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Influenza A H1N1 and the Internet
In a U.S. federal report released this month, a major emergency that keeps people in their homes, such as a worsening of the pandemic H1N1, could threaten to overwhelm the Internet, making it unusable to communicate and conduct transactions are vital for public safety and the economy.
Although the Department of Homeland Security has undertaken some actions to prepare for a pandemic and respond to a possible wave cripple internet use, they are far from sufficient as reported by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) , an investigative arm of Congress.
For example, it should, with the Federal Communications Commission or any other federal agency, determine in advance whether one of them has the power to direct the private sector providers to do what is needed to relieve congestion, the report said.
The Department also failed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a campaign to ask the public to reduce non-essential use of the Internet during a major emergency, although internal research indicates that such a restriction could be effective.
Service providers have various options to resolve the congestion, including adding additional capacity, greater use of their means of control of the network, installation of hotlines to major organizations, the temporary reduction in the rate of transmission and the closure of some Internet sites, according to the GAO. But each supplier is left to himself to decide on any action.
Turmeric (curry, curry) effective against certain cancers
Curcumin, a substance found in the spice turmeric contained in Indian curry powder and giving it its characteristic yellow-orange, killing the cancer cells of the esophagus in a laboratory study with Irish and Polish results are published in the British Journal of Cancer. Turmeric began to kill these cells in less than 24 hours.
The results of this work, led by Geraldine O’Sullivan-Coyne and Sharon McKenna of the Cork Cancer Research Centre (Ireland) with colleagues, should lead to the development of new treatments.
In addition, a laboratory study American presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, shows that in the case of cancer of the head and neck, turmeric prevents nicotine from activating a circuit that plays a role central in the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells. The researchers conclude that turmeric is a nutraceutical that has interesting chemopreventive effects against this cancer by blocking the action of the nicotine in the development of this cancer.
Turmeric is also being tested as a treatment for arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease, reports BBC.
New device vigilance for nutritional supplements in France
In July 2009, Law Hospital, Patients, Health and Territories told the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) “the implementation of the vigilance system on new foods, food supplements, foods that are subject to the addition of substances for nutritional or physiological as well as products intended for particular nutritional. An implementation decree will set the first half of 2010, the modalities of implementation of this system of care.
The agency began this mission with a pilot phase on the vigilance of nutritional supplements that should help better identify side effects associated with their consumption.
This system includes reporting by health professionals of adverse events among persons who consumed dietary supplements. Starting today, they can access the device vigilance on the site of the AFSSA.
Depending on the code of consumption, dietary supplements are subject to declaration to the Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) which examines the composition and conducts checks like the other food categories. The regulations provide a positive list of ingredients gradually drawn up into their composition, currently focused on vitamins and minerals at European level, rolled out nationally by the maximum daily dose should not be exceeded and various substances such as plants.
Unlike drugs, the marketing of dietary supplements do not require individual authorization for placing on the market based on the evaluation of a dossier by a body of industrial expertise. The manufacturer is responsible for compliance placed on the market with the standards, security and non-misleading consumers.
Posted in Health Info | 
Tags: daily dose, food supplements, French Agency for Food Safety, new foods | 
1 Comment »
Eat healthy with diabetes type 2: 2 tips
A positive diagnosis of type 2 diabetes means lifestyle changes that can be frustrating but are essential to a long and healthy life. At the top of the list of changes is the requirement to adjust your diet to make it suitable with type 2 diabetes. Now a new study on diabetes in overweight and obese, published in the August issue of the magazine of the American Dietetic Association shows that most diabetics do not follow dietary recommendations adapted to their illness.
93% of participants in the study in question consume more calories from fat than they should. 85% eat too much saturated fat, and 92% consume too much sodium.
The researchers compared what the participants in the study reported consuming dietary recommendations official U.S.. These guidelines recommend not to consume over 30% of their daily calories from fats, do not consume more than 10% from saturated fats, etc.
“You eat less healthy food if you eat too much fat. In addition fat is rich in calories,” says Mara Vitolini, head of the study. His study aims to remind all people with type 2 diabetes, not just those newly diagnosed, to take precautions on food.
