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Thursday, April 26, 2012
The girl who must eat every 15 minutes to Stay alive(PHOTOS)
8:11 AM
Anonymous
Why dieting makes you FAT
12:52 AM
Anonymous
Michelle Underwood knows only too well the agony of failed diets. The 36-year-old mother-of-three from Woking, Surrey, has seen her weight yo-yo from 11st to 19st repeatedly over the past decade, as a succession of diets initially worked, then failed spectacularly — leaving her heavier and more desperate than ever.
Michelle blames herself for her serial dieting failures, saying she lacks willpower and has an appetite for the wrong food.
Last week saw a high-profile example of this common problem, when broadcaster Jenni Murray revealed in the Mail how she has piled back on the 5st she lost last year on the controversial Dukan diet.
She had dropped from 19st to 14st, with the intention of losing another two. But all the hard work came undone in a matter of five weeks on an extended holiday, she said, followed by a diet-free Christmas.
Murray has now joined WeightWatchers and believes she has finally found a diet that works for her.
One must admire her optimism and wish her luck. But scientific evidence increasingly points to a far deeper problem that confronts dieters: cutting out calories changes your metabolism and brain, so your body hoards fat and your mind magnifies food cravings into an obsession.
Slimmers have often feared this was somehow true, but now science confirms this cruel fact of nature. New research shows dieting raises levels of hormones that stimulate appetite — and lowers levels of hormones that suppress it.
Meanwhile, brain scans reveal that weight loss makes it harder for us to exercise self-control and resist tempting food. Worse still, the more people diet, the stronger these effects can become, leaving some almost doomed to being overweight as a result of their attempts to become slim.
And as research lays bare the dangers of yo-yoing weight, some experts argue it would be better not to diet at all.
Michelle’s story epitomises these problems. Until she was 25 she weighed around 10st, a normal weight for someone 5ft 8in tall. She stayed slim even after the birth of her two sons — now in their teens — but when she and her partner, Paul, 37, moved in together in 2001, the weight piled on.
‘I have increasingly developed an appetite for the wrong foods,’ she says.
‘I go all day without eating, then Paul comes home late from his job as an NHS estates officer and we get a takeaway. That’s despite having gone to the supermarket to buy food to cook.’
Within a year she weighed 15st, going from a size 12 to a size 18. After the birth of her daughter in September 2003, she weighed 16st. And so began a depressing cycle of diets, weight loss then gain.
Over the next nine years she tried a variety of diets, including homespun regimens and hypnotherapy.
She lost up to 6st a time, only to regain it within less than a year. ‘Holidays are my downfall,’ she says. ‘Especially package holidays where all the food is included.’
At one point, in 2008, with the help of WeightWatchers and Lighter Life, she lost 6st in less than five months. She was thrilled. ‘When I’m eating healthily, I feel better and sleep better. I also feel more confident,’ she says.
But Michelle’s diet foundered again in 2009 while on holiday. ‘I got fed up feeling weak and light-headed. It affected me psychologically; I felt obsessed with food.’
Michelle now weighs 19st — the heaviest she’s been — and is desperate to lose the weight once and for all. ‘When I’m overweight, I don’t want to go anywhere or meet new people. I won’t even take my daughter swimming, even though she wants to go, and the leisure centre is right by our house.
The boy who came back from the dead
12:44 AM
Anonymous
They were told there was no chance of their son surviving after he suffered devastating injuries in a car crash.
But Steven Thorpe’s parents refused to give up hope – despite four specialists declaring that the 17-year-old was brain dead.
Convinced they saw a ‘flicker’ of life as Steven lay in a coma, John and Janet Thorpe rejected advice to switch off his life support machine.
They begged for another opinion – and it was a decision that saved him.
A neurosurgeon found faint signs of brain activity and two weeks later, Steven woke from his coma.
Within seven weeks, he had left hospital.
And four years on, the trainee accounts clerk says he owes everything to the persistence of his parents.
From his home in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, Steven, 21, said: ‘I feel so lucky that my parents wouldn’t take no for an answer.’
The schoolboy was travelling in a Rover with two friends in February 2008 when a stray horse ran into the path of the car in front of them.
His friend Matthew Jones, 18, was killed in the accident. Steven suffered serious injuries to his face, head and arm, and was declared brain dead two days later.
He said: ‘The doctors were telling my parents that they wanted to take me off the life support. The words they used to my parents were “You need to start thinking about organ donations”.
‘I think that’s what gave my dad energy. He thought “No way”.
They still believed I was there. When they sat around the bed they had the feeling I was there and some words they said to me I reacted to.
‘I think if my dad had agreed with them then I would have been off the life support machine in seconds.’
Accountant Mr Thorpe, 51, contacted private GP Julia Piper, known for her work in traditional and alternative medicines. Moved by their story, she asked a neurosurgeon whom she knew to visit Steven at University Hospital in Coventry.
Incredibly, he concluded that Steven was not brain dead and that there was still a slim chance of recovery.
Doctors agreed to try to bring Steven out of his chemically-induced coma to see if he could survive. Two weeks later, he woke up.
He said: ‘It’s very worrying to think that more than one specialist had written me off.
