Loneliness & Health

Over a decade ago Mother Teresa had the realization that loneliness was a health issue because she once remarked, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for & deserted by everybody." According to a new research that examined the lives of three million people, loneliness is now being labeled as big a killer as obesity & smoking. That’s pretty conclusive. For years America has been talking about the obesity epidemic, but a new study points to a more serious health issue that could reach epidemic proportions by 2030: isolation & loneliness.

                                                      Research on Loneliness & Isolation

Researchers from Brigham Young University in Utah reviewed nearly 35 years of data from about 3 million participants & discovered that loneliness & isolation can impact our health, & even shorten our lives, just like obesity. Feeling isolated from others is twice as deadly as being obese, & is nearly as detrimental to your health as being poor, according to a presentation by University of Chicago psychologist, John Cacioppo, at the 2014 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. After analyzing the survey responses of over 2,100 adults age 55 & over, Cacioppo & his team concluded that lacking close personal connections raises an individual's premature death risk by 14 percent, while lacking financial means increases these odds by 19 percent.

Linking Loneliness with Health

New research suggests there's a direct biological link between loneliness & ill health. Loneliness can send a person down a path toward bad health, & even more intense loneliness. It is often the core feeling that gives rise to emotions of anger, sadness, depression, worthlessness, resentment, emptiness, vulnerability & pessimism. Lonely people frequently feel that they are disliked, are often self-obsessed & lack empathy with others. They fear rejection & keep themselves at a distance, which in turn only feeds more loneliness.

Emotional & Physical Toll

In addition to exacting an extreme emotional toll, loneliness can carry dangerous—even deadly—physical consequences. Loneliness has dramatic consequences on health. Feeling isolated from others can disrupt sleep, cause hardening of the arteries (which leads to high blood pressure), inflammation in the body, & even problems with learning & memory, lower immunity, increase depression, lower overall subjective well being by changing gene expression in immune cells & increase stress hormone cortisol (at sustained high levels cortisol gradually wears your body down). According to Cacioppo, just like a headache or a stomachache may be physical manifestations of a larger malady, feelings of loneliness are meant to alert you that something is wrong.

Being Alone is Fine but Friendship is Valuable

Your friends really are saving your life. Friendships can help older people develop their resilience & ability to bounce back after adversity, as well as an ability to gain strength from stress rather than be diminished by it. Also, psychotherapy can help people to heal wounds from their past & establish new patterns of relating to others. Cacioppo & colleagues found that two of the best ways to treat loneliness are to train people for social skills they need to view the world in a more positive light, & to bring people together to share good times.

Quite often, talking to your friend is the only therapy YOU need.

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Resolving Menace of Malaria

Medical officials have discovered that chemical make-up of malaria patients' breath has peculiar properties which make diagnosis by breath a train of thoughts. “Malaria” at first came from Italian words for "bad air" because it was mused that disease was caught from the foul smelling air around swamps & marshes. The chemicals are hard-nosed, but with proper instruments, disease can be diagnosed earlier than with standard blood examination method. Higher levels of four sulfur compounds were detected in direct correlation with severity of the infection.

Researchers have faith on this discovery & presume that it will help develop a fast & economical system of malaria detection. As world starts to work towards calling all bets off malaria, it is the standout priority for more sensitive & convenient tests to detect hidden cases. In compatibility with World Health Organization (WHO), around 200 million cases of malaria & half a million malaria deaths were recorded in 2013. Prompt diagnosis would not only unshackle lives of people but could also help slash spread of malaria as they can help transmit infection even before the symptoms become evident.

Jounce in Diagnosis

Bringing mosquitoes that produce 95% male offspring into existence by using a sex-distorting genetic defect may also help control malaria. Malaria is out landed by a parasite called a Plasmodium & is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes. This female mosquito picks up parasite from infected people when they suck blood needed to nurture their eggs. An imprint on the genetics control strategy, the technique works by shredding the X chromosome during sperm production – leaving behind the few X-carrying sperm to strictly produce female embryos only. This cuts the number of mosquitoes able to spread disease.

Hunting for Malaria with Magnets!

Red blood cells don’t have nuclei. Any that show up are predicated to belong to parasite cells. The technology & expertise needed to identify the parasite are not always available in some of regions mostly affected by malaria. This new nervy system catches a parasitic waste product called hemozoin. Hemoglobin breaks down releasing iron, which can be toxic, so the parasite converts iron into hemozoin — a weakly paramagnetic crystallite. Researchers used a 0.5 T (Tesla) magnet which is much less expensive & yet powerful than 2- or 3-tesla magnets.

