You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat” before, right? Well, as trite as the saying might be, there’s a lot of truth to it. What we eat directly affects how we look and feel. More specifically, eating the wrong foods can leave you feeling tired and unable to focus. If you don’t want to drag through the work day, try avoiding some of these foods.

1.    Turkey—Turkey is probably the most popular “sleepy food” there is. Remember the Seinfeld episode where Jerry fed his girlfriend a heaping serving of turkey so she would fall asleep and he could play with her rare toys? The reason turkey makes you tired is because it contains tryptophan, an amino acid that relaxes the body. Now, eating a turkey sandwich probably won’t put you to sleep, but you should monitor how much turkey you ingest.

2.    High sugar candy—Sugary candy and foods can trick you into thinking they actually add energy when they don’t. That’s because when you first eat them, your blood sugar levels go way up. However, the body then instinctually releases insulin, and your blood sugar levels drop rapidly. The result? You crash as you run out of energy.

3.    Fried foods—Because fried foods are so fatty, it takes much more energy to break them down during digestion. As a result, eating French fries or fried chicken is a surefire way to quickly drain your body of energy.

4.    Red meat—Red meats take longer to digest than almost any other food. This means your body needs to use much more energy to break down red meat than it would for, say, a slice of fish.

5.    Alcohol—Have you ever noticed how tired you get after drinking a glass or 2 of wine? The reason for this is that alcohol actually slows down the body’s central nervous system. This causes you to feel completely drained and wiped out. Unfortunately, alcohol can also contribute to insomnia, meaning you won’t be able to get the rest necessary to get your energy levels back up.

6.    Bread—Because bread contains carbs, eating too much of it can sap you of energy. This is because bread causes your body to quickly raise and decrease its blood sugar levels. It’s the peak and valley symptoms: one second you’re feeling full of energy, the next, you’re dead tired.

7.    Pasta—Pasta is another starchy food that can cause a sudden drop in your blood sugar levels. That’s because starch is stored in your body as a sugar. As I mentioned earlier, when your blood sugar levels increase, your body releases insulin, causing the blood sugar levels to come crashing down.

It’s worth noting that eating too much of any food will leave you feeling tired and probably a little sick. That’s because your body will have to direct most of its energy to breaking down your big meal, leaving little energy for you to do anything else.

Which foods tend to make you tired?

Stress is a silent killer. If you don’t manage your stress levels, you can end up suffering from any number of illnesses, including depression and heart problems. That’s why it’s crucial to do everything you can to reduce stress so you can live a happier and healthier life.

Here are some tips to help get you started.

•    Adapt to what you can’t change—Unfortunately, you can’t avoid stress altogether. It’s just impossible. However, what you can do is try to adapt to the things in your life that are stressing you out. For example, if dealing with traffic every day on your way to work gets you all worked up, try taking the bus instead. Or, just leave a few minutes earlier to avoid the rush hour traffic. That way, you’ll still be able to keep your job, but you will reduce the stress of commuting. Little changes to stressful situations can make all the difference in the world.

•    Keep everything in perspective—Whenever a stressful situation pops up, take a few steps back and look at the bigger picture. Ask yourself, “Will this really matter in a year from now?” More than likely, it won’t. Don’t let the little day to day stresses ruin your health. Keep them in perspective, and move forward with your life.

•    Take a break—Today’s society is more fast-paced than ever before. Between work and personal obligations, we often take on more than we can handle. As a result, we’re running around all day long from the second we wake up until our head hits the pillow. It’s not healthy. Give yourself a break. Set aside time each day where you can just relax and forget about all of your troubles. Read a book, take a relaxing bath, or just plop down on the couch. The important thing is to take a break every once in a while.

•    Get a good night’s sleep—Nearly 70 million Americans don’t get a good night’s sleep. As a result, their energy levels are down, they’re more prone to a host of serious health issues, and they just feel crummy. Sleep is crucial to maintaining your health and managing your stress. Make sure to go to bed on time every night so you can wake up feeling alert and refreshed.

