Thursday, August 20, 2009

GOUT

Gout is a disease hallmarked by elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream. In this condition, crystals of monosodium urate (MSU) or uric acid are deposited on the articular cartilage of joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues. It is marked by transient painful attacks of acute arthritis initiated by crystallization of urates within and about the joints and can eventually lead to chronic gouty arthritis and the deposition of masses of urates in joints and other sites, sometimes creating tophi.

The crystals inside the joint cause intense pain whenever the affected area is moved. The inflammation of the tissues around the joint also causes the skin to be swollen, tender and sore if it is even slightly touched. For example, a blanket or even the lightest sheet draped over the affected area can cause extreme pain.

Gout usually attacks the big toe (approximately 75 percent of first attacks); however, it also can affect other joints such as the ankle, heel, instep, knee, wrist, elbow, fingers, or spine. In some cases, the condition may appear in the joints of small toes that have become immobile due to impact injury earlier in life; the resulting poor blood circulation can lead to gout.

Prevention strategies include reducing the supply of purine, dissolving crystals of uric acid so the uric acid can return to the blood, and increasing the excretion of uric acid from the blood into the urine, without causing lithiasis there. Prevention tactics involve careful diagnosis of the factors contributing to the gout, followed by appropriate use of medication, diet, and over the counter remedies.

Javanese poople (Indonesia) use some herbals to treat gout such as : Zingiber aromaticun (Lempuyang), Sida rombifolia (Sidaguri), Curcuma domestica (kunyit), Zingiber officinale var. Rubrum (jahe merah), Andrographis paniculata (Sambiloto), Imperata Cylindrica (alang-alang), Sonchus arvensis (tempuyung), Equisetum debile (Greges otot), Nigela sativa (Black cumin/habbatusauda)

Monday, August 17, 2009

URIC ACID

Uric acid is produced by xanthine oxidase from xanthine and hypoxanthine, which in turn are produced from purine. Uric acid is more toxic to tissues than either xanthine or hypoxanthine.

In humans and higher primates, uric acid is the final oxidation (breakdown) product of purine metabolism and is excreted in urine, over half the antioxidant capacity of blood plasma comes from uric acid. About 70% of daily uric acid disposal occurs via the kidneys, and in 5-25% of humans impaired renal (kidney) excretion leads to hyperuricemia.

Excess serum accumulation of uric acid can lead to a type of arthritis known as gout.

Elevated serum uric acid (hyperuricemia) can result from high intake of purine-rich foods, high fructose intake (regardless of fructose's low glycemic index (GI) value) and/or impaired excretion by the kidneys. Saturation levels of uric acid in blood may result in one form of kidney stones when the urate crystallizes in the kidney. These uric acid stones are radiolucent and so do not appear on an abdominal plain x-ray or CT scan. Their presence must be diagnosed by ultrasound for this reason. Very large stones may be detected on x-ray by their displacement of the surrounding kidney tissues. Some patients with gout eventually get uric kidney stones.

Gout can occur where serum uric acid levels are as low as 6 mg/dL (~357µmol/L), but an individual can have serum values as high as 9.6 mg/dL (~565µmol/L) and not have gout.

Sources of uric acid :
* In many instances, people have elevated uric acid levels for hereditary reasons. Diet may also be a factor; eating large amounts of sea salt can cause increased levels of uric acid. (Medical consultation is recommended before using large quantities of sea salt in daily cooking.)

* Purines are found in high amounts in animal internal organ food products, such as liver. A moderate amount of purine is also contained in beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, green peas, lentils, dried peas, beans, oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ.

* Examples of high purine sources include: sweetbreads, anchovies, sardines, liver, beef kidneys, brains, meat extracts (e.g. Oxo, Bovril), herring, mackerel, scallops, game meats, and gravy.

* Moderate intake of purine-containing food is not associated with an increased risk of gout.

* Serum uric acid can be elevated due to high fructose intake, reduced excretion by the kidneys, and or high intake of dietary purine.

