It helps muscles contract, the heart to beat, and the brain to think. All in all, your body contains about three and a half pounds of calcium. Clearly, you need the right amount of calcium  foods in your diet and your body. Generally, if you need more calcium foods your gut traps more, and your kidneys excrete less.

But this protective system has many flaws. The calcium in your bones declines at a rate of about 1 to 3 percent per year. Counter strategies may modify this. For instance, countries whose inhabitants consume more dairy products also have citizens with more calcium in their bones.

But diet is only a part of the story. There is almost no osteoporosis in Third World countries not necessarily because of high dairy product intake, but because of the high levels of physical exercise. Fractured hips are a disease of inactivity and diminished calcium intake.

Twenty five million Americans have osteoporosis. Women are particularly at risk, having three to five times as many problems from weak bones as men. The recommended dietary allowance for calcium is 1,500; milligrams per day, the equivalent of three glasses of mi.

Even early in life, however, most of us don’t reach this ideal, so bone loss starts frequently in the 20s, but does not become pronounced enough to result in fractures until the 70s and beyond. Milk and its derivatives are the principal source of dietary calcium, but fish, particularly sardines, and green vegetables (broccoli, spinach) supply it as well.

Unfortunately, calcium  intake tends to decrease as you grow older is is a matter of taste or the of milk i a condition known as lactose intolerance (which results in diarrhea after consumption of a dairy product) is unknown.

In any case, calcium supplementation through any number of food or over the counter products is highly advised. I have treated hundreds of older people, mostly women, with fractured hips. Fractured hips are major nuisances in and of themselves, but more importantly may result in further decreased physical activity and independence, leading to a downward spiral in life quality.

In thinking about how such situations could have been prevented, one truism stands out. Active people don’t break easily. Most hip fractures I encounter are not the result of a big fall, but rather that of an awkward step off a curb or slip off the sofa. Such casual insults end up in 250,000 fractured hips and 500,000 fractured vertebrae every year.

And to add more insult to injury, the rest required after a fracture increases calcium loss by fifty fold. Why risk it?

It is never too late to take calcium and start exercising,and prevent fractures that can hamper your lifestyle.

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2. Calcium And Bones
3. Tips And Tricks For Getting Calcium Into Kids

Physical Health Recommendations. When symptoms and signs of subclinical hypothyroidism are present, cautious and carefully monitored supplementation with small doses of prescribed thyroid medication is often remarkably helpful in altering lipid levels .

Stroke Diet
Because coffee raises homocysteine levels and alcohol raises triglycerides in susceptible persons, their use should be very carefully monitored and reduced to the point at which they are having no significant influence on lipid levels.

Coffee in amounts greater than four cups daily adversely affects cholesterol through the effects of caffeine and by other mechanisms.

Good cholesterol increases with alcohol intake; red wine, with high phenolic content, appears to be one good source. Because of the wide array of adverse effects of alcohol, including its contribution
to cancers, diabetes, and accidents, very modest intake is advised; you need to make it a matter of total abstention if you have a predisposition toward addictions.

The great majority of the cholesterol in the blood at any given time has been made by the liver. Therefore, manipulating the amount of cholesterol in the diet has a very limited effect, especially if fat intake is in a low to moderate range.

Cholesterol in food that has been heated is at least partially oxidized; oxidized cholesterol is toxic to the body, whereas unoxidized cholesterol is not. Excessive restriction of whole egg intake is not warranted.

Limiting or eliminating hydrogenated polyunsaturated trans fats is a high priority (margarine, hydrogenated cooking oils, hydrogenated peanut butter). While butter containing saturated fat is not
desirable, margarines are worse. Monosaturated fats such as olive oil resist free radical deterioration.

Inclusion of liberal amounts of alpha linolenic acids (fish, fish oil, fiaxseed oil) and gamma linolenic acid (evening primrose and borage oils) also favorably affect lipid levels. Added fruit, vegetable, and whole cereal grain fiber lowers cholesterol.

Certain whole foods have been noted for their ability to lower lipid levels. They include soy, yogurt, carrots, and nuts. Many of these whole food suggestions were combined in  research in which subjects lowered cholesterol 33 percent, cholesterol!HDL-C ratio 2 1 percent, and lipoprotein (a) 24 percent with dietary changes. Vegetarian diets are associated with consistently lower blood lipid levels.

Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements

The extensive array of suggestions for increasing micronutrient and antioxidant intake in foods and supplements in the coronary heart disease section should be followed by anyone with elevated lipid levels, whether or not they have evidence of heart disease.

