Osteoporosis Prevention: Could a Low-Acid Diet Help?

When we think about maintaining strong bones, we automatically think calcium, but a low-acid diet built around fruits and vegetables might be beneficial, too.

In her book Building Bone Vitality, University of North Carolina Assistant Professor of Health and Wellness Amy Lanou, PhD, tells us lowering your body's acidity is as important as getting enough calcium. That's not the acid in foods, but the acid level in your body as regulated by the foods you eat, with animal proteins at the high-acid end, and fruits and vegetables at the low acid, or alkaline end.

Eating less protein from acid-producing meat and cheese products, and more alkaline-forming fruits and vegetables in your overall diet can stop your body from leaching the calcium out of your bones. Keeping calcium in the bones where it belongs prevents osteoporosis and decreases the need for more calcium in the diet. She stresses that the overall dietary pattern is more important than what she calls the "single-nutrient approach" for bone health.

Help With Sleeping Problems - Insomnia Help

Those seeking help with sleeping problems can find a safe and healthy answer to their prayers with certain types of audio therapy. Not all kinds are effective, such as hypnotic or subliminal suggestion messages embedded in a soundtrack. These just prove very ineffective. However, there are other types of listening therapies which train the brain to fall into a sleep.

The science behind how this works is simple. To illustrate, think of how a long drive down a lonely stretch of road can affect the motorist. As his heartbeat attunes itself to the "beat" of the passing segments of broken white line in the road as he passes over them, this can cause him to become dangerously drowsy. It's relatively the same cause and effect at work here. To use this in a positive manner, it can greatly help with sleeping problems.

Osteoporosis Drugs May Extend Life

Recently, bisphosphonates have been the target of controversy regarding increased risk of thigh fractures with extended use. New work by Australian scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research may only add to the confusion over the common osteoporosis drugs.

HealthNews.com explains the details of the new Australian study, which uses data from a long-range study of people living in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. According to HealthNews:

The study followed a group of 2,042 seniors, aged 60 and older, who were living in the city of Dubbo in New South Wales, and who were being treated for osteoporosis. Among the group were 1,223 and women and 819 men.

Beta Blockers and Exercise

Beta blockers are medication drugs that affect the heart condition. Read this article and know about beta blockers and exercise modifications, that one must make when one is taking them.

Intake of beta blockers and exercise constraints are related. The rate, intensity and effectiveness of exercise depend on the heart rate and blood flow. Consumption of beta blockers substantially affects the working of a heart. That is why there are effects of beta blockers on exercise. Let us see some beta blocker facts and understand the relation between beta blockers and exercise, as well as metabolic constraints induced by it.

Packing a Punch With Vitamin D

We've known for decades what vitamin D can do for your bones. Kids who don't get enough vitamin D get rickets. Adults who are deficient in D also can develop brittle, misshapen bones.

In this job, vitamin D is cast in a supporting role; its main function is ensuring calcium is absorbed into the bones and muscles.

But it turns out we might have been selling D short.

An avalanche of research over the past few years suggests vitamin D might play a role in preventing other diseases, independent of calcium:

A Harvard study of more than 30,000 women published in May found premenopausal women with the highest vitamin D intake had 35 percent less breast cancer than those getting the least vitamin D.

Health Insurance Plans - Benefits to Different Plans & Providers

Health insurance plans vary in their coverage and prices. The more coverage offered, the higher the premiums. This doesn’t mean that the lowest premium is the cheapest. If you have to pay many out-of-pocket medical expenses, you could be paying more than if you had gone with a higher premium plan. Different plans benefit different people.

Fee For Service

Fee-for-service health insurance policies are the most common. You pay the medical bill and then you are reimbursed by the health insurance provider. You will also typically have co-pays and deductibles.

Prices range widely with these types of policies - the higher the co-pays and deductibles, the lower the monthly premiums.

Pneumonia

Understanding the many forms of pneumonia

Pneumonia is an umbrella term for a viral, fungal or bacterial infection of the lungs. It is one of the most common lung infections, affecting close to three million people per year in the United States alone. It is also one of the most serious lung infections, causing over 5 percent of those three million people to die. However, pneumonia is rarely serious if it is caught and treated early. Here are some signs and symptoms to look for if you suspect you have pneumonia.

Pneumonia Causes and Symptoms

You may be wondering, "Is pneumonia contagious?" The answer is yes. Pneumonia is transmitted through droplets in the air that are expelled from an infected person's lungs when they cough or sneeze. These droplets, invisible to the eye, then get breathed in by others, potentially infecting them with the disease.

Kidney sales considered in Singapore

Singapore's health minister, Khaw Boon Wan, says his city-state could become the second country in the world -- after Iran -- to allow the sale of live kidneys for transplant.

"We should not reject any idea just because it is radical or controversial. We may be able to find an acceptable way to allow a meaningful compensation for some living, unrelated kidney donors without breaching ethical principles or hurting the sensitivities of others."

The Singapore Medical Association has come out against the idea. Professor A. Vathsala, director of adult renal transplantation program at Singapore's National University Hospital, says the practice is wrong.