The Health Benefits Of Drinking Water (1)

Drinking Water to Lose Weight

Water Helps You Slim Down

Drinking water benefits the body in a variety of ways. Sipping cold water increases your metabolism and can help with weight loss. The body has to expend more energy to increase temperature after drinking cold H₂O. This means you burn more calories. In one study, overweight young women were instructed to drink about 2 cups of cold water a half hour before breakfast, lunch, and dinner for eight weeks. By the end of the study, the women experienced weight loss, a lower body mass index, and improved body composition scores. Water also makes a great replacement for beverages that are high in sugar and calories like soft drinks and juice. Replace these beverages with water on the cool side to help your waistline.

Stay Energized with Water

H₂O Fights Fatigue

Mild dehydration has negative effects on mood and energy levels. About two-thirds of the human body is comprised of water, so dehydration affects most of the body's functions. In studies, dehydration has been associated with increased fatigue, anger, and confusion as well as mood problems and decreased vigor. You need to be well hydrated for your cells to work properly. Drinking water also helps maintain a healthy heart rate and blood pressure. You need adequate fluid to produce lymph, an important bodily fluid and component of the immune system. All systems of the body work better in a water-rich environment. Drink water steadily throughout the day to avoid dehydration. If you wait until you feel thirsty, you are probably already dehydrated. Try some lemon water if plain water is not appealing to you.

Fight Stress with Water

H₂O Improves Your Mood

Dehydration is known to contribute to stress. Fatigue, anger, negative mood, and cognitive problems all increase when you're dehydrated. Stay ahead of stress and sip water throughout the day. Keep a bottle of water with you at all times and drink some every half hour or hour during the day. You'll be less likely to get dehydrated and feel stressed. Remember, don't wait until you feel thirsty to drink. Thirst occurs when you're already dehydrated.

Work Out Better with H₂O

Drink Enough Water Before Activity

Adequate hydration is a boon to workouts. Drinking water helps you work out longer and avoid muscle cramps. Water helps lubricate joints in the body. Not sure how much water you need to drink while working out? That depends on a variety of factors including your weight, how much you sweat, your activity level, and the weather. However, a good rule of thumb is that you should drink 5 to 10 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes while you exercise. Drink 2 to 2 1/2 cups of water every 2 hours prior to exercise to make sure you go into your workout well hydrated. If you sweat a lot, it may be a good idea to consume water that contains electrolytes (substances that the body needs to function properly, like sodium and potassium). Lemon water or water infused with other fruit flavors is also a good option to stay hydrated.

Boost Skin Health

Water Fights Wrinkles

Drinking adequate water helps plump up skin cells, which minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles so you look younger. Water also supports detoxification and helps flush toxins and impurities out of the body that dull your complexion. Stay well hydrated to support good circulation and blood flow, all of which will help your skin glow. If you don't like the taste of plain water, add a little lemon juice to make it more palatable. Vitamin C in citrus fruit is an antioxidant that fights skin-damaging free radicals and supports healthy collagen, a major component in skin. Along with drinking enough water, eat fruits and vegetables high in polyphenols and flavonoids to boost skin health. Sipping warm, vitamin C rich lemon water is believed to help you detoxify, which will help your skin glow.

Hydration Supports Digestion

Health Benefits for Your GI Tract

Water and fiber work together to keep you regular and avoid constipation. Water dilutes waste and helps eliminate toxins from the gastrointestinal tract. Water and fiber bulk up stools and make them easier to pass. Hydrate and make sure you're getting adequate fluids every day to stay regular. If you do become dehydrated, stools will become hard, dry, and more difficult to pass. Squeeze a little lemon juice into plain water to make it more palatable. Foods and beverages containing probiotics, like kombucha, are also a boon to digestive health. One of the side effects of consuming too much sodium or fiber without enough water is bloating. Drink more water or sip peppermint tea to eliminate bloating. Be extra mindful of taking in more fluids if you develop diarrhea. Significant dehydration and loss of important electrolytes may occur if diarrhea, vomiting, or both are present. The absorption of fluid and nutrients is decreased when diarrhea occurs. Severe cases of dehydration may require IV fluid replacement. 

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Do Babies Also Have Trauma?

Trauma can have a serious effect on babies and toddlers. Many people wrongly believe that babies do not notice or remember traumatic events. In fact, anything that affects older children and adults in a family can also affect a baby. Traumatic and life-threatening events may include incidents such as car accidents, bushfires, sudden illness, traumatic death in the family, crime, abuse or violence in the community.

