Could I Have Dysphagia?

Having trouble swallowing your food or having dysphagia can be serious issue.  According to NIDCD, National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders, often, dysphagia makes it difficult to take in enough calories and fluids to nourish the body and can lead to additional serious medical problems.  This disease mostly effects the elderly, however, swallowing disorders can effect anyone.

Generally this problem accompanies other neurological disorders.  Some neurological conditions that can cause swallowing difficulties are:
- stroke (the most common cause of dysphagia)
- traumatic brain injury
- cerebral palsy
- Parkinson disease and other degenerative neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease)
- multiple sclerosis
- progressive supranuclear palsy
- Huntington disease
- myasthenia gravis

The NINDS or National Institute of  Neurological Disorders and Stroke points out that changing a person's diet by adding thickeners helps many people, as does learning different ways to eat and chew that reduce the risk for aspiration.  Medicines and surgery may be necessary for some people, but also holding your head or neck a certain way while eating can make swallowing easier.  For a more serious problem, feeding tubes may be necessary.

RECOMMENDED READING

The Dysphagia Cookbook

Swallow Safely: How Swallowing Problems Threaten the Elderly and Others. A Caregiver's Guide to Recognition, Treatment, and Prevention

Dysphagia: Diagnosis and Management

Does Fruit Contribute to a High Caries Rate?

Simple carbohydrates that contain vitamins and minerals occur naturally in fruits, vegetables and milk and milk byproducts.  Simple carbohydrates are also found in processed and refined sugars such as candy, regular/non-diet carbonated beverages, syrups, and table sugar.  These refined sugars provide calories, but no nutrients, vitamins or minerals.   Simple carbohydrates are broken down quickly by the body providing energy states A.D.A.M., the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission  (www.urac.org) or it's second corporate name DBA..

Frequent consumption of simple carbohydrates, primarily in the form of dietary sugars is significantly associated with increased dental caries risk, reports the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine.

Over 10 years ago, it was concluded that a high consumption of various fruits over a long period is associated with a high caries experience, says IBID, the International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements. The IBID composes information from the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, USDA Agriculture Research Service, and National Agricultural Library.  I have not been able to find studies more recent, but epidemiological studies show that consumption of starchy staple foods and fresh fruit are associated with low levels of dental caries, according to WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutrition and Oral Health, School of Dental Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.



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Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated 2nd Edition: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet




Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- and How YouCan Get Back on Track


HORSES WERE BORN TO BE ON GRASS - How We Discovered the Simple But Undeniable Truth About Grass, Sugar, Equine Diet, & Lifestyle (eBook Nuggets from The Soul of a Horse)

Which is Better for Dentistry: Valium or Nitrous?

So, you're apprehensive about going to the dentist.  You have a few appointments, some of them rather long.  The dentist suggests valium or nitrous oxide for you to take.  Which one should you choose?  Generally your dentist would recommend one of these for you, if necessary.  But to help you decide, here is some information about the two.

Valium -

• inform your dentist/doctor if you have glaucoma, asthma or other breathing problems, kidney or liver disease, seizures, or a history of drug or alcohol addiction, mental illness, depression, or suicidal thoughts
  
• do not drink alcohol while taking Valium. This medicine can increase the effects of alcohol
• may be habit-forming and should be used only by the person it was prescribed for
• sedative effects of Valium may last longer in older adults
• may cause low blood pressure, breathing problems, or addiction and withdrawal symptoms in a newborn if the mother takes the medication during pregnancy.
• An overdose of Valium can be fatal

Do not take valium if you have:

• severe liver disease
  
• narrow-angle glaucoma
  
• a severe breathing problem
  

Nitrous Oxide -

•  works by relaxing smooth muscle to widen (dilate) blood vessels, especially in the lungs
• is given in a controlled medical setting by a healthcare professional, an overdose is not likely to occur
• blood pressure, oxygen levels, and other vital signs will be watched closely during treatment with nitrous oxide
• an overdose of nitrious oxide is not expected to produce life-threatening symptoms
•  a drug interaction between nitrous oxide and other medications is not expected to occur

The dentist may make a suggestion after talking to you in order to obtain a calm patient by establishing pain and tolerance control, dynamic regulation of the blood flow in the brain and safely preparing the patient for surgery.  Nitrous is available and given to children, as well as, adults.  The ADA, American Dental Association confirms that you and your dentist can work together to make you feel more comfortable even during complex dental procedures.

