5 Effective Treatments for Substance Abuse and Addiction
Health

5 Effective Treatments for Substance Abuse and Addiction

Beating an addiction isn’t easy! And proactive measures are essential for treating risk factors. One of them is emotional distress. Anxiety, sadness, and other strong negative emotions can make people dependent on alcohol. But, few treatments can relieve such emotions and treat alcohol abuse in a natural way. These don’t cost much and they improve overall mental and physical health too. So, let’s get to these natural remedies right away. Art Therapy Art is an outlet for emotional release. Creating art is a safe way to express oneself. While substance abuse or alcoholism can suppress emotions, art therapy can help vent out those emotions. The process of creating art leads to the acceptance of emotions without blaming oneself for it. Also, knowing that something beautiful can come out of emotional release, makes one appreciative of emotions. Other than art, hobbies like strumming the guitar or writing in a diary can lower anxiety levels and also boost self-esteem. Adding Cayenne Pepper to Food Another way to quit alcohol naturally is to reduce its cravings. Cayenne pepper cures intense urges to consume alcohol. It also helps with the irritability that often occurs with detox. During alcohol detox, people lose their appetites and don’t receive necessary nutrients.
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6 Ways to Manage GERD Effectively
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6 Ways to Manage GERD Effectively

A person with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) suffers from recurring acid reflux. In this condition, the acid in the stomach often makes its way up into the esophagus. Over time this can damage the esophagus’ lining. Few lifestyle changes, however, can manage symptoms of GERD. Making good dietary decisions like avoiding a few foods can treat acid reflux. Even simple measures like altering the way we eat can make one healthier. Here are six lifestyle tips for managing GERD symptoms. Avoid foods that trigger reflux This is the most necessary lifestyle shift to make. Few foods, including chocolate, caffeinated beverages, sodas, fries, fatty, and spicy food, create acid reflux in the body. By eliminating these foods, one can reduce acid formation in the stomach. It can also relieve the esophagus of irritation that is caused by GERD. Effective dietary changes can go a long way in treating GERD. Maintain posture after eating Food is digested better when the body is in an upright posture after a meal. So, sit straight or do some light walking after eating. This reduces the chances of acid reflux. Also, wait for two hours until you lie down after a meal. This ensures that the matter in the stomach doesn’t flow into the esophagus.
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8 Foods to Avoid if You Have Asthma
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8 Foods to Avoid if You Have Asthma

People suffering from asthma need to ensure that their diet does not create complications for their conditions. Therefore, it is important to make healthier diet choices that help them manage asthma and its symptoms. While no specific foods can trigger an asthma attack, there are certain food allergies that could. Moreover, unhealthy foods can also cause obesity, creating complications for asthma patients. To help you, here are some foods that one should avoid if they have asthma. Dried foods Processed and dried foods contain large amounts of sulfites such as potassium bisulfite and sodium sulfite in them. These are considered harmful to people suffering from asthma. Sulfites are used as preservatives in pickled food, dried food, wine, etc, and are added to foods to increase their shelf life. Gassy Foods A patient suffering from asthma should avoid consuming vegetables and other types of food that can cause excessive bloating and gas. This could put a lot of pressure on the diaphragm, which can cause difficulty in breathing. So foods like beans, onions, garlic, carbonated drinks, and cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, etc. should be avoided. Eggs Egg allergies are highly possible in children and sometimes get taken lightly. A serious asthma reaction could be caused due to consumption of eggs if the person is allergic to them; hence, asthma patients should avoid eating eggs altogether.
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8 Natural Ways to Manage ADHD Symptoms
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8 Natural Ways to Manage ADHD Symptoms

National surveys say that millions of children are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) every year. The signs and symptoms of ADHD include short attention span, forgetfulness, inability to sit through a tedious task, constant fidgeting and impulsiveness, and many more. Some symptoms of ADHD can have a serious impact on the child’s confidence and discipline at a growing age. While medication is available to treat this condition, there are natural remedies—for both children and adults—that involve a few dietary and lifestyle changes to relieve the symptoms. Some of them are: Omega-3 fatty acids Omega-3 fatty acids play an important part in the smooth functioning of the brain. Many ADHD patients fail to incorporate an adequate amount of omega-3 fatty acids in their diets. Unlike other fats, the body doesn’t produce omega-3, so the fat needs to be given to it through some foods. Foods such as fish oil, salmon, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, and soybean oil are good sources of this essential nutrient. Protein-rich foods A well-balanced, protein-rich diet can help manage ADHD symptoms effectively. Protein also curbs the spike in blood sugar levels, thereby containing hyperactivity. This, in turn, enables patients to stay calm and focused on the task.
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Lifestyle Management Tips for  Hemophilia
Health

