The Difference In Nutritional Needs Between Men And Women

“Is there really a difference in nutritional needs between men and women?” My cousin asked that to me awhile ago. Though all of us need same essential elements for our body to function well, quantity of such essential nutrients differ, so I answered to him a big YES. I asked my cousin how come he asked such question to me. He said that as he browse the internet, he came in contact with the best multivitamin for men site. I am happy to know that at his young age he shows concern about health.

CARBOHYDRATES
Because of their body weight, men need more calories and fibers than women. Complex carbohydrates high in fibers from unrefined foods, fruits, and vegetables are the best source of it. Both men and women needs 45-65% carbohydrates of  total daily calories.

PROTEIN
High body weight of men make them to require more protein than women. Too much of protein could deplete calcium level in women making them prone to osteoporosis. But, men have no excuse of consuming too much of protein too because kidney stones and crystallization of fluids in joints could result due to excessive intake of protein. Better check out URIC ACID CRYSTALS in Google for more info about the said stones due to excessive intake of protein.

FATS
Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are good for our body, especially for our heart and blood vessels since it help sweep away the bad cholesterol out of our system and lowers triglyceride level. But, two studies in Harvard showed that omega-3 from vegetable source is not good for men. High intake of ALA from vegetable source by men could make them prone to prostate cancer.

CALCIUM
Calcium and vitamin D are good for our bones and in regulating our blood pressure. But, women need more calcium than men. For menstruating women like me, we need to have 1,000mg of calcium daily while menopause women need to take 1,200mg per day. As I have said earlier, men need less calcium. Their daily requirement (for all ages) is just 800mg per day. Too much of calcium intake for men could make them prone to prostate cancer.

IRON
Menstruation could lower our hemoglobin level due to lose of blood. As we all know iron is one of the important component of hemoglobin in Red Blood Cells thus menstruating women need more iron than men and menopause women. Pregnant women need extra iron too for the baby for its development.

But, it does not mean that non-menopause women need more iron that we have to take excess of it. Taking iron supplements is not recommended  unless you are diagnosed of certain type of anemia. Iron supplementation needs doctors advise.

As most people say: Men are from Mars while women are from Venus. That is why we have different nutritional body needs. You need not to scrutinize all the essential nutrients how much you need to take more for you to be healthy. As for me, the best rule is  BALANCE DIET. Too much of good things could be harmful to our health while lacking of it could result to failure in functioning well of our body. BALANCE IS THE KEY.

How to Show Love to Your Heart and Blood Vessels

As the saying goes: “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” We could also say that: “Tell me what is your lifestyle and I will help you determine your health.” Diet, physical activities, and presence or absence of vices are some of the factors that help determine your physical health. If you practice healthy lifestyle and has a positive outlook in life from your early age, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and other illnesses due to unhealthy lifestyle will not befriend you for sure.

Doctors try their best to give the best cholesterol treatment to their patients to help the functioning of heart and blood vessels to be maintained on its normal level but it should be accompanied with cooperation of patients to change their lifestyle as well. But, some people made their maintenance medication an excuse to eat food they want with their crooked reasoning.

Following healthy lifestyle since younger years will make your blood vessels  as if  like express highway roads for your blood to flow well carrying nutrients and essential things to millions of cells in your body. But, unhealthy diet, especially those rich in trans fats and cholesterol, accompanied by lack of exercise plus too much alcohol intake along with smoking addiction, definitely your blood vessels that are as wide as express highways will be as narrow as 2-way road because of accumulated waste materials called “bad” cholesterol or low density lipoproteins (LDL) that cling to the blood vessels.

Whether our blood vessels are narrow or wide our Red Blood Cells need to produce same amount of nutrients to the millions of cells in our body that need not to be delayed or else our body will not function well. In order for the Red Blood Cells to compensate for the narrow blood vessels, heart need to pump faster for the blood to flow faster as well through the narrow blood vessels. Consistent too much  workload for the heart and too much pressure to the blood vessels could result to Coronary Artery Disease, stroke and other health problems.

Maintenance medication for hypertension and high cholesterol level help stretch your blood vessels for the blood to flow well without much pressure. While following healthy lifestyle help you sweep away the accumulated bad cholesterol that cling to the blood vessels.

What you can do aside from following healthy lifestyle? Better have a regular check up of blood pressure and your lipid level with Lipid Profile test on the laboratory. Lipid profile is composed of 5 tests namely Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol level test, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol level test and Very Low Density Lipoprotein Level Test.

How Oxygenation In Your Blood Is Measured?

Yesterday we talked about Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes and hemoglobin thus we now know that hemoglobin plays a big role in oxygenation of all cells in our body. In relation to that, we will talk about oximeter today. What is an oximeter? Oximeter is an instrument use to measure oxygen percentage in hemoglobin or simply the oxygenation of the blood.

