Smoking is injurous to your health

Orthomolecular medicine

Orthomolecular is a term that comes from ortho, which is Greek for "correct" or "right," and "molecule," which is the simplest structure that displays the characteristics of a compound. So it literally means the "right molecule."


Two-time Nobel Prize winner, and molecular biologist, Linus Pauling, Ph.D.,coined the term "Orthomolecular" in his 1968 .


An orthomolecular substance is something that provides the body with the "right molecules" it needs for health. It might be called "optimal nutrition".


Orthomolecular medicine is defined as the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body.


Orthomolecular medicine believes that the basis for health is good nutrition. It uses nutrients and normal (''ortho'') building blocks of the body in optimal amounts as the basis of treatment. The objective is to use the amounts that lead to the best health and greatest decrease in disease. It is the most effective prevention in the treatment of disease.


Orthomolecular intervention can help in the regaining of health. It can be used to therapeutically treat diseases such as cancer and AIDS, or to help prevent the progression of degenerative disease and aging. Orthomolecular medicine is occasionally referred to as megavitamin therapy.


"Orthomolecular treatment does not lend itself to rapid drug-like control of symptoms, but patients get well to a degree not seen by tranquilizer therapists who believe orthomolecular therapists are prone to exaggeration. Those who've seen the results are astonished.


Orthomolecular medicine might be considered when Down syndrome is present.


Orthomolecular treatment for alcoholism involves using the nutrients necessary to overcome nutritional diseases caused by alcoholism.

Know About Swine Flu

What is swine flu??

It is a lot like our seasonal flu but it usually only affects pigs. This one, swine influenza A (H1N1), is affecting humans who have not been exposed to pigs. This suggests there might be human-to-human transmission. The mode of transmission is presumably respiratory droplets.

The swine H1N1 is very different from the human H1N1 that is in the flu vaccine. Currently there is no human vaccine available for swine flu.

Symptoms

Symptoms are very similar to the human flu:

•Cough
•Fever/Chills
•Sore throat
•Fatigue/Body aches
•Decreased appetite
•Less commonly: runny nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

Prevention

Similar preventions as the seasonal flu. Try to avoid being exposed to respiratory droplets.

•Hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (minimum concentration of 60 percent to 95 percent ethanol or isopropanol).
•Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth as those are direct entry points for viruses. Viruses can get on your hands when you touch infected objects.
•Avoid close contact (6ft) with a sick person.


Treatment

Tamiflu and Relenza (both prescription medications) work on this virus but it needs to be started in the first 48 hours of symptoms. So it is important to contact your doctor right away if you have symptoms.


If I think I have the flu, what should I do?


STAY HOME and contact your physician right away. This is not the time to be "tough" and go into work or school nor is it the time to travel. If you see your doctor, they might do a swab of your nose or mouth to confirm the virus . Your doctor would start you on treatment based on your symptoms and likelihood of having the illness. Don't be alarmed if your doctor's office has a sign posted, like in the SARS days, that tells you to put on a mask if you have flu-like symptoms. This is a routine precaution during an outbreak to protect health care workers as well as other patients in the office.


COVER YOUR COUGH and avoid close contact with others. You should maintain a distance of 6 ft between you and other people, even family members. If you need to COUGH or SNEEZE, cover it with a tissue and throw the tissue away. Alternatively if you have no tissue available, you can cough or sneeze into the elbow of your sleeve. You are trying to avoid spreading infected respiratory droplets around that others could pick up.

There is no reason to panic your doctor can handle the situation.

courtesy: WHO

Allergy

What is Allergy?

Have you ever started wheezing after spending too much time outdoors especially in traffic? Or suddenly sneezed when breathing in the fumes released by a factory? Or felt your tongue swell up after eating prawns? Or got a red angry rash on your skin for no apparent reason? Do you often suffer from headaches, nausea, or fatigue? If your answer is yes to any one or more of these questions, then you may be suffering from an allergy.

DEFINITION

The word ‘allergy’ comes from two Greek words, which mean ‘altered reaction’. In case of a living organism’s body, it is the hyper-sensitivity of the immune system to allergens (allergy causing substances). And this makes our immune system attack the body itself! Allergies can be of various types – inhalant, food, chemical, skin, and multiple – and their symptoms can vary from a mild rash to an asthma attack. Some reactions can even lead to death. So are we incapable of taking in these aliens? No, we are not.


ALLERGIC FIGHT

Nature has given many weapons to our bodies against the invasion of unwanted alien substances. These include our nose hair, earwax, skin, and mucous. But the most important among these is our immune system, which produces white blood cells (WBC) to fight infection and diseases. But, the enemy is getting stronger day by day. The increasing number of irritants present in the environment is slowly overpowering our bodies’ natural defenses.


CHANGING ENVIRONMENT

Allergies have existed from time immemorial. However, they were never as widespread or severe as they are today. Normally, natural allergens like pollen cause seasonal allergies, which run their course and die out. But according to most doctors, allergies are no more seasonal. They have become perennial. And this is due to the influence of ‘unnatural’ allergens – like fumes of diesel exhausts, volatile organic solvents (VOC), pesticides, and tobacco smoke.

These health hazards are ever present around us, and we are completely unaware of their threat. Rapid industrialization and an increased dependence on products with high chemical content have wrecked havoc on our environment and in turn, our bodies. Contamination of food and water with pesticides and fertilizers, addiction to processed food items and additives, dust, smog, and constant exposure to VOCs from regularly used substances like plastics, adhesives and paints are all harming our bodies. And our defense systems cannot keep pace with these rapid changes in the environment.

Moreover, it is a vicious cycle. Increase in allergies means reduced efficiency of the immune system, which in turn means that the body becomes more susceptible to diseases.


BATTLE STRATEGY

In the battle against dirt, the central vacuum cleaner is the most high-tech weapon in the arsenal...

we should avoid the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers, chemical additives in food, use of diesel in vehicles, and smoking in public areas also fall in this danger zone.

Yoga and Pranayam may also help fighting it.

In a nutshell, we must deter the degradation of our environment and work towards cleaning it up.