Paula patton- On how she stays fit

Paula Patton is a 34-year-old actress and wife of RnB singer Robin thicke(they are expecting their first baby). She is most popular for her role as Ms. Rain, the heroic teacher in the emotionally powerful film Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. She is a very beautiful woman who takes healthy eating and exercises very seriously. According to her, this is whats kept her in shape all these years. Below is how she stays healthy, happy and stress free. Hopefully this will inspire people to stay fit.

Paula's Feel-Good Guide


1. Breathe Deep

"A year ago, I started doing Ashtanga yoga five or six days a week. Even if I do 30 minutes, I can clear my head. I've cut back during my pregnancy. I told my trainer I don't want to see the inside of a gym. She said, 'Don't worry. I'll have you back [in shape] in six weeks.' "

2. Go Green

"I'm trying to eat smart because I don't want [losing the] postpregnancy weight to be difficult. There's this packet of nutrients called Green Vibrance, and I at least try to have that. I also try to eat a salad every day. I switched from drinking coffee to green tea, but I've been craving milk shakes. My trick for not giving in: Fill up with some fruit or water first, then see if I still want one."

3. Feed Your Face

"Since I've been pregnant, my nails have been stronger and my hair is thicker. My skin has been dry though, so I use a lot of La Mer products. I've also been doing Intraceuticals oxygen facials and Shiseido eye masks. I'll pop them on and look fresher. I'm also loving my Clarisonic facial wash brush. It's my new toy."

4. Get Some Shut-Eye

"When people say 'You have a pregnancy glow!' I wonder if it has to do with my healthier lifestyle. No more cocktails, and I'm getting more sleep than ever—nine or 10 hours a night. I was never that girl!"

hopefully, we can all include some of the above tips to our fitness regime. i personally drink green tea. its full of anti oxidants and has anti ageing benefits :)

Photo credit: womens health mag

Reduce Your Risk of Salmonella from Eggs

Eggs are one of nature's most nutritious and economical foods. A bacterium, Salmonella Enteritidis, can be on both the outside and inside of eggs that appear to be normal, and if the eggs are eaten raw or undercooked, the bacterium can cause illness.

What can I do to reduce my risk of getting Salmonella Enteritidis from eggs?

Eggs, like meat, poultry, milk, and other foods, are safe when handled properly. Shell eggs are safest when stored in the refrigerator, individually and thoroughly cooked, and promptly consumed. The larger the number of Salmonella present in the egg, the more likely it is to cause illness. Keeping eggs adequately refrigerated prevents any Salmonella present in the eggs from growing to higher numbers, so eggs should be kept refrigerated until they are used.

Cooking reduces the number of bacteria present in an egg; however, an egg with a runny yolk still poses a greater risk than a completely cooked egg. Undercooked egg whites and yolks have been associated with outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis infections. Both should be consumed promptly and not be kept warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

What are the specific actions I can take to reduce my risk of a Salmonella Enteritidis infection?

1.Keep eggs refrigerated at ≤ 45° F (≤7° C) at all times.
2.Discard cracked or dirty eggs.
3.Wash hands, cooking utensils, and food preparation surfaces with soap and water after contact with raw eggs.
4.Eggs should be cooked until both the white and the yolk are firm and eaten promptly after cooking.
5.Do not keep eggs warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
6.Refrigerate unused or leftover egg-containing foods promptly.
7.Avoid eating raw eggs.
8.Avoid restaurant dishes made with raw or undercooked, unpasteurized eggs. Restaurants should use pasteurized eggs in any recipe (such as Hollandaise sauce or Caesar salad dressing) that calls for raw eggs.
9.Consumption of raw or undercooked eggs should be avoided, especially by young children, elderly persons, and persons with weakened immune systems or debilitating illness.

Who is most at risk for getting Salmonella Enteritidis?

The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems may have a more severe illness. In these patients, the infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.

How do I know if I have Salmonella Enteritidis?

A person infected with the Salmonella Enteritidis bacterium usually has fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after consuming a contaminated food or beverage. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without antibiotic treatment. However, the diarrhea can be severe, and the person may be ill enough to require hospitalization. See a doctor as soon as possible if the above symptoms are suspected.

