Dangers of homeopathy

I've already written about homeopathy and outlined how ineffective it is. Now, I'll try to describe the dangers of homeopathy, which can also be applied to other forms of alternative medicine.

Homeopathic remedies have no physiological effects on humans or on any other living being. Their alleged effectiveness is just placebo effect. By themselves, homeopathic remedies pose no danger, they are pure water or other inert substance, unless they are contaminated. Alternative medicine can even be beneficial in some cases, such as for example pain relief. It is better to rely on placebo effect to suppress the pain than solely on pain medications.

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Author: David Stanley; File Source: Flickr


The danger comes in cases of severe illness when patients may delay visiting real doctor and getting real treatments or even decide to rely on solely alternative medicine. This is real problem. Homeopathy and alternative medicine in general are getting increasing popularity worldwide. It is all to easy in today's world to put together a website and start advertising some fake products.

This is one example of those. They claim that poisonings by toxic metals can be cured with homeopathy. These poisonings can be very serious and potentially life threatening. Homeopathy can do nothing to help and if a patient decides to take homeopathic approach instead of going to a real doctor the consequences can be grave. Unfortunately there are thousands of websites like this and the most unscrupulous ones even claim that modern medicine is some sort of big conspiracy designed to make us sick.

Homeopathy actually kills people. Whatstheharm.net has a list of more than 400 people who died because they used homeopathic treatment instead of real medicine. Most of those people are adults, but sadly, there are many children and babies on the list, all of whom died because their parents failed to use their brains.

Anti-vaxxers keep polio alive

Poliomyelitis or polio is a viral infectious disease which is spread from person to person usually via fecal-to-oral route. Most of the infections produce no symptoms, but in about 1% of the cases the virus causes flaccid paralysis. Muscles can become so weakened that an infected individual may be unable to breathe on their own and must be placed in an iron lung. 1% may not seem like much, but polio virus spreads easily and can infect large number of people.

Polio was very rare before industrialization because the absence of proper sanitation meant that children would be exposed to the virus from fecal matter in very young age and most of them developed the immunity. This was a kind of natural vaccination. Polio became widespread threat in the first half of 20th century. Fortunately in 1950s two kinds of vaccine were developed.

Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) contains dead virus which cannot lead to infection. It is given by injection into the muscle tissue. Vaccinated individual is cannot develop poliomyelitis, but can still carry polio virus in his/her gut flora and therefore can spread it. Oral polio vaccine (OPV) is designed to immunize recipients gut against polio virus and it stops the spread of the virus completely. It contains weakened form of virus, which unfortunately can lead to paralysis in 1:2 700 000 cases. So, the side effect is very rare and it is certainly better than the odds of 1:200 for developing paralysis in the case of real infection. The small risk of developing vaccine-associated polio paralysis (VAPP) can be circumvented if IPV is administered before OPV.

This kind of regimen eliminated polio from Israel in 1990s, but unfortunately, in 2005 the OPV vaccine was dropped and in 2013 polio virus was once again being detected in sewers all over Israel. Children of up to 9 years old were carriers of the virus. This meant that individuals with weakened or compromised immune systems were are risk of being infected. HIV patients, people with auto-immune diseases or transplanted organs, elderly and babies were all at risk.

The solution to this problem was quite straight forward - administer OPV to all the children born after 2005. There was no risk of VAPP since they all have received IPV. It would have been effective had it not been for the human ignorance. After the start of campaign anti-vaccine activist, mostly from US began their mission of spreading fear, lies and ignorance. Freedom of speech is one of our most sacred rights, but when a group of uneducated and not very smart people set their minds on something the results can be devastating.

In the end, after fierce online battles between anti-vaxxers and people who actually use their brains, 60% of children in Israel received OPV. The result if far from perfect, but it greatly reduced the number of carriers. You can read more about it here.

To me personally it is amazing how such stupid, unreasonable ideas get spread and how certain people can disregard science, logic and common sense and come up with ridiculous pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Einstein was right, human ignorance is really endless.