•    Don’t hold it in—One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to hold all of your stress in. Bottling it up will only lead to much bigger problems later on. It’s just not good for you physically or emotionally. Instead, find an outlet for your stress. Keep a journal where you write down what’s bothering you. Or share your feelings with a close friend or family member.

•    Avoid situations that trigger stress—While there are some stressful situations you just can’t avoid, you’d be surprised at how many you actually can avoid. For example, if political debates get you all riled up, avoid having these discussions with your friends. Turn off the talk radio. If you put some effort into it, you really can avoid a lot of the stresses in your life.

•    Exercise regularly—Not only does exercising regularly keep you physically fit, but it’s also a highly effective way to blow off some steam and to release negative energy. Several studies have shown that exercise can help ease depression and similar symptoms.

What do you do to manage your stress? Share your tips with us in the replies.

Want to keep your mind sharp and nourished? Here are 10 highly effective brain foods that improve memory, mood, concentration, and overall clarity.

Eat up.

1.    Blueberries—Blueberries serve a wide range of functions for improving mental function. Most notably, regular blueberry consumption has been shown to improve memory function. Furthermore, blueberries are rich in antioxidants, helping to prevent free radical damage. Still not convinced? Research has found that blueberries can also reverse age related declines in motor function, balance, and coordination.

2.    Salmon—Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, salmon helps your brain develop tissue for increasing your brain power. Furthermore, salmon also plays a key role in fighting Alzheimer’s and other age-related cognitive disorders.

3.    Flax seeds—Flax seeds are crammed with ALA- a healthy fat that aids the cerebral cortex in functioning better. This is the portion of the brain responsible for processing sensory information. Keeping it sharp is vital.

4.    Coffee—Regular coffee drinking has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and other mental disorders. That’s because caffeine is good for the brain (in moderation), and it contains antioxidants. The important thing to note is you shouldn’t add in all the other junk to your coffee (the ridiculous Starbucks drinks crammed with sweeteners and fatty products).

5.    Mixed nuts—Peanuts, walnuts, pecans, and other nuts contain properties that help with everything from fighting insomnia to promoting mental clarity and strong memory. Walnuts are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids while almonds contain natural mood-enhancing neurotransmitters.

6.    Avocados—Don’t let the avocado’s fat content fool you. It’s a healthy fat that promotes blood flow, keeping your mind functioning at its peak. That’s not all: Avocados have also been shown to reduce blood pressure.

7.    Eggs—Egg yolks are rich in choline, an essential nutrient to improving memory function.

8.    Whole grains—From oatmeal to whole grain bread, whole grains are excellent brain foods as they improve circulation and contain essential fibers, vitamins, and even some Omega-3. Just make your sandwiches from whole grain breads to enjoy the benefits.

9.    Chocolate—For me, this is the yummiest brain food of all. Dark chocolate is antioxidant-rich, and it also improves focus and concentration. Milk chocolate, on the other hand, improves memory and reaction time.

10.    Broccoli—Broccoli has been shown to improve memory function as well as slow the aging process. This means a broccoli-rich diet will keep you young and sharp.

Which brain foods do you enjoy?

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Going straight to the emergency room seems like the most prudent thing to do in case of a health issue.  It could be bleeding during pregnancy or a tingling sensation on the right side of the body or something else.

Why do these emergency visits leave several patients with a deep sense of regret for the rest of their lives?

Studies show that hundreds of patients fall prey to wrong tests and surgeries each day at hospitals around the United States.  A surgery or tests are performed on the wrong patient due to mistaken identity or a surgery is performed on the wrong body part.

Let’s take the example of Kerry, who noticed bleeding when she was in the early months of pregnancy and arrived at an emergency room to get herself checked.  Soon after, a nurse took her for a CT scan.  Kerry was apprehensive and asked the nurse if that needs to be done, and the nurse replied that those were the doctor’s orders and a CT scan of the abdomen is needed.

After the scan, the emergency room physician along with a couple of radiologists came into the room and told her that they made a mistake.  That the CT scan was to be done on another patient with the same first name.

