How to recognise a stroke victim

When we learn First Aid, we learn about artificial respiration, resuscitation techniques and how to relieve choking. But often, we do not learn how to identify the symptoms of a stroke.

Here are 4 steps to help you identify a stroke:

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

*S* - *Ask the individual to SMILE. *

*T* *- Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)*
(eg. It is sunny out today.)

*R* *- Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS..*

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

*4th Sign of a Stroke -- Stick out Your Tongue*

Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: *Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

Chocolates will make you fat

Have you heard this one?

*Myth*: Chocolate causes weight gain.

*Fact*: Any food can be part of a healthy diet if consumed in moderation.

An average chocolate bar contains 220 calories. This means that it is low enough to form a part of a weight control diet when mixed with other foods to make up the required calorie intake for each meal.

The problem usually occurs when you eat a lot of chocolates. Snacking in between meals, eating chocolate deserts on top of a full meal and other such excessive eating habits can cause severe weight gain.

Chocolate’s bad reputation is slowly changing and research now shows that chocolate can be a part of an overall healthy lifestyle, when consumed in moderation. If you keep your portions small and select dark chocolate whenever possible, the occasional treat can be a guilt-free part of your diet.

How do you know if you are sufficiently hydrated

When you do not have enough water, your body suffers. One of the interesting side effects could be feelings of hunger. This hunger pang is a "false" signal and it is another way that your body tries to get you to ingest liquids other than feelings of "thirst".

That is why you will put on more weight, because you feel "hungry" and eat when actually all your body needs is a glass of water. So, how to tell if you are sufficiently hydrated?

To know if you are dehydrated, here are 4 tell-tale signs

1. A dry mouth is the LAST outward sign of dehydration.

2. If you are thirsty, your cells are already severely dehydrated.

3. Your urine is dark or orange colour when you are severely dehydrated.

4. Your urine is yellow when you are somewhat dehydrated.

So, when you are hydrated, your urine is colourless. Drink plenty of water. It is healthy, keeps you feeling full, and prevents over eating.

Reduce Salt for Better Health and losing Fats

I read something that really made me lay off salt. You see, according to Dr Myron Weinberger, a professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, "Most people think that sodium comes from the salt shaker. The salt shaker contributes less than 10 to 15 per cent".

When we are pressed for time, meal-on-the-go becomes a way of life for many working folks. Processed food and those heat-up-and-ready-to-eat food contain a high level of sodium to promote a longer shelf life and to excite your taste buds.

The sodium in such processed food makes us very thirsty. Instead of drinking a glass of water, we further load ourselves with empty calories by consuming sodas, colas, coffees, teas etc. These drinks and beverages are heavy with sugar. So, indirectly, one of the fastest way to cut back on empty calories is to cut our salt intake.

Unless there is serious health complication, no government authorities will intervene and insist on low salt in processed foods. According to a study based on the 1997 diet data from Great Britain's National Diet and Nutrition Survey, researchers suggested that cutting in half the amount of salt British children consume - a decrease of about half a teaspoon a day - would lead to an average reduction of about 510g of sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week.

Salt leads to thirst, thirst leads to soft drinks and soft drinks lead to fat abs, poor health and a lot of spending on unhealthy food.

Organic Food is Good for You

For people who are keen to know why organic food is great for our body, read what Mike Selvon Mike Selvon's got to say:

Organic food health benefits are debated more than ever. With people demanding to buy organic food more, researchers are tying to find the benefits and risks of eating organically.

Sometimes researchers have said that the organic food health benefits are really nonexistent, while with other studies, multiple benefits have been found. By researching organic foods, a person can find the real story about organic food health benefits.

Organic food health benefits may begin with the debate of the nutrition level of certified organic food versus regularly grown food. Depending on what information is read, different information is given.

According to the research on organic food that the New York Times did in 2003, their report was that "recent preliminary evidence suggests that the levels of certain nutrients, especially vitamin C, some minerals and some polyphenols -- naturally occurring antioxidants that may help bolster the immune system -- are higher in organically grown crops."

This comment alone reinforces such food health benefits that a person can gain by eating fresh organic food.

Outside organic growing, many farmers, in order to have their plants grow larger and more bountiful, add pesticides and toxins. Such food health benefits stem from the lack of these toxins and pesticides.

