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December 8, 2011

Is the Muffin Test a Reliable Alternative to the Oral Glucose Test for Diabetes?

A recent October 2011 study tested how effective a muffin diabetic test was for the purpose of diagnosing diabetes. Normally a patient exhibiting diabetic symptoms will do an oral glucose tolerance test to see if they actually have the disease. This test includes a person fasting overnight and then drinking a sugary glucose substance the following morning, and then a doctor monitors the patient’s blood glucose levels to see how their body reacts to increases in blood glucose levels. However, patients, particularly women, do not like this test – they find the oral glucose taste unbearable. From this study, researchers suggest that there is an appropriate alternative to this sugary glucose mixture – the muffin. The muffin is a deceptive breakfast choice – it probably contains too much sugar to be labeled as a healthy breakfast option. Moreover, as Dr. Michael Traubb, the doctor heading this study at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, indicates “a muffin more closely resembles what someone really eats – it may provide just a more adequate test.” For, it is

Nonetheless, there are many medical critics of this study. While they agree that muffins are “probably more convenient,” they take issue with the obvious – muffins vary greatly, while the glucose mixture used for the oral glucose tolerance test is standardized.

However, the findings from this study seem to prove that the muffin test for diabetes is just as accurate as the oral glucose tolerance test. Perhaps the muffin test should be used as a complement to the oral glucose test instead of a replacement. Do you think a muffin is an appropriate substitute for the oral glucose test?

The muffin test was administered to a group of twelve women, of which two of those women were diagnosed with diabetes. Those same women then received the oral glucose test. One of the two women ‘diagnosed’ via the muffin test was also diagnosed via the oral glucose test.

Advocates of the test deem that the muffin test is cheaper, and it doesn’t give women stomach problems; stomach side effects are normally a problem with the oral glucose test. Thus, it will be interesting to see whether this test gains popularity in future years as a reliable test for diabetic symptoms.

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January 21, 2011

How Safe Are Genetically Modified Foods

Filed under: health — Tags: FDA, genetically modified food, genetics, health, natural, nutrients, safety — John @ 11:17 pm

Genetically altered foods always create mixed feelings among different people. Some people are adamantly against even the idea of genetically altered foods because they believe we should not go about changing things that are in nature. Other people see the benefit of being able to change any “negative” aspects of our foods, such as the browning of fruits. There are also people who are somewhere in the middle of both arguments. These people accept the idea of having genetically altered foods, but say they would not feel comfortable actually eating the food.

According to science, genetically altered foods are perfectly safe for us to consume. In fact, many scientists would agree that these genetically altered foods are probably even better for us than their natural alternatives. By changing genetics in foods, it gives us the ability to lengthen the time it takes for a certain food to expire. While at the same time, we may be able to place more nutrients into the foods we eat to make them healthier for us to consume.

Those that are opposed to altering food, however, say that you cannot simply just change one thing without affecting the entire genetic makeup of whichever food you were eating. Basically this idea would suggest that by altering the expiry date of food, we would also accidentally and unknowingly alter some other aspect of the food, which may not be so beneficial. Some people go so far to suggest that in a few years time, we will discover that genetically modifying our foods will cause some very harmful and dangerous side effects.

There is no agreement on the safety of modified foods and there probably never will be. The most we can do is to keep ourselves informed and choose what we believe to be the best course of action.

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August 17, 2010

5 Most Common Conditions Misdiagnosed By Doctors

Filed under: health — Tags: doctors, hypothyroidism, incorrect diagnosis, misdiagnosed, misdiagnosis, mistakes — Candace @ 5:48 pm

It’s a good idea to seek a second opinion when seeing a doctor. 40 percent of doctor’s mistakes are misdiagnosis. Because multiple diseases share similar symptoms it is difficult to differentiate what illness a patient may have.

Case 1: The symptoms are headaches, ringing ears, backaches, neck pain, and toothaches. Most commonly this is diagnosed as a migraine or ear disorder, but in reality is probably TMJ. Temporomandibular joint syndrome is when the joint keeping your skull and jaw together becomes inflamed. A dentist is the best person to get to treat this! If it doesn’t go away you should visit the dentist as they have more knowledge in this area.

Case 2: The symptoms are numbness on the side, dizziness, headaches, loss of balance, impaired vision and speech. This is most commonly misdiagnosed as vertigo, migraines, or an inner ear disorder. It is probably a stroke. Numbness on one side is practically enough for you to go to the hospital already! Especially when accompanied with pain or any other symptoms. 14 percent of people under the age of 45 are misdiagnosed in this area. You should get this treated immediately. If a stroke is left untreated it could lead to a worse stroke and can progress to brain damage.