Although, no large studies have been done on the side effects of a CT scan on a pregnant woman, experts say that a fetus, when exposed to radiation, can sometimes develop mental and physical growth abnormalities.

Doctors also explained to Kerry that the baby could suffer mental retardation, low IQ or even growth problems because of exposure to radiation.

Wrong Surgeries Performed In Hospitals

This may sound unusual for many of you but this is certainly not a rare case.  It happens all the time at hospitals.

According to the Joint Commission accrediting the hospitals, procedures on the wrong patient, wrong side and the wrong site happen more than 40 times each week in hospitals in the United States.

Several wrong surgeries take place in the hospitals here. One such case involved a child who went in for an eye surgery and the surgeons took out the tonsils because of a confusion with another patient.  Another child underwent a cleft palate surgery on the wrong side of the mouth. Yet another patient who went in for neurosurgery had holes drilled on the wrong side of the head.  Towards controlling this menace, state regulators in some states brought out a rule that video cameras be installed in all operating rooms at the hospital.

Does This Make The Hospitals Bad?

While experts are of the opinion that such errors don’t make the hospital bad and people continue to flock there for surgeries; from the common man’s perspective, it can be quite scary.

Kerry says that doctors were very nice and apologetic after the incident. The pregnant emergency room doctor cried and apologized to her and her husband. They even asked what flowers she liked and offered free hospital cafeteria coupons.  It is all understandable and the doctors may even be forgiven, until something goes drastically wrong.

Kerry’s baby, at 3 months of age, had a head circumference in the 73^rd percentile, and at 1 year, it was in the fifth percentile. If the percentile does not say in the same range, it is considered to be a bad thing for the child’s growth.

A crying Kerry said that she expected doctors to know what they were doing and that she didn’t know anything.

Keeping Yourself Safe From Hospital Mistakes

But not knowing anything cannot be an excuse any longer, because ultimately it is the patients who suffer throughout their lives. This gives us all the more reason to be better informed and knowledgeable about hospital procedures and not to think that doctors can do no wrong.  It is our bodies and our lives after all!

Patient empowerment is very important and is a step forward to ensure things don’t go wrong.

Here are some tips given by experts to keep yourself from falling victim:

Give Your Name, DOB and Surgery - Give your name, date of birth and the surgery you are there in the hospital for, to every doctor, technician or nurse who takes care of you, even when you enter the surgery room.

Get Them To Check Your ID – You must understand the hospital staff have to confirm the patient’s identity in at least two ways.  One is to check your ID and the other is to ask for your name and date of birth. Insist on them checking your ID bracelet.

Find Out What Procedure You Are Having And On Which Side? – Even if you are in the hospital for a right eye surgery and the nurse confirms that, you must remember that the nurse will not go into the operation theater with you. Insist on confirming the procedure and the side of the body before they give you anesthesia and cut the wrong part.

Marking The Surgical Site - Many hospitals have implemented the method of asking their patients to mark the site where they would be having the surgery. You can insist on marking the surgical site with the surgeon present in the operating room and not just in front of the nurse or someone else.

Be Very Clear About Your Personal Details – Many a time, patients tend to keep quiet even if the nurse or doctor pronounce the name wrong or give a wrong last name, thinking that they just made a mistake.  You cannot afford to do that.  Correct them immediately and make sure they correct it in the chart, if it’s written wrong.

The general attitude of people is that getting to a hospital is their sole responsibility as doctors take care of the rest. This is just not the case and you will have to keep your eyes and ears open at all times during your hospital stay; especially when you’re undergoing a surgery or some diagnostic tests.

Being aware that hospitals do go wrong and surgeons do make huge “irreparable” mistakes can help you avoid becoming one of the victims of hospital mistakes.

How does it feel when traveling to a far away place where we know nobody and don’t even know the language? It can be quite unnerving.  It is the same with a hospital visit.  Health problems are bound to arise at some point or other and getting admitted in a hospital can be a scary prospect.

In such a scenario, the nurses who clean, feed and take care of other necessities, and the friendly doctors become our guides and friends.  Patients tend to share things with them and start trusting them.