‘Hopefully it can help people see that you should never give up. If you have a gut feeling about something then follow it. My father believed I was alive and he was correct.’
Posted in: latest health news
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
What's causing you to snore?
12:30 AM
samizares
Who hasn’t suffered the noisy honks of a bedtime companion, or
realised the snoring from one’s own nose has led to a sore throat in the
morning?Given the preponderance of people affected by snoring – an estimated
30 million in the UK - it’s unsurprising a host of unorthodox “cures”
have been concocted.
But the question is: do any of them actually work?In a bid to find out once and for all, the British Snoring &
Sleep Apnoea Association (BSSAA) put the top ten to the test with 2,000
volunteers.Among them: sewing a tennis ball into the back of pyjamas, drinking
milk, eating horseradish, phonetic exercises, gargling with garlic,
sucking a dummy, rubbing toothpaste under the nostrils and sleeping
without pillows.
The results? None of them did the trick.
"As expected not one of the volunteers had stopped snoring," says Marianne Davey, director of the BSSAA.
On the contrary, the so-called remedies often ended up causing more
trouble – from sore necks and dry mouths to “nearly choking on the
dummy” and even the problematic removal of toothpaste from moustaches.
So what on earth can be done to stop the habit? The answer, according
to the BSSAA, is to pinpoint the cause and then adopt one of a number
of scientifically proven treatments.
To mark National Stop Snoring Week, the charity is promoting an
online ‘test’ to help sufferers determine what’s making them snore. A
series of simple multiple choice questions guides the user through to
the most likely cause and advises of the best cause of action.
Reasons for snoring include:
- Being obese – particularly if you have a large amount of fat around the neck (more than 17in)
- Drinking alcohol, which relaxes muscles and increases narrowing of airways
- Taking some types of antidepressants and sedatives, which can have the same effect as alcohol
- Smoking, which can inflame and therefore narrow the airways
- Allergic rhinitis, which causes the inside of the nose to become swollen due to allergy to substances such as dust or pollen
Other causes include issues with the mouth, nose or throat, such as
simply being a ‘mouth breather’, to having polyps in the nostrils.
Treatments range from losing weight and exercising more to cutting
out alcohol and cigarettes, nasal dilators, or something called a
Mandibular Advancement Device, which holds the lower jaw and tongue
forward, making more space to breathe and prevent snoring.
The fact is that while snoring is often seen as cause for amusement,
to those who suffer it can be far from funny. The average snore is
around 50 decibels but can reach up to 100 – while the World Health
Organisation cites the threshold for noise disturbance at 42 decibels.
As Davey says: "We estimate that at least half the nation is
disturbed by snoring. It most definitely is a serious matter in a
relationship and can, and has been, the cause of relationship breakdown
and divorce."
Some types of snoring can indicate more severe problems such as sleep
apnoea, where the breathing is affected during sleep. A key symptom
would be excessive sleepiness during the day, in which case you should
visit your GP.
And persistent snoring can also damage the throat and even has associations with serious conditions such as stroke.
Which is why establishing the root cause is vital. Adds Davey: “The
key to resolving the problem is to first find the cause and then treat
it with an appropriate remedy."
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Benefits of Strength Training for Women
8:39 AM
Anonymous
Some women prefer not to do strength training when they go to the gym. Many believe that strength training will make them bulk up and look like body builders, and they prefer to keep their shape slim and trim. Others prefer to do hours of cardio training, thinking that this burns more calories and will therefore make them lose weight faster. Whatever the reason, you don't see a whole lot of women hitting the weights at the gym. According to research, though, strength training can be essential to women’s health, and to attaining that slim, toned body everyone wants.
What is strength training?
Strength training is simply using weights as part of an exercise routine. This can mean using the dumbbells and other free weights in the weight room, or using the weight machines that control your range of motion. Another great way to get strength training in a workout is to do circuit training, where you do a specific exercise for a few minutes and then move to another exercise. Moves like push-ups and sit-ups are also considered strength training exercises.
Myths and Realities
Many women do not like to incorporate strength training into their workout routine because they fear that lifting weights will make them look masculine and make their muscles bulky. This couldn't be further than the truth. Women don't have as much testosterone as men in their bodies, and that means that they physically cannot build up as much muscle as men can. Another myth that keeps women from strength training properly is that, if women do lift weights, they should be light weights and they shouldn't train very hard.
This is also untrue. Again, due to the lack of testosterone, building muscle with heavy weights will not add to a bulky appearance. Finally, many women believe that, if they start strength training, see some results, and then stop, that the muscle they have built up will turn to fat. The truth is that muscle doesn't turn to fat. That is physically impossible. Of course, if you stop a weight training routine, you will probably see a drop in muscle tone. This is only natural. If you don't use the muscles, you lose them, but they are not turning into fat.
Benefits for Women
Strength training can be extremely beneficial, especially for women. It can increase bone density, which helps fight against osteoporosis - a disease that can make bones brittle later in life. Lifting weights can also help increase your metabolism, which can help you burn those calories faster. Having muscle mass increases the amount of calories you burn during a day. This is very important if you are trying to lose weight.
