Anxiety Ups Heart Disease Risk

If you’re one of the three in ten Americans who deal with anxiety, you may sometimes fear you’re having a heart attack. Now two recent European studies appear to confirm the role that anxiety disorders play in increasing heart disease risk or suffering a fatal cardiac event. Heart disease is recognized as the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United Sates.

The first study involves data from 20 studies on almost 250,000 subjects and found that anxiety was tied to a 26% increased risk of heart disease, and a 48% higher risk of heart related death over the follow up period, even after adjusting for other heart disease risk factors.

The second study examined data on 50,000 Swedish men and also found anxiety problems as predictors, more than doubling the risk of future heart disease, even after controlling for known risks like high blood pressure and smoking.

While worry and stress, fear and the occasional case of nerves are a natural part of life, if these feelings are persistent, seem to be out of control and overwhelm your waking hours then you may have something more serious, an anxiety disorder. The term is used by experts to describe a group of conditions that include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder as well as specific phobias like heights or closed in spaces.

Experts now believe that there may be a genetic component to anxiety, and today’s estimates have almost 40 million Americans coping with anxiety disorders.

When it comes to treatment, there are some natural, highly effective ways to deal with anxiety:

- Aerobic exercise is a huge help, not just because it helps burn off stress but it also has beneficial effects on circulation and strengthening the heart. Exercise also helps you maintain a healthy weight, important for a healthy heart.

- Don’t smoke as this improves your odds of avoiding heart disease.

- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well-established, very effective treatment that focuses on identifying, understanding and changing thinking and thus behavior patterns. Help comes in 12 to 16 weeks, and the techniques you learn last a lifetime.

- Acupuncture, the Chinese practice of inserting hair-thin needles into the body at special points to change the flow of energy has been increasingly shown to be effective against anxiety disorders.

- Yoga, combining physical postures, breathing, meditation and a very distinct philosophy is very effective against anxiety.

An accompanying editorial points out that the findings of both studies underscore the need for doctors to assess the emotional health of patients, just as they do physical symptoms.

The studies don’t address treatment or ways to reduce anxiety by using medications, therapy, stress reduction or changes in your lifestyle, but it’s clear that treating your anxiety can bring long-term benefits to body as well as mind.

According to reports doctors aren’t comfortable asking patients about feelings and their everyday lives. But doing so might help in identify those at risk for serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease.

So if you deal with anxiety, and you’re concerned about your heart disease risk, you need to start a conversation with your doctor – remember you can’t get help until you let your medical team know about your problem, and there are many treatments available. The thing to know is that anxiety does not have to be a part of your life forever. Things can be better. Starting now.

Obese Kids – Risk of Diabetes

At a recent American Heart Association’s annual scientific session held in New Orleans, scientists informed the gathering that many obese kids and teenagers have been tested and the results have shown that their carotid walls are almost same as those of a person who is nearly 30 years older than them.

As per American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), occurrence of obesity in kids and adults is a rapidly increasing epidemic with around 15 to 30 percent kids and adults being obese.

There could be many factors which may result in the obesity among the children in USA as per AACAP including the ones described below:

* Unhealthy eating habits

* Habit of overeating

* Lack of any physical activity

* Sometimes due to family history, genetics

* Steroids and some medications like psychiatric medications.

* Life full of stress and cultural factors like child abuse or deaths

* Emotional problems including depression.

The AACAP has further reported that kids who turn obese between 10 to 13 years of age have about 70 percent chance to turn obese adults.

There are many risk factors and complications which may result due to obesity among children like:

* High risk of heart disease.

* Having breathing difficulties.

* Increased blood pressure

* Having difficulties in sleep

* Risk of diabetes

As type 2 diabetes is being increasingly found in children, it is necessary that proper treatment is offered after accurate diagnosis to stop any further complication in them. Proper diet and exercise regime should be implemented for their health benefit. Make sure to bring your kid to your doctor if you have any inclination he or she has symptoms of diabetes.

Nature’s Way of Healing Tinnitus

Have you experienced a situation where there is a ringing in your ears? This situation that you and 25 million other Americans have been through is called tinnitus. This has been one of the most frustrating and annoying situations that a person can experience. For those people who have a mild tinnitus, they can actually able to cure it easily. On the other hand, people who are experiencing chronic tinnitus are recommended to ask for the help of medical practitioners.

There are so many things that people who have this suffer especially with their ears. Most of them would find ways on how to cure it. Some people would sort to modern remedies while others would go for natural remedies for tinnitus.

For those people who are very particular when it comes to the side effects that a certain medication would have, they will probably be resorting to using natural remedies since they are free or cost less. Some of the natural remedies that have great effects for tinnitus are the following.

- Gingko Biloba

Gingko Biloba has been commonly used now as a supplement but it can also be the best cure to chronic tinnitus because of its components.

- Wild oats

Wild moats can be considered as the best prevention as it does not irritate tinnitus.

- Wild hyssop

This is an effective ingredient that also helps combat the occurrence of tinnitus.

- Food stuffs

It is very much recommended for one to get a lot of foods that are rich in Choline and Vitamin B complex.

These are just some of the natural remedies that can help you combat tinnitus. The intake and consumption of any of these natural remedies would be a great help to the full realization of one’s goal of getting away with the suffering brought about by tinnitus.