Indeed, this study found that people who have had diabetes for an extended period of time were not capable of adopting a healthy diet than those who lived with the disease for a shorter period of time. That you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for several years or only recently offers two ways to eat healthily with diabetes type 2 :
1) Know what you are eating
To replace foods high in fat in your diet with foods low fat, write down everything you eat and analyze your list. When you look at this list, choose one or two of the richest food sources of fat (or even more if you can, but start with 1 or 2) you currently consume and replace them with a mixture of colorful fruits and vegetables (choose all possible colors).
In doing so, you reduce your intake of fat and calories and increase your intake of fiber, vitamins and minerals. You’ll also improve blood pressure, cholesterol (read also our article “Improve cholesterol in 30 councils), and your overall health.
2) Consume your fruits and vegetables application
Aim to eat two servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables per day. Join the 2 servings of dairy and six servings of whole grains. And try to eat mostly low fat dairy fat. The study of Mara Vitolini showed that less than 50% of participants consumed the recommended minimum daily servings of fruits, vegetables, dairy products and whole grains.
Why sleep disorders affect our body weight?
More and more studies associate the weight gain to sleep loss. Experts recommend that adults sleep between seven and nine hours per night to stabilize a healthy body weight. Why should we sleep to maintain a healthy weight?
One theory is that the lack of sleep disrupts hormones such as leptin and insulin, which regulate appetite and body weight. But an appetite that goes awry and benchmarks for weight management that are erased, it can make you fat.
Another scientific explanation suggests that deprivation of sleep leaves us too tired to exercise. But it is well known that weight loss and then stabilize the weight lost, there is not enough to follow a balanced diet and healthy, it must also exercise regularly (4 or 5 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time).
Furthermore, as sleep deprivation can disturb our mood (making us uncomfortable or irritable for example), we tend to look to food for our spirits up. We eat when our emotions, without being able to control our portions, and this can cause weight gain.
How to get digestive system optimally
A good digestion is a matter of making simple changes in lifestyle and eating habits (better nutritional knowledge / dietetics). The reason is that the health of your digestive system depends on the food you eat (or do not eat), how you lead your life and your physical activity level. Healthy living and get enough physical exercise are essential to good digestive health and your overall well-being.
Here’s how you can work your digestive system optimally:
1. Reduce stress
Excessive stress can divert blood flow to your digestive system. The digestive system responds well to routine. The scheduling of tasks to your digestion can help you feel more in control. If you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), stress can also stimulate the spasms in your colon.
2. Maintain a good body mass index (BMI)
People who are obese or overweight face an increased risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and cancer. The cardio-vascular (colloquially known as cardiovascular exercises) help to strengthen the abdominal muscles and reduce the sluggishness by stimulating the bowel muscles to push the digestive contents through your digestive system.
3. Quitting
Smoking affects the entire body, including the digestive system. It lowers the pressure at the junction between the stomach and esophagus, causing acid reflux into the esophagus can cause heartburn and other diseases. Smoking also aggravates peptic ulcers and inflammatory bowel disease. Smoking is associated with an increased risk of many cancers.
4. Limiting consumption of alcohol, caffeine and sugary drinks
These drinks can all affect your digestion and cause problems such as heartburn and constipation. They can aggravate conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. Alcohol can cause inflammation of the stomach or esophagus lining, as well as symptoms of heartburn. Caffeine may make the stomach acid flow backwards (reflux) and heartburn triggers.
Posted in Alternative Health, Health Care | Tags: digestive health, digestive system, eating habits, the food you eat | 2 Comments »
Cooking techniques: 3 healthy cooking methods
A healthy cooking is a good start to improving your health. A preparation for eating healthy makes your daily meals healthier and tastier. Cooking healthy does not mean you must become a chef or invest in expensive cookware.
3 tips to cook more healthy:
1) Use fats wisely for healthy food
All fats are not bad. Choose unsaturated fats (like olive oil) instead of saturated fats (like butter). But use good fats in moderation anyway, because all fats (whether good or bad) are loaded with calories.
2) Buy unprocessed foods to your kitchen
Choose whole grains instead of processed grains. Whole grains and brown rice come bulgur have kept their sound intact and therefore provide more fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and other nutrients.
