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Cataract Surgery: A Bargain, Despite the Price

(HealthDay News) -- Everyone, if they live long enough, will suffer from a cataract that clouds the vision in one or both eyes.

Because of that, doctors expect spending on cataract surgery to surge in the coming decades as the population ages, part of an overall increase in vision costs among older Americans.
However, it's money well spent, experts say.

Cataract surgery is one of the most cost-effective surgical procedures to address vision problems in seniors, said David B. Rein, a researcher with RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C., who authored a recent study of the economic costs of vision disorders.

"It gives a great amount of benefit in terms of years of unimpaired vision, compared with dollars spent," Rein said.

In fact, it's one of the only therapies that actually cures the condition, rather than simply holding the line against future deterioration.

"You're removing a lens that is clouded, a dirty lens, and you're replacing it with a lens that's clear," Rein said.

A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye, which affects a person's ability to see clearly. Most cataracts are related to aging. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery, according to the U.S. National Eye Institute.

Major vision problems cost the U.S. economy about $35.4 billion a year, including $16.2 billion in direct medical costs. And because cataracts are frequent and inevitable, they make up the biggest chunk of those direct costs -- about $6.8 billion, according to Rein's research.

The primary way to treat cataracts is to remove the eye's lens and replace it with an artificial one.

These surgeries have been around for decades, and doctors have become remarkably adept at performing them, said Dr. Marco Zarbin, professor and chairman of the Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Science in New Jersey.

"During the past quarter century, there have been remarkable advances," Zarbin said. "Ninety-five percent of patients report impressive improvement in their vision."

Most cataract surgery removes the lens through phacoemulsification, in which a probe inserted through a small incision in the side of the cornea breaks the lens into tiny pieces using ultrasonic waves. The surgeon then removes the pieces using suction.

This technique has gone through countless refinements, Zarbin said, and is far evolved from traditional cataract surgery. In that procedure, the lens was simply cut away.

"Back in the 1960s, people were kept in the hospital for two weeks following cataract surgery," he said. "Their heads were held in place with sandbags. Now, people have the surgery with topical anesthesia and go home the same day. It's just what you'd hope for in medicine. It's really true progress."

The replacement lenses are also improving.

In early days, patients were fitted with a lens that only provided one range of focus. Near could be in focus, or far, but not both.

But improvements in intraocular lenses are producing results that are coming closer and closer to mimicking the human eye, allowing people to change their focus from near to far.

"There's a real push to develop intraocular lenses that give people focus at distance and near," Zarbin said. "There's a real interest in improving those capabilities. I'm very sure that one day that's the lens that everyone will get, an accommodative lens."

These improvements mean that, even though more money is being spent on cataract surgery, the American people are getting a bigger bang for their buck, Rein said.

"Compare the cost for cataract extraction surgery to the treatments that address age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy," he said. "The costs are much lower, and the results are much better."

Patients can actually expect improved vision, rather than vision that simply won't get worse.
"When you're treating glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy, you're trying to prevent further visual impairment from occurring," Rein said. "With cataracts, you can restore their vision to what it was before."

Cataract surgery also helps keep older people entertained and more engaged, Zarbin said. "I think when you're older and have a less active lifestyle, things like reading and watching television gain a greater importance," he said.

"You also have to consider the cost of taking care of those patients if you didn't have the therapy to treat them. We are way ahead as a society by paying for those treatments, because they cost less than caring for all these debilitated and blind people," he added.

More information
To learn more about cataracts, visit the U.S. National Eye Institute.

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Repeat, High-Dose Chemo Can Cure Testicular Cancer

(HealthDay News) -- Intensifying the dose of anticancer drugs can cure a large majority of men with testicular cancer after first-line chemotherapy fails, Indiana University physicians report.

"This was a regimen established by our group over 10 years ago, and now we show that it is applicable to all testicular cancer patients," said study senior author Dr. Rafat Abonour, associate dean for clinical research at the university's school of medicine.

The new findings are published in the July 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
That report is "testimony to the dedication and leadership of Dr. Larry Einhorn," Abonour said.

Einhorn is lead author on the study and holds several titles at Indiana, most notably the Lance Armstrong Professor of Medicine -- a position that was established after the Tour de France bicycling champ was cured of his testicular cancer at the center.

According to Abonour, Einhorn led the way in establishing the value of drugs such as cisplatin in the treatment of testicular cancer decades ago and has worked steadily at expanding their use and value.

From 7,000 to 8,000 cases of the cancer are reported in the United States each year. The overall cure rate is 90 percent for the first round of treatment, but there is a subset of more deadly metastatic cases where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. About 30 percent of those patients suffer relapses and require further treatment.

The journal report describes the results of what it calls "salvage chemotherapy" in 184 such men. The researchers report that a course of treatment centering on high dosages of anticancer drugs led 116 of them to complete cancer remission over an average follow-up of four years. Even among a subset of 49 men for whom two or more previous rounds of treatment had failed, almost half (22 men) were found to be free of cancer four years later.

"The take-home message is that continuous effort to provide treatment is effective," Abonour said.

Cures are possible, because most testicular cancers are unusually sensitive to anticancer drugs, explained Dr. George Bosl, chairman of the department of medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Most of those malignancies occur in "germ" cells, where sperm is produced. "The major point of this report is that if a young man with a germ cell tumor undergoes chemotherapy and if the disease remains afterward, very high doses of chemotherapy can cure a substantial fraction of those patients," Bosl said.

Unfortunately, the lessons learned from the treatment of testicular cancer may not extend to other malignancies, he said, "because germ cell tumors are different from other cancers, where curative chemotherapy in the first line of treatment is hard to come by." It is not yet clear why germ cells are so much more sensitive to anti-cancer drugs, Bosl said.

More information
You can learn more about testicular cancer from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Both sea salt and rock salt were well known to the ancient Greeks who noted that eating salty food affected basic body functions such as digestion

Both sea salt and rock salt were well known to the ancient Greeks who noted that eating salty food affected basic body functions such as digestion and excretion (urine and stools). This led to salt being used medically. The healing methods of Hippocrates (460 BC) especially made frequent use of salt. Salt-based remedies were thought to have expectorant powers.

A mixture of water and salt was employed as an emetic. Drinking a mixture of two-thirds cow's milk and one-third salt-water, in the mornings, on an empty stomach was recommended as a cure for diseases of the spleen. A mixture of salt and honey was applied topically to clean bad ulcers and salt-water was used externally against skin diseases and freckles. Hippocrates also mentions inhalation of steam from salt-water.

We know today that the antiinflammatory effects of inhaled salt provide relief from respiratory symptoms (c). Thus, 2000 years ago, Greek medicine had already discovered topical use of salt for skin lesions, drinking salty or mineralized waters for digestive troubles and inhaling salt for respiratory diseases!

The doctor and alchemist Paracelsus (1493-1541 A.D.) introduced an entirely new medical concept. He believed that external factors create disease and conceived a chemically oriented medical system which contrasted with the prevalent herbal medicine. Only salted food could be digested properly: 'The human being must have salt, he cannot be without salt.