How oxygen percentage in hemoglobin is measured? Oximeters are usually attached on fingertip or at the earlobe of patient. Then, absorption and saturation of hemoglobin in patient’s blood are recorded using oxymeter’s probe at 650nm-805nm range of wavelength of light.  Please take note that oximeter just measure oxygenation and not oxygen metabolism.

Like any other instruments, there are factors that could cause problem in readings of pulse oximeter, slow blood flow due to venous congestion or vasoconstriction is a great example for it. There are lots of hemoglobin types, 2 of the said types are oxyhemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin (methemoglobin). Carboxyhemoglobin (methemoglobin) can be confused as oxyhemoglobin by pulse oximeter because these two types of hemoglobin are difficult to distinguish. Bright overhead lights and nail varnish could also cause false reading thus, it should be avoided.

Pulse oximeter is not solely for hospital use with a purpose of detecting oxygen related problems and in analyzing if it is necessary for the patient to undergo an oxygen therapy. Mountain climbers,  and people who undergo vigorous exercise like professional athletes uses portable pulse oximeter to measure their pulse rate and oxygenation of the blood too. People who are dependent on supplemental oxygen like pilot flying in non-pressurized airplanes use this instrument to measure the amount of supplemental oxygen needed.

We all know that oxygen is also a form of medication, this kind of medication could not be given without first determining the oxygen level in our blood. That is how important oximeter is to our community.

Know More About Your Red Blood Cells

Know More About Your Red Blood Cells

My friend Lilia has her own car now. It is one of her dreams to have one and finally her dream come true. She said she need to have even a cheap car insurance for her car now thus, she get quotes from car insurances online. Talking about cars, our Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes acts as cars in the body too.

Through circulatory system, Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes take up oxygen from the lungs and deliver the oxygen to millions of cells in our body. From our cells, it carries the carbon dioxide back to the lungs for excretion. It only take about 20 seconds for Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes to circulate within our body, isn’t that a great fact? They could be compared to fast cars with great purpose . They should not be caught by any kind of traffic jam or accident or else our body will suffer.

In normal adult, women has 4-5 million of Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes in every microliter of blood while men have 5-6 million of Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes per microliter of blood. And, for every Red Blood Cell (RBC) or erythrocyte it  contains about 270 million of hemoglobin biomolecules. Hemoglobin contain iron that is responsible for the red color of our blood and protein that transports oxygen to cells of our body.

Lack of hemoglobin is called anemia. With anemia, no enough transport system for oxygen to be carried to the cells thus person may suffer from shortness of breath, chest pain, headache, dizziness, and feeling tired and weak. There is paleness in skin too. And, if anemia will take so long, complication may take place like arrhythmia that could damage the heart.

Like cheap car insurance for your car, we need cheap but nutritious food to ensure our red cells for them to function well. Foods that are rich in iron, vitamin C and other nutrients that could keep our Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes healthy for them to function well. Fresh fruits and vegetables are great for our Red Blood Cells (RBC) or erythrocytes.

Iron Supplements and Iron Deficiency Anemia

You and your family are taking iron supplements? Did you know that too much iron in your body is harmful? Yes, our body needs iron, it is important for red blood cell production but too much of it is harmful to the body. There is a theory that extra stored iron in your body release harmful free radicals that may put you to risk for heart problems, liver damage, cancer,iron overdose in children and other illnesses. Medically speaking when there is an excessive amount of iron accumulated in the blood and tissues is is called hemosiderosis if the accumulated iron in the macrophages causes parenchymal cell injury. If the extra iron accumulates in the parenchymal cells and injures the tissue it is called hemochromatosis.

Because of iron side effects, most doctors agree that it is not necessary to take iron supplements unless your blood test shows that you need it. If the person is anemic, with low hemoglobin and, or hematocrit level in the blood, it does not mean automatically that he is suffering from iron deficiency and need to take iron supplements, always bear in mind that anemia has lots of causes and iron deficiency is just one of them. To confirm that the person is suffering from iron deficiency, the person will undergo a special laboratory test called serum ferritin test.

Again, taking iron supplements are not recommended unless prescribed by your doctor. If you want to make sure that your family family is getting enough iron for their body needsgo for good food sources of iron. Fish, poultry, red meat, shellfish, tofu, potatos, peas, beans, pumpkin seeds and dried apricots are rich in iron, some cereals and other processed foods are fortified with iron too thus, you need not to take iron supplements unless prescribed by your physician.

Poisons in Tobacco Smoke

Poisons in Tobacco Smoke

Poisonous? Consider tobacco smoke  as one. It contain lots of toxic substances that is threatening not just to the smokers but to your family health as well. Did you know that tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals including 200 poisonous and 40 carcinogenic compounds? It causes more than 40 diseases. No wonder, World Health Organization statistics showed that nearly 1 0f every 5 death nowadays are related to smoking. One in every seven seconds die from tobacco-related illness. It is due to either mainstream tobacco smoking or through passive (involuntary) smoking.

