Reduce Cellulite Through Herbal Remedies

Do you often get scared at the sight of that lumpy, dimpled skin on hips, thighs and buttocks? Have you tried all the cellulite creams and ointments without getting any positive results? Are you thinking of going for cellulite reduction surgery? To all the women who say yes to these questions, my earnest advice is to first try ayurvedic treatment for cellular reduction. Ayurveda may be a very old therapeutic discipline but it is in no way a non-scientific or illogical system of medicine. It establishes the causes for cellulite formation which lies in the imbalance of three “doshas” or substances of the body. When “kapha dosha” aggravates, it results into cellulite formation. Ayurveda prescribes many herbs and even home remedies in form of certain recipes that are beneficial in treating cellulite problem. It also shows some 'yogas' or exercises for getting rid of cellulite.

Read about ayurvedic treatments for Cellulite Reduction

Ayurveda- Simple Remedies for All Diseases

Ayurveda means “ayu” that is life and “Veda” that is science. Thus, Ayurveda is “the science of life”, which has always taken human body as a composition of five great elements or “Panchatatva”- earth, water, fire, air and space. As the human body is made of natural elements, Ayurveda always advocates its maintenance through natural ways. It advocates a lifestyle that is in sync with nature. It takes help of right diet to keep a person healthy. If, anyhow, there occur diseases, Ayurveda always depends upon herbs and herbal products for their cure. For example, it uses honey for curing simple diseases like cold and cough as well as more serious health problems like asthma and blood pressure. For maintaining strength and immunity, it administers various tonics made of such natural substance as walnuts, almonds, raisins, dates etc.

Ayurveda is not just for internal purification, it also helps one to look beautiful, the natural way. Not only this, it also helps to reduce weight by natural ways and suggests remedies for hair loss and balding. Whether it is about taking care of eyes or about first aid for common health problems like external bleeding, burns, cold, diarrhea etc. Ayurveda is always there to help out. Apart from all its herbal therapies and nutritional guidelines, Ayurveda represents massage as an easy way to stay healthy.

All these examples are meant to show how Ayurveda cleanses the internal system and beautifies the external look of a human body. If you want to know more about how all this is possible, read the Ayurvedic Tips

Menstrual Problems- Causes and Ayurvedic Treatment

Women often experience menstrual problems due to various reasons. These include, stress, unhealthy lifestyle and incorrect food habits. Menstrual pain is sometimes referred to as Dysmenorrhoea /Amenorrhoea. This is again sub categorized into Primary dysmenorrhea and Secondary dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea is the result of uterine contractions stimulated by increased production of the hormone prostaglandin. Other causes include anxiety and stress, and displaced uterus. The causes of secondary dysmenorrhea include pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine fibroids, abnormal pregnancy, infection, tumors, or polyps in the pelvic cavity.

Read more about symptoms and treatment of Dysmenorrhoea /Amenorrhoea

Reduce Weight- Organize Your Day Carefully!

Do you feel that you are gradually gaining weight? Or you are already overweight and are trying hard to reduce weight? Does your motivation goes down often because of your not being able to achieve set targets? If your answer is yes then this article is for you. It will tell you how to reduce weight by natural ways. And you need not to worry about setting any targets- short term or long term. You just need to organize your day- your food habits and your work habits- in the correct way. And that's all! Know what is your ideal body weight. Now plan your day and calculate your body weight after 30 days (don't be tempted by the weighing machine every second day). Read the following tips to get an idea about how to plan your day so that your weight gets reduced gradually and permanently.

