Friday, 2 May 2014

4 Eating Habits That Boost Your Metabolism

What is metabolism? Scientifically, metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions that go on in the living cells that make up your body. Energy metabolism includes all the reactions by which the body obtains and spends the energy from food. In other words, the process your body uses to convert the calories from food into energy. And basal metabolism is the energy needed to maintain life when a body is at complete rest.  
Believe it or not, the majority of energy one burns in a day is for basal metabolism.  Basal metabolic rates vary among individuals. For instance, you may know someone who can eat anything and lots of it and yet never seems to gain a pound. On the other hand, you probably also know someone who has a very slow metabolism and eats less than other people and yet struggles greatly to maintain or lose weight. The difference may be in their basal metabolic rates. But, a person's metabolism is not the only factor that determines one's weight. How much you eat, when you eat, what you eat and how much you exercise all play important roles in determining your weight. 
Here are some tips to help you "boost" your metabolism:
  • Eat breakfast. Eating breakfast enables you to break your nighttime fast, which helps to jump-start your metabolism for the day. Also, breakfast eaters tend to be less hungry all day long and less impulsive about unhealthy snacking. Studies show that people who eat within one to two hours after waking are better able to control weight.
  • Eat regularly. Skipping meals slows metabolism, causing you to burn less calories and store more calories as fat. Also, you tend to eat more later, especially less healthy choices. Eating every four to five hours is recommended.
  • Eat protein with meals. Protein foods burn more calories to metabolize than carbohydrates and fats and also help you feel fuller for longer. Healthy protein sources include fish, chicken and turkey without the skin, lean meat, skim or 1% milk, eggs and egg substitutes, soy milk or tofu, low-fat, low-sugar yogurt, and beans (legumes).
  • Eat adequate calories. Eating a very low calorie diet or skipping meals and taking in less than 1,000 calories a day causes your body to slow down in order to conserve energy.
Because metabolism slows down as you get older, it's even more important to follow the guidelines listed above to help you maintain a healthy weight as you age. 

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Skin Cancer: Researching How It Spreads so It Can Be Stopped

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. It forms in the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin, which is comprised of three types of cells. Squamous cells are oval to flat cells that make up the top layers; basal cells are round cells beneath the squamous cells; and melanocytes, residing alongside basal cells, produce melanin, the pigment that gives skin color. Squamous and basal cell cancers are common and, unlike melanoma, usually do not spread, which generally makes them easier to treat.

HOW CANCER SPREADS

Cancer spreads when cells break away from the original tumor and travel to nearby tissues or distant organs. Melanoma develops the ability to spread once it reaches the inner layer of the skin, the dermis, where it can gain access to lymph or blood vessels that allow tumor cells to travel. Once melanoma spreads, it becomes difficult to treat.
Melanoma can metastasize (spread) to any organ in the body, although it generally follows a predictable path. It is most likely to first spread to the lungs and the area between the lungs; 70 to 87 percent of metastasized melanoma spreads to this area. After the lungs, melanoma is most likely to spread to other areas of the skin and to the liver.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, oncologists recognize the spreading pattern of melanoma, but they're not sure why it's so predictable. They have three theories:
  1. Melanoma cells travel to body tissues indiscriminately, but multiply only in areas that have appropriate cellular growth factors.
  2. Cancer cells become "glued" to specific sites.
  3. Cancer cells are selectively attracted to specific sites by organ-specific molecules (chemokines), a process called chemoattraction. Scientists do know melanoma cells have many more chemokine receptors than cells not affected by cancer.

NEW HOPE FOR SKIN CANCER TREATMENT

Recently, researchers discovered a gene called mda-9/syntenin, which is elevated in major cancers. It helps melanoma spread by regulating proteins that promote angiogenesis, or the development of new blood vessels. These blood vessels bring critical nutrients to cancer cells and help them grow. Drugs that target this gene could potentially stop the spread of melanoma by removing the metastasis-promoting proteins.
The best way to prevent the spread of melanoma, however, is to be aware of the signs and detect it early—before it penetrates deeply into the dermis with its blood and lymph pathways. If you notice a change in shape, color, size, or feel of an existing mole, or the development of a new mole, seek prompt medical attention.
Craig Kraffert, MD, reviewed this article.


