Overcoming The Headache

VOA News

2011-05-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

How to Prevent Coronary Heart Disease and Heart Attack

2010-01-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Coronary heart disease and heart attack like heart infarction can in great extend be prevented by lifestyle measures.

?
THE DIRECT CAUSES OF HEART DISEASE

The direct causes of coronary heart disease and heart attack are factors like these:

- Narrowing of blood vessels in the heart and the rest of the body by arteriosclerosis.
- High blood cholesterol level.
- High blood pressure.
- Over-weight.
- Diabetes.
- High level of the amino acid homocystein in the blood.
- High content of low density lipoprotein (LDL) and low content of high density lipoprotein (HDL) in the blood. Lipoprotein is a combination of protein and fatty substances bound together.
- Inflammation in the circulatory system.
- High age.
- Inherited tendencies for high cholesterol levels and heart disease.
- Men have somewhat greater chance of getting heart disease than women.

These factors are interrelated in complicated ways, and are causing or amplifying each other. For example, arteriosclerosis will cause higher blood pressure, and high blood pressure will cause even more arteriosclerosis. Many of these factors are ultimately caused or aggravated by these lifestyle factors:

-A too high consume of fat, cholesterol and sugar.
-Consuming the wrong fat types.
-Lack of fibre, vitamins, minerals and other diet deficiencies.
-Stress at work and in the daily life.
-Smoking.
-Lack of exercise.

Lifestyle adjustments will therefore be the main methods of preventing heart failure.

GENERAL DIET ADVICES

A diet with the aim of preventing heart disease is generally the same as a diet to prevent cancer and other diseases. Here are the general diet advices

- Avoid or reduce the amount of food that are industrially processed, artificially made or heavily fried.

- Eat fish at least every second day. Also eat seafood and fouls.

- Do not eat very much red meat.

- Eat 5 fruits or vegetables each day. Each piece should be of the size of an apple or carrot. They should be raw or carefully boiled so that the nutrients are not washed out.

- Eat full corn bread, full corn cereals, peas, beans and potatoes.

- Eat just a moderate amount of fat.

- Consume cholesterol rich foods like egg, spawn or liver in just moderate amounts.

- Ideally most fat you eat, should be of the type mono-unsaturated. You also need some poly-unsaturated fat of the types omega-3, and omega 6, but not too much of omega-6. The consumption of saturated fat should be moderate.

- In order to achieve right fat balance, much of the fat supply should come from a blending of sources like olive, olive oil, canola oil, nuts, nut oil, sunflower, sunflower oil, linseed oil (flax oil), fish and fish oil.

- Use only a moderate amount of soy oil and corn oil in the diet. Only using such oil types will give you too much poly-unsaturated fat of the omega-6-type.

- Use just a very moderate amount of fat sources like butter, coconut oil and palm oil. A high consumption of these fat sources gives you too much saturated fat.

- Avoid altogether fat that has been chemically altered, giving so-called trans-fat. This type of fat is often found in margarine, cookies, snacks, fast food and other pre-made food.

- Consume just a very moderate amount of sugar, refined flour or refined cereals.

- Consume just a moderate amount of tranquilizers and stimulants like alcohol and caffeine.

- Use just a moderate amount of salt in the food. However, in warm weather and by hard physical work, you will need more salt.

DIET SUPPLEMENTS THAT HELP PREVENT HEART DISEASE

Evidence suggests that it will be helpful to take some supplements of natural substances to prevent heart disease and help to ameliorate already manifest heart problems. These supplements are:

- Omega-3-fatty acids derived from fish and other marine sources, especially the fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and alfa-linolaeic acid. 1 gram a day of each of these substances may be taken as a supplement. Higher amounts should only be taken under medical supervision, since higher amount of these substances may cause bleeding tendencies, and may suppress the immune system.

- Supplement of vitamin C has been thought to help prevent heart disease, but newer findings cast doubt upon this.

- Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), folic acid / folate, vitamin b12 and riboflavin seem to prevent the building up of the substance homocystein in the blood and thereby help prevent heart disease, according to results from research projects.

GET RID OF OVER-WEIGHT

The lifestyle measures listed in this article will also help you loose weight. If these measures are not enough, you should consider engaging in a more specific weight reduction program. You should choose a program that has a moderate fat content philosophy. Some weight reduction programs have a higher fat and low carbohydrate consume philosophy, and those are probably not the best ones to reduce the chance of getting heart disease.

EXERCISE

You should do some exercise of at least half an hour at least every second day. Condition training as vigorous walking, jogging, cycling or swimming is best for reducing the heart attack probability. Muscular building exercises are also of value, especially exercises building leg muscles

STOP SMOKING

If you smoke, stopping or reducing this habit radically will decrease the chance of getting heart problems.

CONTROL DIABETES

If you suffer from diabetes type 1, a good control of the disease by insulin medication and by diet adjustments will help to prevent heart disease.

Many people over the age of 50, and an increasing number of young people suffer from diabetes type 2 because of bad lifestyle. This disease does not necessarily give dramatic symptoms, but the disease increases the chance of getting serious heart problems, and many have the disease without knowing it. This disease can be prevented by the same lifestyle measures depicted above. If you already have got the disease, a more rigorous control of carbohydrate intake is necessary. And sometimes also medication must be used. People over the age of 50 and younger people that do not feel well should find out if they suffer from this condition.

TAKING ASPIRIN

Low doses of acetyl salicylic acid or aspirin prevent heart disease by persons bearing a high risk for heart disease. However, this medication increases the risk of bleeding and should not be used without constant medical supervision. For persons with a low risk of heart disease, the dangers of aspirin will be greater than the benefits.

About The Author:
Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer focusing on health items.----TO FIND natural help against common diseases, for example: Heart problems, over-weight, acne, hypothyroidism, fatigue, depression, anxiety, hemorrhoids, joint pain, allergies, rheumatism, respiratory diseases, and more PLEASE VISIT:--- http://www.abicana.com/shop2.htm

How To Recognize The Symptoms Of Migraine Headaches

2010-01-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

You have started to have severe headaches. These headaches last for a few hours and are recurring a couple of times a month. You suspect that it may be migraine headaches but how do you know for sure? This article will give you the signs and symptoms of a migraine. A word or caution. It is not smart to diagnose yourself. If you are having frequent headaches and aren't sure of the cause, see your doctor right away. He may want to do some tests to rule more serious problems
A migraine is a headache that is so severe it can be disabling and it will sometimes be accompanied by an aura. An aura is a warning sign that a migraine is coming. Auras usually appear anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes before a migraine starts. A migraine can last for two hours or it can last for as long as 72 hours if not treated.

Approximately 11 out of 100 people will get migraines, and women get them more than men. Hormonal changes have been thought to be a huge factor in the development of migraines. Other triggers can be certain foods, environmental changes and stress.

The symptoms of migraine headaches are:

Pain. This can range from moderate to severe. Some people will feel pain on either side of the head, while other people may feel it bilaterally. The pain may be described as throbbing or pulsating.

A true migraine will become worse with physical activity. This is why it interrupts your daily activities. Just walking across the room can cause excruciating pain.

The pain can cause nausea and occasionally vomiting. If the vomiting becomes severe you may need to get your doctor to prescribe an anti-emetic, such as Reglan or Compazine.

Hypersensitivity to sounds or lights is another common symptom of migraines. Most people want to lie down in a dark, quiet room until the pain subsides.

Some people that have migraines will experience auras prior to a headache. These auras may continue for the duration of the migraine. An aura can consist of:

- Bright flashes of light
- Bright zigzagging lines that interrupt your vision field.
- Diffuse blind spots in your field of vision.
- A tingling feeling in a leg or an arm.

Migraines themselves pose no real threat to you. But go to the emergency room immediately if you experience a sudden headache that seems to explode inside your head. If you have a headache with fever, mental confusion or a stiff neck. A headache that continues to get worse after coughing or straining or any other sudden movement. These may all be symptoms of a more serious problem and should not be ignored.

Migraines can be manageable with the right treatment. Talk to your doctor about your best options. There is no reason for you to suffer from the symptoms of a migraine headache.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

Vitamin B2 Can Help Ease Migraines

2009-01-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

If you suffer from migraines, there is some good news for you. This good news comes in the form of riboflavin, otherwise known as Vitamin B2. Taking regular doses of Vitamin B2 is believed to reduce migraine episodes as well as lessen their occurrence.
Riboflavin

Riboflavin is just one of the eight B complex vitamins that are responsible for breaking down fats and proteins. B complex vitamins also help with the digestive system by providing good muscle tone, and aid in the overall good health of the eyes, skin, hair, liver and nervous system. Vitamin B2 is a water-soluble vitamin and plays a vital role in the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar for the body to burn and produce energy.

Lack of Vitamin B2

If we lack vitamin B2, we may experience headaches, vision problems, photophobia, tiredness, digestion problems and painful cracks in the mouth corners.

Sources of Vitamin B2

Riboflavin is not commonly found in many foods unlike the other seven B vitamins. Many people, especially the elderly, often find themselves having vitamin B2 deficiency because they cannot easily get riboflavin from their diet. Food sources that contain riboflavin include brewer’s yeast, almonds, wild rice, wheat germ, mushrooms, milk, yogurt, eggs, broccoli, brussel sprouts and spinach.

Flour and various breakfast cereals usually contain riboflavin, and while it can generally withstand heat, its soluble properties makes it easily disappear in water when cooking food. Many methods can be done to counteract this during cooking, like making gravy by keeping the water from sprouts.

In addition, vitamin B2 is easily destroyed by exposure to light, so it is best to keep food sources such as milk and vitamin B2 supplements in the dark. This is the reason many milk containers come in cartons.

Vitamin B2 Supplements

If you do not regularly eat a balanced diet, taking vitamin supplements is recommended. The thing to watch out for when buying multivitamins is the essential vitamins and minerals that it contains. Make sure that it has 100-300% of the recommended daily vitamin intake.

It is best to take riboflavin with a meal, as it is more effectively absorbed into your stomach when taken with food. To prevent an imbalance of B vitamins, it is advisable to also take another B vitamin along with B2.

Limitations

Some medications have been known to reduce riboflavin levels in the body, and riboflavin in turn can affect the way some medicines work. Before taking vitamin B2 supplements, it is always a good idea to check with your doctor, especially if you are also taking any of the following:

- Tricyclic antidepressants
- Anti-malaria drugs
- Chlorpromazine or other antipsychotics
- Birth control pills
- Doxorubicin
- Methotrexate
- Phenytoin
- Probenecid
- Selegiline
- ‘Sulfa’ medications
- Thiazide diuretics

Side Effects

While riboflavin does not seem to cause any serious side effects, you may experience itching, numbness, burning or prickling sensations and light sensitivity when you take high doses.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

$$$ Click

Magnesium And Headaches

2009-01-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

More and more doctors are concluding that an imbalance of important minerals like magnesium and calcium is responsible for a large percentage of migraines. This mineral imbalance is one of the key causes why many medications are not successful in treating all headaches. In fact, around 50% to 60% of migraines are linked to lack of magnesium in the body. While experts have not really agreed that magnesium is the ‘missing link’ in the treatment of migraines, more evidence is turning up for its use in migraine treatment.

How Magnesium Helps

It is important to examine how a migraine is triggered. Stress and chemicals in the blood called serotonin and catecholamines can cause muscle contractions, triggering changes in the blood vessels, which in turn leads to a migraine. While this has been known for some time, the problem lies in stopping these changes.

An excess of serotonin will slow down the blood flow, and having too little of it will make the blood move too quickly. Serotonin also can flow fast if there is not enough magnesium in the body, constricting the blood vessels and releasing pain-producing chemicals.

The release of these pain-producing substances can be halted by normal magnesium levels. The recommended daily dose of magnesium is about 400 mg, and studies have shown that most people hardly get anywhere near that amount. About 30% to 40% of Americans only get less than 75% of the needed magnesium intake daily, which in time leads to a deficiency.

Magnesium Loss and Deficiency

Our bodies can very easily lose its supply of magnesium. If you are taking asthma or cardiovascular medications, drinking at least two cups of coffee and other diuretics every day and you are usually stressed out, you need to know that these things can lower the magnesium level in your body.

Magnesium deficiency is believed to be present in 50% to 60% of people who suffer from migraines. However, a good 85% to 90% of migraine sufferers can often find immediate relief once they start taking supplements.

The recommended doses for magnesium are two 500 mg magnesium gluconate tablets at lunch time, two tablets in the afternoon and two tablets at bedtime.

