How To Lose Weight Without Exercise Or Diet

how to lose weight without exercise or diet

See that title, it seems like it is impossible to lose weight without exercise or diet, but basically we can lose weight without significant exercise or minimal exercise, especially if you are a very busy person. Some people have proven that this efforts work for them. Why don't you try?

Here are some tips.

1. No carbs diet. Carbohydrates are the major source of energy for humans to maintain the stability of blood sugar level. But basically our body has a mechanism to obtain energy from non-carbohydrates sources: fat (free fatty acid and glycerol) and proteins (amino acid). With no-carbohydrate diet, the body will use glycogen storage in muscle and adipose tissue as energy source. It may be difficult to have purely no-carbs diet, but you can minimize it.
2. Add more protein in your diet. Protein is an important nutrient that works to repair cells and tissues. Increase protein in your diet to replace the carbohydrate portion. Please consider to make sure that your kidney is well-functioned, because excess protein will aggravate the unhealthy kidney. Examples of high protein meals are chicken breast, seafood, etc.
3. More fibers and vegetables. With large portions of vegetables twice a day, you will feel full longer. In addition, bowel movements also become more fluent. For a good diet program, you should train yourself to defecate everyday!
4. Half what you eat. When you do enough exercise, you need one portion of meal, but if you do not do exercise, you only need a half portion. Replace the entire portion with fibers and vegetables.

There are other ways I don't discuss here yet, but you can share with us. Remember to weigh yourself every morning, or before bedtime, so you will always be aware of the weight progress. Keep yourself motivated and never give up. Ideal body weight is not only good for your performance and make you look sexier, but it will be protective from any diseases such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart attack, and so on.

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Uterus Cancer Symptoms And Signs

uterus cancer symptoms and signs

The most common uterus cancer symtoms and signs such as abnormal vaginal bleeding which may begin with bloody-streaked flow which contains more blood. Related to that  symtoms and signs, another  uterus cancer symptoms may arise feeling pain :
1. In the bladder or difficulty emptying the bladder.
2. In the pelvic region.
3. When having sex.
By consulting to doctor as early, can reduce risk of developing cervical cancer from become more severe. Examination by a doctor include the examination of the uterus, vagina and surrounding tissue is mainly related to physical characteristics.
Medical device which is used to identify uterine cancer is ultrasound. In principle, ultrasound emits sound waves. Wave reflection creates the impression of the uterus as a basis for further analysis.
In addition, to ensure the presence of cancer cells that may do a biopsy tissue sampling of cancer cells through a thin tube is inserted in the vagina or uterus. The pathologist then examined the tissue under a microscope to examine the cancer cells.

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Endometrial Cancer Symptoms And Signs

endometrial cancer symptoms and signs

Endometrial cancer is a cancer that is originated from endometrium, the lining of the womb (uterus). The exact cause of endometrial cancer is still unclear, but it is proven that there is a genetic mutation in endometrial cells. Endometrial cancer is different from cervical cancer, that is mostly detected in advanced stages, in endometrial cancer, early stages are more often detected because the cancer produces abnormal vaginal bleeding. When detected, total removal of the uterus will completely eliminate cancer cells. 

Endometrial cancer symptoms and signs

• Pelvic pain or cramping, sometimes abdominal pain
• Pain during intercourse
• Abnormal menstrual period, with abnormal menstrual bleeding
• For menopause women: bleeding between usual periods, spotting, vaginal bleeding, heavy and frequent vaginal bleeding
• Abnormal vaginal discharge after menopause (watery, blood-tinged discharge)
• Signs/diagnostics:
• Endometrial biopsy, then examine it microscopically by a pathologist.
• D and C (dilation and curettage)

Treatment

Generally, there are 4 treatment options for endometrial cancer:

1. Surgery
2. Radiation
3. Chemotherapy
4. Hormonal therapy

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iPad Applications For Kids With Autism

ipad applications for kids with autism

Technology was created to facilitate human life. Although technology also has negative impact on human life, still we can't hardly live without the help of technology, in all life parts. Technology and education are close things. Apple iPad is so amazing that education experts are raving over it, but not for its ability to help children with their homework, but in the spotlight today is the iPad applications are revolutionizing the way we train kids with autism.

There are five basic skills which kids with autism learn by playing games and other iPad applications.

