In the Proceedings journal, the study authors say their findings might explain why there have been more cases of these lung infections in recent years, linked with people tending to take more showers and fewer baths. Water spurting from shower heads can distribute bacteria-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air and can easily be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs, say the scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Potential threat

Lead researcher Professor Norman Pace, said: “If you are getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy.”

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While it is rarely a problem for most healthy people, those with weakened immune systems, like the elderly, pregnant women or those who are fighting off other diseases, can be susceptible to infection. They may develop lung infection with M. avium and experience symptoms including tiredness, a persistent, dry cough, shortness of breath and weakness, and generally feel unwell.

When the researchers swabbed and tested 50 shower heads from nine cities in seven different states in the US, including New York City and Denver, they found 30% of the devices posed a potential risk. Since plastic shower heads appear to “load up” with more bacteria-rich biofilms, metal shower heads may be a good alternative, said Professor Pace.

Showers have also been identified as a route for spreading other infectious diseases, including a type of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease and chest infections with a bacterium called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Hot tubs and spa pools carry a similar infection risk, according to the Health Protection Agency.

Source: BBC

Sound therapy treatment is one among the most interesting and effective way to get peaceful sleep. As it is a fact that all of us are actually tired after working everyday. For some, it can be simple to lie down and sleep while for the others, getting sound sleep is just like a dream. Such individuals try their best to sleep but to no avail.

To adopt sound therapy effectively, the person needs to listen to some type of music like the classical music on daily basis. The treatment makes use of various sound qualities that inspire the person’s inner ear. When this music reaches the person’s brain, his or her senses are automatically soothed and brought to relaxation state.

In case you are an adult, listen to the music for about 3 hours every day but for the children it is advisable to listen to the sound music for just an hour or so. Apart from relieving from the daily stress and offering better sleep, this sound therapy also serves to be beneficial for the people who are facing some hearing problems. Also, those with the difficulty of laziness or lethargy, the sound therapy can prove to be really useful. Not just this, the treatment can even help to per up the intellectual abilities of the person thereby making him or her more creative.

With the sound therapy, you will eventually feel relaxed and get sounder sleep. Also, you will be in better physical condition to do the daily tasks in better manner.

One expert stated that merely performing 10-minute exercise bouts for at least 30 minutes a day would work on lowering fats in the blood as opposed to no exercise at all. Not enough hours in the day to exercise no longer holds as a valid excuse as these short 10-minute bursts of exercise have proven to help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Experts also noted that taking a leisurely stroll around the block wouldn’t qualify as meeting this cardiovascular benefit. Instead, they suggested walking at a moderate pace or taking a light jog. The negative cardiovascular consequences of eating a high-fat meal happens when there is an abnormally high increase in fat, a condition known as postprandial lipemia, which has been linked to increasing the risk of heart disease.

Researchers tested the effects of short-term exercise in a study on 18 men and women who didn’t follow a daily exercise routine. The participants were given a high-fat meal consisting of a milk shake with heavy whipping cream on three separate occasions for the next few weeks.

The duration of exercise before meals were divided into three categories:

• The participants exercised continuously for 30 minutes
• The participants exercised for 30 minutes in three 10-minute increments
• The participants didn’t exercise at all

Before and several times after each meal measurements of triglycerides and other blood fats were taken.

Overall, total cholesterol levels remained the same, however it did appear that triglyceride levels were less pronounced after a bout of exercise as opposed to no exercise at all. This led researchers to believe that exercise did have a positive influence on keeping triglyceride levels from rising after a high-fat meal.

This study, the largest ever conducted on post-menopausal women, revealed that multivitamins may contribute virtually nothing to reducing risk of common cancers, cardiovascular disease, and overall mortality. Darn!

The message? Please make sure that your diet is a healthy one and that you are taking care of yourself through exercising, following a low-fat diet, and avoiding cigarettes and alcohol. And know that science is now telling us that a multivitamin pill isn’t a magic bullet and is no substitute for living a healthy lifestyle.

Additional research is being conducted to better understand how the body biologically and physiologically processes and metabolizes vitamins and minerals. That will be interesting to read about.

People are spending a lot of money each year on multivitamins. It’s probably time to rethink that purchase and spend that money on a membership to a local gym or on more fresh fruits and veggies.

