Why Marriage Could Lead To Obesity In Both Men And Women

Marriage, the legal contract between spouses has now been shown to be a risk factor for weight gain, a new study has suggested. According to the research, which is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, when one spouse becomes obese, the other’s risk of obesity almost doubles.

“Normal weight people whose spouses went from being normal weight to obese were more likely to become obese,” said Laura Cobb, who led the study as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “This suggests that changes in one spouse are likely to also be reflected in the other spouse, likely because of similar changes in diet, physical activity or other behaviors that impact obesity,” Cobb disclosed.

Weight gain is an increase in body weight which could ultimately result to obesity, a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.

Some health challenges that could arise from obesity include cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon).

In African societies, weight gain due to marriage is mostly experienced by women. This has been attributed to a whole lot of factors ranging from sexual to dietary. But, with this new research, both men and women are liable to obesity due to marriage.

Read More

Danger: Children Addicted To Phone Could develop Hunchback

Children as young as seven are developing hunchbacks and curved spines because of the hours spent bending over smart phones and tablets, a chiropractor has claimed.

Dr James Carter warned that he had seen an "alarming increase" in the condition.

He said patients often came in complaining of a headache but that a simple heel-to-toe test revealed that they had developed a backwards curve in the neck having spent hours hunched over electronic devices.

"I have started seeing lots of cases over the past two years, especially in young schoolchildren and teenagers," Dr Carter told Daily Mail Australia.

"The condition is called 'text neck' because it is often caused when people sit with their heads dropped forward looking at their devices for several hours at a time. nstead of a normal forward curve, patients can be seen to have a backwards curve. It can be degenerative, often causing head, neck, shoulder and back pain. Many patients come in complaining they have a headache, but we actually find text neck is the cause of it. They often fail a simple heel-to-toe test and tend to fall over," he added.
 
Sammy Margo, from the UK's Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, agreed that "text neck" was on the rise.
She said: "When you drop your chin on to your chest for a long period you are stretching the whole structure. Eventually, in conjunction with a sedentary lifestyle, it could lead to serious consequences."
Dr Carter, from Niagara Park on Australia's New South Wales Central Coast, warned that the condition could lead to anxiety and depression as well as spinal damage.

And he said 50 per cent of the patients he diagnosed were school-aged children and teenagers.

A recent survey by the consultancy ComRes for Channel 4 News found just over half of parents worried their kids were exposed to sexual content on their electronic devices, while 52 per cent said they were worried about them meeting strangers online.

It also found that children spend an average of nearly three hours a day in front of their screens – whether playing games, watching videos on YouTube or using social media.

Dr Carter advised avoiding using laptops or phones while sitting or lying in bed and raising monitors or devices to eye level.

Dr Chris McCarthy, a consultant spinal physiotherapist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London, cautioned against the use of X-rays to diagnose such a condition.

He expressed concern that patients suspecting they had the condition would go to their GP and expect to have an X-ray, which he said were not recommended in the treatment of neck pain and would expose them to unnecessary radiation.

Whilst he said he had heard of "text neck", he suggested that the broader problem was more likely to stem from a sedentary lifestyle and a general lack of exercise.

"Non-specific neck pain can be related to sedentary postures," he said.

"As physios, we would support a notion that if a child does not do any exercise and stays in a static position playing computer games and on Facebook there is more chance they will get spinal pain, including in the neck."

 

Read More

Herbal Remedy For Male Infertility

According to Hethir Rodriguez, a renowed researcher with Natural Infertility, low sperm count and infertility in men is more prevalent than most couples think. People tend to think that if a woman is not getting pregnant the fertility issue must be with the woman, but that is not necessarily always the case. There is an equal chance that male factor infertility can be the cause of a couple’s difficulty in achieving pregnancy. While women have many tests to try to find out the cause of infertility, men have only a couple, the sperm analysis being the easiest.

If you have been trying to get pregnant for more than a year, make sure that both of you go and get fertility test. There are at-home sperm count tests available in stores, or you can have a complete semen analysis performed at your doctor’s office.

The results of a good test would be a sperm count of 20 million or more sperm with healthy motility and morphology. Suboptimal levels are less than 20 million sperm. If you find that your sperm levels are low or are having issues with mobility, motility or morphology, it is necessary to consider some natural therapies you can use to help improve sperm count and health.