• After getting up in the morning, have a glass full of plain water. Increase the number to three glasses gradually ( increase one-fourth or half a glass every day). After having water, don't take anything for half an hour. After half an hour, have some warm water mixed with some lemon juice and honey.
• Cut your intake of caffeine (tea or coffee). Caffeine increases insulin in your body, which slows down the burning process of your stored fat. Take some alternative like green tea, herbal tea or lemon tea. If you can't have them, switch over to some fruit juice instead (no banana shake or mango juice!)
• Do some light exercise in the morning- some simple “yoga asanas” or stretching exercises will do. Walking is the best and the simplest exercise to do. Walk for at least 30 minutes. If you don't find time in the morning, walk in the evening and even in the lunch hour- walk any time but do walk!
• Take spicy foods (not fried food), particularly that which contains black pepper. It increases your metabolism by as much as 40%.
• Eat lesser amount of food for at least five times a day instead of three big meals. Take fiber rich food so that you don't feel hungry soon.
• Increase your fruit intake. Take them between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. This way you will also avoid eating more at meal times. And remember never to skip a meal!
• Don't go for fried and high calorie snacks and packaged food. If going out for lunch and dinner, go for light menus (something baked or steamed instead of fried). Cut back on sweets- sugar and carbohydrates increase weight alarmingly. Keep some roasted snacks in your office drawer to munch on when you experience those hunger pangs ( don't just run to the canteen and grab that samosa, pastry or patties)
• Pursue some active hobby in the evening- swimming, playing badminton, cycling, dance classes- anything that will burn your calories.
• Drink lots of water during the day- at least 8 to 10 glasses.
• Don't deprive yourself of your favorite food items ( chocolates, sweets etc.) for very long. Take them, in small quantities, after gap of some days (say 15 or 20 days) otherwise your body will not remain used to these foods. Eat less, eat right.

Don't get demoralized when after a month you don't reduce much weight. It takes some time to set the things off and reduction of fat gets faster as days go by. Just don't leave organizing your days in proper way- in healthy way.

Pharmaceutical Finished Formulations- An Overview

Pharmacy deals with all the aspects of turning chemicals into medications that can be safely used by patients. Raw chemicals, although having medicinal properties are of no use to a patient. Thus, the chemical substances are combined to produce a final medicinal product. This process of combining different chemical substances along with the active drug is called pharmaceutical formulation. The final medicinal products are known as pharmaceutical finished formulations. Pharmaceutical finished formulations, simply called drugs or medicines, are prepared in many forms.

Oral Formulations

They are the drugs that are consumed by patients and can be in the form of tablets or capsules.

Tablets: Tablets are made by mixing active substances with excipients. An excipient is an inactive substance which is used as a carrier for the active ingredients of a medication. The mixture is normally in powder form which is pressed or compacted to give solid composition to the tablets. The excipients include binders, glidants (flow aids) and lubricants to ensure effective tableting.

Capsules: When medicines are enclosed in a stable shell, they are known as a capsules. They can be hard-shelled capsules, which are generally used for dry, powdered ingredients, or they can be soft-shelled capsules, which are used for oils and other active ingredients that are dissolved or suspended in oil.

Topical Formulations

These medicines are applied externally to a particular part of the body. They can be in the form of cream, gel, ointment or powder.

Creams: Creams are semi-solid liquid preparation, which are mixtures of oil and water. They can be of two types - oil-in-water (O/W) creams and water-in-oil (W/O) creams. Although Oil-in-water creams are more comfortable and acceptable, most of the drugs are Water-in-oil creams as they can be released more readily in such a form.

Ointments: Ointments are viscous semisolid preparation used locally on many body surfaces. They can be applied on skin and mucus membranes of the eye, vagina, anus, and nose.

Gels: Gels are solid, jelly-like material which can have properties that range from soft and weak to hard and tough. They are also locally applied on various parts of body.

Powders: Powders are also one of the pharmaceutical finished formulations that are applied either internally or externally. They consist of one or many crushed substances.

Injections

Injections, sometimes also called “shots” are medicinal liquids that are infused into the patient's body with the help of a hollow needle and a syringe. Injections are administered through parenteral route, which means that they are administered other than through the digestive tract.

How To Keep a Healthy Heart During Hardships?