You would be shocked to learn that as many as 98,000 people die in hospitals in the United States each year, only due to medical errors. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that about 99,000 people die from hospital acquired infections each year.

Patient vigilance is the key to come out safe from a hospital stay.  According to the president of the mid-Maryland chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association, Cindy Sellers O’Brien, “The patients that do better are the ones that take an active role in their health care.  They have the better outcomes [because] they take more ownership.”

The American Hospital Association says that patients play a very important role.  They say, “While we are striving for perfection in the way we deliver care, we know we fall short of that mark – but patients can help us get better. They can – and should – ask questions when something does not seem quite right.”

The medical errors caused by hospitals prove to be most dangerous for children. Figures show that one in 15 children that are hospitalized end up being victims of medication errors. Parents need to watch over their child’s hospital care to ensure no mistakes are made.

With so many dangers in the hospitals, how do you protect yourself and your family?

Here are a few tips given by the nurses who work in the hospitals:

Keep The List Of Medications Being Taken

This is said to be crucial when visiting a hospital.  You should always keep a list of medications being taken by each family member at all times and update it as required.  This list has to be taken to the hospital when you are going to the emergency room or being admitted in the hospital.  The best thing is to have this list ready in the wallet at all times. It helps even if you fall somewhere and someone has to take you to the ER.

Make Sure Your Name Is Right

Ensuring that the hospital gets your name right is critical to getting appropriate treatment.  This is important not only when a surgery is being performed but also when the patient is given medications or blood.  Imagine being given the wrong type of blood just because of mistaken identity.

Check On Every Medication You Are Given

You will need to double check the name of the medication, the dosage and the timing when the medicine is given to you.  I know many of you feel that they cannot interfere with such things, but it has to be done if you want to be safe.  There have been many cases where patients were given medicines they were allergic to, which can result in a fatal outcome.

Ensure Everyone Washes Their Hands

If you think every nurse and every doctor does this, then you are mistaken.  Even in the major hospitals, these things are not followed at times.  Hand washing lapses happen all the time and as you know doctors and nurses pick up nasty germs that are transmitted to other patients.

Yes, this can be an uncomfortable situation where you may worry about spoiling the relationship with your doctor or the nurse, but it needs to be done diplomatically.  You can say how you have had a bad experience with doctors not washing their hands and that you are paranoid about it.  But remember, above everything else, you have a right to make sure they did wash their hands.

If You Sense Something Wrong, Speak Out

For example, if there is a medication written on the chart that you know could harm you or your family member who is the patient, make sure to let them know and remove that. Do not ever keep quiet if you think something is wrong. In doing so, you really don’t have to be mean and accusing, but be confident and convincing.

Just because a hospital looks clean and nice doesn’t mean it is. Just because doctors and nurses look professional doesn’t mean they are. Over the years, little progress has been made implementing key measures for the safety of patients.  That’s why patients, their family members and friends need to be watchful at all times.

Patient vigilance plays a crucial role in ensuring your safety.  You should keep your eyes and ears open at all times and never have the attitude that the doctors and nurses know everything. Yes, they do know everything, but they can be careless or simply make a mistake.  While it may be a small mistake for them, it could lead to dangerous consequences for you or your family.

Have you tried exercising in the past but not gotten the results you’d hoped for? Chances are, it’s because you were committing one of these common exercise mistakes.