There are many potential causes of low sperm count and male infertility. Fortunately, we have control over many of them by reducing their exposure.
Here is a list of the top culprits:

• EMF’s – Electromagnetic frequencies (EMF’s) have been shown through studies to lower sperm count due to the heating of the testicles from the EMF’s. Do not keep your cell phone in your pocket and do not place your laptop computer on your lap.
• Radio frequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMW) – A study performed in 2011 (Fert. Ster. 1/2012) showed that RF-EMWs emitted from devices connected to Wi-Fi (wireless internet) decrease sperm motility, while increasing sperm DNA fragmentation. Men should avoid using laptop computers running on a Wi-Fi connection directly on their lap. In addition, be sure to avoid carrying a smart phone in your front pocket.
• Cigarette smoking – Smoking damages the sperm. Period. The good news is the damage done from smoking can be reversed as long as you quit smoking.
• Pesticides and hormones in foods – The pesticides found on produce and the hormones added to dairy and meat have a HUGE effect on a man’s hormonal balance. Pesticides mimic estrogens in the body while the added hormones in meat and dairy are actual hormones (like estrogen) you do not want in your system.
• Soy foods – Highly processed soy foods (soy milk, TVP, soy burgers, etc.) contain concentrated amounts of isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen shown to block estrogen receptor sites that are needed for testosterone.
• Alcohol– In a study of men with poor sperm quality, excessive alcohol consumption was associated with a decrease in the number of normal sperm.
• Plastics – When plastics are heated they release xenohormones which mimic estrogen in the body.
• Hyperthermia (overheating) – The testicles need to keep the sperm at a healthy temperature (which is less then the body’s temperature). It is thought that this may be in part why the male reproductive organs are external. Heat is known to damage sperm, so it may be best to avoid repeated exposure to activities that may elevate the temperature of the testicles. Examples are frequent use of saunas or hot tubs. In addition, tight underwear like briefs can keep the testicles from being able to hang and regulate their temperature. Boxers could be an alternative to briefs.
• Stress – Stress can have a big impact on hormone balance which can in turn have an affect on sperm production...
• (TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK)
• For effective herbal cure for male infertility, call or sms +2347031040178.

Read More

Getting The Best Out Of Your Hands Washing Therapy

As the world marks Global Hands Washing Day, we cannot but look into those issues bothering on hands washing and how it can help promote the health of the individual. Washing your hands correctly (or using an alcohol-based hand rub) is the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself against a number of infectious diseases, such as influenza (the "flu") and the common cold; infact, hand washing is now a spotlight in view of the recent cases of ebola virus disease invasion. Not only will it help keep you healthy, it will help prevent the spread of infectious diseases to others.

Even if your hands appear to be clean, they may carry germs. Hands pick up micro-organisms (germs) in a number of ways.

When people who are sick sneeze or cough, the germs that are making them sick are expelled into the air in tiny droplets. If these droplets get onto your hands, and then you touch your mouth, eyes or nose without washing away the germs, you carry the infection. You can also get sick if you don't wash your hands before and after preparing food, after handling raw meat, and after using the toilet.

Washing your hands not only prevents you from getting sick, but it also reduces the risk of infecting others. If you don't wash your hands properly before coming into contact with others, you can infect them with the germs on your hands. Other people can also get sick from the germs unwashed hands leave on shared objects like doorknobs, keyboards, and other equipment in the home or workplace.

Hand-to-hand contact can spread mild conditions, such as the common cold, but also more severe or life-threatening diseases. Infectious diseases are a particular risk to the very young, the elderly, those with a pre-existing disease, and people with a compromised immune system, such as those with HIV or AIDS.

Although hand washing might seem like a simple task, you should follow these steps to thoroughly rid your hands of germs.

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Alcohol-based hand cleansers are useful when soap and water are not available. In most cases antibacterial soap is not necessary for safe, effective hand hygiene.
• Remove any hand or arm jewellery you may be wearing and wet your hands with warm water. Add regular soap and rub your hands together, ensuring you have lathered all surfaces for at least 15 seconds. How long is 15 seconds? The length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday.
• Wash the front and back of your hands, as well as between your fingers and under your nails.
• Rinse your hands well under warm running water, using a rubbing motion.
• Wipe and dry your hands gently with a paper towel or a clean towel. Drying them vigorously can damage the skin.
• Turn off the tap using the paper towel so that you do not re-contaminate your hands. When using a public bathroom, use the same paper towel to open the door when you leave.
• If skin dryness is a problem, use a moisturizing lotion.