Source :CDC

Superfoods - apples and avocados

Fruits and vegetables possess amazing properties capable of countless functions in the body which promote the longevity of life. They are indeed ‘super’ in their activities because they boost the immune system thereby improving health conditions in the most natural and effective way. They do this by engaging in activities which target high cholesterol, heart disease, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cancer. Research has shown that these conditions improve by 50-70% in people who changed their eating habits and lifestyle by eating more healthy, balanced meals and incorporating exercise as part of their routine. We may take them for granted because they are readily available, underestimate their powers or just lack the knowledge of their special health benefits. This article will focus on two of my favorite ‘superfoods’ apples and avocados which have amazing qualities.

APPLES
There just isn’t enough paper in the world to write about all the benefits of an apple and that’s probably why it is one of the most talked about fruit. Apples are high in antioxidants which are great in fighting all the nasty stuff in our body. A great source of vitamins A, B1,B2, B6 ,C, also high in minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium.

What do these do? Everything from anti-cancer promotion to improved digestive health, never underestimate the power of an apple! If you suffer from any digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, apples are very important to your diet because the pectin (soluble fibre) in apples works by eliminating toxins found in the intestines, facilitating the removal of the most stubborn and unwanted products especially when nature calls, if you catch my drift. Another juicy fact is that because apples are great at attacking harmful toxins inside the body, they are one of nature’s best detox agents i.e quercitin which is a phytonutrient found in apples fights high cholesterol which reduces the risk of heart disease. Another great fact that will excite the ladies is that eating apples will help reduce the appearance of cellulite. The juice from the apple combats cellulite by eliminating the toxins in the fat tissue. The great thing is you don’t have to waste too much money on cellulite creams if you combine a great balanced diet with exercise.

Useful tip: try eating a couple of apples and drinking some peppermint tea when constipated, feel the magic!

AVOCADOS
Avocados are classified under vegetables, they are a meal on their own because they contain all six human nutritional needs required for a balanced diet such as vitamins (B, C, beta-carotene), minerals (potassium, calcium, iron and phosphorus), protein, essential fatty acid (in form of omega oil) and natural sugar.

What do these do? All these work very hard to give you great skin, healthy hair and scalp. They do this by playing a vital role in the fight against harmful free radicals which age the skin and increase the appearance of premature wrinkles. Fighting these harmful free radicals will not only give you a younger radiant skin but will also boost your immune system. Studies have shown that avocados also contain an antioxidant called lutein, which combats a variety of health challenges in the body such as prostate cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Useful tip: Avocados are wonderful to use as face masks, by replenishing the skin
through moisture, also place slices of cucumber on tired eyes to relieve puffiness.


Mariam Waziri
Biotech Scientist

The headache of self-medication

What is self-medication?

It is simply taking medication that has not been prescribed by a medical doctor for a perceived illness or disease. Perceived because a diagnosis has not been made.

Though there are OTC (over-the-counter) drugs that people can purchase without a doctor's prescription; the aim of OTCs is to provide temporal relief of symptoms. They do not cure the root cause of the illness/disease. Some of these drugs are painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, cold remedies, antidiarrheal agents and so on.

In Africa where malaria is endemic, people are in the habit of 'treating' themselves for malaria as every fever is interpreted as malaria fever. More often than not this practice interferes with management and cause other complications such as drug resistance.

Another danger of self-medication is the accumulation of toxins in the body from the breakdown of drug components that the body invariably may not need. There are also dangerous drugs which if taken over a long period of time without proper monitoring can lead to other diseases and may even be fatal.

What to do?

It will be easier and more cost-effective in the long-run to seek medical advice from a medical practitioner early! It is better not to gamble with other people's prescriptions or opinions of what may be going on in your body. Take time also to learn the names of drugs you are taking and ask your doctor about medication prescribed for you. Remember that you are also part of your management and have a right to know what goes into your body.

Dr Efe Iruobe

Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: Have a Healthy Heart

Step 1

So, how's your mum?

