E-cigarettes flavours are toxic

Sugar and spice are not healthy when it comes to vaping or inhalation. Exposure to e-cigarette flavoring chemicals and liquids can cause significant inflammation to monocytes, a type of white blood cell and many flavoring compounds are also toxic, with cinnamon, vanilla and buttery flavors among the worst. That's the finding of new research published in open-access journal
Frontiers in Physiology, which also found that mixing e-cigarette flavors has a much worse effect than exposure to just one.

The use of e-cigarettes has exploded in the past decade as traditional cigarette consumption has declined. Vaping exposes the lungs to flavoring chemicals when the e-liquids are heated and inhaled. Since the flavoring chemicals are considered safe to eat, e-cigarettes are often considered and advertised as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes.

This new study, led by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in the United States, wanted to test the assumption that vaping nicotine-free flavored e-liquids is safer than smoking conventional cigarettes. Previous studies show that flavors used in e-cigarettes cause inflammatory and oxidative stress responses in lung cells.

Users of e-cigarettes also show increased levels oxidative stress markers in the blood compared to non-smokers. The new study extends this to assess the effects of commonly used flavoring chemicals, as well as e-liquids without nicotine, directly on immune cells-a type of white blood cell called monocytes.

Exposure to the e-cigarette flavoring chemicals and e-liquids led to higher production of two well-established biomarkers for inflammation and tissue damage mediated by oxidative stress. Furthermore, many of the flavoring chemicals caused significant cell death with some flavors being more toxic than others.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Smoking linked to heart disease and stroke

Smoking just one cigarette a day has a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke than expected. The researchers say their findings have important consequences for many smokers and health professionals who believe that smoking only a few cigarettes carries little or no harm. They argue that smokers should stop completely instead of cutting down to significantly reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke.

Individual studies have reported that smoking only one to five cigarettes per day is associated with a higher than expected risk of heart disease. To investigate this further, a team of researchers led by Professor Allan Hackshaw at the UCL Cancer Institute at University College London analysed the results of 141 studies and estimated the relative risks for smoking one, five, or 20 cigarettes per day. They found that men who smoked one cigarette per day had 46% of the excess risk of heart disease and 41% of the excess risk of stroke associated with smoking 20 cigarettes per day (much higher than the expected 5%).

For women, those who smoked one cigarette per day had 31% of the excess risk of heart disease and 34% of the excess risk of stroke associated with smoking 20 cigarettes per day. Women's heart disease risk was more than doubled with one cigarette per day, when only studies that controlled for several factors were included in the analysis. Large proportion of the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke comes from smoking only a couple of cigarettes each day.

Cardiovascular disease, not cancer, is the greatest mortality risk for smoking, causing about 48% of smoking-related premature deaths. Any exposure to smoking is too much, there is no safe level of smoking. Smokers should quit instead of cutting down, using appropriate cessation aids if needed, to significantly reduce their risk of stroke and heart disease.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Habits that increase the risk of cancer

Forty per cent of cancer deaths could be prevented with simple lifestyle changes. Quitting smoking, eating healthier and boozing less would stop the disease. Scientists suggest habits responsible for cancer with tobacco proving the biggest burden. Other habits, includes excessive UV radiation, obesity and not exercising enough can be blamed.

Researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, said the total amount is greater than 38 per cent because many deaths involved two factors. Even 'small improvements' would reduce the risk of dying prematurely from cancer, the Australian researchers claimed. Their findings, which also highlighted irresponsible sun tanning as a cause, were derived from an analysis of cancer deaths.

Obesity and infections were responsible for five per cent of the deaths while not exercising enough was blamed for 0.8 per cent.Dr David Whiteman, lead researcher of the study published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that the bad habits fueled 41 per cent of cancer deaths in men and 34 per cent in women because men smoke and drink more, spend more time in the sun and don't eat healthy foods.

The researchers concluded that the following eight habits are responsible for 38 per cent of cancer deaths. Researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, said the total amount is greater than 38 per cent because many deaths involved two factors. The habits are-Smoking, Poor diet, Boozing, UV radiation, Obesity, Infections, Inactivity and Hormones.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Effects of smoking on facial beauty

The latest evidence shows that smoking actually makes you less attractive to the opposite sex. Telltale wrinkles from puffing on a cigarette may be to blame for people judging non-smokers to be better-looking.This was the result of a study asking people to pick the most attractive of twins where one smoked and the other did not. Men found female non-smokers the most attractive in two-thirds of cases, while women chose non-smoking men as the most attractive.

