Warning Signs That May be Symptoms of a Health Problem

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If you’ve been feeling a little odd recently, you may be suffering from a serious illness. Usually, serious health problems don’t come out of nowhere. The body system often tries to warn us early enough with certain signs so that we make a timely diagnosis and get the right treatment. Nonetheless, we both know that it’s not always easy to interpret certain signs and link them to a serious underlying health problem, but that’s why this article is here. Keep reading to discover the top warning signs that may be symptoms of a serious health problem.

Chest pain
If you’re experiencing a crushing pain in your chest area, you may be experiencing a heart attack. You could also be experiencing a lot of pressure, tightness or a squeezing sensation in your chest, indicating a serious heart problem. In some cases, the pain may shift to your shoulder, arm, back or jaw. If you’ve been having such sensations, don’t ignore them anymore even if you’re sure you’re not having a heart attack.

Pain in the abdomen
There are many things that often lead to abdominal pain, and some of them are not as simple as you’d think. A minor issue like a stomach upset caused by a certain food can lead to abdominal pain as much as the more severe health conditions, such as cancer and gastrointestinal disease. Although you need to pay attention to the length and severity of the pain to determine whether it could be a sign of a serious underlying problem, you’d be safer seeing a medical professional as soon as the pain sets in.

Loud snoring and breathing issues during sleep
Although snoring is rarely a sign of a health problem, if it’s loud and followed by other signs, such as gasping for air during sleep, morning headache and excessive daytime sleepiness, then it could be a sign of sleep apnea. You can find an expert who can help you with your sleep apnea in Illinois or your particular locale. Usually, this condition occurs when your throat’s back muscles relax, narrowing or closing your airways as you breathe in. When that happens, your brain senses your breathing difficulty and wakes you up from your sleep briefly so that you reopen your airway.

You may find yourself snorting, gasping or choking in a pattern that lasts for between five and 30 times per hour. Generally, sleep apnea disrupts normal sleep, creates daytime fatigue, and contributes to heart problems and many other problems. You should therefore see a health professional immediately if you’ve been experiencing the aforementioned symptoms.

Unexplained weight loss
To some people, losing weight is a dream come true. Unfortunately, if the weight loss is unexpected or sudden, you should be concerned, as it could be a sign that a serious condition is developing. For instance, during the progression of many types of cancer, such as stomach cancer, leukemia, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer and lung cancer, the victims tend to experience weight loss. That means that if you’ve not been making an effort to lose weight, such as through exercising and dieting, and you’re losing a lot of weight, you need to consult your doctor as soon as possible.

Tingling sensation in the arms
Have you been experiencing constant uncomfortable tingling feelings in your legs, arms, feet or hands recently? If you have, then you may need to see a health professional soon. Tingling is one of those body signs that are very easy to ignore although it may indicate an underlying serious medical problem. According to Mayo Clinic, one of the most common signs of diabetes is tingling or burning sensation in various parts of the body, such as the feet and arms.

Medical professionals also associate the sensation with circulation problems and many other diseases, like multiple sclerosis, anemia, Buerger’s disease and kidney problems. The good news is that tingling is usually followed by other symptoms if indicative of a serious health problem. That means that if tingling is the only sign you’re experiencing, then you can wait before seeing your doctor. If the sensation is intense, and it’s being accompanied by other symptoms like nausea, then you need to see a doctor immediately.

Conclusion
If you care about your wellbeing, you need to pay more attention to your body. Seeking professional medical assistance every time you experience one or more of these signs is a great way to take care of yourself and avert potentially fatal health problems.

How to manage Bland Diet

What is a bland diet? It is a diet specially set to treat certain gastrointestinal or stomach problems such as heartburns, ulcers and gas.

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An answer to a question, what is a bland diet, is that it is a simple treatment for people suffering from any one or more gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic gastritis, ulcer, esophagitis and dyspepsia.

Bland diet is a dietary regimen for people suffering from stomach disorders. Hence, it is quite understood that ingredients of a bland diet are soft food items, which are easy to digest with a capacity to keep the acidity to low levels. Questions about diet may be asked to your physicians and he/she can suggest the diet or recommend a dietician to do it.

Diet medical questions may include the queries about the food stuffs to eat and food stuffs to avoid during the time while a person experien ces any gastrointestinal disorders. However, before a dietician could decide the bland diet for a person, he/she needs to seek answers to several medical questions related to the person such as any food allergies or irritations associated with any food items and emotions medical questions of people.

Bland Diet:

The diet prescribed as a bland diet will include food items that are easy to digest and low in fiber and acid contents. Even giving up alcohol and smoking is advised while patient is on bland diet. Also a patient is advised to have 4 to 6 light meals after regular interval to avoid heavy and large meals.

Chewing food properly and eating slowly helps in the digestion of the food. Adequate sleep, avoiding smoking and controlling anxiety are supportive treatments for the standard treatment of the problem.

Allowed Food Items:

• Dairy Products
Milk, cheese, yogurt with low-fats and other dairy products are easily digested and hence, can be included as a part of bland diet. However, there is no restriction on ice-creams and one may consume even ice creams during bland diet, but it should not have any product such as nuts that are not allowed in bland diet.

