The fear of getting old with a number of diseases / health problems is one of the worst fears. Everybody want a long life with a healthy body. However a lot of things depend on your lifestyle and healthy habits, but still somethings can't be managed, such as your genes. After 50 years of age people often find themselves surrounded by some health problems. Even if they are not, the talks among the age group of over 50 often comes to diseases they are suffering from. Here we have brought some common diseases that start affecting your body after reaching that particular age group.
Diseases that affect after 50
The diseases listed below are not meant for everybody. But if you neglect your health and don't adopt a healthy lifestyle the chances of getting these health problems are quiet high. 50 Years is a mark where your health starts deteriorating due to ageing process and your metabolism and immunity level also starts decreasing. So here is the list of common health problems that you should be aware of if you are about to approach the 50 year of age.
Obesity: Obesity has made 73% US Adult population its playground. Obesity is not just a health condition but a disease in itself that increases chances of several other diseases. Chances of being obese increases with age.
Heart Problems: Heart problems often result from obesity and hypertension. Being obese after the age of 50 increases your chances of heart diseases to a great extent.
Diabetes: Obesity is mostly the real culprit behind diagnosis of diabetes.
Asthma: Chances of getting affected with asthma increases with age. It is condition when our air ways get allergic to certain substances in the environment. It often results in coughing and difficulty in breathing.
Cancer: The chances of getting affected by cancer increases with age. There is no fully confirmed reason behind it but some experts believe that degrading immune system with increasing age might have increased its occurrence.
Sight Problems: Glaucoma and Cataract is common in elderly people. Certain sight related problems can make the old age even worse. Some of them are Diabetic Retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMB).
Gum Disease: If you don't follow proper dental hygiene then you are at risk of gum disease. Smokers have 70% more chances of developing it. If you are one of those who brush just once daily and sometimes even forget that one time then you have 33% more chances of developing it.
Hair Loss: Some experts say that it happen due to lack of nutrition, some believe Male-Pattern-Baldness is due to DHT and some believe that it is due to genes. But this health condition has give opportunity to whole hair-loss industry to make good money out of baldness.
The above list of diseases are not meant for everybody that reach the age limit of 50, but they affect those who are either not serious about their health or who can't take care of their health due to other responsibilities. Our motive behind writing this article is to tell you that health is wealth. If you choose a better lifestyle at an early age then you can protect yourself from a number of common health problems. Even some genetic diseases can't affect you, if you choose to override those genes by your strong will and healthy habits.
Virus and Bacteria, both are known as harmful microorganisms that can harm our body. But virus has got a bad reputation compared to bacteria. Bacteria are sometimes good for us as they help in several functions of body, but it is not same for virus. Virus are known for some of the worst diseases that mankind has faced, such as HIV and Ebola. Virus are usually harmful and we will tell you the reason why.
What is a virus?
Virus is a protein, either DNA or RNA. It is a genetic material which needs some host cell to survive. So you can say that virus is a genetic material with no cell. Cell is known as the smallest living entity. Virus don't have a cell of their own, so they are always in need of a host cell that they can infect to multiply themselves.
Size of virus vs bacteria
Virus vary in size and they range from 17 nanometer to 1000 nanometer. One nanometer is 0.000000001 m. This size is so small that you can't see it even with a light microscope. Electron Microscope are necessary to study a virus. Size of virus is so small that they can be compared to atoms. Size of a hydrogen atom is 0.1 nanometer. Bacteria are much bigger than virus. They range from 200 to 10000 nanometer.
When were Virus discovered ?
Existence of virus was suspected near the end of nineteenth century when biologists were unable to find any bacteria responsible for some diseases/infections. They found these microorganisms much smaller than bacteria and they were unable to multiply in a solution as they were extracted out of a living body.
Virus is neither dead nor alive !
Viruses can't live on their own, so some biologists consider them as dead. They need a host body made up of living cells to let them survive. When virus enter a cell, then it replicates its proteins and infects other cells, which makes it something living. Virus is something between living and dead. It is a non-living genetic code without any cell and needs a host cell to be something living.
Are viruses more harmful than Bacteria ?
Yes, in most of the cases. Name of diseases like Ebola and AIDS can take your breath away. But there are some nasty bacteria like Neisseria meningitidis which can make you dead within a day even after taking antibiotics. Some bacteria are equally harmful as viruses. There are lesser medicines to fight viral infections. New generations of resistant bacteria are equally harmful as we don't have any antibiotic to kill them.
Why viruses are more dangerous ?
It is because of the fact that virus can infect a cell. Both bacteria and human cell are prone to that infection. Virus is not a separate entity, as it infects by entering itself into a cell. Virus is nothing but a genetic code which disrupts the working of a cell and then starts multiplying itself. There are several good bacteria inside the human body, which can also be infected with a virus. To kill a virus we need to kill the infected cell itself which makes it more harmful for any living creature including humans. How do our immune system fights with virus ?
Different types of white blood cells (WBC) are main part of our immune system and they can reach any part of body as they reside in the blood. Our body makes millions of them in the bone marrow every day. Macrophages (a type of WBC) destroy any germ that the detect inside the body, but virus infected cells need more advanced defense system. In order to do that more advance WBC known as T and B lymphocytes come into action. B cells make antibodies that bind themselves to virus infected cell in order to tag them and stop them from replicating. T cells act as the guard dog and informs other cells of immune system about the viral infection. Now other cells of our immune system can easily identify these tagged infected cells and kill them to destroy the virus completely. Even when a virus a destroyed some advance T and B cells creates an "acquired immunity" in our body to make our body more safe from the same virus. This acquired immunity can sometimes save our body from the same virus for complete life.
Even after all these facts about virus and bacteria, virus should be considered as more harmful. Our body has already got more bacterial cells in it than human cells. So we are more bacterial than human. But virus is something harmful to both bacteria and human cells. Virus can infect even a bacteria.
Being taller is a wish of almost every person. Normally we grow till puberty and chances of getting taller after that age are minimal. There are a number of diet supplements in market claiming to grow your height. The advertisements of these diet supplements often show themselves as a magic pill which can make you taller within weeks. Some of them claim themselves as natural ingredients while some claim themselves as hormonal medicines. The truth about these supplements to increase your height is yet to come in this article.
