Visceral fat vs Subcutaneous fat

Fat deposits in or body are a serious thing that all of us should know about. Fat in our body is taken more seriously since Obesity is declared a disease in USA. There are two types of fat deposits in our body, but rarely anybody is concerned about them. We just take fat as fat. If you want to defeat an enemy than its better to have full knowledge about him. Same thing applies on Fat, which is the itself a disease causing element in our body. There are two types of fat deposits in our body: Visceral fat and Subcutaneous fat. We will tell the basic difference among them and also that which one is more harmful.

Subcutaneous fat is that fat that lies directly under the skin and we can grab and squeeze it with our hand.

Visceral fat is that fat that surrounds our organs. It is the fat around internal organs like stomach, kidney, liver and heart. Most this fat affects the main trunk of body that includes our respiratory and digestive system organs.

Which type of fat is more hazardous to health ?
Visceral fat is more hazardous to health as it makes us prone to heart diseases, blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin sensitivity.

Can both types of fat be removed through liposuction ? 
Unfortunately No ! Only Subcutaneous fat can be removed through liposuction. In some researches on liposuction surgery it was found that there was no health improvement after liposuction if patient had a lot of Visceral fat. The visceral fat is more hazardous but can't be removed through liposuction.

Which one of them can be easily reduced through exercise ?
Visceral fat can be easily reduced through exercise. Subcutaneous fat needs much more effort to reduce its level. Regular exercise and healthy diet can easily manage the visceral fat, that surround our organs and more harmful for us. So even if there is no visible effect of exercise on your subcutaneous fat, its still reducing your visceral fat.

How can i measure the level of Subcutaneous fat ?
Subcutaneous fat can be easily measured with the health of caliper (as shown in the very first pic in this article). A trained professional measures the skin-fold at various parts of body like abdomen, sides, chest, front thigh, back of arm. You may get calipers at reasonable price but it need professional training to measure the fat correctly. If you measure it without any training then most probably you will measure it wrong. There is one other way to measure the fat using some x-ray machines but it need specialized equipment and medical professionals.

How can i measure the level of Visceral fat ?
CT Scan is the most accurate way to measure visceral fat but it costs from $200 to $300. There is other easy method, which is not so accurate but can give you an idea if its alarming condition for you or not. Measure your waist where it is maximum, then measure your hip where its maximum. Now divide the waist measurement by hip measurement. For men, if its above 1 then you have visceral fat and you should do something for it. For women, if its above 0.85 then you have got visceral fat.
  

Above facts must have cleared the difference between two types of fat. If you have got visceral fat then be serious and do something to reduce it. Be fit, be healthy and keep reading betterhealthfacts.com .

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How to control Calories to Fat Conversion

All of us know that extra calories in our body turns into fat. But do we have the ability to control this conversion. The answer to this question depends your attitude towards your body. Extra Calories to fat conversion is an automatic process. We can't interfere it directly just by making a wish as it an involuntary process. But still we have the ability to control it by some other means. Here we will explain how to do it. But it needs dedication and little time that you should devote for your precious body. Here it is.

How to control Calories to Fat Conversion

• Instead of having 3 large meals, try to have 6 small meals. It will make your glycogen stores filled 6 times a day, instead of 3 times. So small amount of calories will be left in each shift to be converted to fat. Read the article how extra calories turn into fat to know more.
• Try to do small small exercises just before you have your meal. It will reduce the content of glycogen stores in your muscles and most of the sugar/calories will go into glycogen stores, instead of getting converted into fat.
• Maintain a schedule of 3 hours gap between all of your 6 meals. If you feel hungry in between that time then just drink some water of green tea to settle your stomach. If you control you hunger for just 6 days, then you will find that your stomach will stop bothering you unnecessarily.
• If you have a protein drink at the end of a workout session, then it as one of your 6 meals.
• Never forget the calorie math and make a diet chart to keep it in level. If your a consuming extra calories than required then at last it will turn into fat irrespective of what you do to control it. Here is the Calorie Calculator to help you.
• Never forget to make the correct ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrate in your diet as told by Calorie Calculator. Have more vegetables and fruits compared to other food items to get proper vitamins and minerals.
• Drink lots of water. Water removes harmful toxins in our body through urine which purifies our body.

If you are obese and follow the above steps then you will start reducing your weight. But calorie calculation is most important thing for you to do that.

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How does extra Calories turn into Fat ?

Transformation of Extra Calories into Fat is making people take them seriously as obesity is becoming a serious problem for most of us. We know it that if we eat more than required then the extra calories in our diet will get stored in our body as fat, but what we don't know is how it happens. Here we will put some light on this. We will also try to find how we an run this process in reverse, means how we can burn that extra fat.

Is it actually Calories that turn into fat ?
Calories are actually a unit of energy. In real life our body carry glucose, glycogen or sugar (whatever we say it), as an instant source of energy. When we eat something, our body starts to digest it and extract the minerals, vitamins, proteins and carbohydrate from it, which are needed for different body functions. But for instant energy our body turns carbohydrate and sugar in out diet into glucose. Glucose is instant source of energy. So its actually extra glucose in our body that turns into fat, not calories. We just say it Calories just to make people understand it in a better way.