If you have sensitive skin or are in a position where you must wash your hands constantly (as a healthcare worker must), you might want to use an alcohol-based hand rub instead.

• An alcohol-based hand rub can be used if soap and water are not available.
• If your hands are visibly soiled, it is best to use soap and water. If it's not possible to wash with soap and water, use towelettes to remove the soil, then use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Use hand rubs according to the manufacturer's instructions. Make sure your hands are dry, as wet hands will dilute the product.
• Use enough product to cover all the surfaces of your hands and fingers.
• Rub your hands together until the product has evaporated. If dry skin is a problem, use a moisturizing lotion.

 This article was produced in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Read More

Why Some Lipsticks Can Cause Cancer

Can wearing lipstick lead to cancer? Researchers who tested different types of popular lipsticks found at drug and department stores have found levels of toxic metals that can potentially lead to health problems.

"This preliminary study of metal content in lip products suggests potential public health concerns," wrote the authors of the new study, published May 2 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a government-funded journal.

For the study, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health enlisted a group of 12 girls between the ages of 14 and 19 who were part of an Asian youth group and lived in low-income neighborhoods of Oakland, Calif. They were asked to record the brands and product names of all lipsticks and lip glosses they regularly carry and use at home.

The researchers then took this list to stores and purchased the products, 32 in all (8 lipsticks, 24 lip glosses).

Back at the lab, researchers conducted spectrometry tests to determine the contents of the lipsticks. They found detectable levels of lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals in the products.

Lead, a neurotoxin, was found in 24 products -- 75 percent of all tested -- and all examined products contained the metals manganese, titanium and aluminum.

Half the products contained lead in concentrations higher than 0.1. parts per million cap the U.S. Food and Drug Administration places on candy frequently eaten by small children.

Concentrations of metals varied greatly across products. For example, one product had the highest chromium concentration (9.72 ppm) and the second highest concentrations of cadmium, manganese, and lead (2.16, 35.3, and 1.25 ppm, respectively). The researchers did not find a clear pattern to predict toxin levels in terms of brands, color, whether it was lip gloss or lipstick or in the cost of the products, which ranged from about $6 to $24.

The researchers also analyzed potential risk for toxin exposure by comparing how often the lip products are used to the concentration of the toxins found in the products. Results were measured in term of average use and heavy use.

They determined the estimated chromium intake from 10 products tested exceeded acceptable daily intake levels when measuring average use. Chromium is a known human carcinogen, according to the researchers, that has been linked to lung cancer and stomach tumors through inhaling the metal or swallowing it.

Heavy use of lip products could lead to too much aluminum exposure for one of the products tested, and too much chromium for 22 products tested, and potentially dangerous levels of manganese in 7 of the products tested.

Cadmium, another metal found, is a carcinogen linked to lung cancer and damage to the respiratory system when inhaled. It's also found in low levels in drinking water, and the researchers suspect exposure through drinking water and heavy use of 10 of the products they tested may lead to too much exposure.

Read More

University of Calabar Students Protest Rats Invasion, Lack Of Water...

Just a few weeks after students of the University Of Lagos protested over the infestation of bed-bugs in their hostels, the students of University Of Calabar, yesterday, demonstrated over the invasion of rats in their hostels. They also decried the scarcity of water and electricity in the school, which they said was making life unbearable for students.

The protest, which began at about 5.30 a.m., created panic as workers and traders got stranded at roads linking the university, including Etta Agbor, IBB Way and Mary Slessor Road.

The placards read: “VC, give us water and light, students cannot study without light and water, electricity and water is our right,’’ among others.

One of the students, Mr. Emeka Ebere, told the press that the students had been staying without light and water in hostels for more than three weeks. He also complained of rats in the hostels.

Ebere added that the school authorities were doing nothing about the plight of students.

“Rats come to eat our legs when we sleep because everywhere is bushy and there is no light for more than three weeks now. Again, we have not had water for months now and students have to go long distances into the town to fetch water,” he said.

He blamed the situation on the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. James Epoke, alleging that the VC was not showing concern over students’ welfare because his tenure would expire next month.

Another student, Miss Theresa Kahi, claimed that the vice- chancellor was the reason for the protest.

“We, the students of this school are tired of the attitude of the university’s management.

A detachment of anti-riot policemen was stationed at the Mary Slessor/Marian Roundabout, about 700 metres from the main gate of the university.

When contacted on telephone, the vice-chancellor said the students had the right to protest, assuring however, that the situation would be resolved soon.

Read More