No good evidence in support of flossing

Proper oral hygiene is important for oral health. Minutes after eating plaques start to form on our teeth and bacteria fueled by the carbohydrates from food begin to multiply. If left unchecked they will eventually start degrading tooth surface. Toothbrush is good for removing most of the plaque and bacteria, but it cannot reach the area between the teeth. Those tight spaces can only be reached by a thin thread of dental floss.

Therefore it has been assumed that flossing, along with brushing, is very important, but in fact, the serious scientific evidence in support of the flossing does not exist. There have been only 12 trial comparing flossing to just brushing. According to Cochrane Collaboration review there is a possible small reduction in plaque, but the evidence is weak. There isn't any single long-term study that shows reduction in tooth decay. Flossing does help with gingivitis, but only by 8%.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you should stop flossing, it only means that more studies are needed.

Antibacterial soap

Antibacterial soaps are a perfect example how marketing experts can misuse science in order to promote a product that is ineffective and even harmful. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t use antibacterial soaps and other antibacterial products.

Most of the liquid antibacterial soaps and about a third of solid ones contain a broad spectrum antibiotic called triclosan. For a long time it has been assumed that triclosan in safe for humans, but new studies have shown that in larger doses it can cause sex hormone imbalance, worse allergies and other immune hypersensitivity disorders and even weaken cardiac and skeletal muscles. These studies used high doses, but it should be noted that being constantly exposed to this chemical may have cumulative effects.

The other problem with antibacterial soaps is that they lead to resistant bacteria. When you are washing your hands you can never kill all of the bacteria, no chemical can do that. Bacteria that have acquired resistance through some genetic mutations will pass on those genes to next generations. This is the problem with all antibiotics, not just triclosan and because of this antibiotics should only be used when necessary, not for everyday hand washing.

The third problem with is that antibacterial soaps are usually only mildly better than regular soaps when it comes to getting rid of bacteria from our hands. It is important to point out that soap is only one part of the equation. The manner of drying hands can significantly enhance or counteract the effects of washing. Moist towels are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and hot air dryers can accumulate dust and gunk that can also contain a lot of germs.

The conclusion is – don’t use antibacterial soaps, use clean towels (or clean your air dryer) and don’t worry too much about bacteria, that is, don't let TV commercials scare you.

Reflexology – just another quackery

Reflexology, a form of alternative medicine, is a practice of massaging – applying pressure on specific areas of body, usually feet and hands, by which practitioner can diagnose and cure all sorts of diseases and problems. Like any other form of alternative medicine it is not backed by science and it doesn’t actually work.

Reflexology, also called zone therapy, maps the whole body on the feet and hands, each organ has a corresponding zone on one foot/hand or both feet/hands.  Body is divided in ten longitudinal zones, 5 on each side. Anatomically speaking this is nonsense because no such zones/pathways exist in our bodies. Reflexologists claim that by feeling specific zones on feet/hands can diagnose diseases and that by massaging hands/feet they can increase the flow of energy, cleanse toxins, cure hair loss, etc. None of these claims have been backed by clinical trials and it is perfectly safe to assume that reflexology doesn’t work, along with other similar practices such as Vacuflex or Vita Flex.

Reflexology is not recognized by law in any country (correct me if I’m wrong) and the consequence of this is that there is no formal training. Therefore anyone can practice reflexology and anyone can call oneself a reflexologist.

All that there is to reflexology is placebo effect. Foot massages feel good and the most likely reason for that is the fact that area of the brain that controls the feet is adjacent to the area which controls genitals. There could even be some neuronal overlapping between these areas.

Image source - Wikipedia.

Things you should know about cooling down with a beer

It is now summer in northern hemisphere and many of us like getting a cold beer on hot days. Beer tastes good and having a cold beer really feels nice when it’s boiling hot outside. Furthermore, alcohol increases peripheral blood flow, which might help you cool down a bit, although it might make you feel warmer for a while. There is one thing though, all the alcoholic beverages dehydrate your body.

