Tag Archives: nutrition and disease

Relieve Gout Attacks Fast Without Prescription Drugs

This guest post comes from Gale Tern, author, alternative health proponent, and blogger at Arthritis Pain Central.

Gout is usually thought of as the big toe disease since one of its most common symptoms is acute pain in the big toe. Gout is actually a type of arthritis. Here is how the National Institutes of Health defines gout: “Gout is a painful condition that occurs when the bodily waste product uric acid is deposited as needle-like crystals in the joints and/or soft tissues. In the joints, these uric acid crystals cause inflammatory arthritis, which in turn leads to intermittent swelling, redness, heat, pain, and stiffness in the joints.”

What Causes Gout?

The major risk factors for gout are:

  • Family history. Genetics seems to play a role. If your parents or grandparents suffered from this disease there is a high likelihood that you will as well.
  • Weight. Being overweight also increases the risk of developing gout. Some researchers suggest that due to having more tissue mass that can breakdown inherently leads to even greater production of uric acid.

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Nutritional Healing For Lupus Sufferers

This guest post comes from Gale Tern, author, alternative health proponent, and blogger at Arthritis Pain Central.

According to mainstream medical literature, lupus is one of many disorders of the immune system known as auto-immune disease. The immune system is supposed to protect the body from invaders like harmful bacteria and viruses. However, in the case of auto-immune diseases, the immune system actually attacks parts of the body it is supposed to protect.

The theory is that when your body turns on itself and begins to damage cells and body tissue, this leads to inflammation. And so the inflammation you see associated with lupus is really a symptom of the disease. Lupus affects all parts of the body including the heart, kidneys, joints, skin, lungs, brain, tendons, and blood vessels. The most common symptoms of lupus include extreme pain, inflammation, kidney problems, swelling of the joints, fever, weight gain, and skin rashes.

The thing about lupus is that it discriminates. It primarily affects women. In fact, approximately ninety percent of all lupus cases affect women in their thirties.

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How to Prevent Cholera while Traveling

Water TravelThe recent and widespread outbreak of cholera in Haiti has lead many people to wonder about the spread of this treatable, yet potentially deadly infectious disease. The major symptom of cholera is severe diarrhea, which can rapidly lead to dehydration.

Cholera is caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae, which contaminates water via fecal matter. While cholera is not a common disease in the U.S., it is something travelers should be mindful of when in less urban areas of south Asia, Africa and Latin America. When traveling in these regions, you should avoid any water that is untreated, including municipal water that may not be properly processed.

Common sources of cholera to avoid:

  • Municipal or untreated water
  • Ice made from municipal or untreated water
  • Foods and drinks sold by street vendors
  • Vegetables grown with water containing human wastes
  • Raw or undercooked seafood from areas with polluted water (particularly in tropical areas)
  • Raw and unpeeled fruits and vegetables
  • Unpasteurized milk and milk products

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Woman Eats 60 Meals Every Day, Weighs Less Than 60 Pounds

Lizzie Velasquez, a 21-year-old woman from Austin, Texas, has almost zero body fat, and appears to be on death’s door. But this is not a self-inflicted condition that she finds herself in. Velasquez has a rare, and as of yet unknown, disease that keep her from gaining weight.

To hold onto her frail existence, Velasquez eats every 15 minutes, or as many as 60 small meals every day. That amounts to between 5,000 and 8,000 calories every day of her life.

“I weigh myself regularly and if I gain even one pound I get really excited,” say Velasquez.

Lizzie was born four weeks early and weighed just two pounds 10 ounces.

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