Medical App & Medical Advice with Hello Doctor

Could there be something more important than diet and exercise?

Think about it: you’ve had a bad day (or a bad year, more like!). What would you prefer to do, eat a salad or meet up with your BFF and have a heart to heart? Turns out that having strong social ties can have as much of an impact on your health as exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet. In fact, one study found that the effect of social ties on life span is twice as strong as that of exercising and equivalent to that of quitting smoking. Of course, that’s not to say you should ditch your exercise to catch up with your bestie, but does serve as an important reminder of the strength of your social relationships has on your overall health.

How friendships help your health

Because we’re all different, we all have different reasons for benefiting from a close circle of friends. However, there is one thing that is common amongst everyone: the positive effect that friendship has on stress.

While it’s true that a little stress can be good (when a deadline is fast approaching for example), ongoing stress is not. Chronic, or ongoing stress has been closely linked to:

  • Anxiety, depression and memory and concentration problems
  • Digestive problems
  • Heart disease, stroke and diabetes
  • Sleep problems
  • Weight gain

Feeling lonely and isolated turns on your stress response, and keeps it on for long periods of time. But when you throw a good friend into the mix, that stress response is toned down. That’s because friends help you get through the bad stuff, they increase your sense of belonging and purpose plus boost your self-confidence and self-worth. Put all these benefits together, and BOOM, a healthier you.

The positives of peer pressure

Peer pressure gets a bad rap but it has a lot of positives too. We often take cues from our friends about what to eat and whether to exercise. A positive story about a new exercise class or hike, for example, might encourage you to want to try it out too. Close social relationships provide real meaning to our lives, and in this way, encourage us to take better care of ourselves.

Friendships to cultivate and those to avoid

In the age of being connected 24/7 it can be easy to slip into the “comfort” of having hundreds of Facebook “friends”. But how many of these are true friends? One study found that out of 150 “friends” on Facebook, only around 4 of these were dependable. Sound familiar? Online friends can’t give you a hug, and a “LOL, smiley face” sometimes just doesn’t cut it when you’re sharing good news!

True friendships take time to form and more time to deepen, but when it comes to building meaningful relationships, this time means nothing. When a relationship starts taking up more time and energy than you have to give, perhaps it’s time to review!

Tips on how to expand your social network (with real friends!)

  • Focus on the way friendships feel, not how good they might look on paper.
  • Be yourself. When you take part in activities that you enjoy, you have a good chance of meeting people with similar interests.
  • Smile more! People who smile are perceived as more attractive, kinder, and happier, and therefore more approachable.
  • Be open to forming new relationships outside of your usual “comfort zone”.
  • Schedule ‘em in. It sounds silly, but life gets busy! Scheduling in meetings with friends makes it almost guaranteed you’ll get to see them instead of just talking about it!
  • Try to see the world from someone else’s perspective!

Research suggests we value experiences over material items, and what better experience is there than spending time with a group of best friends? The truth is you don’t need to be everyone’s friend. A toxic friendship is exactly as its name implies and won’t be doing you or your health any favours! Choose to be friends with people who build you up, not tear you down. Choose friends who inspire you and welcome you, not alienate and insult you. Remember, you can’t choose your family, you CAN choose your friends!

References

Can WiFi and Bluetooth make me sick?

We can’t deny the great convenience of being able to access the internet anywhere and anytime. We’re now easily able to log in from home, school, work, shopping centres and even public transport.

Despite this convenience, almost all of these environments that we are exposed to on a daily basis filled with Electromagnetic radiation (EMR).

What is the impact of this exposure on our health?

Radiofrequency

Wireless networks used by cell phones, computers, Bluetooth speakers, and other WiFi-powered devices stream invisible radio waves through the air. This is a form of radiofrequency radiation.

Radiation is the energy that comes from a source and travels through space. For instance, an electric heater functions by heating metal wires, which then radiate that energy as heat.