How does extra Calories turn into Fat ?
Answer to this question is Insulin, the hormone that is responsible for sugar level in our body. When we eat something, our sugar level increases. To control this extra sugar our body pumps out insulin hormone. Insulin will make sugar (glucose) to go into the muscles. But if there is extra sugar, which is not absorbed by muscles then insulin starts taking care of it. Presence of insulin in blood turns the extra sugar into fat and starts depositing in fat deposits of our body.

Why do our body converts the extra Calories/sugar into Fat?
Our body need a standard level of sugar in our body. If the level of sugar goes above that standard, our body releases insulin hormone to control it. If our body don't release this hormone then it will cause excess oxidation activity, which can harm some important organs by destroying the nerves. Thats why our body converts the extra sugar into fat. Our body can manage with extra fat upto some level, but extra sugar in blood stream is dangerous.

How much time does our body take to convert extra Calories into Fat ?
The duration of this process depends on the extra calories/sugar and amount of insulin, which can vary from person to person. But still this complete process just takes a few minutes. If you have eaten potatoes then it will turn into fat even before you getup from your dining table. Extra sugar in bloodstream is very harmful, so our body controls it within minutes

How does our muscles store the Calories/sugar from our Bloodstream ?
Our muscle have glycogen stores. When we work and use our muscles the glycogen stores are emptied. As soon as we eat something and our blood stream get filled with sugar/glucose. Our muscle's glycogen stores starts filling them with the help of Insulin released by our body.

Where does our body deposits the fat ?
Initially our body deposits fat in fat cells (adipocytes), which are meant to deposit it for later use. These adipocytes are available all around your body under the skin. These are most prominent in abdominal region. Our body have two types of fat deposits : Visceral fat and Subcutaneous fat. To know more about these fat deposit type read out next article.

We hope that this information helped you in understanding how our body works with extra calories in your diet. Our main motive is to tell you how you can keep the fat level in control. Read our next article to know how you can control the process of turning the calories into fat.   

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Calories : The key to a Healthy Body and Life

Calories are a unit a energy that we intake through food and burn them while doing some physical activity. The calories that we don't utilize are deposited as fat in different parts of body. Our body deposit this fat to use it in case of some emergency. From past few decades people have started taking calories seriously as now we know that this extra fat is home for some serious diseases such as hypertension and stroke. Lets understand the calories in a better way. To do so we have answered some FAQs mostly asked about calories.

Is there any difference between Calorie and calorie ?
Yes, 1 Calorie = 1000 calorie . If you have not heard about this fact then it might be surprising for you. The "C" and "c" makes the difference. In short Calorie is written as "Cal" while calorie is written as "cal". Calorie "Cal" is also known as Food Calorie. Prior to 1950s, when SI system was adopted by world, calorie was a unit of energy. One calorie was that energy that can rise the temperature of 1 gram water by one degree Celsius.  After SI system was adopted, joule became the unit of energy. But still people use the unit calorie to measure the amount of energy, especially when it comes to body and diet.

How do i know how much Calories i need for a day ?
Different health services and medical research facilities mention different number of calories required by a human being to work properly. It ranges from 2000 Calories to 2700 Calories. But basically it depends on your gender, age, weight and activity level. A hard working carpenter needs more Calories than a software developer. If you want to know how much Calories you need in a day then you may use the Calorie Calculator.

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How Calories turn into fat ?
Our body have a unbelievable mechanism for every thing. To know about it read how our body turns calories in fat .

How do i burn more calories to burn the extra fat ?
Eat less calories and burn more. Its the simplest solution to this problem. Fat is deposited in our body as a security measure to provide backup when body falls in shortage of energy. So if your daily consumption is more than intake, then automatically body fat will start to reduce. But you can't reduce all fat in a single day. More difference between calorie intake and consumption can also cause side effects. So do it slowly on a regular basis. Best physical activities for burning the extra fat are running, jogging, weight lifting or other exercises that suits your body.

Can i control the Calorie intake?
Just control you Diet. Intake of Calorie can only be controlled through diet. But you think that you can't make it to something lesser, then increase your activity level to burn the extra Calories (as mentioned in the previous FAQ).

What are Empty Calories ?
Empty Calories are those calories which don't have any nutritional value like protein, vitamins or carbohydrates. Food items with large amount of sugar, fat and salt are known as foods with empty calories as they don't have much nutritional value. Ice-cream, soft drinks, cakes, cookies and sweets are best example of empty calories. Small amount of empty calories are of no harm, but when taken in more quantity then its harmful. Sometime people misunderstand Empty Calories as foods with less calorie value, while these are food items with more than required calories.

Balance is the key to a healthy life. Eat a healthy and balanced diet full or nutrients with right amount of Calories and maintain a good activity level to burn them. If you make a good balance among them, then you have got the key to a healthy body for a lifetime.

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Calculator for Calories Needed Per Day for Male and Female

This calculator will calculate the calories needed per day to live a healthy life. It calculates your caloric demand on the basis of your gender, weight, age and activity level. The result shown here will also tell the nutrition in your diet for a balanced diet. If you maintain that balanced diet then you will neither loose weight nor gain.