Important Note

It is imperative that you consult with your doctor first before beginning your magnesium supplementation because the doses involved are rather high and require monitoring by a medical professional. Keep in mind that taking high dosage levels of magnesium has risks. Most importantly, you should not take magnesium supplements if you have a kidney or a heart problem without medical supervision.

Calcium

Calcium will also be necessary if you decide to take magnesium supplements. If you haver magnesium level is normal but your calcium level is low, your migraines will not stop. However, be careful when you are taking calcium supplements. If you take too much calcium, your body will simply get rid of the excess amount. This may sound good, but you should also know that calcium will take magnesium with it. So your calcium level may be normal, but your magnesium level is not. Make sure that you take magnesium and calcium at different times during the day since calcium can prevent the magnesium from being properly absorbed in the body.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

Positive Attitudes Add Up For Weight Loss

2009-01-17T06:45:00.000-08:00

Once you have made up your mind to lose weight and improve your health the next thing to do is mentally commit to it with a positive attitude. Losing weight can be quite a challenge on some days. For some it can be downright tough. It takes time, practice and support to change lifetime habits.

Think like a winner. Hold a vision of your goal in your mind daily. Emotions are like muscles and the ones you use most grow the strongest. Strong, positive mental images along with a high emotional anticipation of reaching your weight loss goal is very powerful.

Make an effort to keep negative emotions out of your head. It will hold you back from accomplishing the
things you want to do. When a negative thought creeps into your mind, replace it with a positive image. Think about the great things that lie ahead of you.

Losing weight is not just about diets. It's about a new mental image of yourself and the possibility of creating a new life. Investigate the weight loss programs that appeal to you and that you feel will teach you the behavioral skills you need to stick with throughout the weight-loss process. Look for support among family and good, positive friends.

Look for others on a weight loss and fitness program, too. It can be an enormous help to discuss obstacles
and share skills and tactics with others on the same path. Seek guidance from someone you know who has lost weight and kept it off.

If there is no one in person to help you look for success stories on television, in newspapers,
magazines and online. There are inspirational people everywhere who lost untold pounds and kept it off. In all instances they say their mental attitude as well as their outlook on life has totally changed.

There are new foods to explore and a postive attitude here can very a big boost. Trying new low fat or high grain alternatives can be made into an exciting adventure. Additionally, you can look forward to learning new, wiser eating skills. Focus on new-found skills that give you some control over your eating habits, rather than being victim to them.

Keep in mind, too, that a good weight loss program should include some physical exercise. Look at the exercising aspect of your program as fun and recreational. Focus on the fact is that physical fitness is linked inseparable to all personal effectiveness in every field. Adding a fitness program to any weight loss effort will quickly show positive results.

Adding fitness can be as simple as walking 30 minutes a day, five times a week. It helps the total circulation of blood throughout the body, and thus has a direct effect on your overall feeling of health. There are things such as aerobics, jogging, swimming and many other exercises which will
benefit a weight loss program.

The bottom line is stay postive and have fun with any weight loss program you start. Focus on the end result,pat your self on the back often and you'll make the changes you need in no time.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet

Weekend Headaches

2009-01-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

Weekend headaches can be a common occurrence, but they can strike when you least expect it. Picture this: you have worked hard all week and you are looking forward to the weekend, maybe planning to go out, meet friends, do some shopping or just relax. And then a headache hits you, effectively ruining all your plans for the weekend.

This horrible headache that seems to only happen during weekends can be caused by a number of reasons, and we'll examine them all.

Caffeine Withdrawal

It is fairly normal to take several cups of coffee during a work day, as it not only gives you a good enough reason to leave your desk and walk around, but also keeps you awake and alert to cope with your workload.

Suppose you usually take three cups of coffee by 11am at work. During a weekend, you might want to sleep longer since you do not have any work to do. But as you continue sleeping, your body is craving its first cup of coffee, and will crave the three cups you usually take if you sleep until 11am. The result? You wake up with a caffeine withdrawal headache.

Identifying If You Have Caffeine Withdrawal

You can try to find out if you have caffeine withdrawal. Set your alarm clock during a weekend and get up at the usual time for work. If you wake up without a headache, you most probably have a caffeine withdrawal problem.

Now test it again... this time go ahead and enjoy a prolonged sleeping period, but as soon as you wake up, have a cup of coffee. If your headache is relieved, or even partially relieved, then the culprit is most certainly caffeine.

Preventing Weekend Headaches

You have two choices if you want to stop the caffeine withdrawal headaches: you cut down on your caffeine intake or you quit drinking coffee altogether. Try drinking decaf. Keep in mind, too, that coffee is not the only source of caffeine; chocolate and soft drinks are also loaded with caffeine.

Other Causes of the Weekend Headache

In as much the same way as a partial withdrawal from caffeine can cause a headache, the same holds true for a partial nicotine withdrawal. Smoking heavily throughout the week then sleeping in on a weekend will cause a headache when you wake up, as your body will be craving its regular nicotine fix. The solution is similar to caffeine withdrawal -- cut down or give up smoking.

Stress Withdrawal

It is a well known fact that stress is one of the most common triggers of migraines. So it seems strange to find out that withdrawing from stress can give you a headache as well. It’s not really exactly understood why the absence of stress can cause a headache.

If you work during the entire week under a certain level of stress and then you try to relax during the weekend, you might get hit with a headache, which is believed to be linked to the relaxation. If this is the case, doing some relaxation exercises when your stress levels are high will help to "even out" the stress. This will result in decreased headaches, since your weekend relaxation won’t contrast too much with your weekdays.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances

How the Mediterranean Diet Beats High Blood Pressure

2009-01-16T06:42:00.000-08:00

The Mediterranean diet is not some new fad diet ... dreamed up by a weight-loss "guru" or as a new health measure. It is thousands of years old. People living along the Mediterranean Sea have been eating a natural diet ... that has been proven in numerous studies to reduce the risk of heart attack and keep blood pressure from rising.

The great thing about the Mediterranean diet is ... it's a pleasure to eat and you're much more likely to stick with it. It's easy to adopt this diet as there are no special requirements. Unlike the radical requirements of many fad diets, the Mediterranean diet doesn't ask you to make impractical changes in your eating ... it offers you a way of eating that you can maintain long-term. It will lead you to long-term health benefits.

~ What is a Mediterranean Diet ~

Amongst the people of Greece, southern France, and parts of Italy ... natural whole foods are a large part of the diet. Fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, and olive oil are the heavy hitters in protecting your heart and lowering your blood pressure. Drinking wine with meals is an old custom ... and gives even more health benefits.

The Mediterranean diet doesn't look at all fats as bad. Instead, this way of eating makes wise choices in the fats that are used. Low in saturated fat ... the Mediterranean diet is full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats.

Since mainly whole foods are eaten along the Mediterranean Sea ... the deadly trans-fats -- found in fast foods and bakery goods -- are greatly reduced.

~ Living on a Sea Gives you Lots of Fish ~

Fish are a big part of the Mediterranean diet. Eating lots of fish has been recognized as being heart protective for quite a while, now. Especially, fatty fish are good for your heart and blood pressure ... they are full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Eating fish 2-3 times a week is a great way to lower blood pressure and ensure a long, healthy life.

~ Lots of Olive Trees Grow Along the Mediterranean Sea ~

Olive trees grow on sunny hillsides ... providing both tasty olives and golden olive oil. Olive oil is used in most Mediterranean cooking ... drizzled on rough chunks of whole-grain bread, mixed in salads, used in making tomato sauces. The flavonoids in virgin olive oil lower blood pressure and increase your levels of good HDL cholesterol.

That ... and olive oil tastes great and gives off a wonderful fragrance when heated.

~ Nuts Are an Ancient Energy Source ~

Since the Stone Age, nuts have been an important source of energy. Shunned a few decades ago because of their high fat content ... nuts were given a bum rap. The fats in nuts are good fats ... healthy fats that will lower your blood pressure and protect your heart.

Just a handful of nuts -- especially walnuts -- is a tasty way to protect your heart.

~ Wash Your Meal Down With a Glass of Red Wine ~

A glass of red wine goes great with Mediterranean meals. Your heart will also enjoy the glass of wine. Red wine is rich in healthy flavonoids -- anti-oxidants that protect your heart from dangerous free radicals. Enjoy a daily glass or two and lower your blood pressure ... lower your risk of heart attack.

Recent studies have shown that light red wine drinkers have less risk than non-drinkers. Just don't over-do it.

~ A Great Diet to Start Today ~

The main feature of the Mediterranean diet is the focus on natural whole foods ... a shift away from unhealthy processed foods with their dangerous bad fats. And, the good thing is ... it's so easy to get started. Nothing radical ... just ask those who live healthy lives along the Mediterranean Sea.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

12 Questions Your Doctor May Ask You About Your Headache

2009-01-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

Approximately 75% of the American population suffer headaches each year. While most headaches are benign or harmless, there are headaches that are severe and dangerous. If you are worried about your headaches, you need to check with your doctor. Your doctor will try to diagnose the cause of your headaches, but in order to make an accurate diagnosis, he or she will need your help. Your doctor will greatly rely on your descriptions and patterns in order to ascertain the possible causes of your headaches
It is a good idea to prepare your responses to possible questions that your doctor will ask you. Below are just some of the questions your doctor may ask you in order to make an accurate diagnosis about your headaches.

Question #1: How long have you been having these headaches?

If you have been suffering the same kind of headache for a long while, the more likely it is that your headaches are harmless or benign. Migraine sufferers will report having the headaches since their childhood, teenage or young adult years. Women who are about to start menopause may experience migraine less frequently although migraines can start during menopause too. Tension headaches, on the other hand, can happen anytime at any age.

Question #2: Does anyone in your family suffer from headaches?

Cluster headaches do not run in families, but migraines do.

Question #3: How frequent are the headaches?

Let your doctor know how many times you have headaches in a given day, month or year. This information can help your doctor prescribe the correct treatment: prophylactic (preventing the headaches from starting) or abortive (stopping a headache attack that is already in progress).

Question #4: Do your headaches occur more often or have their pattern changed?

Many people have been suffering from headaches for a few months to several years. Most see a doctor because the headaches have become more severe. Your doctor will try to find out what is making your headaches worse.

Question #5: Where is the pain usually located?

Your doctor will be able to diagnose what type of headache you have based on the location of the pain. For instance, you may have migraines if the pain is usually located in the temple area. Tension headaches are typically felt on one or both sides of the head, sometimes on the front, but more commonly in the neck, shoulder and back of the head. Cluster headache pain is always on one side of the head only, usually around the eye.

Question #6: What kind of pain accompanies your headaches?

Again, the kind of pain you experience with your headaches will greatly help your doctor determine the type of headache you have. If the pain is throbbing or pulsating, you may have migraine. Dull, dragging ache that often feels like you have a tight band around is descriptive of tension headaches. Cluster headache pain is deep and extremely painful, as if something sharp is being pushed into your eye.

Question #7: What other symptoms do you have with the headache?

Other symptoms for migraine include loss of appetite, feeling or being sick, and aversion to light or noise. Tension headache symptoms include a stiff or sore neck, teeth grinding at night and clenched jaw. Watery eye and stuffed nose are symptoms of cluster headaches.

Question #8: How long does your headache last?

Migraine headaches usually last no more than 24 hours. It can be as short as 20 minutes, and in rare cases, it can go on for weeks. Tension headaches usually last for days, weeks and in rare cases, years. Cluster headaches, on the other hand, occur for a short time, between 30 and 90 minutes and repeat two to six times during a "bout."

Question #9: Do your headaches occur at a specific time?

Migraine sufferers usually wake up with migraine in the morning, usually during weekends. In women, migraines normally occur a few days before the start of their menstrual period. Tension headaches usually occur during times of stress while cluster headaches happen at night, while the sufferer is in deep sleep.

Question #10: Does your mood change because of the headaches?

Migraine sufferers are usually withdrawn and irritable during a migraine attack and prefer to be alone. On the other hand, those who suffer from tension headache welcome care and attention during the headache attack. People suffering from cluster headache usually pace up and down, hold their head or make rocking motions during an attack.

People who suffer from headaches have a higher risk of developing depression. In some cases, depression can cause the headaches. Your doctor will look for symptoms of depression. If you are sleeping poorly, feel tired all time, do not have an appetite and have lost interest in sex, you may be suffering from depression in addition to the headaches.

Question #11: Do you get warning signs before a headache starts?

Approximately 15% of people who suffer from migraine say that they get an "aura" before a migraine attack. The aura can be in the form of dazzling lights or zig zagged lines. Some say that they feel numb or notice a distinctive odor just before a headache attack. Let your doctor know if you have an aura before a headache attack as well as if the aura continues on long after the headache is gone.