• Focusing on one area of the body—If you go to the gym regularly, you’ve surely run across the guy who only seems to work out his arms. Every single day, there he is doing the exact same lifting routine over and over. As a result, he looks like a bad carton character with huge arms, a beer gut, and chicken legs. Set aside days to target each area of your body. That way, you’ll be well-rounded and in the top condition possible.
• Doing too much, too quickly—Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the body you want be. Getting into shape requires consistency and dedication. Killing yourself on the treadmill after months of inactivity won’t get the job done. Instead, it will lead to burn out, causing you to eventually stop exercising altogether.
• Keeping the same routine for months at a time—Performing the same routine week in and week out for months at a time will cause you to plateau. In other words, your body will adapt to the workout, and it will no longer challenge your muscles. Mix your routine up regularly to keep challenging your body and to keep yourself from getting bored.
• Poor technique—Even the most ardent gym rats often have poor technique. That’s because they were never officially trained on how to lift correctly. This poses 2 huge negatives: 1)Lifting incorrectly means you won’t enjoy the full results of the exercise and 2)More importantly, improper technique puts you at serious risk for injury. One wrong movement can tear a muscle, sidelining you for months.
• Not setting goals—If you don’t have any goals, how can you tell if you’re progressing with your workouts? You need tangible, realistic goals so that you can measure your results. Whether your goal is as simple as losing a certain number of pounds or being able to lift a certain amount of weight, the key is to write these goals down and to make sure you’re progressing toward them at a reasonable rate.
• Not eating properly—Exercise alone just isn’t enough. Just because you hit the gym for an hour a night doesn’t justify eating 3 meals of fast food each day. Find a healthy diet plan that fits within your lifestyle so you can get the maximum results from your workout routine.

Do you exercise regularly? What mistakes have you made that have held you back? Share your best tips in the replies.

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The number of C-Sections in the United States have been on the rise since the 1990s.  While the main reason could be health-related, such as older women having babies, obesity etc.; there are many who opt for a C-section just to avoid the discomfort associated with a normal delivery.

For many of us, the thought of pushing a baby through a small opening can appear daunting, if not terrifying. The fact that C-section is also considered as a routine these days and not a major abdominal surgery also pushes women towards getting one.

According to recent data; today, one out of three babies is born via C-section and this rate is expected to go up even more.

This procedure can be a lifesaver in many cases when the mother or baby is in distress or because of other factors that can make a vaginal delivery hazardous.  They could also be performed because the baby looks big, the mother is past her due date or because the labor is not progressing well.  But experts say that only about 5 percent of C-sections are emergencies. Around 3 percent of them are completely a matter of choice for which there is no medical reason.

Critics are of the opinion that there is no reason for so many healthy pregnancies ending up in surgery. They say that there are a certain number of C-sections that are inevitable for the sake of the mother or baby’s health, but there are too many unnecessary C-sections being performed in the United States.

Risks of C-Section

A C-section involves cutting through the skin, tissue and the uterine wall to extract the baby and placenta, and then sewing up the incision. The recovery period can be a minimum of four weeks when compared to just a few days for vaginal deliveries.

Apart from the long recovery period, there is also the risk of infection, blood clots, blood loss and some fatal complications too.

Here are a few things every pregnant woman needs to know:

What Makes C-Sections So Hot?

Technology Picks Up Potential Health Risks – C-sections are hot because the advancement of technology is picking up potential health risks and problems easily.  Ultrasounds in the third-trimester can now predict the size of the baby and monitors can check the baby’s heart rate during labor and delivery.  They help obstetricians rely heavily on technology to see potential problems during pregnancy, labor and delivery. If they see a problem, then they consider it safer to do a Cesarean.

According to a leading obstetrician, “Continuous recording of the fetal heart rate came into being in the 1970s and is likely a big contributor to the increase in C-sections.  Doctors today are more inclined to do a C-section if there is anything of concern.”

Older Mothers – Women having children late in life are more at risk for labor and delivery related problems.  They also have a difficult time pushing the baby out. Apart from this, many older women undergo fertility treatments to get pregnant and this usually leads to twins, triplets etc., which calls for a surgical delivery.

Assistant professor of Obstetrics and gynecology at the Drexel University College of Medicine says, “It’s very hard to predict how the second baby will come out.”  He said that complicated positions are very common with multiple babies.   In such a scenario, a C-section is looked at as a safer alternative for the health of the fetus and has become the default method of delivering such babies, irrespective of their position.

With more and more women opting to have children late in life, the number of C-sections is on the rise.

Overweight Mothers – Pregnant women with a body mass index of 30 or more are more likely to need a C-section. Unfortunately, almost 35 percent of the women above the age of 20 today fit into this category, according to the American Heart Association.