Radiofrequency radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation, a combination of electric and magnetic fields that move through space together as waves. Electromagnetic radiation falls into two categories:

  1. Non-ionizing radiation: Usually known to be harmless to humans through Cell phones, Bluetooth, light bulbs, computers, Wi-Fi routers, FM radio, GPS, and TV.
  2. Ionizing radiation: High energy radiation with the potential for direct cellular and DNA damage, through X-ray machines, radioactive material, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and particle accelerators

How does it work?

Radio frequencies aren’t visible to the human eye and are measured in units called hertz. This represents the number of cycles per second a radio wave is transmitted.

One hertz equals one cycle per second. Radio waves range from thousands (kilohertz) to millions (megahertz) to billions (gigahertz) of cycles per second.

How can radiofrequency radiation affect your health?

The radio frequency signals from cell phones, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, are considered nonionizing forms of radiation. Thus, they don’t carry enough energy to directly break or alter your DNA, one of the risk factors for cancer. Thus far, there are no studies or evidence of the dangers of radiofrequency radiation. The WHO is still evaluating and continually updating data on how radiofrequency might affect our health.

That said, it is advisable to practise caution when regularly exposed to radiofrequency radiation devices, for their effect may not be as drastically, or clearly noticed as extreme radiation (such as

Reduce the dangers

  • Keep your cell phone at a distance, especially away from your head and body
  • When you do use your phone, try texting or video-calling, use the speakerphone on your device or a wired or Bluetooth headset rather than holding the phone to your ear
  • Carry your phone in a bag instead of putting it in your pocket.
  • Avoid resting your tablet on your body for a long period of time.
  • When you go to bed store your phone away from where you sleep, switch it to aeroplane mode, or turn it off entirely.

Protect your home

  • Unplug appliances when not in use to avoid wasting energy and to reduce the levels of EMFs emitted in your home.
  • If you spend a lot of time in your room, be sure to clear it of as many EMFs as possible. Technologies can affect your sleep as well as your DNA.
  • Avoid halogen and fluorescent lighting.
  • If you do use Wi-Fi, unplug it when it’s not in use and be sure to keep the router away from areas where you or family members spend a lot of time. Avoid unnecessary wireless technologies around your baby, many generations have survived without these, you can too!

Eat a healing diet

Protect your body from the possible effects of EMFs by eating nutrient-rich foods. High Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) foods can help to support your body in preventing EMF-related DNA damage

Add these beneficial options into your diet:

  • Cruciferous vegetables, broccoli, rosemary, asparagus, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, pecans, prunes, cinnamon, dates, and cilantro.
  • Vitamin D3, spirulina, B-complex vitamins, melatonin, holy basil, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and zinc.

References:

Six stress-free holiday hacks to give you peace of mind

Tis’ the season of delicious food, relaxation and bonding with your loved ones. Unfortunately, it’s also the season of dealing with your grumpy uncle’s complaints about your cooking, trying to make your budget stretch and cleaning up after many people. Before you get your fairy lights twisted in a knot, here are a few holiday hacks to help you out.

That’s a wrap

If you have a big family and tons of friends, gift wrap could become more expensive than the actual gifts. You’re probably tempted to buy specific wrapping for each person and cute gift bags, but it’s really a waste because most people just rip the paper off anyway. Instead of splashing out on pricey wrapping paper, get a large roll of brown paper to wrap the gifts with and finish off with a bow made of string. It’s chic and minimalist, and your budget will thank you.

Be kind to your pockets

It’s tempting to splurge on fun, fancy and fantastic gifts for your loved ones, but don’t forget that January is a long way off. Be honest with yourself about how much money you can spend and create your budget from there. There are different ways to make your money stretch. Keep an eye out for bargains, get creative by making homemade gifts and buy some gifts in bulk.

Befriend your freezer

Cooking can be fun – and time consuming. Hack your way through the hassle by cooking batches of food in advance and freezing. For example, cook dishes like potatoes and certain veggies, and then freeze, defrost and reheat them in the oven on the day that they’re needed.