The truth is that no supplement can make you grow taller once you have reached puberty and your bones have stopped growing. You should never take these supplements without consulting a doctor. Those supplements that claim to grow you taller after puberty don't have any solid research and test results to prove that.
How do we grow taller?
If you study the science behind growing taller than you will find that our height is defined by length of our bones. Epiphysis or growth plates are a part of our bones located at their terminal ends. Epiphysis remains soft till puberty and allows long bones to grow further. At the end of puberty phase epiphysis begins to fuse and solidify. Once it has become solid, no further growth is possible. Under normal circumstances girls reach the end of puberty by 18 years and boys by 20 years of age.
Some supplements claim to reverse the solidification of epiphysis to increase your bone size and overall height of a person. But such claims don't have any actual testing behind them.
Growing taller is a wish of every person and this desire often develops after we have attained puberty. Increasing your height is not possible after reaching that age, but some pharma companies utilize that desire to make big profit. They sell placebo in the name of an effective supplement to increase your height. Placebos may not harm you but some manufactures sell some medicines which can disturb the hormonal balance in your body and you may face some serious side effects. So before taking any such supplement it is better to consult your doctor.
FDA has approved a HGH hormone that can be used as a medicine for children experiencing abnormal growth. But this hormone works only till puberty. But some pharma companies sell fake supplements in name of HGH Hormone, despite of knowing the fact that it will not work on adults.
Food and Drug Administration neither test the ingredients of health supplements nor it regulates any statement mentioned by health supplements for their advertisements. So it is better to check the ingredients list mentioned on the package of such health supplements and know its actual usage itself. In some of them you may find just some natural multivitamin and mineral supplement to improve your overall health and has nothing to do with your height.
You will find a number of online advertisements claiming to grow you taller within 30 to 60 days. So of them publish very inspiring testimonials with photoshop images to prove their claim. So of them even give moneyback guarantee to sell their useless product. Don't fall prey to such things and believe in the fact that your height does not define you. It is your self confidence and your talent that defines you.
People often say that they can't remember what they dreamed about last night except some situations when the dream is either too joyful or a scary nightmare. Even if you can remember a dream just after waking up then most probably you will forget it within a few hours. Chances of remembering dream are more when you get awake in middle of it. Those who study sleep and dreams know the reason why you can't remember all your dreams.
Dreams are meant to be forgotten
On an average we sleep for one-third part of our life. 20% of that time is REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep during which we dream. Everyday we dream at least 5 different dreams. If our brain remembers all those dreams then it will take a lot of memory. Remembering all those dreams can also make it harder for us to distinguish between real memory and dream memory, as sometime dreams revolve around real subjects and circumstances. We are meant to forget dreams only to make our life easier. Sometimes the dreams are either too joyful or too scary and remembering them for long duration can take us away from reality in actual life. Usually we remember only the last dream that we had last night and the chances of forgetting that dream within a few hours are quiet high. The probability of remembering a dream increases if we wake up in middle of it.
Science behind Sleep and Dreams
If you study a little about sleep cycle the then you will come to know that sleep can be put into two main stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep and Non-REM Sleep. Non-REM Sleep can be further partitioned into four different stages. Out of these stages "Stage 4" is the deepest sleep during which we never dream and our body repairs broken tissues and builds bones and muscles. We dream during REM phase and the duration of REM phase increases as the sleep cycle increases and so does the duration of your dreams. So most probably your last dream will be lengthier than other dreams and may take up to 1 hour of your sleep. If you try to remember your last dream within 45 seconds after waking up then most probably you will remember that.
50% sleep time of babies is dedicated to REM sleep, while this duration decreases to 20% in adults. It means that kids dream more than adults. You may notice the kids dreaming by noticing the movement of their eyeball inside their closed eyes, which is easily visible (that is why they call it REM, Rapid Eye Movement). Due to more REM sleep in kids, the probability of remembering a dream increases in them.
The more time we take after REM phase to wake up, the lesser are the chances of remembering that dream. So now you know why we remember some dreams while some we don't. And the dream that we remember is usually the last dream of that sleep.
Creative people do remember their dreams more often. A number of extra ordinary scientists have have accidentally made some discoveries through their dreams.
Some people think that religion / culture makes us more dependent on god, rather on depending on ourselves, which makes us taking lesser care of our own body and being unhealthy. But some people think in other way and believe that your religion gives you internal peace and makes your mind free from any psychological disease which is a major health benefit. Here we will try to find that which of these theories is more correct and either your religion is just for your social well being or does it also have any impact (positive or negative) on your health.
There are two types of views about God in different religion:
The God is there to love you, forgive you and guide you.
The God is there to punish you for your bad acts.
Both of these views want the people to do good things, but the way they do it can affect your health. If you always remain in fear of God, then your health will be affected in negative way. While if you decide your acts to get the love and forgiveness of god, then it will affect your health in a positive way. Both of these views affect your mental health, one in positive and one in negative way. But your mental health can very easily impact your physical health as well. A mentally unfit person can't take care of his own body properly.
Meditation
Some religions make their followers indulge in meditation practices to feel the nature and god itself. The deeper you go into such practices, the more peace you will find. Some meditation practices make you follow some postures, which are itself equivalent to some physical workouts. Such practices even if followed as a part of religion or just as a workout, can give you both mental and physical fitness. Some meditations are known for their good effect in treating some diseases.
Music, Songs and Dance
Music, Songs and Dance are part of some religions and followed with a lot of faith. Music in itself is a healer. Health Benefits of Music are already mentioned by us. Scripts of the religious songs are either to praise the God or to teach some good lessons to the followers, which are itself a better thing for mind. Music and songs have the ability to treat mental illnesses. In some religions some stories are said with music, songs and dance, which increase our concentration and learning skills. Dancing in itself is a good physical workout.
How much you believe in Religion matters !
Some people rely on their religion just for their social life, else they have nothing to do with it. For such people there is no impact of religion on their health. Some people have strong faith on God, but can't spare more than hour per week for their religion and god. The health of such people might get affected by both their religion and their other physical acts. But some people are there who have very strong feelings about their religion and can't eat or live without worshiping their God for even a single day. Such people either have very good health in all aspects or they completely neglect their overall health.