Where there is no salt, nothing will remain, but everything will tend to rot.' He recommended salt water for the treatment of wounds and for use against intestinal worms. A hip-bath in salt water was a superb remedy for skin diseases and itching: 'This brine - he said - is better than all the health spas arising out of nature.' He described the diuretic effect of salt consumption and prescribed salt preparations of different strengths that were used for instance against constipation.

'In recent years there has been much publicity about the need to reduce salt consumption in societies where salt is added to many processed foods (Denton 1984, 584-7). It has tended to be forgotten that some salt intake is absolutely necessary; that people need salt, sodium chloride, to survive: The chemical requirements of the human body demand that the salt concentration in the blood be kept constant.

If the body does not get enough salt, a hormonal mechanism compensates by reducing the excretion of salt in the urine and sweat. But it cannot reduce this output to zero. On a completely salt-free diet the body steadily loses small amounts of salt via the kidneys and sweat glands. It then attempts to adjust this by accelerating its secretion of water, so that the blood's salt concentration can be maintained at the vital level. The result is a gradual desiccation of the body and finally death.' Roy Moxham An eight-year study of a New York City hypertensive population stratified for sodium intake levels found those on low-salt diets had more than four times as many heart attacks as those on normal-sodium diets - the exact opposite of what the 'salt hypothesis' would have predicted. (1995)

Dr. Jeffrey R. Cutler documented no health outcomes benefits of lower-sodium diets. Salt Institute A past president of the American Heart Association, Dr. Suzanne Oparil of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said her personal view is that the government may have been too quick to recommend that everyone cut back. 'Salt restriction as a solitary recommendation for the population for the prevention or the treatment of hypertension

An abundance of the ingredients in unrefined real salt are as synonymous with life today as they were a billion years ago before single cells appeared here. Lack of them is synonymous with birth defects, organ failure, decay, diseases, premature aging and death at a young age.

The problem with salt is not the salt itself but the condition of the salt we eat - refined! Major producing companies dry their salt in huge kilns with temperatures reaching 1200 degrees F, changing he salt's chemical structure, which in turn adversely affects the human body.

The facts are that in the heating process of salt, the element sodium chloride goes off into the air as a gas. What remains is sodium hydroxate which is irritating to the system and does not satisfy the body's hunger and need for sodium chloride. Sodium chloride is one of the 12 daily essential minerals. In countries which do not alter their salt supply, heart disease and arthritis are so rare that many doctors have never seen a case.

Their salt is dried from the ocean by the sun. Many people believe that salt is harmful to the human body. The truth is we cannot live without salt (sodium chloride). From salt the body makes sodium bicarbaonate which is one of the essential compounds for alkalizing the fo od we eat. There is not enough natural salt in our foods, so we must supplement our diet. When salt is withheld, weakness and sickness follow.

Try this experiment: Mix a spoonful of salt in a glass of water and let it stand overnight. If the salt collects on the bottom of the glass, it has been processed. NATURAL SALT DISSOLVES! Salt that will not dissolve in water cannot dissolve in your body. Any foreign substance that collects in the body organs and tissues will eventually result in malfunctioning of essential body processes: heart disease, arthritis, hardening of the body tissues and arteries, calcium deposits in the joints, etc. Natural organic salt (saline) will not cause calcification in your body. Real salt can dissolve damaging calcium deposits in the body.

Science and medicine have tried to define the precise roles of salt in the healthy and diseased human organism. Blood, sweat, and tears all contain salt, and both the skin and the eyes are protected from metabolic acids from the effects of salt. When salt is added to a liquid, particles with opposite charges are formed: a positively charged sodium ion and a negatively charged chloride ion. This is the basis of osmosis which regulates fluid pressure within living cells and protects the body against excessive water loss (as in diarrhea or on heavy sweating).

Sodium and chloride ions, as well as potassium ions, create a measurable difference in potential across cell membranes. This ensures that the fluid inside living cells remains separate from that outside. Thus, although the human body consists mainly of water, our 'inner ocean' does not flow away or evaporate. Sodium ions create a high pressure of liquid in the kidneys and thus regulate their metabolic function. Water is ex tracted through the renal drainage system. The body thus loses a minimal amount of essential alkaline water. Out of 1500 liters of blood which pass daily through the kidneys, only about 1.5 liters of liquid leave the body as urine.

Salt is 'fuel' for nerves. Streams of positively and negatively charged ions send impulses to nerve fibres. A muscle cell will only contract if an impulse reaches it. Nerve impulses are partly propelled by co-ordinated changes in charged particles.

Fish from the ocean will die quickly if placed in a solution of refined salt and water. The sodium chloride, in its form as it comes from the refinery, is actually poisonous to them. Bottom line, is that yes it can be harmful to consume too much refined salt, but you cannot consume too much natural unrefined liquid real salt.

more info at:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/ayurvedic/ayurvedic.htm

Using the Mind to Cure the Body

(HealthDay News) -- The medical community traditionally has relied on potent drugs to relieve severe pain. But in a number of academic settings across the country, health-care practitioners are adding another therapeutic weapon to the mix -- they're helping patients harness the healing power of their own imaginations.

The use of guided imagery, or mental images, to evoke physical benefits is perhaps the oldest form of therapy known to man, explained David E. Bresler, a founder of the Academy for Guided Imagery in Malibu, Calif. In fact, imagery is woven into the fabric of many ancient cultures' healing rituals, he said.

Today, academic researchers are studying guided imagery's use as an adjunct to more traditional medical treatments.

"I think it's just the beginning, really, even though it's been around a long time," said Bresler, whose academy instructs clinicians, including pediatricians, in the use of imagery to evoke physiologic changes that promote healing. A traditionally trained Ph.D. neuroscientist, he first became intrigued with alternative methods of pain relief in the early 1970s as founder and director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Pain Control Unit.

While much of the ongoing research is preliminary, practitioners of guided imagery are encouraged by initial results among children and adults.

Nola Schmidt, associate professor of nursing at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., recently completed a pilot study at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago examining guided imagery's effect among children with pain due to sickle cell disease or stem cell transplants. Of the 17 participants, eight were randomly assigned to listen to guided-imagery tapes created especially for each child.

Most tapes were vague, allowing the children to insert different scenes each time they listened to a recording. "For example," Schmidt said, "a tape may start out: 'OK, we want you to relax and close your eyes, take a deep breath, feel the air go in, feel the air go out.' " The child is invited to imagine being in "one of your favorite places" and to describe the sights, sounds and smells he or she encounters.

Children in the experimental and control groups also kept pain diaries. Their entries recorded when and where they felt pain, what they did to feel better and how much they hurt before and after those interventions.

On a 0-to-10 scale, children in the guided-imagery group had an average post-pain intervention score of 4.3, a point lower than children in the control group. While the difference was not statistically significant, Schmidt believes it is "clinically" significant.

"If it works for you, and it reduced your pain by one point or two points, isn't it worth it?" she asked.

Bresler noted that his academy trains a lot of pediatricians to use guided-imagery techniques. But kids aren't the only patients benefiting from this mind-body therapy. Sports psychologists use it to enhance athletes' physical performance. And cancer centers often use it to relieve patients' pain and nausea.