Smoking can speed up the normal ageing, even after only a decade. Nicotine causes narrowing of the blood vessels in the outermost layers of the skin, while the chemicals in tobacco smoke damage collagen and elastin, fibres which give the skin its elasticity. The wrinkles this causes are added to by facial expressions made when smoking- such as pursing the lips when inhaling or squinting to keep smoke out of your eyes.

To test if smokers did look worse, the researchers asked more than people to pick the smoker and non-smoker from sets of twins. After finding smokers were easily identified, they created prototype pictures to make sure the twins’ facial expressions or poses could not alter the results. Using these images, tweaked by a computer to standardise how smokers and non-smokers looked, they asked which people found ‘more attractive’. The results show men and women both found the opposite sex more attractive when they did not smoke. But women also judged other females who did not smoke as more beautiful.
        haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Oral sex, alcohol and smoking can cause mouth cancer

Oral sex, smoking, drinking too much alcohol and a poor diet can increase the risk of mouth cancer. More than nine in ten mouth cancers are linked to lifestyle factors and the only way to curb this risk is by quitting or reducing habits such as smoking and drinking of alcohol.

Some types of oral cancer are linked to sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in the mouth and throat. Being diagnosed with mouth cancer remains fairly unlikely but could happen to anybody so it is really important to know what to look for and be proactive in looking for the early warnings signs.

Lookout for mouth ulcers that do not heal within three weeks, red or white patches and unusual lumps and swellings. Places to check include the floor and roof of your mouth, inside of the cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, head and neck. If you notice any of these, please make an appointment with your dentist.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Effects of parents' lifestyle on their children

The importance of parents' characteristics for their children's health is explained by poor living conditions in childhood lead to poverty in adulthood-which affects health and
the transmission of sound or ill health to children. Beyond the obvious common genetic inheritance across generations, parents' health also has an impact on their children's health by imparting habits and lifestyles.

Our research found that if a parent smoked when their child was young, the child was much more likely to smoke as an adult. A person's obesity in later life was more frequent when their parents were smokers and had a problem with alcohol. Obesity was one not only associated with parents having a problem with alcohol it was also associated with parent being smoker. If a person's father smoked when they were 12, they were almost twice as likely to smoke than people whose father did not smoke at all.

If mothers smoked, it increased the risk of their daughters smoking – but not their sons. The risk that a person would smoke was also higher among those whose father was a manual worker, and who had experienced periods of poverty during their childhood. Our findings should give pause for thought to those who devised the new NHS plans to stop smokers or obese patients from having surgery unless they quit smoking or lose weight.

The decision assumes that these patients' poor health is self induced, so they are made to choose between facing the consequences of their lifestyle or demonstrating a commitment to change. These sorts of public health policies don't take into account that lifestyle is strongly associated with circumstances beyond a person's control, especially their childhood circumstances and their parents' health and lifestyles.

Restricting their access to treatment appears especially unfair when people do not have equal opportunities to be in good health and to adopt healthy lifestyles. People would only be responsible for the share that isn't linked to their childhood conditions or their parents' choices. The study shows that, even without making this distinction between responsibility and true responsibility, the control of people on their health choices and their health status is limited.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Low testosterone levels reduces the risk of prostate cancer

Men with low testosterone may not develop prostate cancer. Reducing testosterone hormone could reduce the risk of the cancer. Scientists who examined different men discovered that those with the lowest testosterone levels were 20 per cent less likely to get the cancer.

One in eight men will develop prostate cancer, with approximately 46,700 cases a year. But little is known about what causes the disease, unlike most cancers, it does not seem to be linked to obesity, exercise, smoking or alcohol.

Prostate cancer tumours need testosterone to grow, men with lower levels are less likely to get the illness. Reducing the levels of testosterone could unravel ways to diagnose and treat fatal prostate cancers before they can do any harm.
           haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Mental health condition surpreses the immune system

According to new research, depression increases the risk of an early death.
Men's risk of a premature death increases three-fold when suffering from the mental health condition, while women's risk is heightened by up to 50 percent.