Feeling of being connected with something bigger can sometimes make people do some unbelievable tasks, which shown their mental health. Bu that is possible only if that person know that he has to do that thing and god will help him in his task. So if your religion/culture provides you that positive energy and the ability to believe in yourself, then nothing is better than that.
Believing in your culture or religion does not mean that you can completely forget all other physical activities and God will take care of your body. If there are no physical workout as a part of your religion to make you physically fit, then you must do them separately as an exercise to keep your body in proper shape. Most of the religions can give mental peace but not all of them can make you physically fit. No religion prohibits you from doing a workout. An unfit body can't be of any use for God. So exercise regularly and have faith in your religion and culture to get both mental and physical fitness.
New Year comes every year, so do your health resolutions for that new year. But how long do you remember them. It should be a matter of concern for everyone if you want to celebrate the upcoming new year celebrations with a good health. New Years's Health Resolutions are generally made by people in their 30s or 40s. But often forgotten after a few weeks or just days. We will tell you why people do so, and how you can overcome that habit of yours to earn a good health. Your New Year's Health Resolutions don't make you healthy but your attitude does.
Some of the most common resolution made by people are:
Loose Weight
Exercise regularly
Give up smoking
Eating healthy food
Make work/life balance
Almost most of such resolutions are related to your health in one or other way. Most of these resolutions seems good, but why don't people follow them. Around 80% people fail in their resolution. Most of then don't even keep up with their resolution for even a month.
Why do people fail in keeping up with their New Year Health Resolution ?
Lack of Confidence / Will to do that.
Feeling lost just by a simple set back, which could be overcome by little efforts.
Don't reminding yourself of your resolutions.
Don't telling anybody else about your resolution. So nobody will know even if you don't follow your resolution.
Because you are not doing it for yourself. Sometimes some resolutions are forced on you and it was not your wish to make it a resolution.
What to do to succeed in your New Year Health Resolution ?
Don't just make it, Plan it. Lack of proper planning is the real obstacle. Planning it days before new year day will increase your chances of success. Breaking your goal into smaller targets can be a good planning.
Write down your resolution and keep it at a place where you can read it daily to keep reminding you that you made a promise to yourself. Writing down your progress is also a good habit.
Tell about it to your family and friends may also help you and they may help you in overcoming some obstacles by discussing it with them.
Make just one resolution at a time. Making multiple resolutions will become harder for you to follow. But still if you want to make more then you may plan them for different months.
Don't repeat any previously failed resolution, as it may make you feel less confident. Try some thing new and when you succeed then you may plan that for next time.
Don't copy others resolutions, as it will create an unnecessary competition which may discourage you if you are lagging behind.
Keep reminding yourself of the benefits of your resolution such as better health and a longer life.
Small set-backs are natural but never feel lost and don't give up without achieving the goal.
Whatever we see with closed eyes can be categorized into imagination, day dreaming, dreaming and nightmare. Usually we see a number of dreams or nightmares within a single night, but don't really remember most of them when we awake. Sometimes we give explanations for our dreams as something that we want in real life to happen. But we never try to know if we can modify our dreams by our sleeping position. Your sleeping position can affect your dreams. Here you will be enlightened by this knowledge as you read this article further.
However it is not a healthy practice to try to alter your dreams by changing your sleeping position intentionally, as it may disturb your normal sleep and you might awake without proper rest. But increasing your knowledge about affect of sleeping position on your dreams might save you from watching a nightmare.
When we sleep in different positions, or body exerts pressure on different body parts. That sense of pressure makes us dream in the same context, doing the similar activity which exerts pressure on that organ while we are awake. However it may not happen always, but researches show that it affects our dream.
Erotic dreams are common when we sleep on our stomach. But if you intentionally sleep on your stomach then it may result in lower back pain.
Sleeping with face down might result in nightmares of being tied, locked up or unable to move.
If you sleep on your right side then you are more likely to see positive dreams and lesser nightmares compared to those who sleep by turning left. The probability of remembering your dream is high if you slept on the right side.
Sleeping on your back can result in nightmares and most often you won't remember them. It is because your dreaming intensity might not be too high due to factors like snoring.
Sometimes our own personality can also affect our dreams. Two different people with same sleeping position may see different types of dreams depending on their personality.
Putting your hands on your chest while sleeping exerts pressure on your chest and may result in a nightmare where you can't breath properly or feel suffocation.
The results of researches on sleeping positions and dreams can't be taken as an authority as these results are based on self-reported dreams and sleeping position. These things are not fully monitored in a laboratory and nobody can remember all the dreams he/she have seen the previous night. More research is needed in this field.
Sleeping with Blanket over your head is often a habit of some kids. Some do it to get rid of fear of darkness in the night, while some do it to get more warmth. Adults have their own reason to do that, such as using smartphone under the blanket to don't let anybody else know that. Most common thought that comes in the mind of an educated man is if we consume all oxygen inside the blanket then we might die. Here we are going to find if it is really possible to run out of oxygen by covering your head with a blanket.
Is it Safe to Sleep with a Blanket over your Head / Face ?
Yes it is safe only if you are a healthy adult and the blanket is not too thick.
Can i run out of Oxygen by covering my head ?
Usually blankets are not air-tight, so can't run out of oxygen. But if it is a thick fiber blanket then it may reduce the air flow. CO2 concentration near your face might also increase.
Must Read if you cover you head while sleeping !
Infants should never sleep with their head covered as this behavior is connected to sudden infant death syndrome. Reference
An unhealthy person or a person with some respiratory diseases should never sleep with face covered by a blanket.
Even a healthy person should not use a thick fiber blanket to cover his/her head. More CO2 concentration can cause brain damage. However such blankets are not air tight but they can reduce air flow through them to a great extent.
You should not just fear about lesser oxygen inside the blanket, but also the cleanliness of the blanket used to cover the face.
A new blanket should never be used to cover head as it may have some manufacturing dust with some micro-organisms which can easily enter your body through nose, ear or mouth. It should have been washed at least twice before you cover your head with it.
A very old blanket may also be harmful as it may also have dust deposited inside its fibers.