Question #12: Do you have an idea of what could be triggering your headaches?

Headaches and migraines can be triggered by anything. If you have already identified the things that trigger your headaches or migraines, let your doctor know. It is also a good idea to start a diary wherein you list down the food you have eaten and activities you engaged in during the day. You also take notes of the times you have headaches. Doing this can help your doctor determine what are triggering your headaches as well as what type of headache you have.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

Keep glycemic index of foods low to bolster cardiovascular health, says study

2009-01-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

(NaturalNews) Australian researchers recently reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine that a diet rich in low-glycemic carbohydrates leads to lower levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol.
A Sydney research team conducted a 12-week study of 129 overweight and obese people an average of 32 years old, with an average BMI of 31.2. The researchers split the subjects into four groups and randomly assigned each group a diet to follow. The first group followed a high-carbohydrate, high-glycemic diet with average protein intake. The second group followed a high-carbohydrate, low-glycemic diet with average protein intake. The third group followed a high-protein, high-glycemic diet with low carbohydrate intake. The fourth group followed a high-protein, low-glycemic diet with low carbohydrate intake.

Researchers measured each group's levels of glucose, insulin, leptin, total cholesterol, HDL "good" cholesterol and triglycerides at the start, middle and end of the study, and found that the third group had the highest percentage of people with five percent weight loss or more. However, the third diet group also experienced an increase in total and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels.

Dieters in group two (high-carb, low-GI, average protein) saw a reduction in total and LDL cholesterol. Women and participants with high triglycerides benefited the most from following the second group's diet.

"Diets based on low-GI whole grain products (instead of high-GI whole grains) maximize cardiovascular risk reduction, particularly if protein intake is high," the researchers concluded.

Researchers have debated for some time whether or not the glycemic index could be an effective tool for consumers seeking to become healthier.

Behave Like A Thin Person

2009-01-15T06:40:00.000-08:00

Want to lose weight? Want to keep it off? Permanent weight loss occurs when you change negative behaviors.
THe most effective point about weight loss with hypnosis is you change you metal view of yourself. You see yourself as thin.

You can multiply the benefits of weight loss, especially with hypnosis, when you act like you're thin, even if you are not yet. If you adopt these habits, weight will naturally start to reduce, without effort. There are behaviors that have nothing to do with food that have a direct influence on your physical weight.

Do you know which behaviors and habits are associated with the thin personality? Here are a few:

1) Do I push compliments away?
If someone compliments you on your hair, clothes, appearance, talent, ability, etc., do you immediately apologize for not being even better? If someone wants to pay you money for something, do you feel guilty and feel obligated to give them a "deal?" This behavior is an artificial habit that many of us get into as if it is polite or spiritual. The truth
is that it not only is hurtful to the person who just tried to give you something, but it is incredibly damaging to you.

If you continue to push away the nurturing things that come your way, you will feel empty all the time. This hunger is usually and wrongly interpreted as a physical hunger and leads to over-eating.

2) Do I Skip Meals?
Naturally thin people do not skip meals. Why do you? Thin people especially eat breakfast. Do you skip meals hoping to lose weight put on from the previous day? Stop it! It backfires for two reasons: one, when you skip a meal your body enters "starvation mode" and due to historical reasans called "survival", keeps weight on! Because you're so famished from skipping a meal, you're more inclined to eat too much at the next meal or to eat foods that
are unnecessarily high in calories!

3) Do I Eat While Doing Other Activities?
Reading the paper or watching TV while eating may be "efficient" use of time but you risk swallowing a lot of unhappiness along with your food. Some people can do this with no problem, as they have the ability to remain detached. If you find that you are becoming passionately concerned about what you are reading or watching, you should not do this.

4) Do I Attempt To Do More Than One Thing At A Time?
Our physical reality is simply a projection of our thoughts. If you have a distraction tendency then it means that you have an "expanded" attention span. This mental expansion manifests itself as a physical expansion in the form of extra weight! Giving yourself the best chance to learn focusing skills begins with doing one thing at a time.

For example, don't balance your checkbook while you are having an important talk with a loved one. You'll surely make errors in your checkbook as well as say something you regret. The human brain really can only attend to one task at a time consciously. If you are doing more than one thing at a time, you only have the illusion that you can handle it. In reality, you are only focused on one activity for any small moment. Then your concentration flips to the other activity, and back again. So you can delude yourself that you are clearly focusing on more than one thing, but you are in reality alternating your attention between activities at a rapid pace. This is
DISTRACTION. Remember: DISTRACTION = WEIGHT GAIN! Please realize that this idea of doing one thing at a time refers only to activities that require focused concentration. For example, If you are running and you notice your mind thinking of 100 things, this is actually OK. That's because running is normally a mindless activity and does not compete for the attention of your thoughts.

When you believ, truly believe you are a thin person you will act like you are thin. Your mind will think it is thin and begin to adjust how your body acts, reacts and functions. Being thin for life is a whole new way to respond to conscious and unconscious stimulation. Start to act thin before you are thin and you'll jump start your permanent weight loss program.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

Tension Headache: The Most Common Headache

2009-01-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

If you are a women in your thirties, you are definitely a prime candidate for experiencing tension headaches, the most common form of headache.

Quick Facts about Tension Headaches

- Tension headaches are the most common type of headache.

- Women are more prone (90%) to experiencing tension headaches than men (70%).

- Tension headaches are very common in women who are between 30 and 39 years old.

- Tension headaches typically appear in the morning and usually get worse as the day goes on.

- People who experience tension headaches are often describe feeling as if they have "a tight band around the head."

- Tension headaches can cause pain at the bottom of the skull and back of the neck.

Episodic Tension Headaches

The most common tension headache that most people suffer from is known as an episodic tension headache. An episodic tension headache is typically short, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours. Episodic tension headaches typically occur no more than 15 days in any given month. It has been reported that more than 60% of episodic tension headache sufferers experience tenderness in the scalp and neck muscles.

Chronic Tension Headaches

When episodic headaches increase in frequency, they become chronic, occurring on more than 15 days per month for a minimum of three consecutive months. While chronic tension headaches last for about the same length of time as episodic tension headaches, the pain can unfortunately be felt by sufferers on a daily basis. Though not as common as episodic tension headaches, twice as many women suffer from chronic tension headaches than men.

Depression and Tension Headaches

While people who suffer from chronic tension headaches are more likely to be anxious or depressed than most, it can be also be viewed as a chicken-and-egg situation -- does the depression cause the headache or does the headache cause the depression? It is recommended that people who suffer from chronic tension headaches also seek some form of treatment for depression, as the treatment can help in alleviating the headaches.

Causes of Tension Headache

- Stress
- Skipping meals
- Bad posture
- Lack of exercise
- Anxiety and depression
- Hormonal changes in women
- Taking too many painkillers for headaches
- Teeth grinding during sleep

Treating Tension Headache

Treatment for tension headaches can be as simple as eating something if you have skipped a meal. Sometimes, getting yourself out of a stressful situation can treat a tension headache. Common over-the-counter medications like aspirin, Advil or Tylenol will also quickly get rid of a tension headache; if it doesn't, you can pay your doctor a visit and ask for a stronger prescription. It is advisable, though, that you limit your use of painkillers, as painkillers tend to lose their effectiveness when used for too long a period of time. Worse, you will start getting rebound headaches if you take too many painkillers.

Alternative Remedies

Acupuncture has been known to relieve tension headaches; it's recommended to visit the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture web site to locate a doctor who practices acupuncture in your area.

Aromatherapy can also help treat tension headaches; the easiest to use is probably lavender oil, as you can apply it directly onto your skin's various pulse points. It is also worth to try out peppermint or ginger, which are both good; find out which one works best for you.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances

Fight Cardiovascular Problems with Vitamins and Over the Counter Products

2009-01-13T07:32:00.001-08:00

Except pulmonary arteries, all Arteries bring oxygenated blood to the tissues and except pulmonary veins, all Veins bring deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Blood passes into the lungs where Oxygen is pickup and CO2 is expelled. The Blood then through the arteries into capillaries, which are the thinnest and most numerous of the blood vessels and these capillaries helps transport nutrients into the cells and picks up waist products for transport. Blood then flows into the veins and transports CO2 to the lungs. Without the cardiovascular system vital oxygen and nutrients would not be able to be delivered to the cells in your body you would cease to exist.
The most common life threatening problems of the Cardiovascular System are Arteriosclerosis and Strokes.

Arteriosclerosis is commonly referred to as a "hardening" or "furring" of the arteries. Arteriolosclerosis (hardening of small arteries, the arterioles) is the result of collagen deposition, but also muscle wall thickening and deposition of protein ("hyaline").

The constant accumulation fatty substances called plaques on the arterial walls characterize arteriosclerosis. These complications are chronic, slowly progressing and cumulative. This plaque buildup is usually found in most major arteries of the human body. Arteriosclerosis typically begins in early adolescence but is rarely diagnosed until late in life usually due to a stroke or heart attack.

When a bubble (aneurysm) occurs in the walls of the blood vessels it can lead to a blowout of the blood vessel and subsequent damage of the organ being supplied and even death. When this happens in the brain it is call a Stroke.

Research has shown that lowering cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood will lower the chance of coronary arteriosclerosis. Non-pharmaceutical means are usually the first method of treatment, such as cessation of smoking and regular exercise.

Copper - Calcium - Magnesium
Vitamin C - Vitamin E - Zinc
Vitamin B - Ginkgo Plus - M.S.M

There is strong evidence that trace mineral Copper is vital to the tensile strength of the coronary blood vessels.

Scientists have found that people who drink hard water, water rich in calcium and magnesium, stand less chance of developing cardiovascular disease that people who drink soft water.

Vitamin C is essential for defending the body against pollution and infection. It enhances the immune system and aids in growth and repair of bone and tissue. Vitamin C has show to reduce cholesterol levels and lowers high blood pressure.

Vitamin E supplies Oxygen to the heart and the other muscles in the body. Accelerates wound healing and aids in the functioning of the immune system.

Zinc is needed for healing and maintaining healthy tissues. Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and are the vital components of skin, hair, muscle tissue, the body's organs, blood cells, various enzymes and hormones. Zinc also has a profound influence on the body's ability to resist disease.

Vitamin B taken together as B-Complex work as a team to perform vital biological processes, including energy production and efficient metabolic function.

Ginkgo Plus supplies a comprehensive range of important nutrients needed for the proper functioning of the vascular system and for improving blood circulation to the brain.

M.S.M maintains the development of the body's protein by forming flexible disulfide bonds between certain amino acids and in maintaining the strength of connective tissue. This allows water and nutrients to flow freely into cells and allows toxins to flow freely out of the cells. M.S.M increases athletic stamina and helps eliminate muscle soreness. M.S.M is a natural supplement that is getting a lot of attention due to its role in tissue healing at the cellular level. It is a natural organic sulfur that comes from rain fall and is found naturally in the human body.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and not to be construed as medical advice.

Cardiovascular Diseases

2009-01-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

The cardiovascular diseases are those diseases which are caused by disorders of heart and blood vessels. Coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease and failure of heart came under the category of cardiovascular diseases.
Most of the western countries face the high and increasing rate of cardiovascular diseases. More people are killed by this disease every year as compare to cancer. A survey concludes that diseases of the heart alone caused 30% of all deaths, with other diseases of the cardiovascular system causing substantial further death and disability. Every 2 out of 3 cardiac deaths occur without any diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

After a survey it was conclude that this is the prime cause of death and disability in the United States and most European countries. A large histological study (PDAY) showed vascular injury accumulates from adolescence and makes primary prevention efforts necessary from childhood. An estimated concludes that17.5 million people died from cardiovascular disease in 2005 and this is about the 30 % of all global deaths. 7.6 million out of these were died due to heart attacks and 5.7 million were due to stroke.

Around 80% of these deaths occurred in developing or under developed countries as they have low and middle income. If not step is taken against it then according to an estimate, by 2015, 20 million people will die from cardiovascular disease every year and most of them will be from heart attacks and strokes.

Causes- The cause of cardiovascular disease is a blockage that prevents blood to go to the heart or to the brain. The most important and main cause of cardiovascular disease is build up of fatty deposits in the inner wall of blood vessels. In this particular condition, blood vessels become narrower and less broad and heart doesn’t receive the blood. In that case it results to failure of heart.

Reasons- The major reasons of having cardiovascular disease are tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. An early form of fatty deposits, which is known as fatty streaks can also be found in children. Some children may be younger than 10 years. These deposits get slowly worse as the person gets older.