Researchers have long believed that having a close family member (mum, dad, sister, or brother) with cardiovascular disease was one of the clearest predictors of heart trouble in your own future. But according to a 2006 Swedish study, it's really Mum you need to worry about. Your risk increases by 17 percent if your father has heart disease, but it shoots up by a whopping 43 percent if your mother is afflicted. This may be more environment than genetics, since children typically spend more time with their mothers and tend to learn lifestyle habits from them. But even if you don't smoke and do exercise, it's possible that your risk could still be up as much as 82 percent if both of your parents had heart disease.

Which doesn't mean you're doomed, of course. But it does mean you shouldn't waste any time. If you have a family history, specialists recommend in-depth tests that go beyond the normal blood workup every few years, starting in your mid*40s. First, talk to your doctor about having a CT scan of your heart, which can detect attack-causing plaque buildup in your arteries — even years in advance.

All women should request more detailed blood tests that measure not only the level of cholesterol but its type and size — factors that affect the heart in ways that scientists are only now beginning to understand. Talk to your doctor about a standard lipid profile. A blood test can also detect the presence of C-reactive protein in the bloodstream, which may contribute to plaque formation. More prevalent in people who are overweight, sedentary, hypertensive, or smokers, C-reactive protein's presence accurately predicts the likelihood of heart attacks in women with relatively low cholesterol, and researchers speculate that it could signal heart disease before symptoms develop. Ask your doctor to check your numbers next time you get blood work done.

this is an 8 part feature focusing on ways to keep your heart beating for a very long time.

Fashions That Can be Hazardous to Your Health

We've all heard various fashion rumors throughout the years. Some may have been invented by parents who did not care for "new" fashions that were not up to their standards. Some may have been invented by teens who did not buy in to the latest fashion craze, and some may truly be urban myths. Want to know the low-down on some of these fashion tales? Read on…

1) Thongs can cause infections- This one is true, but it’s not just thongs that can cause vaginal infections. Wearing very tight jeans or too-tight underwear of any kind may lead to infection in women, due to the close proximity of the anus to the vagina, not to be too graphic. This proximity allows bacteria to spread, especially when tight clothing is added to the mix.

2) Carrying a heavy purse can cause back problems- Perhaps not back problems, but certainly back pain. Why? Because people tend to carry heavy bags on one side, rarely switching sides. This can cause back strain over time. Does it cause permanent damage? Not likely.

3) Skinny jeans can cause nerve problems- This one is actually true. When nerves in the groin become compressed as a result of wearing too-tight jeans, pain, tingling, or burning can result, and may even be permanent. This condition is called meralgia paresthetica, a fancy term for a pinched nerve.

4) Underwire bras can cause cancer- This one is not true, but they can cause discomfort, as can any bras that don’t fit properly. Many women attribute back pain to their bra, when it is likely weak back muscles supporting large breasts that are the issue.

5) High heels can cause back problems- This one is true, and high heels can also damage your feet. High heels are hard on your arches, and make you tip forward on your back, affecting correct walking posture. Over time, incorrect posture can lead to back pain.


There’s often a small kernel of truth in even the most outlandish claims.

Prevent Cardiovascular Disease

Step 2 : Sorry, you're gonna have to do a little math.

The connection between cholesterol — a waxy substance made in your liver and found in blood cells — and heart disease has been known for decades, but your total cholesterol number is only part of the equation. The real key is how much of it is low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called "bad cholesterol," and how much is high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good" kind.

LDL cholesterol can build up in your arterial walls, causing plaque, which can rupture in the arteries and result in blood clots and possibly heart attacks. A recent study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center indicates that keeping LDL levels low (the longer the better) can protect even people with other risk factors like smoking. Meanwhile, HDL plays the role of crime-fighting superhero to LDL's nasty villain, transporting the bad stuff through the blood to the liver, where it's metabolized and then eliminated.

For most people, total cholesterol should be under 200, with LDL levels no higher than 100 and HDL no lower than 50. If your numbers are in line, doctors recommend retesting your blood every 5 years in your 20s and 30s.

