in conjunction with restrictive surgery to facilitate weight loss.

Malabsorptive surgery works by restricting the absorption of nutrients and digestion of food, usually by creating a bypass of the small intestine. By reducing the area of intestine to which the food comes into contact, the bariatric surgeon reduces the opportunity for the intestine to absorb nutrients and fats. The longer the bypass, the less can be absorbed. However, the less absorption that takes place, the higher the risk. Your decision needs to be based on extensive discussion with your doctor and/or surgeon.

At a recent evening lecture at the California Institute of Technology, a neurologist was explaining the ins and outs of new brain-imaging technology to an audience composed of Caltech professors, students, and members of the general public. The audience was rather quiet, lulled by the technical tone of the lecture. But when the neurologist mentioned in passing that the disease afflicting one of his patients was caused by a brain parasite, the whole room sat up and made a collective noise of disgust and alarm. Brain parasites!

But, in fact, parasites infect us all the time. They live in our bodies, even in our cells, and most of the time we do not even know that they are there. The brain can provide a pleasant, nurturing environment for parasites, because it has structures that prevent many of the immune system’s cells from entering, at least in the early stages of infection. Add to that plenty of oxygen and nutrients, and the brain seems like a rather nice place to live.

Despite its seemingly idyllic home, a brain parasite’s life does have its hardships. To begin with, the parasite has to find a way into the brain. Invasion of any organ is difficult, but the brain is an especially tough nut to crack due to a protective barrier between the bloodstream and brain fluid, called the blood-brain barrier. This barrier is made up of cells that make a tight seal along any blood vessels so that most stuff from the bloodstream (including brain parasites) can’t leak into the brain. If the parasite does manage to successfully enter the brain, it then has to deal with the attack of the immune system. The cells of the immune system act together to rid the body of any foreign organisms. In humans, the immune system is highly organized and efficient; parasites’ evasion mechanisms have evolved to be good enough to thwart the immune system, at least for a little while. Unfortunately, the most effective parasites are the ones we really have to worry about.

In fact, millions of people worldwide are infected by these efficacious brain parasites. If you haven’t heard about them before, it is probably because most infected people live in nonindustrialized countries, where living conditions are not very sanitary. Many of these brain parasites cause debilitating conditions and sometimes even death. So, in addition to being interesting biologically, brain parasites are also important in the context of human disease.

Two parasites with disease-causing capabilities are the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, and the amoeba Naegleria fowleri. In addition to their medical importance, these two organisms illustrate the many ways that brain parasites are able to affect their hosts through their methods of invasion and survival. Read more »

We’ve heard worms coming out of our intestines, but worms in the brain? That’s more of a scary thought that is like straight out of a horror movie. However, it happens in real life! A mother of four from Arizona, Rosemary Alvarez got the shock in her life when her doctor told Rosemary that she had a brain tumor. After the operation, her doctor did not find any tumor but it’s a worm feeding off on her brain cells!

Read more »

Many people today confuse being thin with being healthy / beautiful / sexy / fit. It is hard to accept that your body will probably never resemble Elle’s and women continue to fight this truth with unhealthy endeavours to lose weight, no matter what the cost. Most teenagers, girls in particular, are especially aware of their bodies and the fashions set by models and celebrities. During adolescence, however, the body experiences many changes in hormones, structure and fat distribution. Teens continue to fight these changes. As a result, many resort to unhealthy means of weight loss.

ANOREXIA

People suffering from anorexia are unable to see their bodies as being thin. No matter where they look, they will see obesity in themselves. These sufferers are calculating about their meals to the extreme, usually planning every meal days in advance and carrying it out to the T. Meals will be minuscule, as the sufferer tries to survive on eating as little as is humanly possible. Even on this starvation diet, they usually exercise excessively. If the anorexic feels that they have exceeded their calorie quota, they are prone to using multiple laxatives a day, as well as purging (vomiting) the food that they do consume.

