Health related information and news from around the world.

Now tighten up the muscles of your mouth. Grimace. Show your teeth, and tighten up the muscles around your mouth and the front of your neck. Tilt your chin up. Now, with your teeth still bared, open your lips as wide as you can. Hold them open, teeth clenched, as you also tighten your cheek and neck muscles. Teeth clenched, cheeks and neck tight, lips pulled open, hold these muscles tight while you count: one thousand … two thousand . .. three thousand . .. four thousand . .. five thousand … six thousand … seven thousand … eight thousand . .. nine thousand … ten thousand. Count slowly. Slowly relax your lips, jaw, cheek and neck muscles. Take in a deep breath through your nose, filling your lungs as you feel your diaphragm pulling down to open your lungs and make room for the air.

Hold the breath for a moment. Now let it go very slowly, taking at least five seconds to let it all out.

Take another breath. Fill your lungs. Feel your diaphragm pulling down to open your lungs wide. In your mind’s eye, see your diaphragm dropping down as your lungs fill.

Now repeat. Tighten the muscles of your mouth, clench your teeth and grimace. Tilt your chin up and tighten the muscles around your mouth and in the front of your neck. Hold that for a moment, then open your lips as wide as you tighten your cheek and neck muscles. Hold those muscles tight while you count, slowly: one thousand . . . two thousand .. . three thousand . . . four thousand .. . five thousand … six thousand … seven thousand . .. eight thousand .. . nine thousand . .. ten thousand. Slowly relax your jaw, lips, cheek and neck muscles. Take a deep breath in through your nose … a nice, deep breath. Feel your diaphragm pulling down to open your lungs wide. See, in your mind’s eye, your diaphragm dropping down as your lungs fill.

Hold the breath for a moment. Now let it out through your mouth very slowly, taking at least five seconds to empty your lungs.

Take another deep breath, filling up your lungs.

Hold it for a moment. Now let it out, very slowly. Take five seconds or more to blow it all out.

The muscles of your mouth and the front of your neck now feel light and relaxed.

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MIXED SPROUTS AND RAISINS

Sprouted beans and peas are tasty, high in vitamin C, and add crunch to your foods. Buy mixed sprouts (or sprout your own), including mung bean sprouts, azuki bean sprouts, lentil sprouts, pea sprouts and radish sprouts.

Fill a small bowl with the mixed sprouts. Add raisins to taste. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds or chopped peanuts or almonds. Eat and enjoy. My son Barry likes to eat mixed sprouts and raisins with a small slice of low-fat mozzarella cheese and a piece of whole-wheat bread.

MIXED BEANS

Mixed beans, with or without lentils, can be eaten by themselves or as part of a meal. My wife Hannah always keeps a big pot of six or seven kinds of cooked beans in the refrigerator, ready to be heated or eaten cold as part of a salad.

How long it takes beans to cook depends on whether, and how long, you presoak them. To presoak beans, rinse them, and then place in a pot with about three times as much water as beans. Let stand for several hours. When my wife cooks beans, she puts them in a pot with three cups of water for every cup of beans. She puts the slower-cooking beans in first, adding the quicker-cooking ones a little later. The water is brought to a boil, the beans are added, covered, and left to simmer over a low heat. She checks the water occasionally, adding more if necessary.

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Nature has packed an amazing variety of nutrients into the appealing packages we call food. When you look at an apple, you don’t think about the carbohydrates, fat, protein, fiber, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin A, niacin, vitamin C and other nutrients it contains. You see and taste an apple.

As soon as you bite into the apple, however, you begin to “unwrap” the package. Chewing continues the process, which is completed by the enzymes in your mouth, stomach and intestines. Soon, the package is completely unwrapped. No longer an apple, it is now a collection of the nutrients that go into the making of an apple. It’s the ingredients, not the apple itself, that are absorbed into your body, and many of these ingredients are a big help to our “doctor within.” Others, however, are a mixed blessing, and some are outright harmful. Let’s look at the helpful ones first.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are indispensable tools for your “doctor within,” performing innumerable jobs in every cell of your body. They keep your bones and muscles strong, your skin clear and smooth. They also help fight cellular poisons, prevent unnecessary blood clotting, allow your brain to communicate with the rest of your body, heal wounds, fight bacteria and viruses, promote growth, form red blood cells and dispose of body wastes. You name it, vitamins and minerals are involved.

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A quick and inexpensive treatment for facial wrinkles may have been discovered in a most unlikely source— botulinum toxin. Until now, this toxin’s main claim to fame was that it often causes serious and sometimes fatal paralysis when it contaminates food. Although it sounds nasty, new research indicates that small doses of the toxin—known as botox—may be an effective treatment for facial wrinkles.

In earlier studies, researchers have found that botox, when injected into muscles around the eyes, eases certain spasmodic conditions. It has also proven to be an effective therapy for abnormal contractions or tics in the face, neck, and arms and legs. While studying the treatment of those disorders with botox, researchers discovered that the toxin also seemed to smooth out the patients’ facial wrinkles.