Step 3: Don't be afraid to do drugs

If blood tests show your cholesterol is high, a change in diet and exercise might help (see Step 5 for some suggestions). But in many cases, it's too late or your numbers are too high for these basic steps to help. That's when your doctor may give you a cholesterol-lowering medication, known as a statin, which keeps the liver from producing too much cholesterol. Some doctors have questioned the wisdom of prescribing these drugs, especially for patients who might lower their cholesterol through lifestyle changes. But recent studies show that statins can diminish LDL by as much as 40 percent, slightly raise the level of HDL, and reduce the risk of heart attacks by about 35 percent. This is why many experts say these medications are actually underprescribed. Statins are incredible tools in lowering cholesterol and can keep many people from suffering heart attacks,But there's no question: They're meant to work together with proper diet and exercise

Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: have a healthy heart (step 4)

Step 4 Ask yourself, "What kind of fruit am I?"

Carrying extra weight around isn't just a drag during swimsuit season. It can also be dangerous, especially if those excess pounds find their way to your belly and not, say, your hips. Recent studies indicate that abdominal fat is metabolically different from the other fat in your body: As you gain padding around your middle, the individual cells swell, and their size is linked to higher triglyceride levels and lower good cholesterol.

The best treatment for belly fat? Signing up for Weight Watchers isn't enough; you're going to have to pry yourself off the couch too. New research shows that diet and exercise together reduce the size of abdominal fat cells, which doesn't happen if you lose weight through dieting alone. Working out regularly also has a ripple effect on the body: Not only do dangerous pounds come off, but your muscles become more efficient at using blood; your heart gets stronger; and your blood vessels become more limber, so blood flows more easily.

And you don't have to run a marathon every week to get these benefits. Cardiologists recommend an average of 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a day, which has been shown to increase life expectancy by 3 1/2 years. Whether walking, running, or swimming, you should aim to work your heart to about 50 to 70 percent of its maximum rate. Even this amount of exercise is powerful enough to combat other high-risk factors: A study out of the Cooper Institute in Dallas found that even moderately fit people had half the death rates of those who were sedentary.

While doctors used to think that weight training was bad for the heart because it increased blood pressure, research now shows it can actually lower blood pressure when transforming fat into muscle, which burns calories and keeps them from landing on your belly. This is why strengthening exercises, two or three times a week for all the major muscle groups — arms, legs, shoulders, chest, back, hips, and trunk is advised. Pilates- or yoga-based regimen that zeroes in on the core muscles of your abdomen and lower back can also be done. Either way, consistency is key, as is starting young. regular strengthening can not only help prevent age-related loss of bone and muscle mass, but also help reduce body fat and improve endurance, both of which can decrease your risk of heart disease.

photo credit: wikimedia.org

Smoking - First class ticket to a heart attack!!!

Yes, you've heard the antismoking rant before. But there's a reason for it. Quitting smoking should top your list of things to do to avoid heart disease. And that's true even if the only time you light up is over mojitos with friends. Recent research shows that smoking between one and five cigarettes a day triples your chance of dying from a heart attack, and that it's even worse for women than for men. Smoking narrows arteries, raises blood pressure, thickens blood, and makes it more likely to clot — the classic recipe for a heart attack. This is especially true if you have other risk factors, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which together with smoking make you much more likely to get heart disease. You take birth control and smoke? You've just put another bullet in the gun. That combo raises blood pressure and can lead to blood clots, further increasing your risk.

While studies have shown that women have a harder time breaking the habit than men, there is encouraging news: A fall 2006 study from the University of Chicago shows that the prescription drug naltrexone — when used in combination with behavioral therapy and nicotine patches — boosted smoking cessation rates among women by 50 percent (though it made no difference in men). Naltrexone also reduced weight gain in the first month after quitting. Talk to your doctor about the drug.


Source: Womenshealthmagazine.com
Photo credit : themindofjustin.com

Contact Lens Carelessness

So five years ago you joined the millions of spectacle-wearers across the globe. Beginning with the thick, round frames, both your wallet and your fashion-sense later discovered the beauty of rectangular designer frames, and the ingenious invention of thinned lenses! Then, when your lifestyle became more hectic and sociable, you decided you needed a change - contact lenses.

Contact lenses come in loads of different types: daily disposable wear, fortnightly or monthly disposable wear, day/night sleep in lenses, and some others suitable for astigmatism. No matter what type of lens you have you need to ensure that your eye health is maintained because if you’re not careful, contact lenses can do you more harm than good!