Most anorexic people are successful in their quest to lose weight. However, along with the weight loss come loss of hair, dry skin, exhaustion, loss of bone density, and irregular menstrual periods (or complete lack thereof). Eventually, the sufferer may experience organ failure, and 10% of anorexic cases die from this or other malnutrition side effects.

BULIMIA

While anorexics avoid eating altogether, bulimia sufferers eat much more food than what is necessary or healthy, and then purge it straight afterwards. The sufferer may induce a gag reflex, or purge by means of diuretics or laxatives. Notably, bulimics do not feel comfortable eating too much in front of other people and binging is almost always done in private. If the sufferer does eat in front of others, it will likely be an average amount of food (they may even leave some one their plates as an indication that they do not eat too much), and will be followed by a purge. Bulimics can consume up to 15 000 calories per day in this way.

Because they are still consuming food, much of it does get absorbed and digested. This means that the bulimic does not lose that much weight, unless it is accompanied by anorexia. In fact, many bulimia sufferers remain overweight. Bulimia is often more about the sense of control than about the weight.

The dangers are manifold, though. Laxatives weaken the lining of the intestines, which may lead to infection. The vomiting rots the teeth, leads to dehydration, damage to the oesophagus and can even lead to heart failure.

Some people suffer only from the binging urge, and not the need to purge the food afterwards. Food becomes their sole purpose and friend. This leads to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and emotional disorders.

To determine whether you may have certain tendencies towards an unhealthy approach to weight loss, ask yourself:

•    Do I find myself hiding eating habits or food and eating in secret?
•    Am I ashamed to tell those that are close to me what I have really eaten during the day?
•    Has food become the biggest part of my life?
•    Am I willing to take health risks in order to lose weight?
•    Have I or am I willing to experiment with vomiting, laxatives and / or diuretics?
•    Have my eating habits affected my social life?
•    Do I weigh myself more than once a day?

I found an interesting site today depicting the bad food people eat and then wonder WHY they’re fat. Check it out at http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

To be honest, some of those foods look very yummy!

The Miracle Fruit plant Synsepalum dulcificum produces berries that when eaten first causes sour foods like lemons, oranges and limes to taste sweet. The berry, also known as Miracle Berry, Magic Berry, Miraculous Berry or Flavour Berry. It was first documented by explorer Chevalier des Marchais who searched for many different fruits during a 1725 excursion to its native West Africa.

t contains a molecule called miraculin that binds to the tongue’s taste buds, causing sour foods to taste sweet. It is now being told to be a hope to fight against obesity, I hope so.

I just recently discovered how important pH balance is for the body. As it turns out, the body should be more alkaline than acidic. I found that interesting, since alkaline is my screen name. Here is some information on the subject.

Acid-Alkaline Balance

Proper Health starts with the correct acid-alkaline balance in your body. The pH level (acid – alkaline measurement) of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. Extended acid imbalances of any kind can overwhelm your body, and lead to health complications.

Just as the body regulates its temperature in a rigid manner, so will it manage to preserve a very narrow pH range – especially in the blood. As a matter of fact, the body will go to such great lengths to maintain a blood pH of 7.365 that it will even create stress on other tissues, body systems, and organs to do so. Chronic acidity will interrupt all cellular activities and functions – it interferes with life itself.

When the pH of the body gets out of balance (too acidic), we may experience low energy, fatigue, excess weight, poor digestion, aches and pains, and even more serious disorders.

The cycle of acidity begins primarily as a result of three things:

1. Ingesting acids. Eating too many acidifying foods like processed sugar, meats, dairy, coffee, alcohol, etc. Create an acid ash in the body. These acids can overload the body’s ability to neutralize them.

2. Creation of acids. Pathogens and microforms create acidifying toxins in the body. As the body becomes more and more acidic, bad bacteria, yeasts and other microforms proliferate in the body. Since these organisms are living, they eat as well as create resulting toxins. These toxins are often very acidifying.  Read more »