Thursday, April 10, 2008

Malnutrition

Malnutrition is a medical condition that results from eating too few or too many nutrients. It is best known as the lack of adequate food supplies seen in developing countries and is the biggest killer of children in the world. However, in the United States malnutrition is becoming more common in elderly people. Malnutrition can be defined as both undernutrition and overnutrition. Undernutrition occurs when the body is lacking certain nutrients due to poor diet or malabsorption. Overnutrition is where the body is ingesting too many nutrients or there is an imbalance in nutrient levels.

Malnutrition can be caused by many factors, including lack of food, chronic illness, loss of appetite, alcoholism and lack of nutritional education. Signs and symptoms can also vary depending on the type of deficiency or toxicity. However, most who are malnourished experience symptoms such as extensive weight loss or gain, lethargy, hair and skin problems and poor wound healing. More serious types of malnutrition, such as protein-energy malnutrition and starvation, can affect the body more severely and even lead to death.

Malnutrition can take months or years to develop, and diagnosis of the underlying causes for malnutrition can be complex. Patients may be required to complete a diet journal in addition to a medical history and physical examination. Other tests, such as a complete blood count or x-rays, may be conducted. In many cases, malnutrition can be treated by replacing or restricting nutrients through the diet. In some extreme cases, physicians may recommend parenteral nutrition through an intravenous (I.V.) drip and liquid diets fortified with nutrients. Most complications of malnutrition can be reversed following treatment.




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Wednesday, March 05, 2008

How Much Protein Does Your Body Really Need?

At its simplest, your body has a baseline protein requirement that depends on a two main factors: lean body mass (muscle) and activity (type and amount).

The more muscle your body carries, the higher your protein requirement. Also, the more intense, the more frequent and the longer the activity you perform, the more protein you need.

Studies on protein requirements that demostrate a greater need for protein often meet with much controversy in scientific literature. It seems sometimes, for some reason, that many in the scientific and nutritional community are actually anti-protein! In fact, you may have even witnessed a similar prejudice when it comes to supplements as simple as vitamins as well!

Bottom line: if you train with weights, your body is breaking down protein and you need to provide it with extra protein to help rebuild. Though the exact amounts that different sources recommend varies widely between 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight (140 grams for a 200 lb person) to levels as high as 2 grams per pound of bodyweight (400 grams for a 200 lb person), there is a solution...

Experiment for yourself! Start with a moderate protein intake of 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight and see how you feel and how your results are. The next week, increase your protein intake a little, adding about 20 to 30 grams to your daily total. See if that makes a difference. The following week, add a little more protein.

You may find that you need more protein than you've been taking or you may find that you don't need as much protein as you think!





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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Control your lifestyle to check your blood pressure

Lifestyle is the way you live your life. It is what you eat and drink, what activities you participate in (or don't), whether or not you smoke, and how you handle stress.
To many, healthy lifestyle changes alone can bring high blood pressure down to normal. If your blood pressure is not dangerously high, it is worth trying lifestyle changes before moving on to other treatment options, such as medications. If your lifestyle changes work, you need to continue them. You also need to have your blood pressure measured regularly, to be sure that it remains normal.
Lifestyle changes can help many people maintain a healthy blood pressure. These changes are especially important for people at special risk for getting high blood pressure. Lifestyle changes are also helpful for people whose blood pressure is made worse by heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol and diabetes.



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