Calorie Calculator Age: years Gender: MaleFemale Height: 1'2'3'4'5'6'7'1"2"3"4"5"6"7"8"9"10"11" Cms : Weight: KgPounds Activeness: SedentaryLight ActiveModerately ActiveVery ActiveExtra Active Calorie Result Calorie Needed: GramsKilogramsPounds You Must Intake The Following Daily Fat: per day Protein: per day Carbohydrate: per day Alcohol: per day

How to use this Calorie Calculator to reduce weight ?
If you want to reduce the weight, then decide the weight that you want to achieve. Write that weight in the above form and calculate again. The result that you get now is appropriate for that weight. Just decrease you diet to the level given in the result, and your weight will decrease gradually. It will not happen just in few days, but it will take time from weeks to months depending on the weight that you want to loose.

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Fitbit Data to be used for Health Insurance

Fitbit is one of the most popular gadgets among the fitness freaks and it might help them in saving some dollars from their health insurance premium. But the tension is for those who are not fit and may need to pay extra premium for being unfit. More than 60% of American population is either overweight or obese and they will need to pay extra amount in their health insurance premium for being unfit. Obesity is already declared a disease in America a few years ago and usage of fitbit data by health insurance companies is next opportunity for these companies by utilizing obesity and earning money out of that. But the good thing is that it will motivate people to be fit and their fitness will let them save some money.

A few years ago technology was used in the same way for auto-insurance. Automobile Insurance Companies provided a dongle that can be attached to diagnostic port of your car, and if that keeps conforming that you are driving well then you can save some amount in your auto-insurance premium. Now similar thing is going to be done by Health Insurance Companies.

How Fitbit will be used by Health Insurance Companies

Insurance Companies will ask fitbit users to share the live fitbit data with them through internet. Insurance Companies will analyse the fitbit data on regular basis to check your health and activity level. If they find that you have good activity level and good health then they will give you certain discount on your premium amount. Apart from that, Insurance Company will keep tracking your data of insured users on regular basis and if the data points towards occurrence of some medical condition then it will SMS you about it and ask you to get it checked by a doctor. This thing will not only save your life in some cases, but can also save some money spent by insurance companies in claims towards medical bills. Timely diagnosis of some medical conditions is beneficial for both parties.

Some people agree with this step while some don't . Those who don't agree with the policy of sharing fitbit data with insurance companies argue on the following points.

Why usage of Fitbit by Health Insurance is Wrong ?

• Health Insurance is basically meant for Unfit people. Usage of Fitbit will increase insurance premium for those who need it the most.
• Watching others Fitbit data is intruding into private life of somebody. Some people don't want to share their fitbit data irrespective of their fitness level, just because they don't want others to sneak into their lives.
• It will increase pressure on Overweight and Obese people of US, which is more than 65% of american population.

In spite of the above points there are a number of people who think the other way. They take this thing as an opportunity, which will inspire them for being fit and keeping their activity level high enough to save money and make their lifestyle better. If people take this thing in a positive way then the percentage of overweight and obese people of US can come down at an unexpected rate.

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Obesity is a disease in America !

During past few years Americans discussed the issue of Obesity being declared a disease. Some people agree with it while some don't. Both have their own facts and figures. Here we will try to figure it out that whats the thing we are missing, and is it a good decision to declare Obesity a disease in America. Will it have any positive effect on the lives of Americans or it will just add some extra money to accounts of leading pharmaceutical companies.

Yes, Obesity is a Disease

Here are some facts to prove that Obesity is a disease.

• Obesity leads to diseases like Hypertension and Diabetes. It can also lead to various heart diseases and stroke as well.
• If your BMI level is above 30 then you are Obese. If its between 25 to 29.9 then you are overweight. Check your BMI Index
• One third of all Americans are Obese. According to a survey done by Lifestyle magazine in 2012, the number of Obese people in America is more than number of Overweight.
• 75% American Men are either Overweight of Obese while 67% American Women come under this category.
• According to CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), 112,000 deaths per year are connected to Obesity in one or other way.
• In 2008 the annual cost of Obesity related disease was 147 million.
• Severe obesity qualifies as a disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

No, Obesity is Just a Condition

Some people say that Obesity is not a disease in itself, its just a condition which may lead to other diseases. Those who don't support the decision of declaring Obesity as a disease have got the following facts.

• Declaring Obesity as a disease made one third population of America a patient.
• Declaring Obesity as a disease will increase complications in getting health insurance. Insurance companies may increase premium amount of an obese person by saying that he/she is suffering from a disease.
• It will make pharma companies utilize the opportunity by making medicines for Obesity and people will take them to get rid of obesity. Just like Hair Growth sector, which is a leading money making sector for pharma companies, Obesity will be next opportunity for them.
• Sometimes Obesity is not due to overeating or inactivity, it may occur due to heredity.
• Even Sumo Wrestlers are Obese on BMI scale, but still they are considered as best in health. 

America is paying the price for being one of the most advanced countries on the planet. American Kids are one of the most obese kids as they play on gaming consoles instead of play ground and eat a lot of junk food while watching television. Declaring Obesity as a disease might make people think about the seriousness of this condition. If someone utilize others Obesity to make monitory profit then its not good, especially if they tell them that its treatable by medicines.