Chill out your drinks

After a hearty meal, a lukewarm drink is the stuff evil is made of! If you’ve forgotten to chill your drinks in the midst of the cooking madness, don’t stress. Wrap the bottles tightly in a damp kitchen towel, and pop them into the freezer. Heat travels more quickly through dense materials (like wet cloth), so your drinks will soon be ice-cold and ready to pour in roughly 20 minutes.

Throw tradition out the window

Some traditions like giving gifts are timeless, but others aren’t worth the effort or stress. If having the festivities at your home every year is stressful, suggest rotating houses every year, or going out for lunch. If making Christmas pudding after cooking a big lunch is too much work, serve ice-cream instead. You might feel anxious about suggesting or making changes, but you’ll benefit in the long run, by saving time and effort – and your sanity!

Drive safely

Family road trips, rushing around for last-minute gifts and late-night fast food runs… you spend a lot of time on the road during festive season so be extra mindful of being safe. Pack an emergency kit into your boot, don’t drink and drive and always wear your seat-belt. Also, remember to keep track of your petrol tank to prevent running out of petrol when you most need it.

And last, but not least: Make sure you’ve installed the Hello Doctor app, and you are signed in. This way, you’re only be one click away from a doctor’s advice, anytime, anywhere!

References:

How do I know if I can stop my medication?

When you’re prescribed medication, it’s important for your long-term health to follow your doctor’s instructions and to take them properly.

Unfortunately, some of us may stop taking our medication for various reasons. This may include:

  • Not believing the treatment is going to improve your health.
  • Having had a bad experience with a certain medication in the past (e.g. side-effects like nausea or cramps).
  • Being in denial about your condition, therefore believing you don’t need to take your medication.
  • Believing you “feel better”.

However, stopping your medication as you please or not taking your medication as prescribed can cause serious problems. Here are a few things you should know before you stop taking your medication.

Be prepared

Prevention is better than cure, so once you’re prescribed a new medication, understand your treatment properly. Ask your doctor:

  • Your dose and schedule
  • The expected outcome
  • Common side effects
  • How long you’ll have to take it
  • What will happen if you stop taking it

Talk to your doctor first

Whatever your reason for wanting to stop your medication is, discuss it with your doctor. Stopping your medication abruptly may worsen your symptoms or cause unpleasant side effects. Explain exactly why you’re thinking of not taking your medication anymore. For example, if your health seems to have improved drastically or you’ve been experiencing unpleasant reactions to your medicine, explain this clearly.

Know the side effects

When you’re prescribed any new medication, ask your doctor about the possible side effects. With some conditions like high blood pressure, stopping your medication can be dangerous. Because there are no obvious symptoms, you won’t know how your body is reacting.

Stop your medication safely

If your doctor gives you the go-ahead to stop taking medication, you can’t always just go cold turkey!. For example, with some medications, you’ll need to start taking smaller doses until your body is weaned off. This helps your body avoid unpleasant side effects that come with stopping medication too quickly.

Remember:

  • Always take your medication as prescribed.
  • Ask your doctor about anything you’re unsure about.
  • Always tell your doctor about other medication as some medications can react badly to each other.
  • Use your phones’ calendar to stay on top of your medication schedule.

References:

Avoid these exercises at the gym (and do these instead)

The best thing you can do at the gym is to do what everyone else is doing, right? Maybe not.

Turns out that some of the most popular exercises at the gym are ineffective. And worse still, they could even cause you injury!

Ditch these exercises and machines and swap them for safer workout options.

Ditch: Ab machine workouts

The promise of rock-solid abs has many gym-goers running for the ab machines. Sadly, these are mostly ineffective. The machine itself makes it awkward to activate your ab muscles properly. This means tons of work, with little to no improvement.

Try this instead: Planking

If you’re looking to build and strengthen your core, planking is your best bet. It’s safe and effective because it makes use of your entire core, tones your abdominal muscles and gives you a good leg and arm workout at the same time too.

