In today’s highly competitive world, almost everyone has been related to different types of stress; may be one form or the other. Almost every working person or a job holder has associated or complaining of work stress.
Stress in any form is not at all good for a person. In a worst side, it can cause health problems and tensions at home and performance issues at work. Psychologists and counselors advise that employees should identify the cause of their stress and tackle it head on. But often, work stress is a combination of factors. In that case, it is very important to improve the ability to cope with stress.
Some of such tips are as follows:
• Mini – breaks: Continuous working without a break affects in a long run as our mind cannot function efficiently non-stop. It is advisable to take 3 to 5 minutes break every 1 or 2 hours.
• Hobby and a friends’ help: Try and squeeze in a 10- to 15-minute break once every three hours and use that time to pursue activities that give you pleasure. If you can’t afford to get away from your desk, try listening to soothing music.
• The right foods: When we are stressed out, some of us tend to eat more. Do yourself a favor by keeping some healthy snacks around. These could include dried fruits, peanuts, cut-up carrots and cucumbers.
• Nice surroundings: Having a desk or a cubicle is almost like at home during the work day. Try and keep the work-space tidy. Try adding a personal touch to the workplace, like a family photo –something which reminds you what all the hard work is for.
• Time Management: Learn to prioritize your work and do the planning accordingly. You can come to work 30 minutes before everyone else and use that quite time for thinking and planning for the day. Stay late at office once in a while if you need to but don’t carry the pending work.
• Deep breathing: Sometimes when we are seriously stressed out, we are so focused on our work that our breathing becomes shallow. Take a minute to breathe deeply a few times and you will feel relaxed almost immediately.
• Exercise: Exercise can burn off the excess energy created during the stress build-up, thereby easing the tension. So make it a point to exercise often, even if it’s for a short period of time. It makes one feel happy because exercise releases the feel-good hormones.
• Better Lifestyle Choices: Individuals should make lifestyle choices which make them physically fit, which in turn, helps them cope with stress better. Get adequate hours of sleep which is something that people these days don’t really get.
28 March 2011
14 March 2011
Simple Blood Test Detects Early Emphysema in Smokers
Researchers Say the Test, Which Measures Destruction of Lung Air Sacs, Could Help Prevent Progression of the Common, and Fatal, Lung Disease
During a regular annual physical exam, blood is usually drawn to check the health of a person's heart, kidneys and liver. Now, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center say a blood test that detects the early development of emphysema -- well before symptoms occur -- may someday also be offered.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the researchers say that because most cases of emphysema are caused by smoking, the test they are developing can warn smokers about impending development of the untreatable disease which is currently a major cause of disability and death in the U.S.
Not all smokers develop emphysema, but those who find out they are at risk will be motivated to quit to halt progression of the disease, says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, chairman and professor of genetic medicine and the Bruce Webster Professor of Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
"We know, from other studies, that smokers who learn from objective evidence that their health is in danger are much more likely to quit," he says. "That is the only thing that will help them avoid this deadly disorder."
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the twin disorders that make up chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is now the fourth leading cause of death in Americans. Given the aging population, COPD is soon expected to move up to third in mortality prevalence, Dr. Crystal says.
The new test measures particles that are shed by tiny blood vessels known as capillaries that surround air sacs (alveoli) in lungs. These particles are debris shed by ongoing injury to the air sacs -- damage that eventually results in devastation of the sacs and the "Swiss cheese" appearance of the lungs. The alveoli are where critical gas exchanges occur: blood in the capillaries brings carbon dioxide from the rest of the body for release into the air sacs, and the oxygen in the sacs (taken in from breathing) is taken up by the blood and transported to the rest of the body.
As the sacs are destroyed, people develop shortness of breath because they cannot take in enough oxygen to feed the body and eventually cannot remove carbon dioxide from the blood.
Dr. Crystal and his colleagues reasoned that as capillaries surrounding the air sacs are being injured, the debris would be carried out by the blood supply and could potentially be quantified as a disease biomarker. So they began to look for evidence of what they called endothelial microparticles (EMP).
"Our blood vessels are always being replenished, so we all have some level of EMPs in our blood," he says. "What we are looking for are elevated levels of EMPs. For smokers, this is the equivalent of a smoke detector sounding its alarm; elevated levels of EMPs suggest their air sacs are being injured and it is time to act."