Pesticides have been linked to making people ill, and can cause a person to avoid fresh vegetables that are needed for an overall healthy diet. Toxins in the body can cause problems such as headaches and tremors.

Because organic food health benefits help reduce the risk of these undesirable benefits, natural and organic food should be definitely taken into consideration when choosing foods.

One particular such food health benefit occurs when the additives that are found in almost all foods are not used. Organic food production prohibits the use of food additives such as preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and hydrogenated fat.

This in itself is excellent for all people but especially children. The less artificial sweeteners that children can be exposed to the better according to most doctors.

Organic food health benefits are numerous. Debates rage as to what exact benefits organically grown food can offer the public. Some claim that the nutrient levels are higher, others say they are the same.

But one thing is for sure. Organically grown food offers little to no pesticides, and this can help everyone be healthier. No matter whether studies are right in linking certain ailments to pesticides or not, even children can gain from such food health benefits.

Because of the lack of artificial ingredients, children can be healthier and happier. This fact alone is enough to make anyone start enjoying fresh organic food.

Smoking create hormone imbalance

Sometimes, when you try to lose fats, you miss the most obvious things. Did you know that smoking creates an imbalance in women's hormone levels, which leads to changes in body shape?

There is a misconception that smokers are thinner than non-smokers. However, smoking actually affects the endocrinal system - the glands that secrete hormones - and changes your body shape, increasing the waist-to-hip ratio.

So, smokers can be pot-bellied with spindly legs. This is attributed to smoking upsetting the hormone levels. This, in turn, results in smokers storing fats in an abnormal way. So smokers tend to acquire an 'apple' shape.

When you stop smoking, your body can get back to normal and recover from the effects of smoking.You want to look young, you have to delay the process of aging. Smoking accelerates the process of aging.

Now you know, stay healthy. Stop smoking.

Music can make you healthy

Many people have believed this down through the years. Now, with modern medicine behind it, more people will start to believe it too - music is good for you. According to Dr Michael Miller, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland, you should listen to music to maintain good heart health.

You see, your heart will likely soar at the sound of joyous music. That's supposed to be good for you. Dr Miller's findings were reported at the annual meeting of the Amercian Heart Association in New Orlean in November 2008.

WebMD reported that 10 volunteers identified specific music that made them feel a sense of joy. While the music was being played, the researchers used an ultrasound device to measure how well each person's blood vessels responded to a sudden increase of blood flow. The volunteers' blood vessels dilated by 26% when they heard joyful music. That is a very healthy sign according to the good doctor.

What exactly is joyous music? Dr Miller says it depends on the individual. It's not the type of music that counts but a person's response to it.

In that case, you might want to download some joyous music to keep your healthy pink and healthy.

Take Soya for Lower Cholesterol

Some people have been talking about taking soya to lower cholesterol levels. How much of this is folk-lore and how much of it is true?

The FDA have allowed companies to claim that 25g of soya protein a day, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, "may reduce the risk of heart disease". This is based on the agency's evaluation of studies and they concluded that soya is able to cut cholesterol.

In 2006, an Americal Heart Association advisory panel reviewed a decade of studies and determined that soya product had no significant effects on good cholesterol or HDL, or triglycerides (fat in the blood), and little or no ability to lower "bad" cholesterol or LDL.

Another study published in August in The Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that taking 24g of soya protein daily had no "significant effect on plasma LDL." in people with mildly elevated cholesterol.

Yet another line of research shows that soya seems to help if soya is taken with foods that's low in fat and high in fibre.

The evidence is rather inconclusive, but there are indications that it might be possibly true. For sure, it has no negative effect. So, try it and let us know.

Source: The New York Times

Soup can make you fat

Last week, I shared a soup recipe. Then, my friend who loves her soups cannot understand why she couldn't lose weight when she changed her diets to mostly salads, soups and bread rolls.

Well, you know that there are many different kinds of soup. I am guessing that her fondness for rich and thick soups is the main culprit.

Soups like cream of potato soup or cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup and beef strongnafoff are fantastic soups; unfortunately, they are also full of cream, cheese and meat. In other words, they are loaded with calories. When you add croutons or eat them with bread rolls, pasta, rice, you will end up with even more calories. So, just because you are drinking soupd does not mean that you are on a low calorie diet.

Choose to drink clear soups whenever you can. Broth-based and vegetable based soups and stews are excellent choices when you are trying to lose fats. They can fill you, but have much lesser calories.