1. Social skills
2. Fine motor skills
3. Language and communication skills
4. Sensory skills
5. Stress reduction

Here are recommended iPad applications for kids with autism, followed by their customer reviews

Angry Octopus. ($7.99)

Children relate to the Angry Octopus in this story as the sea child shows him how to take a deep breath, calm down, and manage his anger. An effective stress and anger management technique known as progressive muscular relaxation focuses awareness on various muscle groups to create a complete resting of the mind and body. This engaging story quiets the mind and relaxes the body so your child can let go of anger and fall asleep peacefully.

First Then Visual Schedule. ($9.99)

Designed for caregivers to provide positive behavior support. For individuals with communication needs, developmental delays, Autism or those who benefit from a structured environment; visual schedules serve to increase independence and lower anxiety during transitions through different activities.

AutismXpress (Free)
The ‘Autism Xpress’ has been created to help promote greater awareness about autism spectrum disorders. It is designed to encourage people with autism to recognizes and express their emotions through its fun and easy to use interface.

Model Me Going Places 2 (Free)
It is a great visual teaching tool for helping your child learn to navigate challenging locations in the community. Each location contains a photo slideshow of children modeling appropriate behavior.


Social Skills ($3.99)
It offers parents and educators the ability to interact with six social narratives (broken into 2 levels which give a total possible of 12 social narratives) designed to help individuals improve their social ability. With Social Skills (S2L), the stories contain targeted instruction in the following core areas: Joint Attention; Non-Verbal Communication; Greetings; Structured game play; Turn Taking; Classroom rules; and Imitation.


Look2Learn ($14.99)
Look2Learn was developed by an educational team consisting of teachers, a speech therapist, and a school psychologist specializing in educating individuals with communication challenges. L2L addresses the communication needs of multiple populations including: early development communication enhancement (e.g., a two year old whose cognitive skills currently exceed his or her expressive communication); individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder; individuals who have short or long-term communication challenges due to medical needs; as well as others who have a speech and language disorder.


Stories2Learn ($13.99)
It is an affordable and powerful way to promote social messages to individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.


Look in My Eyes ($2.99)
Eye contact is an important social skill that some children find challenging. “Look in My Eyes” helps them practice this skill - while earning fun rewards and playing creatively. It was designed for children on the autism spectrum - especially those with Asperger’s Syndrome - but any child who has difficulties with eye contact may benefit from playing. The game rewards players for quickly focusing in on a person’s eyes. Through repeated practice we attempt to develop a habit that families can transfer to real life settings as they remind children to use the skills they have practiced in the game.


Eye Contact ($2.99)
This game helps them practice the skill while earning fun rewards. The game is similar to those in our "Look in My Eyes" series - but the reward is easier and more immediate. We developed this easy reward because of parent feedback on our previous games. Some parents who loved the eye contact practice in our "Look in My Eyes" series expressed the desire for a reward that was simpler.


Sources: 

• Apple's Application Store
• Huffington Post
• Bookroom Reviews
• B12 Patch
• Youtube

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What Is EHEC Bacteria

what is ehec bacteria

EHEC stands for enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli. This bacteria can casue severe food borne disease. EHEC bacteria often causes outbreaks that are mainly caused by raw milk, undercooked ground meat products, fruit and vegetables that are contaminated by feces. Actually, the EHEC bacteria infection is spontaneously cured, but in bad immune system, it may lead to a life-threatening condition such as haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) that mostly happen in children and elderly. The recent big outbreak of EHEC infection was in Europe, primarily in Germany, 4,000 people was infected with more of 700 cases of HUS and 46 deaths. This HUS incidence was higher than usual and it was identified that the organism involved is E coli O104. 

What is EHEC bacteria?

• Strain O157 of E coli is a member of EHEC pathotype.
• Most clinical microbiology laboratories do not routinely test for this bacteria. Sorbitol MacConkey media is commonly used to identify EHEC, which is based on EHEC's instability to ferment sorbitol.
• EHEC can also be detected from its Shiga toxins via PCR from diarrhea specimen.
• Examples of food that can promote EHEC outbreaks: undercooked hamburger, sprouts and lettuce, unpasteurized milk, and other dairy products that are contaminated by livestock excretion (bovine).

Symptoms of EHEC infection

• Diarrhea, can be bloody (haemorrhagic enteritis) in day 2-3 
• Significant abdominal pain
• Mild fever
• Vomiting
• Symptoms and signs of HUS:
• Haemolytic anemia
• Acute renal failure
• Thrombocytopenia
• Neurological complications: coma, seizure

 Treatment of EHEC infection

• Currently the treatment is supportive only
• It is important to know that the use of empiric antibiotics that are usually given to treat bacterial gastroenteritis will increase the risk of haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)
• Hospitalization is needed because the patients should receive proper fluid replacement 
• In HUS, the treatments are hemodialysis, blood transfusion, and possibly plasmaphoresis.