How to do it: Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Put your hands directly under your shoulders and step your feet back, one at a time. For stability, bring your feet wider than hip distance apart and bring them closer if you want a challenge. Keep a straight line from your heels to the top of your head, while keeping your eyes on the floor. Tighten your abs, quads, glutes and hold throughout. Start with three sets of 15-30 seconds.

Ditch: Crunches

If you’re dreaming of a flat stomach, endless crunches will not get you there. In fact, overdoing these puts you at risk of a back injury. The truth is, crunches exert strain on your back while barely working your abs.

Try this instead: Burpee push-ups

Burpees are an ultimate full-body workout and makes a great swap for crunches. They strengthen your abs and revs up your entire core. Best of all, they are much safer to do than back-straining crunches.

How to do it: Start by standing with your feet hip-distance apart. Lower yourself into a deep squat and bring your hands to the floor, shoulder-width apart. Now jump your feet back into a plank, while keeping your abs tight. Use your lower abs to jump your feet back into deep squat and stand or jump back up. Do this 10-15 times.

Ditch: Kipping pull-ups

A kipping pull-up is basically a pull-up that involves a swinging motion of the body with a burst of power from your shoulders to reach above the push-up bar. These extra movements could cause a serious injury to your shoulders.

Try this instead: A regular pull-up

There’s a reason why pull-ups are a workout staple; they are both safe and effective.
How to do it: Lie on your back, either on the floor or a bench. Bend your knees and hook your feet under a secure brace. If you don’t have a brace, ask someone to hold your feet. Put your hands on your sides or behind your neck. Bend your hips and waist to raise your body off the ground. Now lower your back to the starting position.

Ditch: Partial squats

Squats are difficult; that’s why partial squats were created. The problem with partial squats though is that the movement doesn’t activate the muscles that full squats do. Because they exclude your glutes and hamstrings they increase the risk of lower leg muscle imbalance. This in turn can increase your risk of injury..

Try this instead: Full squats

Done correctly, full squats are much better than partial ones. They work on your glutes, hamstrings, calves, abdominal muscles and even your lower back.

How to do it: Stand with your feet a little wider than hip width apart, your toes facing the front. Push your hips back, bending at the knees and ankles. Now sit into a squat position while keeping your heels and toes on the ground, and your core engaged. Press into your heels and straighten your legs till you’re upright again.

References:

How blue light affects your health

Scrolling through your phone in bed before lights out might not be the healthiest way to end your day. There are rising concerns about the effects of screen time and the impact it can have on our vision and health. The main cause of concern is blue light.

The blue part of the light spectrum is very strong in Smartphones, tablets, TVs and other electronic devices with light-emitting screens.

The effects of blue light

It can break your sleep rhythm

Our natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats almost every 24 hours, (circadian rhythms), was well in sync with the sun before the invention of the lightbulb. Night-time light disruption was minimal.

Now, artificial lighting can be found everywhere, from street lights and hospitals to TVs, laptops, and cellphones. There’s a suspected correlation between the increase in night-time lighting and the increase in mood disorders.

Lighting intensity is measured in lux units (lx). The level of lux produced from different light sources reveals that digital screens have caused an exponential increase in night-time light intensity. A laptop alone without the use of a TV, cellphone, etc., can produce over 33 000% more lux than a full moon.

The artificial light that phones produce can trick our bodies into staying awake instead of snoozing. Blue light activates neurons in the brain and increases alertness that keep you awake. It disrupts the melatonin hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. This causes sleep deprivation.

You could develop headaches and migraines

There’s a specific neural pathway from the eyes to the brain, according to researchers. This separates from how vision is transmitted and ultimately causes blue light wavelengths to worsen headache pain and other symptoms.

The blue light can increase other symptoms of migraine that include aura symptoms, photophobia/light sensitivity and dizziness/nausea amongst other symptoms.

