Sports N Health

In a world dominated by computers, cars, planes, trains, mobile phones, and televisions, we all have become so much dependent upon technology that we forget to realize the fact that our body needs some kind of exercises to stay fit and in good shape. Hobbies and pastimes of the past years such as walking, jogging, book reading, exercising in gyms, swimming, horse riding, and cycling are no longer prevalent. This not only means that human mind and body no longer enjoy the grooming skills but also means that humans are no longer in mood of making an effort, even if that is for their own good.

To add to the woes, we find happiness while sitting next to the television, listening a song on the latest iPod, talking endlessly on the phone, spending more time at the gym with steroids in the body, having a cigarette puff to look cool, or having a drink or two at the newly opened bar when health measures such as meditation or a short walk would have done the trick. All these habits suggest that technology and bad habits are leading us to unhealthy living and the earlier we realize the better.

How to lead active lifestyle?

If you really do not want anything between good health and you, try to be natural and do not be shy or short of energy while working out in the natural way or eating fresh fruit and vegetables. Remember, short-term happiness cannot replace long-term health and happiness. Meditate for some time, exercise for some time, and be happy for the entire day. Do not forget that happiness is not something that can be forced or unnatural, find it in small things and the world before you will be a happy place to spend the rest of your life.

Remember, technology is best used when it takes you a step forward and not when it puts you miles behind.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Calcium can be best described as a mineral that is an important part of human bones and teeth. It is just not the teeth and bones that need supplies of calcium, body parts such as nerves and blood clotting systems also need calcium to ensure complete and balanced growth of the body.

Let us have a close look at some of the endless benefits of calcium for the mankind.

Medical studies have suggested that calcium can be highly effective for minimizing phosphate levels in individuals with kidney ailments and may be used as an antacid (calcium carbonate). It can prevent breaking of bones, especially for breast-feeding women and people who have undergone kidney or bone marrow transplants in the recent past.

It is considered that calcium can also prove effective for preventing high blood pressure, cholesterol, tooth loss in elderly people, colorectal cancer, stroke, and fluoride poisoning in children when taken in a combination with vitamin C and D. It is worthwhile to note that it is best to take calcium with food in doses of 500 mg or less per day.

It is important to note that people suffering from too much of calcium production due to ailments such as parathyroid gland disorders and sarcoidosis must avoid calcium. It must not be taken in a combination with certain antibiotics known as “quinolones” [such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), ofloxacin (Floxin)] as they can reduce its effectiveness.

We hope that this blog on Calcium has helped you to gain invaluable insights on this mineral.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Sporting events are something that allures sportsmen to take on steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. This intention is usually all about staying close to name, fame, and money. However, these drugs can pose a serious threat to the life and well-being of sportsmen when abused even on a small level. This is the reason why it is always said that it is better to make a strong body by taking more of time than even thinking about doing it all fast with steroids.

Now that we have talked about the dangers associated with performance enhancing drugs, let us move our focus on how to stay fit and healthy to compete and excel at professional events. To start off, try to maintain a well-planned health schedule.

Once that has been done, try to create an exercise and diet regimen so that you can reap optimum benefits with minimal efforts. One thing that you need to remember is that strong bodies are not made overnight. You will need to put dedicated efforts before expecting any results. These small tips would go a long way in ensuring that your health and mind stay in top gear for staying ahead of the competition. Remember, sports and health are co-related and you need to emphasize on both as a sportsman.

Popularity: 10% [?]

According to a new review of recently concluded studies comparing inhaled corticosteroids and the medicine cromolyn, asthmatic children and adults can breathe deeper and exercise a better control over their asthma with corticosteroids.

It was remarked by James Guevara, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues that asthmatic patients using steroids also have the unique advantage of scoring considerably higher when it comes to lung function tests. It was also remarked that patients using inhaled corticosteroids use their inhalers often less than those using cromolyn for treating asthma.

From News-Medical.Net:

“To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review comparing the effects of cromolyn to the gold standard, inhaled steroids,” Guevara said.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

The consensus still leaves room for cromolyn treatment, according to William Storms, M.D., an allergist at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and director of the William Storms Allergy Clinic in Colorado Springs.

“Any expert would agree that inhaled corticosteroids are preferred first-line therapy for treatment of persistent asthma, which requires daily therapy. But we also will agree with the NIH [National Institutes of Health] asthma guidelines, which state that cromolyn and other drugs are alternative therapies,” Storms said.

Cromolyn, or sodium cromoglycate, and inhaled corticosteroids both block the action of certain inflammatory cells in the lungs. Physicians recommend both types of medication for persistent asthma, but individual studies disagree about which type of medication works best, the reviewers found.

It was concluded by Guevara and colleagues that inhaled corticosteroids prove to be superior to cromolyn despite severity of asthma. It was also concluded that the experienced results were so much decisive that there is need to warrant any further studies on this matter.