There can be many ways to relax your body and mind out of your stressed life and you may not even need to spend bucks to do that. Stretching your body with different pose and different ways can help you shed that rigidity of your body.
Listening to a calm song before you sleep can also help you put your mind at rest and energize you for the next day.

Sharing a quality time with your family members each day after dinnertime with some favorite indoor games may also add new refreshment to your life.Visiting new places every weekend near to your place will also amuse you and help you explore your neighborhood.

There is no best exercise for your mind than meditation and learning how to stop your thoughts and emotions will help you combat your stressful life.

Ayurveda promotes that if your immune system is strong, you would not be affected even if you are exposed to such deadly viruses. Your strong immune system will protect you from those viruses. Point is how to maintain that immunity.

Ginger and Tulsi (Basil)
Use them raw and they can be an excellent way to protect yourself boosting your immunity. Ginger has been known to fight different flu, cold and fever conditions. It not only is good for inflammation but also protects you from any infection that bothers you. Basil is an antiseptic and anti-bacterial herb.

Ginger and Tulsi ( Basil )Tea:

To a cup of water add freshly sliced Ginger Root pieces or dry ginger powder. Add 5 to 7 fresh Basil leaves and bring it to boil, add sugar.

Have this spiced tea once a day and it would work magic.

Garlic:
The powerful natural antibiotic – Garlic has this unusual property due to its obnoxious smell to repel off bacteria and viruses. Have some sliced Garlic clove, may be stir fry a little bit before you eat.
Amla (Indian Gooseberry) : Embilica Officanales

One of the greatest fruits known to boost immune systems. It’s a very common ingredient in Chyavanaprash. This fruit can help a lot in this situation in boosting our health. A spoonful of Chyavanaprash might do the magic in giving you the protection that might be needed to fight this virus.

Camphor:
Have you ever been aware of this herb before ? It’s not to be taken internally. Fumigate your house, office and surroundings with Camphor. It has a property of keeping different air borne diseases away.
Neem :

The Neem tree has many medicinal uses. The chemical compounds present in Neem have anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, antipyretic, hypoglycaemic , antifungal, spermicidal, antimalarial, antibacterial and Diuretic properties.  Flower, leaves, bark and seeds of Neem are used in home remedies and in preparation of medicines. Bark of Neem acts as antipyretic and helps to reduce fever.

His reasoning: He felt fine and hadn’t had any asthma attacks for a while, so why bother? Dr. Kercsmar performed a series of tests, and it was clear his lung function was compromised, even though he didn’t have any coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, or other signs of asthma. She made sure he knew that he needed to start his asthma medication again.

“We were to come into pollen season, which could have triggered his asthma symptoms, possibly leading to an emergency room visit or hospitalization,” she says.

Generally, asthma can be categorized into two classes: intermittent asthma, in which symptoms occur less than three times a week, and chronic asthma.

People with intermittent asthma can often get by using only a short-acting or “rescue” inhaler when symptoms develop. Those with more chronic asthma and more frequent flare-ups (like Dr. Kercsmar’s 10-year-old patient) need to take a maintenance medication to reduce inflammation between attacks. “The goal of asthma treatment is to prevent, prevent, prevent,” Dr. Kercsmar says.

Unfortunately, patients failing to take their maintenance medication is an all-too-common scenario. People may take medication incorrectly, in an erratic stop-and-start fashion, or just flat out skip it. It’s not that people with asthma are trying to dupe their doc. Asthma can be a sneaky foe. Most people feel perfectly fine, until they very quickly don’t. All it takes is a rise in pollen counts, a common cold, a chance encounter with a cat, a change in temperature, or a bout of exercise to send a patient into the danger zone. The problem? It’s hard to predict when that will happen.

“It can be hours, days, weeks, or months, so it’s pretty easy for patients to be lulled into a false sense of security,” says Dr. Kercsmar. “It’s an incredibly variable disease that can be punctuated by flare-ups, but the time between flare-ups can be variable.”

For More Information on Asthma

Why do some people’s body sizes and metabolisms vary?

People’s natural body compositions and metabolisms can vary a lot among individuals. Sex, age, the ratio of muscle compared to fat, and the amount of daily exercise people get is different and all of these variables determine how fast or slow someone’s metabolism is. These variables make our body shapes vary also.

