Archive for August, 2009
Alcohol And Health Effects Of Alcohol On The Body
Alcohol and health effects of alcohol on the body can be short term or long term effects. The consumption of alcohol and health related problems can occur over a short time frame, while other conditions and long term effects of alcohol on the body may only happen following years of alcohol abuse.
Alcohol comes into direct contact with the mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach and intestines as well as being absorbed into the bloodstream. Health problems can begin as headaches, feeling nauseated, sore throat or indigestion. However, if alcohol abuse continues, these and other alcohol and health symptoms can develop into more serious illnesses and diseases.
Here are examples of short term health effects of alcohol on the body:
• Nausea, Vomiting, Dizziness, Hangovers – excessive alcohol consumption can result in the body trying to protect itself by getting rid of the alcohol and vomiting. Alcohol and health and the central nervous system are related since alcohol affects a person’s sense of balance and orientation, leading to a feeling of nausea and/or dizziness. Hangovers are partly due to the body’s dehydration caused by alcohol consumption, and hangover effects of alcohol on the body may be felt a few hours after consuming alcohol.
• Loss of Muscle Control – slurred speech is one of the effects of alcohol on the body. Impaired judgement and poor coordination are alcohol and health effects that can lead to falls and accidents.
• Adverse Interactions with Medications – alcohol is known to interact negatively with at least 100 medications. For example, antihistamines taken with alcohol can increase the drowsiness that this medication by itself can cause. Large doses of the painkiller acetaminophen taken together when consuming alcohol increases the risk of liver damage.
• Pregnancy Risks – alcohol can cause numerous birth defects, the most serious being fetal alcohol syndrome. Babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome will have physical abnormalities, mental impairment and problems with behavior. To avoid negative alcohol and health effects during pregnancy, do not drink alcohol during pregnancy as no one knows exactly how much alcohol causes birth deffects.
Because alcohol and health effects can involve many organs in the body, long-term heavy drinking puts you at risk for developing serious health conditions and illnesses. Here are examples of long term effects of alcohol on the body:
• Liver Inflammation and Cirrhosis of the Liver – liver inflammation symptoms include abnormal yellowing of the skin, eyeballs and urine, fever and abdominal pain. And in the case of cirrhosis, as many as one in five heavy drinkers will develop cirrhosis of the liver. Alcohol is especially harmful to the liver since the liver is needed to metabolize alcohol. Alcohol destroys liver cells, and it destroys the ability of the liver to regenerate new cells.
• Cancer – long term heavy drinkers increase their risk for certain forms of cancer such as cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus and colon.
• Heart disease – long term heavy drinking increases a person’s risk for developing high blood pressure and heart disease.
• Pancreaitis – long term heavy drinking can result in developing inflammation of the pancreas, called pancreaitis. The pancreas are needed for food digestion, and pancreaitis symptoms include severe abdominal pain and weight loss. Pancreaitis can be life-threatening.
Additional long term negative alcohol and health effects on the body include damage to the brain, nerve damage, bleeding in the esophagus, erectile dysfunction in men, insomnia and depression. If you’d like to learn more about alcoholism stages and warning signs, there are proven resources available that can help. It is never too late to begin recovery from alcohol addiction.
Copyright 2006 InfoSearch Publishing
Adopting a Healthy Diet â What Does That Entail?
Everyday, people are faced with a wide selection of food options. Your local grocery store has hundreds of food offerings. You will find several aisles with numerous food options. A local restaurant can offer several pages of dishes that you can choose from. Indeed, you are bombarded with numerous food choices on a daily basis. Itâs not surprising why some people cannot plan a healthy diet regimen very well.
On top of this, people have to deal with an onslaught of information from various media. You would find advertising promoting McDonalds or Pizza Hut. Every ad is designed to convince you to give in to your sweet cravings. On the other hand, you get nutritionists and health gurus warning you of the dangers of junk foods. You would also find health experts promoting one form of healthy diet after another.
With many options and contrasting information, it is not surprising that people are having difficulty figuring out what a healthy diet exactly is. People are constantly having problems controlling their weight and their eating habits. If you are having the same problem, you are probably giving in to indulgences and you are likely overeating. However, the importance of a healthy diet cannot be overstressed. To help you achieve a healthy diet, you need to arm yourself with vital nutrition information that will help you determine proper food choices.
