While we all think that Wall Street greed and the huge pay packets of “fat cat” speculators and bankers brought about the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the actual cause is entirely different. This was said to be just the trigger of the real cause, which is US gluttony.

America has gotten used to stuffing itself. You would understand if you had seen the 2004 documentary, “Super Size Me,” by Morgan Spurlock. It conveys the consequences of gluttony.

What does supersizing mean? It refers to the American habit of “supersizing” all the fast foods and getting consumers to opt for the bigger sizes for reasons of “economy” or savings. You would have seen the pricing policy adopted by most fast food sellers. The bigger the size, the lesser you pay. This psychological trigger works wonders and consumers end up being the scapegoats opting for bigger sizes while the people selling them laugh all the way to the bank.

In fact, Morgan Spurlock, the film-maker practically tested this by surviving on a diet of three McDonald meals a day, for thirty days. The result was drastic – he ended up heavier by 11.1 kg. This weight gain was the least of his worries. He also developed all sorts of health problems; such as high blood pressure, psychological disorders and liver problems. Coming back to normal was a long and arduous task, which included a rigorous detoxification program for 14 months.

This experiment brings to light America’s insatiable appetite, not only for food but for everything, right from gas-devouring cars to climate-controlled condominiums. United States’ consumption levels far exceed its population, which is only 5% of the World population. America consumes 24 percent of the world’s energy. It is said that an average American consumes as much energy as 13 Chinese, 31 Indians, 128 Bangladeshis or 370 Ethiopians. Read the rest of this entry »

Sex advice is being replaced by sex aids! Now 12-years-olds are being made available DIY (do it yourself) abortion kits and vaccinations against HPV, a sexually transmitted infection.

If the new bill proposed by doctors, that is yet to be passed in parliament goes through, British schoolgirls as young as 12, could be given permission for DIY abortions. This has given way to a huge controversy. This would mean that very young kids will be able to undergo termination without supervision, behind their parents’ backs, even as late as 19 weeks.

In the words of Tory Nadine Dorris, a leading anti-abortion MP, “We are talking about very young girls who will go home and abort on their own.” This has scared many a parent and is a cause of great concern for them. Parents feel that this is like giving permission to go ahead and indulge in sex because there is a secret “remedy” and it also creates a risk factor for the child herself, which is what a girl is at 12.

Critics have said this decision by the Government sends out a wrong message to young girls. Even the Christian Institute has expressed disapproval of this plan. The director of the Roman Catholic Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, said, “A massive public health programme which targets girls as young as 10 or 12 may well create more problems than it solves .. sending the message that promiscuity is normal and expected.” Read the rest of this entry »

The human brain is the most complex and highly sophisticated computer ever built. The entire nervous system is very complex and is as vulnerable to various problems as the rest of the body is. There is fear of damage to the brain cells, infections, injuries, degeneration and other defects and tumors. Degeneration or disease in which nerve cells degenerate and die, usually quite slowly, is pre-senile dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a non-reversible age-related brain disorder that develops over a period of time (years). In the initial stages, people experience confusion and memory loss, which usually is mistaken for memory changes associated with aging. However, these symptoms of AD gradually lead to personality and behavior changes, a decline in cognitive abilities such as decision-making skills, language skills as well as problems recognizing even close family and friends. Ultimately, AD leads to loss of mental function. These losses are caused by the worsening breakdown of the connections between different neurons in the brain and eventually their death. AD comes under the group of disorders called dementias and is the most common cause of dementia among people aged 65 and older. Read the rest of this entry »

Obesity is a problem most adults of today face. Some give up trying to reduce weight thinking it’s hereditary and others get discouraged when nothing seems to work. There are some people who are happy with themselves and what they are.

Agreed, we do not have to bother about what others feel about us but we have to be concerned about our health. Obesity as we all know leads to all sorts of health problems. Lack of exercise only aggravates the situation.

Researchers have time and again drilled it into us that exercise helps burn fat. Results of another recent study reveal that just a single bout of exercise helps obese people boost their fat-burning rate and improve their metabolism.

This is great news and should motivate all those obese individuals who have given up taking care of their health. According to a researcher from the University of Michigan, “This means that exercising, even without losing weight, can benefit individuals in terms of metabolic health. By exercising to increase their ability to burn fat and store fat as triglycerides in muscle, which is beneficial, people reduce their insulin resistance and their likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.”

They also found that obese women’s fat burning rate had reduced when they overate and did not exercise. Read the rest of this entry »

Death begins in the colon! That may sound a little extreme but it is a fact that a troubled colon leads to all sorts of diseases, some more serious than the others. Colon cleansing is one of the best ways of cleaning an unhealthy colon that is severely out of balance. While it is necessary to learn about different methods of cleansing, it is of utmost importance to understand that several mishaps can occur if colon cleansing is not performed properly.

Do not believe anyone that says colon cleansing is free from any reactions. It is common to have physical reactions to the colon cleansing process. These reactions may include headaches, vomiting, fatigue, diarrhea or dizziness. For all the discomfort, this is actually a sign that the process is working and that you are actually eliminating toxins from the body. Although, these symptoms may not be considered as serious, if they do occur, you may need to temporarily cut back on your cleansing procedure.