Trauma can seriously disrupt important aspects of child development that occur before the age of three years. These may include bonding with parents, as well as foundational development in the areas of language, mobility, physical and social skills and managing emotions. Providing support to help the family rebuild a safe, secure and nurturing home will help the baby or toddler recover.

How trauma affects babies and toddlers

Babies and toddlers are very helpless and depend on their family and parents for a sense of safety and security. They need emotional nurturing, through loving and reassuring interactions, and help with coping in an ongoing and consistent way. This is how babies and toddlers develop and grow.During their early months and years, children are very sensitive to:

• problems affecting their parents or main caregivers, which may include fear, sadness or being overwhelmed
• separation from their parent or primary carer – for instance, absence due to injury or other factors related to the trauma. This can have a double impact: distress of the separation itself and insecurity of having to manage without the safety, understanding and nurturing their carer provides. Both can slow recovery and increase the impact of the trauma
• what is happening in the household – babies and toddlers are affected by noise, distress or a very mixed-up routine where they are not sure what is happening
• disruption to the development of a bond or close relationship with their parent or lack of parental understanding – trauma can sometimes get in the way and make the formation of this bond more difficult.

If any of these things are happening, it is important to think about the effect on the baby. If the family or primary carer is affected, the baby is probably also affected.

Common reactions to trauma in babies and toddlers

When babies or toddlers are exposed to life-threatening or traumatic events, they become very scared – just like anybody else. Some common reactions may include:

• unusually high levels of distress when separated from their parent or primary carer
• a kind of ‘frozen watchfulness’ – the child may have a ‘shocked’ look
• giving the appearance of being numb and not showing their feelings or seeming a bit ‘cut off’ from what is happening around them
• loss of playful and engaging smiling and ‘coo-ing’ behaviour
• loss of eating skills
• avoiding eye contact
• being more unsettled and much more difficult to soothe
• slipping back in their physical skills such as sitting, crawling or walking and appearing more clumsy.

What parents and carers can do to help babies and toddlers cope with trauma

Structure, predictability and nurturing are key to helping a baby or toddler who has been traumatised. There are a number of things parents and carers can do to help their baby or toddler cope with and recover from trauma.

• Seek, accept and increase any support you need to help you manage your own shock and emotional response.
• Get information and advice on how the baby or toddler is going.
• Learn to recognise and manage the child’s signs of stress and understand cues for what is going on for them.
• Reduce the intensity and length of the initial stress reaction by helping the child settle and to feel safe and cared for as quickly as possible.
• Maintain the child’s routines around being held, sleeping and feeding.
• Offer a calm atmosphere and soothing activities.
• Avoid any unnecessary separations from important caregivers.
• Avoid exposing the child to reminders of the trauma, where possible.
• Expect that the child may temporarily regress (go backwards) in their behaviour or become ‘clingy’ and dependent. Don’t panic if this occurs – it is one of the child’s ways of trying to cope with what they have been through.
• Take time out to recharge yourself.

When to seek help for babies and toddlers after a traumatic event

The first and second year of a child’s life has lots of ups and downs. Development may slow down for a while and then move forward again. It can sometimes be difficult to work out if this is just one of those times or whether something more serious is happening.

It may help to seek professional advice if:

• the baby or toddler is slipping backwards in development
• development slows down, especially if this occurs following a traumatic event or major disruption in the family and household
• you feel that the trauma has got in the way of knowing your baby, developing close, loving feelings and feeling connected to them – it is important to seek help to get this bonding process back on track
• you have been separated from the baby or toddler at the time of danger or during its aftermath
• you or other carers are emotionally unwell with stress, grief, anxiety, exhaustion or depression – this can have a serious effect on the baby or toddler
• your family has lost their home and community.

There is increasing evidence to suggest that the younger a child, the more serious the post-traumatic problems. Actively seeking help and advice is important.

  

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Is It Safe To Exercise During Pregnancy?

"Many active women are surprised at how pregnancy affects their workouts," says Renee M. Jeffreys, M.Sc., a prenatal-fitness consultant in Milford, Conn., and co-author of Fit to Deliver (Hartley & Marks). "But remember that these are normal, short-term changes." Of course, exercise during pregnancy depends largely on what your fitness level is, which trimester you're in, and how you're feeling, Jeffreys says. But this much is certain: The gym is a great place to be when pregnant. If one cardio machine or strength exercise isn't comfortable, there's always another one to try. 

Getting yourself to the gym may take an extra dose of motivation, but the payoff is huge. Consistent exercise during pregnancy can minimize aches and constipation, help you sleep better, and lower your risk of gestational diabetes and depression. You may even end up having a shorter, less complicated labor. Developing good workout habits during pregnancy will help you get your body back faster after delivery too.