Inhaling dust through a blanket on regular basis can damage your lungs gradually.
Asthmatic people are never advised to cover their face while sleeping as it reduces the fresh air supply.
A thin blanket might not be harmful as enough air can flow through it and usually they are washed at home regularly.
Sleeping with a blanket over your head reduces your hearing and smelling sense, which may help you in sleeping better, but it can also make you vulnerable to any danger in your surroundings.
What if i can't sleep with my face open ?
If you can't sleep due to some light falling on your eyes (as some people have tendency to sleep in complete darkness), then you may use an eye mask to cover your eyes only. It may also help you if you feel some fear.
When you sleep with your head inside the blanket then oxygen level might decrease. A healthy adult can easily figure it out due to rise in pulse rate and uncomfortable breathing. He/she will automatically remove the blanket from his/her face without getting awake.
A good ventilated room is often suggested by doctors to live a healthy life. Same applies to your blanket while sleeping. It is not a healthy habit to sleep with your head covered.
Polygamy is a lifestyle when one person can have more than one sexual partners. Some societies and religion allow man to marry more than one woman. However several countries have prohibited this practice in legal terms, but still some are allowing it only for certain religions. Even if it is illegal in most of the countries, still a number of men have more than one sexual partner. Here we are not going to discuss the legal or illegal nature of polygamy. Polygamy can be in any form either one night stand, prostitution, second wife without and rights or just an affair. In most of the cases it is found that men are always more interested in polygamy compared to women. Here we going to pull out the reasons behind this behavior of men.
Why men are more polygamous than women ?
Religions allow it only for men: All those religions that allow polygamy, allow it only for men. Religions have a major impact on thinking of men and women. Our religions have given more freedom to men compared to women, which made women dependent on men and thus believed it that they should do as per command of male members of family.
Men is more muscular: The physical power has its own benefits. It is the very first reason behind the male domination in society. Being more muscular means, ability to control woman according to their wish.
Humans evolved from animals: As you have seen in various wildlife TV Channels that male animals always try to spread their genes by impregnating various females on the basis of their strength. Male animals are very less likely to make a bond to only one female. So that polygamous behavior is in the genes of men from their ancestors. Man is more or less a social animal. Even if it is not allowed in terms of law or society, men do it in other ways.
More Control: More or less men are usually the more outgoing and earning member of family. It gives them the opportunity to be polygamous. When you have got freedom and money to spend then most likely you will utilize it for your pleasure.
Men are less religious: In most of the societies men are less religious and have less fear of god. Even if their religion says that polygamy is a sin, they still try indulge in it in any way possible. The more powerful a person is, the less fear of God will be there.
Women were not allowed to be polygamous: Even a polygamous man don't want her wife to be polygamous. This personality trait of man, kept polygamy to men. However sex workers were an exception as they were not bound to a single man.
Polygamy is not something to like, it is something to lean. Mean lean towards it due to more muscular power, more financial independence, favoring religious laws and the animal nature within. So if you are a woman and found your man cheating on you then you can blame is genes.
The views shared in this article are not about behavioral characteristic of every man or woman. Some man and woman totally disbelieve in polygamy from the depth of their hearts and such people are making the whole society believe more in love rather than polygamy.
66% of British population believes that polygamy is morally wrong. 56% American population thinks in the same way.
A number of people believe that humans just use 10% of their brain on average. Those who have have higher IQ might have crossed this average percentage. A normal person world easily believe this theory, as we have a tendency to believe in super humans with super intelligence, and it is not possible if all of use 100% of our brain. Else there will be no difference between a normal person and Albert Einstein. But the truth about this theory is totally different.
Do we really use just 10% of our Brain ?
Homo Sapiens (or today's Man kind) is made after evolution of millions of years. In this process of evolution we got some new abilities as per necessity and also lost some feature if they were of no use any more. We are still evolving today but the it is not visible in one generation or two, it takes thousands of years to notice any visible effect. Today we have a perfectly balanced body and every organ has a use according to present environment. If you believe this theory then you must agree think twice before agreeing to "10% of brain" theory.
How may we get a brain 10 times the necessity. It is simply a wrong fact. Those who found it, either did some wrong analysis or believed in the fact that we are successors of some alien species that came to earth a long time ago and we are yet to know full potential of our brain.
Real Science is that that believe on facts, not on any preconceived notions. A number of people keep believing in the 10% of brain theory without questioning it.
From where do we get this 10% of brain theory ?
Before we answer this question you must know that The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research did a survey in 2013 and found that 65% Americans believe that just 10% of our brain is used by us in a lifetime. However now this brain usage percentage has increased to 35% in some cases but still this myth is surviving and will not come to an end anytime soon. Timeline of origin of 10% brain theory
Harvard psychologists William James in 1890 told audiences that people only meet a fraction of their full mental potential, which was taken as a plausible clause by educated people of that time.
In 1929 a book "Mind Myths: Exploring Popular Assumptions About the Mind and Brain" was published which contained a chapter on 10% brain myth.
In 1936, American writer Lowell Thomas added a falsely precise percentage and said that Professor William James used to say that humans use just 10% of their brain.
In the 1970s, psychologist and educator Georgi Lozanov proposed a teaching method called suggestopedia with a belief in its base that humans use just 5 to 10% of their mental capability.
Some people also believe that in late 19th century and beginning of 20th Century when early brain researches were going on, scientists were unable to find the functions of a large part of brain. It lead to a misunderstanding that only 10% of brain is used by humans.
Today the truth is known that 100% brain is used during a day. However it is possible that during one particular task only 10% brain is active. But a large percentage of population still thinks that we use just 10 to 35 percent of our brain. Facts that will make you believe that we use 100% of our brain.
The very first fact is that we evolved and got only that much capability which is necessary. Getting a brain with 10 times of normal capability is something unnecessary and impossible to develop under the normal biological process of evolution.
Death during childbirth was often associated with large skull size. If our brain is really unnecessarily large then we should have lost it by natural selection and mortality rate during child birth would have been less.
Every person with a brain damage (either accidental or stroke) always loose some capability due to loss of a part of brain. However some lucky people may get their lost capability back due to neuroplasticity if the that was not a major brain damage.
