Your Habits That Can Damage Your Brain!!

Our brain is the single most important organ in our body.  It’s the central processor for all our bodily functions, the part that interprets what we see and hear, smell and taste, and even a place where the chemical reaction associated with love occurs.

Sleep loss, junk food, inactivity — these things and more can take a toll on our brain health. Here are some issues to pay attention if we would like to keep our brain healthy.

Smoking
We know cigarettes cause cancer, but did you know that the addictive nicotine in the cigarettes can cause your brain to shrink? Not only that, but prolonged brain-shrinkage can lead to Alzheimer’s disease!
   

Drinks That Help You In Gout

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot, and swollen joint. Gout is due to elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. This occurs due to a combination of diet and genetic factors. At high levels, uric acid crystallizes and the crystals deposit in joints, tendons and surrounding tissues, resulting in an attack of gout.

How It Occurs?
Uric acid comes from the breakdown of substances called purines. Purines are in your body's tissues and in foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, and anchovies. Normally, uric acid dissolves in the blood. It passes through the kidneys and out of the body in urine. But sometimes uric acid can build up and form needle-like crystals. When they form in your joints, it is very painful. The crystals can also cause kidney stones.

You are more likely to get gout if you

Asthma: Deal With It In Winter

Asthma is one of the most common chronic disease that involve the airways in the lungs. Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

Asthma symptoms affect an estimated 26 million Americans — 19 million adults and 7 million children — and are one of the leading causes of absences from work and school. Every year, about 14 million Americans see a doctor for asthma. About 1.4 million patients visit a hospital outpatient department for asthma; almost 1.75 million go to a hospital emergency room. The number of people in the U.S. diagnosed with asthma is increasing. The greatest rise in asthma rates is among black children, with an almost 50 percent increase from 2001 through 2009.

According to the World Health Organization, about half the cases are due to genetic susceptibility and half result from environmental factors. Researchers estimate asthma-related costs, including the direct cost of health care and indirect costs such as decreased worker productivity, at around $60 billion annually. Although there is no cure for asthma, effective treatments are available.

Why Should You Take Pomegranate Juice!!

Pomegranate juice is made from the fruit of the pomegranate. It is used in cooking both as a fresh juice and as a concentrated syrup. Pomegranate juice contains more than 100 phytochemicals. The pomegranate fruit has been used for thousands of years as medicine.

Today, pomegranate juice is being studied for its many health benefits.

Here are some of the potential benefits.

1. Antioxidants: Like many fruit juices, pomegranate juice contains antioxidants, especially polyphenols. What's more, pomegranate juice contains antioxidants at higher levels than do many other fruit juices. Antioxidants are thought to provide several heart-protecting benefits, including reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol.

2. Vitamin C: The juice of a single pomegranate has more than 40 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin C. Vitamin C can be broken down when pasteurized, so opt for homemade or fresh pomegranate juice to get the most of the nutrient.

3. Cancer prevention: Pomegranate juice recently made a splash when researchers found that it may help stop the growth of prostate cancer cells.

4. Alzheimer’s disease protection: The antioxidants in the juice and their high concentration are believed to stall the progress of Alzheimer disease and protect memory.

5. Digestion: Pomegranate juice can reduce inflammation in the gut and improve digestion. It may be beneficial for people with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory bowel diseases.

6. Anti-inflammatory: Pomegranate juice is a powerful anti-inflammatory because of its high concentration of antioxidants. It can help reduce inflammation throughout the body and prevent oxidative stress and damage.

7. Arthritis: Flavonols in pomegranate juice may help block the inflammation that contributes to osteoarthritis and cartilage damage. The Juice might have potential effects on osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other types of arthritis and joint inflammation.

8. Heart disease: Pomegranate juice is in the running as the most heart-healthy juice. It appears to protect the heart and arteries. The juice improves blood flow and keeps the arteries from becoming stiff and thick. It may also slow the growth of plaque and buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. However those who take blood pressure and cholesterol medications like statins should not take this.

9. Blood pressure: Drinking pomegranate juice daily may also help lower systolic blood pressure.

10. Antiviral: Pomegranate juice can prevent illness and fight off infection. Pomegranates have also been shown to be antibacterial and antiviral in lab tests.

As you should do with any herbal or dietary supplement, talk to your doctor about pomegranate juice before you start drinking it regularly as a supplement. Pomegranate juice may cause dangerous side effects when it interacts with certain prescription medications, such as the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, including captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec) and lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril).