Top 7 health tips - Facts and Tips for Better Living

EXERCISE HEADACHES — Some people with heart disease may get head
pain instead of chest pain. Like chest pains, cardiac headaches begin
during exercise and subside when exercise stops. See a doctor for an
exercise stress test if the pain of your “exercise headache” is
severe, you normally do not get headaches, you smoke, you are older
than 50, or you have any risk factors for heart disease such as high
blood pressure or a family history of heart disease


HEALTHY GUMS, HEALTHY LUNGS — Millions of Americans have difficulty
breathing, and chronic lung problems are the sixth-leading cause of
death in the United States. Research points to a link between gum
disease and respiratory problems. Diseased gums can make breathing
problems more difficult to solve, doctors said. Studies previously
have linked heart disease, diabetes, and premature child delivery to
oral health. The research indicates that maintaining oral health is
not just important for dentition, it could also delay the onset, or
slow the progression, of respiratory diseases, said Roger Smith,
national oral health advisor for Delta Dental Plans Association.
There is no proof yet that periodontal disease causes respiratory
problems, but there are significant associations between a person’s
periodontal status and the likelihood that previously existing
breathing problems will worsen, scientists said.

RELIEVE SORE EYES — A negative side-effect for avid computer users
is eyestrain. Long hours staring at a screen causes us often to
forget to blink and replenish moisture to our eyes. But there is a
way to relieve sore eyes. A common way to treat eyestrain is even
closer than your fingertips. Rub your hands together briskly for 10
seconds, generating heat. Close your eyes and place your palms over
your eyes, resting the heels of your hands on your cheekbones and
your fingertips on your forehead. Do not apply pressure. Hold your
hands in place for at least one minute while you relax your facial
muscles and breathe deeply. The deep breathing coinciding with the
warmth of your palms combines to relax the weary muscles around your
eyes.

WALK BEFORE DESSERT — It is very tempting to go right to dessert
after finishing your main course. However, remember that it takes
several minutes for your brain to sense that you are full. So, before
grabbing dessert, go for a walk. By the time you are done walking,
you just might find that you have lost the craving!

BABY BOTTLE TEETH SYNDROME — Good dental care begins at birth.
Healthy teeth let children chew food easier, learn to talk clearly,
and smile with self-assurance. According to the American Dietetic
Association, to avoid tooth decay, do not put your infant, toddler,
or young child to bed with a bottle of formula, juice, or milk. All
of these fluids contain sugar, whether natural or added, and can
contribute to the development of baby bottle teeth syndrome. This
syndrome results when liquid bathes the teeth and gums as a result of
falling asleep while sucking on the bottle, causing tooth decay. The
predominant areas of decay are the front teeth, since the liquid
stays there the longest. If your toddler needs the comfort of a
bottle to fall asleep, make sure it is a bottle of water.

LOST TEETH MAY PORTEND STROKE — A report in the journal “Stroke”
suggests a link between tooth loss and periodontal disease and
increased risk of ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes - the most common
type of stroke - result from a blockage in an artery leading to the
brain. In the study, men with fewer than 25 teeth when they entered
the study had a 57 percent higher risk of ischemic stroke than those
with 25 or more teeth. The link between ischemic stroke and
periodontal disease, which is caused by bacterial infections, adds to
the growing body of evidence that infection plays a role in stroke
and heart disease, said Kaumudi Joshipura, associate professor of
epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Harvard School
of Public Health. “The association of ischemic stroke with tooth loss
persisted even after we controlled for periodontal disease history,
which could reflect severe periodontal disease in the extracted
teeth,” Joshipura said. Surprisingly, the scientists also found the
tooth loss-stroke risk link was higher among nonsmokers than among
smokers. Smoking tobacco is a risk factor for both ischemic stroke
and periodontal disease. “We do not know why nonsmokers showed a
higher association,” Joshipura said. “But that lends support to the
argument that the association between tooth loss and stroke is not
all due to smoking.”

FISH DIET CHASES CANCER — Eating a fish-rich diet seems lower levels
of the hormone leptin, which has been associated with obesity and
increased risk of heart disease. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic
studied neighboring African tribes, one tribe eating a fish-rich diet
and another tribe eating a primarily vegetarian diet. “Regardless of
body fat or body mass index,” researchers said, “leptin levels were
substantially lower among the fish-eaters than among vegetarians. We
speculate that a fish diet may change the relationship between leptin
and body fat and somehow help make the body more sensitive to …
leptin.” Leptin levels among the women in the study were particularly
noteworthy, the researchers said. Women usually have higher leptin
levels than men, but women who ate the fish-rich diet had lower
leptin levels than both men and women on the vegetarian diet. The
researchers cautioned, however, that the study subjects were “African
individuals living in a fairly rural environment. We do not know if
the findings will apply to a semi-overweight, urban-dwelling North
American population.”



source : bumeral.net