Some recent researches based on brain scans confirmed that all parts of brain remain active all the time. Some parts remain more active during a particular task, but we can't take any part of brain as non functional.
Every part of brain has got a function, either physical, mental or emotional. Some parts of brain just handle our internal metabolism. All functions of brain are really very hard to know as some of these parts make us think, make us dream, make us plan. Our brain can take us to a scene decades before and can also make us think of that future when we will not be here. Whatever we look, we are much more than that. The fact that we don't utilize our full potential is true, but nature has granted us with power to do much more in our life with a brain of three pounds.
After reading this article you must stop believing that extra 90% brain can give psychic powers to you some day which is falsely advertised in a number of sci-fi movies. Your views on this article are most invited in the comments section.
A few days ago i was watching a video claiming that RO water, which is now common in most households, is decreasing the immunity. Immunity power is that power that makes us capable to resist from different types of virus and bacteria and keep our body healthy. That video claimed that the purity of RO water makes our body loose its resistance power and we become prone to more diseases. In this article we will try to figure out if there is some truth in such claims or not.
When we researched on internet and the official website of WHO (World Health Organisation), we came to know that the claims about low TDS and its effect in decreasing immunity were correct. If you want to know how then read further.
How do water of low TDS impact negatively ?
It is a tendency of water to extract the minerals from nearby substances to increase its TDS and become less reactive. When a RO decreases the TDS value of water, it become highly reactive. If that water is stored in plastic container of a bottle then it can become severely harmful. Even if it is not stored and just used for drinking purpose, then it will try to add minerals into it from the mineral reserves in our body and drain them out through urine.
TDS is Total Dissolved Solids. TDS measures the amount of solids, both organic and inorganic, dissolved in the water. It also contains soe essential minerals for human body. When a RO purifier reduces the TDS value of water, several essential minerals are also lost along with the micro-organisms that are harmful for us. Water with low mineral content is harmful for our body.
According to a research published on WHO website when some rats are given water of TDS less than 75mg/L then it increased the water intake, diuresis, extracellular fluid volume and serum concentration of sodium and chloride ions and their increased elimination from body. Overall it is a very negative effect on rats. The reduced amount of minerals in water can't be compensated by balanced diet which is adequate in caloric value, nutrients and salt.
A similar experiment was done on human volunteers as they were given water of TDS value less than 100mg/L. They reported the same results as rats and increased the elimination of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and magnesium ions from the body. It confirmed that water of low TDS is severely harmful for human body.
Some symptoms that are often seen in people consuming low TDS water for short duration are tiredness, weakness and headache. If it is done for prolonged duration then more severe symptoms are muscular cramps and impaired heart rate. Low TDS water leaches the essential minerals from body and function of some of the vital organs of human body is affected.
Those who are familiar with Water Poisoning, know that if very high amount of water is consumed in a short time then it can be poisonous sometimes. Chances of water poisoning is quite high with RO water due to it low TDS value.
Minerals such as sodium and potassium are very important for nervous system to work properly and their deficiency can result in problems in brain functioning.
Deficiency of these minerals not only make us sick but also unable to fight diseases due to weaker immune system.
Lack of minerals can also create hormonal imbalance in body.
You may visit this link of WHO if you want to confirm the facts written above. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf
In our next articles we will tell you how much TDS is considered good for health and how low mineral water can act as poison for you.
Sex determination of fetus is crime in various countries and should not be encouraged. It can help in creating an imbalance in sex ratio that naturally occurs. But what we are going to tell here comes far behind the range of sex determination. Some old knowledgeable persons of old civilizations provided some ways to get child of the desired sex. Not even that some of them also provided the knowledge to get the desired qualities in them. We don't have any research findings to support their findings but still they are worth reading. Some people may believe them while some may not.
Some people claim that Ayurveda has remedy to get child of preferred gender. If the pair indulge in the act after the 4th day of menstrual cycle and before 16th day of menstrual cycle then chances of fertilization are more. The day of successful intercourse decides the sex of fetus. Impregnation on even days of menstrual cycle results in boy while on odd days results in girl. The quality and characteristics of the boy or girl becomes better if they are conceived on final days of cycle (i.e 15th or 16th day).
One old Sanskrit text Sarvodaya says that if women is inhaling and exhaling through right nostril at the time of intercourse then it results in female child, while the opposite results in male child.
According to Aristotle, if the egg cell and the sperm are from the right ovary of woman and right testicle of man then male child will be produced. If the respective things are from left the female child will be produced. While writing this article i am thinking, "what if egg and sperm are from opposite directions ?". Aristotle knows.
It is good to have faith in your religion and sculptures but if believing something can create and imbalance in nature then it is a stupidity to do so. Nature has not provided us with the ability to decide the gender of fetus due to some reason. Being god can sometimes create bigger problems. If you indulge yourself in judging the gender then most probably you will ruin your love life. Health of the upcoming baby should be the first priority of parents not the gender.
Note: We don't support the knowledge provided above because it can create imbalance in sex ratio. One more reason is there to not support it, it is the impractical nature of the implementation of these techniques. Some methods are really hard to implement for both men and women, especially when they are in mood to make babies. It is really hard to decide through which nostril you are going to breathe at that particular time. Hardest thing in the above described method is to know from which direction the egg cell or sperm is coming.
We have not researched if the information provided above is really a part some ancient texts or it is just a hoax spreading on internet. So it is better not to take these information seriously. Our motive is to let you know what type of information is available out there to misguide those who really want a baby of desired gender.
There were days when cigarettes were healthier than today. We are persuaded to say so when we collected some old cigarette advertisements. If you see them you will either start laughing or start thinking that how man can be so foolish. Some of them said that it will sooth your throat to make you a better singer, some said that its smoke will attract women (just like perfume ads of today). One of these ads is unimaginable, where a kid is getting a pack of cigarettes for his parents.
The fact that surprised us is that these ads contain reference to scientific researches to make people believe that these are healthier. They will make a man more manly and a lady more feminine. No just that, some of them even said that they are safe for babies. Even doctors use to smoke and prescribe it to others (as per these advertisements).
Enough reading now ! Please go through these advertisements yourself.