Sources:
ScienceDaily.com. "How Deadly Skin Cancer Spreads Into Other Parts of the Body." Web. 3 January 2013. 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130103131200.htm
National Cancer Institute. "What You Need to Know About Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers." Web. 11 January 2011.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/skin/page9
Mayo Clinic. "How cancer spreads." Web. 3 August 2012.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer/MM00638
The University of Chicago Medicine. "Skin Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)." Web.http://www.uchospitals.edu/online-library/content=CDR258035
American Academy of Dermatology. "Melanoma: How It Returns, Where It Spreads." Web. http://www.skincarephysicians.com/skincancernet/melanoma_returns.htm

Friday, 21 March 2014

How to Keep Your Senses Sharp as You Age

How to Keep Your Senses Sharp as You AgeYour perception of the world around you would be quite different if not for your five senses.
Your eyes, nose, tongue, ears, and skin work together so that you can recognize the many different sensations that guide your choices and behavior throughout each day. Unfortunately, many natural and unnatural forces that occur throughout your lifetime diminish your ability to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel as you get older. Here's what you can do to help protect your senses:

KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS

Get regular physical check-ups that include vision and hearing tests, and see specialists as soon as possible if specific health problems come up. For instance, if you start to see floaters (dust- or thread-like images drifting into your field of vision in one or both eyes), see an opthalmologist as soon as possible. Though most likely harmless, floaters can be a sign of retinal detachment that can lead to permanent loss of vision. When it comes to your sense of touch, pay attention if you notice you are dropping things more often than usual or if you feel no pain in some areas of your body, or too much sensitivity to pain in others. These may be signs of a medical condition that needs attention.

EAT RIGHT

The vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients you get from food support the senses, especially vision and hearing. Eat a well-balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and dairy substitutes, olive oil and other healthy fats, and low-fat sources of protein, such as seafood and lean cuts of meat and poultry. Make sure your diet contains plenty of dark, leafy green vegetables such as kale, collard greens, and spinach as well as other deeply-colored vegetables and fruit such as carrots and oranges.

MANAGE MEDICAL CONDITIONS

Medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, infections, allergies, and arthritis can lead to further loss of either eyesight, hearing, smell, and your sense of touch. Poor dental hygiene can affect your ability to taste food. Keep these conditions under control and manage them as well as possible.
Disease management may include lifestyle changes such as modifying your diet, getting certain types of physical exercise, and finding ways to reduce the impact of stress, as well as taking any medications recommended by your healthcare provider in the manner prescribed. At the same time, some medications can cause side effects that impact your senses, though often temporarily. If you experience any side effects from a medication or self-prescribed supplement, be sure to report them to your doctor.

5 MORE WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR SENSES

  • Vision changes with age. If you wear corrective lenses, be sure your current prescription isn't outdated. If you don't wear glasses, and you find it more difficult to see than when you were younger, make an appointment with an optometrist to check your vision, and make sure you have strong, non-glaring lighting at home and at work.
  • To protect your hearing, avoid constant exposure to loud noise, or wear earplugs if you frequently find yourself in a noisy situation.
  • If grip is a problem, pay attention when lifting small objects and use both hands if necessary, to avoid dropping.
  • If you find you are not tasting food the way you used to,add herbs and spices to dishes to increase flavor.Serve a variety of foods with different colors and textures on the plate. One example is to simply adding crunchy whole-grain croutons or nuts to soups, salads, and other dishes.
  • If you smoke, quitting can help improve your senses of smell and taste. Treating chronic allergies and other nasal diseases can also improve these senses.



Sources:
The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary: Smell and Taste Disorders. Web.
http://www.nyee.edu/faqlist.html?tablename=faq&key=66
National Institutes of Health Medline Plus: Aging changes in the Senses
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004013.htm
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service: Understanding the Effects of Aging on the Sensory System. Web.
http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2418/T-2140web.pdf
University of Connecticut Health Center: Taste and Smell. Web.
http://uconntasteandsmell.uchc.edu/facts/index.html