Carol L. Baird, an associate professor of nursing at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., recently tested guided imagery with a relaxation component among older women suffering from osteoarthritis.

Half of the 28 volunteers in the pilot study listened to recordings that described a pleasant scene and guided listeners to engage all of their senses. After 12 weeks, the experimental group experienced a significant reduction in pain compared with women in the control group. The guided-imagery group also had increased mobility, the study showed.

What's more, a separate study involving the same volunteers found that guided imagery with relaxation seemed to improve their quality of life, she said.

Baird thinks the guided-imagery approach has exciting potential. "For one thing, it's so easy to use," she noted. It's also inexpensive and easy to teach, making it suitable for patients to use in their own self-care, she added.

Of course, it may not be for everyone, especially people who have difficulty visualizing images in their heads, Baird acknowledged. In the future, she plans to do studies that measure people's "imaging ability."

On the other hand, guided-imagery experts say the technique has minimal side effects, if any.

So why not try it?

Schmidt suspects science someday will reveal a concrete biological reason why guided imagery works. In fact, animal studies suggest that images in the brain can stimulate neurotransmitters that, in turn, block pain receptors, she said.

But for patients garnering relief today, a neurochemical explanation may not be necessary.

"I mean, who cares why it works, if it works," she said.

More information
To learn more about guided imagery, visit the University of California, San Diego.

Wrong Treatment for Breast Cancer?

Wrong Treatment for Breast Cancer?
I'm recovering from breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy plus radiation, and I've been told that the outlook for a cure is excellent. However, I've just heard that radiation is no longer considered necessary. Did I have needless treatment?

Two studies published in the Sept. 2, 2004, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that radiation treatment is not necessary for older women who have small tumors and take the drug tamoxifen after surgery. Tamoxifen blocks the hormone estrogen from affecting breast cancer cells. Most cases of breast cancer are "estrogen-receptor positive" meaning that the disease is fed by estrogen.

If you're under 70, the evidence still shows that it is best to have radiation after surgery for early breast cancer. However, treatment always has to be individualized based on the specifics of a woman's case, including the size of the tumor. One of the studies also suggested that some women over 60 with very small tumors probably can forego radiation treatment as long as they take tamoxifen.

The first study, from Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, included 636 women over the age of 70. The researchers found that only one percent of those who took tamoxifen and had radiation treatment after surgery had a recurrence of cancer in the same breast in the approximately five years after they were treated. Among those who took tamoxifen but didn't have radiation, only four percent had a cancer recurrence.

The other study, from Canada, included 769 women over the age of 50. It found that 0.6 percent of those who had radiation and took tamoxifen had a recurrence, compared to 7.7 percent of those who didn't have radiation. However, among the women 60 and older, only 1.2 percent of those who didn't have radiation developed recurrences. This study included women with larger tumors as well as those whose breast cancer was estrogen-receptor negative, a more aggressive type of the disease. Typically, radiation treatment for women with breast cancer means 16 sessions over three weeks. Side effects can include burning of the skin, redness, swelling and fatigue.

As far as the care you received, I wouldn't worry about being treated unnecessarily. If you're under 60, there's little argument that the best approach is radiation plus tamoxifen. Whatever your age, be thankful that the disease was caught early.
Andrew Weil, M.D.

Stem Cells Improve Child Brain Cancer Outcomes

(HealthDay News) -- A highly targeted treatment that relies on the patient's own stem cells improves outcomes for children with brain tumors called medulloblastomas, U.S. researchers report.
Children with high-risk medulloblastoma have a 30 percent to 40 percent chance of surviving to five years, and chemotherapy usually lasts for about 12 months.
However, "not only can we now cure about 70 percent of children with high-risk medulloblastoma, we can also cure more than 80 percent of those with standard-risk disease with a shorter, and therefore more convenient, chemotherapy approach," lead researcher Dr. Amar Gajjar, from St Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, said in a prepared statement.
In this new treatment regimen, radiation therapy is tailored to the severity of the disease and is then followed by a shorter course of chemotherapy than used by doctors in the past. The new regimen resulted in substantially improved survival, say researchers reporting in the Sept. 7 online edition of The Lancet Oncology.
The shorter course of chemotherapy is made possible because stem cells taken from the child before chemotherapy are implanted after each round of chemotherapy, essentially allowing the child's body to recover from the damage caused by chemotherapy before the next round begins.
In their study, Gajjar's team treated 134 children with medulloblastoma. The researchers adjusted doses of radiation therapy depending on how severe the disease was. Children were classified as "standard-risk" cases if any tumors remaining after surgery were small and there was no evidence that cancer had spread to the rest of the body. Children were classified as high risk if they had larger tumors, or any evidence of metastasis.
During treatment, children in the high-risk group were given higher doses of radiation than the children in the standard-risk group. Both groups were given a shortened course of chemotherapy and a re-infusion of bone marrow stem cells after each cycle of chemotherapy, the researchers said.
By using their risk-adapted approach to radiotherapy, Gajjar's group was able to increase the survival rate of affected children to about 70 percent.
"By reducing the amount of [chemotherapy drug] cisplatin from eight doses to four doses, and the amount of vincristine from 32 doses to just eight doses, we could alleviate a lot of the neurotoxicity associated with the higher dose of vincristine without reducing survival," Gajjar said.
He believes the findings could mark a real advance in neuro-oncology.
"Our research focused on understanding the biology of medulloblastoma," Gajjar explained. "We now need to develop a biological system of staging that works in conjunction with the current clinical staging system, to further refine treatment for this disease."
Until then, "investigators should consider adopting a similar therapeutic strategy to ours for their high-risk patients," Gajjar said. "This approach should be feasible in most pediatric oncology units at academic medical centers, but meticulous staging and careful attention to detail during radiotherapy planning and treatment are essential to obtaining similar outcomes," he added.
However, another expert said the findings won't change her current practice.
"What the researchers have shown is that, with comparable doses we have used in the past, you can treat children with medulloblastoma with intense chemotherapy and stem cell rescue and get results pretty close to what has been reported in the past with other intensive treatments," said Dr. Anna J. Janss, co-director of the Neuro-Oncology Program at the Aflac Cancer Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Moreover, the groups' survival statistics are not very different from what has been published for the two risk groups in the past, Janss said.
"This study doesn't make me say: 'Oh, I want to treat all my patients this way,'" Janss said. "It makes me say this is an approach that is as good as what has been done before, but it doesn't make me want to harvest stem cells from every child I take care of," she said.
For standard medulloblastoma, Janss said she wouldn't use short-course chemotherapy. "The survival statistics aren't sufficiently impressive for the standard-risk group to justify the cost of this intensive treatment," she said. "The last results published showed five-year survival at 79 percent, which is statistically no different than this study."
"When you look at the high-risk group, the survival statistics are not a whole lot different from what's been published," Janss said. "At five years, survival is as high as 67 percent. I'm not sure that's a real difference."
Janss also noted the researchers didn't comment on the long-term effects of their treatment.
"The disease is horrible, and the treatment has significant consequences on the child's brain function, learning ability, memory and hormone function," she noted.