However these ads surprised us, but one thing that don't surprise us is that businessman were still same as today. They leave no stone unturned to earn money, even if one of those stones was blocking the way to hell. They published false researches and made people believe that its good for them. Today we are fighting the smoking addiction only due to these ads. God knows if still some of these companies are in business and earning money by selling quit smoking techniques.
In different geographical areas around the globe the height of humans differ a lot, but still men are 4-9% taller than women everywhere. Sometimes some exceptions occur but on an average men are always taller. Different studies tell about different reasons for this difference in height. A single factor can't be held responsible for this difference in height. Some factors are related to our evolution, while some are related to our cultures. Here are a few of them.
Biological Reasons
Natural Selection: We all know that humans evolved from apes and gorillas and it took millions of years in this process. All of the previous species of humans lived in forests and males often fight for females (just like we see on animal channels). Most of the times taller males win and only winners were able to continue their genes. In this way natural selection helped men to be taller.
Women stop growing a few years earlier: If you look at the growth chart of both men and women, then you will find that women stop growing a few years earlier. It gives men an upper edge and they become taller.
Testosterone hormone: This hormone is responsible for muscular growth. Women's body have just 5% of testosterone compared to men. This is a major reason behind lesser muscles which can easily lead to lesser height. More height requires more muscle mass to support the larger frame. Why women don't develop muscles like men ?
Cultural Reasons
Better food for males: In most of the cultures boys and girls are not treated equally. Boys are given more preference in terms of better food. This practice when continued for generations will automatically result in taller and muscular males.
Outdoor Exposure: In most of the cultures men are the main earning member of the family and often get more outdoor exposure. This resulted in more physical activity and thus muscular development and better height. This factor is also connected to previous factor of better food for males.
Women select taller guy: Just like the biological factor of natural selection, men don't fight for women anymore. But still taller men win. It is because still in modern world women prefer their men to be taller. So taller genes of men continue to rule.
Men select shorter women: In most scenarios men opt for a shorter women instead of the taller one. So the shorter genes of women continue in the gene pool.
All of these biological and cultural reasons were a part of our life from past thousands to millions of years. In some species the difference of height of males and females is much larger than humans. So human females are still better than a lot of other species. Shorter height of women does not mean women are lesser than men in any way in the modern world.
There were some diseases in human history that never existed but still a number of people feared them. Millions of people were even treated for them, not only through medicine but also through surgery. Today medical science has advanced a lot and we know that there were either no such medical condition or they were incorrectly diagnosed. You will be surprised to know that once a physician discovered a disease in 1850, whose symptoms were "absconding from service" and "dissatisfaction from job just prior to the act". We were lucky that it didn't made it to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Here is a list of some fake diseases for which people were treated for decades and today we know that these were no diseases at all or just some misdiagnosed disease.
Homosexuality: Homosexuality was termed as “sociopathic personality disorder” in the very first edition of DSM in 1952. It was treated as a disease till 1973. Even some Gay people choose to get themselves treated through various therapies such as surrogate sex and electric shocks. A number of doctors treated it and countless researchers spent millions to find its causes and cures.
Suppressed Gout: Today we know that Gout is a form of Arthritis which is caused due to buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints. But in the beginning of 19th century doctors believed that it caused due to accumulation of some unknown toxic substances. Some doctors fabricated a new disease and named it suppressed gout, which is caused due to same unknown toxic substance. Whenever these were not able to diagnose a disease they used to tell that it is Suppressed Gout. Even Charles Darwin once believed that he was suffering from this disease.
Railway Spine: In the beginning of 19th century as Railway Transportation began to carry passengers, the disease named "Railway Spine" is named by a few doctors. At that time rail accidents were quite common and people often come up with no physical injuries but some spinal problems. At that time medical practitioners used this term to earn good money. Today we know that it was nothing but Whiplash which is caused due to forward/backward jerk on neck or head.
Status Lymphaticus: This disease reportedly killed thousands of people in around year 1900. At that time it was believed that thymus gland, which is located between heart and lungs, expands itself and causes pressure on lungs and heart and the patient suffocates to death. Today we know that thymus is an important part of our immune system. In year 1931, "Status Lymphaticus" was disapproved as a medical condition.
Ovariomania: In 19th Century surgeons removed ovaries of 150,000 women with the fear of Ovariomania. It was believed to be a disease that affected women near menopause and tumors are formed in their ovaries. At that time some doctors also connected this medical condition with the bouts of insanity in women. Such women use to falsely believe that they are pregnant or they are visited by some men at night. Today we know that there were no tumors in ovaries and there was no such disease.
Intestinal Autointoxication: It was a disease discarded by medical community decades ago. Intestinal Autointoxication dates back to ancient Egypt where intellectuals used to believe that sometime fecal matter poops out of the intestine inside our body and that causes various diseases in body. This philosophy still makes natural health industry earn a good money.
With the discovery of micro-organisms in 19th century and then discovery of penicillin made people believe that anything abnormal is a disease and it can be treated through medicine. This thinking created a number of fake diseases either intentionally or unintentionally while some of them were just common psychological behavior where no medicine was necessary.
Amino Acids are simple organic compound which contain both a carboxyl (—COOH) and an amino (—NH2) group. These amino acids are building blocks of proteins and necessary in construction of our body cells, tissues and muscles. Our body can't exist in absence of amino acids. There are 20 different types of amino acids. All proteins are combinations of these amino acids.
What are essential Amino Acids
Some of the amino acids required for our body can be constructed by our body itself, but there are some amino acids which should be compulsorily a part of our diet. These amino acids which are necessary to be a part of balanced diet are known as Essential Amino Acids. There are nine essential amino acids which are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.
Do Vegetarians get all essential amino acids from their food ?
There is a misconception among non-vegetarians that vegetarians can't get all essential amino acids from their veg diet, so non-veg is mandatory for a healthy body. Different amino acids are part of different vegetables, grains, pulses and dairy products. If you are having a balanced vegetarian diet then most probably you are getting all essential amino acids. It is not necessary to get all essential amino acids in every diet or within a day. You may have some of then on one day and others on other day. Our body can utilize them whenever we eat them, so it doesn't matter if we don't eat a few of them for a few days in a week.