In the same vein, of course, increased muscle mass can give you that toned look you want from going to the gym. Lifting weights can also help prevent injury by strengthening muscles and decreasing the risk of pulling or tearing a muscle. It can also increase your balance, which can help prevent injury due to falling over. Furthermore, if you have already been injured, strength training can help rehabilitate your injured muscle. Building strength around an injury is the best way to ensure that the muscle builds back up again and can be used normally after an injury.
Exercises to Try
Aside from the normal push-ups, sit-ups, bicep curls, and tricep extensions, there are some great exercises out there that utilize weights to get your muscles working. Try taking a weight in each hand and doing alternating lunges by stepping back and dipping your back knee toward the ground. Or try shoulder presses: take a weight in each hand and push your arms up like you’re trying to touch the sky. These are great exercises for a few problem areas.
10 things not to say to someone when they're ill
8:33 AM
Anonymous
What no one ever tells you about serious illness is that it places you at the centre of a maelstrom of concerned attention from family and friends. Of course it does. That's one of the nice things. It's actually the only nice thing. But it's also a rather tricky challenge, at a time when you may feel – just slightly – that you have enough on your plate. Suddenly, on top of everything else, you are required to manage the emotional requirements of all those who are dear to you, and also, weirdly, one or two people who you don't see from one year to the next, but who suddenly decide that they really have to be at your bedside, doling out homilies, 24 hours a day. It's lovely to hear from people when you're ill. But it's also lovely when they add: "No need to reply." The biggest shock, when I was diagnosed with cancer the summer before last, was quickly observing that people can be quite competitive in their determination to "be there for you", and occasionally unable to hide their chagrin when some other chum has been awarded a particularly sensitive role at a particularly sensitive medical consultation. Nobody means to be intrusive or irritating. It's all done with the finest intentions. But, God, it's a pain. Yet by not saying 10 simple things, you too, can be the friend in need that you want to be.
1 "I feel so sorry for you"
It's amazing, the number of people who imagine that it feels just great to be the object of pity. Don't even say "I feel so sorry for you" with your eyes. One of my friends was just brilliant at mimicking the doleful-puppy-poor-you gaze, and when I had been subjected to a sustained bout of it, I used to crawl over to the local pub for lunch with him, just so that he could make me laugh by doing it. Don't say "I feel so sorry for you" with your hand either. When someone patted my thigh, or silently rested their paw on it, often employing the exasperating form of cranial communication known as "sidehead" at the same time, I actually wanted to deck them. Do say: "I so wish you didn't have to go through this ghastly time." That acknowledges that you are still a sentient being, an active participant in your own drama, not just, all of a sudden, A Helpless Victim.
2 "If anyone can beat this, it's you"
Funnily enough, it's not comforting to be told that you have to go into battle with your disease, like some kind of medieval knight on a romantic quest. Submitting to medical science, in the hope of a cure, is just that – a submission. The idea that illness is a character test, with recovery as a reward for the valiant, is glib to the point of insult. Do say: "My mum had this 20 years ago, and she's in Bengal now, travelling with an acrobatic circus." (Though not if that isn't true.)
3 "You're looking well"
One doesn't want to be told that one's privations are invisible to the naked eye. Anyway, one is never too ill to look in a mirror, and see a great big moon-face, bloated with steroids and sporting the bright red panda eyes that are triggered by that most aggressive and efficient of br*ast-cancer drugs, Docetaxel. I knew I looked like death warmed up, not least because I felt like death warmed up. Nobody wants to be patronised with ridiculous lies. They are embarrassing for both speaker and listener. If your sick pal wants to discuss her appearance, she'll ask you what you reckon. It'll be a leading question, so take your cue from her.
4 "You're looking terrible"
I know it sounds improbable. But people really did feel the need to reassure me that my hideousness was plain to see. One person told me that while I'd put on a lot of weight, I'd of course be able to go on a diet as soon as I was better. I wouldn't have minded quite so much, if she hadn't arrived bearing a giant mound of snacks and cakes, a great, indiscriminate pile of stuff that suggested she'd been awarded four minutes in Whole Foods by Dale Winton, in a nightmarish haute-bourgeois version of Supermarket Sweep. And, in fact, I haven't gone on a diet. Somehow, being a size 10 doesn't seem tremendously important any longer. On the other hand, when I said: "Don't I look monstrous?" I was asking people to help me to laugh at myself – which many did – and to tell me that this too would pass. One of my friends took photographs of me, behind a curtain in the hospital, looking comically interfered with by surgeons, and festooned with tubes and drains full of bloody fluid. We laughed so much that I probably came nearer to death right then than at any other point.
5 "Let me know the results"
Oddly, one doesn't particularly want to feel obliged to hit the social networks the moment one returns from long, complicated, stressful and invasive tests, which ultimately delivered news you simply didn't want to hear. Of course, this request is made because people are worried. But, a bit of worry is easier to bear than the process of coming to terms with news that confirms another round of debilitating, soul-crushing treatment. If people do want to talk about such matters, they really need to be allowed some control over when, how and to whom. Contacting their very nearest and dearest instead is fine, as is volunteering to spread the bad tidings to others who are also anxious.