•    Added supplements of calcium have been shown in one study to reduce serum cholesterol 25 percent and triglycerides 35 percent after one year (400—1,200 mg daily).
•    Chromium, 200—500 mcg daily, reduced cholesterol 8—10 percent in several studies.
•    Vitamin C blood levels are inversely related to cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels. Increasing vitamin C beyond one gram daily has a modest and steady influence in lowering cholesterol and triglycerides.
•    Inositol hexaniacinate, 500—1,000 mg three times a day, achieves impressive cholesterol-lowering and good cholesterol-raising effects.
•    The antioxidants are essential: vitamin E, beta carotene, and Coenzyme Q1O.
•    Pantethine (vitamin BLS) impressively lowers cholesterol in doses of 900 mg daily.
•    In one subtype of hereditary cholesterol problem, L-carnitine normalized very high levels of cholesterol in 90 percent of patients and in another subtype reduced triglycerides to normal in 100 percent of patients. L-carnitine is rapidly depleted in hearts that are oxygen deficient; usual helpful dosages are one to three grams daily.
•    Extracted forms of mesoglycan, a glycosaminoglycan derivative, are available as a supplement that lowers total cholesterol, raises good cholesterol, prevents clot formation, and protects arterial linings from damage when taken at doses of 100 mg daily.
•    Red rice yeast (cholestin), a natural supplement from China, impressively lowers lipid levels, 600 mg one to three times a day. It contains a low concentration of lovestatin, the active ingredient in Mevacor, a prescription drug.

Herbs

The most effective herbs are gugulipids and garlic. Fresh garlic preparations work much better than aged garlic. Products that are standardized to contain a daily dose of at least 4 mg or 10 mg of the active ingredients allicin or allini, respectively, are reliable. Artichoke (Cynara scolymus, 500 mg of the extract daily) increases cholesterol elimination from the liver through the bile; 20 percent
reduction in cholesterol and 15 percent reduction in triglycerides has been demonstrated.

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Urinary calcium and oxalate, both tending to induce stone formation, are reduced (40 percent and 50 percent, respectively) with intake of ten grams of fish oil daily. Magnesium keeps calcium from precipitating into crystals in the urine and reduces recurrences 85 to 92 percent.

Twenty grams of rice bran daily has been shown to reduce stone incidence 84 percent. Recent studies have actually demonstrated a 20 percent reduction in kidney stone risk in men getting one and a half grams of vitamin C daily compared to those getting less than 250 mg per day. Cranberries in high amounts reduce ionized calcium in the urine 50 percent.

To prevent kidney stone formation or recurrences, you can:

•    Avoid excesses of alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fat, and refined carbohydrates
•    Avoid aluminum containing antacids
•    Limit sodium (salt) to two grams daily or less
•    Reduce animal protein and avoid purine protein (organ meats, shellfish, brewer’s and baker’s yeast, herring, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies)
•    Avoid excess phosphorous in soft drinks by quitting or cutting down
•    Abate smoking (small amounts of cadmium in tobacco)
•    Reduce intakes of vitamin D—enriched food (milk, cheese)
•    Reduce high oxalate foods (spinach, beet greens, parsley, rhubarb, black tea, nuts, and cocoa)
•    Increase water and liquid intake to reach a urine volume of two quarts daily
•    Increase fiber intake
•    Increase cranberry intake (unsweetened, in capsulated concentrate form)
•    Increase intake of high magnesium-to-calcium ratio foods (avocado, potato, tomato, banana, orange, barley, buckwheat, rye, oats, brown rice, cashews, sesame seeds, soy, lima beans.

Kidney Stones Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements (Daily Amounts)
•    Fish oil, ten grams, or flax oil, one tablespoon
•    Magnesium (preferably citrate), 300 to 600 mg
•    Vitamin B-6, 25 mg
•    Potassium citrate and calcium citrate, 500 to 1,000 mg
•    Vitamin K~, 2 mg
•    Vitamin C, one to two grams
•    Vitamin E, 400 LU.