Popularity: 47% [?]

Gold that buys health can never be ill spent.  ~Thomas Dekker, Westward Ho, 1604

Disease is somatic; the suffering from it, psychic.  ~Martin H. Fischer

Health of body and mind is a great blessing, if we can bear it.  ~John Henry

A healthy body and soul come from an unencumbered mind and body.  ~Ymber Delecto

Diseases crucify the soul of man, attenuate our bodies, dry them, wither them, rivel them up like old apples, make them as so many Anatomies.  ~Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy

Sometimes I get the feeling the aspirin companies are sponsoring my headaches.  ~V.L. Allineare

Hear your heart.  Heart your health.  ~Faith Seehill

Preserving the health by too strict a regimen is a wearisome malady.  ~François Duc de la Rochefoucauld

From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health.  ~Catalan Proverb

If man thinks about his physical or moral state he usually discovers that he is ill.  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It’s bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children’s health than the pediatrician.  ~Meryl Streep

I see rejection in my skin, worry in my cancers, bitterness and hate in my aching joints.  I failed to take care of my mind, and so my body now goes to hospital.  ~Astrid Alauda

If you don’t take care of yourself, the undertaker will overtake that responsibility for you.  ~Carrie Latet

The most important thing in illness is never to lose heart.  ~Nikolai Lenin

The part can never be well unless the whole is well.  ~Plato

There is something in sickness that breaks down the pride of manhood.  ~Charles Dickens

Bacteria keeps us from heaven and puts us there.  ~Martin H. Fischer

Health and cheerfulness naturally beget each other.  ~Joseph Addison

It is a lot harder to keep people well than it is to just get them over a sickness.  ~DeForest Clinton Jarvis

Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well.  ~Marcus Valerius Martial

Happiness lies, first of all, in health.  ~George William Curtis, Lotus-Eating

It’s no coincidence that four of the six letters in health are “heal.”  ~Ed Northstrum

We really hope that these health quotes have inspired you again to the path of success and glory. Best of Luck!

Popularity: 60% [?]

Researchers at the Michigan State University have found out that leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells and considered as an appetite-controlling hormone, has the ability to affect the immune system where natural versions of some steroids fail to deliver.

This study was reported in an online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It was revealed by Pamela Fraker, MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and lead scientist that the neuroendocrine system plays an all-important role in both the immune system and obesity.

From News-Medical.Net:

To further study leptin’s effect on the immune system, Fraker and her colleagues are planning a study on morbidly obese people who will be having gastric bypass surgery. While the outcome of the surgery is highly successful for most people, mortality rates can range from 2 percent to 10 percent, which is significant.

“Infection from poor wound healing, which is the result of reduced immune function, is one reason people die from the surgery,” Fraker said. “We’re going to measure people’s immune function before and after surgery to see how much it improves, as well as how fast it improves.”

Other members of this research team are MSU scientists Louis King, research assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Kate Claycombe, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition.

While corticosteroids, such as prednisone, reduce inflammation, they also inhibit the body’s immune system – a person taking prescription steroids is more susceptible to infection. Another MSU research team found that corticosteroids produced naturally in the body don’t have this same immunosuppressive effect.

It was remarked by Fraker and his team that the naturally-produced versions of steroids do not affect the immune system like the pharmacological versions and pharmaceutical companies need to aim for synthesizing natural versions of the steroids.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Norditropin (somatropin[rDNA origin] injection) has been approved by FDA for treating short stature in children with Noonan syndrome, according to a recent statement by Novo Nordisk.

Noonan syndrome is classified as an autosomal dominant genetic syndrome that is commonly featured by congenital heart defects, short stature, and unique facial characteristics. It is believed that 80 percent of children suffering from Noonan syndrome tend to also suffer from considerable short stature.

From News.medical.net:

“When you see a child who has Noonan syndrome, it may not always be obvious to the naked eye, but the complications associated with the condition are quite serious and can affect both physical development and other systems” said Martin Soeters, president of Novo Nordisk Inc. “There are few treatment options available to help the physical development, and this approval marks an exciting advancement for children with this rare condition.”

Noonan syndrome is classified as a rare condition with a population of less than 200,000. To encourage the development of treatments for rare disorders — that may not otherwise be commercially viable for development — the FDA designates drugs that treat fewer than 200,000 patients with an “orphan drug” designation. Norditropin has received orphan drug designation for the treatment of short stature associated with Noonan syndrome.

It was remarked that careful monitoring is highly recommended when somatropin is administered in combination with other drugs that are known to be metabolized by CP450 liver enzymes such as sex steroids, corticosteroids, cyclosporine, and anticonvulsants.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Steroids have been found to possess a unique ability to reduce heart damage in children with Kawasaki’s disease, according to a study that was published in an issue of Pediatrics.