Some tips/reminders for all of you out there:

DON’T sleep in contact lenses, ESPECIALLY if they are not the day/night ones.
Sometimes you may doze off in them, but make sure that as soon as you wake up or remember, you take them out and throw them away (if they are daily disposables) or clean them (if they are continuous wear).

WASH your hands before you put the lenses in

Be careful which handwash or soap you use – perfumed handwashes can irritate your eyes, so just wash that little bit extra to get that residue off. If you’re in a tight spot or a tricky location with nowhere to wash your hands, do NOT think that by licking your finger it will clean them – your saliva contains a host of bacteria that will actually damage your eye so if you can’t find water, don’t wear the contacts.

Use SOLUTION not tap water

Always use the proper contact lens solution, and never your saliva, homemade saline solution or tap water to clean your contacts or re-wet them. Never reuse lens solution either!

Get regular CHECK-UPS at your opticians

This is especially important if you have extended wear lenses, but whichever lens you wear, make sure you get an eye test regularly.

And if you’re careless with your contact lenses?

If you don’t look after your eyes whilst you wear contact lenses, you’re at risk of different bacterial infections, diseases and abrasions which, if left untreated, could lead to blindness.

There are three main ‘contact lens diseases’:

Corneal Neovascularization – ingrowth of blood vessels into the cornea.
In other words: may not notice at first, but increased redness of the eye, may experience eye pain, decreased vision, light sensitivity and/or contact lens intolerance.

Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis – repeated irritation of the conjunctiva of the eye.
In other words: Think mucus, mucus, more mucus, itching, light sensitivity and some more mucus. Not a pretty disease to have.

Corneal Ulcers – an open sore on the cornea caused by infection.
In other words: Pain, pain, more pain, blurred vision, light sensitivity, swollen eyelids, intensive medication treatment.

If you experience any of the symptoms above, or just generally have some concerns, go to see your optician or an optometrist as soon as you can.

So, advice from African Health is: look after your eyes, because you only have two!

Potential Reasons not to love your Love Handles

The what?

Love handles. A slang term for the mostly cuddly fat surrounding the waist area is actually just a generous amount of subcutaneous fat (SF) that resides under the top layer of skin. The other types of abdominal fat are visceral fat (VF), found deeper within the body surrounding vital organs in the peritoneal cavity and intra muscular fat (IF) found within skeletal muscle in the upper torso.

Over the years studies have shown that fat (adipose tissue) doesn’t just passively accumulate but much like endocrine glands release hormones and other substances. This is particularly true for fat stored in the belly area and these hormones could be contributing factors to a myriad of metabolic and other types of diseases, such as type II diabetes.

So the bad news is that whilst the jelly belly may not always be so lovable, subcutaneous fat, the kind that constitutes love handles isn’t linked that strongly to adverse effects as visceral fat. Therefore, depending on some variables, an expanding waist line might not always spell trouble.

The why?

In black women aged between 20-29 the tendency to start piling on the pounds around the waist and belly is more pronounced than in Hispanic or White women of the same age group and their elders. Typically amongst women, the mid section only starts to thicken as a side effect of aging, or more specifically menopause, when fat storage starts to favour the upper body, particularly the stomach area over the hips and thighs. This is likely caused by depletion in the amount of oestrogen produced during menopause which leads to disproportionately higher levels of androgen (male hormones) and the production of stress hormones (cortisol) which causes the accumulation of abdominal fat. Cortisol is also the hormone that causes Cushing’s disease, one of the symptoms is central obesity (weight gain in the middle of the body i.e. abdomen, chest and face only), and can be triggered by stress.

So there are three factors thus far that predisposes the accumulation of fat around the mid section, age, race and lifestyle. The fourth, as with most health issues is genetics, namely the ones that you inherit from your parents. Depending on your particular body shape, the natural distribution of fat varies. A quick recap of the six main female body shapes:




Pear ( triangle)- This type tends to hold weight in the hips, abdomen and thighs with a small bust and narrow shoulders

Apple (inverted triangle)-This type holds weight centrally in the abdomen and has broad shoulders and narrow hips

Rectangle -This type has minimal differentiation in the bust, waist and hips and distributes fat equally in these areas

Hourglass - This type has a small waist and relatively larger hips and bust. Weight is held mainly in the hips and bust.