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Smartphone Blindness: Using Phone during night ?

If you are one of those who use their smartphone during night after turning off the lights, then here is something you must read. A new disease of modern world is discovered recently "Smartphone Blindness", where the patient uses smartphone during night after turning off the lights of the room and when he/she wakes up in the morning the eyesight was gone. However mostly it happened as a temporary problem, but nobody would like to experience it. Being blinded without a blindfold is something very scary. If you want to save yourself from this condition then you must read this article.

How eyes adapt between darkness and light

Before we tell you more about this recently discovered Smartphone Blindness, you must have some basic knowledge about how our eye helps us in watching things during day and night time. There are two types of cells in our eye. One is Rod Cells and second are Cone Cells. Cone Cells are responsible for viewing colors and bright things (thats day time vision), while Rod Cells can view better in dark (thats night time). If you are in a completely dark room from sometime and someone turns on the lights suddenly then it takes our eye 5 to 7 minutes to adjust to it, as cone cell in the eye activate themselves for it. But when the opposite thing happens and we go from a well illuminated room to a dark one then it takes 30 to 40 minutes for our eyes to completely adjust and activate Rod cells.

Smartphone Blindness

What we see is a joint output of our eyes and brain. Sometimes our brain works in a strange way, where the researches were not done yet. One such thing is Smartphone Blindness. Using your Smartphone in a dark room for longer duration is perfect condition for this medical condition to happen. Two such cases were reported in "New England Journal of Medicine". Two ladies of age 22 and 40 reported that they suffered from temporary blindness. Doctors tried to find the reason behind that. But to the surprise of doctors the reason was surprising. Both ladies used to work on their phone till late night after turning off the room lights and sometimes their one eye use to remain close due to pillow. Both of them used just one eye to operate their smartphone in a dark room. After finding these facts, scientists tried to find the reason.

The result they found is something new. When we use a smartphone with one eye closed (either by pillow or some other hindrance), then our one eye get adapted to brightness while the other adapt to darkness. Sometimes this thing can mess something in our brain and we can loose our sight for sometime either during night or for few minutes after waking up.

If you want to save yourself from this Smartphone Blindness, then never ever use your phone in a dark room with one eye. Using your phone till late night is itself something unhealthy. It not only disturbs your sleep but also disturbs your biological clock. Now a days mobile phone manufactures are increasing brightness of screens, so that you can use it during a sunny day, but its making extra stress on our eyes. Especially if you don't know how to set the brightness level to low, you are harming your eyes. Even some people who know about the brightness level, don't set it to low as they want to see everything crisp and clear. What such people don't know is that brightness can permanently damage their eyes.

Please use your smartphone with less brightness and use it less during night. Even if you have to use it during night, use both eyes to look at screen, not just one.

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How Exercise affects your Blood Pressure

To know the effect of exercise or workout on our blood pressure its better to study the blood pressure of athletes. Its a well know fact and proved in various research studies that normal blood pressure of athletes is lower than a non-exercising person. Its because the cardio vascular system of an athlete is far better and effective than others.

How Exercise affects your Blood Pressure

• A single session of Aerobic exercises or some moderate intensity exercises can lower your resting blood pressure and this effect can last up to 22 hours. This study was published in March 2014 journal of "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise".
• Exercising can temporarily increase your blood pressure, but in a normal human being its not something to worry about. It will just increase the power of your heart and increase elasticity of blood vessels.
• When we exercise on regular basis, our heart pumps more blood at that time and temporarily increases the blood pressure. It makes our heart stronger and it pumps more blood with less effort compared to a normal human being. This whole thing decreases our resting state blood pressure.
• Usually our blood pressure increases with age due to various factors. One of these factors is reduction of elasticity of blood vessels. But exercising on regular basis can help in not getting our blood pressure increase with age.
• Regular exercising can reduce the Systolic Blood Pressure (the upper reading) by 4 to 9mmHg . This effect is equivalent to taking some medication for blood pressure. So if you can reduce it without medicines then why don't you exercise.
• Blood Pressure of a healthy human being should be always less than 120/80 . If its slightly above than that, then its time for you to take some step and lower it.
• Apart from all of the above facts, exercise can help you in getting rid of extra fat. Obesity is the major reason behind high blood pressure. Reducing your fat can directly save you from a number of heart diseases.

So from now onward adapt a drug free approach to lower your blood pressure. If its possible with routine exercise then why should we take medicine for that. You may do any type of exercise that you like. It may be running, jogging, power-lifting, swimming, aerobics or yoga. Its not necessary to run a marathon or being a body builder to lower your blood pressure. Just being active is the main motive of doing exercise.
If you are already a patient of hypertension (high blood pressure), still you can do mild exercises to help yourself. But its better to consult your specialist before starting it.

We hope that all these facts collected by us will help you in lowering your blood pressure.

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Who's body is better : Men or Women ?

Both men and women are created by nature to complete each other. There will be no existence of them without each other. But still sometimes we compare their bodies and try to figure it out that which one is better among them. Men often try to overpower women by their muscularity, but what they don't know is that there are a lot of things where they lack. Lets take a look at positive points of both bodies.