Depression causes the release of stress hormones that suppress the immune system, putting sufferers at an increased risk of conditions such as cancer. People with the mental health condition may have unhealthy lifestyle habits, including a poor diet, inactivity and excessive alcohol intake.

Researchers analyzed more than 3000 adults between 1952 and 1967, 1968 and 1990, and 1991 and 2011. The study's participants' had an average age of 50 when the trial started. Results reveal depression increases the risk of an early death by up to three times. Men's risk increases three-fold, while women's peaks at 51 percent.

Depression is linked to the release of stress hormones that suppress the immune system, putting sufferers at increased risk of disorders including multiple sclerosis, arthritis and some. cancers. People with depression may also neglect their physical health through lifestyle habits such as a poor diet, inactivity, smoking and excessive alcohol intake. The mental health condition is more prevalent in women, however, past findings suggest men suffer the effects of it more as they are often less inclined to seek help.

       haleplushearty.blogspot.com

E-cigarette can cause lung diseases

E-cigarettes lead to as many lung diseases as tobacco products,
researchers compared saliva samples from tobacco smokers, e-cigarette smokers and nonsmokers. They found that e-cigarette smokers were likely to develop dangerous proteins associated with lung diseases such as COPD and cystic fibrosis and that the devices are not better for people than regular cigarettes.

E-cigarettes might not be the ideal alternative smokers addicted to tobacco are looking for. Previous research has proven that e-cigarettes can cause lifelong damage to the heart, one puff of an e-cigarette is all it takes to increase the risk of having a heart attack. E-cigarette smokers have elevated levels of neutrophil-extracellular-trap NET related proteins in their airways. NET proteins fight off pathogens, but increased levels of them can lead to inflammatory lung illnesses.

E-cigarettes are as dangerous as smoking - just ONE puff could be all it takes to increase the risk of a heart attack. E-cigarettes do inflict life-long damage on nonsmokers' hearts that is similar to tobacco cigarettes. Replacing tobacco products with e-cigarettes is dangerous, some of the flavoring agents and other products used in e-cigarettes are toxic.

The proteins are associated with COPD and cystic fibrosis, both of which make it hard for patients to breathe. E-cigarette smokers also have increased NET levels outside of their lungs, according to the study. This can cause cell death in tissues that line organs and blood vessels. E-cigarette smokers have an increased risk of suffering from bronchitis, asthma, bronchiectasis and wheezing. E-cigarettes is as bad as tobacco cigarettes
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Ascorbic acid for treating vitamin C deficiency

Ascorbic acid - vitamin C occurs naturally in foods such as citrus fruit, tomatoes, potatoes, and leafy vegetables. Vitamin C is important for bones and connective tissues, muscles, and blood vessels.

Vitamin C also helps the body absorb iron, which is needed for red blood cell production. Ascorbic acid is used to treat and prevent vitamin C deficiency.
Smoking can make ascorbic acid less effective.

Dose needs may be different during pregnancy or while you are breast-feeding a baby. Do not use ascorbic acid without your doctor's advice in either case.

Drink plenty of liquids while you are taking ascorbic acid. The chewable tablet must be chewed before you swallow it. Ascorbic acid gum may be chewed as long as desired and then thrown away.

Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet. Swallow it whole. Measure liquid medicine with a special dose-measuring spoon or medicine cup. If you do not have a dose-measuring device, ask your pharmacist for one.

Keep the orally disintegrating tablet in the package until you are ready to take it. Use dry hands to remove the tablet and place it in your mouth. Do not swallow the tablet whole. Allow it to dissolve in your mouth without chewing. Swallow several times as the tablet dissolves.

Store ascorbic acid at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Do not stop using ascorbic acid suddenly after long-term use at high doses, or you could have "conditional" vitamin C deficiency.

Symptoms include bleeding gums, feeling very tired, and red or blue pinpoint spots around your hair follicles. Follow your doctor's instructions about tapering your dose. Conditional vitamin C deficiency can be difficult to correct without medical supervision.

Stop using ascorbic acid and call your doctor at once if you have: joint pain, weakness or tired feeling, weight loss, stomach pain; chills, fever, increased urge to urinate, painful or difficult urination; or severe pain in your side or lower back, blood in your urine.
Common side effects may include:
heartburn, nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Inhaler may relieve early stage of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD is used to describe progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory (non-reversible) asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis.