Specifically for uric acid stones:

-  Reduce purine intake (see preceding list) Folic acid, 5 mg daily
-  Lemon juice from two lemons daily (reduces blood uric acid)
-  Alkalinize the urine with citrates (see above)

Specifically for struvite stones:

-  Acidify the urine (ammonium chloride, 200 mg three times daily)
-  Treat recurrent infections (see chapter 17)

Herbs:

A combination of one ounce of a 1:40 decoction of Ammi visnaga with 5 cc of a 1:10 tincture (Khellin) taken three times daily promotes great ureteral relaxation, facilitating passage of stones, often of large size. Lobelia tincture, three to four drops three times an hour, may also help relax ureteral muscles to allow stone passage.

Senna, a natural laxative, and aloe vera contain athraquinones, which bind calcium and reduce the formation of calcium crystals. They can be used at levels short of what produces a laxative effect.

Cranberry juice concentrate, three to four capsules two to three times daily equivalent to sixteen ounces of cranberry juice, reduces ionized calcium in the urine.

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Like other organs of the body, the brain requires a steady flow of blood and oxygen to function normally. When the supply of blood and oxygen is impaired, it can cause a stroke, a sudden malfunction of the brain. If oxygen levels in the brain drop low enough, there can be permanent neurological damage.

Not all strokes are the same. some are so slight the victim may not even be aware he is having one. In some cases, the person experiencing a stroke may simply feel a slight numbness in his face or arm, or may have difficulty speaking or thinking clearly for a brief period of time. For other people, the stroke is so devastating that it can cause permanent paralysis or even death.

Although all strokes are a result of the reduction in blood flow to the brain, that trigger is not always set of by the same thing. Common causes of stroke include atherosclerosis, blood clots, hemorrhage, and aneurysms.

Atherosclerosis, or the narrowing or blockage of an artery due to fatty deposits, accounts for slightly more than half of all strokes. With proper diet, the right supplements, and a healthy lifestyle, atherosclerosis is a preventable disease.

In some cases, a stroke will occur if the artery delivering blood to the brain becomes blocked by a blood clot. There are several supplements that can help to prevent blood clots.

In addition, a weakening in the cerebral artery, called an aneurysm, could cause an artery to break, thus causing a hemorrhage. Although some aneurysms are genetic, maintaining normal blood pressure can help to prevent arterial weakness that can lead to the formation of an aneurysm. Not smoking also substantially decreases your risk of both aneurysm and stroke.

In many cases, however, strokes can e avoided simply by preventing the underlying medical conditions that leave us vulnerable to them.

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Nothing could be further from the truth! When it comes to digestion, I believe that indigestion natural remedies are better, gentler, and every bit as effective as the arsenal of heavily advertised drugs, so is better to  cure indigestion with natural remedies.

Digestion is the process by which food is broken down to a form that may be readily absorbed from the stomach by the cells of the body. Digestion actually begins in the mouth when food is chewed, and when enzymes in saliva begin to break down food into smaller components.

The masticated foods passes through the esophagus to the stomach, where it is liquefied by a mixture of hydrochloric acid and pepsin, which is secreted by the stomach wall.

Gastric acid secretion is a vital step in digestion and assimilation, particularly of proteins and minerals. Too much or too little can have negative effects on the digestion of food and consequently on your health.

As we age, our bodies produce less hydrochloric acid, which is essential for the digestion of food. As a result, people over fifty often develop chronic indigestion, which is characterized by gas and bloating after eating. To make matters worse, people with this problem often turn to over the counter antacids which, of course, will not help and can even hurt because reduction in the amount of acid is what is causing the problem in the first place!

If you have chronic indigestion, see your doctor to determine the cause. Symptoms of indigestion, including gas and bloating could be a sign of another problem, such as gall bladder disease or even a ulcer. If you and your physician have determined that your digestive discomfort is not due to other medical problems, you may want to try some indigestion natural remedies. I guarantee that they will make you feel better!

-  Bromelain Have a piece of fresh pineapple for dessert! Pineapple contains bromelain, which is a protein digesting enzyme group that promotes good digestion and assists the absorption of nutrients from foods and supplements. Some people with too much stomach acid may found fresh pineapple to be irritating. For these people, I recommend bromelain in chewable tablets. Bromelain  is one of the best indigestion natural remedies to cure  indigestion.

-  Betaine hydrochloric acid This is a supplement made form beets. For people who produce too little HCL, it can help to get the digestive juices flowing.

-  Herbals teas These infusions are excellent for digestion problems. Anise, fennel, catnip, chamomile, and peppermint teas are particularly soothing for an agitated stomach.

-  Cinnamon, ginger, and clove These spices are not only delicious additions to cookies and pudding, they also help break down fats in your digestive system, probably by boosting digestive enzyme activity.