* Added fructose can be found in processed foods and soda beverages as sucrose, or in some countries, as high fructose corn syrup.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Herbal Medicines

The medicines used today are derivatives of medicinal plants, but because of man's greed and insistence upon playing the chemical game, these products now are synthetic and toxic to our bodies. Their purposes is to alleviate symptoms, not to correct or cure any conditions. Herbal medicines, on the other hand, dispose of the symptoms by curing the condition. They restore normality and thus allow the body to regain homeostasis once again.

A prime example of the effectiveness of herbs can be seen in the animal kingdom. An injured or sick animal will seek out and eat or otherwise use the herbs that will restore its health.

In the early 19th century, when methods of chemical analysis first became available, scientists began extracting and modifying the active ingredients from plants. In the U.S. Later, chemists began making their own version of plant compounds, beginning the transition from raw herbs to synthetic pharmaceuticals. Over time, the use of herbal medicines declined in favor of pharmaceuticals.

Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some aspect of their primary health care. In the last 20 years in the United States, increasing public dissatisfaction with the cost of prescription medications, combined with an interest in returning to natural or organic remedies, has led to an increase in the use of herbal medicines. In Germany, roughly 600 - 700 plant-based medicines are available and are prescribed by approximately 70% of German physicians.

Herbalism

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.

Many plants synthesize substances that are useful to the maintenance of health in humans and other animals. These include aromatic substances, most of which are phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives such as tannins. Many are secondary metabolites, of which at least 12,000 have been isolated — a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. In many cases, these substances (particularly the alkaloids) serve as plant defense mechanisms against predation by microorganisms, insects, and herbivores. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds.

In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the Sumerians, who described well-established medicinal uses for such plants as laurel, caraway, and thyme. Ancient Egyptian medicine of 1000 B.C. are known to have used garlic, opium, castor oil, coriander, mint, indigo, and other herbs for medicine and the Old Testament also mentions herb use and cultivation, including mandrake, vetch, caraway, wheat, barley, and rye.

Medical schools known as Bimaristan began to appear from the 9th century in the medieval Islamic world, which was generally more advanced than medieval Europe at the time. The Arabs venerated Greco-Roman culture and learning, and translated tens of thousands of texts into Arabic for further study. As a trading culture, the Arab travellers had access to plant material from distant places such as China and India. Herbals, medical texts and translations of the classics of antiquity filtered in from east and west.

Muslim botanists and Muslim physicians significantly expanded on the earlier knowledge of materia medica. For example, al-Dinawari described more than 637 plant drugs in the 9th century, and Ibn al-Baitar described more than 1,400 different plants, foods and drugs, over 300 of which were his own original discoveries, in the 13th century.

The experimental scientific method was introduced into the field of materia medica in the 13th century by the Andalusian-Arab botanist Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, the teacher of Ibn al-Baitar. Al-Nabati introduced empirical techniques in the testing, description and identification of numerous materia medica, and he separated unverified reports from those supported by actual tests and observations. This allowed the study of materia medica to evolve into the science of pharmacology.

Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine (1025) is considered the first pharmacopoeia, and lists 800 tested drugs, plants and minerals. Book Two is devoted to a discussion of the healing properties of herbs, including nutmeg, senna, sandalwood, rhubarb, myrrh, cinammon, and rosewater. Baghdad was an important center for Arab herbalism, as was Al-Andalus between 800 and 1400. Abulcasis (936-1013) of Cordoba authored The Book of Simples, an important source for later European herbals, while Ibn al-Baitar (1197-1248) of Malaga authored the Corpus of Simples, the most complete Arab herbal which introduced 200 new healing herbs, including tamarind, aconite, and nux vomica. Other pharmacopoeia books include that written by Abu-Rayhan Biruni in the 11th century and Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) in the 12th century (and printed in 1491), The origins of clinical pharmacology also date back to the Middle Ages in Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine, Peter of Spain's Commentary on Isaac, and John of St Amand's Commentary on the Antedotary of Nicholas. In particular, the Canon introduced clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, and efficacy tests.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

WHAT IRIDOLOGY CANNOT SHOW

Reference : UNDERSTANDING IRIDOLOGY, Vision of Health, Dr. Bernard Jensen, Dr. Donald V. Bodeen