Diamond and Rounded shape: These types generally have fat distributed in the midsection especially the waist, abdomen and back.


From these descriptions it’s easy to see that the body shapes most likely to hold weight in the stomach area is the apple and to a lesser extent, pear shaped types, although as advanced age approaches, all types of shapes are equally dealt with the “middle age spread”.
All this means that as a black woman, you are more likely to begin gaining weight in your mid section from age 20, and your particular body type, especially if you’re apple shaped, as well as lifestyle choices which are stressful, may lead you to accumulate dangerous amounts of visceral fat.
Why is visceral fat so bad for my health and what is the worst that can happen? When there is a large amount of VF in the abdomen, certain hormones like cytokines, tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 6 are released. The proximity of VF to the portal vein allows for other harmful fatty acids to be released into the bloodstream and carried from the intestine to the liver leading to high levels of bad cholesterol. All these combined constitute metabolic syndrome which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, aside from the aforementioned type II diabetes.

The How?

So you might be predisposed to gaining unwanted visceral fat in the stomach area, the next thing to determine is how do I know if my love handles should be a source of concern and how do I rectify the situation?
There may be cause for concern if more than 1of the following is true:
Is your BMI (Body Mass Index) higher than 25?
(BMI = weight (kg)/ (height in metres) 2). This is the least accurate indicator for abdominal fat measurement.

Measure your hips and waist, and divide the former into the latter, is the ratio higher than 0.8?
(Studies show that a ratio of 0.85 and above is a strong indicator of colorectal cancer with a risk factor of 52%)

When you measured your waist, was it larger than 35 inches?
(A large waist circumference, regardless of overall weight is linked to atherosclerosis (fatty build up in the arteries) and high blood pressure)

The good news is that visceral fat is even easier to budge than subcutaneous fat, so while your waist circumference may shrink; your love handles just might remain!
With adequate exercise and diet it should only take a couple of months to drop the inches around your waist. Don’t worry if your overall weight doesn’t change that much, remember, in the interest of your health, girth, rather than weight is a better indicator of good health. Remember that spot exercising, such as sit-ups and abdominal crunches only tones the muscles and doesn’t budge the fat. For rapid results try low intensity cardio work outs like brisk walking, skipping and aerobics 30 minutes a day and gradually build up to about 1 hour every other day. While exercising, better results are seen if you include rest periods of about a minute for every fifteen minutes of intense work out.
The end

So, you should have learned that as a black woman the risk of accumulating potentially harmful abdominal fat is higher than in other ethnicities. You should also know what visceral fat is and how it puts you at risk for heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and how to spot the danger signs. However, there is no need to panic because with diet and exercise you can lose the one or two inches from your waist that will put you back in the safe zone.
To keep being fabulous and healthy, remember to relax (or risk those pesky cortisol hormones), eat well, exercise and love your curves, its mostly just cuddly subcutaneous fat which will not harm you anyway!


By Tahira Abdulazeez

Maximize your fertility

Male Infertility is a condition that is not really discussed in most african countries mainly because its an embarrasing topic. Due to this, there is little awareness of this condition and so a lot of people do not know how to prevent it. A lot of young men do not know what the volume of a normal ejaculation should be neither do they know how to get their sperm to be top performers. Here are important facts you need to know about healthy sperm and also..a little bit of sperm biology.


Normal sperm characters
Normal ejaculate volume is between 2 and 6 ml.

Sperm quantity
More than 20 million sperm per milliliter of semen.

Of the millions of sperm in the ejaculated semen, only about 200 actually reach the egg in a woman's fallopian tube.

But, just one is needed to fertilize the egg.

Sperm quality
Sperm shape and structure (morphology) are equally important
More than one-third of your sperm are of normal shape and structure
More than 30% normal forms is a strict criteria
A normal sperm has an oval head and a long tail that propel it forward
Sperm with large, small, tapered or crooked heads or kinky, curled or double tails are less likely to fertilize an egg

Motility
To reach the egg, sperm have to move on their own — wriggling and swimming the last few inches to reach and penetrate the egg

Most likely to be fertile if at least half of your sperm are moving

Normal humans typically have total sperm motility of greater than 50% or 25% progressively motile sperm