-  Add some herbs to your salad! Dill, oregano, and fennel not only help relax digestive tract muscles, they are also anti foaming agents that help prevent the formation of intestinal gas and inhibit the growth of several bacteria that attack the intestinal tract.

-  Papaya This fruit has been used by Caribbean Indians for centuries for many medical remedies and as digestive aid. They were onto something! The most important digestive enzyme in papaya is pa papain, which is similar to the human digestive enzyme pepsin. It also contains other enzymes which break down milk proteins and help digest starches. Today papaya extract is the active ingredient in most commercial meat tenderizers.

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Cystitis also known as bladder infection is the inflammation of the urinary tract, most often caused by infection. The most common culpris id E. coli, the intestinal bacteria that is vital to maintaining intestinal health, but devastating when the bacteria enters the urethra and makes its way to the bladder.

The reason women are twenty five times more vulnerable to bladder infections that are men is due to simple anatomical differences. Because the female bladder is much shorter than the male urethra, E. coli have an easy time reaching the female bladder.

When you don’t drink enough fluids to wash them away, the microorganisms adhere to the bladder walls and begin multiplying. The result? An intense urge to urinate, burning during urination and, in some cases, blood in the urine, which can be very frightening.

All opathic medicine uses antibiotics as the first line of defence, specially the drugs Bactrim, Septra, or Cipro. Antibiotics will help prevent a simple bladder infection from turning into a life threatening kidney infection, and are often necessary once the infection takes hold.

The problem with antibiotics, however, is that they are not selective and kill as many good bacteria as bad bacteria. This, in turn, alters the body’s normal balance of microorganisms and because the microorganisms are altered, the conditions are also optimal for vaginal yeast infections.

To make matters worse, for many women cystitis is a chronic condition, so they must take antibiotics frequently. To add to their misery, these women run the risk of developing antibiotic resistant infections, as well as yeast infections.

If you have a tendency to contract cystitis, a combination of common sense and supplements may help to prevent a recurrence.

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On the other hand, there are horror stories of individuals who have suffered severe side effects, or have actually dies, after taking an anticonvulsant.

Many drugs are presently in use against epilepsy. They work through various mechanism, and not all of them work against all types of seizures, but when they are used correctly they are good drugs, and can be of tremendous benefit.

Some of them are designed to suppress seizures by preventing the spread of abnormal electrical activity from the focus to other parts of the brain. Others are targeted toward preventing the spread of electrical excitation from one brain cell to another. To achieve this, they may act on the excitatory neurotransmitters, or they may enhance or mimic the inhibitory neurotransmitters.

However, most drugs work on the surface of brain cells, to block electrical activity along the individual cells. Here are some of them:

Phenobarbital is a landmark drug. It was the first real anticonvulsant ever discovered, and it has been used for more than any other drug in the treatment of epilepsy. Even today, on a world wide basis, it is the most widely used anticonvulsant drug, especially in developing countries.

Primidone Like phenobarbital, primidone has been around for a very long time. In fact, the two drugs are closely related and form a chemical perspective the primidone molecule is quite similar to the phenobarbital molecule. However, these are not identical drugs. Primidone itself has anticonvulsant activity, and it is converted by the body to phenobarbital and to another chemical called phenylethylmalonamide.

Phenytoin has a long history. It was first evaluated as a sleeping pill, but was found to have anticonvulsant effects as well. Phenytoin does not work on all seizure types. It tends to work better on secondary epilepsies. Thus it works best for tonic clonic seizures and partial seizures.

Ethosuximide It bears a certain resemblance to phenytoin, but it’s only effective against absence seizures. It doesn’t work on any of the secondary epilepsies, or against simple partial or complex partial seizures, and it has no effect on epilepsies that begin in adulthood.

Carbamazepine is probably one of the most widely used anticonvulsants. It too was discovered more by accident than by design. It was initially used as an antidepresant, but it soon became clear that the drug’s anticonvulsant properties were much more marked, and it is nor used mainly for these properties.

Valproic  Acid is structuarraly uniwue, and its properties and toxicities are different from those of other anticonvulsants. Vaproic acid can cause weight gain, hair loss and tremor, but generally will less confusion and fatigue than are associated with the other drugs. Also, valproic acid is a broad spectrum anticonvulsant.