According to Dr Karl from ABC any given amount of beer will make you produce 60% more urine than the amount you just drank. For example 200 ml beer will produce 320 ml of urine output. This urine comes from the water already present in your body. The same is true for any other alcoholic beverage. This happens because the alcohol decreases the production of a hormone called anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) which has the effect of increasing the production of urine. Even if we would drink plenty of water together or after drinking alcohol we would still end up dehydrated.

I’m not trying to tell you to stop drinking beer, far from it. You should just keep in mind that alcohol makes you lose water and drinking large amounts of it during very hot days when your body needs plenty of sweat can lead to dangerous situations. Ideally, you should drink water during the day and save the beer for the evening.

Homeopathy works, but not really

Despite the lack of any credible scientific evidence that homeopathy has any real effects on human body, thousands, if not millions people swear by it. They all claim that homeopathy helped them with all sorts of problems. While there are certainly a lot of people who are simply lying in order to promote homeopathic treatments, there are ones who are genuinely and honestly convinced that homeopathy helped them.

So, how to explain this? The answer is simple – placebo. All the positive effects of homeopathy come from placebo effects – in short, if we believe that something will help us it does help (in a way). Placebo effect also explains alleged effectiveness of other forms of alternative medicine.

For a long time scientists were dismissing placebo effect as a figment of patient’s imaginations, however, in recent time it became evident that there is something more to the placebo. Our minds have great deal of influence on our physical well being and by tricking the mind into thinking that we are getting real treatment we are indeed making ourselves better. Science has proven that placebo drugs can act as pain killers, improve asthma, treat Osteoarthritis, etc.

There are two aspects of placebo effect of greater interest when it comes to homeopathy and other forms of alternative medicine. According to Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University, effectiveness of placebo is greatly influenced by the cost of the treatment. Expensive treatments work better than cheaper ones. The other thing is that treatments which include elaborate rituals work better than simpler ones. This is all simple psychology really, if something is good it has to cost a lot of money and involve a lot of work.

Think about this – what is more logical: the fact that some centuries old shenanigans of infinitely diluting some weird substances really works, despite what all of our modern science says, or that all there is to it is just placebo effect?

Source - emedexpert.com

The most damaging drug

All recreational drugs have certain negative effects on our bodies, but not all drugs are the same. Different drugs have varying effects, some are more harmful than others. All of the drugs are damaging to our societies in various ways and again the extent of damage depends on the type of drug.

In 2010 researchers led by Professor David Nutt, former chief drug advisor of the British government, asked drug experts to rank 20 legal and illegal drugs on measures of harm to the user and to the society, such as damage to the health, addiction, economic costs, crime, etc. Drugs were given a score from 0 to 100.

Now, try guessing which is the most damaging drug. Heroin? Cocaine? Crack? If these were your guesses you were wrong. According to this research alcohol creates the most damage to the society and it is fourth most damaging drug to the user. See the chart.

Although this study was done in the UK and the situation in other countries might be different, it shows how dangerous alcohol is. I’m not advocating prohibition or any kind of bans, because they are always counter-productive, but this is something we should keep in mind. Alcohol is widely available, easily obtainable and the border between casual use and overuse (abuse) is often very thin.

Drink responsibly or don’t drink at all.

Coca Cola - bladder cancer

Coca Cola and many other soft drinks are really bad for us. Here’s is another reason why you should avoid the  - Coca Cola significantly increases the risk of developing bladder cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society 70 000 adults in the US are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year and more then 14 000 people die each year. Older adults and men are at higher risk of getting this type of cancer, but team of scientists at the University of Birmingham has found, after conducting study on 900 people, that Coca Cola and other soft drinks, when consumed regularly, significantly increase the risk of developing cancer. Caffeine seems to be the chief culprit here because it interferes with the body’s ability to destroy cancerous cells.