Why men's body is better ?

• Usually men have more height and weight which makes them more appropriate for heavy work.
• Men are better driver than women, its because their eyes and brain are more motion sensitive and create better 3D visuals than women. Men often make fun of women due to their driving skills which is a bad thing.
• Men can throw better than women, its something natural. A recent research found that the technique of throwing differs in both sexes. Women twist their shoulders and hips at the same time while throwing a ball. While men first twist their hips and then shoulder, which gives a better push to the ball.
• Men are better in Maths. Its a truth but only one sided. The reality is that boys perform better than girls but also worst than girls. Usually girls remain an average student in maths, while boys are both topper and failures. So if you go for average marks of boys and girls then its equal. 
• Men sleep better. Usually most of the men forget any worries during their sleep while a women don't. Women's sleep is often disturbed by their worries.
• Men can drink more than women. Women have less body water compared to men which increases alcohol concentration in their bodies, while men have better enzymes to digest alcohol. So women can easily feel drunk in lesser amount of alcohol. And men can take few extra pegs to reach the same level. Some of you might think that its a negative thing for men.
• Men have got more testosterone hormone in their body, which can easily help them in getting more powerful muscles then women. Men have 20 times more testosterone than women.

Why a women's body is better ?

• Average IQ level of women is more than men, at least since the records of IQ level have begun. Half of the war is already won by this point.
• Women can see more colors than men. Where men see just a single red color, the women can see various shades of red.
• In the men's part we told that men sleep better but women can't due to worries. Its actually a positive thing about women. They care more about heir husband and kids (even while sleeping). A new mum is the best example of this thing who disturbs her sleep several times just to feed the baby and change diapers while most of the men just sleep.
• Women doctors are better than men. A recent research found that women doctors often go for the right tests and prescribe correct medicines. Its because they stick more to the guidelines compared to the men doctors.
• A women can carry a child inside her belly for nine months. No matter how much muscles a men have, no men on planet have the power or courage to tie the same weight (as pregnant women) on his belly and keep it tied day and night for nine months. Even if some mad guy is able to tie the weight, men's body have no organ to develop a baby inside her body. This feature in females makes them something, no men can be. Nature has given her womb, where a new life can generate. Women gives new life while men just make weapons to destroy life on earth. If i am being oversensitive in writing this point, then pardon me.
• Men may have more muscular power but a women can bear more pain. The pain of delivering a baby is something that no men can bear.
• A research published in International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics found that women are better boss than men. Companies led by women perform better and ladies have good decision taking ability when it comes to business.
• Women are better at multitasking. According to psychologists men become slow and unorganized when asked to do multiple tasks at once. 

After reading this article most of you must be thinking that Women Win. Yes you are right. An intelligent men is that who know it that women don't like to loose. If you are a married men then always remember this thing that when it comes to women then either win or be happy :-) . 

Fun is a different thing, but truth is that women plays role of a daughter, sister and mother, and all of these roles are much better than roles of a son, brother and father. Respect every women and you will get love and compassion and some good food as well :-) .

Comparing the bodies of men and women in this article was done to just increase your knowledge, not to tell who is superior. We are all incomplete without our partner.

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Why women don't develop muscles like men ?

Usually bodybuilding is considered as an activity for men, not women. But some women are acting against the dominance of men in this field. During recent decades a number of female bodybuilders have gained popularity and motivated a number of women to go to gym. Exercising is a good habit for both men and women, but when it comes to muscle development the female counterparts lack in something. Even if women workout equivalent to men, the muscle development will be lesser and exertion will be more. The reason behind this thing is natural, its the male hormone Testosterone.

Role of Testosterone in Muscle Development

Testosterone is known as a male hormone and its responsible for muscle development. When we do a workout, some wear and tear happens in our muscles. At this time is generated to repair those muscles and make them even stronger for next use. So as you repeat the same exercise again and again in the following days on the same muscles, those muscles start developing. Its a simple adaptation of muscles for the workload. Bodybuilders utilize this feature of body to shape some particular muscles and design exercises to develop them.

Why women can't develop muscles like men ?

The answer to this question is the level of testosterone hormone in women, which is much lesser than men.

Do women have testosterone ?

Yes, women have testosterone. But the quantity is just 5% of a men. This quantity is sufficient enough to repair the muscles but not enough to develop them like men. But still a women who workout on regular basis can have better muscles than those men who don't exercise.

Is it a good decision for a women to be bodybuilder ?

We can't say either its a good decision or a bad decision. Its a personal choice. But women need to work harder than men to develop the muscles. They don't only need good workout but some food supplements and hormones as well. All female bodybuilders who have become a role model for several women have achieved that body after a lot of hard work and dedication.

There is no need for men to be happy after reading this article. There are a lot of things that a men can't do, but a women can. To know more about those things read our next article "Who's body is Better: Men or Women ?" .

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Six Pack Abs vs Slim Stomach ! Whats Better ?

