Parents Who Smokes Can Poison Their Babies

March 31, 2011 By: Jane Category: Children and Baby Health

If you are an active smoker, then you should think twice before you sleep in the same room with you baby. A research in California found that babies who sleeps with their parents (who are smokers) had three times higher levels of nicotine than those who sleeps separately.

Babies who have parents who are active smokers  is said third hand. Although they are never exposed to cigarette smoke directly, babies can still be exposed to toxic from smoke that sticks to clothing and skin of their parents, and even on the furniture.

The study also showed that bedroom ventilation is not effective enough to reduce levels of toxins on passive smokers, particularly babies. “Passive smoking is the leading cause of child mortality in developed countries,” said Guadalupe Ortega, author of the study.

Known as the Brief Intervention in Babies Effectiveness (BIBE), the study is related to the impact of tobacco smoke at a very young age group in private spaces.

The study involved the participation of 96 primary health centers in Catalonia. Experts interviewed parents of 1,123 babies under 18 months of age, who have at least one parent who is an active smoker.

They analyzed hair samples from 252 infants to determine the levels of nicotine. The research was done again in the following three and six months . As a result, 83 percent of the hair samples contained high levels of nicotine.

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Treat Back Pain By Taking These Vitamins

Anyone can experience back pain, and those who do experience it will certainly feel discomfort so that they will do what they can to treat this annoying problem. There are many ways to treat a back pain, and one of them is by consuming some vitamins.

It is estimated that about 80 percent of the world population had been affected by back pain. In some cases the back pain which is experienced is quite severe. This acute back pain is usually characterized by pain that suddenly appears and would last for a few days or weeks. This type of severe back pain is usually caused by an injury, improper position when lifting loads or because of bad posture.

If you happen to experience back pain yourself, you could easily search for some medicines that are quite effective in treating back pain. But the problem is that sometimes these medicines can cause unwanted side effects, especially gastric problems.

According to Livestrong, there is an alternative way that you could try which is also effective in dealing with back pain. It said that to cope with the problem, you could use some vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential for the production of bone and muscle tissue in the body. In study by the Mayo Clinic in 2009 it was found that vitamin D deficiency can cause pain and disruption of neuromuscular function. Therefore, getting enough vitamin D can prevent an increase of pain in the back.

Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that is used by the body to maintain neurological function, muscle and cellular as well as facilitating the absorption of calcium into the bone. Magnesium deficiency can cause symptoms of back and neck pain and muscle weakness that makes posture deteriorate or lead to injury resulting in back pain.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce inflammation and enhance the healing process. Back pain which is a result of an injury to the joints or soft tissues, is usually caused by inflammation inside.

This causes pain, which might look worse if the inflammation occurs in the joint and puts pressure on the nerve. For that reason, consumption of vitamin C either from supplements or fresh fruit and vegetables can help fight and prevent inflammation.

Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is an effective anti-inflammatory and helps relieve pain caused by degeneration of the lower spine. A study in 2000, published in the European Review for Medical and pharmacological Sciences also found that vitamin B12 is effective in treating lower back pain and disruption in movement.

In that study, it was also found that patients who takes vitamin B12 have reduced dependence on anti-inflammatory drugs, which means a reduction in the risk of side effects.

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12 Year Old Girl Gives Birth in Holland

A 12-year-old girl in Groningen, Holland, gave birth to a baby girl on a school trip. This case was quite shocking, because her family and people in her school environment, never knew about her pregnancy.

“Neither the girl nor her family realized that she was pregnant, and there are no external signs of pregnancy shown,” said a spokesman from the local health ministry, according to The Telegraph.

The health condition of the young mother and her baby is very healthy. However, the identity of the girl and her family is deliberately hidden.

Moments before birth, the girl did not show any complaints. Only, that she suddenly complained pain in the abdomen on a school trip with her friends.

Initially, the school staff suspected the girl experienced a stomach ache. They realized their student was pregnant after emergency medical personnel arrived. Seeing the signs of immediate delivery, the girl was rushed to a maternity home.

Late last year, a case of a child giving birth also shocked Spain after a local newspaper, Barcelona La Vanguardia, ??presented a story of 10 year-old underwent a Caesarean delivery at a hospital in the southern city of Cadiz, Spain.

Everyone was more shocked after the girl’s mother said that the case was common. “It (childbirth at age 10 years) is common in my country,” said the mother, explaining that her daughter was pregnant by her boyfriend who was also still under age.

Statistics data in Spain indicate that during 2008, a total of 177 girls under the age of 15 years gave birth. This raises concerns some observers of children’s health. Because children under the age who gives birth are at high-risk of death and birth defects.

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Milk Consumption Can Prevent Heart Attack

Drinking milk is not only delicious, but is also useful for our health. In fact, according to a research at Wageningen and Harvard University, drinking three glasses of milk every day can reduce the risk of heart disease by 18 percent.

The results of this study at the same time denied the myth that states that the consumption of milk every day can lead to weight gain and lead to the emergence of heart disease, stroke, even death.

The study was conducted by reviewing 17 studies from Europe, America and Japan. The researchers found no association between consumption of regular or low-fat milk and increased risk of heart disease, stroke, or death.

“Milk is a nutritious and healthy drink. Rich in natural nutrients, like calcium, potassium and protein,” said Cindy Schweitzer, Director of Engineering, Global Dairy Platform.

Other studies in Israel that was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also noted that high calcium milk consumption will affect weight loss.

The study was conducted on 300 men and women who are overweight for two years. In conclusion, people who consume milk containing high calcium, lost 38% of their body weight compared to those who consume low-calcium milk.