You must learn not to confuse cleansing supplements with laxatives. Laxatives are not considered to be a good alternative, despite the fact that many health professionals recommend them. According to colon hydrotherapists, laxatives only stimulate the muscular movement of the colon. They can also cause dehydration and do nothing to loosen and remove the colon’s false lining. Laxatives may also weaken the colon by irritating and over-stimulating it, and it is best to stay away from them. Read the rest of this entry »

Prenatal diagnosis is currently the most widespread application of technology and genetic knowledge. Along with the benefits that advancing technologies provide, they also give birth to new dilemmas. Researchers can now detect many health problems of an unborn child in the womb. While it is a good thing as it helps parents prepare well to receive such a child, this information also creates situations where parents face the wrenching decision of whether they should give birth to the child or terminate the pregnancy. They are left to decide if giving birth to such a child is an injustice to the child.

What about the ethics of prenatal testing, especially in Down syndrome? How do mothers experience the personal and ethical choices about prenatal testing? We should also be looking at the perspective of mothers of children with Down syndrome.

Society believes that it is a grave burden to raise a child with Down syndrome and that it is both medically appropriate and morally correct to take measures to ensure the child is not born. Because of few treatment options, testing is basically linked to the only option of ‘therapeutic’ abortion. Read the rest of this entry »

Although Abortion is practiced throughout most of the world and has been practiced long before the recorded history, it still invokes passion and controversy. Abortion raises fundamental questions such as when life begins and what it is that makes us human. In America, abortion is a highly charged issue that involves ethical, religious and political debate. It continues to be a very contentious issue with few signs of abatement.

It is understandable that most women feel abortion is a moral decision for them and a totally personal decision, given their situation. This includes their religious beliefs, health, marital status, genetic makeup, age and other factors.

If a woman decides to undergo abortion, after consulting with her physician and her spiritual advisor, should the government veto her decision?

The answer to this is a whole lot of debate in the U.S., many times even bordering on violence.

Those who are against abortion say that the government should be able to override the decision of a woman and require her to continue with her pregnancy and childbirth. These people base their stance on the strong belief that human life begins at the ovum and spermatozoon stage. This makes a pre-embryo, embryo and fetus all humans that are entitled to the basic human right to live, along with all other human rights. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no secret that a poor diet can lead to poor health. Scientists and doctors agree that poor nutrition can contribute to a patient’s likelihood to develop a number of significant health problems. Some important health problems that can be negatively impacted by a poor diet include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. Even heart attacks and strokes may be related to a patient’s poor diet. In fact, there is a current trend towards patients developing these detrimental diet-related ailments in the United States and in most Western countries.

It is quite possible to reverse the trend of poor health caused by a poor diet. The answer is to eat healthier, more nutritious foods and to increase the amount of exercise each individual does. Most people would like to follow a more nutritional diet plan, but they simply don’t have the knowledge to accomplish their goal. Much of the average person’s diet consists of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. People simply don’t know what foods are best for them and they may not have the resources to get the information that they need. Read the rest of this entry »

A woman’s curse? In the West, through much of its history, women were considered ritually unclean during the monthly flow of blood. This period put a woman into a state of ritual defilement. Theologians believed that this “unclean creature” could not be entrusted with the care of God’s sacred rituals. Similar taboos existed among many cultures, including the Greeks and Romans. Women were not only considered to be “impure” but in danger of communicating this impurity to others. Anyone who touches a woman or her belongings becomes unclean and must clean themselves. These traditions were onerous and complicated.

Now for the blessings of the curse! The same blood is now claimed by researchers as life-saving. It is found to contain stem cells that are in the early stages of development, thus having the potential to turn into different types of cells.

American and Japanese researchers say that this blood contains adult stem cells and can be the “super repair kit” for the body. These stem cells can be used to develop nine different types of cells for growing new cartilage, bone, fat, skin, brain cells, lung, nerve, muscle and even the heart. Read the rest of this entry »

Any form of cancer does not only affect the person diagnosed, but the family also. Every year more than two thousand people are diagnosed with mesothelioma, one of the most dreaded diseases that is linked to inhalation of asbestos dust and fibers. This disease lies dormant hiding itself for many years or even decades before revealing its dark face, by which time it is often too late to do anything about it. The most unfortunate aspect of this disease is that it is often misdiagnosed because it has symptoms that are similar to other diseases and certain types of lung cancer.

Over the years, science has advanced tremendously but there have not been many breakthroughs in research and many clinical trials underway currently, for the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma.

Dr. Anton Berns from The Netherlands Cancer Institute says, “There is an urgent need for experimental models of malignant mesothelioma that can be used to not only study the onset and progression of the disease, but also to serve as a model to select new combination therapies and targeted agents.”

This is precisely the reason why the results of the latest test conducted by the Columbia University Medical Center and Rosetta Genomics Ltd. is being hailed as a major breakthrough, especially for people suffering from this form of cancer. Researchers say that now they can differentiate between lung cancers of two forms, squamous and the non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Read the rest of this entry »