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh vegetables and fruits are allowed to a bland dieter. However, while carrot, squash, green peas are good to eat in a bland diet, broccoli, onions and green peeper should be avoided as it forms gas. In fruits, oranges, grapefruits, and bananas are allowed.

• Proteins
Protein requirement of the body, while on a bland diet should be met with soy products and meat. Fried chicken and greasy hamburgers are not allowed to be consumed, while grilled and baked chicken is allowed.
Low-fat peanut butter and eggs are also efficient to meet the body’s protein requirement in a bland diet.

• Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are contained in whole grain breads, pasta, oatmeal, corn flakes, white rice and sweet potatoes. All these food items are allowed.

Bland diet is designed for treating certain medical circumstances such as gastrointestinal problems. Hence, to answer what is a bland diet, we can say that this is a diet that aims at improving the digestion with the help of a timed-routine diet and soft to digest food items. Once the problem is controlled patients can return to their normal diet.

What is Dukan Diet and its side-effects?

This article gives pertinent information about Dukan Diet and its side-effects

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Pierre Dukan, a French doctor and nutritionist, challenged with the case of obesity started to look for alternative ways in curing the illness. After 20 years of thorough research he published in the year 2000, a book called, “Je ne sais pas maigrir” or translated as, “I don’t know how to get slimmer.” It gained the best-seller in France after a year it has been published.
It was made a hit in UK when Kate Middleton, now the duchess of Cambridge, tried the Dukan Diet before her marriage to the beloved Prince William, she reportedly claimed a loss of two dress sizes. It also allegedly claimed to help five million French. The book is also gaining fame in the US in the year 2011 when actress/singer, Jennifer Lopez, lost pounds after her pregnancy by following this diet.
Dukan Diet: What is it? How does this work?
Dukan Diet is similar to the famous Atkins diet. Atkins and Dukan are much alike in terms of non-intake of carbs initially and do not require portion control or counting calorie consumptions. In Atkins, it requires net carbohydrate intakes and unlike Dukan, it suggests a daily intake of oats, increase water consumption and 20 minutes of everyday brisk walking. Dukan Diet adopts four phases namely: Attack, Cruise, Consolidation and Stabilization.
Four Phases of the Dukan Diet
Attack: In this starter phase, the dieter is only allowed take protein rich foods that are exquisitely low in fat. Dr. Dukan provided 72-item list of foods to be eaten, it excludes pork, lamb, poultry products and cheeses. Food should always be cooked but without adding any fat to it, it best to cook in grilling or roasting. It also requires you to eat 1 ½ tbsp. oat bran & 1.5 liters of water per day. This phase should be followed around 2-7 days or more. Results from this initial phase within 5 days may result in 4-7 lbs. loss. This phase promotes quick loss of weight since it is strictly based on a protein-only diet.
Cruise: Cruise, the second to the fourth phase of the Dukan diet scheme. During this phase dieters who were only allowed to eat protein-only foods can now alternate a 28-items of non-starchy vegetables. They may take attack phase diet for today and take non-starchy veggie diet for tomorrow, and so this phase must go on by alternating these two types of diet each day. This phase may last long enough as much as you want by reaching your desired weight and assuring 2 pounds per week loss.
Consolidation: As one achieves the desired weight, one has to go the next phase called Consolidation, this is the maintenance phase of this diet scheme where you have to prevent putting back excess pounds. The plan in this phase is less strict compared to the first two phases. During this phase you are permitted to eat protein-only and veggie diet along with a piece of low-sugar fruit, 2 slices of whole grain bread and a portion of hard cheese. In this phase you are allowed to have 1-2 serving of starchy foods and one celebration meal per week. The phase of consolidation does not expect to loss off pounds but rather it is steadily the maintenance process.
Stabilization: Stabilization is the final phase and a life-long phase of the diet scheme. In here maintenance of the life-changing diet may be a challenging and tempting. During this portion of the scheme, one is already permitted to allow any food intake that a person wants and by also sticking to the diet rule in the consolidation phase. As Pierre Dukan suggest, that staying on the phase 1 rule once a week and eat whatever you like for the rest of the week lowers the chances of regaining weight.
Pros and Cons of Dukan Diet
Pros: The fast results of this diet scheme is beneficially rewarding and motivating. It allows you to have protein and veggie meal plan diets and does not require you to count off your calorie intakes.
Cons: It is highly restrictive and can exclude healthy foods. Dieters can experience side-effects such as symptoms of headaches, nausea, lethargy, irritable and loss of concentration. Dieters may acquire halitosis (bad breath), metallic tasting mouth and strong smell in their urines. For those people who have problems with their kidneys and liver are not advised to follow this diet plan. It is not also recommended for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Views and Opinions by Health Experts on the Dukan Diet
There are lots of critics in this diet plan. Due to the restrictive type scheme of this diet, some fruits, grains and nuts which are healthy and have high amounts of vitamins and minerals that are vital to the nutrition of the body are eliminated. Keri Gans of American Dietetic Association, said that the lost amount of multivitamins that should be acquired from those restricted foods are not compensated in the Dukan diet. Experts have also criticized that experiencing such side-effects may not be healthy at all.