To do this, the researchers enrolled three groups of people -- healthy nonsmokers, healthy smokers, and smokers with early evidence of lung destruction. Study participants had their medical histories taken, and to gauge lung function in these participants, all underwent two pulmonary function tests. One is spirometry, which measures the volume and speed of air as it is inhaled and exhaled from the lungs. The other, known as DLCO, is the only lung function test available today that can detect emphysema in patients. It uses a machine that measures the ability of gases to diffuse across the alveolar-capillary membrane.
The researchers found a 95 percent positive correlation between elevated EMPs in the blood and an abnormal DLCO test result, meaning that it detected nearly all verified cases of early emphysema in participants.
Two other independent groups of participants were then given the same group of tests -- spirometry, DLCO and the EMP blood test -- and, once again, a positive EMP finding correlated with an abnormal DLCO 95 percent of the time. Differences in the spirometry findings had no bearing on results of DLCO or EMP.
DLCO, which must be administered by a pulmonologist, is most often used to confirm a suspicion of emphysema, Dr. Crystal says. By contrast, the EMP blood test is designed to be a simple, low-cost screening tool that can pick up development of emphysema in individuals who show no signs of the disorder.
"We need a blood test that can be administered to the 20 percent of American adults who smoke as well as nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke -- all who may not understand their risk of developing this progressive lung disease," says Dr. Crystal.
The researchers are conducting further studies of the EMP test in larger groups of participants in order to validate these initial findings.
For more info Visit, www.nyp.org and weill.cornell.edu
During a regular annual physical exam, blood is usually drawn to check the health of a person's heart, kidneys and liver. Now, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center say a blood test that detects the early development of emphysema -- well before symptoms occur -- may someday also be offered.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the researchers say that because most cases of emphysema are caused by smoking, the test they are developing can warn smokers about impending development of the untreatable disease which is currently a major cause of disability and death in the U.S.
Not all smokers develop emphysema, but those who find out they are at risk will be motivated to quit to halt progression of the disease, says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, chairman and professor of genetic medicine and the Bruce Webster Professor of Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
"We know, from other studies, that smokers who learn from objective evidence that their health is in danger are much more likely to quit," he says. "That is the only thing that will help them avoid this deadly disorder."
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the twin disorders that make up chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is now the fourth leading cause of death in Americans. Given the aging population, COPD is soon expected to move up to third in mortality prevalence, Dr. Crystal says.
The new test measures particles that are shed by tiny blood vessels known as capillaries that surround air sacs (alveoli) in lungs. These particles are debris shed by ongoing injury to the air sacs -- damage that eventually results in devastation of the sacs and the "Swiss cheese" appearance of the lungs. The alveoli are where critical gas exchanges occur: blood in the capillaries brings carbon dioxide from the rest of the body for release into the air sacs, and the oxygen in the sacs (taken in from breathing) is taken up by the blood and transported to the rest of the body.
As the sacs are destroyed, people develop shortness of breath because they cannot take in enough oxygen to feed the body and eventually cannot remove carbon dioxide from the blood.
Dr. Crystal and his colleagues reasoned that as capillaries surrounding the air sacs are being injured, the debris would be carried out by the blood supply and could potentially be quantified as a disease biomarker. So they began to look for evidence of what they called endothelial microparticles (EMP).
"Our blood vessels are always being replenished, so we all have some level of EMPs in our blood," he says. "What we are looking for are elevated levels of EMPs. For smokers, this is the equivalent of a smoke detector sounding its alarm; elevated levels of EMPs suggest their air sacs are being injured and it is time to act."
To do this, the researchers enrolled three groups of people -- healthy nonsmokers, healthy smokers, and smokers with early evidence of lung destruction. Study participants had their medical histories taken, and to gauge lung function in these participants, all underwent two pulmonary function tests. One is spirometry, which measures the volume and speed of air as it is inhaled and exhaled from the lungs. The other, known as DLCO, is the only lung function test available today that can detect emphysema in patients. It uses a machine that measures the ability of gases to diffuse across the alveolar-capillary membrane.
The researchers found a 95 percent positive correlation between elevated EMPs in the blood and an abnormal DLCO test result, meaning that it detected nearly all verified cases of early emphysema in participants.