Cut back on the blue

To help prevent the blue light’s adverse effects on your sleep cycles, avoid looking at screens in the last hour or two before bed. If that’s all too impossible, try other options that could minimise the effects of blue light on your vision.

  • Use warmer lighting in your home by opting for more yellow-tinted LED lightbulbs instead of the bright white ones.
  • Wear orange-tinted glasses that filter out blue light while working at your office computer, or use a screen protector that does the same without altering your entire field of vision.
  • Use screen filters or apps on your devices to eliminate blue light. The colours may differ, but the screen will be easier on your eyes in the late evening.

Schedule an eye exam with your optician if you’re concerned about the effect blue light may have on your eyes. You doctor can help determine if there’s damage and help you come up with a plan to minimise other harmful variables like UV light.

References:

Beating cancer: one young man’s survival story

Cancer is a disease that begins when genetic changes interfere with your body’s normally ordered process. Cells start to grow uncontrollably, sometimes grouping together to form a mass called a tumor.

Some types of cancer don’t form a tumor. These include leukemias (cancer of the blood), most types of lymphoma (cancer that begins in the network of vessels through which lymph drains from the tissues into the blood), and myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells that usually forms in the bone marrow).

Surviving cancer at a young age

Zhakier Adams is a 21-year-old childhood cancer survivor from Cape Town. He was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 13. After a few occasions of losing his balance and not being able to walk or stand for a few minutes, he went for an examination and the doctor diagnosed him with cancer.

Adams was in and out of the hospital for months. For three long years, he endured various treatments which included radiation therapy, chemotherapy, X-rays and blood transfusions.

To date, he had been in remission for four and half years now, which means that tests, physical exams, and scans show no signs of cancer in his body.

With the support of a local cancer foundation, CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation, his parents and his family, he received the support he needed to survive his journey. According to the Cancer Association of South Africa, between 800 to 1 000 children in South Africa are diagnosed with cancer each year. However, it’s estimated that half of the children with cancer in SA, are never diagnosed.

The five childhood cancers in South Africa include:

  • Leukaemia.
  • Lymphoma (tumours that begin in the lymph glands).
  • Brain tumours.
  • Nephroblastomas or Wilms tumours (cancer of the kidneys).
  • Soft tissue sarcomas (tumours that begin in the connective tissue).

Dealing with cancer in the family

Your loved ones and friends will be significantly affected by changes that come with a cancer diagnosis.

Tips to help cope with a loved one’s cancer diagnosis:

  • Talk to each other about everything that’s happening.
  • Ask the doctor questions at your next appointment. Write down the doctor’s instructions and advice if necessary.
  • Be prepared for your loved one’s behaviour and mood to change. Medications, discomforts, and stress can make the person depressed or angry.
  • Encourage your family member to be active and independent to help regain a sense of self-reliance and confidence.
  • Don’t hesitate to ask other family members and friends for help. They will appreciate the opportunity.
  • Be sure to also take care of yourself. Get enough sleep and eat right. It’s hard to offer help when you’re feeling fatigued yourself.

References:

 

Can you treat eczema with your diet?

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a condition known to cause patches of dry, itchy skin on your body. It usually develops as a result of inflammation. Common treatments include ointments, creams and medication, but paying attention to your diet could help too.

According to Dr Peter Lio, Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Paediatrics at Northwestern University in Chicago, there’s a close connection between eczema and certain food allergies.

For example, some people may react to a peanut allergy in a life-threating way that could lead to anaphylaxis or even death. For others though, their skin could react with an eczema flare-up. Both reactions are caused by the immune system.

Eczema and your diet

For people with eczema, this kind of reaction could come from certain foods which may trigger your body to release compounds that cause inflammation.

So, cutting out certain foods will help right?

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. Although inflammatory foods can contribute to an eczema flare-up, they aren’t the only causes.