What’s more, exercise keeps your endorphins (your body's natural "happy" chemicals) flowing, says prenatal trainer Erinn Mikeska, owner of Delivering Fitness, in Dallas. That's a crucial benefit, especially since we now know that there are more mood disturbances during pregnancy than postpartum, due to the massive influx of extra estrogen and progesterone (hormones linked closely to mood), says Melanie Poudevigne, PhD, health and fitness management program coordinator at Clayton State University, in Morrow, Georgia.

Will Exercise Harm My Baby?

Many newly pregnant exercisers worry about miscarriage, thanks to age-old myths that say a bout of strenuous exercise can harm the baby. But "there is no real evidence that exercise is linked to miscarriage," says Bruce K. Young, MD, coauthor of Miscarriage, Medicine & Miracles (Bantam) and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University School of Medicine. However, early in pregnancy, elevating your core body temperature may be damaging to the fetus, so stay hydrated, don't exercise outdoors in the heat of the day, and avoid huffing and puffing so hard that you can't talk.

Heavy exercise isn't going to hurt your baby, but it will tire you more quickly than it did pre-pregnancy. Blood volume doubles during pregnancy, and a woman's heart needs to work harder to push all that blood around—including circulating it through the placenta, an extra organ. "That means the stress on your heart will be 50 percent greater for the same exercise that you were doing before pregnancy," Dr. Young says.

How Will I Feel?

Pregnant women often notice that they feel out of breath more quickly than they used to. You may assume this is a sign that you're out of shape. In fact, during pregnancy, you're breathing 20 to 25 percent more air because you need to get rid of the carbon dioxide levels in your own blood – and in your baby's. (Babies in utero aren't breathing on their own, but they're still producing carbon dioxide, which transfers to the mother's blood.) "So breathing more doesn't mean you're any less fit," explains Dennis Jensen, PhD, lead researcher on a Queen's University study of exercise and respiratory discomfort during pregnancy. It simply means that your body is adapting exactly as it should.

You may also feel less balanced when exercising while pregnant. "Looser joints and a changing center of gravity as the pregnancy progresses alters a woman's sense of balance, making her more susceptible to injuries such as sprained ankles and knees," says Shannon Clark, MD, associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. For any high intensity workouts, find an instructor knowledgeable on how to alter workouts to accommodate pregnant women.

Pregnancy isn't the time to push yourself to the max, but it's also okay—and good for you—to get your heart rate up with cardiovascular exercise. Although a target heart rate of 140 is a number that's often cited, there's no precise number to shoot for.

Best Exercises During Pregnancy

If you have access to prenatal exercise classes, sign up. Not only are the workouts modified for pregnancy, but you also get to bond with your fellow moms-to-be over charming symptoms such as heartburn, swollen feet, and hemorrhoids. You might even get labor tips.

If your favorite classes don't come in the prenatal variety, it's fine to keep going, as long as you pay attention to how your body feels, limit your intensity, and stay within the normal range of motion. Just make sure the instructor knows you're pregnant and is knowledgeable about modifications you can make, Jeffreys advises. Also, if your instructor hasn't worked with pregnant women, find one who has.  

  

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Using Saliva As Lubricant During Sexual Intercourse Can Lead To Sexually Transmitted Diseases - Experts

Medical experts say using saliva as a lubricant during sexual intercourse increases the risk of the human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis, and herpes infection.

They also noted that sexually transmitted infections like candidiasis, chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhoea can also be transmitted through the practice.

The physicians urged couples to indulge in foreplay to get lubricated naturally, or get a lubricant that is medically certified before sexual intercourse is initiated.

Speaking with neewsmen, a General Practitioner in Minna, Niger State, Dr. Akinkoye Akinpelu, said an HIV-infected man might have a bleeding gum and once the saliva with traces of blood is used to lubricate, the woman will become infected.

“You know that HIV is a disease transmitted through blood contact. A man or woman might have a bleeding gum and probably any of the partners already has a cut due to friction during intercourse. By the time they lubricate with the saliva, the bacteria or virus present gets transmitted.

According to the World Health Organisation, HIV is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the white blood cells, called CD4 cells.

The WHO noted that HIV destroys these CD4 cells, thereby weakening a person’s immunity against infections, such as tuberculosis and some cancers.

“HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having killed almost 33 million people so far. The virus can be transmitted through contact with infected blood, semen, or vaginal fluids.

