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Articles on Health Matters:

Circulatory Health

Did you know? On average, as much as 5 litres of blood is travelling continuously in your body via the circulatory system? This biological highway transports materials such as nutrients, water and oxygen to billions of body cells and carries away wastes that these body cells produced. The state of your body's circulatory system directly influences your blood pressure level.

What constitutes a circulatory system?

The Heart
Beating about 3 billion times in an average ;ifetime, the heart pumps blood and keeps blood moving throughout your body. Exercising on a regular basis, eating healthy and refraining from smoking are 3 main factors that keep a heart healthy. Your heart can, to some extent, vary the amount of blood pumps based on your body's needs. In short, a stressful life makes the heart beat more forcefully and rapidly.

The Blood
The precious substance that carries water, oxygen, nutrients and waste products to and from body cells. One drop of blood contains half a drop of plasma, 5 million red blood cells, 10 thousand white blood cells and 250 thousand platelets.

The Blood Vessels
Arteries, capillaries and veins are the 3 main types of blood vessels. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart. Veins carry blood back to the heart and capillaries are tiny blood vessels that connect arteries to veins. Food substances (nutrients), oxygen and wastes pass in and out of our blood through capillary walls.

Blood vessels provide 2 important means of measuring vital health statistics:

Pulse - measured by touching an artery, as the rhythmic contraction of the artery is in tandem with the beating of the heart.

Blood pressure - measured using 2 numbers; the Systolic measurement and the Diastolic measurement. Systolic measurement refers to the pressure of blood against your artery walls when the heart has just finished pumping (contracting). This is the first number of a blood pressure reading.

Diastolic measurement refers to the pressure of the blood against your artery walls between heartbeats, i.e. when the heart is relaxed and filling with blood. This is the second number of a blood pressure reading.

Ways to control high blood pressure

Eat healthy - the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study conducted by John Hopkins Unversity demonstrated the benefits of a diet high in fruit and vegetables, and low in total saturated fats and cholesterol in relation to lowering blood pressure.

Practice healthy lifestyle habits - exercise regularly and manage stress level.

Achieve ideal weight - even modest weight loss can lead to long-term reduction in blood pressure.

Stop smoking - cut down on cigarette intake, or make a resolution to quit.

Cut back on alcohol - consume alcohol sparingly.

Cut back on salt - the DASH study further demonstrated the benefits of reducing salt intake in relation to lowering blood pressure.

Supplementary diet - especially fatty acids of fish origin such as Omega 3 and Peptide Blens Complex.

Contributed By,
Calvin Yeo
Singapore
27 Feb 2007

This article is only submitted and not authored by Calvin Yeo. Calvin is a customer service and a motivational trainer and coach. Please visit his blog at www.funtabulousservice.com and www.thewheelofwealth.com

How to Deal with Bad Bouts of Bacteria?

Two forms of potentially fatal food poisoning - boutulism and salmonellosis - hit the headlines last week, when food products suspected of being contaminated by the bacteria that cause them were pulled off the shelves.

Last week, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) ordered retailers of Earth's Best Organic 2 Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast Baby Food, to stop selling the jars of mashed fruit for infants aged six months or older.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had sent out an alert after the product's manufacturer realised that it might be contaminated by bacteria found in soil that causes botulism, known as clostridium botulinum.

So far, no one has fallen ill from eating the organic baby food. Five days before that, the AVA also halted sales of the Peter Pan brand of peanut butter, after the FDA warned that it might contain salmonella tennessee bacteria, which causes salmonellosis, or stomach flu.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked the peanut butter to a country-wide outbreak since August, in which nearly 290 people from 39 US States have fallen ill after eating Peter Pan products.

Generally, food becomes contaminated when it comes into contact with sewage, soil, water or food handlers that carry bacteria. Canned food may contain bacteria if it was not processed properly, or was exposed after being processed.

Most cases of botulism result from sufferers eating contaminated food that was poorly canned or preserved. It is a very rare disease, with about 150 cases reported in the U.S. population of 300 million each year. In Singapore, no cases have been reported recently.