How to prevent EHEC infection?

• Cook meat and milk products thoroughly because actually EHEC is heat-sensitive.
• Follow the "Five Keys to Safer Food", a guidance by WHO. It is about how to prevent infections from food borne microorganisms such as EHEC.
• Regular hand washing, especially before food preparation and after toilet contact

Sources:

• World Health Organization
• Consultant Live

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Symptoms Of Hypertension In Pregnancy

symptoms of hypertension in pregnancy

Hypertension in pregnancy, whether it happens before or after conception, should be managed properly, since hypertension can harm the baby because of decreased blood flow to the placenta. Besides that, pregnant women with hypertension tend to deliver prematurely.

Risk factors
Pregnant women are at a high risk of hypertension during pregnancy if:

• Medical history of chronic hypertension
• Previous pregnancy with hypertension
• Age: under 20, or more than 35.
• Family history of hypertension during pregnancy
• Medical history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease
• Heavy smoker, alcoholic, drug abuser
• Medical history of kidney disease
• Medical history of auto immune disease such as SLE, rheumatoid arthritis
• Being underweight or overweight before pregnancy 

There are different kinds of hypertension in pregnancy:

• Gestational hypertension. If hypertension occurs after week 20. After delivery, the blood pressure will back to normal.
• Chronic hypertension. If hypertension occurs before pregnancy, or during pregnancy but before week 20. After delivery, it will last more than 12 weeks.
• Preeclampsia. It is a life threatening condition that is characterized by hypertension and protein in the urine after week 20 of pregnancy. 

Symptoms of hypertension in pregnancy

• Prolonged headache
• Blurred vision
• Ringing in the ears
• Upper abdominal pain (just like dyspepsia), usually on the right side
• Abnormal weight gain (more than 2.3 kg per week)
• Increased vomiting
• Swelling in the face and hands
• Numbness in extremities
• Decreased fetal movement
• Persistent vaginal bleeding

Treatment of hypertension in pregnancy

If you experience the symptoms above, please be aware of preeclampsia. Go to your obstetrician to take some blood and urine tests, and sonography to know about the fetal well being. The doctor will give you antihypertension drugs that should be taken regularly. At home, you should check the blood pressure periodically. Hospitalization is also needed in certain condition.

Sources:

• American Pregnancy Association
• Mayo Clinic

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Hyperthyroid Symptoms In Women

hyperthyroid symptoms in women 

As we have discussed before (here), hyperthyroid briefly means overactive thyroid gland. 

Hyperthyroid symptoms in women are:

• Feel weak, tired easily
• Mental instability, moody, nervous, anxiety, irritability, depression, nervousness
• Bulging eyes
• Tremor, shaky hands
• Breathing problems, breathlessness
• Fast heartbeat, sometimes irregular beat, chest pain
• Warm and itchy skin, moisy
• Hair loss
• Increased sweating, always feel hot
• Increased appetite, more eating, hungry easily
• Weight loss although you eat more than usual
• Less frequent menstruation, lighter menstrual blood flow
• Diarrhea

When you experience the symptoms above, it is very important to consult with an internist. If hyperthyroid is not properly treated, it will cause more problems for women such as: bone problems, fertility and pregnancy problems, heart problems, and thyroid storm.

Diagnostic Tests

Diagnosis of hyperthyroid is made by physical examination, signs and symptoms, and also some diagnostic tests as listed below:

• Ultrasonography (USG) of the thyroid. It is a non invasive procedure.
• Blood test:
• Free T3 and  T4 (usually high)
• TSH sensitive (usually low)

 Hyperthyroid treatment

• Anti-thyroid drugs. These drugs will reduce hyperthyroid symptoms by preventing thyroid gland from making too many hormones.  
• Propylthiouracil
• Methimazole
• Beta blockers, such as Propanolol. This drug treats heart palpitation and slower heart beat.
• Radioactive iodine. It is given orally and will absorbed by the gland. The hyperthyroid symptoms will reduce gradually in 3-6 months. 
• Surgery. If drugs and radioactive iodine do not show an improvement, in some cases, the thyroid gland should be removed. After thyroid surgery, you will need a lifetime medication to supply the thyroid hormone such as levothyroxine.