There is another misconception about proteins, that vegans don't get enough proteins in their diet. The truth is that an average vegan gets much more than recommended intake of proteins. While only 42g of protein are necessary for an average man on daily basis, non-vegetarians eat way more i.e around 80g, while vegetarians eat around 70g in a day. The truth is that our body also needs fiber in diet and vegans get the fiber in sufficient amount compared to non-vegetarians.
Lysine is an essential amino acid that vegetarians should care about. It is available in Pistachios, quinoa and legumes including tofu and tempeh. If you use to eat eggs in your vegetarian diet then most probably you won't face lack of any essential amino acid. But even if you don't eat eggs then a combination of vegetables, fruits and whole grains can provide you enough of them to live a healthy life.
What really makes a person truly happy ? If you ask this question to different people then the answer will be different depending on their age, sex, circumstances and intellectual level. As of now some of you might be thinking about money and sex as the answer, and yes you are true, but that is the half truth. Sex might make a sex deprived person happy and money might make a poor happy, but the actual answers might make you rethink about your choices and methods to be happy.
Here is a list of some common things and actions that make a person happy. The list is not is a particular ranking as ranking of these items may differ by your age, sex, circumstances and intellectual level.
Sex: It is the ultimate thing to give happiness to a person. Nature designed us in a way that we can't resist the attraction of sex unless you are suffering from any psychological disease. It takes us to a state where our body releases the feel good hormones in our body and we feel relaxed and happy for some time.
Money: Those who don't have it might think that money can make them happier. They may be somehow true as money helps people in living a good life full of all luxury, but those who already have it know that happiness can't be purchased. A poor person might feel himself at the top level of happiness after winning a lottery, but that happiness fades with time.
Sleep: If you ask a sleep deprived person about happiness, his answer will be a good sleep is all he want. It is a truth that if you get a good sleep then you will get up in a good mood. But if you are sleep deprived that then nothing in the world can make you happy except a good sleep.
Addiction: Those who are addicted to some habit, either it is good or bad, know that when they get indulged in their addiction, they feel themselves happy. Different people have different addiction such as smoking and drinking, which are harmful for health, while some have addictions like photography, travelling, painting and reading books, which are somehow creative and good for you. Either it is good or bad, but the addiction makes your brain feel happy.
Feeling of Gratefulness: This is the feeling which comes most often when you a number of people around the world living in very worst conditions. You feel grateful to god that he has given you birth at the right place and provided you good family, food and education, which is better than what most of the world is getting. This feeling of gratefulness is also happiness. However sometimes its opposite also happens when we see people living in much better condition that us. But if you want to remain happy then see those people who have nothing. Its better to get motivated by watching the success of others who have much better life than us.
Happiness of a close one: When a person who is very close to us feels happy for something then we also feel happy. That person may be your close friend, your spouse, your siblings or your kids. Happiness spreads itself. Even if you are not is a good mood and then you find a close one in happy mood due to any reason then your mood elevates itself.
Satisfaction: Regardless of what you have and what you don't have, if you feel satisfied then you feel yourself at peace, which is also a kind of happiness.
Physical Workout: Those who are health conscious and those who go to gym on regular basis know the feeling that they get after a workout. This feel good feeling is something that comes from some hormones released by our body and also due to our belief that our health and body shape will improve due to the workout. Physical workout may be anything like swimming, cycling, running, jogging, yoga, walking or playing your favorite sport.
Entertainment: Definition of entertainment can differ for different people. Some may find a laughter show full of entertainment and some may find a football match full of real entertainment.
Good Health: Good health actually makes us happy but we don't notice it unless our body gets affected by some disease. We come to know about this feeling as we age. As we get affected by obesity or blood pressure or diabetes, we suddenly think that how happy we were when our body was healthy. But the problem is that we don't notice that happiness when we were in good health.
I hope that the above list will make you rethink about happiness. Regardless of who you are the feeling of gratefulness and satisfaction is the ultimate key to peace and happiness.
This statement came from some intellectual non-vegetarians who don't want to draw a line between plants and animals, and treat both of them as living beings. They want to tell the world that if killing animals to eat them is inappropriate then killing plants is also the same as both of them are living beings. This article will make them think again if they are giving right logic or just justifying their eagerness to eat meat by giving a totally inappropriate logic.
Plants don't feel pain: Plants don't have a nervous system like animals, thus they can't feel any pain. Mother nature designed them in that way so that even if a fruit or branch of them is plucked by any animal, then they don't feel any pain. Plants don't have brain: Just like nervous system, there is no brain in plants. Brain in animals help them with all their senses to feel pain, grief, fear. So killing an animal and a plant is a lot different. All plants are not killed to get food from them: We don't need to kill a tree to get fruits from it. We don't need to kill a plant to get vegetables from it. Only in some cases, such as grains and pulses we need to cut the whole plant. It can't happen with animals. Plants regrow: You can't even think of cutting a leg piece out of a living hen and then let that leg grow again. But it happens with plants. Even if a few branches or fruits of a plant are broken then they grow again in a few weeks. Plants can regrow even if their main trunk is cut. Plants don't run: Plants don't have the capacity to move to remain uncut. But animals try their best to escape from butchers knife. Level of consciousness: As a fact of science, everything is living in this universe. Either its a stone, an animal, bird or a complete planet. What matters is the level of consciousness. Level of consciousness increases from so called non-living things (such as stone, soil) to plants and then animals. We the humans have highest level of consciousness. Low level of consciousness in plants don't let them feel the death, the way animals and humans do. Plants are designed by nature to be eaten: All of the above facts cumulatively are sufficient to prove that mother nature designed plants to be eaten by animals and provided them the ability to regrow.
Some non-vegetarians give a smart logic that survival of the fittest is the law of nature, so humans (the fittest being on earth) have the right to kill any other animal. But as per logic of a vegetarian, survival of fittest is applicable only in jungles, where food chain needs to be maintained by nature. This law no longer works in human social life, else lives of all poor and incompetent humans would have been finished by now. There is one more thing related to this law. Survival does not mean to kill others. We the humans once killed and ate meat, when our ancestors lived in the forests. Today we have got ability to digest both veg and non-veg only due to our ancestors. But today the things have changed, we are no longer an animal. We have formed a good social life, good houses, good security systems and the other animals on planet are no longer a threat to us, unless you put yourself in danger willingly. Truth is that we humans are the biggest killers today, while we don't need to be.