Doctors say that heavier women tend to have bigger babies, making it difficult to push them out normally.  The excessive fatty tissue can also prevent the baby from moving smoothly through the birth canal.  Another factor to consider is the fact that overweight women usually have other associated problems like high blood pressure, which might lead to induction of labor and C-section.

Induction Of Labor Leads To C-Sections – Many women are of the opinion that induction of labor is almost the same as natural labor.  But that is not true.  Induction of labor with drugs, manual stripping of the membranes connecting the amniotic sac to the uterine walls or even rupturing the amniotic sac to cause contractions does not always help with labor. Most of these women end up having a C-section.

The First C-Section Leads To A Second – The general belief is that once you have a C-section, all subsequent deliveries have to be through C-sections too. Previously, there used to be VBAC (vaginal birth after a Cesarean) but now it is rarely performed, after a study in 1999 indicated that there is a small chance that the scar could give way, which poses a fatal risk to both the mother and baby.  After that study, it was recommended that doctors can only perform VBACs in hospitals where emergency C-sections are performed. But because of the liability concerns and the fear that something could go wrong, they are hardly performed anymore.

However, it is important to realize that multiple C-sections are not completely safe either.  There is the risk of hardening of the scar tissue and the risk of the placenta implanting abnormally.

Conclusion

As we all know, a normal vaginal delivery is the best option and mothers who have no health problems are advised by doctors to tolerate the discomfort associated with a normal delivery, keeping in mind the future health problems that a C-section can lead to.

If a pregnant woman is unfortunate enough to have complications or when a normal delivery turns bad, doctors say that a C-section is the safest option.

It is not easy to compare a C-section to a normal delivery, because there are numerous factors that are taken into consideration.  Every pregnant woman wants a health baby, and towards this end, it is important to talk to your obstetrician at all times to understand the options.  The better informed you are, the safer the delivery will be, irrespective of whether it is a normal vaginal delivery or a C-section.

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Mastectomy is the worst nightmare a woman can have.  As if being diagnosed with cancer is not enough, removal of the breast plays havoc with a woman’s self-esteem.

Each year more than 250,000 women in America face breast cancer and many of them undergo breast reconstructive surgery. Why breast reconstruction?

There are a number of reasons women go for reconstruction of their breasts:

-         Because they cannot imagine their lives with a flat chest in place of a breast

-         To regain their original breast shape

-         To avoid having to use a padding inside the bra for the rest of their lives

Many women say that reconstruction helps with their self-esteem and body image. But the problem is that most women get this surgery done without even understanding what their options are or what they are getting into.

With a whole lot of choices to make, there is a growing concern that women are not being properly informed about all the treatment options available to them.  Most women are usually presented with “Okay, this is what we are going to do,” by the doctors.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ report, almost 70 percent of breast cancer patients who are eligible for breast reconstruction procedures were not informed of the options for reconstruction that are available to them.

Some say that it is because of doctors’ hectic schedules that prevent them from discussing and explaining things to their patients. It may also so happen that the doctor does not mention a particular procedure to the patient, if he or she is not competent or trained in performing that surgery.

Whatever the reasons, every woman has the right to know the options. Let’s see what they are according to experts.

Planning Well In Advance

If you are planning on having reconstructive surgery, you will first have to discuss in-depth with your surgeon, who is experienced in breast reconstruction, even before you get a mastectomy done.  Planning well in advance will give you a chance to understand your options and allows the surgical team also to plan the best treatment for you.

Breast cancer experts recommend that the patient should try and slow down the process. According to a breast cancer expert at the University of Michigan Health System, “The median time from breast cancer diagnosis to surgery is two weeks. That’s way too fast. Breast cancer is not a medical emergency.  You have a period of time, certainly weeks, to make decisions.”  He tells patients to weight all their options and also get second opinions. He says, “Make no decisions in the first visit to the doctor.  Let me repeat: Make no decisions in the first visit.”

Decisions For Reconstructive Surgery

There are several factors that need to be considered before having reconstructive surgery.