Bad time can strike any of us, any time. And when it does come by and continues for months then it can begin to harm are bodies and our heart isn't an exception. The continuing economic recession has been a stressor that's continued for a long time now and pained one and all, however, to prevent letting the circumstances affect our heart, we can thankfully take a number of effective steps.

Quality of food – Eating Healthy has a tremendous impact not only on our general health but heart in particular. The key to healthy heart eating entails avoid salty, fatty food, instead simple fresh foods need to be consumed. Eating healthy is also essential to maintaining a healthy weight, which too keeps our heart healthy.

Cutting Back on Health care isn't healthy – If you suffer from heart disease already, delaying medical consultation to save money when experiencing worsening symptoms will make things only worse. If treatment affordability is a concern, you could ask your doctor about the low cost prescription programs that many pharmaceutical drug companies run.

Engage in Exercise – Exercise is an excellent way to maintain health. Doctors recommend 30 to 60 minutes of daily exercise. Don't worry if you had to part with your gym membership, check out cheaper options such as simply walking in the neighborhood.

Stay away from Smoke – The habit of smoking significantly increases the risk of a heart attack. Consequently, it's best for you to quit smoking and be smokefree. Also, guard yourself from secondhand smoke.

Take measures to reduce stress – Don't let stress overburden you, find your own means such as spending more time with friends and family, try exercise, meditation, etc.

Get Yourself Medically Examined – Regular medical follow-ups can go a long way to tracking your heart's health. Get your cholesterol and blood pressure checked regularly as that will provide you and your doctor with the information to take further measures such as prescription of hypertensive drugs.

Recession and Cosmetic Surgery Trends

This being the worst economic recession in decades hasn't left an industry unscathed. Elective spending in particular has been clearly curtailed, and with much of cosmetic surgery being elective, it has been scarred right in the face by the turbulent economy's clout.

Recent figures from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) unravel the magnitude of damage caused, with the year 2008 registering a drop of 9 percent to $11.8 billion in the number of cosmetic surgery procedures in the U.S.

Mars & Venus Differ

The quest of looking more beautiful or handsome has traditionally been a woman's forte, while men only recently realized that they too have the potential to look good and reap its benefits. However, recession seems to have put men back on the track of regression in terms of cosmetic surgery, while they continue to use skin care products. Statistics uncover that for the past couple of years men had been competing quite well with women in terms of cosmetic surgeries, but in 2008, the male surgery decreased by 2 percent, whereas 29% more women have consulted plastic surgeons. Popular cosmetic procedures during the past year were blepharoplasty, liposuction, breast augmentation, laser hair removal, Botox (R) injections, and injectable fillers.

Survival For The fittest

The changed economic scene with all the job cuts, failing businesses, and uncertainty about the future pretty much seems to have snatched away the coziness of livelihood that we became used to during the good times. Jobs are now hard to find, and only if you are lucky, and are among the best of the lot. Increasingly, cosmetic surgery is being seen to make job seekers and holders more competitive and confident. In a survey 756 women between the ages 18 and 64, about 13 percent said that they would consider a medical cosmetic procedure to make them more competent within the job market.

While plastic surgeons may be reaching out for their surgical boxes somewhat less in the current scenario, the longer term outlook is a lot brighter. It is estimated that in excess of 55 million cosmetic surgery procedures will be conducted in 2015.

Heavyweight Stretchers – Size Does Matter

Today about two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, and much of the dramatic increase in obesity figures has occurred during the last 20 years. Just as the obesity statistics have changed, so has the capacity of patient transport systems such as stretchers and wheelchairs.

Overweight individuals are perhaps as likely as lean people to find themselves in a situation that requires them to be put on a stretcher, and be transported to a hospital's emergency department. But transporting larger individuals isn't the same as carrying thin individuals, as patient transport systems such as the stretchers generally have a standard capacity of handling humans weighing between 350 and 500.