Other factors:

  • Genetics
  • Abnormal functioning of the immune system.
  • The environment. For example, certain weather conditions that makes your skin dry out.
  • Activities that create skin sensitivity, like prolonged exposure to water, sweating and showers that are excessively hot or cold.
  • Defects in the skin barrier that allow moisture out and germs in.

What can you do to improve eczema?

While there’s no cure for eczema, a combination of an anti-inflammatory diet and other treatments can help.

Pay attention to your diet and talk to your doctor immediately if you suspect you’re allergic to certain foods. Your doctor can also recommend which foods to avoid. Not everyone will react to the same foods, so it depends on which ones affect you.

Trigger foods usually include:

  • Citrus fruit.
  • Dairy.
  • Eggs.
  • Gluten or wheat.
  • Soy.
  • Spices, such as vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon.
  • Tomatoes.
  • Some kinds of nuts.

Food-sensitive eczema reactions usually happen between six and 24 hours after you’ve eaten. To determine your food sensitivity, your doctor could recommend an elimination diet. This involves removing certain foods from your diet, and then slowly adding them back one at a time while monitoring your body and skins reaction.

If you find your symptoms worsening after adding the food, it’s likely that you’ve found your trigger and you should avoid it in the future.

Another way to ease inflammation in your body is to bulk up your diet with anti-inflammatory foods.

Try these:

Fish. Eating fish often is helpful as it contains Omega-3 fatty acids which decrease inflammation. Good options include salmon, mackerel, sardines and tuna.

Probiotics. Foods high in probiotics are known to promote a healthy gut. Go for kefir, yoghurt with live and active cultures, tempeh, kombucha and sauerkraut.

Foods high in flavonoids. Flavonoids help to fight inflammation. Try including more colourful fruit in your diet, like apples, blueberries and cherries and vegetables like spinach, kale and broccoli.

Good to know

Before cutting out or adding any foods to your diet, talk to your doctor first. He may make suggestions and can refer you to a dietician if necessary.

References:

Winning the war against polio

Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is a highly infectious condition caused by the Poliovirus. Children under the age of five are most often affected.

The Poliovirus is mainly spread by person-to-person contact, but can also be transferred via eating raw or undercooked food or water that’s been contaminated with the faeces of an infected person.

Most people with polio don’t experience noticeable signs. The most common indication of polio is a sudden weakness or lameness in the limbs. People who have symptoms may have minor issues like fever, fatigue, nausea, headache, a sore throat, coughing, congestion and stiffness and pain in the arms, legs, back and neck.

The majority of those who contract polio recover completely, but in extreme cases, it causes the permanent loss of muscle function, which may result in paralysis, usually in the arms or legs. It may also cause death if it decreases muscle function used for breathing or if the virus infects your brain.

Polio today

Thankfully, due to routine immunisations, South Africa has been free from polio since 1989. There are, however still cases of polio in other countries. Globally, most countries are polio-free, except for Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and certain areas in Asia. In recent years, the number of people affected by polio has decreased, but unfortunately, even a small number of infected people can put many others at risk.

What’s worrying is that the poliovirus can easily spread from an infected country to a polio-free one.

What can you do to fight polio?

Unfortunately, there’s no cure for polio, so the only way to fight it is with prevention. To fight polio you should:

Keep up with vaccinations

Ensure you have had a polio vaccination. An additional one-time polio vaccine booster is recommended for those travelling to high-risk countries. To be safe, ask your doctor or nurse if your polio vaccine is up-to-date before travelling. It’s also important to ensure your children are vaccinated. Kids should be immunised with polio drops at birth, six weeks, 10 weeks, 14 weeks, 18 months and when they’re five years old.

Watch your food

Make sure your food is always cooked properly before eating it and avoid raw food. Street vendors in some developing countries may not be safe, so always be cautious. Bushmeat is especially risky, so avoid eating it and don’t drink tap water when travelling, unless it’s been boiled or filtered. Bottled or canned factory drinks are usually safe, but watch out for bottled water that could just be regular tap water.