Lifestyle Management Tips for Hemophilia

Hemophilia is a condition in which the body’s normal blood-clotting mechanisms are absent, due to which blood continues to flow for a longer time in case of injuries. This can result in excessive loss of blood. Hemophilia is classified into three types. Hemophilia A is caused due to the lack of blood clotting factor VIII; hemophilia B is caused due to the absence of clotting factor IX; and hemophilia C is a result of the lack of clotting factor XI. When battling hemophilia, the most important thing to remember is to be extra careful of your muscles and joints. Here are some lifestyle tips for hemophilia patients to help them maintain their condition effectively: Exercise Moving the body and remaining active and fit is important for hemophilia patients. While contact sports and other potentially injurious activities must be avoided, regular mobility training and stretching can be helpful in improving muscle and bone strength. This will also help in keeping the joints active, while preventing any injury that may occur due to lack of mobility. Practice good dental hygiene Maintaining your dental health and taking good care of your teeth and gums is a step in the right direction to avoid any accident that may lead to excessive bleeding.
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Lesser Known Symptoms of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)
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Lesser Known Symptoms of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease caused by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs that carry oxygen from the heart’s right side to the other parts of the body. It’s a progressive disorder that can affect the patient’s reasonable quality of life due to its symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, and dizzy spells. While these are the common early signs of PAH, there are symptoms of this disease that many people may not be aware of. Swelling in legs, hands or belly Since the patient’s heart cannot pump enough blood, it results in the retention of fluid. The fluid then invades the alveoli replacing the air and doesn’t allow oxygen to reach the other organs. This condition causes swelling in the hands, ankle, legs, feet, or abdomen. Blue lips Oxygen is responsible for pumping the healthy red blood cells through the body, and that’s what keeps us going. But the red blood cells of a PAH patient carry inadequate amounts of oxygen, resulting in a pale, blue complexion. In the most severe cases, the lips of the patient turn blue. Irregular heartbeat A PAH patient’s heart works twice as hard to pump oxygen resulting in high blood pressure.
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5 Foods to Avoid for Multiple Sclerosis
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5 Foods to Avoid for Multiple Sclerosis

At first, changing one’s dietary habits to manage multiple sclerosis, a condition that affects the central nervous system, may not seem to help much. However, evidence suggests that avoiding certain foods reduces the overall inflammation associated with the disease. Poor food choices can also worsen the condition, contributing to cognitive changes and weak bowel or bladder function. Read on to know which foods to avoid for managing multiple sclerosis better: Saturated fats Saturated fats are directly linked to heart disease and are best avoided by multiple sclerosis patients. Primarily, fats that come from animal sources like red meat, full-fat cheese, butter, and whole milk and yogurt, along with fats from plant sources like coconut and palm oil, should be avoided. Less than 10 percent of the total calories each day should come from saturated fats if one is trying to lower their risk of multiple sclerosis and cholesterol levels. Sugar Cookies, cakes, and sugary beverages are among the top foods to avoid for managing multiple sclerosis. Sugary foods and drinks just add extra calories to the diet without any nutritional value. Packing pounds makes it more difficult to manage the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and triggers inflammation, which may worsen the condition.
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Foods to Avoid for Arthritis Management
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Foods to Avoid for Arthritis Management

The occurrence of swelling or tenderness observed in one or joints of the body is known as arthritis. This condition is usually observed in older people and the symptoms observed may vary from mild to severe. For people suffering from arthritis, it is observed that certain changes in their diet can help ease the symptoms a little bit and provide them some relief from the pain. Here are some foods that must be avoided by people suffering from arthritis pain: Sugar High amounts of sugar in your diet can lead to elevated levels of a toxin called advanced glycation end product (AGE) in your body. These toxins can cause damage to certain proteins in your body and may also lead to inflammation. AGEs are known to get typically accumulated in the tissues of the joints. Processed foods Processed food items such as prepackaged meals and items and items containing trans fats are observed to increase the symptoms of arthritis and cause intense swelling and pain. Inflammatory fats There are certain fats and fatty acids that result in the release of inflammatory chemicals from the body. These include trans fats, saturated fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. So foods like oil, butter, cheese, meat, etc., must be avoided by people suffering from arthritis.
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Early Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer
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Early Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer comes second in line to skin cancer as cancer-related deaths among men in the country. There may not be any early signs of prostate cancer unless the tumor has caused the prostate gland to swell or has spread beyond the prostate. Since the prostate gland, bladder, and the urethra are in close proximity with each other, prostate cancer symptoms are accompanied by many urinary symptoms. Read on to find out early warning signs of prostate cancer. Early warning signs and symptoms of prostate cancer Burning sensation or pain during urination Frequent urges to urinate during the night Difficulty in starting or stopping while urinating Painful ejaculation and less fluid Leaking urine while laughing or coughing Blood in the urine or semen Pressure or pain in the rectum Stiffness in hips, thighs, pelvis or stiffness in your lower back Difficulty getting an erection When prostate cancer is not treated in time, the tumor can grow in size and spread to other organs and bones. When cancer invades the spine, it puts pressure on the spinal nerves and this advanced condition of prostate cancer is termed as metastatic prostate cancer. The symptoms include swelling or paralysis of the lower limbs, pain in bones, stiffness or deep pain in your pelvic area, lower back, thighs or legs, and bowel problems.
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Food to Avoid for Gout Patients
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Food to Avoid for Gout Patients

Gout is a common form of inflammatory arthritis caused by a condition known as hyperuricemia, which occurs when there is too much uric acid in the body. Typically uric acid dissolves in the blood or is flushed out through urine. But if there is an issue with the normal functioning of the body, this process gets hampered, leading to extra uric acid collecting in joints, causing painful aches. Fortunately, there is a certain low-cost strategy to manage this condition. Given below are some of the foods to avoid for gout. Alcohol Since uric acid comes from high-purine foods, it is best to avoid anything that contains it. Beer comprises an extremely high amount of purine, which makes it hard for your kidney to get rid of uric acid. It’s best to avoid other distilled liquors or limit the consumption to reduce any risk for recurrent gout attacks. At the very least, clinicians recommend drinking in moderation, which is not more than a drink or two in a day. But completely abstain from drinking when you’re experiencing a gout flare. Organ Meat Organ meat is one food you should fully avoid if you have gout. It contains a high amount of purines, especially meat like liver, kidney, heart, tripe and glandular meats like the thymus or pancreas (you may know them as sweetbreads).
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