Helpful tips- If you are obese or overweight then it increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. To maintain an ideal body weight, you should take regular physical activity and eat a healthy diet.

Q&A: How do I avoid atherosclerosis and improve cardiovascular health? What if I have been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse?

2009-01-13T07:06:00.001-08:00

In the first part of this question on avoiding atherosclerosis and improving cardiovascular health, we talked about what to avoid so that you don't worsen your situation. Here in the second part, we'll talk about more proactive strategies that you can use for reversing the build up of plaque in your arteries.
First off, one of the better-known therapies for eliminating the buildup of arterial plaque is called intravenous chelation. This is a therapy that can truly work miracles and help people avoid heart bypass surgery and other complications from atherosclerosis. Intravenous chelation involves the introduction of certain minerals and binding compounds into the human bloodstream through an intravenous solution. In other words, they put an IV in your arm and drip fluids containing chelated minerals into your bloodstream.

What does this do? This chelation solution binds with the plaque in your cardiovascular system and then helps flush it out of your system. At the same time, it is also very useful for removing heavy metals, such as mercury, cadmium, and lead from your body.

But because this is an invasive procedure, it is only performed by trained medical professionals. Typically, you're only going to have access to this by visiting a naturopathic clinic or some kind of alternative health clinic that pursues pioneering medicine. But by no mean is this intravenous chelation a brand new technology. It's been around for decades and has been well proven to reduce the buildup of atherosclerosis or plaque in your arteries.

However, remember that if you continue to pursue a diet and lifestyle that created the plaque in the first place, then engaging in intravenous chelation is really only going to help for the short term. To have long-term results, you need to change your lifestyle, as was discussed in part one of this article.

Next on the list is what's called oral chelation. This is a strategy where you take supplements known as EDTA that claim to work in the same way as intravenous chelation. These substances bind with heavy metals and plaque in your arteries and help flush them out of your system. Unfortunately, my information on oral chelation is rather sparse at the moment. I haven't fully investigated this, so I can't say whether I support it or whether it has been proven to work. I plan to look more closely at this in the future.

Another thing you can do from a nutritional standpoint to enhance your cardiovascular health is to be sure to take a plentiful supply of antioxidants. Of course you want to get those from natural sources, and some of the best sources of antioxidants are berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and so on. You can also get antioxidants from superfoods such as various sprouts, Spirulina, Chlorella, and seaweed.

One of my favorite sources of antioxidants is a substance I'm calling Vitamin X. It is known as astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is just now emerging on the scene. Most people don't know about it yet, but it's a powerful antioxidant that belongs to the same carotenoid family as the better-known zeaxanthin, which is quite well known to be important for eye health -- that is, the health of the retina and in preventing macular degeneration.

To my knowledge, there aren't many studies available right now showing the relationship between astaxanthin and heart health, but I think those studies will be coming down the road. So this is one of those areas where, if you're taking the supplement, it's not necessarily proven for cardiovascular health but it probably will be down the road. And in the meantime, you're giving yourself worthy antioxidant protection by taking it.

Moving on to heart health in general, one of the main points I want to get across to readers here is that many of the defects that are diagnosed in people's hearts are really not physical defects at all. There's a great tendency in conventional medicine to misdiagnose functional disorders as physical or structural disorders. For example, one of the most common diagnoses in heart health is the so-called mitral valve prolapse. This is generally explained to patients as being some kind of physical defect with their heart valve. Often it's called a genetic defect or a birth defect; but far more often than not, this is really just the lack of fitness of the heart muscle due to chronic malnutrition, typically a lack of B vitamins.

So, if you think about it, any muscle in the body that isn't fit, that doesn't have good nutrition and plenty of hydration, will lose its tone, and muscles will begin to sag or deform or not have the structural strength they once had. This is especially evident in people with back pain who have experienced a loss of muscle tension in the lower spine so that when they sit, their lower back begins to hurt. I'm quite familiar with this. I suffered from it for more than 10 years before I transformed my own health.

The very same thing can be true with the heart. If a person isn't getting adequate nutrition (and remember that most Americans are nutritionally deficient even though they're overeating in terms of calories), then their hearts can lose a level of fitness. They no longer retain the shape -- that is, the physical shape -- that they should retain in order to properly pump blood. So of course a conventionally-trained medical doctor is going to see this misshaped heart and diagnose it as some kind of physical, structural deformity, typically one that can only be resolved through surgical procedures.

But that's about as crazy as telling someone who has weak shoulder muscles that the solution is to cut into their shoulder with sharp instruments and insert a balloon that can be pumped up so that their shoulder appears larger. The real solution, of course, is to strength train the shoulder. Engage in some strength training, and get proper nutrition so that the muscles can have the nutrients they need to grow on their own.

When it comes to heart health and subsequently cardiovascular health, nutrition is the key. Virtually all surgical procedures conducted for mitral valve prolapse are medically unnecessary. What the patient really needs is adequate hydration, a brand new approach to nutrition, and the avoidance of all dietary substances that are known to worsen cardiovascular health and deplete water soluble vitamins from the body. And of course, B vitamins are water soluble vitamins.

Moving on in the herbs category, of course there are many, many healing herbs for heart health, including herbs like garlic, onions, and juniper berries. But I think that the big solution here when it comes to avoiding atherosclerosis, and doing what many people describe as unclogging their arteries, really comes down to avoiding hydrogenated oils, fried foods, and trans fatty acids.

This is a disorder for which avoidance is really the best treatment. In fact, if you avoid those foods and engage in basic nutritional supplementation and cardiovascular exercise, your body will clean out the arteries for you over time all on its own. But don't forget it also means shifting to healthy oils and getting plenty of omega-3 oils, fish oils, and other healthy oils into your diet on a regular basis.

Aloe vera may hold promise in treating cardiovascular disease

2009-01-13T07:03:00.000-08:00

Aloe vera is one of my favorite healing plants, and I believe it is quite promising in terms of enhancing cardiovascular health. This is a subject that hasn't had many studies conducted yet, but there has been some related research that I think sheds light on the issue. For example, it is now known that an extract from aloe vera gel, when injected into the human bloodstream, greatly multiplies the oxygen transportation and diffusion capabilities of red blood cells.
In other words, if a patient is losing a tremendous amount of blood, such as a soldier who is wounded on the battlefield, and perhaps they've lost several pints of blood and their blood stores are getting dangerously low, they can be injected with a very small amount of extract taken from the aloe vera plant. This extract will then quickly diffuse through the bloodstream and multiply the effectiveness of the blood remaining in that person's system.

Effectively, this aloe vera extract makes that blood that's left in the body function as if it were a full supply of blood. It delivers oxygen more efficiently to the organs in the body that need oxygen to stay alive, most notably the brain and the heart. This has been well proven, and in fact aloe vera extract is now a part of a first aid medical product that is being marketed to the U.S. military for precisely this purpose. I've covered it in other articles here on this web site.

But the question is how does aloe vera actually do this? This is just an educated guess on my part, but it seems to me that aloe vera accomplishes this by increasing the viscosity of human blood. In order words, a normal person walking around day to day with normal blood of average health has a certain amount of stickiness in their red blood cells. The blood cells tend to stick together. This is not necessarily clotting, but it's just blood stickiness. In fact, you can see it under a microscope if you look at the blood of an unhealthy person versus a healthy person. The blood of an unhealthy person will tend to group together in small clusters, whereas the blood of a healthy person will tend to be free-flowing with individual red blood cells moving independently

Now, obviously the surface area of red blood cells is going to be far greater when each blood cell can move independently. And the surface area is directly related to the diffusion capability of red blood cells. In other words, the greater the surface area, the faster oxygen can move into red blood cells and be carried by the hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying molecule in human blood). At the same time, once those red blood cells reach their destination in the body, the more surface area is available and the faster the oxygen can move out of the hemoglobin and be absorbed by the tissues that need that oxygen to operate.

If you use aloe vera and you increase the viscosity of red blood cells, then you effectively take a quantity of red blood cells that wasn't functioning at its optimum efficiency and transform them into something very efficient. You effectively increase the working surface area of the entire blood supply. And that explains exactly why this extract can help a hemorrhaging patient who has lost a tremendous amount of blood continue to live and function even on a much smaller volume of blood.

What does all of this mean to you as a person who might be a heart patient or a person with atherosclerosis who is looking to enhance your cardiovascular health? It means simply that if you eat aloe vera gel, which is something that I do on a daily basis, then you may be doing yourself a huge favor in terms of your cardiovascular health. Very likely you are increasing the viscosity of your blood at the cellular level. You're increasing its ability to carry oxygen, and to diffuse that oxygen into the organs in your body.

Theoretically, by increasing the viscosity, you are effectively halting the plaque buildup in your arteries, because there aren't groups of red blood cells floating around in your system that get stuck on the micro tears and abrasions that appear along the walls of your arteries. So blood viscosity works in your favor and aloe vera, I believe, will some day be scientifically proven to be a healing plant that vastly improves blood viscosity.

CoQ10 improves cardiovascular health of heart patients

2009-01-13T07:00:00.001-08:00

(NaturalNews) A new Italian study published in the online edition of the European Heart Journal has found that daily oral supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) can improve the cardiovascular health of people with heart failure.
Researcher Romualdo Belardinelli and colleagues from the Lanicisi Heart Institute in Italy conducted a study of 23 patients with stable chronic heart failure (CHF), including 20 men with an average age of 59. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study randomly assigned the participants to four groups.

The first group was treated with oral supplements of CoQ10 (100 mg, three times per day); the second group took CoQ10 supplements and engaged in supervised exercise training five times a week; the third group took placebo; and the fourth group took placebo plus exercised five times a week.

The researchers found that the group taking CoQ10 supplements experienced a significant 9 percent improvement in the heart's functional capacity, compared to the group taking placebo. The group taking CoQ10 plus exercising experienced similar results over the group taking placebo and exercising.

Blood flow to the heart also increased by 38 percent in the groups taking CoQ10 supplements, and plasma levels of CoQ10 in those groups was tripled. That benefits CHF patients because it helps increase the bioavailability of CoQ10.

CoQ10 is a vitamin-like antioxidant compound that is essential to the body's ability to produce energy in cells. CoQ10 is mostly available in supplement form, but it can also be partly obtained through the diet. Foods rich in CoQ10 include oily fish that contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, and in organ meats and whole grains.

Though most researchers are focused on the effects of CoQ10 on heart health, research is under way to examine the supplements' possible benefits for people with diabetes, breast cancer, lung and prostate cancers, male infertility and kidney failure.

Resveratrol Has Anti-aging and Anti-Cancer Properties, Linked to Cardiovascular Health

2009-01-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

(NaturalNews) A wealth of new research findings continue to underscore the wonders of resveratrol, the compound discovered only a few years ago that has already achieved superstar status. Found predominately in red wine, grapes and peanuts, resveratrol is now showing to significantly impact the aging process, regulate for positive cardiovascular function, and protect against and reverse cancer.

Newest research finding

Researchers at Zhejiang University in China investigated the effect of injections of resveratrol on the central regulation of blood pressure, heart rate, and renal sympathetic nerve activity in animals. Their results suggest that resveratrol powerfully inhibits blood pressure, heart rate, and renal sympathetic nerve activity. This study has tremendous implications for anti-aging therapies.

In the July 26, 2008 Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, researchers addressed the question of the potential chemo-preventative activity of resveratrol against human cancers and its effect on normal cells. They examined the differential effect of resveratrol at physiologically relevant concentrations on nonmalignant and malignant cell lines and compared the underlying mechanisms via cell cycle modulation, induction of cell death, and potential toxicity. They found that 24 hours of exposure to resveratrol was toxic to both nonmalignant and malignant cells in a dose dependent manner. However, nonmalignant cells re-grew 5 times more than malignant cells after 120 hours. Significant alterations in cell cycle kinetics were induced by resveratrol in the malignant cells, but to a lesser extent for the nonmalignant cells. The proportion of cell death was 3 times higher in malignant cells compared to nonmalignant cells.

This research confirms that resveratrol produces a selective action that is able to target malignant cells for destruction while allowing nonmalignant cells to modulate its effect. It is just this type of malignant cell action that chemotherapy aims to achieve. However, the effects of chemotherapy are also toxic to healthy cells.

Apoptosis, July 26, 2008 reports a search for compounds capable of protecting cells against deoxycholate, a bile salt that harms cells and causes disease. In colon epithelial cells, deoxycholate increased generation of reactive oxygen species and caused DNA damage and cell death. Resveratrol and also quercetin were each able to largely prevent the occurrence of cell death in cells exposed to deoxycholate. These findings suggest that resveratrol may be able to undo cellular damage that leads to colon cancer.