RECOMMENDED READING

Paradise In The Dental Office

Eliminating Anxiety

The Fearful Dental Patient: A Guide to Understanding and Managing

Are Anti-Aging Products Effective and Safe?

There are many anti-aging products out there.  Many of them even go by the name of cosmeceutical.  The Clinical Dermatology Center, Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA claims that many of the products that are classified as cosmeceuticals are tested less vigorously and do not have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration to establish efficacy and safety.  

The word cosmeceutical, that you may or may not heard of, has no meaning under the law and is not recognizable by the FDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA uses the words drugs or cosmetics for its classification.  The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, FD&C Act defines drugs as those products that cure, treat, mitigate or prevent disease or that affect the structure or function of the human body. While drugs are subject to a review and approval process by FDA, cosmetics are not approved by FDA prior to sale.  I could not find any studies done to determine if cosmeceuticals really work in reducing wrinkles.

Although topical creams and other anti-aging products purport to reduce the appearance of aging and skin wrinkling, there has been no critical analysis in the scientific literature of their effectiveness., states the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, Devon, UK.  The College also mentions that few trials have been done with anti-aging materials.  As for the information that was found, a significant reduction in skin wrinkling was noted for date kernel extract, cork extract, soy extract, Rosaceae and peony extract. No significant reduction was noted for green tea, Vitaphenol® (a combination of green and white teas, mangosteen and pomegranate extract) or maca root.

What we eat has always been something to consider to prevent aging.  Food with antioxidants has been thought to slow the aging process, but according to The National Institute on Aging, studies of antioxidant-laden foods and supplements in humans have yielded little support for the premise that antioxidants could slow the aging process.  The Cleveland Clinic explains that eating a diet rich in antioxidant-containing foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, has been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, but not to the prevention of aging.   Many claim that a reduction in calories may reduce the aging process, although that idea and process needs more research as does intermittent fasting to lengthen a life.

RECOMMENDED READING

The Anti-Aging Plan: The Nutrient-Rich, Low-Calorie Way of Eating for a Longer Life--The Only Diet Scientifically Proven to Extend Your Healthy Years

The Youth Pill: Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution

Feed Your Skin, Starve Your Wrinkles: Eat Your Way to Firmer, More Beautiful Skin with the 100 Best Anti-Aging Foods

Look and Feel Fabulous Forever: The World's Best Supplements, Anti-Aging Techniques, and High-Tech

Are Writstbands Effective for Eliminating Mosquito Bites?

Wristbands are everywhere.  They are used for identification by their color coding.  They are used for the protection against nausea and there are some for the protection against mosquitoes.  Some of the wristbands for the protection against mosquitos contain DEET and some do not.  DEET, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, is designed for direct application to human skin to repel insects, rather than kill them.  Products containing DEET are registered with the EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency.  The CDC, Center for Disease Control, recommends use of insect repellents when out-of-doors. Studies submitted to EPA indicate that DEET repels ticks for about three to eight hours, depending on the percentage of DEET in the product.

• Products containing 23.8% DEET provide an average of 5 hours of protection from mosquito bites
• Products containing 20% DEET provide almost 4 hours of protection 
• Products with 6.65% DEET provide almost 2 hours of protection 
• Products with 4.75% DEET were both able to provide roughly 1 and a half hour of protection 

As far as wristbands, I could not find many studies on them.  Ethiopia is the only place that has provided any information on the wristbands and they are supporting them.  They do say that DEET-impregnated fabric strips at a concentration of 1.5 mg/cm(2) provided 4 hours of complete protection against mosquito bites and the reduction of man-landing rate varied between 51.21 and 100%.

The present data suggest that DMP, dimethyl phthalate, treated wristbands are most promising against both day and night-biting mosquitoes and significantly reducing the man-vector contact. Therefore, it could serve as a potential as means of personal protection device against insect nuisance biting and insect-borne disease when and where other kinds of personal protection measures are impossible and impracticable, according to College of Public Health & Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.

RECOMMENDED READING

Mosquito

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale

Mosquito: The Story of Man's Deadliest Foe

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