Detecting without Blood Draws

Study Abstract -Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. This research says that high optical absorbance & nano size of endogenous hemozoin generates a transient vapor nano-bubble around hemozoin in response to a short & safe near-infrared picosecond laser pulse. This gave rapid detection of a malaria infection as low as 0.00034% in animals without using any reagents or drawing blood. This device is easy-to-use, compact, inexpensive, & safe field technology.

Perform regular health check-ups and avoid malaria.

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Uphill Battle with Heels

People setting foot out in high heels may be at risk for several health complications. Stanford University studies say that wearing high heels for extended periods of time can cause serious problems like arthritis or even call for knee replacement surgery, the Daily Express reported. Wearing heels can precariously pressurize knee joints wearing away body's natural shock-absorbers, cartilage, increasing the risk of osteoarthritis.

Awkward Disposition

Scientists scanned knees of healthy women as they walked at normal pace in flat shoes, 1.5 inch heels & 3.5 inch heels & alarmingly say that knees of women wearing high heels are held in an awkward, bent position. This leads joints go along the route as though aged or damaged joints would.

Expert Advise

Physiotherapist & osteopath Tim Allardyce warns that high-heel shoes could lead to hip & neck problems along with painful backs. He also says, "Standing & walking on the balls of your feet throws the skeleton out of its healthy alignment meaning the muscles & joints throughout the body have to compensate to maintain its centre of gravity & keep body upright". Those who wear 3 inch heels customarily could suffer from injury as well to Achilles tendon called tendonitis.                                                                                      Horror Woes

Corns & calluses are a petrifying of the skin in areas going through friction caused by walking in high heels. Corns & calluses are mainly found on toes, the extrinsic part of the foot & heel. A forward thrust accompanying each step in high heels can cause pain or problems to develop in toenails. Ingrown toenails are a common problem relating to nail fungus. The constant pressure on toes within a shoe’s toe box will cause unnatural bending of toes at middle joint. Sustainable pressure over course of time leads to hammertoe. It is a deformity causing the second, third, or fourth toe to permanently bend at the joint so that the toe appear like a hammer. The drastic change in weight bearing that high heel shoes force foot to accommodate can lead to stress fractures in foot. These appear as tiny cracks within bone.

Much Needed Foot Care 

After you take your high heel shoes off for the night, use a couple of techniques aimed at alleviating foot pain & preventing long-lasting damage. Some yoga, stretching, & foot exercises can increase blood flow to the foot & ankle.  Also, warm water allows for the dilation of the body blood vessels & opens skin pores. So, think of this as a mineral bath which provides direct benefit to feet when they need to recover.

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Depending Upon The Liver

Liver is largest solid organ in the body, situated under rib cage, in the upper part of abdomen on the right side. It weighs around three pounds. The liver has a multitude of important & complex functions, like storing glycogen (fuel for the body) which is made from sugars. When required, glycogen is broken down into glucose which is released into bloodstream. It helps to process fats & proteins from digested food. It makes proteins which are essential for blood clotting. It helps remove or process alcohol, poisons & toxins from the body. It makes bile which passes from liver to gut & aids in intestinal absorption of fats & fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, & K. It processes & removes potentially harmful biochemical products produced by the body, such as bilirubin, from breakdown of old red blood cells & ammonia from breakdown of proteins & detoxifies by metabolizing and/or secreting, drugs, alcohol, & environmental toxins.

Liver in Disease

Cirrhosis is an abnormal liver condition in which there is irreversible scarring of liver. It is a slowly progressing disease where healthy liver tissue is replaced with scarred tissue, eventually preventing liver from functioning properly. Scarred tissue blocks flow of blood through liver & thereby slows processing of nutrients, hormones, drugs, & naturally produced toxins. It also slows production of proteins & other substances made by liver.

CAUSES OF CIRRHOSIS

Chronic Alcoholism

Chronic alcoholism is the leading cause of cirrhosis. Consuming too much alcohol can cause liver to swell, which over time can lead to cirrhosis.

Chronic Viral Hepatitis

Chronic hepatitis C is the second leading cause of cirrhosis. Hepatitis C causes liver to swell, which over time can lead to cirrhosis. About one in four people with chronic hepatitis C develop cirrhosis. Chronic hepatitis B & hepatitis D also can cause cirrhosis.

Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH)

Fat build up in liver that is not caused by alcohol use, is non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH can cause liver to swell & can lead to cirrhosis. People with NASH often have other health issues including diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease & poor eating habits.