The July 9, 2008 Experimental Gerontology reports researchers finding that resveratrol is able to mimic the effects of rigorous calorie restriction in several cytoskeletal maintenance and multiple stress response pathways. This effect is achieved by control of mitochondrial biogenesis and turnover, critical factors in the maintenance of energy production, the prevention of endogenous oxidative stress, and the promotion of healthy aging. Previous research has revealed the healthy benefits associated with daily caloric restriction of between 30 and 50 percent below what is considered today as average. These benefits also occur as the result of fasting. Such diets have been linked to reduction in the risk of age associated diseases and stress, along with a slowing of age related functional decline. In a previous study, this research team found that consuming resveratrol improved the health and survival of obese mice, even while they continued to consume a high calorie diet. Resveratrol showed to have the same positive effect on the livers, muscles, hearts and bones as calorie restriction. Resveratrol has also been shown to extend the lives of yeast, worms, flies and fish.

In another study at Zhejiang University in China researchers investigated the effects of resveratrol on adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation. Compared with the control group, resveratrol inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation and fibrinogen in a dose dependent manner. The accumulation of platelets can form clots which may result in heart attack by lodging in an artery and restricting blood flow to the heart or brain.

About resveratrol

Resveratrol’s most abundant source is the grapes used to make red wine, with the highest concentrations being found in the skins. Red wine contains approximately 160 micrograms per fluid ounce. Significant amounts of resveratrol are also found in peanut kernels, with one ounce of peanuts containing about 73 micrograms, the amount also contained in 6 cups of red grapes. It is a component of Ko-jo-kon, an oriental medicine used to treat diseases of the circulatory system, heart and liver. Since wine is the most notable dietary source, it is the primary object of speculation and research on resveratrol, although wine contains many other compounds with biologic effects.

Resveratrol’s properties as an antioxidant and anti-cancer agent are rapidly becoming documented, and it is sometimes referred to as an explanation for the “French Paradox”, the low incidence of heart disease in the French population who eat a relatively high fat diet. In grape and peanuts plants, resveratrol’s role is antibiotic and part of the defense system.

Other documented effects

Results from various research studies have shown resveratrol to be protective against the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the blood. It is this oxidation of LDL that initiates the deposition of cholesterol in the walls of the arteries that can lead to heart attack. Its hydrophilic and lipophilic properties can provide more effective protection than other well-known antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E.

Research at the University of Illinois in Chicago using resveratrol extracted from grapes found that the threat of cancer was reduced in animals when the compound was used to stop the growth of damaged cells. Had these damaged cells been left to grow, they would have become out of control, resulting in cancer.

The Peanut Institute has concluded that the finding of resveratrol in peanuts may support epidemiological studies from Loma Linda University, Harvard School of Public Health and University of Minnesota that show peanuts may reduce the risk of heart disease by more than half when eaten frequently in small amounts.

Should you supplement with resveratrol?

Research on resveratrol is just beginning to reveal its array of health benefits, and many extracts of resveratrol are appearing on the market that make adding it to your diet very easy. Probably the best choice is to add a glass of red wine or peanuts to your diet. Both red wine and peanuts have been proven to provide very significant overall health benefits. The consumption of red wine is an integral part of the Mediterranean diet, found to be extraordinarily health promoting. It is in red wine and peanuts that resveratrol is found in nature, suggesting that this is how nature intended for us to consume it. When any compound is part of a whole food, it is a part of a complex of balanced compounds that give it an integrity not found when it appears as an isolated extract.

Additional reference:

Melissa Q.B.McElderry, M.S., R.D., “Grape Expectations: The Resveratrol Story”.

Detox Foods: Eat To Detoxify Naturally

2009-01-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

To illustrate just how important the quality of the food you ingest on a daily basis is, just imagine your body as a perfect engine (Which it is!) food is the fuel you feed it to enable it to achieve peak performance. The cleaner and purer the fuel, the better and smoother the engine's performance. Makes sense, doesn't it?

In the same way that some foods slow our body engine down, creating deposits which interfere with the smooth running of the various parts. Other foods we eat can actually act as "engine cleaners and boosters" these are the ones we call detox foods. Fortunately, they are abundantly available in nature, and anyone can have access to them.

New discoveries are being made every day on previously unknown properties and benefits some of our common foods possess. However, the ones listed in this article have undeniably proven their positive role in cleansing our engine and boosting its power.

Why detox?

Toxin build-up has become more of a concern in the twenty first century than ever before. Industrial and technological progress has resulted in many new and stronger chemicals, air and water pollution, radiation and nuclear contamination. Due to medical advancement we are using more drugs that promise to rid us of our various day-to-day ailments. We eat a higher percentage of refined foods, and stress is leading us to abuse our bodies with stimulants or sedatives.

Two of the main toxicity diseases are cancer and cardiovascular disease and they are happening to an alarmingly higher percentage of the population today. Others include arthritis, allergies, obesity, and many skin problems. Many common symptoms, such as headaches, fatigue, muscular pain, cough, gastrointestinal problems and immune system weakness, can all be attributed to toxic overload.

Accumulated toxins in the body range from undigested organic matter, to metallic deposits such as lead, mercury, copper and aluminium we ingest through food and air. Environmental toxins, as well as those emitted by household furnishings accumulate in our body. Free radicals are also considered biochemical toxins and stress causes great toxicity in the body.

One thing is certain we are all in contact with toxins on a daily basis.

Fortunately nature seems to have an answer to this problem it comes in the form of foods.

Detox foods

Garlic

Garlic has been used for its beneficial effects for thousands of years. It is a blood cleanser, a natural antibiotic it also reduces blood fats thinning the blood and lowering blood pressure.

To avoid the lingering smell when you eat raw garlic, simply peel the garlic clove, cut it lengthways and remove the heart stem (which is sometimes green). If you prefer to avoid the smell of garlic altogether, there is a multitude of garlic supplements in the health food shops to choose from.

Coriander (Cilantro)

Some studies have shown that the leaves of the coriander plant can accelerate the excretion of mercury, lead and aluminium from the body.

This delicious herb, when added to food, can greatly contribute in the detox process. It is available all year round. You can use it instead of basil to make a delicious coriander pesto.

Mix fresh coriander leaves (about 25 stems) with 1/2 a cup of pine nuts, 1 clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons of lemon and 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a blender until you get a smooth paste (you can make the paste less lumpy by adding hot water). It's very tasty with pasta or as an accompaniment to vegetables or fish.

Other detoxifying roots and herbs include:

Echinacea: A lymphatic cleanser

Dandelion root: A tonic, a liver and blood cleanser, diuretic and filters toxins

Cayenne pepper: Purifies the blood, increases fluid elimination and encourages sweating

Ginger root: Stimulates blood circulation and sweating

Liquorice root: Is a potent detoxifier it also balances biochemical functions and acts as a mild laxative

Parsley leaf: A diuretic it flushes the kidneys

Red clover blossoms: A blood cleanser that's very useful during convalescence and recovery.

Fresh Vegetables

Great detox vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli sprouts and onions. Artichokes are well known for their liver detoxifying properties. Also recommended are beetroot and red and green vegetables.

Fresh Fruit

All fresh fruit is good for detox provided it is eaten on its own, not before, with, or after food. A fresh fruit or fruits juice fasting is often recommended for a short (3-day) fast to cleanse and detoxify.

Fruit can be fresh, frozen or dried. It includes apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, raisins, pineapple, mango, kiwi fruit, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, melon, sultanas nectarines and peaches.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

Life Changes For Weight Loss

2009-01-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

By looking at magazines, TV, newspapers and listenting to the radio, it would seem we all have weight loss and health issues. Eating healthy seems easier said than done with all of the media focusing
on this diet and that diet. The truth is, not all
diets work the same for each person. Changing your eating habits for an overall better healthy lifestyle is the best decision anyone can make for themselves.

Alternating between eating healthy and junking out is a struggle we all face. So how do you handle a slip up? Getting frustrated is a common cycle for most of us, especially when we consider the way we beat ourselves up over having a thin slice of chocolate cake. The labeling of our badness we create when it comes to food can be detrimental to our health. Behavior modification strategies over one strict diet can help us break this self-beating cycle and help us make changes which will last a lifetime.

Changing your eating habits is a form of behavior modification. It begins with changing your self-thought and attitude pertaining to food. This helps us change our attitudes about our eating, our bodies, and our weight, which helps us change our behavior. When our behavior and attitude changes, then our inner self will also change and weight loss will begin to occur without any major effort.

When we feel good about ourselves, we can't help but be attractive to others. The goal is to feel better
and raise our self-esteem so our bodies can reflect our new self-confidence and attitude to others. Getting help from professionals like a dietician, weight doctor, personal trainer, psychiatrist, or life coach is recommended. Circumstances in our lives can cause habitual behavior which many people do not realize till taking a good look at themselves in the mirror. Once this conclusion is drawn by the individual, then self-healing can being and better eating habits and weight loss will occur.

Some suggestions to help you with changing your life leading to weight loss are:

Changing your inner voice - If you keep telling yourself you will not lose weight, then guess what, you won't. Use supportive words to help you reach your goals.

Change your Eating Habits - Stop dieting! It doesn't work for you so why continue to diet and then beat yourself up, just change your overall eating habits.

Be positive - Only use language which screams positive and sunshine! Surrounding yourself with
others who see life and positive as positive images will also help you change your behavior toward food as a good thing.

Understand real hunger, over emotional hunger - Don't eat for comfort! If a situation consistently upsets you, then stop continuing putting yourself in the same situation and stay totally clear of it. If it causes you to run to food to deal with it, then the situation is not a healthy one.

Become more aware of your surroundings and the people you fill your life with. Many times, the problem people face when trying to lose weight partly comes from their inner voice and partly from outside sources. Be strong and self-analyze your situation or seek the help of a professional to begin your journey to a new life.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.c

Depression And Headaches

2009-01-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

Headache sufferers who respond well to over-the-counter medication hardly ever visit their doctor. However, take note if your headache:

- occurs daily
- is present as soon as you wake up in the morning
- persists for most of the day
- has been a constant problem for months

It may be time for you to see your doctor.

This type of continuous headache for which no specific reason can be found is typical in patients who are suffering from depression. While the stigma of depression has largely lessened in the last two decades, many people still find it difficult to admit that they are not able to cope. Consequently, they feel that the "real" symptoms of the headache are more acceptable than feeling depressed or low.

While doctors are taught that a depressed person will show all the classic symptoms of moving slowly, looking sad, speaking slowly in a flat voice and showing little interest in things, this is not always the case. It is a known fact that many people harbor feelings of shame for being depressed. Thus, even though they are aware that they need medical help, they often put on a happy front and downplay their suffering when describing how they feel during their consultation with a doctor.

Along with the presence of prolonged headaches, other clues are the following:

- Not enough or too much sleep
- Waking up too early
- Overeating or loss of appetite
- Excessive smoking and drinking
- Diminished leisure pursuits that were previously enjoyed
- Diminished sexual desire and activity

Depressed people usually complain of a tension-type headache, which is mostly caused by muscle contraction. Sometimes without even realizing it, these people are often tense, making the muscles of their neck, jaw and scalp tighten up. When this kind of muscle contraction continues for any length of time, tiny blood vessels in the affected areas may break, affecting the blood flow and resulting in severe headache and pain.

People with depression usually develop bodily symptoms, and the doctor should realize that while the headache is a symptom of depression, the pain associated with the headache is very real. Headaches due to depression are often described as a tight, vice-like band of pressure around the head. When the patient claims that they have been having these headaches for months or even years, a careful history should be taken, as depression headaches have a distinct pattern, frequently occurring in the early hours of the morning or evening.

For most of these cases, pain medication rarely works, so the recommended treatment should be aimed at the depression itself, which is the main cause of the headaches. For this, antidepressants can be very beneficial, and positive results have also been shown by biofeedback.

One downside of this is that chronic pain sufferers who have the same headache symptoms can often develop depression as a result of paying too much attention to the physical side of the problem, with little priority given to the patient's emotional aspect.

While these headaches can be sufficiently treated, it is also a two-way process, which will require time, co-operation and complete honesty on the patient's part.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

Concussions And Headaches

2009-01-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

If you have been knocked unconscious for a short period of time, you may have experienced a concussion, a mild form of injury to the head. People with concussions are advised to go to the hospital for a check up. They are released after a few hours and can even resume their normal activity the next day.