As a consequence it has raised an issue that's too serious to be ignored. Transporting overweight individual could cause an injury to the patient or the medics or both of them. Undesirable instances could include low capacity equipment simply cracking under pressure, or a large-sized individual falling off a stretcher, or the medics not being able to handle the load and/or injuring themselves.

These and other such concerns have been on the top of the minds of medical equipment manufacturers. And, for some time now, they have been bringing out patient transport systems such as stretchers with thicker aluminum frames, extra spine supports, bulkier connectors, to easily handle loads of upto 650 pounds.

While these extended capacity equipment do solve the problem at hand, they also add to the cost of acquiring these products. Nonetheless, it seems to be safer for an ambulance crew to have these products in their repertoire, than be sorry later. A botched up rescue operation will undoubtedly be a pain for everyone involved.

The society is changing, though undesirable, more people are becoming oversized. And the health care delivery equipment too should change, because size does matter.

Europe Medical Technology Industry Profile

The medical technology and devices market of Europe is wide and varied, it accounted for a total sales of over US$ 84.66432 billion in 2006. The annual growth rate of the medical devices market in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK is close to 9 percent. Medical devices within Europe are regulated under three directives.

Read More at: TheMedica

How More Cardiac Arrest Sufferers can be Saved?

Not one or two but 325,000 people die each year in the United States due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). However, when CPR - Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is provided immediately after the attack it can double a sufferers chance of survival.

But administering CPR, unlike a pharma drug, is easier said than done, here's why? When in a study, thirty-eight doctors and nurses of both genders were evaluated for their ability to perform manual CPR, a considerable loss in their ability to provide sufficient compressions over a time period was found. And that men – supposedly endowed with more muscle power – fared no better than their fairer sex counterparts.

So what if there existed a medical device that was so portable that it didn't need to be transported using a hospital trolley, instead, could simply be strapped around a patient to aid immediate CPR, virtually anywhere and in any situation? Well it seems that the the wait could now be over, as scientists may have struck gold already.

A Life Saving Medical Device

Inventors of the device called, LifeBelt(R) CPR, may be on their way to make life safer with this appliance. This device is designed to overcome the limitation of "hands-only" CPR and is able to help the patient by producing chest compressions for about two minutes. Also, with the use of this device half as much force is needed to administer CPR, enabling the emergency response personnel or anyone providing the CPR to do it more effectively, and not lose steam out of fatigue, too soon. No wonder than this appliance also won a “Create the Future Design Contest” sponsored by NASA Tech Briefs magazine.

When Thomas Jefferson said “Where a new invention promises to be useful, it ought to be tried,” I'm positive he didn't refer to life support medical devices!

US Medical Equipment Industry Overview

There were about 8,000 medical device companies in the United States around 2004. While the number of large and mid-sized medical device companies was less, over 80 percent of firms employed no more than 50 people. The world's medical equipment and supplies industry was worth $80 billion in 2005, with the United States being the the largest consumer country of medical and dental equipment.

Read More at: TheMedica

How Weight Loss Surgery Makes Life Better

Being overweight can sometimes affect our self-esteem, however, thanks to advances in medicine that today a number of weight loss techniques available, including weight loss surgery.

Since its invention, weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery has been selectively recommended to those individuals who are morbidly obese, and don't respond to conventional weight loss measures. But recent findings suggest that it may benefit moderately obese individuals as well. Let's face it, that regaining healthy weight is beneficial not only for our health, but can have a positive effect on our appearance and self-esteem too.

Speaking of health benefits, there are several reasons compelling enough, for your to consider weight loss surgery, and allow the surgeon to put you on a hospital table to trim you down.

Type 2 diabetes - Obesity is considered as the the primary risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, and so weight loss surgery can have a role to play in its reversal. But this isn't theory any more, results of a study published in the American Journal of Medicine about 82 percent patients who underwent weight loss surgery experienced diabetes reversal within a two years duration.