Bile Duct Disease

Bile duct disease limits or stops bile from flowing to small intestine. Bile backs up in liver causing liver to swell & can lead to cirrhosis. Two common bile duct diseases are primary sclerosing cholangitis & primary biliary cirrhosis.

Genetic diseases

Some genetic diseases can also lead to cirrhosis. These diseases include glycogen storage diseases, Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, autoimmune hepatitis, hemochromatosis, a condition in which excessive iron is absorbed & deposited into liver & other organs, & Wilson's disease, caused by abnormal storage of copper in liver.

COMPLICATIONS OF CIRRHOSIS

·         Cirrhosis is a known risk factor for cancer of liver.

·         End stage liver disease can also lead to kidney failure.

·         Bruising (due to low platelet count and/or poor clotting)

·         Bleeding (due to decreased clotting proteins)

·         Sensitivity to medications (the liver processes medications in body)

·         Insulin resistance & type 2 diabetes

·         Hepatic encephalopathy (confusion due to effects of blood toxins on brain)

·        Gallstones (interference with bile flow can cause bile to harden & form stones)

·        Esophageal varices

·        Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)

     Edema & ascites

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Don’t Ignore Guts

Constipation is one of those topics few like to talk about. If you've suffering from this problem, though, you know it can be both painful & frustrating. Constipation or dyschezia refers to bowel movements that are infrequent or hard to pass. Though not usually serious, constipation can be a concern & lead to numerous complications. Severe constipation includes obstipation (failure to pass stools or gas) & fecal impaction, which can progress to bowel obstruction & subsequently become life-threatening.

Tell Tale Signatures

Bad breath is an indicator that you may be constipated. When toxic waste remains in body, gasses rise up to mouth, letting out putrid odors. Skin eruptions can be caused or aggravated by colon toxicity. Other symptoms related to constipation can include bloating, distension, abdominal pain, headaches, a feeling of fatigue & nervous exhaustion, or a sense of incomplete emptying. Body gives you indications when something is going wrong, take the hint!

Causes for Constipation

Constipation is a symptom with many causes. It predisposes you to all major colorectal disorders starting with enlarged hemorrhoids & ending up with colorectal cancer. The causes include obstructed defecation & colonic slow transit (or hypomobility). It could also be due to some structural & functional abnormalities like spinal cord lesions, Parkinson’s, colon cancer, anal fissures, proctitis, & pelvic floor dysfunction. Some metabolic or muscular problems include hypercalcemia, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, cystic fibrosis, & celiac disease. Constipation is also common in individuals with muscular & myotonic dystrophy.

Associated Complications from Untreated Constipation

• Hemorrhoids: These are caused by too much strain on the anal sphincter while trying to force bowel movement.
• Anal Fissures: These are tears in skin around anus brought about by over-stretching while trying to pass hard stool. This can also cause rectal bleeding.
• Rectal Prolapse: This is when a small amount of intestinal lining is pushed out of the anal opening while straining for bowel movement.
• Fecal Impaction: This develops when hard stool are compacted tightly in the intestine & rectum that normal peristaltic movement of large intestine is insufficient to expel content.
• Bowel Perforation: This is when hardened fecal matter punctures through intestinal wall & spills into the abdominal area. These cause severe infection as waste products of the body come into direct contact with other organs housing by abdominal cavity. The severe infection caused by this overflow of fecal matter may even prove fatal when not treated immediately.
• Genitourinary Health: Constipation affects genitourinary health, particularly for women, because large intestine & the female reproductive organs reside in close proximity. These problems run the gamut from undue pressure on the uterus to rectal prolapse inside vagina, from fecal incontinence to miscarriage from straining, & numerous other problems.

Quality of Life

Constipation affects quality of life, causes stress, & diminishes your overall sense of well-being. These things tend to self-perpetuate, & profoundly affect the cardiovascular, endocrine, & immune systems. Constipation is also one of the symptoms of disbacteriosis — a condition where normal, intestinal flora is dead & missing. When alive, this flora performs several, important functions. First, it protects the colon itself from any inflammation-causing pathogens. Second, it produces essential B-vitamins & vitamin K, responsible for blood clotting. Third, it governs primary immunity & fourth — bacteria form stools, & keep them soft & moist. When all of these functions are compromised, one cannot enjoy a long & healthy life.

Last Word

Closer to the end of one‘s life, chronic constipation strip large intestine from its thinning, mucosal membrane, & cause flat lesions & polyps that eventually transform into colon cancer. 

Thus constipation is extremely dangerous for your health & life, & you should do everything possible to reverse it while it is still possible, or, at the very least, to manage its after-effects when it has become irreversible.
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