Source - Live Strong

Don't drink Coca Cola, it's bad for you

Coca Cola is a soft drink sold in entire world. It is produced by a very powerful and rich corporation which has one of the best marketing experts on the planet. This is the only way to explain how not-to-tasty drink with numerous  detrimental effects is still being produced and consumed around the world.

Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup and BVO are well documented and widely discussed, so I’ll skip them here. I’ll focus on something that’s relatively unknown.

Coca Cola softens the bones and it can cause Esophageal cancer.

Calcium gives strength to our bones, without it, our bones would be bendy and unable to hold their structure. Calcium is also vital for muscle and brain functions. Coca cola leeches calcium out of our bodies in two different ways. First, phosphoric acid directly binds calcium. Second: there is a three stage process - 1) Carbonation causes irritation of stomach, 2) Stomach uses calcium as an antacid to combat the irritation and 3) because stomach has used calcium from blood and the levels of calcium have dropped, our body must get calcium from somewhere in order to function properly and the only available source at this time is in our bones.

If esophagus is exposed to acid reflux for long periods of time, the damage inflicted to the cells of esophageal wall can be so great that they turn cancerous.  Esophageal cancer is particularly dangerous form of cancer, five year survival rates are only about 13%.

Coca Cola and other carbonated drinks increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer by causing regurgitation which forces acidic stomach content up and into esophagus. In this way the lower esophagus is constantly bathed in stomach acid and since esophageal lining is not resistant to acid the cells get damaged.

Think about this when you grab a bottle of Coca Cola next time.

Diet to lower cholesterol

When people refer to the cholesterol they are usually talking about LDL – low density lipoprotein, or the bad cholesterol. It is bad because high levels of it lead to atheroscleroris (thickening of arterial walls, which reduces the blood flow) which is one of the primary causes of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is important that LDL is kept under control.

Fortunately LDL can be lowered by 10-20% just by making some diet changes. National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP for short) sets guidelines for what is called TLC diet, TLC stands for Total Lifestyle Change. The key to this diet is to reduce or eliminate consumption of “bad” fats, saturated and trans-fats. This diet is quite simple to follow.

Red meat should be eaten as little as possible, no more than 35 ounces per week. Instead of red meat you should eat more fish. Vegetables and fruit should make up significant part of your diet. Use low fat dairy products.

When cooking, don’t use butter, margarine, lard or any other shortenings reach in saturated or trans-fats. Use liquid cooking oils instead, such as canola, olive, peanut, soybean or sunflower oils. Avoid mayonnaise, creams and other fatty seasonings, use herbs and spices instead.

Eat whole grain breads. Don’t eat too much sweets, try to avoid processed (factory made) sweets at all cost. Choose fruit or vegetables for your snack.

To get better effects, this diet should be combined with exercise. Diet change alone won’t do you much good if all you do is sit on the couch.

Garlic is good for you

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a bulbous plant native to central Asia. It has been used by humans for 7000 years. Over the ages garlic has been attributed with many healing properties. According to various folk tales garlic can cure everything from common cold to plague. Although many of these claims are far from truth, garlic still has many health benefits.

Author: Rebecca Siegel; File source: Flickr

Published under Creative Commons

The two primary ingredients with medicinal properties are allicin and diallyl sulphides. These latter sulfurous compounds are what gives the garlic its smell. Those cultivars of garlic with very little smell have very little of these healthy compounds. In other words, stinky garlic is a lot better.

Studies have shown that consumption of garlic reduces accumulation of cholesterol on vascular walls of animals and in humans. Also, garlic reduces aortic plaques. Another benefit of eating garlic is reduced platelet aggregation and garlic helps with hyperlipidemia.

Garlic may not be able to cure common cold or flu, but it is a powerful natural antibiotic. What’s more important, the bacteria don’t seem to develop resistance to the garlic, so, unlike antibiotics garlic is not a temporary solution that breeds superbugs.

Garlic, especially the aged one has powerful antioxidative effects. Antioxidants are important because they help our body protect itself against free radicals. Allegedly, garlic can help with the regulation of blood sugar, but people who take insulin should not consume large amounts of garlic without consulting their doctors.

