Archive for ◊ 2011 ◊

Coffee and Energy Drinks Reduce Multitasking Ability
Author:
• Monday, October 17th, 2011

When the eyes getting sleepy, coffee and energy drinks can make the eyes and the concentration is maintained. But for those who must do a lot of activity at the same time, these beverages would likely reduce the ability of coordination.

A good brain coordination is necessary in certain professions that rely on the ability of multitasking. For a pilot, for example, in the same time his eyes must observe the radar while the ears to hear guidance from the control tower and the hands holding the steering control.

Coffee and energy drinks can improve concentration while doing simple jobs, but the effect does not apply to the coordination ability of the brain while doing many things at the same time. It’s when consuming the drink, coordination capabilities will decline.

This is evidenced in a study conducted by experts from Ohio State University. The study involved 30 people flying school students who were divided into 2 groups and each given a different treatment for 2 consecutive days.

On the first day, one group were given energy drinks and the others received a placebo with no effect. Treatment in each group changed on the second day, the original placebo and vice versa so energy drinks energy drinks so that the original placebo.

When compared, the skills of prospective pilots fly planes in general lower when consuming energy drinks. After deflecting the direction of the plane for example, prospective pilots who consume energy drinks take 10 seconds longer to return to the correct position.

“Caffeine, taurine, sugar and various booster stamina in sports drinks reduce the ability of the body and brain to coordinate,” said Conrad Woolsey, PhD, who led the study as quoted from Menshealth. (*Dr. Conrad Woolsey  was involved with the idea, the 3rd author on the article and was not involved with data collection or testing in the flight simulator)

Dr. Woolsey suggests, when coordination is necessary capabilities should not rely too much on energy drinks. Adequate sleep is much healthier to overcome drowsiness, without reducing the brain’s ability to coordinate and maintain concentration.

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Hair loss treatment: pros and cons
Author:
• Monday, October 10th, 2011

Going bald early on is something that happens to many men and is also something that many men dread happening to them. Whilst women tend to manage to hang on to their hair until they are relatively old many men start to lose their hair early on in life, such as their twenties, thirties and forties. Having to deal with hair loss and bald patches leaves many men feeling extremely self conscious and can really hit their confidence levels. However, men can take action to try and rectify premature hair loss and baldness with the use of a very effective treatment called Propecia.

Clinical trials have shown that Propecia can be very effective for men who are experiencing balding and hair loss. This treatment works in two ways, both of which can benefit men hugely. First off, it helps to stop further hair loss in its tracks. However, it is also able to revive dead hair follicles in order to get them producing hair again, which means that you could see regrowth in areas where you thought baldness was now a foregone conclusion.

Of course, as is the case with any treatment or medication that you take, it is important that you weight up the pros and cons of Propecia, as this will help you to determine its suitability and will give you an idea of what to expect with this treatment.

Pros

This is a treatment that is extremely simple and easy to take, as it comes in the form of a small and discreet pill. This is great for men, considering the alternative could have been some nasty, odd smelling solution that had to be applied to the scalp. Topical products for the scalp can sometimes do more harm than good, as they can cause intense itching and soreness, which could even result in greater hair loss. However, with the Propecia tablet you can take your medication discreetly and quickly without anyone having to know. It also makes it easier to continue treatment whilst you are away, as the last thing you want to do whilst on vacation or a business trip is start applying solutions to the scalp!

This medication can help in two ways. Propecia can help to reduce the risk of further hair loss, which means that your hair loss may be stopped in its tracks. However, it can also deal with damage that has already been done by addressing inactive hair follicles in bald areas and getting them to produce hair again

Whilst Propecia has been proven to be effective for many men there is no guarantee that it will work for all men. Some men may experience no hair regrowth put could see the level of hair loss reduced, other men may see no benefits, whilst some may see both hair regrowth and a reduction in hair loss.

There are a number of side effects that can come with taking Propecia, although most men have not experienced side effects with the medication. Possible side effect include loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, possible allergic reactions, breast enlargement and tenderness.

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Heart disease and canaries
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• Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

In the good old days when men sold their souls to the company store for sixteen tons and even then only got deeper in debt, there was no technology to warn the miners if gas was building up. The first they might know is an explosion bringing down the roof. Being careful men, they experimented with different ways of testing the air for gas and canaries were the most reliable indicator they found. All they had to do was keep the birds in the mine. If they fell off their perches, there was too much gas around and it was time to evacuate. So much for the history lesson.