Fertility – Obesity can sometimes prevent women from getting pregnant. However, achieving weight loss by bariatric surgery can help improve fertility in obese women. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine suggests that weight loss can improve ovulatory functions in previously obese women.

High Blood Pressure (hypertension) – Hypertension, treated with hypertensive drugs, affects millions of Americans, according to a 2006 survey, 35.7 million visits to office-based physicians resulted in hypertension as primary diagnosis. But the good news is that that weight loss surgery can help reduce or even eliminate hypertension. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2004 reported that in a study 61.7 percent patients were relieved of hypertension, while the condition of 78.5 percent improved considerably.

In addition, weight loss surgery has also been associated with easing of joint pain because it spares the joints from the stress of extra weight that overweight people carry. In general having a healthy weight can improve your health and longevity.

So while the conventional ways to lose weight may be the ideal way to deal with the problem of excess weight, weight loss surgery definitely stands by as a good alternative.

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UK Alternative Medicine Market Overview

Complementary and alternative medicine is increasingly becoming popular in many developed countries including the UK. The UK market value estimates for complementary therapies in 1996 stood at $106.4 million, while the sales of herbal remedies totaled $56 million. Homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, medical herbalism, osteopathy, hypnotherapy, aromatherapy are some popular CAM therapies.

Read More at: TheMedica

Is Robot Assisted Surgery Better?

Slowly and gradually robots seem to be taking over many of the functions that humans perform. Though it may seem like machines rendering man redundant, in perhaps all cases these replacements are for the better, such as in robot assisted surgeries.

Surgical robots have today made remote, minimally invasive, and unmanned surgeries possible. In addition they have enabled better precision with surgical instruments e.g. scissors, miniaturization, smaller incisions, decreased blood loss, less pain, and quicker healing. As a result have led to better patient outcomes.

Aside from these advantages of robot-assisted surgeries, the following examples of their superiority are worth mentioning.

Better for Heavy Women – Uterine cancer is a medical condition with which about a 100 women are diagnosed each day in the USA. Once diagnosed with the disease, many patients are worried about how the treatment, which often includes surgery, would affect their lives and family. However, it seems that robotic surgery may be a better option than laparoscopic surgery for uterine cancer. Recently the journal Gynecologic Oncology showed that patients undergoing robot assisted surgery, lost 2-and-a-half times less blood, were 6 times less likely to need transfusions, and that the time of their stay in hospitals was halved.

Lower risk of a gastric bypass complication - Gastrointestinal leak is a rare but serious complication arising out of gastric by-pass – a weight loss surgical procedure. Scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center, recently conducted a study comparing the conventional laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and a robot assisted operation, and found that while none of the robot assisted surgery group suffered a gastrointestinal leak, some patients from the conventional laparoscopy group did.

Additionally, robotic surgery has also been associated with improved survival rates for prostate cancer patients , with effective treatment of urothelial cancer of the kidney, and more.

All in all, robots with surgical instruments in their hands have a lot to offer to the field of surgery, and that robot-assisted surgery is indeed better in many cases.

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Medical Device Industry Overview

Alternative Medicines Industry Profile

Alternative medicines are also known as complementary and alternative Medicine (CAM) or traditional medicines. In some African and Asian nations about 80 percent of the population gets its primary health care via Alternative medicines. About 12 percent children use CAM in the US such as homeopathic medicines, herbs and yoga for addressing a number ailments. However, CAM usage has decreased for head or chest colds from 2002 to 2007 in the US.

Read More at: TheMedica

Can Adjustable Chairs Diminish Neck Pain?

Sitting in a chair for prolonged periods of time is a sure shot recipe for developing back and neck pain. However, if a chair such as your office chair is adjustable, then it may reduce neck and back pain that you could otherwise suffer from.