When the bacterium gets into the blood, it produces a toxin that paralyses muscles, causing dryness in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, slurred speech and blurred vision. Infected infants become constipated and lethargic, feed poorly and have a weak cry.

These symptoms usually show up 18 to 36 hours after infection. Medical attention must be sought immediately for those with such symptoms, as they may develop breathing failure rapidly, said Dr Thoon Koh Cheng, associate consultant of paediatric medicine at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. This is when the throat and lung muscles become paralysed, and patients may suffocate and die.

Years ago, the death rate from boutulism was as high as 40 per cent of those infected. But now, with ventilators and anti-toxins, fewer than 10 per cent of the infected patients die.

Salmonella is a group of bacteria, which is often found in meat, eggs and dairy products, and causes a range of illnesses. In severe cases, the bacterium enters the bloodstream and causes organ failure and death.

More than 200 people here come down with various salmonella infections each year. Fewer than 2 per cent of those infected here die. These patients are usually older, have low immunity, and suffer from many other diseases.

Salmonellosis is generally mild, like gastric flu caused by other types of bacteria. It results in fever, stomach cramps and diarrhoea, usually over four to seven days. People need to worry only when their fever persists longer than 14 days, or if their diarrhoea gets bloody or contains mucus, said Dr Thoon.

In mild cases, some people recover on their own without treatment. Others may need antibiotics or even hospitalisation, to ensure that they do not become dehydrated and go into shock. Prevention of both diseases centers around basic food hygiene. Boiling or cooking food at high heat kills both groups of bacteria. To avoid contracting botulism, do not comsume food from damaged or bloated cans, or food that has been left out in the open for a long time.

Lee Hui Chieh
Singapore
02 Mar 2007

This article is abstracted from Mind Your Body, The Straits Times, February 28, 2007.

A Typical Snoring May Point To Bigger Problems

Snoring is cuased by the vibration of the walls of the upper air passages partially collapsing inwards during sleep. This collapse occurs because the air passages are narrow. This narrowing can occur in several points in the air passage. Some of the causes are nasal problems, enlarged adenoids, large tonsils, a narrow palate opening or a narrow air space in the throat behind the tongue or a combination of the above. When awake, the muscles of the upper airway may be able to keep the air passages open but during sleep these muscles relax, leading to airway collapse.

Snoring can be social embarrassment, however it may also be a symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA), which is associated with loud snoring, unrefreshing sleep, choking during sleep, insomnia in the middle of the night, excessive daytime sleepiness, poor concentration or memory, morning headaches and dry mouth on waking.

The causes of OSA are similar to snoring but the narrowing is more severe causing blockage of airflow and the breathing to stop. This causes the brain to wake up temporarily to open the air passages to breathe again before falling back to sleep. On returning to sleep the obstruction occurs again and the cycle repeats throughout the sleep period resulting in sleep disturbance, poor sleep quality and the symptoms of OSA.

Snoring without obstruction is called Primary Snoring. OSA is more sinister than Primary Snoring as untreated OSA increases the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. It is important to exclude a diagnosis of OSA if you snore loudly and gasp for air during sleep.

This is daignosed by doing an overnight sleep study. Many treatment options exist for the treatment of snoring and OSA, and these include general measures like losing weight if one is obese, stopping smoking if one smokes, avoid alcohol before bedtime and sleeping on the side. These measures may not totally alleviate the obstruction or narrowing. Specific treatment options may be needed in addition and they include positive airway pressure therapy, dental splints and surgery. The most suitable treatment options for you will depend on the sleep study report and a clinical assessment.

Removal of large obstructing tonsils may be one of the treatments required. I would suggest you ask your family doctor for a referral to an ENT surgeon or a sleep specialist for further assessment and treatment.

Dr Ignatius Mark Hon Wah
Singapore
11 Mar 2007

Dr Ignatius Mark Hon Wah, Associate Consultant, Department of Otolaryngology and Sleep Disorders Unit, Singapore General Hospital.