More information
For more on medullablastoma, head to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

AYURVEDA: THE ANCIENT ART OF CURE AND A BEAUTIFUL ART OF LIVING

Ayurvedam is a gift of God from heaven as the answer to the frequent prayers of our ancestors. It has not been given just to cure diseases but it has shown a way of living which is healthy and fruitful.
These days, life is a burden for all. It does not matter if you are rich or poor. For the poor, it means suffering, as they have to work hard to make both ends meet and also to attain a desired standard of living. The affluent persons have to work hard in order to keep up the style of living (social status) they are accustomed to. In the midst of all these worries, tension and hard work, your mind will not have peace nor body get proper rest. This can lead to disease.
Here ayurveda gives you an advice on proper style of life. Get up early in the morning and pray to God.
" Bramhe muhurthe uthishte swastho rakshartheam ayusha"----
Our God almighty is the only answer to all our miseries. We should pray for our daily bread. Forgive others, so that we get forgiveness from God. This divine love of God help us to love all our friends, neighbors, elders and vanishes all hatred from our minds. Thus our mind becomes clear to see the beauty of the world, which god has given to us. This will enable us to be satisfied with our earnings and to see the gifts of our life. The clear contented mind helps to think properly and free us from anxiety, tiredness and idleness. With full energy and peace of mind we have the full day to live.
Think about body appetite, digestion and sleep. This will give an idea of " doshe vriddikshaya". If something goes wrong, we should seek necessary medical care. Recognizing and identifying the messages our body conveys us at various stages is very important for a healthy living.
"Suthrasthana" instructs to have fresh and tasty food with a good appetite. Work with utmost sincerity that you fear nothing, God gives you the reward. Good sleep is essential for good health. There is clear and proper instructions about sexual life as it is very important. Food, sleep and sex are the three pillars of life. "Rithucharya" talks about changes in climate. The strains due to overwork is caused by external elements. "Nidana parivarjanam chikithsa"---says to avoid the cause to cure the illness. "Suthrasthan, Nidanesthana, Chikithsasthana " talks about medicines that cure the disease. Thus both prevention as well as cure is discussed.

Ayurveda - the ancient art of cure can be a modern art of living for better life and good health.

by Dr. ANNIE M JOHN

The Exercise Cure

By Anne Krueger
Visit Sally Dick, a naturopath and physician in Windber, Pennsylvania, and you’re more likely to get a prescription for exercise than one for a pill.

She’s among a maverick group of physicians who not only are convinced that regular exercise may be the most important thing you can do for your health, but who make that belief a cornerstone of their practice.

“I tell all of my patients that without a lifestyle that includes exercise, nobody can truly be well,” says Dick, who is staff physician at Windber Medical Center’s integrative medicine department. She sits down with every single patient who comes to see her and, after diagnosing any particular problems, comes up with a lifestyle plan in which exercise is a major component. “I try to get a feel for what each patient is all about and how they can incorporate some form of exercise into their life,” she says. “Then I send them off with a plan and we reconnect in a week or two to see how it’s going.”

An exercise plan? Reconnect in a week or two? My own doc recently sent me off with a Lipitor prescription for my high cholesterol without even mentioning the word exercise. And the only time I will be reconnecting anytime soon is to see if the drug he prescribed is wreaking havoc with my liver.

My experience with mainstream medicine is not unusual in a country where 3 billion prescriptions were dispensed last year, up from 2 billion a decade ago. As Steven Findlay, a health policy analyst in Washington, says, “We love our medicines.” So much so, he says, that we use them as a substitute for a healthy lifestyle. “Most of us don’t routinely eat wholesome foods, manage our weight, or stay active.” This, even though reams of studies have piled up to show that such choices can help prevent or treat most of the biggest causes of disease, disability, and death in this country.

Exercise, in fact, can stave off heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, for starters, not to mention less dire but still troublesome conditions like arthritis, PMS, depression, and memory problems. When you exercise, everything works better: Your heart pumps faster and you breathe more rapidly, delivering oxygen-rich blood throughout your body and toning up your organs for optimum performance. Weight-bearing exercise not only builds muscle, it jump-starts metabolism, which can help keep weight and blood sugar in check. It can also stimulate bone growth and strengthen connective tissue, thus reducing the chances of osteoporosis.

“Exercise is, hands down, the single best thing you can do for your health,” says Sally Dick. If it’s so important, why aren’t more doctors pushing us to do it? After all, studies have shown that a nudge from someone in a white coat can make a big difference.

Unfortunately, most mainstream doctors are just as harried as the rest of us. “During any patient visit, most of us are really pressed just to address what the patient came in for,” says Rebecca Meriwether, a physician in the department of family and community medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans. “It’s often the preventive advice, like exercise, that gets left out.” Then, too, doctors get weary of recommending something that many patients have a hard time following through on.

If your doctor is alternative-minded, like Sally Dick, you’re much more likely to get help in making exercise a priority. But in the absence of such a physician, you have to take matters into your own hands. Easier said than done, of course. But if you talk to people who’ve managed to make exercise a regular part of their lives, over and over you’ll hear the same story: The key isn’t to suddenly join a gym or invest in thousands of dollars’ worth of exercise equipment and hope for the best. You have to do some hard thinking about why you haven’t been able to make exercise a habit, and what you could do to address your particular obstacles.

Any five people who asked themselves these questions would likely come up with different answers—and that’s the point. As the “Profiles in Sweat” on these pages make clear, no single approach does the trick for everyone. “Everybody has his or her own prescription for exercise,” says Dick. “Some people need a friend, some need the exercise to be competitive, and some need a solitary walk around the block. Finding the right activity for you is half the battle.”

I’ve seen this firsthand with my daughters, both of whom exercise regularly in spite of their sedentary mom. For my 13-year-old, who is an introvert, walking on the treadmill is just what she needs to refuel after a day spent navigating the social pressures of middle school life. On the other hand, my 11-year-old spends six days a week in the company of 25 other children who are part of a dance ensemble that performs all over the world. She thrives on the camaraderie, the connections, and the energy of it all.

In the face of such inspiring role models, I find that I can’t stay a slug any longer. I have decided not to wait for my doctor to discover the health benefits of exercise and to write my own prescription instead.

My biggest hurdle is a lack of time, followed closely by my own laziness. But modern life also conspires against me. Being the mother of two busy kids puts me behind the wheel of the car for a big chunk of each day, and unfortunately, my neighborhood has no walking-friendly sidewalks.
After much searching, I have found two promising possibilities. The first is that I’ve decided to join Curves, a national chain of women’s health clubs. The “no men, no mirrors” atmosphere is very appealing, and the 30-minute workout is a quick combination of strength training and individualized aerobics that’s interesting and challenging enough that I might even be able to stick with it.

I’m also starting to count the number of steps I take during my regular daily activities. This is one time I can be thankful that my washer and dryer are in the basement, because the trip up and down makes my pedometer keep on clicking. I’ve already walked 6,000 steps today and I haven’t even left the house! (A sedentary person takes an average of 3,000 steps a day; 10,000 steps, which is about five miles, is considered moderate to vigorous exercise.)