Every year, modern medicine directs a lot of money into basic research to look for ways of detecting serious health problems in their early stages. Sometimes, technology is the answer. So many women who go for regular mammograms detect breast cancer early and the treatment is more likely to save the breast and guarantee a long life. In other cases, there are early symptoms that may not, at first sight, have any connection to the more serious condition that appears later. In the case of heart disease, there’s now very clear evidence that erectile dysfunction in younger men is a very clear warning of a possible stroke or heart attack within the next five years.

The explanation for this is slightly complicated. Various types of cells line the walls of our blood vessels. The most sensitive of these are called endothelial. For reasons no one can explain, there are more of these cells in the penis than anywhere else in the body so anything that affects them is going to show up in erectile dysfunction. If you eat a diet containing too much fat, there’s likely to be a build up of plaque on the walls of the arteries. This hardens the cells and prevents the arteries from dilating and contracting. Since the formation of an erection depends on dilation, anything preventing it in younger men signals high risk the same problem will spread to other blood vessels in the body.

If you’re under the age of 50 and you experience a consistent pattern of erectile dysfunction, you should ask a doctor for a full cardiology workup. Indeed, the younger you are, the more urgent it is you have the tests done. But if you’re older, there are fewer risks. It’s reasonably safe to buy Viagra online and rely on that to solve the problem. That said, we’re all aware of the so-called epidemic of obesity. That’s too many men carrying too much weight. No matter what your age, you should think about changing your diet. One of the most common causes of a plaque build-up is eating too much carbohydrate in your food. The evidence shows men find erectile dysfunction is less of a problem if they lose weight. This should not be a big deal. It’s just a matter of eating a low-fat diet in smaller portions. If you can add in a little exercise, so much the better. If this is too much of a challenge, there’s always Viagra but, if your weight does continue increasing, it may only be a short-term fix. Losing weight is better.

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The mythology of acne
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• Sunday, September 04th, 2011

Let’s start off with a definition of a myth. Essentially, it’s a lie we tell ourselves to hide our fear. Suppose we’re frightened of lightning. No problem! We’ll invent a god who walks around the sky and, if he gets upset with anyone, he lets go a bolt or two. Why is this a good idea? As a priest in this new religion, all you have to do is keep the god happy by worshiping, giving me offerings and buying my comic books. So long as the god is happy, you will then be safe. No more fear! Thor rocks! Now let’s apply this to acne. As parents, we feel the need to prepare our children for all the bad stuff that’s likely to happen to them. So we tell them the story of acne. This is a disease so terrible that most affected end up looking like a toad with warts – obviously you want to keep the fear to Disney animation level so mention Princes turning into them and Princesse Fiona secretly being a green-skinned ogre at night. All this recognizes the new social reality. Only those with a perfect skin are acceptable. Everyone else is out of the magic circle in school and only allowed to mix with goths and nerds. To cushion the blow of having unattractive friends, we then tell them the really big lie – that they soon grow out of it and it will never affect them as adults.

The current estimate is that about 15% of the adult population suffers acne. That’s millions of people. Fortunately, the majority of sufferers are women and there’s a big market for selling concealer makeup, i.e. heavy foundation creams and a powder to put on top. Even metrosexual men are reluctant to wear obvious makeup. So why is acne affecting more adults? Here we get into yet more myths as self-appointed experts muscle their way on to television and radio stations to sell their miracle products or latest book detailing Obama’s acne and his loss of popularity. Their explanations range from too much stress in our lives to the diet we eat. This would be helpful if there was any scientific evidence to link either stress or diet to acne. Except there’s no such evidence. It’s all just more myths.

So what can or should we do as adults. For men, washing twice a day with an unmedicated soap is enough to clear the pores. If you want a cheap alternative to soap, use benzoyl peroxide in small amounts. Using too many products to clean your skin can dry it out and make acne harder to beat. For general health and the improvement of your skin, you should also drink less alcohol, quit smoking and avoid a smokey atmosphere. For women, using an oral contraceptive can reduce the hormone level. If this is not acceptable on moral grounds, then the usual self-help approaches to keeping the skin clean are the best. If all else fails and your appearance is so important, Accutane is available. As a woman, remember to take the strongest possible measures to prevent pregnancy. There’s very clear evidence Accutane does cause birth defects in the majority of cases. No one can pass this medical consequence off as a myth.