-         Overall health

-         The stage of the breast cancer

-         The size of the natural breast

-         The amount of chest tissue available.  Thin women may not have enough tissue to make flap grafts.

-         Whether reconstruction needs to be done on one or both breasts

-         The type of reconstructive surgery

-         The size of the reconstructed breast

Types Of Surgery

-         Mastectomy: This means complete removal of the breast.

-         Lumpectomy/Segmental Mastectomy/Breast Conservation Surgery: Removing only part of the breast tissue.

Immediate or Delayed

-         Immediate breast reconstruction is done immediately after the mastectomy.

-         Delayed breast reconstruction means that it is rebuilt later.

The advantage of getting it done immediately is that the chest tissues are not damaged by radiation therapy or scarring and the resultant new breast looks better. It also means easier surgery. However, delayed reconstruction may be a good idea for women who will need radiation to that area even after the mastectomy. This is because radiation therapy given after the surgery can lead to problems.

Haste Is Waste

Experts say that sometimes the journey from diagnosis to surgery is initiated in haste by the patients themselves. According to one expert, “Many women have the reaction, ‘Get this cancer out before it kills me!’ They don’t realize it’s been there for years.

Even women doctors patients are said to make this mistake when they are affected with breast cancer.  A doctor cites an example of a lady doctor who had breast cancer. “”I had two patients who were physicians and they jumped the queue and had their mastectomies very quickly,” she remembers.”They didn’t wait for all the tests to come back, and when they did, the tests showed these women could have kept their breasts, but they had that operating room booked.”

Sometimes patients take the advice of only one surgeon. They don’t bother meeting the medical oncologist to check if chemotherapy is required and go by what their surgeon says, when in fact it is the medical oncologist that specializes in chemotherapy and not the surgeon.

Conclusion

American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ advises breast cancer patients to seek out information objectively with a clear head.  They are asked to read books, surf the internet, look at studies, and discuss with surgeons with high credentials. If you don’t need intensive surgeries, then you are asked to go for procedures that are less invasive and less painful.  Make the right choices by investigating all the options.  Even if your doctor doesn’t give you the options, you will have to find out and discuss with him or find a new surgeon who is open to discussions.

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The kids step back into a high lunge and kick back their legs straight and hold that push up for 10 seconds. Then they close one nostril and inhale through the other repeating this with both the nostrils.  They meditate and chant, and finally, they lie down quietly on their mats for a few seconds.

These kids are doing Yoga!  Once accessible only to the privileged kids, now even the poor kids who speak other languages are being taught Yoga in studios from Minnesota to Russia. Most of these kids are first and second graders and are “little” expert yogis.

Latest research revealed that the younger children of today suffer from increased stress, with only a few stress-handling programs available to help them deal with this. This is where yoga helps to a great extent.

It has long been established that yoga has the power to channel children’s energy in the right direction. The aim of Yoga is to teach them self-control and relaxation through breathing exercises, meditation and physical postures.

It has been proved through studies that yoga increases emotional balance in the long-term in children and reduces all sorts of fears.  Even feelings of aggression and helplessness are dramatically reduced.

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The best thing about conducting these yoga classes in schools is that children can transfer what they learn to situations beyond school, in order to relax after school and to control any negative feelings. This makes yoga a perfectly independent control method for children.

In spite of all these benefits of yoga, it is still not free of controversy in the United States.  In the recent years, there has been a Baptist minister that complained of a public school teaching a form of Hinduisim – when all the school was doing is teach yoga to its students.  In Aspen, Christian fundamentalists and some parents complained to the school board, and argued that yoga’s Hindu roots conflict with Christian teachings.  These people portrayed yoga as a new-age nut used to brainwash young minds.

This led to the birth of a reformed yoga, named “Yoga Ed,” in which there is no chanting as is done in yoga normally.  Even the language used is beautifully sounding kid-friendly English instead of Sanskrit. The panting of yoga has transformed into “bunny breathing,” and meditation is now “time-in.” This American yoga form is stripped of everything that could even vaguely be construed as religious or spiritual.  At least 150 schools in the US adopted this yoga program with more than 300 physical education instructors trained to teach their students. Numerous other private and public schools also teach yoga today in the different States.