According to the researchers, botox does not “distort” the face as does collagen and silicone. It works by weakening underlying muscles which can cause wrinkles by tugging at the skin. The researchers also say that botox treatments must be performed every four to six months, but that after an accumulation of injections, the benefits may begin to last longer.

New studies are now underway as researchers continue to investigate the potential of botox, how to determine correct dosages, and how to correct any side effects, such as increased local muscle weakness, as experienced by some patients in earlier studies.

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There’s no way to avoid bruises except to wear padding over your entire body. Sure, you can try not to be as clumsy, but there will always be malicious chairs, stools, desks and other inanimate objects lurking in darkened rooms, just waiting for a tender ankle or shin. The best way to deal with bruises is to try to shrink and heal them. Here’s how:

1) Apply a cold compress— this is the first thing you should do whenever you sustain an injury which might lead to a bruise. Use an ice pack on the injured area at 15 minute intervals. This will constrict the blood vessels, and may help minimize the swelling and reduce the pain.

2) After cold, try heat— wait about 24 hours before you begin applying heat to dilate the blood vessels and improve circulation in the injured area.

3) Get more vitamin C – some studies show that people who are deficient in vitamin Care more prone to bruising than those people who get an adequate amount of the vitamin. Before you take any vitamin C supplements, consult your doctor.

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The cold inclement weather of winter need not interfere with your exercise program. Here are several suggestions that will help you maintain your outdoor exercise routine, even in the coldest weather:

1) Dress with the weather in mind. In cold weather, layered clothing keeps your comfortable as your body heats up. Also wear a hat or hood to prevent loss of body heat through your head. Keep your hands and ears covered to avoid frostbite. You should also apply sunscreen on any exposed skin.

2) Warm up before you begin exercising. Take five to ten minutes to complete you stretching and warm-up routine before you go outdoors. The step becomes even more important the older you are, and the colder the weather.

3) Drink lots of water. If you exercise strenuously, try to drink water every 15 minutes. Even in cold weather, your body will become dehydrated during exercise.

4) Keep dry. You should always wear a water-repellent jacket when you are out in inclement weather. Wet clothing is not only heavy, it also robs the body of heat.

5) Move indoors on extremely cold days. Mall walking has become a very popular and inexpensive alternative to health clubs. You don’t even have to shop, just walk.

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Sore throat

Sore throat is a common symptom of many childhood illnesses such as colds and the flu. However, if you see small white spots on your child’s tonsils or on the back of his or her throat and the swollen glands under the jaw, it could signal strep throat or tonsillitis.

If there is a strep infection, your doctor will most likely prescribe antibiotics. Otherwise you can give the child acetaminophen and ordinary cough drops to ease the discomfort.

Colic

Colic is usually most severe in babies from 4 to 6 weeks old and is characterized by the infant’s being irritable, crying or screaming excessively, drawing the knees up to the abdomen, and sometimes, passing gas.

Treatment essentially involves waiting for the baby to grow out of the condition, which usually happens by 3 to 4 months. There are no cures for colic, but you can treat the symptoms in various ways, including:

A) Fennel tea— pharmacologists say that the oil in fennel seeds is a carminative— a substance that helps expel gas. To make fennel tea, boil fennel seeds in water, then strain and dilute the liquid.

B) Place the baby face-down on your knees while stroking his or her back.

C) Give the baby a pacifier.

D) Place a heating pad—set on a safe, comfortable setting—or a warmed wash cloth under the baby’s stomach.

E) Take the baby for a ride in the car. Motion seems to be good for colic.

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Here are the basic steps involved in breast self-examination:

1) Stand in front of a large mirror, with your arms at your sides. Observe both breasts for anything unusual, including any change in size or contour.

2) Clasp your hands behind your head and press them forward. Sometimes lumps that are difficult to feel are easy to see. Study both breasts again, looking for any changes— a swelling, dimpling of skin, changes in the nipple, or scaling of skin.

3) Next, press your hands firmly on your hips and bow slightly toward your mirror as you pull your shoulders and elbows forward. Look at your breasts again. Do you notice any significant differences between them?

4) Raise your left arm. Use three or four fingers of your right hand to feel your left breast carefully and thoroughly. Beginning at the outer edge, make small circular motions with the flattened fingers of your right hand, moving the circles slowly around the breast. Gradually work toward the nipple. Be sure to cover the entire breast, and spend at least two minutes on each breast. Pay special attention to the area between the breast and the armpit, including the armpit itself. You should feel for any unusual lump or mass under the skin. Repeat the procedure, using your left hand on your right breast.

5) Look down at your breasts and gently squeeze each nipple between yourj thumb and index finger. A minimal whitish discharge is fairly common for some women, but you should report any unusual or bloody discharge to your doctor immediately.

You may also do steps 4 and 5 while lying down. To do so, place a folded towel under your left shoulder (or under the shoulder on the side you plan to examine first) and your left hand behind your head. This position flattens the breast and may make it easier to examine. Using the circular motion described in step 4, examine both breasts thoroughly.

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