With all these health benefits in mind it is obvious that we should eat more garlic, if only our culture wasn’t so obsessed with garlic breath. Personally, I don’t mind if person I’m talking to has just eaten a pound of garlic, I just don’t find this smell displeasing. In fact, I would say that garlic breath is a lot nicer than some perfumes. I hope that there are more people like me.

Homeopathy - what does water remember?

Homeopathy is nothing but quackery. It is a practice designed to relieve you from you money without actually doing any good to you (if we discount the placebo effect). So far there hasn’t been any solid scientific proof that homeopathy works, despite the prize of million dollars offered by James Randi to anyone who could prove otherwise. The main problem here is that solid science can’t do much to change people’s minds when it comes to homeopathy. For that reason, it might be better to examine the origins of homeopathy instead.

It all begun with Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), a physician from Germany who was appalled by medical practices from his day, such as leeching and bloodletting. Quite understandably he began to seek alternative therapies.  The word “homeopathy” is derived from two Greek words, homoisos (meaning similar) and pathos (disease). Hahnemann’s basic idea was that the symptoms of a disease can be cured by very small amounts of substances which cause similar effect in healthy people when taken in large amounts. He claimed that diseases are disturbances in body’s self healing abilities and chronic diseases are manifestations of a suppressed itch, which is a kind of miasma or evil spirit. In the beginning Hahnemann used small doses of medications, but later he started diluting them enormously and he claimed that the lower the dose the more powerful the effect. Today we call this the “law of infinitesimals”.

We know now that 18 century medicine didn’t have very good understanding of physiology and these kinds of claims look ridiculous. We also know that the dose response is completely opposite of what Hahnemann claimed. Another crucial information that he lacked was that all matter is composed out of atoms and molecules. Years later, when the structure of matter was discovered it was possible to calculate the number of molecules in a given amount of substance and the calculations proved that those “highly potent” homeopathic meds that are diluted beyond any reason don’t actually contain a single molecule of the active substance. By that time homeopathy was already well established business and in order to keep it running, the protagonists of homeopathy came up with “memory effect”.

According to this ridiculous notion, that wasn’t even mentioned before the existence of molecules was known, water “remembers” what has been put into it and it miraculously keeps those “healing powers”.

Now, consider this – “highly potent” homeopathic dilutions are more diluted than the solution you would get by placing a drop of some substance in the World Ocean. In other words all the water on this planet is not enough to give you the level of dilution found in homeopathic drugs (that is why they dilute in steps, up to 30 steps for those “potent” drugs). If the water really “remembers” that active substance then it should also “remember” many other things. So, do you believe that the water you just drank “remembered” the content of your toilet from several years ago? If you believe in homeopathy and the memory of water, you must believe this too.

Bacteria and fungi in gyms

Exercise is essential for your well being and if you care for your health you go to gym regularly, unless you have some other form of exercise. Gyms are great places for keeping your body in good shape; however there are some dangers there as well.

Gyms often attract a lot of people and that could mean bacteria and other pathogens. People are often in contact with various surfaces such as benches, floors, showers, etc. All of these surfaces can contain bacteria. This is especially true for porous surfaces, such as floor mats or bench padding.

Sweat that drips from everyone’s bodies can contain bacteria and fungi and the moist environment that it creates is ideal for further development of fungi. Fungi that cause athlete’s foot are very common in gyms.

Luckily it is quite easy to protect ourselves from these things – just make sure that you avoid having physical contact between your skin and various surfaces. Wear socks and gloves and cover benches with a clean towel.

On the other hand, mold could be more dangerous. Many gyms have molds in the ceiling. These molds can easily form from moisture from saunas, people’s breaths and sweat and after they have established themselves in the ceiling they generate millions of tiny spores that can infect our lungs. There is no easy way to protect yourself from this threat; you can’t really wear a gas mask in a gym. So, if your gym has mold in the ceiling, complain to the manager, or change the gym.