I don't know how many of you would agree to the philosophy written above, but even if a single person will change from non-veg to veg after reading it then i will succeed.
The topic might make you believe that i am going to advocate for vegetarian diet for all, but the truth is that i am going to explain some facts based on evolution of man. These facts are collected after reading the history of evolution of humans. We all know that human beings evolved from monkeys which are basically herbivorous. But in the chain of evolution humans became omnivorous due to some geographical needs. A number of studies are done on this topic ranging from religious studies and scientific studies. Here are some facts.
Our religions and religious text are the oldest source of knowledge, and most of them advocate for vegetarian diet.
Albert Einstein, one of the most intellectual humans, has said that humans will need to completely adopt the vegetarian diet to save themselves and the planet.
Evolution of humans is not just physical, humans evolved their morals and understanding of emotions. A person who can't understand the pain of others is not considered a good human being. As a matter of fact most of the non-vegetarians can't eat meat if they see how animals are butchered.
Our ancestors ate raw meat but killing animals, but that was around 500,000 years ago. As humans evolved, they stopped eating meat, just like they stopped to practice cannibalism, rape, slavery. however slavery, rape and murder are still there, but they are considered as crime now.
Facts relating to our biological structure
Canine teeth of humans are not same as dog or any other flesh eating animals. Our canines prove that our ancestor were not flesh eating, and even if they were then they have stopped it thousands of years ago.
Those animals who are evolved to eat meat have claws. Men don't have claws, which indicates that men was herbivorous.
Carnivorous animals don't have skin pores while humans have.
Carnivorous animals have small intestinal tract compared to herbivorous animals. Humans have comparatively larger intestinal tract, which proves that it was meant for vegetarian diet.
Stomach of Carnivorous animals releases larger amount of hydrocloric acid to digest the higher amount of fat and proteins of meat. Herbivorous animals release 20 times less acid as it is sufficient to digest veg diet. Amount of acid released in human stomach makes it a herbivorous animal. Therefore meat stays longer in human stomach to get digested compared to veg diet.
Carnivorous animals don't have amylase in their saliva which is necessary to digest starch. Humans have amylase in their saliva as veg diet have more starch compared to non veg diet.
Some people can still argue for Non-veg diet by giving some other facts. We humans have got a good brain and it can prove anything by giving different logic. But the truth is that giving pain to a living organism for the sake of our tongue is not a good thing for beings with the highest morals and intellectual level.
There is no difference between the animals in your home and the animals in your plate. Both of them can't utter a word, but there eyes tell if they are happy or in pain.
When i decided to write this article about how our food affects our thinking, my motive was thinking not human brain or body function. But most of the internet is full of information relating to how food affects brain functions. Some of them even compared food with drugs. They may be somehow true, but my topic of this article in related to thinking, which is something about our mind. Does the food that we eat really affects our thinking. Can our dietary changes, change the way our mind thinks. I had some initial knowledge about what i need to tell in this article, but still i researched on internet to get some more insight into this topic.
A few years ago i read about different types of foods in some Indian Hindu Text. When i tried to search for that information i found that this information is part of Hindu culture and some most important hindu texts such as Gita and Ayurveda. The information provided below is totally an extract of that knowledge.
There are three types of food and personalities. Both foods and personalities have same name.
Satvik
Rajsik
Tamsik
Satvik is considered best, then Rajsik and Tamsik is the worst category. We will describe some foods that come in these categories and also the characteristics of personalities that are attained due to that type of food.
Satvik
Satvik food is not just pure-vegetarian but it contains only selected types of vegetarian food. Onion and Garlic are totally banned in satvik food. Fresh green vegetables, grains, fresh milk, fruits and almonds come in this category. But if the cooked food is not consumed within 4 hours then it can't be treated as Satvik. A person who eats satvik food on regular basis is intelligent and forgiving, he performs all of his duties without any greediness and his mind remains calm.
Rajsik
Rajsik food if consumed in right quantity can inspire us to work by using our brain and body. But if it is consumed in higher quantities then it makes us aggressive and full of anger. Food items that come under Rajsik category are spicy food items, onion, garlic, tea, coffee and oily dishes. Therefore Satvik food can become Rajsik if a lot of spices and oil is used in its preparation. Rajsik food is usually tastier than Satvik food.
Tamsik
Tamsik food makes our body and mind full of laziness. All non veg foods, fatty foods and stale food comes under this category. If you eat stale food by heating it again, then you are making it tamsik. Even satvik or rajsik food can be turned into tamsik in this way. Food items with high sugar content are also considered tamsik. Tamsik food can easily make our body full of diseases.
According to ancient Hindu text ayurveda, our diet decides our personality. Making some changes in our diet can change our personality. It can change our thinking quality and quantity. We all know that good diet can give us good health but this information provided above is something more than just health. Apart from deciding our health, our diet can change our thinking. Our thinking makes us who we are, so choose your diet wisely. You diet makes you who you are.
When a journalist asked an Indian Guru named Sadhguru about non-veg diet then he explained how our thinking changes by our diet. He explained it in our modern terminology of software. All of the living objects have different levels of consciousness. Plants have the lowest level of consciousness, then comes the animals, and then we the humans have highest level of consciousness. If we consider consciousness as software, low consciousness means simple software and high consciousness means complex software. When a complex software consumes a simple software then it can easily override its features. But if we consume something complex then either our body struggles more to override its features, our some of the features of that complex software become our own features. Animals have a complex software due to their higher level of consciousness. Eating them can infect us with their consciousness and we might start thinking like them and anger and cruelty can become a part of us.
The fear of getting old with a number of diseases / health problems is one of the worst fears. Everybody want a long life with a healthy body. However a lot of things depend on your lifestyle and healthy habits, but still somethings can't be managed, such as your genes. After 50 years of age people often find themselves surrounded by some health problems. Even if they are not, the talks among the age group of over 50 often comes to diseases they are suffering from. Here we have brought some common diseases that start affecting your body after reaching that particular age group.