6 "Whatever I can do to help"
Apart from anything else, it's boring. Everybody says it, even though your assumption tends to be that people do want to help, of course. That doesn't mean that help should not be offered. But "Can I pick the children up from school on Tuesdays?" or "Can I come round with a fish pie and a Mad Men box set?" is greatly preferable to: "Can I saddle you with the further responsibility of thinking up a task for me?" If you do happen to be on the receiving end of "whatever I can do to help", be shameless. Delegate with steely and ruthless intent.
7 "Oh, no, your worries are unfounded"
Especially when those worries are extremely founded indeed. Like a lot of women, when I was first diagnosed, I was disproportionately focused on the prospect of losing my hair. One friend, every time I tried to discuss this with her, would assert – baselessly – that this wasn't as likely to happen as it used to be. Actually, it's still very likely, and indeed it came to pass. But the crucial thing was this: I didn't want to talk about how pointless it was to be fearful. I wanted to talk about how sorely I dreaded the day when I was bald. When people want to talk about their fears, they want to talk about their fears, not to be told, quite blatantly, that their fears are imaginary. Even when they are imaginary, there are more subtle ways of offering assurance than blank rebuttal. Usually, an ill person brings something up because they feel a need to discuss it. Denying them that need is a bit brutal.
8 "What does chemotherapy [for example] feel like?"
It is staggering, the number of people who find it impossible to restrain their curiosity. Swaths of folk appear to imagine that exactly what you need, in your vulnerability, is a long and technical Q&A during which you furnish them with exhaustive detail pertaining to the most shit thing that's ever happened to your body in your life. If someone wants to talk about their procedures or their symptoms, they will. If you have to ask questions, that's prima facie evidence that this is not what they'd discuss, if only they could be gifted with just a smidgeon of control over the conversational initiative. Again, the golden rule is: take your lead from the person undergoing the experience. I tended to want my mind taken off all that stuff, and have a nice chat about nice things. One of my friends, asked by another what she had been up to lately, found herself saying she'd had a great time visiting Deborah in hospital after her mastectomy. It had indeed been a lively visit. Eight lovely people had turned up all at once, and it had been quite the rambunctious gathering. When she told me that it had been an absurd social highlight for her, I felt fantastically proud.
9 "I really must see you"
Don't say it, particularly, if you are then going to indulge in some long and complicated series of exchanges about your own busy life and the tremendous difficulty you have in finding an actual window, even though this appointment is so awfully important to you. At one point, I was sitting in a chemotherapy suite, large and painful cannula in the back of my hand, pecking out texts to somebody who had to sort something out this week, and wouldn't take "Let's do this later" for an answer. When I reluctantly picked a particular time from the list she had bossily pinged over, she replied that she'd have to bring her toddler son with her if it really had to be then. I knew I couldn't handle a tiny visitor (and wasn't sure about the ability of the tiny visitor to handle it either), so we then arranged something else.
A few days later, at the very time of predicted childcare crisis, I saw a tweet from her, declaring that she was wearing a new cocktail dress and held up in traffic on her way to a long-anticipated and very glamorous do. She had clearly just buggered up her dates and didn't want to say: "Whoops. Actually, I'll be at a PA-A-ARDEEEEE." Fair enough. Sweet, really. Nevertheless, the planning thing is an arse. I liked it when people just said, "Can I come by after work this evening?" or, even better, "I've got tickets to the theatre on the 25th. Tell me on the day if you can face it."
10 "I'm so terribly upset about your condition"
One friend, when I told her the initial news, blurted out: "I can't cope without you!" and unleashed a flood of tears. (I hadn't sobbed myself at that point. I never did.) Ages later, when she emerged from the loo at the pub I had designated as Telling People HQ, she explained that she'd been caterwauling unrestrainedly when a kind lady asked her what was wrong. Having sketched out her troubles, she got this reply, or something like it: "What? You're weeping in the lavatory, while your friend is in the bar having br*ast cancer? Pull yourself together, and get out there." This had inspired another torrent of waterworks. And that is the most important thing to remember, when your friend is facing a frightening and possibly fatal illness: it's not, not, not about you. If you're too upset to be in a position to comfort your friend, send cards, send flowers, send presents. But don't send your ailing chum a passionate storm of your own wild grief, personally delivered. It's a little too needy, under the circs.
If you recognise things that you have said or done yourself within this list, don't feel bad about it, at all. I most certainly have, and I've said and done much, much worse too; it took being on the receiving end before I realised what it could feel like. The thing is this: giant illness is a time of great intensity, and even the most cack-handed expressions of support or love are better than a smack in the face with a wet tea-towel. People feel helpless when they see that their friend is suffering. Sometimes – often – they say the wrong thing. But they are there, doing the best that they can, at a terrible, abject time. That's the most important thing of all. I look back on those grisly moments of ineptitude and clumsiness with exasperated amusement and tender, despairing, deep, deep fondness. The great lesson I learned from having cancer, was how splendid my friends were, whatever their odd little longueurs. They all, in their different ways, let me know that they loved me, and that is the most helpful thing of all. I'm so lucky to have them.
Posted in: latest health news
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Now women can delay motherhood by freezing their ovaries and having them re-implanted years later
7:54 PM
samizares
British women are to be given the chance of delaying motherhood by freezing parts of their ovaries.