U.S. researchers also reviewed 21 studies that included nearly 350,000 data and concluded that consumption of foods containing saturated fat is not associated with an increased risk of both coronary heart disease or heart disease. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In addition, there is another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. A study of 23,366 men in Sweden has revealed that calcium intake above the recommended daily level can reduce the risk of death from heart disease and cancer by 25%.

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Homosexuality Influenced by Serotonin Hormones?

Homosexual is allegedly influenced by levels of serotonin hormones in the brain. Scientists from Peking University and National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing found links of hormones and sexual preferences in rats.

Serotonin hormones regulate sexual behavior, such as erection, ejaculation and orgasm, both in rats and as well as in men. Neuroscientist Yi Rao of Peking University and National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing and his team showed that serotonin also underlie the decision to choose male or female.

Rao and his team reversed genetic male rats who lack either the production of serotonin or reversed protein substances which affect the production of serotonin in the brain. Both types of rats are made to not be able to make serotonin.

The research published in the Nature journal, March 24 edition, states that rats lacking serotonin shows sexual orientation not interested in female rats and more accepting male rats. Those rats also did not like the smell of female genitals.

Instead, they preferred male rats and made voices that showed attraction. Male rats normally makes the sound of these voices when meeting female rats to make them more open to mate. While those who have enough serotonin, were more interested in female rats.

“Nearly half of the rats lacking serotonin pick male before the female and sniffs the smell of male rats than females about 60 percent more,” he said, according to LiveScience.

When researchers injected the compound into the rats to restore serotonin levels as usual, the rats were again more interested in female rats than in male rats. But an excess of serotonin instead reduce attractiveness in female and male. “This shows the amount of serotonin must be settled within a certain time to assist the development of heterosexual, ‘he said.

However, Rao continued, whether the levels of serotonin have the same sexual effect on other animals, is still unknown.

One of the author of the study, neuroscientist Zhou-Feng Chen from Washington University, warned not to rush and speculate the relationship of these hormones on human sexual orientation.

Elaine Hull, an expert in sexual behavior in rodents from Florida State University says that the findings may have implications for homosexuality or bisexuality in human behavior. “This can help to guide sexual development (human),” said Hull, who was not involved in the research.

However, he agreed with Chen, to not interpret the results of this study in a hurry.

“More information is needed before concluding serotonin is a factor that inhibits male sexual attraction,”she said.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Treating Acne with Vitamins

Acne is a skin problem that most people really avoids of getting because it can lower someone’s self confidence. There are many treatments that people can do to treat or prevent the occurance of acne. One way to solve acne problem is by using vitamins.

There are actually many causes of acne, but hormonal imbalance is the main cause of acne, therefore pregnant women and women during menstruation often experience this skin problem. Acne problems generally include blackheads, pustules (pimples), seborrhea (scaly red skin), papules, nodules and internal injuries due to certain skin diseases.

Like mentioned earlier, to treat this disturbing skin problem, many people choose to use vitamins. But according to Buzzle, people who want to treat their acne problems by using vitamins should consider some advantages and disadvantages of this treatment. Here are some of them you should consider:

Advantages of treating acne with vitamins
1. Experts generally use vitamins because this treatment is more natural than other treatment or therapy.
2. Vitamin intake can also act as additional nutrients for the body.
3. This treatment does show side effects and are considered safer to use.

Disadvantages of treating acne with vitamin
1. This treatment should be done with discipline because the dose given must be accurate and should not be excessive, so that it does not to trigger excess levels of vitamins in the body.
2. This treatment generally require a very long period of treatment.

The vitamins that are used to treat acne here are provided in various kinds of forms like capsules, pills, tablets, ointments or creams. Or you can also apply it directly by adjusting your diet. The vitamins you consume then will provide the nutrients needed by the skin cells, which also mean that it will treat your acne problem. Well, some vitamins that are used to reduce acne are:

Vitamin A
Vitamin A is usually modified or formulated into vitamin A acid or retinoic acid. It functions to activate genes in skin cells that have not matured or are known as keratinocytes and turn it into an adult or mature gene.

Vitamin C
Because of its antioxidant content, this vitamin works for healing and reduce free radicals within the skin. Vitamin C also helps the skin heal faster, prevent blackheads, and inflammations.

Vitamin E
Vitamin E is also known to have a very similar function and acts as antioxidants in the skin, prevents scarring, bacterial growth and some reactions in the body.

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Why Blind People Have Good Hearing

May be you already know that people who are blind generally have a better sense of hearing compared to people who are not. But do you know what causes this, why does blind people have good hearing?

Researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at McGill University and Universite de Montreal have shown that people who can not see, really have better hearing. But this generally occurs in people who are already blind since they were still very young.

The results of this study which is called ‘The Pitch discrimination in the Early Blind’ has been published in the journal Nature on July 15, 2004.

“It is already known that blindness could help the development of music, but did not take into account the age of the person who is blind,” says Dr. Robert Zatorre, a cognitive neuroscientist at the MNI, McGill University, according to ScienceDaily.

In people who can see, the area of ??the brain called the medial occipital region play an important role for visual signals.

In people who experience blindness early in their life, they will operate this brain region to detect sound. This makes them able to hear better.

Also at birth or a young age, the brain centers that regulate vision, hearing and other senses are all still connected. This connection is likely to be maintained and used for processing sound in people who experience blindness.

Because of that, sometimes it is known that people who are blind not only can hear better, but also have a better sense of touch and a stronger sense of smell.

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