How to remove ticks

Ticks are small parasitic insects commonly found in grassy areas during spring and summer. Ticks live by attaching themselves to a host (humans or animals) and sucking blood. Ticks are stealthy animals, most of the time you can’t feel one walking over you, or even biting your skin. I had many ticks in my life and I felt one biting me only once, probably because it was a monster of a tick. They also have very powerful jaws which makes them hard to remove. It may be interesting to note that ticks don’t have an anus. They don’t produce feces. My biology teacher used to say that this is because blood is the perfect food.

Ticks could be very dangerous because they transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. There is no way to tell whether the tick that attached itself to your skin is carrying any of these diseases or not, so it is important to treat every tick as a dangerous one. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the tick is removed properly. Improper removal or usage of various fold remedies makes the tick regurgitate the contents of its bowels back into our bloodstream.

First line of defense is prevention. Ticks rarely attach immediately after climbing onto our bodies. Most of the time they walk around, up to 24 hours, searching for a good place to bite down. This gives you plenty of time to search your body and you clothes for ticks after you return home from a walk in the park or some other grassy area. Just make sure to search thoroughly, turn your clothes upside down and look in every nook and cranny. It is best to do this while standing in a bathtub.

Let’s see now what you should never do if a tick actually attaches itself on your skin. Virtually all the folk remedies that make the tick fall off, such as kerosene, diesel, gas, dish soap, etc. will make the tick regurgitate into your blood stream before it dies. If it has any pathogens they will go straight into you. The same is true for using fire, sticky tape, wax and other things.

The only right way to remove a tick is to pull it out with tweezers, but this must be done in a way that the tick’s abdomen is not squeezed. You must use tweezers designed for tick removal (can be bought in drug stores). Only they are narrow enough to enable you to grab the tick just by its thorax. This is the part of the tick that is closest to your skin and that has legs attached to it. Abdomen is the big round or shriveled thing at the back of the tick, behind its legs. If you squeeze the abdomen it will just squirt its contents into your bloodstream.

If all this sounds too complicated seek medical help.

Sunburns, remedies that work and those that don't

With the winter behind us and the days becoming longer and warmer we are going to see more and more sunburns. How can this condition be treated, what remedies work and what don’t and most importantly, how can this be prevented?

Sunburn is not much different from any other thermal injury, like a burn on a hot stove. It causes pain, makes the skin red and may even produce blisters. Redness is what medical professionals call first degree burn. If there are blisters then it is a second degree burn. These conditions can be serious if they involve large areas of the body, but sunburns are usually localized.

First of all I must point out that sunburns are 100% preventable. More importantly they should always be prevented. Pain and discomfort will only last a while, but each sunburn damages the skin permanently. Each sunburn will cause your skin to age prematurely and each sunburn increases the risk of developing skin cancer. So, wear a large brimmed hat, long sleeved shirts, long pants/skirts, use sun screen and most importantly avoid being exposed to the sun when it is high in the sky. Don’t go out in the middle of the day.

Now, what to do if you get sunburn? First of all, cool down the burnt area. Use compresses soaked in cold water. Pain can be alleviated with some ibuprofen or Tylenol. Hydrocortisone cream can help, especially if it was cooled down in a fridge. If you have blisters LEAVE THEM ALONE. Piercing or popping blisters will only make matters worse.

There are countless folk remedies for sunburn that simply don’t work, or even worsen the condition. Mentioning them all in one article is impossible, so I’ll just name a few.

Food products: tomato juice, potato slices, mayonnaise, mustard, milk, honey, vinegar, eggs, butter, cooking oil, etc
Medications: hydrogen peroxide, vitamins, alcohol, milk of magnesia, shaving cream, toothpaste, etc
Others: bleach (oh, my God), whiskey, vodka, laundry detergent

Treating insect bites at home

Although insect bites can cause severe allergic reactions or transmit diseases (such as Lyme disease or malaria), most of them are quite harmless, but even then they can be very inconvenient.  Some insect bites cause pain and others cause itchiness. These ‘minor’ symptoms do not require medical attention and they can be alleviated with some readily available home remedies.

