Health tip - How to AVOID CANCER by smoking

If you smoke, you can greatly reduce the risk of contracting
cancer by drinking carrot juice. This according to the German
Doctor, Hans Nieper, founder of Eumatabolic Medicine, a new
alternative mode of treatment which has become very popular
in Germany. The carotene found especially in carrots prevents
and can even cure cancer.

Dr. Nieper states, “If you smoke 60 cigarettes a day but drink
4 glasses of carrot juice, you will still be less prone to
contract cancer than someone who doesn’t smoke but who doesn’t
drink carrot juice.” Of course, if you don’t smoke and do drink
carrot juice all the better!

Health tip - Care for your heart while you sleep

In which position do you sleep?
If you sleep on your stomach or on your left side,
you are putting pressure on your heart with the extra
body weight, while the heart has to continue pumping
blood as usual.

This additional burden wears the heart out more quickly.
Think about it - you spend more than one third of your
life sleeping! To reduce the strain on your heart, sleep
on your right side, or on your back. This simple technique
will add years to your life.

Reducing stroke risk

Getting a flu shot may not only protect you from catching the virus, it may also protect you from suffering a stroke, according to a study in which German doctors found an association between influenza vaccination and a reduced risk of stroke. In a report in the journal Stroke, Dr Armin J Grau, of Klinikum der Stadt Ludwigshafen, and colleagues note that hospitalisations for stroke go up during influenza epidemics, so flu vaccination might prevent strokes.

Source: The Star

Coming down hard on soft drinks

An American consumer group called for cigarette-style warnings on soft drinks to alert consumers that too much of the sugary beverages can make them fat and cause other health problems.

People who overindulge in soft drinks are also more likely to develop diabetes and have decaying teeth, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said in a petition to the Food and Drug Administration.

The warnings are especially necessary to help counter the growing number of youth who drink soda, said the Center, which has previously put out reports publicising the health-threatening qualities of other popular foods such as ice cream and movie popcorn.

“Parents and health officials need to recognize soft drinks for what they are liquid candy and do everything they can to return those beverages to their former role as an occasional treat,” CSPI officials wrote in a related report.

Studies show teenage boys drink about 1.5 cans of soda a day on average compared to 1 can for teenage girls, according to the group.

Some suggested warnings included: “To help protect your waistline and your teeth, consider switching to diet sodas or water” and “Drinking too many (non-diet) soft drinks contributes to weight gain.”

Soft drinks with more than 10mg of caffeine per 12-ounce serving should also carry warnings that say it is “a mildly addictive stimulant drug” that is “not appropriate for children,” CSPI added.

The group, which has also been fighting the prevalence of soda-vending machines in American schools, said new labels are needed to help counter aggressive marketing by the soda industry.

The American Beverage Association says soft drinks can be part of a healthy diet and help keep people hydrated, citing data from the American Dietetic Association.

“The beverage industry recognises the need for children and adults to consume a wide variety of beverages, including milk, water, juices and sport drinks. And yes, there is room in that mix for soft drinks,” the industry group says on its website.

Some soft drink makers have also recently introduced smaller-sized bottles and cans.

Source: The Star...

Salt or no salt? Food safety

Refined table salt labelled as iodised salt contains added iodine.

Chemically all types of salt contain sodium and chloride,
regardless of whether the salt is processed from seawater
or rock salt, which is mined from the ground. Unrefined
sea salt or rock salt may contain trace amounts of beneficial
minerals such as magnesium, iodine and zinc as well as other
impurities that are present in the seawater or in the area
from which the salt was mined. However, the amount of the
minerals relative to the amount of sodium and chloride is so
small that, to be nutritionally significant, very large
amounts of the salt would have to be consumed.

Source: Salts of the earth...The Star

How to identify a stroke

Below is very useful information. Unfortunately, I'm not
able to give credit to the source but if you know it, please
post it.

Note from a friend: I wish I knew this several years ago
when a friend was having a stroke at a clubhouse function and
I didn't recognize it; just that something was wrong and did
get a resident doctor in the hall and made other people aware,
but unfortunately her husband listened to her and didn't get
her to the hospital for a couple hours.

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The
stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby
fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors
say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three
simple questions:

*Ask the individual to smile.
*Ask him or her to raise both arms.
*Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1
immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
After discovering that a Group Of non-Medical Volunteers
could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech
problems, researchers urged the general public to learn
the three questions. They presented their conclusions at
the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last
February. Widespread use of this test could result in
prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent
brain damage.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it
to 10 people you can bet that at least one life will be saved.
Tell as many people as possible about this. It could save
their lives!

Health tip - Are you anxious?

Is worrying one of your characteristics? Well, stop! It is
okay to worry, but at the right time.

Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania tell patients
who suffer from anxiety to regularly do a daily twenty minute
“worry session,” always at the same time and in the same place.
Collect your head full of worries during the day (don’t suppress
them!) and then pour them out during your daily worry session.

Exaggerate your worries to the point of absurdity - knit your
brows, make faces, let the sweat flow, shake and cower as much
as you like. In other words, make a caricature of the part of
yourself that is always worried, and in so doing exorcise it.

Eliminating worry will help prevent numerous psychosomatic
illnesses, which result from living in a state of permanent
anxiety.