Six Pack Abs are dream for a number of men but some just struggle to get a slim stomach. Some people think that just a slim stomach is better for a normal human being, and six-pack abs makes the stomach region harder than required. Here we will try to find an answer to this rare question that Whats better between Six Pack Abs and Slim Stomach.

If you ask a body builder the same question, his answer will be six-pack abs, as he has already got it. But if you ask the same question to a person with slim stomach then there are 50-50 chances of both answers. The answer to the same question depends on own physical structure of the man. Sometimes if we can't get a thing then we say that its not good. Same thing can happen with Six-pack Abs. If we can't get it, then we say that its not good for human body. However some people can tell the truth that they can't control diet and work hard enough to get six-pack abs. But these answers were just views, not the real answers to the question.

To get the actual answer to our question its better to know the views of doctors on this thing. Here we collected some answers to the same question from some fitness and medical experts.

According to some fitness experts overworking on your abdominal muscles can do harm on your spinal health, posture and breathing pattern. Usually we do crunches to develop abs muscle and exhale while moving forward, which reduces the breathing capacity and changes our posture.

• Short and tight abdominal muscles pulls our breastbone towards the pubic bone and disturbs the normal posture and also makes us prone to injury. In such cases poor posture syndrome becomes visible with age.
• Having tight abdominal muscles leaves lesser space for internal organs. It also shortens the space for lungs to expand while inhaling. It disturbs the breathing pattern and breathing becomes shallow and fast.
• Our breathing and posture are directly connected to our spinal cord. Disturbance in breathing pattern and posture can directly affect the spinal health.

Even doctors say that first objective of a person to be healthy is to be slim, not obese. Developing six-pack abs is a personal choice, but take guidance of some fitness expert in doing so to reduce any side-effects mentioned above. If you want to develop your abs muscles then its necessary to do correct exercises so that the harm is either nil or minimal. Our fitness industry has mislead youngsters by marketing six-pack abs are the key to being sexy. But the actual fitness truth is that your stomach should be slim and soft(at least according to Ayurveda) .

We hope that the facts given above have provided some insight on this topic. So now you have one more excuse if you were unable to develop six-pack abs earlier. :-)

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Broad vs Narrow spectrum Antibiotic

Antibiotics are a type of medicines that have the capability to either kill bacteria or make them weak enough so that they can't harm us. There are basically two types of Antibiotics: Broad Spectrum Antibiotic and Narrow Spectrum Antibiotic. Before understanding these types its important to understand Antibiotics and Bacteria.

When Penicillin was discovered, antibiotics became a superhero in the world of medicines due to their capability to kill various kind of bacteria. But now a days same antibiotics are becoming villain of medical industry as they are unable to kill Resistant Bacteria (also known as SuperBug). These Resistant Bacteria are created by none other than these well known antibiotics.

Those Antibiotics that can kill a wide variety of bacteria are known as Broad Spectrum Antibiotic. They can act as medicines for more than one infectious diseases. Usually people think that its a good characteristic while its not. Such antibiotics not only kill bad bacteria but also good bacteria that are beneficial for our body.

Good Bacteria vs Bad Bacteria

Narrow Spectrum Antibiotic kills only a few or just one variety of bacteria. Usually they are meant to treat only one disease. It makes them a good antibiotic that hits to the point and don't harm good bacteria.

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics and their improper use is responsible for generation of resistant bacteria. However Narrow Spectrum Antibiotic can also create them if used improperly but chances are less comparative to Broad Spectrum Antibiotics.

Due to the above mentioned disadvantage of Antibiotics, now people are moving towards natural antibiotics which are natural food items with no disadvantage.

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Good Bacteria vs Bad Bacteria

Bacteria are part of our life. Usually we think about them as a threat to human race, while its not so. We mostly hear about bacteria as a pathogen which makes us sick. But the reality is that most of the bacteria are good. Even those bacteria, whom we think as bad bacteria are necessary for our body. A healthy balance of 85:15 between Good and Bad Bacteria is necessary for our body to work normally.

Some facts about Bacteria and Our Body

• There are always more that 100 trillion bacteria in and on our body.
• Total number of bacteria in our mouth is more than human population on Earth.
• Only 1-10% of total species of bacteria are discovered by Scientists.
• Our digestive system can't work normally without bacteria as they help is digesting a number of food items.
• Bacteria are available in plenty in our atmosphere, our skin and inside our body. 
• Good bacteria in our digestive system are capable of killing various bad bacteria if they come along with some food item.

How Good Bacteria Kills Bad Bacteria

Every bacteria have a certain pH level range in which they can survive. pH level below 7 is acidic and some good bacteria can survive upto 3 pH level. When good bacteria breaks down and ferments the food that we eat, it becomes acidic. It automatically kills some bad bacteria that can't survive till that pH level. The bacteria responsible for botulism can't survive below 4.6 pH level. Such bacteria is easily killed in a healthy body where good bacteria are in appropriate amount.

Antibiotics kill both Good and Bad Bacteria

Usually we take antibiotics to get rid of some bad bacteria. But most of the antibiotics are Broad Spectrum Antibiotics, which kill a wide range of bacteria. It means that in order to kill one bad species of bacteria, several good species of bacteria are killed. Sometimes this practice causes lack of good bacteria in gut and creates some side-effects in our body. Most of these good bacteria are unable to regenerate themselves in our body and we again visit the same doctor to treat them and the cycle continues.