They will be able to ‘bank’ their ovarian tissue in their twenties and early thirties, when it is most fertile, and have it re-implanted years later.
Fertility specialists are planning to open the first clinic in the country to offer the procedure, which could cost as much as £16,000, within the next six months.
At present it is only available in a few countries, including the United States, Denmark and Belgium, and so far just 19 babies have been born as a result.
But experts claim the controversial treatment will soon become commonplace as it has been shown to be more effective than egg freezing and even IVF.
It involves extracting about a third of the tissue of one of the two ovaries which usually contains around 60,000 eggs.
It is stored in liquid nitrogen in temperatures of minus 190c until the woman decides she is ready for children, when it is thawed and re-inserted into the ovary. Within a few months it should begin producing eggs.
So far most of the women who have had the treatment have been cancer patients hoping to preserve their ovarian tissue in case it is damaged through chemotherapy.
But British doctors are planning to offer the procedure to other women who may want to put off having children for other ‘social’ reasons.
Costs are likely to range from £5,000 to £10,000 to remove and store the tissue with another £6,000 to re-implant it. This compares with £4,000 for a cycle of IVF and £5,000 for egg freezing plus £100 for every year eggs are stored.
Experts say the ovarian tissue method is far more successful as it can potentially yield thousands of eggs against a maximum of 12 normally produced through egg freezing.
Some world-renowned fertility specialists in America claim the success rates are higher than for IVF.
Dr Gedis Grudzinskas, a leading consultant in infertility and gynaecology, is planning to open a clinic in central London offering the treatment within the next six months.
He said: ‘This technology is so much more efficient than we thought it would be.
‘If a woman is having cancer treatment there are few options. She can freeze her eggs but the quality of this technology varies.
‘Women in their late 20s might consider freezing their eggs until they meet Mr Right.’
Once Dr Grudzinskas’s licence is approved by the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority and the Human Tissue Authority, British doctors will carry out the first operations under the supervision of an experienced team from Denmark. Some doctors believe that having the tissue removed early in life could impair a woman’s chance of having a baby.
Dr Gillian Lockwood of Midland Fertility Services, near Walsall, said: ‘In the case of cancer patients who’ve got nothing to lose it has great potential.
‘But for social reasons I don’t believe it should be recommended. It could cause scarring or damage to the pelvis that could make it difficult to conceive naturally.’
Chemical in fake tan and make-up is linked to obesity and diabetes
12:39 AM
Anonymous
A chemical used in make-up and self tanning lotions has been linked to obesity.
Scientists found that those who were exposed to phthalates, colourless man-made substances included in a variety of common consumer products, were more prone to weight gain.
And subjects with even 'modest' levels of the substance in their bloodstream were twice as likely to develop diabetes.
One billion tons of phthalates are produced worldwide each year and they have been widely used as gelling agents in cosmetics, cleaning products and to make plastic bottles for more than half a century.
But now mounting evidence suggests they could have a negative health impact, prompting the body to store more belly fat and become resistant to insulin as they disrupt the hormone balance.
Lead researcher Monica Lind, associate professor of environmental medicine at Uppsala University in Sweden, said: 'Those pollutants containing phthalates are making people obese and now we find they could get diabetes. These products need to be tested.
'Many are used in body products, like face creams, fake tan, make up and perfumes. Not only does the packaging contain them, but they are absorbed into the body and bloodstream through the skin.
'In perfume, we inhale the phthalates that are used to delay the scent and increase the lifetime of the perfume.'
Data from 1,000 people aged over 70 was looked at during the study and in total 119 had diabetes while 88 of them had a history of the condition.
After taking into account factors that are known to cause type 2 diabetes, including obesity, smoking and high cholesterol, they found people with higher levels of phthalates in their blood were more likely to develop insulin resistance.
It is thought that in men phthalates have an anti-testosterone capacity linked to weigh gain, while in women they disrupt the hormone balance similar to those that might occur during the menopause or at puberty.
How a glass of red wine could PREVENT you from putting on weight
12:34 AM
Anonymous
If you want to avoid gaining weight, it may be time to ditch the skipping rope and grab a corkscrew instead.
For U.S. experts have found a compound in red wine that can help control obesity.
The substance, piceatannol, delays the generation of young fat cells and prevents them from growing into mature ones.
It is also thought to protect the body from heart and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as cancer.
The compound blocks insulin’s ability to activate genes that carry out further stages of fat cell formation.
The agent found in wine is also thought to protect the body from heart and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
The groundbreaking research was carried out at Purdue University, Indiana, USA.
Lead researcher Dr Kee-Hong Kim said: 'In the presence of piceatannol you can see delay or complete inhibition of young fat cells.
'Piceatannol alters the timing of gene expressions, gene functions and insulin action during adipogenesis - the process in which young fat cells become mature fat cells.'
The boy whose face became a mask of scars: Six-year-old left horrifically disfigured by fire
12:29 AM
Anonymous
A Chinese boy lives behind a hard shell of scar tissue after he received terrible burns while playing with a lighter.
Wang Xiaopeng, 6, has been without hair, lips, eyelids, and toes since the accident in November 2010. His injuries also make it difficult for him to see while all of his fingers were amputated from the second joint.