Back pain from sitting could result from several reasons. For instance, sitting in a chair or stools e.g. hospital stools, for long periods can lead to a buildup of stress on our shoulders, neck, back, arms, legs, and back muscles. In addition, most people tend to slouch while sitting, and a bad posture may make it more likely for pain to develop.

How adjustable chairs could remedy the situation.

Some time back a study published in the medical publication Spine, concluded that adjustable-height chairs that had ergonomically curved seats, had the potential to significantly reduce neck and shoulder pain in garment workplaces. (Spine, Apr 2007)

Garment workers seem to be an apt group for studying the back pain phenomenon because their work entails being seated in a position for seven to ten hours every single day. And not only do they have to work with cloth requiring fine-motor tasks while sewing, but they also have to lean forward and hold their arms and shoulders up.

Based on the results of the study the participants who were provided with an adjustable chairs had experienced a reduction in pain between 0.14 – 0.34 points on a 0-5 scale every month compared to a control group, over a four-month period.

So if adjustable chairs could work for garment workers, whose jobs are extremely physically demanding, then definitely, customizable chairs should benefit many of us who have to sit in our chairs for long hours.

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3 Burning Issues for Hospitals Today

This recession has had quite an impact on hospitals, causing 45% of hospitals to postpone capital projects and 13% to cease any expansion in process, as an American Hospital Association report revealed. But despite the new challenges posed by financial crisis for the medical industry, hospitals have their own health care delivery issues to tackle.

Many hospitals have been purchasing refurbished hospital furniture such as hospital chairs or beds to cut costs. However, in addition, addressing the following issues can lead to long term cost-savings.

1. Hospital Deaths due to Medical Errors

Preventable medical errors caused an average of 195,000 individuals to lose their lives in the USA. This was the finding of a HealthGrades study that assessed 37 million patient records for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002. The associated health care cost of these medical errors is estimated to be over $6 billion per year. Following the study, analysts suggested that just by improving upon four key areas, namely, failure to rescue, bed sores, postoperative sepsis, and postoperative pulmonary embolism. And if their occurrence could be reduced by just 20 percent, 39,000 lives can be saved each year. Whether medical error rates have dropped since the study remains to be seen.

2. Hospitals' Efficiency

The hospitals in the US can significantly improve patient care and also save a minimum of about $4 billion annually, only if they became more efficient. These conclusions follow from an analysis by Thomson Reuters. Key suggestions from the company to save costs include reducing hospital-acquired infections and slashing hospital readmissions. While the minimum savings are to the tune of $4 billion, with some really effective measures in place hospitals could save up to $20 billion over a span of three years. That's about $7 billion a year in savings.

3. Electronic Health Records

The present state of affairs seems pretty dismal as only 1.5 percent of U.S. hospitals have implemented facility-wide comprehensive health care information technology systems. Further, just about 8 – 11 percent hospitals have at least a single unit with installed with basic health care IT systems. (New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM, Mar 2009).

While smaller budgets, maintenance costs, hesitation among health care professional are said to be the primary reasons preventing the widespread use of IT systems, the long-term effects of installing them need to be taken into account. At the same time, it's hardly any use having IT systems in place when their power isn't leveraged via effective use.

Medical Diagnostics Industry Overview

The medical and clinical diagnostic industry comprises businesses and laboratories that offer analytic or diagnostic services including body fluid analysis and diagnostic imaging. The world market for diagnostics was valued at $22.47 billion in 2000 and was expected grew at an annual rate of about 6 percent to $28.63 billion by 2005. The IVD product, point-of-care instrument and the medical diagnostic kit (MDK) markets have emerged as growing segments of the diagnostic laboratory industry.

Read More at: Themedica

6 Striking Health Effects of Vitamin D

According to Boston University researchers, between 30 to 50% of children and adults in the United States are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency. While this deficiency can lead to rickets in children, in adults, it is associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and immune dysfunction.