Probiotics for Good Bacteria

Now a days Probiotic Drinks are gaining popularity as they contain Good Bacteria necessary for our body. Consuming them can help up to some level in regenerating some good bacteria which are destroyed either by antibiotics or some other reason.

Bad Bacteria are also necessary for Body

If you think that only good bacteria are helpful for our body then you are wrong. Some bad bacteria are also necessary. In a healthy human being 15% of total bacteria in body are bad bacteria. One of the best examples of it is Escherichia coli (E coli). This bacteria has got a negative reputation among most of us, but what we don't know is that E Coli is usually available in our Gut and Skin. It harms us only when our body is out of balance and we are lacking some good bacteria that can save us from harmful effects of E Coli.

Good Bacteria can also Harm an Imbalanced Body

If your body is out of proper balance of Good and Bad Bacteria then even good bacteria can do harm to your body. A stressed body can also create such environment. A stressed or out of balance body can change a "dormant" good bacteria into an active bacteria which starts to colonize itself and harms your body.

So in order to stay healthy and maintain a good balance of good and bad bacteria in your body you must avoid taking unnecessary antibiotics and live a less stressful life. Some Probiotics can also help in maintaining this balance. Being close to nature is always a helpful thing in living a less stressful and healthy life. 

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Natural Antibiotics vs Synthetic Antibiotics

Antibiotics are those medicine which combat against bacteria and either kills them or makes them unable to harm human body. After the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928, the medical world found something new to treat diseases and so many antibiotics were developed since then. But now people are facing various side effects of these synthetic antibiotics. Usually we think that there were no antibiotics before 1928, but there were. Our mother nature has provided various natural antibiotics in form of herbs and various food items, we just ignore them and take them as traditional medicines. Here we will tell some pros and cons of these antibiotics and how natural antibiotics are better than the synthetic one.

• The vary first thing that is taking us back towards Natural Antibiotics is the creation of Superbugs by Synthetic Antibiotics. Improper usage of synthetic antibiotics have created resistant bacteria which can't be killed by any synthetic antibiotic available. It means that a few decades before the bacteria were not as much powerful as they are today, and we have got no antibiotic to kill them. 
• Synthetic Antibiotics are of two types: Narrow Spectrum and Broad Spectrum. Narrow Spectrum antibiotics are better as they kill only those bacteria for which they are developed. While Broad Spectrum Antibiotics kill a wide variety of bacteria. All bacteria are not harmful. Our body is habitat of several good bacteria and these broad spectrum antibiotics kills those good bacteria as well and it leads to side effects. Doctors often prescribe the broad spectrum antibiotic to have a better chance of killing the disease causing bacteria, which is making humans more sick. 
• Ayurveda, an Indian Medicine Technique, is based on the natural resources to treat diseases. Several natural antibiotics were described in books of Ayurveda. Those who have some knowledge about Ayurveda know the fact that Ayurvedic Medicines don't have any side effect.
• If we compare the functioning of Natural and Synthetic antibiotics than it can be easily understood which one is safer. However the working speed of Synthetic Antibiotics is faster than natural antibiotics. But a slow recovery without any side effect is better than a fast recovery with side effects.
• Our body is also capable of fighting with several bacteria and diseases. Instead of directly killing the bacteria, some natural medicine just improve the immune system (natural mechanism in body to fight diseases) and help our body to kill that bacteria itself. 

Turmeric Root, Garlic, Honey, Cabbage, Apple, Onion, Cardamom, Fenugreek and many more. There are uncountable food items in nature which are easily available in our kitchen or kitchen garden and can protect/treat various diseases. We just need to do the correct research to find correct natural antibiotic for specific bacteria/disease.

It does not matter how well we know the functioning of our body, there are still a number of things we don't know about it. Whenever humans have tried to take nature in his own hand something wrong has happened. Instead of developing these synthetic antibiotics we should put some research on Natural Antibiotics and find which bacteria can be killed by which natural antibiotic. It would not only take us closer to nature but several new healthier ways of living a disease free life will be discovered.

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Auto Brewery Syndrome : Drunk without Drinking

You won't believe this fact that a person can show symptoms of of drunk man, even without drinking. Even all of his alcohol tests will come positive. Such situation is common if one is suffering from Auto Brewery Syndrome. However this medical condition is very rare. Some people who know this medical condition try to use it as a defense against drunk-driving charges. Here we will explain more about this "Drunk without drinking" Auto Brewery Syndrome.

Auto Brewery Syndrome

Auto Brewery Syndrome is a medical condition in which fermentation of carbohydrates occur in our digestive system and creates alcohol. A person suffering from this condition can easily feel drunk after few hours of carbohydrate rich diet. Auto Brewery Syndrome is also known as Gut fermentation syndrome. There is not much documentation available about this disease.

In 2013 Journal of Scientific Research published a report about  61 year old man who had this syndrome from past 20 years. His blood alcohol level was found 0.40 without drinking. According to him this condition started after he had irritable bowel syndrome that worsened to bloating and gas. Later muscular pain, headache and mood disturbances became a part of his life.
In some extreme cases Auto-brewery syndrome can cause alcohol or methanol poisoning which may lead to death.