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It does not mean that if one looks thin, she is necessarily very particular when it comes to food.Hormonal factors and genetic factors affect people’smetabolic rates as well. That is why some people, called ectomorphs can eat a ton while everyone else wonders why. Losing Pregancy Weight

Men also have highermetabolic rates because of the male hormone, testosterone. As we know testosterone is responsible for men’s physical development. This includes the growth of bigger muscles. On a basic level, men are born with more muscle than women. This makes them have higher metabolisms than women who have estrogen and progesterone as sex hormones.

As far as age, adults have lower metabolic rates than children and teenagers.This is because human growth hormone and the level of muscle in people’s bodies goes down as people get older.Synthetic human growth hormone is not prescribed for matured adults because there are too many bad side effects.It is only prescribed for children with growth disorders who aren’t growing at a normal pace.

When do women’s metabolic rates go up?

Women have higher metabolisms when they are pregnant and more when they are breastfeeding. However, women’s metabolisms plunge during menopause. For women to maintain higher metabolisms, it is important to get daily exercise and eat healthfully. Exercise increases and maintains the amount of lean body mass, which helps keep their metabolisms up as they age.

Is exercising at night better than other times of the day? .

Studies show that it doesn’t seem to matter at all. Studies show that the time of day doesn’t change the effect of exercise. Working out whenever you can be consistent is always preferable. Exercising at least 3-5 times a week produces the best results.

Those people with speedy metabolisms are definitely lucky, but everyone else can keep their metabolisms up by eating 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 squares. Resistance as well as cardio training will keep muscle rates up and help you look better and stay healthier as you get older.

Gastritis is more common with age and most sufferers complain of indigestion. People with acute gastritis caused by illness or injury have already been hospitalized for treatment of their underlying condition; therefore, symptoms of gastritis are managed in the course of their intensive care.

Causes of gastritis

The most frequent cause of gastritis is a dietetic indiscretion such as habitual overeating; eating of badly combined or improperly cooked foods, excessive intake of strong tea, coffee or alcoholic drinks, habitual use of large quantities of condiments, sauces.

It may sometimes follow certain diseases such measles, diptheria, influenza, virus pneumonia. It also results from worry, anxiety, grief and prolonged tension. Use of certain drugs, strong acids and caustic substances may also give rise to gastritis.

Gastritis Home Remedies

1. Only rice that has been aged for one year must be used. Wheat and barley are beneficial.
2. Among vegetables white pumpkin, bitter gourd, cucumber, green banana and banana flower are effective.
3. Cow’s milk is preferable to buffalo’s milk.
4. People suffering from gastritis must not confuse their stomach glands with different kinds of foods at the same time. It is beneficial if the person is kept on a single diet. Ideally the person must be kept on a milk diet or on a diet of old rice.
5. Vitamin C has the capacity to help in the absorption of iron and calcium salts in the body. This eases the digestive process. Therefore, the diet must be rich in vitamin C. Foods that contain vitamin C to a commendable quantity are amlas, oranges, etc.
6. Pungent and sour tastes must be avoided. Even chocolates, tea and coffee must be avoided as these can increase the acidic contents in the stomach.
7. The person must never eat till the stomach is fool. In gastritis it is better to eat little quantities each time, so that the stomach gets proper time to digest the food.
8. Sesame seeds and curds must be avoided.
9. Have a banana early in the morning. Drown them with milk. This reduces the acidity within the stomach in some days.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that dark chocolate makes you feel more satisfied and keeps the stomach full longer than white/ milk chocolate. 16 young and healthy men of normal weight were involved in a so-called “crossover” experiment.

All of them fasted for 12 hours beforehand and were offered 100g of chocolate after that, dark chocolate in one session and milk chocolate in another. 2½ hours later, they were given pizza and were allowed to eat until “comfortably satiated”. It was found that their calorie intake was 15 percent lower and they had less cravings for sweet, salty or fatty foods when they had consumed dark chocolate compared to the milk chocolate.

With that being said, don’t forget, many chocolate bars sold in the stores contain quite a fair amount of fat and calories so be extra careful when buying dark chocolate. My advice is to go for those with little or no sugar and higher cocoa percentage. However, if you’re a newbie to dark chocolate, it’s better to start with 65 percent cocoa and then work your way up – you wouldn’t want to end up with a “bitter” face!