Case 3: The symptoms are difficulty breathing, chest pain, fatigue, and an abnormal heartbeat. Normally this is diagnosed as a panic attack or a lot of stress, but is often actually a heart attack or cardiovascular disease. Women are more commonly misdiagnosed in this case. You should try to make an appointment with a cardiologist.

Case 4: Sadness, tiredness, weight gain, muscle aches, stiffness, and difficulty sleeping. This is most commonly diagnosed as depression. Hypothyroidism has the same symptoms as this. When it doesn’t make enough hormones it can affect your emotions and add deserted and alone feelings. Hypothyroidism is dangerous and can lead to other life threatening conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Ironically, hypothyroidism can also lead to depression.

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December 11, 2009

Medical Student Syndrome

Filed under: headaches,health,hypochondria,medical student syndrome,Uncategorized — Candace @ 5:08 pm

Medical students endure a lot of stress while going through university. In their classes they learn symptom lists of many rare diseases. When they have a symptom similar to one in a disease or illness they have studied they believe they have that illness. This is Medical Student Syndrome.

For example, a student studies something such as brain tumors and reads one of the symptoms to be headaches, the student then is convinced that he or she has a brain tumor. Medical Student Syndrome affects people who are not medical students as well. Anyone who reads or has knowledge of medical conditions and their symptoms is perceptible to this illness.

Unfortunately this syndrome is becoming more and more common. Students diagnose themselves or their friends, but are told by a professional that it is (most commonly) nothing. The internet is a highly guilty source to the student’s information. Some of the information on the internet is not precise and completely correct.

Medical student syndrome is a type of acute Hypochondriasis. Hypochondriasis is the belief that you have a serious illness. It lasts normally longer than 6 months. Hypochondriasis only affects between one and five percent of the general population. It is a medical syndrome and cannot be prevented. Medical Student Syndrome is self imposed. Students cause themselves to have this syndrome and let it spread.

Though medical student syndrome may transpire any time in a medical doctor’s studies or career, it is most common in India during the students first clinical year and the first year after graduation. “If a medical student hears hoof-beats outside the window they think it’s a zebra.” – This old saying means that they classify a normal sound applicable to a rare animal, or a common symptom to a rare disease.

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November 24, 2009

Increased Risk of ADHD in Children with Smoke and Lead Exposure

Filed under: ADD,ADHD,contaminated paint,health,lead exposure,lead paint,smoking,soil,Uncategorized — John @ 5:50 pm

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD for short affects about 5-8 percent of school age children. ADHD is a fairly common neurobiological condition that presents itself through inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Although ADHD is not life threatening, it can become a very difficult obstacle to overcome.

However, recent data shows that smoking can raise the chances of ADHD by more than double. If the mother does not quit smoking during pregnancy, the chances of ADHD for the child will be increased 2.4 times. Furthermore, exposure to lead can also increase chances of child having ADHD. Most cases of lead exposure are due to contaminated paint, soil, and old water pipes.

The findings definitely showed that smoking raised the chances for ADHD by 2.4 times and lead exposure raised it 2.3 times. However, when a child was exposed to both smoking and lead, the chance of having ADHD was 8 times as high!

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October 19, 2009

Which Candles are safe?

Filed under: beeswax,candles,carcinogens,dangerous chemicals,going green,health,healthy living,neurotoxin,parrafin candle,soy,toxins,Uncategorized,winter — Amanda @ 4:51 pm

With the cold weather dark weather creeping in, its nice to light the house with candles. The scents and flickering lights are somewhat relaxing. Recently, however, there has been talk about candle fumes being unsafe. Most candles are made from oil which is bleached and mixed with dangerous toxins that are harmful to inhale. These candles are called Paraffin candles, and burning them will put toxins and carcinogens (cancer causing substances) into the air you breath. The EPA has recently confirmed that Paraffin candles contain some dangerous chemicals in large quantities that include carcinogens, neurotoxins, and reproductive toxins.

Which candles are safe to burn in the home?

A study presented at the American Chemical Society’s meeting in Washington D.C by R. Massoudi and Amid Hamidi found that the more expensive candles made from beeswax or soy are safer because they do not release harmful chemicals. Lighting one Paraffin candle occasionally will not harm you – but continuous use of paraffin candles for many years may increase the carcinogens that you consume.