Social effects of Auto Brewery Syndrome

• It reduces the working capicity of person and affects his job and personal life.
• It can demotivate a person to a great extent.
• The friend circle of the person is reduced is very much and most of the people feel that he/she is drunk. Such person feel alone and detached from family and friends.

Cause of Auto Brewery Syndrome

This condition occurs as a result of too much yeast trapped in digestive system. That yeast can ferment any carbohydrate into ethanol.

Treatment of Auto Brewery Syndrome

• According to specialists this condition can be treated with help of some anti-fungal medications, such as fluconazole. Yeast is a fungus and its the root of this disease. Once the yeast is destroyed by antifungal medication, the fermentation will stop.
• Another temporary way to get rid of intoxication is to avoid eating carbohydrates, sugar and yeast. But its nearly impossible to live without eating any carbohydrate. So if you feel drunk without drinking then you may check yourself by removing carbohydrate from your diet and then check if the drunk-symptoms are reduced. If it is so then visit a doctor and tell about it.

So if you ever meet a drunk man, and he says that he was not drinking then now you have at least one reason to believe him.
Don't ever try to use it as a defense against drunk-driving charges, as it a very rare medical condition and mostly found only in Japan. 

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Robotic Surgery - Science Fictions becoming Reality

If you have seen robots performing surgery in Hollywood Science Fiction movies and think that they are something impossible then you are wrong. Robotic Surgery is becoming a reality. Day by day new technology is being developed and these robots are becoming more advanced. However still these robots need to be controlled by an expert surgeon but they can perform surgery with more precision and accuracy without getting tired.

Benefits of Robotic Surgery

• Minimal Invasion: Robotic Surgery need minimal invasion, which means minimum size cut on the body. Its possible because robotic hands are designed in a way to operate through minimal invasion, while if a surgeon performs that task then the cut size should be sufficient enough to have space for surgeon's hand.
• More Accuracy: Robotic hands can work with more accuracy as they won't move in any wrong way unless they are told to. They can measure each move with accurate precision. Robotic hands won't shake in any condition.
• Minimum Recovery Time: As a result of minimal invasion and more accuracy the recovery time of the patients is reduced a lot.
• Lesser blood loss: Due to minimum invasion the loss of blood is also reduced. 
• Remote Surgery: This method allows a specialist surgeon sitting in any country of the world to perform surgery in any hospital of the world with the help of robotic arms that work with the help of tele-manipulators.

Types of Robots used for Surgery

• Just like Surgeons have their specialization, there are different robots for different surgeries. For example a robot to operate an eye or brain should be more precise and accurate than any other surgical robot. Robotic surgeries are going on from past several years but first eye surgery using a robot is done recently on 9th Sep 2016. The robot used in that operation can make accurate movements to 100th part of a millimeter. Even the instruments in that robot are of very minute size compared to other surgical robots.
• Robotic surgery is also used in organ transplant. Kidney transplant using a robot were started around a decade ago, and it emerged as one of the most successful robotic surgeries.
• German KUKA KR 240 is a Robot to perform radio surgery with high accuracy. It can treat tumors with high energy radiation rays. In this procedure the patient don't need to be moved, but the robotic arm itself moves without disturbing the patient and triggers the rays on the correct point with high accuracy.
• Some robots are also designed keeping the children in mind, when the size of body is smaller and smaller incisions are necessary for faster recovery. First pediatric robotic surgery was performed at Children's Hospital of Michigan in 2002.
• NeuroMate was the first commercially available Neurosurgical Robot and it performed more than 8000 brain surgeries between 1997 to 2009. Now its newer version NeuroArm is working successfully.
• Robot assisted Endoscopic surgery is one of the most famous surgeries where heart surgery is done through small incision in blood vessels.

History of Robotic Surgery

• PUMA 560 was a robotic arm used in 1985.
• PROBOT was developed in 1988 at Imperial College London and used for prostatic surgery.
• ROBODOC was developed in 1992 and used for human Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA).
• IGOS was used in 1997 for total knee replacement surgery.
• The da Vinci Surgical System is a robot that can do cutting and sewing in guidance of a surgeon with its robotic arms. During year 2000 and 2001 FDA approved the usage of this robot in various types of surgical procedures. It can produce a 3D image of the object and has 3 or 4 arms to assist in operation and handling tools. Two of its hands act as hands of surgeon, who sits in surgeon console to operate the patient.

• By 2012, 1840 da Vinci Surgical System were installed in 1450 different hospitals worldwide.

Nanotechnology has assisted a lot in developing these surgical robots. Nanotechnology is itself a very costly thing. These surgical systems cost a lot and thus increase the cost of surgery. The maintenance cost of these systems is also very high. But the good thing is that these robotic surgeries saves the number of days spent by a patient in hospital and the recovery time is also reduced. A surgeon should also be trained on these surgical robots before applying it on real patients.

A lot more new surgical robots will come in next few decades. We should hope that in coming decades the surgery cost should also be reduced by making these robots both cost effective and safe for patients.

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