The Absolute Best Time to Stop Drinking

A common quandary of nearly everyone who wants to give up alcohol or any other addiction for that matter is timing. When is the right time to quit? And the refrain in our head goes something like this: No point quitting next week because it is my friend’s barbecue. After all it is summer and there will be lots of other barbecues coming up and plus a cold beer tastes really good on a hot day. The fall is not a good time either; too close to Thanksgiving. I absolutely cannot quit during Xmas and New Years. Next March may be a possibility – but that is a long way off, so no point thinking that far ahead. Your reasoning may not be exactly the same, but you get my meaning.

It is true than in order to quit or moderate drinking you need to decide. You need to make a decision and take some action. However, thinking that you can pick some day in the future and say – that is the day I am quitting – will not work. The day you absolutely have to stop or change your pattern of drinking is the day that you have a “moment of clarity”. A moment of clarity is a very small window of time in which the real you surfaces, the insanity of the addiction is held at bay, and there is a clear message in your brain that you must do something about your drinking or your addiction. That is the exact moment that you stop everything else you are doing and run for help. That is the moment that you throw everything you can at the addictive behavior – every resource that you know about.

If you choose to miss this window of opportunity you are taking a huge risk. You do not know when, if ever, you will have another such moment. When the moment of clarity ends, and you have taken no action, the addiction will swallow you up once more. The addiction never wants you to stop.

How to Treat Sore Feet

Foot pain can be caused by injury (trauma), disease, or continuous physical stress. The foot is a very intricate structure. The interaction of muscles, bones, joints, and tendons is very much defined. For instance, if continued trauma is placed on the feet, the internal structures will become inflamed and eventually break down. Sore feet are usually a symptom of something wrong inside the foot. Though the catalyst may be from outside. Feet care and maintenance should be practiced daily.

The cause of sore feet can be due to continuous physical stress on the feet. The normal padding on the foot protecting it from injury and absorbs the weight of the body wears down with age and misuse. Jogging or strenuous activity leads to feet pain over a long period of time. Injuries to the feet occur mostly among athletes and children. The muscles and tendons can be strained and overstressed. The bones can fracture, bruise and break more easily when they are tired or overused. And repetitive trauma can cause excess bone formation like spurs. Prevention is definitely how to treat sore feet.

Diseases like arthritis, diabetes, gout, or simply warts can also cause sore feet. Fungus can cause athletes foot, warts, and other irritations. Diabetes commonly causes numbness and circulation problems leading to swollen and painful feet. Arthritis also affects the joints, making them stiff and sore. This limits movement and causes pain. Warts, ingrown toenails, and fungus infections cause irritation and pain, making it difficult to walk with shoes on. If the arches are damaged, the pain can be very intense. Non treatment promotes infection which can lead to longtime recovery and even surgery.

The best solution on how to treat sore feet is prevention. Do not go jogging or play an extremely strenuous sport like basketball if your feet are tired. Take daily care of your feet with good hygiene. Moisturize the skin or try a foot bath to relieve aching feet. Elevate sore feet to relieve pressure and promote good blood circulation. Over the counter products help relieve minor skin irritation, keeps skin healthy, and fights the symptoms of warts, athlete’s foot, and other minor issues. Medical help should be sought for any major issue such as a broken bone, severe swelling, torn ligaments and tendons, and things like severe diabetes symptoms.

Easy Highly Effective Weight Loss Diet

You either want to lose the weight or you don’t. Let’s get on with it. This is an easy, highly effective weight loss diet. In this article, I’m going to give you only one step in this process. There are five more steps… So, are you ready for the first step? Let’s get started:

The first thing you need to do is determine what your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is. The BMR is simply a calculated method of determining how many calories you would burn in the unrealistic (for most folks) situation that you did absolutely nothing all day long except sat on your couch without even bothering to move to retrieve water, go to the bathroom or anything else. If you were to just sit in one place for 24 solid hours, without moving. This will be your BMR. There is a link to a BMR calculation form on the website.

Now, after you calculate your BMR, we’ll then determine the precise amount of calorie intake it will take for you to sustain the exact weight that your at right now. Why would we want to do that?

Because once we know what kind of caloric intake it would take to maintain your weight, while you do absolutely nothing, we can then figure out how much of a reduction in calories it will take (again, with you doing nothing) for you to lose weight effectively.

The first thing you should do is take your BMR and subtract 15% and 20% respectively.

Here’s how: Take your BMR number, let’s say, as an example, it’s 2010. You multiply 2010 x 0.15. Use your calculator.

Ok, the figure you should get is 301.5. Just round it off to 302. Next, subtract 302 from 2010. 2010 – 302 = 1708. That represents a 15% decrease in the BMR. Now, let’s do the same thing again to get a 20% decrease. 2010 x 0.20 = 402. Subtract 402 from 2010 = 1608.

Ok, here’s the easy part. Just plan your daily calorie input (how much food you’ll eat) to be between 1608 calories and 1708 calories.

If you do this one very simple thing, I guarantee that you will lose weight!!

Not difficult. Quite a few people will not even get this far. Here’s the thing. If you’ll just move a little, it will work even better and the weight will come off much faster.

You notice I did not say the “E” word (exercise)? You don’t have to exercise if you do nothing else but stick to this reduction in calories. BUT, if you really, really want to take it off fast, you need to do “some” exercise AND stick with this 15% – 20% plan.

You’ll still be getting plenty of caloric input but you’ll be burning it faster than you’re taking it in. Make sense? It should. Now, go get the other five steps.