After-Effects of a Concussion

For many people, the effects of a concussion can manifest for as long as two weeks, and longer than that in rare cases. People who are experiencing the after-effects of a concussion will experience fear, and anxiety and depression might set in. This feeling of dread might start to affect their decisions about the future, with family and friends eventually suffering from "compassion fatigue." However, if you are one of the people suffering the after-effects of a concussion, there is no cause for you to worry excessively. The after-effects of a concussion is not permanent. You should not experience any long-term effects if you properly take care of yourself and allow yourself to recuperate.

Common Symptoms Two Weeks After Having a Concussion

Headache

Because of the bruising you sustain during the injury to your head, you will immediately experience headaches. Headaches after a concussion are normal and are to be expected. However, if you push yourself too hard and too soon after the concussion, you will find that the headaches occur more frequently. In this regard, the headaches are caused more by the stress and fatigue rather than the concussion itself. Adequate rest and slowing down will help lessen the occurrence of headaches, not headache medications. However, if the headaches become severe and continuous, it is recommended that you see a doctor.

Dizzy Spins

Sometimes, a strong blow to the head may upset the balance organs in your ears, causing the room to spin whenever you make sudden movements. You will also experience a floating sensation or a sense of unreality a few weeks after a concussion. Like headaches, expect to have these feelings; they will improve over time.

Vision Problems

You may have blurry vision and you might develop a strong aversion to bright light a few weeks following a concussion. Wearing sunglasses should help, but you should consult your doctor if these symptoms do not feel that you are not getting any better with time.

Fatigue

It is highly recommended that you listen closely and sense what your body is telling you. If you feel exhausted even after hardly doing anything at all then it is important that you take a rest. Carrying on will only tire you out and even make your recovery period longer.

Lack of Concentration

Your power of concentration is the first thing to go when you are tired, causing short-term memory loss. While you might be able to recall events that happened a year ago, you won't have any idea at all why you just opened the refrigerator just mere seconds ago. This means that your brain is temporarily downsizing itself to heal, so listen to it and get some rest.

Clumsiness

Your spatial awareness will temporarily have problems after a concussion, causing you to run into people, drop things or trip over easily. While this apparent clumsiness is temporary, it is best that you not do any driving until your awareness and reactions return to normal.

Irritability

After a concussion, you may find yourself with an unusually short temper. You may even find yourself snapping at anyone, from family members to coworkers and friends. You become highly irritable after a concussion because your brain is recovering from the blow and at the same time limiting its resources down to just the basics of survival, which does not include self-control and politeness. If you find yourself highly and more frequently irritable than usual after a concussion, take more time to recover.

Recovery Period

One or more of the after-effects of a concussion will manifest in most people. While it will take about a fortnight to resolve them, the after-effects of a concussion may continue for a longer period of time in one person out of ten. If your symptoms become severe and you still feel bad three weeks later, it is highly recommended that you see your doctor right away.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

Atherosclerosis - Symptoms, Causes, prevention and Treatment

2009-01-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

By atherosclerosis the inside of the arteries are thickened, hardened and stiffened, causing the space for blood flow to be narrowed or closed. This will decrease the oxygen supply to local or distant tissues.
The primary symptom of this is pain, poor organ function and bad general condition. The further consequences are tissue damage, sometimes acute damage by stop of blood flow caused by a sudden blood clot formed in the narrowed areas.

?
THE MECHANISMS AND CAUSES OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

The inner walls of the arteries consist of an innermost layer of endothelial cells (surface cells) and under these a layer of smooth muscle cells. The changes by atherosclerosis take place under the endothelial cells and in this muscle layer. The changes consist of: A certain degree of cell proliferation or tumour, gathering of cholesterol and fat. Deposition of calcium salts. Deposition of blood elements like fibrin.

The deposits are called atherosclerotic plaque or atheroma. Atherosclerosis is one of several types of artery thickening and hardening. A common name for thickening and hardening of arteries is "arteriosclerosis". Often atherosclerosis is also just called arteriosclerosis.

The development of atherosclerosis probably begins by a damage in the endothelium. This damage causes cholesterol and fat to penetrate into the vessel walls and deposit there. This also induces cells to proliferate. Later also calcium salts are deposited.

Factors that cause endothelial damage and thus atherosclerosis are:
-High content of cholesterol in the blood.
-High content of blood fat and especially saturated fat.
-Inflammation in the blood vessels. A sign of such inflammation is the presence of a substance called c-reactive protein.
-High amount of oxidation agents in the blood.
-High blood pressure.
-High content of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in the blood serum, and low content of high density lipoprotein (HDL) in the blood. Lipoprotein is a combination of a protein molecule and fat or cholesterol. Lipoproteins carry cholesterol or fat from place to place.
-Diabetes.
-High age.
-Smoking.
-Men have a somewhat higher chance of getting this condition than women.
-High content of the amino acid homocystein in the blood serum.

Many of these factors are ultimately caused by a bad diet and lack of daily exercise.

?
THE SYMPTOMS AND CONSEQUENCES OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Since atherosclerosis can affect all body parts, the symptoms will vary. However, general symptoms from the affected body parts are:
-Decreased performance, easy to tire out.
-Pain by physical activity, so called anoxic pain.
-By severe impairment of blood flow, tissue damage or sores can occur.

When the heart is affected, the symptoms will be:
-General bad condition.
-Anoxic pain from the heart and surroundings by physical activity, called angina pectoris.
-Feeling of not getting enough air, or breathing problems.

Atherosclerosis can cause blood clots that close the blood flow. There are several ways this can occur:

-The atherosclerotic plaque can rupture, making a sore in the inner wall of the vessel. At such a sore blood can coagulate, making a blood clot.
-The atherosclerotic plaque itself can grow to close a blood vessel.
-Blood coagulated at an affected area can tear loose, float with the blood stream to another place and prop a blood vessel at the new place.
-A portion of the plaque itself can tear itself loose and clog another blood vessel.

When the heart is stricken by a blood clot, heart tissue is suddenly destroyed, a condition called heart infarction, causing sudden heart failure or death.

When a blood clot strikes the brain, brain tissue is destroyed or impaired, causing paralysis, decreased consciousness, coma or other sudden functional impairments.

?
THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Atherosclerosis can be prevented and to some extend be cured by these measures, of which most are lifestyle adjustments:

-Eating just a little or moderate amount of fat.
-Eating just a moderate amount of sugar.
-The fat eaten should be a blending of different types of unsaturated fat from sources like: Olive oil, rape oil, sunflower oil, soy oil, walnut oil and fish. Then you will get enough of mono-unsaturated fat, omega-3-unsaturated fat, and omega-6-poly-unsaturated fat, but not too much of any of them.
-Eating much fish and just a little red meat.
-Eating a good amount of fruit and vegetables each day.
-Supply of enough vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.
-Only consuming moderate amount of salt.
-Stop smoking.
-Getting high blood pressure treated if lifestyle measures do not bring blood pressure down.
-Daily exercise fitted for one's own condition.
-Eliminate stress in the daily life and at the job.
-Stressing down and getting enough rest.

By high cholesterol levels that do not react properly to lifestyle measures, cholesterol lowering medication can be used, such as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

By serious local narrowing of an artery, surgery to clean out or widen the artery is sometimes performed. Sometimes the artery is replaced by a graft taken from another body part or by an artificial vessel. When this is done in the heart, it is denoted as bypass surgery.

Alternative treatment to clean out the arteries is an option. There is for example a treatment consisting of using the substance EDTA to carry constituents of plaque away from the arteries. The molecules of this substance have the ability to grip around other molecules, for example cholesterol molecules, and carry them away. There is however a controversy about the effectiveness of this treatment, called chelating therapy.

About The Author:
Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer focusing on health items. ----TO FIND natural medicines against common diseases, for example: Circulatory problems, over-weight, acne, eczema, hypothyroidism, fatigue, depression, hemorrhoids, joint pain, hypertension, high cholesterol, digestive ailments, allergies, menstrual problems, respiratory diseases and more, PLEASE VISIT:--- http://www.abicana.com/shop2.htm ----Free to reprint with the author's name and

Your Diet Can Be Causing Your Headaches

2009-01-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

While headache and migraine sufferers should really avoid certain foods and drinks, the sad truth remains -- only about 20% of people who suffer headaches and change their diet see any benefits in doing so.
If you suffer from constant headaches and migraines, it is best that you avoid the six Cs:

- Coffee
- Cola
- Chocolate
- Cheese
- Citrus
- Congeners

Other foods known to trigger headaches and migraines include the following:

- nuts and cheeses that contain Tyramine, an amino acid that triggers headaches. Tyramine is present in aged cheeses like parmesan, cheddar and brie.

- Beer and red wine, which both contain histamine.

- Processed meats such as hot dogs, luncheon meat, sausage and cured ham, which all contain nitrates to preserve the meat.

- Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is mostly used in Chinese food.

It is believed that the ‘vaso-active’ amines in some foods enlarge the blood vessels. When the vessels are enlarged, they press on the nerves, which in turn cause pain, thereby bringing on a headache or migraine. For these foods, it is always really a case of what works or does not work for you. It is best to do a little experimenting and try them out one at a time in order to find out your own personal food triggers.

In the case of chocolate, even though it contains amines and is long thought of to trigger headaches and migraines, research is showing that this is not always true. If you love to eat chocolate, this bit of good news does not mean that you can go on a chocolate-eating binge.

Avoiding Foods that Trigger Headaches

While it’s true that avoiding foods that can trigger headaches and migraines can help the onset of headaches, headaches can still be brought on by other aspects of your diet. One of the most common reasons for headaches is dehydration, but it is a good thing that you can easily remedy this easily and quickly by drinking plenty of water.

If you have a child who often comes home from school complaining of a headache, it is most likely because they are dehydrated. While your child is at school, he or she typically do not have time to drink water as much as they would if they were at home. Your child may even be intentionally limiting his or her drinking at school because he or she is embarrassed to often go to the bathroom. Giving your child a small bottle of water to carry around at school will easily solve this problem.

Another thing is that it is often easy to become too engrossed in what you are doing at home or at the office so you end up forgetting to drink water. A solution is to plan regular breaks or drink while you work; you might be surprised at the difference it makes. If you need any more persuasion, it helps to know that drinking a lot of water is not only good for your body; it will also give you clear, glowing skin.

Low Blood Sugar and Headaches

A bad headache can also be triggered by blood sugar levels. After an appealing lunch of chips, sweet drinks and candy that is high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, a rapid rise in your blood sugar occurs, giving you a kind of high. However, your blood sugar level will suddenly drop, leaving you with a dopey and drowsy feeling and with a bad headache. Eat foods with complex carbohydrates (e.g., cheese, whole meal bread, turkey and fruit) because they tend to get digested longer. When you are on this kind of diet, you will experience headaches less frequently in addition to having more energy and a much improved digestive system.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

How to Prevent Coronary Heart Disease and Heart Attack

2009-01-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Headaches And Hormones

2009-01-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

While women can have "hormone headaches," hormones are really responsible for the headaches that both men and women suffer from. The painful response that most of us recognize as a headache is actually caused by hormones.

Hormones and Pain

Hormones start and then regulate many of our bodily functions, which is exactly what they were named for, since the word "hormone" is based on a Greek word that means "to begin, or set into motion." Hormones are produced by the endocrine glands, and together the endocrine system and nervous system work to keep the body's systems running consistently, in spite of the constantly changing environment around us.

Both the endocrine and nervous systems dictate the huge number of automatic responses that regulate your bodily functions, like whether your body will respond to a headache trigger along with a sensation of pain.

Women suffer from seven types of hormone headaches at various stages of their lives, something that they don't consider great at all. These include the following:

- Menstrual migraine
- Pre-menstrual syndrome headaches
- Headaches from oral contraceptives
- Pregnancy headaches
- Postnatal and postpartum headaches
- Menopause
- Hormone replacement headaches

Let’s examine them one at a time.

Menstrual Migraine

Menstrual migraine is a type of headache that occurs before, during or after the menstrual period. Estrogen is the main cause of menstrual migraines. Estrogen is the hormone that controls the menstrual cycle. Women are more likely to get menstrual migraines during times when estrogen and progesterone levels are fluctuating.

The pain brought about by a menstrual migraine is described as a kind of throbbing headache that usually begins on one side of the head, typically accompanied by a feeling of sickness and vomiting. Women about to experience a menstrual migraine often experience seeing bright lights or smelling a particular odor.

Pre-Menstrual Syndrome Headache

Pre-menstrual syndrome headaches usually happen before a period and has a different set of symptoms from a menstrual migraine. Once menstruation begins though, this type of headache goes away. Symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome headaches include:

- Tiredness
- Acne outbreaks
- Joint pains
- Infrequent urination
- Constipation
- Clumsiness
- Increased hunger
- Food cravings

Headaches from Oral Contraceptives

Migraines are a common side effect of using oral contraceptives. Because of this, many women stop taking oral contraceptives altogether.