What iridology cannot show
  • Blood pressure levels (normal or abnormal), blood sugar level, and other specific diagnostic findings and labolatory test results.
  • Which specific medications or drugs an individual is using or has used in the past.
  • What surgical operations a person has had.
  • Specifically what foods a person does and does not eat.
  • How much uric acid is in the body.
  • The time and cause of an injury to the body.
  • Whether a snake bite is poisonous and if the snake venom has entered the bloodstream.
  • The correlation between tissue-inflammation levels and specific diseases or symptoms of disease.
  • Diseases by name.
  • Whether a subject is male or female.
  • Whether asbestos settlements or silicosis exist in the body.
  • If hair is falling out and why.
  • The numbers or organs with which a person was born.
  • The presence of a yeast infection, such as Candida Albicans.
  • Which tooth is causing problems.
  • The presence of lead, cadmium, aluminum, ar any other metallic elements in the tissues.
  • If a woman is on birth control pills.
  • If a woman is pregnant.
  • Whether an operations is necessary.
  • Whether a tumor is present and what size it is.
  • Whether hemorrhage exist in the body or where it is located.
  • The difference between drug side-effect symptoms and the symptoms of actual diseases.
  • Whether irregular menstrual periods are caused by the thyroid.
  • The presence of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, or bubonic plague.
  • Whether healing signs indicate a raising of the general health level.
  • The presence of syphilis, gonorrhea, or another sexually transmitted disease.
  • Orientation toward homosexuality.
  • The presence of AIDS.
  • The presence of gallstones or kidney stones.
  • Whether a cardiac artery is blocked.

WHAT IRIDOLOGY CAN SHOW

Reference : UNDERSTANDING IRIDOLOGY, Vision of Health, Dr. Bernard Jensen, Dr. Donald V. Bodeen

What iridology can show :
  • The primary nutritional needs of the body
  • The inherent strength or weakness of organ, glands, and tissues
  • Constitutional strength or weakness
  • Which organs are in the greatest need of repair and rebuilding
  • The relative amount of toxic settlement in the organs, glands, and tissues
  • Where the inflammation is located in the body
  • The stage of tissue inflammation and activity
  • Underactivity, or sluggishness, of the bowel
  • The need for acidophilus in the bowel
  • Prolapsus of the transverse colon
  • Depletion of minerals in an organ, gland, or tissue
  • The relative ability of an organ, gland, or tissue to hold nutrients
  • The results of physical or mental fatique or stress on the body
  • The need for rest to build up immunity
  • Tissue areas contributing to suppressed or buried symptoms
  • High or low sex drive
  • A genetic pattern of inherent weaknesses and their influence on other organs, glands, and tissues
  • The effects of iatrogenic conditions
  • The preclinical stages of diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and many other diseases
  • Miasms
  • The recuperative ability and health level of the body
  • The buildup of toxic material before the manifestation of a disease
  • Genetic weakness affecting the nerves, blood supply, and mineralization of bone
  • Healing signs indicating an increase of strength in an organ, gland, or tissue
  • The potential for varicose veins in the legs
  • Positive and negative nutritional needs of the body
  • A probable allergy to wheat
  • Sources of infection
  • Acidity of the body and catarrh development
  • Suppression of catarrh
  • The conditions of tissues in any one part of the body, or in all parts of the body at one time
  • The climate and altitude that are best for the patient
  • The potential for senility
  • The effects of a polluted environment
  • Adrenal exhaution
  • Resistance to disease
  • The relationship or unity of symptoms with conditions in the organs, glands, and tissues
  • The difference between a healing crisis and disease crisis
  • The accuracy of Hering's Law of Cure
  • Whether a particular program or therapy is working
  • The quality of nerve force (nerve energy) in the body
  • The body's response to a treatment
  • The whole, or overall, health level of the body

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Sharbat Gula, The World's Most Famous Eye!

Reference : wikipedia.org

Sharbat Gula (Pashto: شربت ګله, literally "Rose Sherbet", born ca. 1972) is an Afghan woman of Pashtun ethnicity. She was forced to leave her home in Afghanistan during the Soviet war for a refugee camp in Pakistan where she was photographed by journalist Steve Mc Curry. The image brought her recognition when it was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine, at a time when she was approximately 12 years old. Gula was known throughout the world simply as the Afghan Girl until she was formally identified in early 2002.