Common symptoms of COPD are :
increased breathlessness, frequent coughing, wheezing and tightness in the chest. The inhaler medication Spiriva (tiotropium bromide) may slow the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD if used in the early stage of the disease.

Researchers discovered that the drug helped patients preserve more lung function for over two years. It also reduces the symptom and boosts patients' quality of life. There is no cure for COPD, but there are therapies that can manage the symptoms.

The use of inhaler bronchodilators, relax the muscles around the airways and make it easier to breathe. Smoking, genetics and exposure to pollutants are the risk factors of developing COPD.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Vitamin B increases the risk of lungs cancer

According to a new study, high-dose and long-term use of vitamins B12, B6 and smoking increase the risk of lung cancer. Using high dose of vitamin B6 and B12 may leads to development of lungs cancer.

Researchers analyzed data from some patients and evaluate vitamin and other mineral supplements in relation to cancer risk. They discovered that men who take high-dose of vitamin B6 and B12 supplements for a decade had higher risks for developing lung cancer.

Human body needs vitamins B6 and B12 to ensure red blood cells are healthy and to process proteins, fat and carbohydrate. Foods rich in vitamin B are: meat, fish, cheese, eggs and milk, and fortified cereals.

 Some vitamin B supplements contained doses which were higher than the daily recommended amount, eating foods rich in vitamin B is enough for vitamins required. The discovery shows that taking high doses of B6 and B12 for a long period of time could increase the risk of developing lung cancer.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Children of older women may develop cancer

Increase in chromosomal mutations as we get older may increase the risk of giving birth to children that will develop cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Increasing chromosomal aberrations with older parental may cause stillbirth or a baby with conditions like autism and Down’s syndrome.

A chromosome mutation is an unpredictable change that occurs in a
chromosome. This change is caused by problems that occur during cell division process.

Increasing new mutations that happens in sperm or egg cells are associated with the parents age. These increases the risk of birth defects related to single gene mutations and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Older parents can reduce the risk by embracing healthy lifestyle, reducing alcohol intake, avoiding smoking and chemical exposure.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

The 16 genetic markers associated with short lifespan

How long we will live is encoded in our genome. Researchers have identified 16 genetic markers associated with a short lifespan. This reveals computational framework to uncover the genetics of our time of death and disease. It explained why some people live longer than others. 

 About 30 percent of the variation in human lifespan comes down to our genome. Changes in particular locations in our DNA sequence, such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), could be responsible for some of the reasons for our longevity.

Changes in the DNA is linked to age-related diseases. About 1 in 10 people carry some configurations of these markers that shorten their life by over a year compared with the population average. Those who inherited a lifespan-shortening version of one of these SNPs may die earlier than their mate. 

The researchers explore how the DNA changes affected lifespan in a holistic way. They discovered that most SNPs had an effect on lifespan by impacting more than a single disease or risk factor, for example through being more addicted to smoking as well as through being predisposed to schizophrenia.

The discovered SNPs and gene expression data, allowed the researchers to identify that lower brain expression of three genes neighbouring the SNPs- RBM6, SULT1A1 and CHRNA5, involved in nicotine dependence was linked to increased lifespan. These three genes could therefore act as biomarkers for surviving beyond 100 years. 

          haleplushearty.blogspot.com 

Neuroticism may postpone death

Having higher levels of trait of the neuroticism may reduce the risk of death for those that hav poor health. An aspect of neuroticism related to worry and feelings of vulnerability was associated with lower mortality, irrespective of state of health.

Being high in neuroticism may sometimes have a protective effect, perhaps by making people more vigilant about their health. People with high levels of neuroticism may experience negative emotions like irritability, frustration, nervousness, worry, and guilt compared with those who have lower levels of neuroticism.

 The link between neuroticism and risk of death may depend on how people rate their health. The protective effect was present in people who rated their health very low or does not really care about what will happen to their health.

Behaviors like smoking, exercise, diet and alcohol consumption did not have any link with vulnerability and mortality risk. Worry and vulnerability to sicknesses and diseases might encourage people to behave in a healthier way and hence lower their risk of sudden death.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Dementia risk factors

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases like Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. Healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of developing dementia.