Pregnancy Headaches

For many women, pregnancy is a good time to enjoy a break from migraines. It is not certain why migraines stop during pregnancy, but doctors think that it involves a woman’s receptors for estrogen, which ‘choose’ how a woman’s body responds to changes in hormones.

However, because everyone's receptors are different, there are also many women who continue to suffer migraines during pregnancy. While some women only experience migraines during the first trimester of pregnancy, other women continue to have migraines throughout their pregnancy.

Postnatal and Postpartum Headaches

After the baby is delivered, a sharp drop in estrogen and progesterone levels occurs, which commonly results in new mothers experiencing tension headaches.

Menopause

About 25% of women suffer from menopausal headaches. During menopause, a woman's estrogen levels drop and this drop can be gradual, occurring over a period of months to even several years.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Women who suffer from migraines should be well aware of the fact that undergoing hormone replacement therapy for a prolonged period of time could exacerbate their headaches.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances

Home Remedies for Coronary Heart Disease

2009-01-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

The fundamental conditioning factor in all heart diseases is the diet. A corrective diet designed to alter body chemistry and improve the quality of general nutritional intake can, in many cases, reverse the degenerative changes which have occurred in the heart and blood vessels.

The diet should be lacto-vegetarian, low in sodium and calories. It should consist of high quality, natural organic foods, with emphasis on whole grains, seeds, fresh fruits and vegetables. Foods' which should be eliminated are all white flour products, sweets, chocolates, canned foods in syrup, soft drinks, squashes, all hard fats of animal origin such as butter, cream and fatty meats. Salt and sugar should be reduced substantially. The patient should also avoid tea, coffee, alcohol and tobacco.

The essential fatty acids which reduce serum cholesterol levels and minimise the risk of arteriosclerosis can be obtained from sunflower seed oil and com oil.

The use of olive oil is considered valuable in heart disease.It is dominant in mono-unsaturated fat. It lowers bad LDL cholesterol, but not good HDL cholesterol. It has antioxident activity which wards off artery damage from LDL cholesterol. In Italy, physicians use olive oil as a therapy after heart attack. Other important chol~sterol lowering foods are alfalfa and yoghurt. Lecithin helps prevent fatty deposits in arteries. Best food sources are unrefined, raw, crude vegetable oils, seeds andgmins.

Fruits and vegetables in general are highly beneficial in the treatment of heart disese. Seasonal fruits are quite effective heart tonics. Apple contains heart stimulating properties and the patients suffering from the weakness of heart should make liberal use of the fruit. Fresh grapes, pineapple, orange, custard apple, pomegranate and coconut water also tone up the heart.

Grapes are effective in heart pain and palpitation of the heart and the disease can be rapidly controlled if the patient adopts an exclusive grapes diet for a few days. Grape juice, especially will be valuable when one is actually suffering from a heart attack. Indian gooseberry is considered an effective home remedy for heart disease. It tones up the functions of all the organs of the body, builds up health by destroying the heterogenous elements and renewing lost energy.

Another excellent home remedy for heart disease is garlic. Its regular use can even reverse the damage to arteries and help heal them. This conclusion has been reached by an Indian doctor, Arun Bordia of Tagore Medical College. He tested garlic on a group of 432 heart disease patients, recovering from heart attacks. Half the group ate two or three fresh raw or cooked garlic cloves every day for three years. They squeezed the garlic into juice, put it in milk as a "morning tonic" or ate it boiled or minced. The other half ate no garlic. After the first year, there was no difference in the rate of heart attacks between the groups.

In the second year, however, deaths among the garlic eaters dropped by 50 per cent and in the third year, they sank to 66 per cent! Non-fatal heart attacks also declined by 30 per cent in the second year and 60 per cent in the third year. Further, blood pressure and blood cholesterol in the garlic eaters fell about 10 per cent. Garlic eaters also had fewer attacks of angina - chest pain. There were no significant cardiovascular changes in the non-garlic eaters.

Dr. Bordia suggested that over time, steady infusions of garlic both wash away some of the arterial plaque and prevent future damage. Garlic's usefulness arises from the fact it contains 15 different antioxidents which may neutralize artery destroying agents.

The use of onions is also an effective home remedy for heart disease. They are useful in normalising the percentage of blood cholesterol by oxidising excess cholesterol. One teaspoon of raw onion juice first thing in the morning will be highly beneficial in such cases.

Honey has marvelous properties to prevent all sorts of heart disease. It tones up the heart and improves the circulation. It is also effective in cardiac pain and palpitation of the heart. One tablespoonful daily after food is sufficient to prevent all sorts of heart troubles.

Patients with heart disease should increase their intake of food rich in Vitamin E, as this vitamin promotes heart function by improving oxygene ration of the cells. It also improves the circulation and muscle strength. Many whole meal products and green vegetables, particularly outer leaves of cabbage are good sources of Vitamin E. The Vitamin B group is important for heart and circulatory disorders. The best sources of Vitamin B are whole grains.

Vitamin C is also essential as it protects against spontaneous breaches in capillary walls which can lead to heart attacks. It also guards against high blood cholesterol. The stress of anger, fear, disappointment and similar emotions can raise blood fat and cholesterol levels immediately but this reaction to stress can do little harm if the diet is adequate in Vitamin C and pantothenic acid. The richest sources of Vitamin C are citrus fruits.

The patient should also pay attention to other laws of nature for health building such as taking moderate exercise like walking, cycling, swimming and gardening, getting proper rest and sleep, adopting the right mental attitude and getting fresh air and drinking pure water.

Other useful methods in the treatment of heart disease are the use of an ice bag on the spinal area between the second and tenth thoracic vertebras for 30 minutes' three times a week, a hot compress applied to the left side of the neck for 30 minutes every alternate day and massage of the abdomen and upper back muscles. Hot foot and hand baths are excellent for relieving the pain of angina pectoris.

About The Author:
Author's Sites: Natural Cures and Natural Heartburn Remedies & Cures

How To Get Rid Of A Migraine

2009-01-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

If you are a migraine headache sufferer you know how important it is to get pain relief fast. A migraine can be so severe that it can put a stop to your whole day. Many people who have migraines may have two or more each month. This article will examine a few ways to get rid of a migraine headache.

If you experience auras with your migraines then you have a warning system in place. It you start to notice bright flashes of light, dark spots in your field of vision or zigzag lines in your vision field, then you are about to develop a migraine. Take an over the counter NSAIDS right away. These drugs such as, Advil and Motrin can help with mild pain from migraines. It is probably a good idea to lie down in a dark, quiet, room also. A cool cloth applied to the forehead may be of some comfort.

If your migraines are severe, you need to see your doctor. He will prescribe prescription strength migraine medicine for you such as,Imitrex. This was the first drug that was developed specifically to treat migraines. Imitrex acts like serotonin and binds itself to the serotonin receptors in the brain. This cause the blood vessels to constrict, therefore relieving the pressure on the brain and the migraine pain.

Since Imitrex was developed a few other drugs have been created also. They work in similar ways to Imitrex but have fewer side effects and will cause fewer rebound headaches.

Since nausea is a common complication that occurs with a migraine, your doctor may prescribe an anti-emetic medication such as Reglan, Compazine or Phenergan. These medicines do not decrease the pain from a migraine, but they can stop the nausea and vomiting associated with it. Some of these drugs do have the ability to make you relaxed and very sleepy. Being more relaxed can help your pain medicine work better and possibly shorten the duration of your migraine.

The best thing you can do for your migraines is to find out what causes them. Keep a diary and try to pinpoint certain triggers that may set off a migraine headache. Some people are overly sensitive to certain perfumes or flowers. Others may develop a migraine after eating certain foods.

Your other option is to talk to your doctor about preventive medicines for migraine headaches. Studies have found that certain cardiovascular drugs and certain antidepressant medications have been highly effective in the prevention of migraines. New studies are being done all the time. Who knows, maybe eventually they will find a cure for your migraine headaches. But for now all you can do is try to prevent them or if you feel one coming on, try to treat it as quickly as possible.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

An Overview of Heart Disease

2009-01-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in most developed countries around the world, and the number of cases is rising constantly as a result of both modern lifestyles and increased overall longevity. While developing the condition can have a devastating impact on the sufferer's life, modern medicine has developed several effective treatments for heart disease, ranging from drugs and lifestyle improvements right through to surgery.

Of course, prevention is always better than cure, so before we look at some of the symptoms of cardiac disease we'll look at some of the ways you can help your body ward off the risks.

Living a healthy lifestyle can go a long way to reducing the chances of developing cardiac problems, but there is unfortunately an element of inherited risk, so even those with excellent overall health may find that they're genetically programmed towards heart disease in later life. Thankfully, the greatest influence genetics has on heart disease is that of making us more susceptible to certain causes, and with careful adjustments of our lifestyles we can greatly improve our prospects of avoiding it.

The two most deadly contributors to cardiac problems are smoking and obesity. Both of these can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels, putting extra strain on the heart. Smoking causes the build up of fatty deposits within the arteries, also causing circulation problems. Being overweight also tends to mean that a healthy diet is not being followed, and so the body may well be short of essential minerals and nutriments that the heart needs to keep on functioning healthily.

Stopping smoking and other unhealthy practices such as excessive drinking, along with improving diet and taking up exercise to reduce weight can go a long way towards averting problems.

The symptoms of a developing heart problem can be both subtle and dramatic. Unfortunately, many of the symptoms can also signify other less dangerous conditions, and so a diagnosis of heart disease is often made later than it could have been. If you come across more than one of the symptoms below, then a trip to your doctor is highly advisable.

Breathlessness when engaged in physical exercise is normal to some extent for almost everyone, but if you find you're becoming breathless more and more easily then this is a clear sign that your general fitness levels aren't all they could be, and that your heart may be struggling under the pressure.

Palpitations, that is a heavily or unevenly beating heart, can be a sign of anxiety or can come on after extreme exercise, but if neither of these situations apply then heart problems could well be the culprit.

A tingling feeling in bodily extremities such as fingers, toes or lips is often a sign that your cirulation system isn't delivering enough oxygen, again a sign of possible heart problems. Should your extremeities go on to develop a blueish colour then this is certainly not a good sign, and medical attention should be sought at once.

The final and most obvious sign of cardiac problems is a feeling of tightness or pain in the chest, a condition known as angina. If you feel chest pain with any regularity, even if not particularly severely, a medical check up is advisable to make sure you catch any problems as early as possible. Angina can be controlled very well by medication in many cases, and doesn't necessarily have to develop into full-blown heart disease.

In summary, living a healthy lifestyle while keeping an eye out for the symptoms will greatly reduce the risk of your life being devastated by heart disease.

About The Author:
Simone writes on a variety of health and society issues including heart disease and angina.

Effects of Constipation on the Heart

2009-01-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been constipated to the point that you were sure you were going to have a heart attack? All the straining and forcing can definitely put a strain on your entire body, but does constipation itself have any adverse effects on the heart?

First off, it's important to know the signs of constipation and understand what it is. Constipation is not so much a condition as it is a symptom of a much larger issue. The larger issue could be something as simple as a side effect of a prescription medicine or as complex as a health risk, such as diabetes. Constipation can have nearly infinite causes, so it pays to know your body and how it works.

Constipation can be diagnosed when the following occurs:

No bowel movements for 3 consecutive days
Hard stools 25% of the time
Straining and/or incomplete bowel movements 25% of the time
Two or fewer bowel movements within a week's time

As you can see, being diagnosed as constipated doesn't always mean that you cannot have a bowel movement. Many people have bowel movements and are still considered constipated. It's a matter of the quality, and not just the quantity, of the bowel movements that count.

The Heart of the Matter

Many of the same things that cause constipation can also be detrimental to your heart's health. For example, high blood sugar causes constipation and can also cause heart problems. Just as a high fiber diet can dramatically help constipation; it can also reduce your chances of a heart attack.

In a study of French adults, it was proven that the higher the fiber intake, the lower the chances of high cholesterol and blood pressure or of being over-weight. All of which affect both the heart and constipation. High fiber diets also show to lower abdominal obesity as well as blood sugar levels. The recommended amount of daily fiber is between 25 and 35 grams. The average American eats about 15 grams per day.

The proper amount of daily water soluble dietary fiber can help control diabetes, hemorrhoids, constipation, intestinal polyps, diverticulosis and even reduce the risk of colon cancer. It can even significantly reduce cholesterol within 4 weeks. Fiber has scientifically been shown to be a valuable ally in the war against many cancers, stroke, hypertension and coronary heart disease.