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Your Pre-sex Performance Enhancing Checklist
Author:
• Wednesday, July 06th, 2011

Having trouble getting psyched up for thespecial moment with your partner? Here’s list of quick tips to ensure you’ll beas confident and creative as possible in the bedroom!

Look Great, Feel Confident

Have you ever been about to engage in sexual activity, only to beginworrying if you were properly groomed, if you had body odor, or if youwere going to look bad naked? These are all potential obstacles that youcan resolve before you enter the bedroom, so take care of them beforehand.Take time to dress well, groom yourself, and practice healthy habits likediet and exercise to maintain a physique you can be proud of. All of thishappens before you even meet with your partner. And of course, make sureyou have protection!

Game Plan

It’s certainly not a requirement for a pleasant, enjoyable sex session,but if you find yourself under pressure about how or what to do duringintercourse, it may be helpful to quickly run through a few differentpossible techniques in your head, so they’re fresh. Don’t try to come upwith some kind of rigid game plan, but if you or your partner have certaininterests or turn-ons, quickly refresh yourself mentally so that you canbe sure to include them in your session. Women appreciate a lot of littlethings about sex – caressing, kissing, whispers – so try reminding yourself todo things like this.

Consult Your Partner

Effective communication is the key to meeting needs in every relationship.If you’re unsure about what your partner wants, don’t be shy about asking.And on the other hand, be up front about what turns you on and satisfiesyou, and say it without shame. Mutual respect for your specific desireswill lead to much more fulfilling sexual pleasure for both you and yourpartner, and will help to establish boundaries about what is and is notacceptable. Discussing this up front will make it easier to engage inspecific activities without having a discussion mid-sessions that couldruin the mood.

Study Female Anatomy and Pleasure Centers

It’s known that getting good at anything requires study and practice, andsex is no different. Throw out those silly guides to attracting womenwritten by men, and pick up a book on female orgasms so you can become themost considerate lover possible. Of course, every woman has different desires,but understanding how the female genitalia is structured and responds tostimuli will give you the ability to give your partner exactly what shewants!

Take Your Levitra

If you have trouble attaining and maintaining an erection, you’ll want tohave your ED medication at the ready. If you anticipate sexual activity,take one pill at least 15-30 minutes prior to having intercourse. Don’tworry about taking Levitra with food or alcohol, as this will not affectthe medication. Once you have taken Levitra, you will be ready for sex forthe next 5-7 hours.

If you are going to purchase ED medication, you should do so online.Prices will be lower and the process is a lot more convenient and private.

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The cultural reaction to hair loss
Author:
• Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

I suppose if you go back to the days when men rose in the mornings and went out into the jungle or on to the plains to hunt for food, losing hair was a real problem. Just imagine the bright sun shining off the bald head. This beacon of light would frighten the game animals away faster than you could move downwind. It would be worse than dropping your spear or forgetting to bring your cudgel along, where the other members of the hunt could cover for you. But when your presence drives the potential food away. Now that’s a real problem. So they drive you out of the cave – no freeloaders allowed. You do your best to join the women in the gathering part of the survival exercise. Berries and roots are not disturbed by your lack of hair. In the end, you probably starve to death and this serves as a terrible warning to the other members of the tribe. Some of the men experiment with animal skins, hoping to invent baseball caps. Others try rubbing earth or other substances on to their scalps. At the very least, it all cuts down the glare factor.

It’s no different today. Were it not for the development of other skills which can be sold in exchange for food, all balding men would starve. This just leaves the other reaction. Women often see balding men as undesirable for breeding purposes. Who wants to have children with someone who may pass on the balding gene? It’s much kinder to let natural selection end these poor creatures and leave the human race stronger and more hairy as a result.

So men who see the first signs of premature male pattern balding slowly emerge must take action to preserve their credibility for breeding purposes. Other problems can be cured. Dental work can correct less than perfect teeth. Cosmetic surgery can remove excess fat and smooth away early wrinkles that might betray age. Style gurus can advise on clothes to wear. This just leaves the hair. Fortunately, the researchers had one of those lucky accidents. There’s this wonderful myth that scientists set out with a hypothesis, devise experiments and prove themselves brilliant. Ironically, there’s just as much discovered when experiments go hopelessly wrong. Bright-eyed and not defeated, they try to find the reason for their humiliation.