The young boy went up in flames after he accidentally set light to some corn stalks near his home in Yinchuan in China's Ningxia Province.
His parents rushed him to Ningxia Medical University General Hospital where he managed to pull through. However, he was left severely disfigured and the couple could only afford to pay for three months of treatment for their beloved son.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Police, doctor warn lovers
1:44 AM
Anonymous
Major cities in the country, especially, Lagos, are replete with reported cases of lovers who went to the hotels or guest houses to catch fun, only for one or both to die while having s*x. Sometimes, such deaths are attributed to the traditional medicine (juju) popularly known in Yoruba as magun, secretly administered on suspected unfaithful female partners, by their husbands and lovers, to checkmate their infidelity. Also, the blame is put at the doorstep of some hotel owners, who are accused of causing the mysterious death of their clients for more business boom.
However, this allegation has neither logical nor scientific proof. But doctors have different views on such deaths. Since the case of magun and other allied deaths cannot be proved scientifically, doctors usually link it to heart attack or cardiac arrest and other illnesses that may make one unfit for marathon s*x. Death of male lovers in hotel rooms and guest houses have also been blamed on some s*x enhancing drugs and drinks.
The death of the late Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG),Ganiyu Dawodu in a hotel in Lagos, is still fresh in our memory. His case is one out of many. The late DIG was said to have returned from South Africa where he went to treat heart related ailment. Besides cardiac arrest, some victims were confirmed to have died after romp with female partners. In most cases the surviving partner would quickly abscond for fear of arrest. The unfortunate ones, who tried to save the situation would be arrested and interrogated.
They are expected to convince the police that it was mere s*x that resulted in the death of the deceased. One such person is Faith Bassey. She was arrested by the police to answer questions over what happened in a hotel room that led to the death of a middle aged man, Boniface Nwachie. Nwachie died after he allegedly had s*x with her. The two lovers had checked into a Hotel in Ijesha area of Surulere, Lagos. They were said to have checked in about 8:20 p.m. It was gathered that they ordered for drinks at about 8.40pm. Shortly after that, a staff of the hotel said Bassey raised alarm, claiming that Nwachie collapsed, as they were having s*x. The staff reportedly rushed into the room and tried to revive the man to no avail as he was later confirmed dead in a hospital.
Bassey admitted that their s*x life was a very active one, adding that the late Nwachie was no stranger to her s*x routine as he had been her lover for a long time. She, however, said she suspected that her late lover might have been medically unfit that night. In a similar circumstance, a Youth Corps member died after s*xual intercourse in Edo. Police detained his partner, pending the outcome of the post mortem to be conducted on the deceased.
The Edo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Peter Ogboi confirmed the death of the Youth Corps member, who died during s*xual intercourse with his girlfriend in her house in Benin. His girlfriend, a student of Shaka Momodu Polytechnic, name withheld, said she and her boyfriend (name also withheld) had hung out, during which time he took alcohol and suya, a delicacy prepared from cattle or goat meat. She also said she accompanied him to a place where he bought an undisclosed drug before they went to bed.
According to her, at about 2.a.m. when the s*xual session was on, he started shouting and his shouts attracted the neighbours, who tried all they could, including prayers, to revive him from exhaustion but all to no avail. Also in Lagos, a final year student of the Lagos State University, Ojo, Chinyere Ezeala, 27, was found dead in her lover’s room at Ejigbo, Lagos, after a marathon s*x. Police at Ejigbo alleged that the 400-Level student was found dead on her lover’s bed at 36, Fayemi Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, putting on a wrapper. Her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Sunday, who works at the Apapa wharf allegedly reported her death to the police the following morning and was quickly arrested and detained.
The Edo State Police Command investigated the sudden and mysterious death of a middle-aged man in a popular hotel room in Benin. The man (names withheld) was found stone dead in the early hours of a Monday morning, after he was due to check out of the hotel, located in the highbrow Government Reserved Area (GRA). He was said to have lodged in the hotel with a lady on the Christmas Eve, before the ugly incident occurred. Source close to the Tourists Centre disclosed that the deceased was discovered by one of the hotel staff.
The deceased guest was said to have lodged in the hotel, after a party that ended in the early hours in the morning. He was said to have attended the party in company of some of his close friends and the suspect (girlfriend) whose name could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report. It was gathered that no injury was found on the deceased when it was examined. Again, in Surulere Lagos, a young sales girl, Precious, was also arrested by the police after her lover, Emenike, died in an hotel after s*x. Investigation revealed that the young man, who had a medical history of hypertension, started gasping for breath shortly after the s*x.
Precious confessed at the police station that after the first round of s*x, the deceased complained of heart ache and requested for some water. Before she could get the water, Emenike started gasping for breath and slumped. Alarmed, Precious, who had been the hotel’s client for a long period called the attention of the receptionist and some staff of the hotel who helped to rush him to the nearest hospital, where he was confirmed dead.
A source who doesn’t want his name in print said some men, who were dead while having extramarital affairs with another man’s wife, only received punishment for their action. “There is no need of arrest or physical assault on the intruder. The best thing is to plant the magun on the woman without her knowledge. Magun literally translated from the Yoruba means, ‘don't climb’. The 'climb' itself represents the s*xual act. It is a charm that the Yoruba use to check infidelity among adulterous wives and female partners,” he explained. In the South East, some communities have a custom which forbids married women to cheat on their husbands.