I am concentrating on Dick’s advice to start small and let things go from there. I’m hoping that as I continue, exercising won’t feel like such a huge effort on my part, that it will become self-sustaining.

What’s motivating me? My active daughters don’t know it, but my vision is to become one of those annoying mothers who later in life is often mistaken for their sister. Well, older sister. It’s a dream anyway. And there’s nothing wrong with a little fantasy if it keeps you counting the steps.

How Much Exercise Is Enough?As with many good things, more is better than less, and a little is much, much better than none at all.

To reduce your risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers, most experts agree that you need to move around for 30 minutes most days of the week. Whichever aerobic activity you choose—brisk walking, swimming, cycling—it should be vigorous enough to make you a little breathless, so that it’s an effort to talk. Happily, you don’t have to do it all at once to reap the health benefits: Three ten-minute bouts a day yield equally positive results.

The Surgeon General also recommends you do some sort of strength training at least twice weekly, including one or two sets of 8 to 12 repetitions for the major muscle groups. Stretching should also be part of your regimen, to stave off injury and keep you supple.

As you get fitter, you’ll be able to push your limits. A daily 60-minute workout that mixes aerobic, strength, and flexibility exercises is recommended for optimal health by the Institute of Medicine. But there’s really no upper limit. You may be surprised at how far your body can take you.

Beyond HRT is a product designed to promote healthy hormones in both men and women.

Beyond HRT is a product designed to promote healthy hormones in both men and women. It has a natural way of providing the body with a healthy balance which has been shown to promote a natural immunity towards breast cancer.
The Pueraria Mirifica root is found only in Thailand. Dr. Gordon discovered while visiting Thailand, that this region has the lowest rate of breast cancer in the world and remarkable longevity.
The people who eat the Pueraria Mirifica root have been examined and show virtually no signs of breast cancer, or any early signs of cancer development. Furthermore, they never seem to suffer from menopausal symptoms or osteoporosis.
With this information, Dr. Gordon and Longevity Plus have come together once again to bring you Beyond HRT. This new product contains the Pueraria Mirifica root for an all natural product that can be used to help promote healthy hormones and help prevent breast cancer among people of both genders.*
Beyond HRT helps
Serve as an anti-wrinkle agent for aged and wrinkled skin
Darken white hair, and increase hair growth
Help with memory loss
Increase energy and vigor, more reflexive bodily movements
Alleviate sleep disorders

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent disease. For more information on maintaining a long and healthy lifestyle, please visit Gordon Research Institute.
Suggested Use: Adults - 1 capsule daily for every 60-80 pounds of body weight or as directed by your health professional.

Supplement Facts
Serving Size: one capsule
Ingredient
Amount Per Serving
% Daily Value
Pueraria Mirifica, PE (20 mg miroestrol/100g)
80 mg
*
Milk Thistle, PE (80% Silymarin)
60 mg
*
*Daily Value not established.
Store in a cool, dry place away from sunlight.
KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.

Cornea Research Brings Clear-Eyed View on Cancer

THURSDAY, July 20 (HealthDay News) -- A new study pinpoints the key role of a specific growth factor in keeping eyes healthy. The finding might even aid cancer research, researchers say.
U.S. researchers say large amounts of the protein VEGFR-3 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3) on the top epithelial layer of the cornea keeps the cornea transparent and free of blood vessels and, thus, makes vision possible.

The cornea is the thin, clear tissue that covers the front of the eye. It's one of the few tissues that actively keeps itself free of blood vessels. Until now, researchers did not know exactly how the cornea managed to do this.

VEGFR-3 inhibits blood vessel growth in the cornea by binding or neutralizing growth factors that would normally stimulate blood vessel growth, said scientists at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Their finding was published in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and is expected to be published in the July 25 print issue.
The study answers a scientific mystery and may also eventually help researchers find ways to prevent and cure blinding eye diseases and also illnesses such as cancer, where blood vessels grow abnormally and uncontrollably.

"Drugs designed to manipulate the levels of this protein could heal corneas that have undergone severe trauma or help shrink tumors fed by rapidly growing abnormal blood vessels. In fact, the next step in our work is exactly this," study senior author Dr. Reza Dana, senior scientist at Schepens and head of the Cornea Institute at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, said in a prepared statement.

More information
The U.S. National Eye Institute has more about the cornea and corneal disease.
Last reviewed: 07/20/2006 Last updated: 07/20/2006

Definitions of types of complementary and alternative therapies

Here is a definition of the types of the most common complementary and alternative therapies

Acupuncture
("AK-yoo-pungk-cher") is a method of healing developed in China at least 2,000 years ago. Today, acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques. American practices of acupuncture incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries. The acupuncture technique that has been most studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

Aromatherapy
("ah-roam-uh-THER-ah-py"): involves the use of essential oils (extracts or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees to promote health and well-being. >

Ayurveda
("ah-yur-VAY-dah") is a CAM alternative medical system that has been practiced primarily in the Indian subcontinent for 5,000 years. Ayurveda includes diet and herbal remedies and emphasizes the use of body, mind, and spirit in disease prevention and treatment.

Chiropractic
("kie-roh-PRAC-tic") is a CAM alternative medical system. It focuses on the relationship between bodily structure (primarily that of the spine) and function, and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. Chiropractors use manipulative therapy as an integral treatment tool. Dietary supplements. Congress defined the term "dietary supplement" in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. A dietary supplement is a product (other than tobacco) taken by mouth that contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to supplement the diet. Dietary ingredients may include vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites. Dietary supplements come in many forms, including extracts, concentrates, tablets, capsules, gel caps, liquids, and powders. They have special requirements for labeling. Under DSHEA, dietary supplements are considered foods, not drugs.

Electromagnetic fields
(EMFs, also called electric and magnetic fields) are invisible lines of force that surround all electrical devices. The Earth also produces EMFs; electric fields are produced when there is thunderstorm activity, and magnetic fields are believed to be produced by electric currents flowing at the Earth's core.

Homeopathic
("home-ee-oh-PATH-ic") medicine is a CAM alternative medical system. In homeopathic medicine, there is a belief that "like cures like," meaning that small, highly diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure symptoms, when the same substances given at higher or more concentrated doses would actually cause those symptoms.

Massage
("muh-SAHJ") therapists manipulate muscle and connective tissue to enhance function of those tissues and promote relaxation and well-being.

Naturopathic
("nay-chur-o-PATH-ic") medicine, or naturopathy, is a CAM alternative medical system. Naturopathic medicine proposes that there is a healing power in the body that establishes, maintains, and restores health. Practitioners work with the patient with a goal of supporting this power, through treatments such as nutrition and lifestyle counseling, dietary supplements, medicinal plants, exercise, homeopathy, and treatments from traditional Chinese medicine.

Osteopathic
("ahs-tee-oh-PATH-ic") medicine is a form of conventional medicine that, in part, emphasizes diseases arising in the musculoskeletal system. There is an underlying belief that all of the body's systems work together, and disturbances in one system may affect function elsewhere in the body. Some osteopathic physicians practice osteopathic manipulation, a full-body system of hands-on techniques to alleviate pain, restore function, and promote health and well-being.