It is important to note here that the findings of this study highlight knowledge gap as the present guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics state that there is little evidence to suggest that steroids are effective in treating children with Kawasaki’s disease when it comes to minimizing damage to heart. The study also suggested that recommendations are been made for the standard treatment of Kawasaki’s via aspirin and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).

From News-Medical.Net:

“This gap in knowledge led us to examine the benefits of steroids more closely. We looked at research worldwide and were surprised to find eight solid clinical trials showing the value of steroids in significantly reducing heart damage in children with Kawasaki’s disease. Steroids, when combined with aspirin and IVGB, reduced the odds of developing inflammation of the heart blood vessels by half,” said Stephen Aronoff, MD, lead author of the meta-analysis and Temple University School of Medicine professor and chair of pediatrics.

It was remarked by Aronoff, MD, lead author of the meta-analysis and Temple University School of Medicine professor and chair of pediatrics that a multi-center study will be able to offer any further proofs for justifying the benefits of steroid treatment for Kawasaki’s disease, which is considered to be one of the leading causes of acquired heart disease in children inflaming the blood vessels leading to the heart.

Popularity: 7% [?]

If steroids are withdrawn early following liver transplantation, a higher incidence of rejection and a lower incidence of intolerance to glucose may be seen to necessitate treatment for diabetes.

This finding came to limelight after a first double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted with an aim to examine the effects of early steroid withdrawal. This study was published in an issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

From News-Medical.Net:

“Although the incidence of acute rejection in the placebo group was increased, it was easily controlled in most of the cases and did not affect long-term graft histology or survival,” the authors note, adding that the increase may ultimately be acceptable if steroids could be eliminated. However, the main goal of steroid elimination is to reduce metabolic complications and this study showed no difference in cholesterol or hypertension, with a trend toward a decreased incidence of diabetes in the placebo group.

The authors conclude: “Indeed, while there are many arguments in favor of corticosteroid withdrawal beyond 3 months posttransplantation, in terms of safety and efficacy, our study demonstrates that earlier withdrawal at day 14 is not completely safe in terms of rejection, but seems efficient in terms of improvement of glucose tolerability,” which could decrease long-term mortality due to cardiovascular disease.

It is believed by the medical fraternity that this study on early steroid withdrawal will help medical practitioners to handle this concerning issue with a greater sense of caution and diligence.

Popularity: 6% [?]

According to a recently concluded review, HIV patients who are treated with anabolic steroids may experience modest gains in body weight and muscle mass when treated for AIDS wasting.

This review published in an issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration.

It was remarked by review lead author Karen Johns, a Medical Assessment Officer from the Agency Health Canada that the degree of weight gain due to anabolic steroid treatment can be relevant in clinical terms.

From News-Medical.Net:

Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances similar to the male sex hormone testosterone that promote growth of skeletal muscle and the development of male sexual characteristics.

Although most recently in the news for their misuse by professional athletes, anabolic steroids have legitimate medical application for men with low testosterone and people with certain types of anemia. Two anabolic steroids available in the United States, nandrolone decanoate and oxandrolone, have been used to help increase weight and muscle mass in small studies of people with wasting.

Conversely, anabolic steroid use has been associated with increased rates of HIV in those who share needles or use nonsterile needles when they inject steroids.

In the review studies, anabolic steroids were administered to patients either orally or by injection. The main side effects were mild and included abnormal liver function tests; acne; mild increase in body hair; breast tenderness; increased libido, aggressiveness and irritability; and mood swings — all common side effect of anabolic steroid use.

It is noteworthy to note here that AIDS wasting is often the primary reason behind weight loss in patients with HIV that results in muscle loss. The wasting stems from lost ability of the human body in facilitating muscle growth and even from low levels of testosterone in the body.

Popularity: 10% [?]

In today’s times when health and fitness have taken backseats, it is important for every one of us to understand that a change is a must. This change is all about changing attitude towards health and understanding that health is something that cannot just be compromised at any point of time.

If you have decided to change your lifestyle, you must be proud of yourself. However, do not make unrealistic health plans so that you may not end up facing failure. Try to make small plans and plan day-wise rather than month or year wise. In addition to that, try to measure performance over a period of time and not on short intervals. This is because you may not be able to experience the gains made by your body in a short span of time. However, keep daily measurements and track of your diet and body requirement changes. Increase your targets slowly and not rapidly. Do not strain your body and try to be happy with whatever gains you have experienced.

Never try to compete with any one. Make your own goals and be your own competitor. Remember, every human body and human is different from one another and what you can experience may not be experienced by another guy. There might even be a slight possibility that he thinks about you as an idol just like the way you may be idolizing him. The point is, stay happy and do not try to create an impression at the cost of your health and body.

Popularity: 8% [?]