How to improve the sperm quality
Take a multivitamin- A daily multivitamin with selenium, zinc and folic acid
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables- are rich in antioxidants
Reduce stress- stress might interfere with certain hormones needed to produce sperm
Get regular exercise- But don't overdo it. Men who exercise to exhaustion show a temporary change in hormone levels and a drop in sperm quality.
Watch your weight- too much or too little body fat may disrupt production of reproductive hormones
Quit using tobacco and limit alcohol
Avoid anabolic steroids
Avoid lubricants during sex- personal lubricants, lotions and even saliva can interfere with sperm motility. However, vegetable-oil-based lubricants are okay


Separating facts from fictions
Sitting on a bicycle saddle for more than 30 minutes at a time — especially if you also wear tight bicycle shorts — may raise your scrotal temperature and affect sperm production.

Prolonged cycling can cause genital numbness — a sign of damage to delicate nerves and arteries.

An illness that causes a fever can affect sperm production and sperm quality. But it won't affect fertility for two to three months, since it takes sperm 75 days to mature.

Sperm counts are higher in the winter and lower in the summer. This may be because cooler temperatures are associated with increased sperm production.

Photo credit: www.walyou.com

Top 10 IV Myths

Shortly after HIV/AIDS hit the scene, rumours about it flew throughout the world. “You can get it by kissing.” “You can get it by holding hands.” “It is airborne.”

Throughout the years, most of the HIV myths have been dispelled, but it seems as though there are still a few rumors afloat. Since more than half of all new HIV infections occur in the African community, these myths may be standing in the way of proper protection. See if you can sort the truth from the most common myths about HIV.

1. If you test positive for HIV, you will inevitably die from AIDS.

FALSE. In the early years, an HIV diagnosis often meant the infected person would develop AIDS and die from complications of the disease within a matter of years, but this is no longer true. Medications, combined with lifestyle changes and complementary therapies that support the body’s ability to keep the virus in check, can keep an HIV-infected person from developing AIDS or the fatal complications associated with it for many years, or even a lifetime.

2. You can catch HIV from a toilet seat.

FALSE. The HIV virus cannot be transmitted by casual contact, from a toilet seat, a doorknob, a fork, or a handshake, for that matter. The only known HIV transmission methods include unprotected sex, intravenous drug use, exposure to blood or bodily fluids from an infected person, from mother to child in pregnancy, and through blood transfusions if the blood came from an HIV infected person. (Transmission of the virus did happen through blood transfusions or blood products in the 1980s before HIV testing became routine for all donated blood, but is highly unlikely to happen in a modern medical facility.)

3. There is no cure for HIV.

TRUE. There are medications available to suppress the virus in infected individuals and to lower their viral load. Such treatments can prolong or prevent the development of AIDS for years or even a lifetime. However, researchers have not found a cure for HIV that would eliminate the virus from an infected person’s body entirely.

4. People have been infected with HIV from taking the HIV test itself.
FALSE. Some claim that the HIV test itself can give you the virus. But unless a clinic reuses a needle that was previously used on someone with HIV (a highly unlikely scenario that has never been reported), there is no way that testing for HIV could cause the infection.

5. You can spread or get HIV through oral sex.

TRUE. One myth HIV experts often hear is that HIV can’t be spread or contracted through oral sex. This is not true. If the person performing oral sex has a cut or abrasion in their mouth and comes in contact with HIV-infected bodily fluids, they can become infected with the virus just as they could having unprotected vaginal or anal sex. Using a dental dam or condom during oral sex greatly diminishes this risk.

6. If both you and your partner have HIV, it's safe to have unprotected sex with one another.

FALSE. If you and your partner both test positive for the HIV virus, that doesn’t mean you can ignore the diagnosis or live life just as you did before your diagnosis. To best decrease your odds of developing AIDS, you should both work closely with a medical professional to manage the illness. You also both need to take whatever precautions you can to prevent exposing others to the HIV virus. This includes not having unprotected sex or sharing needles with anyone, taking proper precautions to contain and warn others about exposure to your bodily fluids (such as when you're bleeding), and following any other advice from your HIV care team. Nobody with HIV can afford to ignore his or her diagnosis for their own sake, or for the sake of others who could be exposed to the virus.