Qi gong
("chee-GUNG") is a component of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, meditation, and regulation of breathing to enhance the flow of qi (an ancient term given to what is believed to be vital energy) in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function.

Reiki
("RAY-kee") is a Japanese word representing Universal Life Energy. Reiki is based on the belief that when spiritual energy is channeled through a Reiki practitioner, the patient's spirit is healed, which in turn heals the physical body.

Therapeutic Touch
This is derived from an ancient technique called laying-on of hands. It is based on the premise that it is the healing force of the therapist that affects the patient's recovery; healing is promoted when the body's energies are in balance; and, by passing their hands over the patient, healers can identify energy imbalances.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
This is the current name for an ancient system of health care from China. TCM is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced "chee"), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person's spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.

NCCAM, National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland 20892 USA
E-mail: info@nccam.nih.gov

Unwinding at India's super spa

By CNN's Mallika Kapur

Tuesday, October 18, 2005; Posted: 10:49 a.m. EDT (14:49 GMT)

NARENDRA NAGAR, India (CNN) -- The journey to the Ananda spa begins on the Shatabdi Express, a train that rumbles through the Ganges Valley in northern India.
Then a scenic drive up the winding, wooded roads of the Himalayan foothills leads to the grounds of palace that was once home to the Maharaja of Tehri-Gawal.
This is Ananda -- the world's best spa, according to Conde Nast Traveller UK magazine.
What makes it so special?
Those who come here say it's because of the spa's emphasis on Ayurveda, an ancient Indian science of healing.
Ayurveda is an ancient holistic science developed and perfected by Indian sages for the prevention and cure of diseases, and it is a lifestyle in itself.
The Ananda experience begins with a consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor who determines your body type -- Kapha, Pitta or Vatta.
What follows is a tailor-made individual program for guests, including a daily routine of yoga classes, spa therapies, special meals and lessons with a chef.
The doctor told me that I'm a Pitta body type, which means I need to cut down on certain foods, particularly spicy, pungent tastes.
Ananda's chefs create a special menu for me, starting with a breakfast of bean sprout salad with toast and apple.
The idea is to bring your body back into its natural balance, which also explains Ananda's emphasis on yoga.
It has a special meaning at this spa since it's set in the Himalayas, considered the birthplace of yoga.
"Yoga is a great stress buster -- and that's one of our unique selling points, and a combination of these will help the modern stressed out businessman," says Ananda's general manager Andrew Saldanha.
Easing the stresses of modern life seems to be the main aim of my fellow guests at the spa.
"Yes, definitely, I think I fit into that category, I have had unfortunately a little bit of work since I've been here, but not much, and I'm feeling so much better than when I arrived," property developer Steven Milesgrade told me.
"I think these sorts of things are an essential part of life sort of to bring you down, and so that when I get back to London, life will be much more in tune than when it perhaps was when I arrived, so it's great."
It's for all these reasons that Conde Nast readers voted Ananda, which takes its name from the Hindi for "joy", the best spa in an increasingly competitive landscape.
"Five years ago, 10 years ago rather, every hotel felt they had to have a celebrity chef," Sarah Miller, editor of Conde Nast Traveller UK magazine, said.
"Now I think every hotel feels like they have to have a spa. The beauty about Ananda is that ... the experience is the spa, it's not a hotel with a spa tacked on."

Rheumatoid arthritis It is a generally progressive disease affecting primarily the joints which become swollen and painful.

Rheumatoid arthritis It is a generally progressive disease affecting primarily the joints which become swollen and painful. The muscles, ligaments, synovial membrane and the cartilage get inflamed and, therefore movement of the joints becomes extremely painful and wasting of the associated muscles. If not treated immediately, it may result in deformity in the beginning.

This disease affects the small joints in fingers, it is usually insidious, stiffness is the next event and the fingers tend to get curved and ultimately become fixed. The infection then spreads towards the trunk involving the wrist joints, ankle joints, elbow joints, knee joint, shoulders hips and jaw. In Ayurveda, this diseases is called as Amavatha.

It occurs throughout the world in all climates and ethnic groups; this disease is very common nowadays, it is possible that they might have been increased in number due to modern lifestyle. Treatment The best treatment for this is Langhana - means less quantity of food, which can be digested easily; and excretion of Ama.

For the excretion of Ama, virechana therapy is given that is purgation. Basti treatment (Enema therapy); Valuka sweda (hot swedation); Bashpa sweda. Along with these, internal medicines plays an important role in curing these diseases. According to Ayurveda, if proper treatment is given, there are fairly good chances of a cure.

Good health is nature’s gift to man, but man, being preoccupied with a mechanical lifestyle

Good health is nature’s gift to man, but man, being preoccupied with a mechanical lifestyle, has alienated himself from nature. Instead of taking full advantage of natural resources to acquire a sound health, he has developed a tendency of drifting away. In this gloomy situation, there exits a silver lining and that is ‘Ayurveda.’

Ayurveda is a unique, indispensable branch of medicine. A complete naturalistic system that depends on the diagnosis of your body’s humors to achieve the right balance. Ayurveda provides rational means for the treatment of many internal diseases. Simultaneously it lays a great deal of emphasis upon the maintenance of positive health of an individual. It thus aims at both the preventive and cure of diseases, it also studies basic human nature and natural urges like hunger, thirst, sleep and sex and provides measures for a disciplined disease free life.

The human body according to Ayurveda is composed of three fundamental elements called Doshas, Dhatus and Malas. The doshas govern the physico-chemical and physiological activities of the body. The dhatus enter into the formation of a basic structure of a body cell, thereby performing some specific action. The malas are substance which are party utilized in the body and party excreted in a modified from after serving their physiological functions. These three elements are said to be in a dynamic equilibrium with each other for the maintenance of health. Any imbalance of their relative preponderance in the body results in disease and delay.

Turmeric helps in breast cancer cure

Adrienne

Turmeric, the medicinal properties of which Ayurveda found millennia ago, is now recognized by modern scientific research as a cure for breast cancer. Its anti toxic properties were also widely known, from ancient times in India. Turmeric is an ingredient in many Ayurvedic medicines.

Houston : Oct 15, 2005. : In what may spell good news for people at advanced stages of breast cancer, researchers have discovered that curcumin - the main ingredient in the common Indian spice turmeric - is an `effective preventive`. Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre have found that curcumin, which gives Indian curry its yellow colour; inhibits metastasis in the lungs of mice afflicted with breast cancer.`We know that it`s an effective preventive at low doses, the question is whether larger doses can be therapeutic for disease sufferers,` Dr Bharat Aggarwal, of the experimental therapeutics department at the cancer centre, said. Though study results are early, researchers found the non-toxic natural substance not only repelled progression of the disease to the lungs, but also appeared to reverse the effects of paclitaxel taxol, a commonly prescribed chemotherapy for breast cancer that may trigger spread of the disease with use over a long period of time.`We are excited about the results of the study and the possible implications for taking the findings into the clinic in the next several years,` he said.