Any violation of the custom or tradition has dire consequences. One of the penalties is either, the children, the woman or husband is struck by mysterious ailment, which may result in death if nothing is done by way of sacrifice, appeasement or confession by the adulterous woman. Magun or by whatever name it is called in different parts of the country, remains a potent phenomenon. Its myth, mystery and reality are wrapped in controversy.
A typical case which was reported in a national daily recently happened in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The victim was said to have died of magun. The story had it that a man got transferred from Port Harcourt to Lagos. But because of the urgency of his transfer, he couldn't move members of his family immediately. As a result, he entrusted his wife to the care of one of his friends. Later, neighbours discovered the friend had gone beyond his brief and whispered in the man’s ears that his friend had become 'too caring'. Soon after, the lifeless body of the man was carried out of the house.
The cause was attributed to 'magun'. Reacting to the upsurge of deaths in hotels after s*x, the Lagos State police command spokesman, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, advised people to always ascertain the health status of their partners before engaging in marathon s*x with them. He also warned men, especially, those who are in the habit of picking girls from brothels, to be wary of the type of women they sleep with. “Some of these prostitutes would stop at nothing, to extort money from their clients, both legal and illegal means.
This has resulted in some unresolved cases of deaths, especially, in guest houses,” he said. On the possibility of arresting owners of hotels or guest houses, where such tragic deaths occurred, Jaiyeoba said as long as the s*x partner is available at the time of the incident, the owner of the hotel is absolved of any blame. He quickly added, where a dead body is found, the people on duty are usually arrested to assist the police in their investigation. In an event of escape of the s*x partner, those on duty would be arrested. But as soon as autopsy reveals the cause of the death, such persons would be released,” he said.
But a medical doctor, Emmanuel Enabulele, has a different view of possible causes of death during s*x. According him, whoever dies during s*x must have a medical history that makes him or her unfit to have s*x at the time he or she did. Dr Enabulele, who is a surgeon and the Medical Director, Jokem Clinic, Lagos, blamed the upsurge in s*x related death, on the use of drugs that contain Sildenafil, a product found in Viagra and some energy drinks. “It is very possible that a man or woman can die during s*x. It could be as result of exhaustion.
It could be as a result of taking drugs that contains Sildenafil which can be found in Viagra. It can also be found in energy drinks which increase libido and the length of erection. It is natural that after a s*xual encounter, a man cannot get erection till some period of time. What this drug does is to reduce the timing, making it possible for a man to get an erection immediately after a round of s*x.
The content of the drinks have effect on the heart, which might lead to sudden seizure or even stroke during s*x. If you are going out with a man that, after the first round of s*x, he quickly recovers, be careful, such a person might be taking enhancement drugs,” he said. On who is at a risk of having an attack during s*x, Dr Enabulele said: “If you are not sick, you will not have a problem. If a woman has a complicated hypertension, such a person can have a cardiac arrest or in worse cases, the person may have stroke.
This is so because, orgasm leads to the pumping of adrenaline to the heart during the massive electrical charge which takes place during s*x. It is a very rigorous act. Those people that after having s*x, you notice palpitation, their heart starts beating very fast. If the environment is not conducive, it could be multi factorial. It could be emotional, psychological or endocrine in action. At this stage, the hormones and blood vessels are inter-playing. It is more hectic than someone running a hundred meters race.” He said age has nothing to do with s*x. “It all depends on the health of the couple and the ability to go through the act. Some are very rigorous in the act, some are mild and some are just there.
It could be as a result of so many things. Most men are womanizers and by the nature of their job, they move from one location to the other. In the process, they acquire different concubines and these women have to be s*xually satisfied. Most Nigerian men have this sick mentality, that if they do not satisfy a woman, it means he is not man enough. To make a point, they have to use some kind of drug to support themselves, without finding out the health implications. “The fact remains that there are lots of walking corpses out there that have not seen the four walls of a hospital. They do not know their sugar level and many people who discovered that they are hypertensive do so by mistake.”
On how to avoid death during s*x, Dr Enabulele advised that a s*xual encounter should be between consenting adults, and should also be recognized as a very vigorous activity which involves blood flow. “It involves the use of the hormonal and endocrine system, and the person must be fit to engage in such act. If one is not well, he should have the courage to tell the partner and find a way to work it out. Avoid multiple s*x partners.
There are cases where a man, after having a round of engaging s*x with his wife, sneaks out to meet his girlfriend, who only wants the man’s money. In order to prove to the woman that he is man enough, he sneaks into the rest room and swallows something that will give him erection, goes and pounds himself to death. Nigerians, especially our men, should be man enough to know when to have s*x and when to let go. If it is money that a woman wants, give her and save your life. Nigerians, especially, Lagosians are stressed up and no man, after going through such, jumps into s*x without getting adequate rest.”