3) Incorporate more fruits and vegetables for a healthy cooking
Most people do not consume enough. Try to include between 5 and 13 servings of fruit per day to your cooking. Choose fruits and vegetables of various colors to meet your needs in antioxidants and vitamins.
Posted in Children's Health, Eating Disorders | Tags: B vitamins, Cooking healthy, fiber, healthy food, magnesium, whole grains, zinc | 1 Comment »
Good practice for heart health
Adults and children alike tend to connect to the computer or TV for several hours per day. This can lead to snacking unconscious, coupled with inactivity, can cause the medium to long term weight gain and other health problems linked to obesity among various family members.
So, what can you do to keep your heart is still healthy?
Teach your children how to make the kitchen
Another way to create a good time to spend with family is to teach your children like to cook. Involve them in planning the weekly menu for the whole family, food purchases in the preparation of meals for the family.
During these moments spent together, you can teach your children healthy food choices, how to read labels, portion control. In doing so, you raise children who will grow up and become adults who love to cook healthy meals.
Do not reward your children with food
It is a usual temptation to want to reward your children for ice cream or sweets when they did well at school or when they do something you enjoy. By rewarding your children with food, you make them take a bad habit.
Instead, take your children to the cinema to see a film, allow them to spend more time with their friends, praise them verbally acknowledge their achievement in a way that does not include food.
Autism and vitamin D
Two Swedish studies reported by the Vitamin D Council, providing support to the hypothesis of a link between autism and vitamin D deficiency, defended by psychiatrist John Cannell.
Mats Humble and his colleagues at the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm) measured levels of vitamin D in 117 adults with psychiatric diagnoses. All 10 of them diagnosed with autism had blood levels of vitamin D lower than other groups, including those with diagnoses of schizophrenia and depression.
The levels were 12 ng / ml on average, a level known to cause rickets in children and osteomalacia (a painful disease of the bones) in adults. This study is published in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
In another study, Elisbeth Fernelli and colleagues at various institutions in Sweden measured the levels of vitamin D in immigrant women of Somali origin about 6 years after they gave birth to a child who received a diagnosis of autism. Somali mothers had very low levels of vitamin D: less than 10 ng / ml. Those who had a child with autism tended to have lower levels. This study is published in Acta Paediatrics.
Autism, Dr. Cannell noted in Medical Hypotheses in 2008, is more common in regions where UVB rays have a lower penetration as those latitudes near the poles, the urban areas, urban areas with high pollution and high precipitation. Autism is more common in people with dark skin including severe maternal deficiency of vitamin D is particularly high. According to the researcher, the new “epidemic” of autism could be explained by lack of vitamin D especially favored by the instructions of the last years of avoiding exposure to sunlight.
Lose weight or prevent weight gain to menopause and perimenopause
Weight gain during the menopausal transition is 5.5 to 6.8 kg on average according to some studies. There is also a tendency, during this period, changes in fat distribution, they tend more often to be within the abdomen (the silhouette shape from pear to apple shape).
At menopause, women must adapt to a need for calories decreases. Those who are sedentary have, on average, need only 1,600 calories per day compared to 1,800 for women 30 years (sedentary) and 2000 for younger women.
To lose weight, calorie intake must be less than 1600 (unless an increase in physical activity).
Sticking to a low intake also requires, for many, significant changes in habits to develop a diet that satisfies the appetite and nutritional needs with fewer calories.
See on this subject:
Foods that help lose weight or maintain weight
Controlling appetite with a diet based on caloric density
Several factors contribute to the decrease in calorie needs:
- The slowing of metabolism associated with age and decreased level of estrogen hormones;
- The gradual decrease in muscle mass;
- A decrease in physical activity;
- A decline of aerobic capacity which reduces the energy spent during the year.
Moreover, studies suggest that lower levels of estrogen is associated with increased appetite and a more pronounced taste for foods high in carbohydrates and carbohydrates (sugars slow and fast).
Other factors such as stress and certain medications can also lead to further weight gain.
Here are some changes in habits that can help reduce gradually the daily calories in order to stop weight gain and weight loss:
- Choose whole grains (eg in bread), fruits, vegetables and lean protein;
- Avoid as much as possible the industrially processed foods;
- Hold for some time, a food diary to get a better idea of the calories;
- Do not eat late at night;
- Eat smaller amounts more often.