Teachers vouch by yoga and say they have noticed that it also has a calming effect on kids with Attention-deficit disorder (ADD) as well as proving to be highly beneficial in childhood obesity.  A lot less behavioral problems are seen in students who take yoga classes.

In a study conducted on several school children, researchers found a strong correlation between better grades and behavior and yoga. These young “yogis” have been reported to be much more fit than the California Physical Fitness Test.

Americans have realized the benefits of yoga and they spend billions of dollars on yoga classes, books, mats, DVDs and other related items.

However, concerns about yoga’s spiritual implications continue to pop up, with the main concern being that it goads young children into exploring religions other than Christianity.

According to the author of “Yoga and the Body of Christ,” “Yoga is a religious practice in Hinduism.  It’s the way to reach enlightenment.  To bring it to the west and bill it as a scientific practice for fitness is dishonest.”  He said, “I’ve talked to too many people who got hooked on the spiritual deception of yoga.  They come to believe in this and become enamored with Hinduism or eastern mysticism.”

These arguments confuse some practicing yogis in the West, who say that yoga is practiced in the United States as a way of fitness of the body and stress relief, and has nothing to do with religion or spiritualism.

In spite of a section of society lobbying against yoga, it continues to be taught to children between 5 and 12 years in hundreds of schools, with excellent results. Have you joined your kid in yoga?

Credit: Stephanie's Eyebrow (via Flickr)

Are you afraid of vegetables? You think I’ve gone crazy, but there are people who get all anxious when they see vegetables.

A bizarre fear that many of you may not have heard of before: the fear of vegetables.  This fear affects a few thousand people in Britain and treatments for it include “psychological reprogramming” to control the anxious response to vegetables.

This problem often significantly impacts the quality of life.  Symptoms include rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, nausea, sweating and mainly the feeling of dread. Different people have this fear for different vegetables.

A perfect example of this phobia is 22-year-old British student Vicki Larrieux from Portsmouth.  She survives on a diet of potatoes, cereals, meat and perhaps an apple once in a while.  She is left sweating and panic stricken at the sight of a pea or a sprout.

She was quoted as saying, “I have always had an irrational fear of vegetables – even as a child.  I used to properly freak out if some carrots or a few peas were on my plate.  But as it continued into adult life I started to think it might not just be a dislike of vegetables but an actual phobia.  Every time I would see vegetables, not just on my plate but anywhere, I would get feelings of panic, start sweating and my heart rate would shoot up.”

Vicky’s condition makes even a routine trip to the supermarket or a dinner on a night out with her boyfriend a major problem her.  She says, “It is a bit of an ordeal to go to the supermarket as the vegetables are usually right by the door. My boyfriend is very understanding and does his best to accommodate me.  It is a good job he isn’t a vegetarian because it just wouldn’t work.  I am learning to control my fear but it isn’t easy.  I’d love to be able to sit down to a Sunday roast with a pile of greens and I’m sure one day that will happen.”

This is no doubt a highly distressing condition and the worst part is that the therapies aimed at curing this phobia of vegetables take months or even year.  While many experts believe that the only way to get rid of this fear is to expose the patient to the source of this fear frequently; there are some that believe this is not the right way to go about it as it aggravates the condition further.

There are some experts that suggest that this fear of vegetables is developed early in childhood when the child doesn’t like vegetables. In an attempt to avoid vegetables at any cost, they start behaving irrationally and this slowly develops into a fear as they grow older.  It is all related to the way they have tuned their minds all through their growing up years.

Though behavioral therapy and anti-anxiety medication are usually prescribed to treat this disease, it is suggested that people begin with self help groups that may help them get over this fear.

There are other forms of lachanophobia, such as lachanophobia mycosis – fear of mushrooms and lachanophobia lycopersicum – fear of tomatoes. While most parents tend to dismiss this as a childish tantrum, it has in recent times come out into the open as an actual fear that needs to be treated.