He also advised both men and women to be aware that they can experience menopause. “People should be proud to accept menopause when it approaches. It is not only for women but men. You find out that most men start menopause at 50years. The s*xual urge will be there and you will start having weak erection. We should also know that diabetes can cause weak erection and that is when most men take s*x enhancing drug. You can imagine what that drug would do to a diabetic patient.
People should be educated to know that s*x is supposed to be fun not a competition. You must be healthy, and avoid taking energy drink for s*x. That you cannot do it at a moment does not mean that you can never do it. “I teach people that orgasm in s*x is between a man and a woman. Naturally, for inexperienced partner, it is the man who reaches orgasm first, but for an experienced partner, the man would make use of the sensitive part of the woman’s body to make her reach orgasm before he does. The average Nigerian man is an idiot when it comes to s*x.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Men warned to keep eating breakfast
9:04 AM
Anonymous
Men who regularly skip breakfast are more at risk of developing diabetes, scientists have found.
Their study discovered that missing out on food first thing in the morning increases a man’s chances of getting the disease by more than 20 per cent, compared with men who routinely eat when they get up.
It follows previous research suggesting that breakfast is crucial to maintaining good hea
The latest results, from a major investigation involving 30,000 men, provide the strongest evidence yet that it can reduce the risk of diabetes.
They show that even men who are not overweight and may have a reasonably healthy diet the rest of the time could still be at risk if they miss breakfast.
The findings emerged as part of a wide-ranging study being carried out into male health by researchers at Harvard School of Public Medicine in the United States.
They tracked the breakfast habits of 29,206 men over a 16-year period. None had diabetes at the start of the study.
The study – published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition – found that those who hardly ever had breakfast had a 21 per cent increase in risk compared with those who did.
And men who ate properly only once or twice a day were 25 per cent more likely to get the condition than those eating three meals.
In a report on their findings the Harvard team said: ‘Having three main meals a day, including breakfast, seems to be the optimal eating pattern for a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes.’
Research is needed to see if women are affected in the same way, they added.
Breakfast has been shown to reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein, the ‘bad’ cholesterol responsible for clogging up arteries around the heart.
People who do not eat first thing are also more likely to snack on sugary foods and less likely to exercise.
Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said the type of breakfast is also important.
‘While it is intuitive that eating three healthy balanced meals a day is good for your health, in this study it is not clear what is meant by breakfast or what it consists of.
‘As we know, there are various options – healthy and unhealthy – of what could be considered breakfast.
'We recommend a healthy balanced diet, rich in fruit and vegetables and low in sugar, salt and fat, which applies to breakfast and all other main meals.’
Diabetes is emerging as a major burden on the NHS, with around 2.5million Britons suffering from the condition. At the current rate of increase, the number will be around four million by 2025.
Around 90 per cent of cases – type 2 – are closely linked to unhealthy diet and lifestyle.
Around ten per cent of diabetes cases are type 1. This is thought to be caused by a malfunctioning immune system and has nothing to do with diet.
Want to stop snoring?
8:56 AM
Anonymous
My snoring has driven people mad over the years.
One of the worst times was when I caught a sleeper train in Australia — and kept half the carriage awake, apparently.
My partner, June, is a light sleeper and hates my snoring — so much so that I was relegated to the spare room a few years ago.
It started in my 40s and over the years I’ve tried gadgets such as nasal strips to improve airflow, but nothing has ever helped.
Then, about six years ago, June said I’d started making really strange noises in my sleep.
She said it was as though I had stopped breathing and was gasping for air.
Looking back, I did feel exhausted a lot of the time, but I just put it down to ageing.
I also blamed my age for the fact I was having memory problems. Sometimes I would leave the house and forget where I was going.
June was so worried about the noises I was making while asleep that I decided to see my GP.
Two years ago, I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea, where you stop breathing while asleep and wake up to kick-start your breathing again.
In my case, my tongue was flopping back in my throat when I was asleep, blocking my airway so I couldn’t breathe.
My specialist, Mr Kotecha, explained my memory problems could have been caused by the lack of oxygen to my brain, which was effectively causing it to malfunction.
The lack of oxygen also increased my risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, which was worrying.
By coincidence, at the time I was diagnosed, Mr Kotecha said he and a colleague were trialling a type of robotic surgery they thought would be suitable for me.
It would cut away some of my tongue so even if it did flop to the back of my throat during the night, it wouldn’t be bulky enough to block my airway. I jumped at the chance.
Mr Kotecha explained he would do three things: take off a bit of my epiglottis — located behind the tongue — so it wouldn’t vibrate so much, which is what was causing the snoring.
He would also shave a bit off my tongue to make my airway bigger so it couldn’t get obstructed when I was asleep.
Lastly, he would remove some of the top of my mouth, again to make the airway bigger
He said that until now, it had been almost impossible to do the operation manually, which is why the robot was so exciting.
I had the operation a year ago at St Mary’s Hospital, London. It took a couple of hours and when I woke up from the anaesthetic I wasn’t in pain.
Because it’s a new procedure — I was the third person in the country to have the op — I stayed in for two nights. It took a couple of weeks for everything to settle down.
Now I sleep eight hours straight and I’m less tired. I still snore a bit, but it’s not nearly as bad.
My memory hasn’t got any worse. I’m still in the spare room, but hope I’ll be allowed back eventually.