So it was with those scientists trying to find a way of treating prostate cancer. Imagine their surprise when the drug trials suddenly produced more hair on the heads of many participating men. After recovering from their Simpson “doh” moment, they realized they might have a money-spinner on their hands. Several trials later, the FDA was convinced and a license was issued. Propecia could be released on to world markets as the only drug to have been fully tested and approved by government regulators. It’s a great marketing strategy when you can tell the truth about your product. Too often in the past, marketers had to lie and cheat their customers, moving on to the next town quickly before the scam was discovered. This time, they really could say Propecia stops hair loss and hold their own heads up proudly.

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Why are fad diets popular?
Author:
• Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

One of the oldest marketing strategies is the idea of something for nothing – the free gift. Buy one, get this free tree branch for use in sweeping out the cave before the hunters come home. It’s incredible people continue to fall for this, particularly when the gift is so often useless. Yet there’s a greedy streak in many who just cannot resist the idea of supposed extra value. Equally, there’s a way of pandering to the lazy streak. Devices are not described as labor-saving for nothing. You can now do this “thing” with less effort (or no effort when the miracle ingredient is added). Ah, note the addition of miraculous qualities. This product will work if you have faith. There will be no scientific explanation, just endless testimonials and endorsements from Charles who grew muscles after sand was kicked in his face at the beach and from Marylyn who married well and got good parts in movies because of the bust enhancing cream she used.

Well, if you go into bookstores (those that have managed to stay in business) or search the internet, you will find an army of experts all trying to sell you their latest book on how to lose weight. No matter what the title, they all come down to the same thing. Follow these few simple instructions and, without you having to lift a finger, unwanted pounds will drop from your body as if blown away by pixie dust. In fact, we do have a small supply of pixie dust available for sale to private buyers, but that’s something we can discuss in another article. Until we get to that, all these diets have common themes.

One particular type of food is hailed as having amazing, not to say miraculous, properties. If you eat enough of it, you will lose weight. The best examples of this are cabbage and grapefruit. Eat either of these (and nothing else) for [insert number of weeks] and, if you do not die of malnutrition, you will be thinner. Then we have the “brand name” diets that either rely on you believing that the Israeli Army only has thin people in its ranks, or thinking you will fade away to nothing if you only drink Slim-Fast or a comparable product. Finally, we have the diets that persuade you they are scientific because they refer to carbohydrates or proteins or the metabolic processes of your body.

The sad fact is that none of these diets work well in the medium to longer term. Anyone who starves for a few weeks will lose weight. The fact this is medically dangerous to your health is not mentioned on the book jackets or the accompanying marketing copy. There’s only one way to lose weight and that’s to burn more calories than you consume. So eat less food. The food you eat should be more healthy. Exercise is good for you. The problem is hunger. The solution is Acomplia which suppresses your appetite. If you feel less hungry, it’s easier to keep the healthy diet going for longer. If you do keep the diet going with Acomplia‘s help, you will feel better and look great. There are no better rewards for putting in the hard work to lose weight.

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What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Author:
• Monday, June 13th, 2011

There is yet another of those disconnections between the Europeans and our own medical profession. You would always hope that doctors would be doctors no matter where they were in practice. Yet even when you put aside Sarah Palin’s paranoid allegations about European hospitals as death camps, there are a number of key disagreements between the two groups of professions. The one we should be most worried about is that the European insistence on evidence-based practice is rejected in the US.

 

In the US, the FDA licenses drugs or medical devices, and then leaves it to the market to decide how it should all be used. The Europeans believe that all treatments and therapies should be tested. If there is no evidence a particular approach is effective, the national or international regulator issues a directive. The effect is to deny this treatment funding from the public purse. It’s always open to individuals to have their own private health insurance cover non-approved treatments, or they can pay for it out of their own pockets. In the US, doctors can decide to do whatever they like with what’s available. All they care about is whether they can charge patients for the treatment. Obviously, it’s bad for business if too many patients die, but this can usually be hushed up. Unlike Europe, American hospitals do not publish survival and death rates by department. In a perfect world, you would always have access to this information before deciding whether to trust a hospital.

 

Anyway, the latest disconnection covers Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This is increasingly routine in Europe but still rare in the US. This is explained by the relative costs. One specialist doctor sees a given number of billable patients an hour. A CBT specialist may spend an hour with one patient deciding how best to treat him or her. One-to-one therapy is considered the most effective. Every major piece of published research confirms CBT as more effective than standard medical approaches to treatment. So the fact you may spend more money today on one patient today means you may not need to treat that patient again for months or years. Now you understand why this is not popular in the US.