“Within a few weeks of HIV infection, flu-like symptoms, such as fever, sore throat, and fatigue can occur. Then the disease is usually asymptomatic, until it progresses to AIDS,” the WHO stated.

Dr. Akinpelu, who is the Medical Director of Top Medical Centre, said the private part of the woman is a very good environment for bacteria growth, adding that a slight bruise is an easy pathway for any infection to penetrate the body.

The physician also warned against indulging in oral sex, noting that it is another avenue to get STI infections.

  

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COVID-19 May Reduce Sperm Quality In Men - Study

Covid-19 may damage sperm quality and reduce fertility in men, according to a new study based on experimental evidence.

The viral disease – which has swept the globe, claiming nearly 2.2 million lives – can cause increased sperm cell death, inflammation and so-called oxidative stress, researchers reported on Friday in the journal Reproduction.

"These findings provide the first direct experimental evidence that the male reproductive system could be targeted and damaged by Covid-19," the authors concluded.

Experts commenting on the research, however, said the capacity of the virus to compromise fertility in men remains unproven.

Covid-19 causes respiratory illness, especially in older people and those with underlying medical problems.

The world has seen more than 100 million confirmed cases since the disease emerged in central China at the end of 2019.

Transmitted through respiratory droplets, the disease attacks the lungs, kidneys, intestines and heart.

It can also infect male reproductive organs, impairing sperm cell development and disrupting reproductive hormones, earlier studies have shown. The same receptors the virus uses to access lung tissue are also found in the testicles.

But the effects of the virus on the ability of men to reproduce remained unclear.

Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki and Bakhtyar Tartibian from Justus-Liebig-University in Germany searched for biological markers that might indicate a negative impact on fertility.

Analysis done at 10-day intervals for 60 days in 84 men with Covid-19 was compared to data for 105 healthy men.

In the Covid-19 patients, sperm cells showed a significant increase in markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, a chemical imbalance that can damage DNA and proteins in the body.

"These effects on sperm cells are associated with lower sperm quality and reduced fertility potential," said Maleki in a statement.

"Although these effects tended to improve over time, they remained significantly and abnormally higher in the Covid-19 patients."

The more severe the disease, the bigger the changes, he added.

The male reproductive system "should be considered a vulnerable route of Covid-19 infection and declared a high-risk organ by the World Health Organisation," Maleki said.

Experts not involved in the study welcomed the research, but cautioned that more was needed before drawing hard and fast conclusions.

"Men should not be unduly alarmed," noted Alison Campbell, director of embryology of the CARE Fertility Group in Britain.

"There is currently no definitive evidence of long-lasting damage caused by Covid-19, to sperm or male reproductive potential," she told the London-based Science Media Centre.

The results could have been skewed, she added, by the fact that men recovering from Covid were treated with corticosteroids and antiviral therapies, while the control group was not.

Allan Pacey, a specialist in male reproductive medicine at the University of Sheffield, raised a "stong note of caution" on how the data was interpreted.

Some of the indicators of decreased sperm quality could be due to factors besides Covid-19, he said, noting that more men in the Covid-19 group were overweight.

The simple fact that only one group was very sick – no matter the cause – also needed to be taken into account, he added.

"We already know that a febrile illness can impact on sperm production, regardless of what caused it." - AFP

  

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African Men More Likely To Die Of COVID-19 Than Women - WHO

Women in Africa are less likely to die from Covid-19 than men, but more likely to succumb to maternal complications due to limited access to reproductive services since the pandemic started, the UN said on Thursday citing reports.

A study of 28 African countries including Guinea, Mauritius and Uganda showed that on average, women accounted for a slightly smaller proportion of coronavirus infections and deaths compared to men.

Overall around 41 per cent of reported Covid-19 cases were women, although the figures ranged widely from 31 per cent in Niger to more than 57 per cent in South Africa.

"In most countries, women are somewhat less likely to die from Covid-19 than men," World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti told an online news conference.

But the pandemic had exposed gaps in health services, with women suffering the brunt of disrupted access to care.

"There was a rise in maternal deaths in 10 countries," Moeti said, making reference to another study that collated data between Feb and July 2020.

The highest jumps were recorded in the Comoros, Mali, Senegal and South Africa.

Access to sexual and reproductive care was already poor on the continent before coronavirus hit.

But access was made worse by restrictions to stem the spread of Covid-19, pushing more women to seek risky informal abortions, Moeti explained.

Overstretched hospitals were often unable to see patients seeking non-coronavirus related services, she added.

More data is still needed to determine the full extent of the effect. - AFP

  

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