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How to overcome or eliminate liver disorders

November 3rd, 2009

One of the most vital organs in the body, the effective functioning of which is very essential for a healthy life, is none other than the Liver. This organ, which is located in the stomach, precisely at the upper right abdomen, is the one that is responsible for many metabolic and chemical functions. It is also the place where cholesterol, amino acids and other essential compounds are manufactured. In addition, the liver is responsible for removing waste substances present in the blood on a periodical basis as well as metabolizing the medications.

According to medical experts, one can sustain in the world even if only one-fourth of the liver is healthy enough to carry out its activities, the rest three-fourth being damaged or unhealthy enough to function. If one takes adequate care of this vital organ, imagine yourself how hale and healthy you can be.

Most of the people might have heard about the disease called jaundice. This disease is a symptom that indicates something is wrong with your liver. Jaundice is caused by a build-up of bilirubin, a bile pigment, in the skin, which results in yellowing of the skin and the whiteness in the eyes. In addition to jaundice, the other major diseases that might affect your liver include hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer.

What causes liver disorders, in the first instance?

Many of the liver disorders can be easily and effectively eliminated provided, according to medical experts, one exercises strict control over hygiene aspects and also takes adequate care on the nature of food he consumes on a daily basis.

Hepatitis, a disease that causes liver disorder, is caused because of unhygienic conditions or circumstances. It is spread through a virus that is contaminated in sewage and spread when the affected person is directly contacted. Abuse of food consumption and replacing food with alcohol might lead to liver cancer, if not properly diagnosed at the appropriate time.

Most of the persons, who were affected by this type of disorder, would invariably be alcoholics and also do not have adequate amount of water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A and Vitamin D.

The problem with disorders of this sort related to liver need to be diagnosed as early as possible as there are very little or no symptoms in the earlier stage and comes to light only at an advanced stage, the only exception being jaundice.

What should a person do to overcome liver disorders?

If affected with liver disorder, the first and foremost thing a person should do is to stop consuming alcohol totally and completely.

One should avoid giving too much burden to the liver. In other words, eating fatty foods which might take longer time to digest should be avoided wherever possible. You can also break down your meals to more than one sitting, thus preferring to eat small amount of meals more frequently.

One of the other reasons for disorders in liver might be thinning of the bones due to lack of Vitamin D. This vitamin D helps in absorbing calcium into the body and depletion of this vital resource might result in calcium not being effectively used for strengthening the bones. It is advisable that Vitamin D is consumed as part of the diet and not separately as supplements.

Including more amounts of protein as well as carbohydrates in your daily intake of meals is very essential to overcome the problems of liver disorders.

It is advisable to avoid liver problems in the first instance by exercising better control over our eating habits such as eating a complete meal rich in carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals and also maintaining good hygiene.

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Ten useful suggestions to reduce saturated fat

November 2nd, 2009

It is common to hear advice from friends, well-wishers and other people to reduce the intake of fat content in our daily consumption, especially if you happen to be slightly overweight or obese and find difficulty moving around with a heavier body.

While some amount of fat intake is inevitable and also necessary for the body, it is the excess fat content that is a cause of concern, because excessive stock of fat in the body is one of the reasons for putting on weight. Another reason for putting on weight is not burning enough calories in relation to the amount of energy you muster from the food you consume.

Fat is not only responsible for putting on additional weight. It is considered harmful as excessive fat might lead to coronary heart diseases and atherosclerosis. Fat is further classified into unsaturated fat and saturated fat. Saturated fat contains only saturated fatty acid radicals. Some common examples of food that contain a higher proportion of saturated fat include dairy products such as cream, cheese, ghee and butter and other products such as coconut oil, chocolate, and palm kernel oil. Some of the animal fats such as lard, tallow and fatty meat also contain more of saturated fat.

While we cannot totally avoid consuming some or all of the above-mentioned products, what we can do effectively is to reduce the content of saturated fat and replace with effective alternatives that are free from saturated fat or have low saturated fat content.

1.While preparing food involving meat, please ensure that you choose only leaner cuts of meat and also remove fat content in the meat wherever it is possible to remove.
2.You can try to downsize the intake of meat content in your daily diet program
3.Avoid using butter or margarine for cooking and instead replace them with olive oil or vegetable oil
4.Avoid using meat in stir-fries and instead replace that with nuts or tofu.
5.While eating sandwich, try to replace the cheese, which gels with sandwich, with avocado slices.
6.Avoid using fried potato and instead eat more of baked potatoes. Adding low-fat yogurt instead of a sour cream along with potato will be better.
7.Look for milk with lower-fat content instead of the normal milk that has more fat.
8.Use more of buttermilk in mashed potatoes and salad dressings, and avoid adding butter or mayonnaise.
9.Reduce or eliminate the use of meat, if you a non-veggie, and groundnuts, if you are a veggie, while preparing casseroles. Instead you can use more of vegetables such as beans.
10.If you are fond of desserts and ice creams after a meal, try to replace the ice cream and desserts with low-fat frozen yogurt.

The above-mentioned suggestions, if implemented and practiced, can help you avoid the ill-effects of saturated fat and will help in avoiding heart related diseases or other health related problems.

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Asthma – causes, remedy and treatment

November 2nd, 2009

Do you know which disease or ailment is one of the major causes for death, especially among the children living in a town or city?

It is Asthma – a type of lung condition that is chronic and gets aggravated when exposed to smoke, very cold air and some types of pollutants.

This chronic disease is a puzzle to the doctors as they could not pin-point one major reason or a cause for the incidence of this disease, at the first instance. It has been found that asthma is prevalent in some families for generations and as such, this disease is tabled as a hereditary one, though there is no concrete evidence, and as such, hereditary might be one of the factors. What all doctors agree is that asthma is basically a disease related to the lung and prefer to treat it only in such a manner.

What are the symptoms of asthma?

The major symptoms of this lung-related disease include chest tightness, trouble in breathing, and wheezing. These difficulties arise because the tiny muscles present in the path leading the air into the lung portion constrict, making it difficult to inhale or exhale, or in other words, causing broncho spasm.

Though this is a chronic disease, there is no reason to worry or fear, as you might experience an asthma attack only on specific occasions such as exposure to smoke or other contaminants present in the atmosphere, and if you are free from these hassles, you are a normal person and, as such, need not panic or worry.

It has been found that asthma attacks disappear after a period of time. Some thing like the problems of wheezing or chest tightness that is experienced in early years, especially among children, might not be a problem after the child grows up and the immune system gets stronger with age.

What could be the possible remedy for this lung-related disease?

As is with any other disease, prevention of the disease is the best than searching for treatment and remedies. In the case of asthma, the disease is related to lungs. You try to identify the triggers that cause some breathing problem or wheezing and stay away from those triggers. If you fear that cold climate or very cold air might affect your breathing, then protect yourself adequately in cold temperature and do not expose yourself to very cold conditions or air without precautions.

How to treat or overcome asthma?

As the disease is primarily related to lung and lack of immunity to outside atmosphere, there are no specific kinds of foods that can help you overcome or eliminate asthma.

As such, the golden advice of consuming more of vegetables and fruits in your daily intake of food can be followed to overcome this chronic problem. You can stand better-off if you consume at least 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. It would be better if your daily intake include some amount of Vitamin C, in the form of citrus fruit, because Vitamin C is found to be effective in promoting a more healthy immune system, especially among children.

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