Practise good hygiene

  • Wash your hands often with warm water and soap. Use hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol if there’s no water or soap available.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve if you cough or sneeze.
  • Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth. If you do, make sure your hands are clean.
  • Avoid sharing utensils with sick people and avoid close contact (like hugging, holding hands and kissing). 

Good to know

  • Ask your doctor or a nurse at your local clinic or hospital about immunisation and follow the schedule.
  • Immediately report any child under the age of 15 who develops sudden weakness of either an arm and/or leg (without any injury).

References:

The best foods for your liver

Your liver is an important organ with many vital functions. It plays an important role in regulating different processes in your body, including metabolism; secretion (a process when substances are produced and discharged from a cell), energy storage, and detoxification (when the body gets rid of unwanted toxins).

Your liver controls most chemical levels in the blood and releases a product called bile. Bile helps carry away waste and breaks down fats in the small intestine during digestion. All the blood leaving the stomach and intestines pass through the liver.

The liver then processes this blood and breaks down, balances, and creates nutrients for the body to use.

The liver also:

  • Stores and releases glucose as needed.
  • Stores iron.
  • Produces cholesterol and special proteins to help carry fats through the body.
  • Clears the blood of drugs, medication and other harmful substances.
  • Regulates blood clotting.
  • Resists infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream.

When the liver has broken down harmful substances, they’re released into the bile or blood. Bile by-products enter the intestine and ultimately leave the body in the faeces (poo). Blood by-products are filtered out by the kidneys and leave the body in the form of urine.

To keep your liver healthy, you need to eat the right foods.

Avocado

Avos are rich in fibre and packed with healthy fats. They produce a powerful antioxidant called glutathione which helps with the removal of harmful toxins from the body.

Garlic

Garlic helps your liver activate enzymes to flush out toxins. It also has the compounds allicin and selenium that assist the liver to detoxify.

Apples

Apples have high levels of the chemical pectin. This substance helps the body cleanse and release toxins from the digestive tract.

Grapefruit

This fruit is packed with Vitamin C and other antioxidants that protect your liver. They help reduce inflammation and prevent cell damage.

Grapes

Studies show that grapes and grapeseed extract protect the liver from damage, while also increasing antioxidant levels and fighting inflammation.

Fatty fish

Fatty fish are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. They’re healthy fats that reduce inflammation and have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease and blood pressure

Vegetables

Veggies like broccoli and cauliflower contain glucosinolate, which helps the liver make detoxifying enzymes. They also contain sulphur compounds that keep your liver healthy. Leafy vegetables contain good amounts of chlorophyll to help filter toxins out of the bloodstream and neutralise heavy metals.

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Sauna: the hot new therapy for a healthy heart

Age is an uncontrollable risk factor for cardiovascular heart disease, unlike risk factors like smoking, drinking alcohol and a lack of exercise.

Now, new studies have shown that a sauna a few times a week could help stave off heart health problems in older people, even amongst those who are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Heat for heart health

In a 15-year study of approximately 1 600 men and women aged between 53 and 74 in Finland, it was found that just 181 people succumbed to heart-related illnesses. The study concluded that the more saunas the individuals in the group took, the lower their risk of heart disease.

The sauna is a cultural institution in Finland but is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide. Unlike other types of sauna, like the hot, humid Turkish sauna, the Finnish version is very hot and dry. These saunas are wood-lined rooms heated by stones on a stove. An occasional splash of water over the stones produces steam in an internal temperature of around 100°C.

It’s the heat that seems to be key in the sauna’s benefit to heart health. In one study, participants’ pulse rates increased by 30%, causing the heart to pump almost twice the volume of blood it would normally do at rest. This increase in heart rate is similar to what would occur during moderate intensity exercise.

Other studies have shown that sauna therapy is associated with a reduction in high blood pressure and a lower risk of stroke and cognitive decline, again supporting the concept of improved heart health.