Two other independent groups of participants were then given the same group of tests -- spirometry, DLCO and the EMP blood test -- and, once again, a positive EMP finding correlated with an abnormal DLCO 95 percent of the time. Differences in the spirometry findings had no bearing on results of DLCO or EMP.
DLCO, which must be administered by a pulmonologist, is most often used to confirm a suspicion of emphysema, Dr. Crystal says. By contrast, the EMP blood test is designed to be a simple, low-cost screening tool that can pick up development of emphysema in individuals who show no signs of the disorder.
"We need a blood test that can be administered to the 20 percent of American adults who smoke as well as nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke -- all who may not understand their risk of developing this progressive lung disease," says Dr. Crystal.
The researchers are conducting further studies of the EMP test in larger groups of participants in order to validate these initial findings.
For more info Visit, www.nyp.org and weill.cornell.edu
06 March 2011
Cereal with milk best way to start the day
A new study has revealed that the healthiest breakfast choice is cereal with milk.
According to the research, breakfast is the key to a healthy lifestyle determining the quality of your whole day's nutrition.
And the best way to start the morning is with a simple bowl of cereal, as it makes people less likely to turn to fatty, sugary food through the rest of the day.
The study, by nutritionist Sigrid Gibson, and published in the BNF Nutrition Bulletin, revealed that cereal is a good source of calcium and numerous other key nutrients, such as fibre, protein and carbohydrate.
The research team analysed 12,068 food records from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, which interviewed Britons aged from 19 to 64.
The results showed that one in five adults ate no solid food for breakfast, one third chose cereal and 45 percent enjoyed a non-cereal breakfast. The most popular item was tea or coffee, taken on 84 percent of breakfast occasions.
Milk was consumed with 82 per cent of breakfasts, followed by cereal (39 percent), bread (33 percent) and fruit (14 percent).
Women were less likely than men to choose bread, sausage, bacon or eggs and more likely to have fruit instead.
The study found that eating breakfast was associated with a lower fat and higher carbohydrate intake over 24 hours compared with skipping breakfast.
But this was mainly attributable to cereal-based breakfasts as non-cereal meals were associated with a higher intake of saturated fatty acid and lower protein intakes.
"This provides yet more evidence of the importance of eating breakfast and shows the value of making wise choices," a newspaper quoted Newcastle University's nutrition professor Chris Seal, a member of The Breakfast Panel which commissioned the study, as saying.
"People who eat breakfast cereal generally eat less fat, saturated fat and sugar than those who do not and have better intakes of protein and important micro-nutrients, such as iron, vitamins and calcium."
According to the research, breakfast is the key to a healthy lifestyle determining the quality of your whole day's nutrition.
And the best way to start the morning is with a simple bowl of cereal, as it makes people less likely to turn to fatty, sugary food through the rest of the day.
The study, by nutritionist Sigrid Gibson, and published in the BNF Nutrition Bulletin, revealed that cereal is a good source of calcium and numerous other key nutrients, such as fibre, protein and carbohydrate.
The research team analysed 12,068 food records from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, which interviewed Britons aged from 19 to 64.
The results showed that one in five adults ate no solid food for breakfast, one third chose cereal and 45 percent enjoyed a non-cereal breakfast. The most popular item was tea or coffee, taken on 84 percent of breakfast occasions.
Milk was consumed with 82 per cent of breakfasts, followed by cereal (39 percent), bread (33 percent) and fruit (14 percent).
Women were less likely than men to choose bread, sausage, bacon or eggs and more likely to have fruit instead.
The study found that eating breakfast was associated with a lower fat and higher carbohydrate intake over 24 hours compared with skipping breakfast.
But this was mainly attributable to cereal-based breakfasts as non-cereal meals were associated with a higher intake of saturated fatty acid and lower protein intakes.
"This provides yet more evidence of the importance of eating breakfast and shows the value of making wise choices," a newspaper quoted Newcastle University's nutrition professor Chris Seal, a member of The Breakfast Panel which commissioned the study, as saying.
"People who eat breakfast cereal generally eat less fat, saturated fat and sugar than those who do not and have better intakes of protein and important micro-nutrients, such as iron, vitamins and calcium."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)