It’s worth it to spend more money on Soy or Beeswax candles. They are safer for the environment and to those living in your home. In fact, soy candles have many benefits – the first being that they are not harmful to your health! Soy candles have the capability of lasting up to 50% longer than Paraffin candles, they are not made of foreign oil, they do not contain animal fats, and they are derived from a renewable resource. If you want to live healthy, try switching from Paraffin to Soy!

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September 24, 2009

Building Personal Exercise Habits for Life

Filed under: aerobics,arthhritis,blood pressure,bones,cancer,cold,core,Diabetes,fitness,flu,health,heart disease,interval training,natural weight loss,sprints,strength,Uncategorized,weight loss — John @ 6:02 pm

As most of us know exercising is a crucial part of staying healthy, along with eating a healthy diet. However, variety is key in both cases. You might love potatoes, but if you have those same type of potatoes every night they start to get boring and you don’t want them anymore. The same is true for exercise. If you don’t vary your routine then you can become bored and just give up. Also, by staying to a fixed routine your muscles become used to doing the same thing over and over again, much like muscle memory.

The idea of switching your routine is used very frequently with many successful workout tapes and guides. If you can’t think of one of the top of your head just remember P90X. The same concept is used in P90X, they call it muscle confusion. It focuses on varying the routine so your muscles don’t adjust to one routine. This way your muscles are challenged and you can actually work more efficiently.

Also, something to remember is that you shouldn’t focus on the same muscle groups everyday. Try to switch up your workout so you give specific muscle groups 2 days to rest. For example if you worked out your arms and back one day do your core the next day. Then the day after your core work your legs. This lets your muscle groups rest and repair.

Well if you’re sitting there not knowing what you can do to vary up your routine don’t worry. There are different types of exercises you can do. If you love running, that’s great, but try to do some strength training as well.

Aerobic exercise can feature a vast number of exercises. Jogging for example is an aerobic exercise. The main goal of aerobics is to get your heart to really start working. By doing this the amount of oxygen in your blood will improve. Also exercise has been known to release things like endorphins which are your bodies natural painkillers. Additionally, your immune system should receive a boost and your blood will pump much more efficiently. Also, you will begin to see an increase in your overall stamina.

Interval training has been proven to condition your heart and burn fat more efficiently then just jogging or walking. Try some sprints with gentle recovery periods. You will notice you will be saving more time by doing interval training, but still see results. Interval training is also a great way to really improve your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning abilities.

Next is my personal favorite type of training, strength training. Make sure you include some sort of strength training into your normal exercise program. The goal is to really exhaust your muscles. Right to the point when you can feel your muscles screaming to stop, but you’ve just got to pump out one more rep. Don’t hurt yourself doing this though, waiting for injuries to heal isn’t fun.

Finally, we move onto core exercises. These are probably my worst area of fitness. I personally have never liked core exercises, but that probably has something to do with the fact that I’ve never really had good core muscles. However, core muscles are probably some of the most important muscles to work. They provide the building blocks for movement and help protect parts of your body. Also, building core muscles can help increase your balance and stability, for all you sports fans or the extra clumsy.

Exercising regularly is key to keeping one healthy. Many people don’t remember that and I think that’s why they don’t get motivated. If you want to have abs then go workout. It won’t just magically happen overnight. You need to be determined, you need to want it, you need to stay focused. Working out isn’t easy, but it definitely can be fun. Try to enjoy yourself. Find someone to go to the gym with. This might help keep you going back to the gym and staying on track.

If you’re still not convinced how about these reasons why exercise can improve your health.

1. Lower your blood pressure
2. Helps prevent and fight off colds
3. Manage arthritis
4. Lower your risk of heart disease
5. Helps cure insomnia
6. Fight depression
7. Lower your risk of diabetes and reverse pre-diabetes
8. Build strong bones
9. Lose weight
10. Reduces your risk of cancer
11. Helps you think better
12. Helps relieve chronic knee pain
13. Increases your energy levels
14. Slow down your aging process

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Male Enhancement Gone Terribly Terribly Wrong

Filed under: extenze,health,male enhancement,penis enlargement,safety,Uncategorized,viagra — John @ 4:46 pm

If you own a television then you’ve probably seen the late night advertisements for male enhancements like extenze and all the other pills that promise this and that. But sometimes some people just go too far… way too far.