Sources:

• WebMD
• American Academy of Family Physician
• Mayo Clinic

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What Is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ALS

what is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis als

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or known as ALS, motor neuron disease, or upper and lower motor neuron disease, is a severe neurological disorder in brain and spinal cord that is characterized by disorders of voluntary muscle movement such as muscle weakness, permanent disability, until death. It is also called Lou Gehrig's disease because there was a basketball player named Lou Gehrig who died of this disease. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a very uncommon disease who occurs at 5 of 100,000 people in the world. The risk exact causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is still unknown, but generally it is a hereditary disease. Researchers also found that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is caused by gene mutation, bad immune response, and chemical substance imbalance such as too much glutamate.

Symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Symptoms usually start after age 50. As quoted from Mayo Clinic, early symptoms of ALS are:

1. Start with weakness in the upper extremities (clumsiness) 
2. Weakness in the lower extremities (leg, feet, ankles), footdrop
3. Slurred speech, inability in swallowing
4. Twitching in tongue, shoulders, and arms
5. Generally muscle cramps

Further symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are:

1. Paralysis
2. Difficulty of breathing
3. Difficulty of swallowing
4. Progressive muscle weakness, difficulty of walking, lifting, etc
5. Head drop (neck muscle weakness)
6. Muscle cramps
7. Speech disorder

How to diagnose amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS?

1. Physical examination
2. Medical history
3. Blood test, to rule out another diseases that have similar symptoms
4. Electromyography (EMG): to record muscle's electrical activity.
5. Muscular biopsy by a pathologist.
6. Head CT-scan and MRI, lumbal puncture, to rule out another brain and nervous disorders.

Treatment

The goals of treatment in ALS patients are to slow the progression of the disease, and make the patients more comfortable and independent in doing basic daily activities.

1. Pharmacologic. 
• Riluzole (Rilutek) is recommended by FDA to slow the progression of ALS. It reduces the levels of glutamate in the brain
• Symptomatic therapies to cure: pain, muscle cramps, fatigue, depression, constipation, etc
2. Physical therapy: to maintain cardiovascular and neuromuscular fitness.
3. Speech therapy: to gain alternative methods of communication, so the ALS patients can still be capable in communicating.
4. Occupational therapy: find devices to support daily activities (if needed) such as wheelchair, walker, etc.

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Kidney Transplant Donor Criteria

kidney transplant donor criteria

Nowadays, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease are rising, along with the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and others. In stage 5 of chronic kidney disease, or called as terminal stage (end stage), the supportive therapy that can be done is usually hemodialysis. This therapy is not satisfactory because it does not treat the cause. Kidney transplantation is definitive therapy for those kind of patients. Everybody can become a donor, not always relatives, as long as they fulfill the kidney transplant donor criteria. 

According to USTransplant.org, there are generally kidney transplant donor criteria:

• Age between 18-65 years old.
• Physical examination:  ideal BMI (body mass index), no obesity
• Medical history:
• not smoking
• no hypertension
• no history of cancer, hepatitis, cardiovascular, and kidney problems
• no history of diabetes
• no history of certain regular medications
• Blood type: in order to make a safe kidney transplant, the donor's blood type must be the same with the recipient's blood type, while Rhesus (Rh) factor is not necessary to be matched.
• Tissue match: to know the compatibility between donor's tissue and recipient's tissue, doctors will perform a blood test based on histocompatibility antigens. To pass the kidney transplant donor criteria, perfect matching is not required but some matches are better than another. 
• Psychological examination: no mental illness, ensure that the donors will be able to take care of themselves after donating their kidney.

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Sore Throat Allergies Symptoms

sore throat allergies symptoms

Allergies may be the cause of a sore throat. Some people have mistakes in using the term "sore throat" to refer many different things. But sore throat is actually the synonym of pharyngitis that means inflammation of the throat. Most cases are caused by bacterial infection such as streptococcus (strep throat) or mononucleosis.

Sore throat allergies symptoms are nearly similar with the general symptoms of sore throat such as:

• The most characteristic of sore throat allergic symptoms: post nasal drips
• Dry and irritated throat
• Nasal congestion
• Mild fever (not always)
• Painful in swallowing
• Tenderness in the throat, tonsils, and neck's lymph nodes.
• Body aches, muscular pain

Treatment of sore throat allergies

• Use humidifier to prevent a dry environment that can worsen your sore throat allergies symptoms
• Use lozenges to soothe the throat
• Use salted water to gargle (avoid using mouthwash since it will irritate your throat)
• Find the exact cause of your sore throat allergies. If it is a seasonal allergy, nasal spray containing antihistamines may help.
• Use antibiotics under doctor's advice. 

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