Photo's subject

Gula was orphaned during the Soviet Union’s bombing of Afghanistan and sent to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan 1984. Her village was attacked by Soviet helicopter gunships sometime in the early 1980s. The Soviet strike killed her parents - forcing her, her siblings and grandmother to hike over the mountains to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan.

She married Rahmat Gul in the late 1980s and returned to Afghanistan in 1992. Gula had three daughters: Robina, Zahida, and Alia. A fourth daughter died in infancy. Gula has expressed the hope that her girls will receive the education she was never able to complete.

1984 photograph

At the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in 1984, Gula's photograph was taken by National Geographic photographer Steve Mc Curry on Kodachrome color slide film. Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the opportunity and captured her image.

Although her name was not known, her picture, titled "Afghan Girl", appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf draped loosely over her head and with her piercing sea-green eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol both of the 1980s Afghan conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. The image itself was named "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the magazine.

Search for the Afghan Girl

The identity of the Afghan Girl remained unknown for over 17 years; Afghanistan remained largely closed to Western media until after the removal of the Taliban government by foreign troops and local allies in 2001. Although McCurry made several attempts during the 1990s to locate her, he was unsuccessful.

In January 2002, a National Geographic team traveled to Afghanistan to locate the subject of the now-famous photograph. McCurry, upon learning that the Nasir Bagh refugee camp was soon to close, inquired of its remaining residents, one of whom knew Gula's brother and was able to send word to her hometown. However, there were a number of women who came forward and identified themselves erroneously as the famous Afghan Girl. In addition, after being shown the 1985 photo, a handful of young men questioned falsely claimed Gula as their wife.

The team finally located Gula, then around the age of 30, in a remote region of Afghanistan; she had returned to her native country from the refugee camp in 1992. Her identity was confirmed using biometric technology which matched her iris patterns to those of the photograph with almost full certainty. She vividly recalled being photographed—it was the first and only time she had ever had her picture taken. The fame and symbolic character of her portrait were completely unknown to her.

Modern pictures of her were featured as part of a cover story on her life in the April 2002 issue of National Geographic and was the subject of a television documentary, entitled Search for the Afghan Girl, which aired in March 2002. In recognition of her,National Geographic set up the Afghan Girls Fund, a charitable organization with the goal of educating Afghan girls and young women. In 2008, the scope of the fund was broadened to include boys and the name was changed to Afghan Children's Fund.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

How to Know Honey's Quality?

High quality honey can be distinguished by, fragrance, taste, and consistency. Ripe, freshly collected, high quality honey at 20°C (68°F) should flow from a knife in a straight stream, without breaking into separate drops. After falling down the honey should form a bead. The honey when poured should form small, temporary layers that disappear fairly quickly, indicating high viscosity. If not, it indicates excessive water content (over 20%)of the product. Honey with excessive water content is not suitable for long term preservation.

In jars, fresh honey should appear as a pure, consistent fluid and should not set in layers. Within a few weeks to a few months of extraction, many varieties of honey crystallize into a cream-coloured solid. Some varieties of honey, including tuepelo, acacia, and sage, crystallize less regularly. Honey may be heated during bottling at temperatures of 104-120°F to delay or inhibit crystallization without degrading the honey. Although, lack of crystallization is not proof of excessive heating or pasteurization. If transparent and reluctant to thicken, this may indicate that the bees were fed with sugar syrup or even sugar itself, which is bad for the bees and leads to inferior honey. A fluffy film on the surface of the honey (like a white foam), or marble-coloured or white-spotted crystallization on a containers sides, is formed by air bubbles trapped during the bottling process. This is a characteristic of unpasteurized honey.

A 2008 Italian study determined that nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy can be used to distinguish between different honey types, and can be used to pinpoint the area where it was produced. Researchers were able to identify differences in acacia and polyfloral honeys by the differing proportions of fructose and sucrose, as well as differing levels of aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. This ability allows greater ease of selecting compatible stocks.

Source : wikipedia