Advanced breast cancer is currently a difficult foe to fight with few proven treatments available after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Because taxol is so toxic, it activates a protein that produces an inflammatory response that induces metastasis.

Curcumin suppresses this response, making it impossible for the cancer to spread. In fact, researchers found that adding curcumin to taxol actually enhances its effect.

Curcumin breaks down the dose, making the therapy less toxic and, just as powerful while delivering the same level of efficacy.Taxol is currently used as chemotherapeutic agent in breast cancers, but because the drug frequently induces resistance after prolonged use, it is not effective in treating metastatic breast cancer, says Aggarwal.

Researchers studied 60 mice with breast cancer, which were randomly assigned to one of four groups - control group, taxol only, curcumin only and the combination of taxol and curcumin. After the tumours grew to 10 mm in size, they were surgically removed, and the mice were fed powdered curcumin.

Source : PTI

Skin Care in Acne vulgaris - Cause of Acne

Dr Subramanyam
Many factors are responsible for producing acne.

These can be categorized as follows:

1. External Factors: These mainly include pollution, direct exposure to sun over longer duration etc.
2. Internal Factors: include heredity, hormonal imbalances, stress, constipation etc.

Remedies

Prevention is better than cure.

Acne, particularly the one, caused by internal factors as above can be easily prevented. The following habits can be helpful:1. Drink 8~10 glasses of water daily2. Eat plenty of fruits and leafy vegetables Wash your face 2~3 times a day, but not more than that. Too much washing will aggravate the situation as excessive washing causes the body to produce more oil which makes the acne worse3. To keep the acne under control, one needs to control both external as well as internal factors. External remedies, as mentioned below, along with internal nutritious diet lead to healthy skin.

Treatment of Alopecia Areata

Prof Madiraju V Subramanyam

Unfortunately there is not yet any reliable cure for alopecia areata. Luckily the hair usually grows back slowly by itself. Sometimes the new hair may regrow grey or white, but after a while the original colour usually returns. Injecting a cortisone medicine into the area of hair loss may speed up the natural regrowth of hair. This treatment is known as an ‘intralesional steroid injection’. The regrowth occurs only in the area that has been injected. There is no way of preventing new areas of hair loss.

However if they appear, regrowth can be helped by further injections. Many other treatments have been introduced for alopecia areata, but the results are variable - no one has yet devised anything that works for everyone. Some lotions applied to the scalp do seem to result in temporary improvement in some people, but the hair falls out again as soon as they are stopped. Medicines which are often tried include topical steroids and minoxidil, and irritants such as dithranol. The most successful treatment to date has been immunotherapy. Immunotherapy works by provoking a contact allergic dermatitis in affected areas by applying a low concentration of a material to which the patient has been made allergic.

This is most often diphenylcyclopropenone (diphencyprone). Unfortunately the resultant dermatitis is irritating and may be unsightly, often accompanied by a swollen lymph gland. Therapists and others in contact with the diphencyprone can also develop dermatitis. For extensive hair loss, there is no reliable treatment. Steroid pills, or a special form of ultraviolet light treatment (PUVA), are sometimes worthwhile, but may result in side effects. An attractive wig is often the best solution. Some people need professional counselling to come to terms with the disorder, regain self-confidence and live full, productive lives.

Immunity (Vyadhikshamatva) in Ayurveda

By: Dr.Shashikant Patwardhan
It is commonly observed that certain persons do not develop a disease even after coming into contact with the relevant etiological factors, while others become victims of the disease. The reason is that when the resistive power of the body is sufficiently strong it destroys the causes. A beautiful simile is used in Manusmriti to illustrate this fact: when a seed is sown in non-fertile soil it is destroyed.Immunity depends upon the maintenance of the equilibrium of doshas and the healthiness of tissues and channels. Similarly the strength of the body is related to immunity and it also depends upon the healthiness of tissues. The factors, which are related to the healthiness of tissues, are:Birth in a country where people are naturally strong Birth at a time when people naturally gain strengthFavorable disposition of time (pleasant and moderate climate) Excellence of the qualities of the sperm and the ovum Excellence of the ingested food Excellence of the physique Excellence of mind Favorable disposition of the race and species Exercise Cheerful disposition during sexual indulgenceThis strength is attainable from three sources-constitutional, temporal, and acquired. Constitutional strength is that gained from the time of the formation of the fetus onwards. Hence it is dependent on the healthiness of sperm and ovum and also on the excellence of time and place. The temporal strength is the one, which is gained from the favorable condition of time, such as youth, and favorable season.The acquired strength is one, which is achieved by the proper combination of diet, exercise, and other regimens. ( Ch. Su. 6 / 13), Ch. Su. 11/ 36)Avyadhisaha sharirani - Individuals incapable of resisting diseasesObese individualsEmaciated personsThose who have improper physiology of the musculature Those with defective blood Those who have defective bone tissuesEmaciated and weak personsThose nourished with unwholesome food Those who have feeble mindsWe know that excessively obese or excessively emaciated persons are very weak. Similarly, the strength of the body depends largely upon the healthiness of tissues, especially healthiness of the muscle, blood, and bony tissues. Hence persons in whom these three tissues have improper physiological functions are naturally very weak. Persons who consume unwholesome food are also very weak, as their tissues are not properly nourished. And lastly, strength of the body also depends upon the mental health. Hence persons having feeble minds are also weak. Therefore it may be inferred that the common factor of all these eight types of individuals who cannot resist diseases is their weak constitution. ( Ch. Su. 28 /7)Vyadhikshama sharirani - Individuals having good resistance against diseasesOn the other hand, individuals whose physical constitutions are of a type opposite to the eight types mentioned above are capable of resisting diseases. If a person's physical and mental strength is of a high degree then naturally his immunity is also good and such persons can resist diseases very well.Individuals whose bodies are neither too corpulent nor too emaciated, who possess healthy and good musculature, blood, and bone tissues, who are well nourished with wholesome and sufficient food and who have strong minds are capable of resisting diseases.Persons having proportionate bodies and musculature, compactness of the body, and healthy sense organs are not overcome by the onslaught of diseases. They can withstand hunger, thirst, and the heat of the sun, cold weather, and physical exertion. They can also digest and assimilate food properly. ( Su. Su. 21 / 18,19)Amongst the factors responsible for immunity, the greatest importance has been assigned to the healthy condition of the three tissues-blood, muscle, and bone. In our opinion the reasons for this are:Here is a typical relation of between these three tissues and tridosha-i.e. between blood and Pitta, muscle and Kapha, bone and Vata. The healthy condition of these three tissues will naturally maintain equilibrium of the three doshas, which is also required for resisting disease.The white cells of the blood are the force, which fights against any infection and prevents any foreign substance from entering the body. The plasma of the blood contains gamma globulins, which are antibodies. Muscular tissue also produces these gamma globulins.Red bone marrow in the bones is the organ of the reticulo-endothelial system responsible for the manufacture of the red and white cells of the blood.Ashtau Nindita [Eight undesirables]There are eight types of undesirable constitutions: too tall, too short, too hairy, hairless, too white, too black, too corpulent and too emaciated. ( Ch. Su. 21 / 3)These constitutions are considered undesirable because they do not possess sufficient resistive power against diseases. The qualitative and quantitative proportions of the tissues are not proper in them. The measurement by finger (anguli parimana) of the body and the compactness of the tissues is also abnormal. In our opinion these eight types of undesirable constitutions are mainly related to some sort of hormonal dysfunction of the body. The dysfunction of thyroid, gonads, adrenal cortex, and pituitary is related to obesity. Hyperactivity of the thyroid causes wasting of muscles and develops wasting.The excessively tall constitution is associated with disturbances in the anterior pituitary, which produces gigantism. In this condition a person becomes abnormally healthy. He also becomes impotent and cannot resist diseases. Dwarf constitution is also associated with disturbances in the pituitary. In conditions such as Frolich's syndrome and Cushing's syndrome such dwarf constitutions are produced. Excessively hairy and hairless are associated with dysfunction of the pituitary, adrenal cortex, and gonads. The advanced modern medicines are also unable to cure these eight conditions even today.
Article Source: http://updateforyou.com
Dr.Shashikant Patwardhan is practicing as 'Ayurvedic Consultant' for last 27 years at the city -Sangli , Maharashtra -India. He has done his graduation in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery [B.A.M&S] and post graduate Fellowship of Faculty of Ayurvedic Medicine [F.F.A.M.] From Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Pune University , India, during the years 1970-1976. He is a chief editor and Ayurvedic Consultant of a 'Comprehensive website on Ayurveda - www.ayurveda-foryou.com He is an author of many books on Ayurveda and is first to publish them in ebook format. He has written number of ebooks like - Ayurvedic Principles Revealed, Ayurvedic Cure of Diabetes , Losing Weight with Ayurveda, Arthritis Ayurveda &You. He regularly writes articles on various topics in Ayurveda in Ayurvedic health magazines and alternative medicine sites.