Bee stings are usually painful, wasp stings even more so. When a bee stings a person it leaves its sting in our skin and the sting continues to pump the venom from its attached venom sack. The first thing that one should do is to remove the sting. This step is simple, grab it with your fingers and pull it out. At this point it could be useful to pinch the part of the stung part of the skin, this may help squeeze out some of the venom. The stung area should be then treated with a paste made of baking soda and water. Some people claim that vinegar also helps. If these remedies are not available some cold water or even mud can help. Be aware that bee stings (no pun intended) can cause allergic reactions in certain people which range from mild to life threatening. Mild reaction could include itchiness on the spot of the sting or over wider areas of the body and severe reactions include narrowing of the throat which can cause suffocation. People with such strong allergic reactions should carry an EpiPen.

Insects such as mosquitoes, fleas and others usually cause itchiness on the point of bite. When these insects bite down they release blood thinning chemicals that stop blood from coagulating while they are sucking it. These chemicals along with dirt, bacteria and other contaminants make our bodies release histamine at the point of bite and this is what causes itchiness. Common remedies for this include cold water and ice, but there is another approach that I find more effective and that is hot water. Hot water causes increase release of histamine, but after a while the level of histamine will drop sharply. When I have an itchy bite I pour hot water over it. I use water that is almost scalding. For a few seconds the offended area itches like hell, but then it suddenly stops itching. This effect lasts at least 2 or 3 hours.

Most of the insect bites can easily be treated, but prevention is even better, so try not to get bitten.

Piles, prevention and management

Few years ago I had a minor case of piles and I’m going to tell you my experience of this painful and disturbing condition.

Hemorrhoids are vascular structures in the anal canal. They act as a cushion of arterio-venous channels and connective tissue which helps with stool control. They may become swollen or inflamed and this condition is called piles.

When I was preparing for an exam few years ago I was spending up to16 hours a day sitting in an uncomfortable chair and I ate mostly junk food. Several days of this regimen gave me a small but painful external hemorrhoid. I could feel dull pain all day long which got worse if I was trying to sit upright. The worse thing was that this pain would surge at least several times per night and I would wake up with a jump.

Now, if you are experiencing similar symptoms it is very important to get checked up by a doctor. There are several serious conditions that have symptoms similar to piles, such as cancer. Only a trained medical professional can tell the difference.

Back then I did a lot of research online and what everyone said is that the main reason for piles is increase intra-abdominal pressure. This is primarily caused by straining to pass the stool and this is the number one thing to look after. You need to stop straining. So, the first thing to do is to make sure you stool is easy to pass. Change your diet to include plenty of fiber and vegetables. Stay off from refined sugars, processed foods, fried potatoes, rice and other things that make your stool hard. The next important thing is the posture of your body when you pass the stool. Piles are quite rare in countries where squat toilets are used. It is much easier to pass the stool when you are squatting. If you have to use the toilet try to bend as much as you can, bring your chin down to your knees and relax. Do not read newspapers! The more upright you are the harder it is to pass the stool. Finally avoid sitting on uncomfortable chairs or sitting for very long periods of time, get plenty of exercise.

By following these advices I got rid of piles in five days.

Risk of Pancreatic Cancer increased by charred meat

According to the American Association for Cancer Research meat cooked at high heat, to the point of charring or burning could increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. This finding was linked to consumption of well and very well done meats prepared by grilling, frying or barbecuing according to Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Meat cooked in this way contains carcinogens that are not present in meat that is baked or stewed.

