Most recent international health newscast in addition to examination from our health explore band.

One quarter of a million Australians suffer from diabetes, of whom eighty thousand receive daily insulin injections. The pool of people suffering from diabetes expands with age and approaches ten per cent in those over 70. Diabetes is a frequent cause of blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage and accelerated hardening of the arteries. Two forms of the illness can be clearly identified.
The first occurs in young people who suffer destruction of cells in the pancreas providing the body with Insulin. In the absence of this hormone a build up of sugar in the blood is experienced which produces an abrupt onset of intense thirst, excessive urination and weight loss. Victims of this “Juvenile” form of diabetes invariably require the life time provision of daily Insulin injections.
The second form of diabetes involves “Maturity Onset” in the middle aged and elderly. These people are usually overweight with fat cells that become resistant to the effects of Insulin or a pancreas that fails to increase the supply of Insulin in response to the overweight bodies extra demands. It follows that the 80 per cent of diabetics whose blood sugar is elevated due to the Maturity Onset form of diabetes would all benefit from the loss of extra weight. Insulin is rarely required by injection and the symptoms of Maturity Onset Diabetes are similar to those of Juvenile Diabetes except that the onset is usually slow and quite insidious.

Home Remedies
Diet, exercise, Insulin and blood glucose in diabetes are key variables. Diabetics should have a personal nutritional consultant. Insulin dependent diabetics who balance their daily calorie intake and exercise output with their blood sugar and Insulin requirements should have a home blood glucose monitor.
Calorie restriction and exercise control most cases of Maturity Onset Diabetes. Exercise lowers the blood sugar because the body’s skeletal muscles burn glucose without the need for Insulin. The use of medication in Maturity Onset Diabetes is a treatment of last resort. 15 per cent of people with Maturity Onset Diabetes taking medication eventually need the use of daily Insulin injections.

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Comments (0) Mar 27 2011

In the search for clues to solve the mystery of why osteoarthritis occurs, researchers look at the factors that influence the development of the disease. We have already noted that the statistical risk of developing osteoarthritis increases with age and is higher for women than for men. This was once attributed to a lifetime of wear and tear, but as we’ve seen present thinking suggests that there may be other causes! However, we don’t know precisely what they are.
The following factors have been shown to have an impact on the incidence or severity of osteoarthritis:
-    Injuries
-    Heredity
-    Obesity
-    Occupation

Injuries
When a joint has been damaged by injury, severe overuse, or another disease, arthritis symptoms may develop over time. This is called secondary arthritis. (Primary arthritis is the ordinary land that arises seemingly from nowhere.)
Exercise in general promotes health, and some exercise may actually strengthen joints and muscles. This is great, because some evidence shows that weak muscles can lead to osteoarthritis. Weakness in the thigh muscles, for instance, puts greater stress on the knee joint, setting up the process of wear and tear. Strengthening these muscles might help prevent osteoarthritis, or at least keep it from progressing as quickly. However, excessive use of parts of the body can cause osteoarthritis symptoms to begin earlier in life.
It’s important to note that recreational sports at a reasonable level are not likely to be harmful for most people. Joints that are healthy to begin with appear to tolerate prolonged, vigorous, low-impact exercise without accelerated development of osteoarthritis. However, if you have already suffered damage to a joint, ligament, or tendon, you may need to be especially careful. Your doctor should be able to suggest appropriate sports and a good level of activity.

Heredity
Genetics appears to play a role in the development of osteoarthritis in the hands. However, it’s a modest role. Just because your mother had hand arthritis doesn’t mean you and your siblings will too. Most likely, a combination of genetic susceptibility and other unidentified factors in the environment must all be present at the same time if you’re to develop the disease.

Obesity
After the age of 65, the majority of adults in the industrialized world are obese, and obesity appears to be a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis. Unlike aging and genetics, this is one risk factor we can control. Losing weight will not only prolong your life, it will reduce the risk of living with serious discomfort.

Occupation
Certain job-related activities continued for many years can induce osteoarthritis in specific joints, most likely because of repeated injuries. Some well-studied examples include osteoarthritis of the knees and spine in miners, osteoarthritis of the hip in farmers, and increased rates of osteoarthritis in the upper joints of pneumatic-drill operators. If you’re in a profession that severely stresses your joints, you might be particularly interested to know that chondroitin and other “chondroprotective” substances may help prevent arthritis from developing or progressing.

Weather
Many people suffering from osteoarthritis swear that weather conditions influence their joint pain. So far, science can offer no proof that this is true, nor can it explain why this seems to happen. Few studies have been published on the subject, and they offer differing opinions.12 Physicians agree, however, that for those who believe weather can influence their pain, even though the causes remain unknown, the effect is real. Unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about this risk factor except retire to a warm climate.
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Comments (0) Mar 20 2011

For many people, the desire to lose weight is the main purpose for starting an exercise program. Level of physical activity does have a direct effect upon metabolic rate, even raising it for a few hours following a vigorous workout. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, if you are planning to lose weight through exercise alone, without decreasing the amount of food you eat, you’ll have to exercise frequently (at least four days a week) for extended time periods (at least 50 minutes per workout). A more effective method for losing weight combines regular endurance-type exercises with a moderate decrease (about 500 to 1,000 calories per day) in food intake. Decreasing daily caloric intake beyond this range (“severe dieting”) appears to decrease metabolic rate by up to 20 percent, making weight loss more difficult.
A recent meta-analysis has challenged the commonly held view that exercise alone is not a useful strategy for obesity reduction. Moderately obese white men, who participated in daily exercise of moderate intensity (brisk walking) for 45 to 60 minutes per day, without decreasing their caloric intake, made rapid improvements in cardiovascular fitness and lost weight. This is good news in that it suggests that obese persons should participate in walking programs. Of equal importance is the perspective that the exercise program should not be viewed as a failure if it does not result in substantial weight loss. The improved cardiovascular fitness levels acquired through exercise also reduced the incidence of heart disease and type 2 diabetes in these participants and reduced the overall death rate.
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Comments (0) Mar 13 2011