more info at:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/ayurvedic/ayurvedic.htm

Genital Herpes - Ayurvedic Treatment

By: Dr.Shashikant Patwardhan

Ayurvedic View :
PathologyAs a society, we take better care of our cars, pets, and toys than we do ourselves. We often sacrifice sleep, regular meals, and exercise in pursuit of our goals. We all weaken our immune systems when we don’t eat right, don’t get enough exercise or sleep, when we’re exposed to environmental toxins and when we’re under too much or chronic stress. Too often we end up into imbalance of doshas. Impurity of pitta along with that of blood is the main causative factor for the pathology to appear. Various factors like poor digestion,very wrong eating habits, eating lots of spicy or bitter food, etc. will affect the secretion of digestive juices and lead to improper digestion of food, which will give birth to Ama that causes impurity of blood.

This impurity of blood leads to appearance of leasions on the skin.

Ayurvedic Treatment:
The first step of treatment is to balance doshas. This is achieved by dietary changes and adding certain dietary supplements and herbs which balance the vitiated doshas of the disease . The skin, blood and lymph are purified through herbal preparations which metabolize the toxin AMA accumulated in blood and lymph formed due to imbalanced doshas. The herbal preparations detoxify blood and lymph and expel the toxins and vitiated doshas from blood and lymph. When blood and lymph get purified the skin and underlying tissues also get rejuvenated. This reduces the inflammation, burning and tingling sensation.

Boosting body immunity and Rejuvenation of Body:
According to ayurveda a disease not only affects a particular organ but affects the whole body. Herpes is an opportunistic virus. It takes hold and comes back when the immune system is weak or when you are run down.

If you keep your immune system healthy, you can significantly reduce your chances of future outbreaks. Hence after balancing doshas of the body , the body should be rejuvenated. By rejuvenation using Rasayanas the body immunity gets boosted to fight any recurrent attacks of diseases. Many ayurveda preparations are available for body rejuvenation ex- Chyavanprash Local treatment for affected skin parts: Along with the process of balancing doshas and rejuvenation of body, the treatment to the particular organ which is mainly affected by the disease should be treated. This is called local treatment (Sthanika chikitsa). In genital herpes this is achieved through local application of herbal paste prepared from powders of sandle wood, rose, amalki, Neem etc.

These preparations rejuvenate the skin and restores the structure -color of skin. These preparations also reduce local inflammation of the skin and skin gets a very good resistance to subsequent attacks. The tenderness of the skin vanishes and skin discoloration fades to get back the natural color. Diet and Lifestyle modifications:Diet - Food is the body’s building blocks – it’s the raw material our cells use to maintain every body function. If your body doesn’t get all the nutrients it needs or those nutrients are quickly depleted through stress, you can become undernourished, comprising your immune system’s ability to fend off invaders.Diet should be selected according to imbalanced dosha.Follow an anti-Pitta diet. In general the foods that are beneficial to people with herpes are fresh vegetables, fruits,beans ,chicken, fish and eggs.Sleep - Contrary to popular belief, sleep is not a luxury. Sleep restores the body and refreshes the mind. Deep sleep causes our bodies to release potent immune-enhancing hormones into the bloodstream. These hormones are vital in completing the completing the body’s nightly restorative process.

When you’re ill or recovering from an illness, you may need more than 8 hours of sleep

Stress - The most common triggers of outbreaks people with herpes report is stress. Most often, it’s mental stress, but physical stress – exposure to strong sunlight or exercising hard—can be a factor as well.

Exercise – For reducing stress and building immunity, you can’t beat exercise. It’s probably as good of use of your time as sleeping. Studies have shown that just 30 minutes of regular aerobic exercise such as walking boosts immunity.

Yoga - has found to be most effective in supporting the immune system and calming the nervous system. Ancient practices of Meditation and Yoga offer truly amazing benefits by supporting the immune system by reducing the effects of stress; by offering a sense of well-being and tranquility; and by reducing negative thoughts and feelings because they both act on the sympathetic nervous system.

Attitude - One of the best ways for managing stress is keeping your sense of humor and perspective. Balance a positive outlook with a healthy dose of reality. Choose optimism over pessimism. They Obesity, high cholesterol, excessive alcohol and excessive sugar consumption are the factors involved in reducing or impairing immunity ,so these should be avoided at any cost.
Article Source: http://updateforyou.com
Dr.Shashikant Patwardhan is practicing as 'Ayurvedic Consultant' for last 27 years at the city -Sangli , Maharashtra -India. He has done his graduation in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery [B.A.M&S] and post graduate Fellowship of Faculty of Ayurvedic Medicine [F.F.A.M.] From Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Pune University , India, during the years 1970-1976. He is a chief editor and Ayurvedic Consultant of a 'Comprehensive website on Ayurveda - http://www.ayurveda-foryou.com/ He is an author of many books on Ayurveda and is first to publish them in ebook format. He has written number of ebooks like - Ayurvedic Principles Revealed, Ayurvedic Cure of Diabetes , Losing Weight with Ayurveda, Arthritis Ayurveda &You. He regularly writes articles on various topics in Ayurveda in Ayurvedic health magazines and alternative medicine sites.

more info at:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/ayurvedic/ayurvedic.htm