A man had to call the local fire department when he accidentally managed to get a steel dumbbell stuck onto his penis. The police have reported that the man was attempting to enlarge the size of his penis. Well he succeeded, if only temporarily. His organ had swollen to five times its normal size. That’s not a good thing, at least not in this case. Eventually the man was convinced that he had to have the dumbbell removed surgically. It was either that or the flesh in his penis would die. Hmm, tough choice (obvious sarcasm).

Okay let me just say this right now. Do not ever and I mean EVER try something like this. If you really like your penis that much the best thing is to keep it away from steel dumbbells. If you’ve seriously considered penis enlargement with these oral products I would probably say your money can be spent better elsewhere. The average penis size is about 5-6 or 7 inches. In most cases all you really need is about 4 inches though. However, if you really do feel like you need to take these male enhancements then please talk to your doctor first. He or she will probably tell you not to stick your penis into a steel dumbbell.

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September 22, 2009

Mortality Rate From Unintended Injury Rises. Americans Are Poisoning Themselves To Death

Filed under: depression,health,insomnia,medicine,muscle relaxant,prescription drugs,rehab,safety,sleep apnea,sleeping pills,Uncategorized — John @ 5:34 pm

Would you be surprised if I told you that in a span of about 6 years (1999-2005) the mortality rate from unintended injury rose by 11% in the United States? Well you should be. Those numbers are almost too high to believe, but the statistics are completely true.

The truth of the matter is we’re slowly killing ourselves. There have been unusually high spikes in poisoning deaths and deaths from falls. The deaths from falling may be just due to older age or simply because someone had a few too many drinks and accidentally fell off a cliff. However, the fact that poisoning deaths increased in dramatic fashion is what really scares me. America, you’ve become one big drug addict.

I’m not saying that drugs (prescription drugs) are bad, many people rely on some of these medications to live. However, when you start taking pills for sleeping, upset stomachs, muscle pain, sneezing, that weird twitch in your eye, etc, it starts to add up. Over medicating is a very real problem in America that often goes overlooked.

When anyone starts taking more drugs than they can remember, there is definitely going to be problems. There is only so much your body can take. It’s kind of like alcohol, sure a drink every so often is okay, but when you go get totally smashed every night for a lengthy period of time then expect there to be some sort of damage to your body. People begin to think that if something isn’t illegal it won’t harm you and that’s where many people are wrong.

My grade 11 teacher told me that North American society is the most medicated society in the world. He couldn’t have been more right. It seems to me that people are just taking pills because they can. If your having trouble sleeping try working out, putting some soft music on don’t pop a pill. America you need some serious rehab. Hopefully the citizens will listen up and give you what you need.

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August 10, 2009

Are Men Good For Women’s Diets?

Filed under: cancer,diet,diets,eat less calories,eating less,food,health,healthy diets,junk food,Lindsay Lohan,Lohan,low calories,menopause,skeleton,Uncategorized,weight loss,women — John @ 10:56 am

Depending on the way you look at it, men could be good for women’s diets. A study that was conducted at a University’s cafeteria’s showed that when women ate with a mixed group they tend to eat less calories. The more men that were present seemed to further decrease the calorie intake of the women.

The only problem with this I see is if women start to starve themselves by not eating enough. Most women think that if they eat less in front of guys then they will appear to be more attractive, but guess what, if you don’t eat enough and change into a cross between Lindsay Lohan and a skeleton (oh wait, maybe they’re the same thing), then guys probably won’t find you very attractive anyway.

If eating with men helps you eat healthier then go ahead and eat with guys more often, more power to you. Remember eating healthier and eating less are two completely different things. As long as you continue to eat a sufficient amount of food and stay healthier then yes, men can be good for women’s diets. However, I don’t think every article that talks about this should be titled “Men ARE good for women’s diets” and should be “Men CAN be good for women’s diets.”

Furthermore, I think one other things should be taken into consideration, do men even care? For the most part, probably not. I mean if you eat like a pig, with no courtesy eating a full rack of ribs in record breaking time, then yeah maybe men care. But if you tend to eat like a civilized human being, taking some sort of time to eat then it probably doesn’t make a significant impact on men. During the study men’s eating habits didn’t seem to change in mixed or same-sex groups. Either they (men) don’t really care that much, or all these guys seemed to get extra hungry. Maybe that should be the next study. “Do men really care about women’s eating habits?” That or spend time doing something like finding a cure for cancer, or solving world hunger. You know just those small little things.

For more information on how to order Canada drugs safely and securely call 1-866-732-0305 or visit http://www.doctorsolve.com/ – a trusted and reliable Canadian online pharmacy since 1999.

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