Moderation is the Key to a Healthy Diet
If you want to maintain a healthy diet, you really donât have to forego chocolates, ice creams or cakes as long as you eat them in small amounts. You need to practice moderation when it comes to eating. Overeating is the number one cause of obesity and moderation is actually the essential key to maintaining good health. But how do you this?
Basically, eating food in moderation comes with attention. You need to pay attention to what you are eating and to the amount of food that you have eaten. One of the many reasons why people tend to overeat is that they fail to notice whenever their bodies are telling them that they have had enough food. It is important that you learn to eat slowly. You need to be aware of how much you have consumed, so that you would know when you have had enough food.
To eat in moderation, you should avoid second helpings. You should opt for regular sized meals instead of the largest items in a restaurant. You should be particularly conscious of the amount of food you have consumed when you are eating âjunk foodsâ. Again, you donât have to avoid it altogether, but you need to be a conscious eater. If you are going to eat cookies, donât eat directly from the box. Often people will only discover that they have eaten a lot once they have realized that they have finished the whole box.
Be Conscious of When You Eat
Aside from controlling your food intake, you should also be conscious of when you eat. This is part of ensuring a healthy diet. Generally, people are better off eating 5 to 6 small meals per day. This is because the body is unable to process or handle large meals. It tends to convert the food into fats. On the other hand, if you eat small meals a day, your body will be better equipped to handle small amount of foods.
It is also very important that you avoid late night snacking. Your stomach should be empty 3 or 4 hours before you go to sleep. It can be tempting to have a large sandwich at midnight but this habit will take a toll on your weight and health. Your body will merely store the food as fat while you sleep. Thereâs nothing like waking up with an empty stomach and enjoying a healthy breakfast with your family. Speaking of breakfast, this is one meal that you should never skip. Skipping out on a heavy breakfast will make you crave food the entire day.
Do Not Starve Yourself
Many people think that by starving themselves, they would lose weight. Unfortunately, this rarely happens because once the hunger kicks in and they give in to it, they would likely end up eating huge fatty meals. They also tend to become more obsessed with food and they end up consuming large amounts of food.
Basically, having a healthy diet means eating foods rich in nutrients, eating foods in moderation and being conscious of your eating habits. By adopting a healthy diet, you will live a much better life.
Healthy Skin is a Mirror of a Healthy Body
Public imagination has been sparked by researchers such as Aubrey de Grey, the British scientist who claims that aging is an “engineering problem” that can be solved by identifying basic causes of aging and creating nuts-and-bolts medical and biomedical solutions. “It’s easy to say that aging is an engineering problem, but we’re pretty elaborate pieces of engineering,” says longevity researcher Brian Kennedy, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. Though aging is inevitable it is possible to slow it down or to make its effects less obvious. As 77 million baby boomers approach retirement, the relatively new field of anti-aging is racing to keep up with them. Anti-aging is not just a matter of simply living longer, but also living better.
Health
Health is an investment whose benefits grow over time. The concept of “optimizing natural longevity” in useful when trying to draw a distinct line between what you can do now to lead a longer, healthier life, and what will be possible in the future. And the formula is a simple one, according to nationally known health expert, Caroline Sutherland, “proper diet, hormone regulation and low stress levels will keep you looking and feeling your best. Many people’s health problems and anti-aging would improve if they would just drink more good water. Once you begin to understand this, it is easy to see why so many people are suffering from health problems.
Healthy Skin
Healthy skin is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle – and vice versa. Healthy skin is a sign of good health and therefore those with healthy skin are more attractive as potential reproductive partners.
Healthy, beautiful skin is achieved by caring for your body both internally and externally and our all natural health and beauty products for natural skin and hair care will safely nurture you as it exceeds your expectations daily. Healthy lifestyle is no longer confined to individual level and it is now one of the important parts of workability of employee.
Antioxidants Are Healthy
Consumers have known for a long time that what you eat influences your health, but studies on the different properties of foods have shown that eating certain foods may provide you with greater health benefits. Certainly, some products pitched as anti-aging may be healthy and/or may soften the effects of aging. So antioxidants might be healthy in the same way vitamin supplements, often including antioxidants, are healthy. Although there is little doubt that antioxidants are a necessary component for good health, no one knows if supplements should be taken and, if so, how much.
Aging
Aging is an active mechanism that has been under selection because it works well. Antiaging is not a war against aging but is a science which when implemented can not only delay but also can prevent the process of aging and also treat age related disorders. Antiaging is a process not a single event and our resourceses will lead you to a longer and better life by maintaining proper weight, good health and the youthful appearance we all desire.