Health & Nutrition Facts for Bodybuilders

Many believe that the way one catches a cold is through the air via small droplets that are sneezed or coughed out by an ill individual. This isn't quite accurate. Most colds are caught by way of touching a contaminated object (including any number of common ones like a doorknob or a shopping cart handle) covered with those droplets. There are ways of preventing colds and making your home environment "cold free". Wash up! The best way to prevent colds from occurring is to wash one's hands thoroughly with warm water and soap. During cold season, you may want to do this a second and third time. If possible, fingernails should be scrubbed by a scrub brush to remove all that's caught underneath. Fingernails tend to harbor not only dirt, but also bacteria and viruses. If using a washroom is impossible, consider carrying around sanitizing towellettes. These are a good substitute in lieu of washing when ouotside. If you do need to cough or sneeze, do so into you...

According to the American Heart Association, one in three Americans has hypertension, with a third of those not knowing they have it. High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart work harder than needed and hardens the arterial walls. Hypertension can increase the risk for heart attack and stroke, which are the number one and three primary causes of death in the United States respectively. It can also lead to heart failure, kidney failure and blindness. High blood pressure can lack symptoms so many don’t know that they have it. The only way to find out is to have one’s blood pressure checked regularly. Luckily there are simple lifestyle changes that can help prevent or control hypertension. Diet The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s DASH diet, is a good model to follow. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The diet basically is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and total fat, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy ...

Delays in proper treatment, inhibition of our immune systems by tick and bacterial defenses, and development of resistance of Borrelia to common antibiotics allow the bacteria to escape eradication. Caught early enough, most cases are cured with a short series of oral antibiotics. There is even talk about a single dose of long-release doxycycline being sufficient if given early enough. Yet many people are being misdiagnosed, given insufficient treatments (Burrascano 2005), and not cured even after prolonged antibiotic administration. The Physician Factor Physicians who follow the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) feel that the regime of antibiotics proscribed by IDSA is sufficient to eliminate Lyme disease. Thus, these doctors prescribe 14 days of doxycycline when they assume the patient has had the disease for less than a month, and 28 days when they feel there is neurological involvement. When the patient symptoms are not relieved by this antibiotic ...

Stones in the kidney or urinary tract (nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, both synonymous) often present as a medical emergency. Those afflicted seek help because of excruciating pain and other complications. Though not common, there are various ways for these stones to form. The options for treatment, however, are generally the same. Formation of Stones Calcium stones, mainly calcium oxalate, are the most common type of renal calculus. They can form when one doesn't drink enough water, allowing calcium that would dissolve to instead precipitate and crystallize. They also form in association with conditions raising the blood calcium level, including hyperparathyroidism, cancer, vitamin D overdose, and sarcoidosis. Other factors involve oxalate and citrate. Too much dietary oxalate or conditions increasing intestinal absorption of oxalate can promote stone formation. Citrate plays a role when there is too little of it, because it normally binds calcium and prevents cry...

According to the Mayo Clinic online, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a cyclic, seasonal condition with signs and symptoms that reoccur around the same time each year. Usually, symptoms appear during late fall and progress on through the winter, only abating with the onset of longer and sunnier days. Though, conversely, some people have developed the opposite pattern and become depressed with the onset of spring or summer, only feeling relief when that season wanes. But, in either case, SAD symptoms generally start out mild and progress in severity throughout the length of the season. Seasonal Affective Disorder Facts and Causes According to Mental Health America, formerly known as the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), SAD mimics many signs of depression, though it is actually a mood disorder that is related to the body's inability to adapt itself to varying amounts of sunlight. The NMHA further offers the following facts about this serious and often misundersto...

There is a wide range of different effects resulting from obesity which can affect the physical well-being of both adults and children. Key examples of obesity-related health conditions include gallbladder disease, heart disease, type2 diabetes and slipped femoral epiphysis. The latter condition is associated with the position of the ball in the hip joint moving and thus causing significant pain for those affected. Understanding Slipped Femoral Epiphysis Slipped femoral epiphysis is a health condition arising from carrying excessive amounts of weight, with boys between the ages of ten and 16 being the most likely to be affected. The condition is caused by weakness of the joint between the thigh bone and ball joint, allowing the ball to slip and resulting in the child's leg appearing bowed. Chronic femoral epiphysis may also occur when the slip develops at a slower rate. This typically results in children suffering from post-exercise pain in the groin area (which dissipates fol...

Olser-Weber-Rendu syndrome (OWR), also known as Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), is an inherited condition affecting the blood vessels. It affects approximately one person out of 10,000, or about 1.2 million people throughout the world. Causes of Osler-Weber-Rendu Syndrome Olser-Weber-Rendu syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by an abnormality in either the endoglin gene (ENG) on chromosome 9, or the activin receptor-like kinase 1 gene (ALK1) on chromosome 12. Both of these genes are involved in blood vessel formation. A mutation in either of these genes will result in similar OWR symptoms, and those who have the disorder generally only have an abnormality in one of the genes. OWR syndrome has an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, meaning only one copy of the abnormal gene is necessary to cause the disease and to pass it on. Each child of an individual who has the disorder has a 50% chance of inheriting it. The vast majority of those affected have a family his...

For a fast and safe recovery from back surgery, patients are given post operative care instructions. A back surgery patient should try to gradually engage in daily activities and religiously take prescribed medications. Once a patient starts to feel better, engaging in strengthening and mobility exercises is the next step. Recover Fast From Back Surgery by Getting Back in Action As part of a speedier recovery process, it is important for a back surgery patient to slowly get back into a daily routine. Immersing oneself in activities, even those as simple as getting out of bed without help, is a major step towards full recovery. Here are some more tips to easily get back in action. Get in and out of bed safely without putting pressure on the back. This can be easily done through a log roll – a position where in an individual rolls on his side, swings legs to the floor and lifts the body using the arms. Utilize special tools such as railings, a reacher and elevated seat to assist with...