Virtually every one of the most notorious health killers can be impacted by eating a diet that's high in fiber. So, it's plain to see how constipation can affect the heart. When you're constipated, it can be a warning sign that something is wrong with your body internally.

While low fiber intake can certainly be a reason for constipation, it's important to remember that there is always a possibility of an underlying reason for your constipation and many of these reasons can also affect your heart.

Give Your Heart a Break!

Many health experts agree that the best thing you can do for your body is a periodical colon cleanse. It rids your body of years of built-up sludge and mucous that sticks to the inside of your intestines. When your intestines get clogged with all that matter and debris, it makes it extremely difficult for your body to absorb nutrients that are needed for it to function properly.

Everything starts with the colon. If your colon is clogged and dirty, your immune system will suffer, your risk of cancer is higher, your heart works harder and you are actually self-poisoning yourself since toxins are being re-absorbed into the body instead of being expelled. A clean colon will increase your metabolism, allowing you to lose weight easier and give you a sense of overall well-being.

Oxy-Powder is a product that can cleanse the colon as well as build a healthy environment for good bacteria to grow within your intestines. Oxy-Powder is an all-natural solution that can help constipated sufferers on their first step to a healthier lifestyle.

Oxy-Powder uses a unique combination of oxygenated magnesium, germanium and citric acid to leave your colon clean and fresh. And that's exactly how you'll feel too! If your colon is clogged and sluggish, you feel and act like it. Likewise, when you colon's clean, you'll feel lighter and experience energy like never before.

Use Oxy-Powder to clean out all of the deep down sludge and grime that's been collecting in your colon over the years. Restore your vitality and actually receive the nutrients from the foods you eat. Your heart will work more efficiently and many of the dangers that can affect your heart can be alleviated before they have a chance to do any real damage.

By using Oxy-Powder, you can treat the constipation and in turn be doing your body a world of good. The tips for a heart healthy lifestyle? Increase your fiber intake, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly and periodically cleanse your system with a product like Oxy-Powder. It's as easy as that.

-----

About The Author:
The Colon Cleanse & Constipation Resource Center is sponsored by Global Healing Center, Inc. The Resource Center's Web site features information on constipation, articles on colon cleansing, and research on the latest treatments. For more information, please visit The Colon Cleanse & Constipation Resource Center.

What Is A Migraine Headache?

2009-01-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

A migraine is different from a regular headache. A migraine is usually very severe, with pain on only one side of the head. It is often accompanied by extreme sensitivity to light and nausea and vomiting. Migraines are a recurring condition. Some people may have one several times a month, while some may only have one or two a year. But when a migraine happens, it can be disabling.

It is estimated that 1 in 100 people suffer from migraines. Research on migraines in the past focused on changes in the blood vessels in the brain. However, new research is being done that points to changes in the brain itself. Scientists believe that the cause of a migraine involves a complex mix of chemical changes in the brain with various nerve pathways. They are still not sure what the exact chain of events are that cause a migraine, but believe that it can be triggered by such things as stress, environmental factors, or certain foods.

There are two types of migraines. There are those with auras or those without auras. Most people will have migraines without the auras. This is called the common migraine.

If you have migraines with auras you will see flashes of light, blind spots in your vision, zigzag lines in your vision and sometimes have tingling sensations in your arms or leg. These auras usually start about 15 to 30 minutes before the migraine start and serve as a good warning sign. On occasion, the aura can last throughout the duration of the migraine.

If you have migraine headaches, you probably know what helps the pain. Everyone is different when it comes to pain relief. Some people just want to lie down in a dark, quiet, room and sleep it off. Others will take medication developed especially for migraine headaches. It is important to note, that if you suffer from migraines and haven't been to the doctor for treatment of them lately, it may be a good idea to see your doctor. There are a lot of new medications available for migraines now that weren't available ten years ago.

Children can have migraines, too. Their migraines may have started in adolescence or early adulthood. There have been incidences of migraines in children as young as 1. The good news is, migraines in children don't last as long and they typically grow out of them. With children the migraine will usually cause pain on both sides of the head. Children can also have nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light and sound, but have no headache pain. This type of migraine is especially difficult to diagnose and can be very frightening for the parents.

If you have migraines talk to your doctor about treatment. Eat healthy and drink plenty of water. Try to get adequate rest and reduce the stress in your life, if possible. Don't let the thought of having another migraine headache interrupt your life.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

How To Recognize The Symptoms Of Migraine Headaches

2009-01-07T08:15:00.001-08:00

Possible Natural Cures For Migraines

2009-01-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

If you suffer from migraine headaches and are hesitant about taking prescription medicines, there is some good news. There are natural ways to relieve your migraines without the side effects of prescription drugs. There are natural herbs that are effective in reliving migraines and other natural treatments that we will discuss in this article. But first let's take a look at the natural herbs and supplements.

The herb feverfew has been used in Europe for centuries. It is used to treat migraines, arthritis and fever. If you are currently taking medicine for blood thinning such as coumadin or aspirin you should not take feverfew because it will increase your bleeding time. It is especially important not to take feverfew a few weeks prior to and after surgery. It has also not been studied on pregnant women or nursing mothers, so it's best not to take it during these times.

Magnesium is a mineral found naturally in your foods and in your body. It is thought that a low magnesium level can contribute to the chemical imbalance in your brain that causes a headache. Some studies have shown that taking a magnesium supplement daily reduced the frequency and duration of migraines.

The herb butterbur has been used to relieve migraines, stomach cramps, cough, allergies and asthma. An extract from the plant is used because the raw herb in a natural state can be toxic to the liver and kidneys.

Another supplement that may help prevent migraines is high doses of riboflavin or Vitamin B-2. There has been a theory that this vitamin may help correct tiny deficiencies found in brain cells.

Acupuncture may be worth a try for a migraine cure. This method uses tiny, thin needles that are inserted just into the skin at certain points on your body to help relieve migraine pain. The insertion of the needles stimulate the release of endorphins into your body. Endorphins are known as the body's natural pain killer and they also produce a sense of well-being. More and more Americans are turning to acupuncture as an alternative form of treatment.

Another method is called biofeedback. In this method electrodes are placed on your skin and you are hooked up to a machine that monitors your heart rate, skin temperature, brain waves and muscle tension. Your are then taken through a series of relaxation techniques until you learn to control these physical responses.

Massage is a great way to reduce stress. However, it's effect on migraines have not been studied. But if you think that your migraines are caused from stress and muscle tension in your back and neck, a weekly massage may be very beneficial to you.

As you can see, there are several alternative treatments for migraine pain. The most important thing that you need to do is to make your doctor aware of any treatment or supplement you may be taking. Although vitamins and herbal supplements are over the counter medicines, they can still have a dangerous interaction with some prescription medicines. Do your research, try different methods and before you know it you may have a natural cure for your migraine pain.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

What Causes Migraine Headaches?

2009-01-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

A migraine is a severe headache that is recurring. You may experience migraines monthly or once or twice a year. Migraines can be accompanied by extreme sensitivity to lights and sounds, nausea and vomiting. A severe migraine will be disabling to most people. Migraines have long been a sort of medical mystery. Researchers are not sure of the exact cause of migraines, but over the years have constructed a few theories. This article is going to look at the possible causes of migraine headaches
A lot of researchers think that migraines are caused by an imbalance in the complex systems of nerves in the brain and neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain responsible for pain perception and emotions.

Serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters that researchers have studied. It has been proven that when you have a headache, your levels of serotonin drops. This in turn will cause the trigeminal nerve in your brain to release neuro peptides. These chemicals will cause the blood vessels on the outside covering of your brain to swell and the resulting pressure will produce a headache. This is the assumed mechanism of how a headache develops, but what causes this to happen.

Your headaches may be the result of certain triggers. The triggers that can produce a migraine are:

- Certain foods can trigger a migraine in a lot of people. Common food triggers are alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, aged cheeses, monosodium glutamate and other canned or processed foods.

- Sometimes skipping a meal can bring on a migraine also.

- Intense physical activity, including sex, can trigger a migraine. Too much sleep or too little sleep can also be a trigger.

- Stress is a big factor in triggering migraines. If you have worked hard all week and are starting to relax on the weekend, it may be ruined by a weekend migraine headache.

- Any type of change in your environment such as, the weather, temperature, barometric pressure and even a change in the time zone, can trigger a migraine.

- Some people are overly sensitive to all types of sensory stimulus such as, bright lights and certain smells. Certain perfumes or flowers have been known to trigger migraine pain.

- Women who are going through hormonal changes will be more at risk for developing a migraine. Researchers aren't sure why the fluctuations of hormones will trigger a migraine, but the incidences of migraines seem to increase right before or during a woman's period.

- Certain medications have been know to trigger migraine headaches.

If you are having frequent migraine headaches, try to pinpoint the trigger for them. Try keeping a journal of everything that you eat or do that's out of the ordinary each day. When you have a migraine read back through your journal and try to identify a possible trigger. If you haven't started treatment for migraines, see your doctor. He can prescribe medicine that will decrease the migraines or make them less intense. Don't suffer in pain anymore, find the cause of your migraine headaches.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.

Causes of Morning Headaches

2009-01-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

If you wake up each morning with a headache, you're not alone. A recent study made headlines when it found that one in thirteen people wake up with a headache each morning. Even more revealing was that the study showed that nearly 8% of those people had endured the headache for at least four years. Women between the ages of 45 and 64 are the most likely to suffer with these headaches.

If this sounds like you, there could be many reasons you are waking up with these headaches. In this article we will look over these reasons one by one.

Sleep Apnea

Many people think they are getting a full night of sleep, yet feel tired during the day. Sleep apnea is a common cause of this feeling of sleepiness during the day following what is believed to be a full night of sleep. Sleep apnea is when you stop breathing for a few seconds during sleep. It is believed that about 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea.

Among the common symptoms of sleep apnea is waking up with a headache. Many people also say that they wake up feeling as if they have not slept at all. It is common to feel like your throat is dry when you wake up. Others may describe you as snoring loudly during the night or note that you jump up suddenly during the night and then go right back to sleep.

Most of the symptoms of sleep apnea are caused by a failure to sleep deeply. For this reason it is important to see your doctor if you believe you may be suffering from sleep apnea. Typically, your doctor will order a sleep study to determine the severity of your sleep apnea. Commonly you will be treated for this condition with a CPAP machine with a mask you wear while you sleep.

Teeth Grinding

It is common for people to grind their teeth during the night. However, excessive teeth grinding can cause a tightness and pain in the muscles of the jaw, neck and head. This problem can often be fixed with a remedy as simple as a 'nightguard' fitted for you by your dentist. This device is a soft piece of plastic that rests in your mouth while you sleep to prevent grinding. A search on the Internet will also provide you with a lot of leads on these devices.

Restlessness in Bed

Tossing and turning during the night often leads to a headache in the morning. The reasons for this restless tossing and turning can vary from our daily stresses or buried stressors from the past. A licensed psychologist or psychiatrist may be able to help you deal with these issues.

Restless legs can also lead to a lot of movement in bed. The restless leg sensation involves a feeling that you must move your legs. Some have described this sensation as 'insects crawling inside the leg.' Suggested remedies for this sensation range from a hot bath before bed to drug abstinence to include nicotine, alcohol and caffeine. Your doctor may suggest iron or magnesium supplements if they are suitable for you. Your doctor may also decide to prescribe a drug such as Ropinirole.

A Snoring Partner

Often, it can be the person sleeping next to you that keeps you from getting a full night of sleep. In fact, studies suggest that a person living with a partner who snores can lose nearly 50 minutes of sleep each night. That can really add up over time.

The Cause of the Night Groans

Snoring is the sound created by the muscles the back of your throat flopping around in vibration. Common causes of snoring are chronic allergies, upper airway resistance, obesity, a stuffy nose and medication side effects.

If you feel any of these common causes apply to you, they need to be dealt with swiftly to improve sleep and ultimately your health. In the mean time, you may be able to find some relief using a special snoring prevention gum shield provided to you by your dentist.

Quiet Time Anxiety

It is extremely common for people to worry or have anxious thoughts when they lie down to sleep. During the day a variety of tasks and entertainments allow us to push these concerns to the backs of our minds. However, when we lie down, we no longer have distraction and our minds turn attention towards these anxious thoughts.

For many people, this will only occur during times when they deal with special problems or issues and then gradually disappear. For some, though, this can continue on indefinitely as they suffer from or head towards depression. If you think this may describe you it is important to see a doctor to help you end this nightly anxiety cycle.

For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.

This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.