Here are some of the carcinogenic compounds you can find on tobacco smoke:

4-Aminobiphenyl
-It is confirmed to cause cancer in humans. Bladder, lung, colon, and breast cancers have been associated with 4-ABP.

-The worst thing about 4-ABP is it can cross the placenta & render child susceptible to bladder cancer.

Arsenic
-Inorganic arsenic is present in tobacco smoke and has been linked to lung, skin, bladder, liver, kidney and prostate cancers.

Benzene
-Study showed that high levels of benzene may cause low birth weights, delayed bone formation and bone marrow damage in animals.

-Benzene is highly toxic. Inhalation of extremely high levels of benzene may cause rapid heart rate, confusion, tremors, drowsiness, dizziness, headache, unconsciousness or even death.

-All three blood cell lines may be unfavorably affected by long term exposure to benzene. Low white blood cells or leucopenia, low red blood cells or anemia and low platelet count or thrombocytopenia may exist in varying degree. In case where there is a reduction in all three blood cell lines it is already called pancytopenia, this may happen due toxicity from long term exposure to benzene from tobacco smoking.

-Chronic exposure to benzene through tobacco smoke may also lead to increase risk of acquiring leukemia and, in many cases, is preceded by aplastic anemia.

Cadmium
-Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal pollutant that can be found in tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoke is an important source of air cadmium because tobacco leaves naturally accumulate and concentrate quite high levels of cadmium.

- An average cigarette contains approximately 1.05 micrograms/g of cadmium in cigarette with filter tip and approximately 1.61 micrograms/g in regular cigarette. And, about 10% of the cadmium content in cigarette is inhaled when it is smoked.

-Exposure to high levels of cadmium may lead to high blood pressure, anemia and renal failure, lung and, or liver damage.

-It is also considered as possible carcinogen.

Chromium
-As you inhale air containing chromium, like in tobacco smoke, chromium enters your body. Did you know that some forms of chromium can remain in the lungs for several years or longer?

-When you breathe air containing chromium, some of the chromium will enter your body through your lungs. Some forms of chromium can remain in the lungs for several years or longer.

-The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that chromium (VI) compounds are carcinogenic to humans. The National Toxicology Program 11th Report on Carcinogens classifies chromium (VI) compounds as known to be human carcinogens. Inhalation of chromium has been shown to cause lung cancer.

-It can cause respiratory problems, depressed immune system- resulting to a lower ability to fight disease, birth defects and other developmental problem, infertility and tumor formation.

2-Naphthylamine
-It can cause bladder cancer.

N-Nitrosodiethylamine
-It can induce benign and malignant tumors in respiratory, upper digestive tracts, liver and kidneys.

N-Nitrosopyrrolidine
-It can produce hepatocellular carcinomas, one of the top in leading liver cancer death type worldwide.

N-Nitrosodiethanolamine
-It is connected to esophageal cancer.

Nickel
-The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that some nickel compounds are carcinogenic to humans.

-More nickel is absorbed from the lungs into the body when nickel particles readily dissolve in water. If it does not easily dissolved in water, like chromium, nickel particles may remain in the lungs for a long time, and can only be excreted from lungs through coughing out or swallowing the mucus.

-Unborn child can be exposed to nickel through maternal blood supply to fetus.

-Babies are exposed to nickels through breastmilk of mother who is exposed to nickel and through passive tobacco smoking.

-It causes reduced lung function, chronic bronchitis, and cancer of the lung and nasal sinus

Lead-210 and Polonium-210 (Radon)
-Did you know that tobacco leaves used in making cigarettes contain radioactive materials? Yes, lead-210 and polonium-210 are radioactive materials.

- Lead-210 and polonium-210 are toxic radioactive heavy metals. They build up over time in delicate lung tissue and are a key risk factor for lung cancer. How? Tar from tobacco smoke builds up in the bronchioles; accumulated tar traps lead-210 and polonium-210 against the tissues of the bronchioles. Most of what is deposited in the bronchioles is lead-210 which has a half life of 22.3 years; eventually it decays and become dominant radionuclide. On the other hand, polonium-210 has only half life of 138 days but it quickly increases in concentration, thus, over the time, as its concentration rises, an intense localized radiation doses may occur in the bronchioles.

-Researchers believe that lead-210 and polonium-210 in tobacco smoke are significant factors for lung cancer in smokers.

Vinyl Chloride
-Inhalation of high levels of vinyl chloride may cause dizziness, drowsiness or even death.

-Chronic exposure to vinyl chloride may cause severe nerve damage and immune reactions.

-The World Health Organization has determined that vinyl chloride is a human carcinogen.

-Vinyl chloride, has also been shown to have an effect on human reproductive system.