Clonazepam together with nitrazepam and diazepam, belongs to a largerfamily of drugs called 1,4 benzodiazepines. Many drugs within this family are used as sleeping agents or to reduce anxiety. They are sometimes used to prevent alcoholic in withdrawal from experiencing the “DTs”

Clobazam is a 1.5 benzodiazepine. This subtle chemical distinction means fewer problems with developent of tolerance to the anticonvulsant action than there are with clonazepam. For this reason, clobazam is probably the benzodiazepine of choice in the treatment of seizures at the present time.

Vigabatrin The appearance of vigabatrin heralded a new era of anticonvulsants drug in the 1980s in Europe and 1990 in Canada. Vigabitrin has not been approved in USA. Unlike the earlier anticonvulsants, vigabatrin wan not stumbled upon by accident.

Gabapentin Like vigabatrin, gabapentin was designed and created, not discovered accidentally. A growing body of evidence suggests that, beyond its anticonvulsant properties, it may be useful in the treatment of pain disorders, especially the neuralgias associated with diabetes and shingles.

Lamotrigine is an extremely effective new anticonvulsant. It too is a product of drug design, however, the chemist who created it were testing a theory that turned out to be wrong. Lamotrigine works well at suppressing seizures, but the mechanism that makes it effective is not the one its designers were investigating. So its discovered was deliberate but also accidental.

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Changes may be dramatic, or may be quite subtle, some are detectable only through specialized tests, such as a precise measurements of reaction time.

Epilepsy is the disorder experienced by people who have multiple seizures, it is a chronic condition characterized by a predisposition to recurrent, usually spontaneous seizures.

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It is actually impossible to swallow the tongue. This practice hes unfortunately become commonplace, but actually places both the person having the epilepsy seizures and the witness risk of injury.

The person’s teeth may be broken by biting the object, or the object could become lodged in the throat, interfering with breathing. Contractions of the jaw are extremely forceful during a seizure, so the well meaning onlooker may also find himself with a severe bite to his hand. The tongue is, however, often bitten during a seizure, this cannot be prevented and will, in any case, heal relatively quickly.

If the person remains unconscious after the seizure stops, the safest position for the person is one her side. As secretions are frequently present during seizures, and the person will be unable to protect the airway, this position will allow secretions to drain and prevent the possibility of aspiration of fluids into the lungs.

The person may be confused or even violent after a seizure. An onlooker should speak calmy and reassuringly and not try to restrain the person in any way (no holding or pushing), as this can increase agitation. If a person is in a dangerous area such as a roadway, it is wise to try to lead her gently to a safer place. If law enforcement or emergency medical personnel arrive, onlookers should be sure to tell them that the person had a seizure.

Police may mistake confused behavior for drunkenness or drug use, with subsequent  confrontation and restrain of the person, possibly leading to further agitation, violence, and mistakes arrest.

Most people with a known seizure disorder do not need to be taken to an emergency room after a typical, uncomplicated seizure. If injury occurs requiring treatment or if the seizure is prolonged, immediate attention may be required. In other cases, it is sufficient to simply allow the person to recover, review things that may have caused the seizure, and consider whether the treating physician needs to be called.

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Another naturally, occurring hormone, melatonin, is available commercially in health food stored and drugstores and is a widely used as a epilepsy cure for mild sleep disorders. In normal people, melatonin is secreted from the pineal gland according to a precise cycle over a twenty four hour period. Around bedtime, there is a dramatic increase in melatonin, facilitating sleepiness. The secretion of melatonin then falls during the night, and by morning the levels are low.

This cycle is an important part of our circadian rhythm, the system that regulates numerous body functions over a twenty four hours cycle, the most obvious of which is the sleep wake cycle. Some other functions that are part of this include temperature and secretion of some other hormones.

The release of melatonin is sensitive to light, and its release is typically resynchronised every day by daylight and nighttime darkness. When time zones are traversed, daylight “hits” the pineal gland at a different time, initially disturbing the melatonin cycle and contributing to jet lag. Ultimately, the light cues in the new time zone will regulate the melatonin cycle.

Why is melatonin important in epilepsy? Humans need for sleep is overlooked in general by Western society, despite the demonstrated importance of sleep in overall health and well being. People with epilepsy need quality sleep more than anyone else, since severe sleep deprivation can actually cause seizures, and anticonvulsant medications can increase the tendency toward drowsiness.

Melatonin supplements can also have direct anticonvulsant effect in photosensitive epilepsy and partial epilepsy. Absent large trials, however, the actual usefulness of melatonin to treat seizures independently of its beneficial effects on sleep is unknown.

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