Get the best out of sauna therapy

Evidence suggests that the frequency of using a sauna is closely linked to the risk of heart disease. People who used the sauna more than four times a week, and those who sauna-bathed for more than 45 minutes a week showed a significant reduction in their risk of fatal cardiovascular disease-related events. Furthermore, those people who exercised regularly and used a sauna had a significantly lower risk of dying from heart disease than people who didn’t exercise regularly and used a sauna.

There were some underlying factors that could have improved the study outcomes:

  • Sauna baths are inherently relaxing, so lowering stress levels could be an additional factor to consider.
  • Sauna baths are also accessible across the board to all Finns, so the socioeconomic risk factor ­– poverty – associated with cardiovascular disease did not apply.

Sauna safety

Dashing off immediately to the sauna might seem tempting, but it’s always best to check with your doctor before you start any sort of activity that affects your heart. If you’re already fit, there should be no problem, but some conditions may exempt you from sauna therapy. If you have fluctuating blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, unstable angina and advanced heart failure or heart valve disease, sauna therapy may not be for you.

If you can and do sauna, here are some tips to help make the most of the experience:

  • Don’t drink alcohol before, after or during your sauna
  • Keep to a reasonable time limit: 15 to 20 minutes is enough.
  • Don’t cool down too fast. This puts your circulatory system under considerable stress.
  • Stay hydrated: quench your thirst with a few glasses of water after each sauna.
  • Try to sauna at least four times a week, or for 45 minutes a week.
  • Listen to your body. If you aren’t feeling well, skip the sauna.

References:

How to keep worms out of your stomach

The thought of having a parasite crawling around in your body can be quite scary, but you’re not alone; parasites are more common than you think.

Parasites are animals or plants that can only survive by living in another plant or animal. Parasites vary in size and type and feed off different things. There are several parasites that, if left unmanaged, can cause health problems.

How do you get parasites?

Some live off the food you eat and mainly exist in your digestive tract. Other parasites attach themselves anywhere on the body and feed on the nutrients and energy from your cells. Common parasites include roundworms, tapeworms, pinworms, whipworms and hookworms. Some eat your food, leaving you hungry after every meal. You may notice you’re losing weight without even trying! Others feed off your red blood cells which can cause anaemia. Some lay eggs that trigger irritation, and itching. You can also get parasites from:

  • Drinking contaminated water.
  • Eating foods from contaminated soil.
  • Being in contact with contaminated faeces.
  • Poor sanitation.
  • Poor hygiene.
  • A bug bite.
  • Sexual contact.

Prevention

Parasites and germs need three things:

  1. An environment or source to live.
  2. An animal or person to carry it around.
  3. A host: which is the person or animal that gets infected with the germ or parasite and gets sick.

Lower your risk of contracting a parasitic infection:

  • Wash your hands regularly, especially after handling uncooked food or faeces.
  • Always use a condom during sex.
  • Cook food up to its recommended temperature.
  • Drink clean water.
  • Avoid swallowing water from lakes, streams, or ponds.
  • Avoid cat litter and faeces when you’re pregnant.

Change your diet

Both fibre and probiotics are important to keep your bowel movements regular and help empty out parasites from your intestines. Yoghurt is a good source of probiotics, while fresh vegetables, wholegrains and nuts are your best choice of fibre. In addition:

  • Go easy on sugar and fat.
  • Cook all meat thoroughly.
  • Wash fresh vegetables carefully.
  • Wash your hands before and after using the toilet.
  • Wear gloves when gardening or working with soil.
  • Deworm your pets regularly and handle kitty litter with gloves.

Treatment

Your doctor will prescribe medication depending on the type of parasitic infection  They might also include :

  • A blood test.
  • An exam where a sample of your stool will be checked for parasites and their eggs.
  • X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or computerised axial tomography (CAT): These scans are used to check for signs of injury to your organs caused by parasites.

Your doctor may also do tests to check for bacteria or other things that cause infections.

References