Older people suffering from Alzheimer's disease are prone to dementia disease because of irregular blood supply to the brain.

Drinking of alcohol regularly increases the risk of dementia. Alcohol can damage the brain directly as a neurotoxin and by reducing nutrients that get to the brain.

The accumulation of fats and cholesterol in the lining of arteries can prevents blood flow to the brain.

Poor management of diabetes can leads to too much sugar in the blood which can damage brain and different organs in the body.

Genetics- Having more than one family member that have the disease increases the risk of developing it.

High blood pressure affects the white matter regions of the brain, and this can leads to dementia.

Depression has been associated with mild mental impairment and cognitive function decline.

Smoking exposes brain to toxins and hinders blood flow, smokers are prone to diseases that reduce blood flow to the brain.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Healthy heart leads to healthy brain

Healthy lifestyle at 20 protects the brain at 40 and prevents brain shrinkage.
Neuroscientists monitored some participants for more than two decades and discovered that those that follow healthy lifestyle had less brain shrinkage.

Healthy lifestyle of a low-cholesterol diet, regular exercise, no smoking and eating less sugar at 20 prevents brain shrinkage at 40.

The American Heart Association created seven simple steps to improve heart health, these are- maintaining a healthy blood pressure, controlling cholesterol, reducing blood sugar, being active, eating healthy foods, losing weight and no smoking.

There is a link between smoking and smaller brain volume. Smoking can leads to thinning of the brain cortex, the outer part of the brain that is crucial for cognition.

Smoking increases the blood pressure and put the brain at the risk of stroke. A stroke occurs when high blood pressure causes the tiny vessels of the brain to break, causing bleeding.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

How to manage asthma

Asthma is a respiratory condition marked by attacks of spasm in the bronchi of the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing.

Treatment of asthma starts with the
controlling the symptoms, normalizing the lungs function and adjusting medication in response to changes.

Bronchodilator is used for treatment of chronic asthma. Acute exacerbations in people with mild persistent, moderate persistent, and severe persistent asthma.

A bronchodilator is a substance that dilates the bronchi and bronchioles, decreasing resistance in the respiratory airway and increasing airflow to the lungs.

Inhaler is recommended for all asthma patients, patients with more constant asthma should use asthma maintenance medications.

Effective treatment for asthma must involve a physical and breathing examination, spirometry testing should be repeated every year if the patient did not get better.

Chest imaging is recommended if the patient has a smoking history, chemical exposure, lungs disease and lungs cancer.

Asthma control medication
For mild intermittent asthma- Cromolyn sodium, nedocromil, low-dose inhaled corticosteroid and leukotriene modifier are used.

Moderate persistent asthma medium dose inhaled corticosteroid alone with cromolyn sodium or nedocromil, leukotriene modifier and long-acting bronchodilator.

Severe persistent asthma - High-dose inhaled corticosteroids, oral corticosteroids; high-dose inhaled corticosteroids plus leukotriene modifier, plus long-acting bronchodilator, plus leukotriene modifier, plus long-acting bronchodilator.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

How to detoxify lungs

Tobacco smoking is the major cause of lung disease, other causes are air pollution, dusts and lower respiratory infections.

Lungs are constantly exposed to killer pollutants and microbes that get deposited from the air inhaled from the atmosphere.

Smoking changes pink lungs into black, regular detoxification of lungs can reverse the colour and keeps the lungs healthy. Lungs can be detoxify by:

Putting end to smoking and exposure to smoke, nicotine and tobacco smoke can compromise lungs function and increase the risk of lung cancer.

Engaging in breathing exercises that promote deep breathing can detoxify the lungs. The exercise increases blood flow to the lungs.

Drinking enough water, ginger juice carrot juice and lemon juice supply blood to the lungs, this prevents bacteria infections.
        haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Working for long hours causes irregular heartbeat

According to the latest research, working more than 55 hours a week increases the risk of developing serious heart problems.

Long hours of work increases the risk of irregular heartbeat by 40 per cent than those that work for normal hours or less while long shifts increase the risk of stroke.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm problem, it is affecting many people and can lead to stroke, heart failure and dementia. Researchers discovered that long working hours are associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

Common cause of cardiovascular disease are older age, male sex, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, overweight, smoking and sedentary lifestyle.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com