Experts believe that sensible exposure to sun, an consumption of vitamin dietary supplements may be the best way to deal with this preventable medical condition.

The following are some newly discovered benefits of vitamin D

1. Reduced risk of Fracture - A study found that oral vitamin D supplements taken at a dose of at least 400 international units daily, were linked to a decreased risk of bone fractures in older adults. (Archives of Internal Medicine, Mar 2009)

2. Protection from Diabetes - If you consume the right quantities of vitamin D, it may protect you from diabetes or even delay its onset. Further, it may reduce complications in those who've already acquired the disease. (The Diabetes Educator, 2009)

3. Prevent Heart Attacks - If you are a man and you have low levels of vitamin D in your system, then you may be at a greater risk of a heart attack or myocardial infarction, suggests a study published in the journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, June 2008 issue. Consequently, ensuring adequate amounts of the sunshine vitamin in your system via supplements may offer protection against against heart attacks.

4. Increased Girl Power! - UK researchers recently found that teenage girls with higher vitamin D levels were able to jump higher and faster than those who didn't, indicating an improved muscle performance. Boys, Watch Out! (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, JCEM Feb 2009)

5. Prevent Skin Infection - A study by San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that intake of oral Vitamin D supplements helps the body produce cathelicidin - a protective chemical present in the skin. As a result, offering protection from skin infections that result from atopic dermatitis – the commonest type of eczema. (Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, Oct 2008)

6. Protection from Death! - Well, vitamin D won't quite infuse immortality into you, but could make you live longer. Here's why. Following a review of several studies, French researchers concluded that the sunshine vitamin does lower your risk of death from any cause. (Archives of Internal Medicine, Sept 2007)

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5 Ways by which Alcohol can Abuse You

According to 2006 data, sixty one percent of American adults reported drinking alcohol during the past year. While moderate drinking is considered safe for many people, heavy drinking may be harmful to almost anyone.

Alcohol is a depressant and affects the brain much like a central nervous system drug would.

The following are some newly discovered harmful effects of alcohol

1. Cancer – Those individuals who experience facial flushing on alcohol consumption are at a greater risk of esophageal cancer. The flushing response includes nausea, facial flushing, and an increased heart rate. (PLoS Medicine, Mar 2009)

Also, alcohol consumption is the biggest risk factor for acetaldehyde-related cancer, the risk may be greater for heavy drinkers. (Addiction, Mar 2009)

Moreover, the risk of getting pancreatic cancer is upped by 22 percent by an intake of two or more alcoholic drinks per day. Advisably, men shouldn't take more than two drinks a day, while women shouldn't drink more than one. (Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, Mar 2009)

Further, a woman's chance of developing breast cancer or other cancers is increased by a margin of 13 percent, even by moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, JNCI, Mar 2009)

2. Depression - Depression is generally believed to be the cause, compelling individuals to self-medicate themselves by drinking alcohol. However, a new statistical modeling study suggests just the reverse, that in fact, excessive alcohol consumption may lead to a greater risk of depression. (Archives of General Psychiatry, Mar 2009)

Also, research shows that if you try to stop drinking, even if you're one who drinks only at moderate levels, it may lead to health problems that include depression. (Neuropsychopharmacology, Jul 2008)

3. Brain Volume – According to a new report, the more alcohol you drink lesser is your brain volume likely to be. Though, brain volume naturally decreases at a rate of 1.9 percent every decade, drinking alcohol may pronounce the effect. (Archives of Neurology, Oct 2008)

4. Pregnancy - While you're pregnant not drinking alcohol seems to be the safest option. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has been linked to greater risks of miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-term birth, low birth-weight, etc. (The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jun 2008)

5. Physical Injury – It's well-known that heavy drinking and driving don't mix, but new research shows that even with moderate consumption you could find yourself on a hospital bed. A study showed that much of alcohol linked damage is associated to moderate consumption. (A doctoral thesis, Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, Mar 2009).

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