 

“Cognitive” means you teach the patient about the physical and emotional problems. Control over pain comes from understanding more about it. The “behavioral” means you look carefully at how the patient moves when performing basic tasks. The “therapy” then devises better ways of performing those routine tasks. It teaches basic coping strategies so you move within the physical limitations with less pain. Exercises and activities are designed to improve your general mobility. Joints are eased and muscles toned up. The idea is to give you a mixture of physical strategies and relaxation techniques to give you control over the pain and the emotions associated with it. This does not deny a place for Tramadol and the other painkillers. But with longer use, there’s a real risk of dependence. You can keep a small supply of Tramadol to hand just in case the pain unexpectedly grows more intense. Otherwise, CBT teaches you to live without reliance on routine medication.

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Red Meat Causes Cancer, antidotes Just Vegetables
Author:
• Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Colon cancer is the most easily preventable type of cancer through a healthy diet. Consumption of red meat is one of the main trigger, while the antidote is simple enough that eating vegetables that contain fiber.

A recent report from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) said that 45 percent of colon cancers could be prevented by reducing consumption of red meat in the diet. Among these four-legged animal meat including goat, cow and pig.

Research led by Elisa Bandera, MD, PhD from Imperial College London observed no fewer than 24 scientific publications about colon cancer. Everything indicates the close relationship between red meat consumption with colon cancer risk.

According to the research report results, colon cancer risk can be reduced by limiting consumption of red meat not to exceed 510 grams per week. The amount is approximately equivalent to 5-6 servings’ small roasts, steaks or others.

Beside fresh red meat, processed or canned red meat also can be the colon cancer trigger. The risk of getting cancer could be higher up to 2 times more than fresh red meat if you eat processed meats such as corned beef.

Fortunately the results of such research also revealed that the fiber in vegetables and fruits effective enough to counteract the risk of colon cancer. If around the year 2007 the protective effect of vegetable fiber is still a conjecture, the results of this research had confirmed that.

AICR suggests the consumption of red meat and processed meat should be balanced with the intake of fiber that can be obtained from nuts, vegetables, fruit and grain.

Ideal body weight and regular exercise also helps reduce the risk of cancer.

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Buying over the internet
Author:
• Monday, May 09th, 2011

Whenever you read an official-sounding piece on buying from an online pharmacy, you always discover how dangerous it is. It seems every website is run by criminals who produce fakes made out of chalk, take your money, and disappear into the wild blue yonder. So just how much risk is there? The first part of the answer comes from the nature of the US retail selling operation. Our manufacturers invest millions of dollars in research and development. It costs further millions to run the years of clinical trials to get approval from the FDA for public use. Only then can the makers begin to recover their investment. So, they invest more millions in establishing the brand and start selling at the highest price the market will stand. This means establishing the base price from the factory and delivery to the wholesalers who add their margin and deliver to the brick and mortar pharmacies. Those pharmacies all have shop fronts on Main Street or in malls. They employ staff and have overheads for running retail outlets. When you think about all those costs, it’s hardly surprising we have to pay high prices for our drugs. It’s a long way from a researcher with an idea to pills in a blister pack in your hand at the dispensary.

The patent protection only gives a monopoly to manufacturers inside the US. The same drug may be manufactured and sold at a lower price in other countries. So here come the online pharmacies. They have a single warehouse operation employing a few people. They will probably be based in a low-wage economy and be able to buy directly from manufacturers where the costs are low. So, when it comes to price, they will ask you for a fraction the retail price you would pay in the US. Even when you add in the cost of shipping, you will still pay less than the asking price in your local drugstore.

Not unnaturally, the US manufacturers spend large sums of money on propaganda designed to convince you your money will be lost to criminal gangs if you buy through the internet. They want you to be afraid. They want you to think better of buying online. They are protecting their market and the high prices that keep them one of the most profitable industries in the world. This does not deny there are some sites selling fakes. There are always bad apples in every trade. But there’s one more thing you should know.

The Mayo Clinic recently did some research and found it safer to buy Cialis online than through US health providers. There’s a mass of helpful information about the treatment for erectile dysfunction on most sites. Go see a doctor and you get ten seconds of face time before a prescription is thrust into your hand and you are encouraged to leave. Few doctors have the time or the inclination to discuss how to use Cialis safely. They are on the clock and must see a set number of patients an hour. So, it’s official. The Mayo Clinic says it’s safer to buy your drugs online. Save money and be safer – so long as you read helpful articles like this, of course.

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