A prospective analysis was conducted by Anderson and colleagues which included 62 581 participants. She said, "My research has been focused on pancreatic cancer for some time, and we want to identify ways to prevent this cancer because treatments are very limited and the cancer is often rapidly fatal". After nine years the research identified 208 cases of pancreatic cancer. Meat cooked at high temperatures was generally linked with an increase risk. Subjects who liked very well done steak were nearly 60% as likely to get pancreatic cancer that those who consumed steak less well done or didn’t eat steak at all. Those with highest consumption had 70% higher risk than those with the lowest intake.

According to Anderson those who enjoy fried or barbecued meat should turn down the heat or cut off charred portions. Meat should be cooked sufficiently to kill bacteria without excess burning. Precursors of carcinogenic compounds could be reduced further by microwaving the meat for a few minutes and discarding the juices before cooking it on the grill.

Electronic cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes devices designed to deliver nicotine vapor to a person without combustion of tobacco. They look and feel like regular cigarettes, but they don’t produce any smoke. The nicotine is drawn from cartridge and vaporized by the vaporizer unit. What smokers inhale through the mouthpiece is nicotine and water vapor.  Cartridges can be refilled and the battery of the vaporizer unit can be recharged via USB port or a dedicated charger similar to the one that mobile phones use.

There are several benefits to electronic cigarettes. First of all smokers and the people around them are not exposed to many toxic substances found in tobacco smoke. There is no carbon-monoxide, tar and eye-stinging smoke. The second important advantage is that the level of nicotine can be controlled. This makes electronic cigarettes ideal for smokers who are trying to quit. The level of nicotine can gradually be reduced so that the person does not experience physical withdrawal. There are minor benefits as well: nicotine refill or replacement cartridges are often cheaper than traditional cigarettes. Because there is no amber, electronic cigarettes are not a fire risk. There is less waste involved in using electronic cigarettes, smokers don’t discard butts each time.

However, it must be pointed out that electronic cigarettes are not safe products. Nicotine is an addictive drug with many adverse effects on human body. The behavioral characteristics of nicotine addiction are similar to those of heroin and cocaine, nicotine is carcinogenic substance and it can cause birth defects.

So, electronic cigarettes are good for people who are trying to quit smoking, or for die hard tobacco addicts, but don’t think that you can use them without any side effects.

Sugar vs. Fat

People often ask whether diet that contains lots of sugars is better or worse than the diet with plenty of fat. The answer is not straight forward.

There is an important distinction between the type of sugar and the type of fat. The kinds of sugars and fats that should be avoided at all cost are refined sugars (white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, etc) and refined fat (trans-fats in processed foods, margarine).

Fruit contains sugars that can be characterized as good and complex carbohydrates found in brown rice and lentils are good for your health as well. Nuts, seeds and avocados contain good fats that are essential to our well being.

It is also important that our diet is well balanced, meaning that we need to consume balanced amounts of sugars, fats and protein. A diet that contains too much or too little of any one of those will have adverse effects on our body.

Now, back to the original question - sugar vs. fat. Which is worse?

A gram of sugar has 4 calories, while a gram of fat has 9. At first glance fat seems worse because the same amount of food gives us more energy. Fatty foods contain a lot of energy in tiny packages which means that we can easily consume much more energy than our body needs at the time, which can lead to weight gain.

On the other hand, eating too much sugar (and not enough fat) causes surges in insulin level which after a short period lowers the blood sugar too much. At that point we feel tired and hungry and we eat more and that excess of energy goes into fat.

So, there is no clear answer. We cannot survive on sugar or fat alone, we need balanced diet of all essential nutrients and we need to stay clear of refined sugar and processed fat.

Introduction

It is a sad fact that our lives are limited. We live longer than our ancestors did, but our lives are still too short. Because we have only one life we need to make it last and we need to make it worth it. Length of our life and its quality is directly affected by our health and in order to be healthy we need information and advice.

With this blog I’ll try to make at least a small contribution toward better understanding of how various things influence our health and I’ll try to pass on information on how we can make our bodies be in better shape and how we can make our lives last longer.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This blog expresses my opinions and thoughts gathered while reading books and articles. If you have an actual problem it is best to see a doctor.