7. Mosquitoes can spread HIV.

FALSE. While mosquitoes can spread a number of illnesses such as West Nile Virus or malaria, there are no known cases of HIV transmission through mosquito bites. If mosquitoes could transmit the HIV virus, there would be many more cases among young children, adolescents and other people who would otherwise be at low risk for HIV exposure.

8. You could have HIV and not know it.
TRUE. People who are infected with HIV don’t necessarily “feel” sick; it's possible to have the HIV virus for some time before developing any symptoms. HIV testing is the only way to determine whether someone has HIV or not.

9. If you're taking medication for HIV, you can’t spread the virus.
FALSE. Even while taking medication, a person with HIV can still infect others if they have unprotected sex, share needles, or expose others to their blood or other bodily fluids.

10. HIV and AIDS may not be caused by the same virus.
FALSE. Some claim HIV and AIDS are not caused by the same virus. This is not true. Without treatment, the HIV virus will probably progress to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is essentially a collapse of the immune system. However, with HIV treatment, most people living with the virus are able to prolong or prevent the development of AIDS.


reference: www.chicagobooth.edu

Obamacare - Buying Into the Lie

Better health insurance, more coverage, lower premiums. Such was the promise of Obamacare. Instead what we have is two years of lies and deceit, fewer choices and higher premiums.

Why do I feel like Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin who woke up to discover she had joined the wrong Army. The one she joined had condo's and yacht's, not quonset huts and jeeps.

As reported by Bloomberg Ann Woolner offers this insight on Obamacrap and the recent judicial ruling announcing the mandate is unconstitutional.

If his decision holds, out goes coverage for pre-existing conditions and affordable insurance even if you lose your job. Certain preventative medicine programs would go, too, as would everything else aimed at fixing the health-care crisis in this country.

One must have assumed Ms. Woolner joined the same Army as Goldie Hawn.

Apparently she has never heard of COBRA, HIPAA conversion, or risk pools . . . all of which offer "protection" for those who no longer receive their health insurance through an employer.

She must believe that free preventive care really is free and she most certainly bought into the biggest lie of all, that health insurance would become more affordable with the roll out of Obamacrap.

In weighing the promise vs. the reality of states that have the prequel to Obamacrap, she must have been living under a rock.

While Massachusetts is not the most expensive place to buy health insurance, it is certainly in the top 3 or 4. And for those who did not get the memo, Obamacrap was modeled after Romneycare.

After rambling through some meaningless drivel she then decides that there is an option that would be a good replacement for Obamacrap if the courts decide it is unconstitutional.

So why not offer Medicare to everyone? This would be constitutional under Vinson’s ruling. Call it a single payer system or the public option, but you’d have to call it constitutional. No one would be forced to either pay a premium or be fined.

Medicare is both broke and broken, but apparently she didn't get that memo either.

Why replace something that works for 85% of the country, at least it does when we have full employment, with something that doesn't work?

Makes no sense.

Apparently she has bought into the Obamacrap lie, hook, line and sucker.

Fisking the Gray Lady

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the New York Times' Reed Abelson. For whatever reason, that interview was never published, but she struck me as a very nice lady, hindered only by some major blinders.

I was reminded of this today, when FoIB Holly R sent along the link to Ms Abelson's latest opus:

"With a court decision on Monday declaring the health care law unconstitutional and Republicans intent on repealing at least parts of it, thousands of Americans with major illnesses are facing the renewed prospect of losing their health insurance coverage."

Sounds pretty urgent, doesn't it?

But when one reads past that attention-grabbing intro, there's a lot less here than meets the eye. Her primary focus is on the lifetime caps. Now, I'm on record as having no real problem with lifting the lifetime maximum on policies: for one thing, the number of people who'd be affected is vanishingly small (as we’ll see in a moment); for another, the actual cost of this "benefit" is negligible. But that doesn't mitigate the fact that the bill itself is so rotten that it is unsalvageable. If the lifetime cap needs to go, then it needs to go, and this can be addressed when it's repealed and (perhaps) replaced.

In support of her position, Ms Abelson dredges up an old canard:

"The legislation put an end to lifetime limits on coverage for the first time, erasing the financial burdens, including personal bankruptcy, that had affected many ailing Americans."

Ahem:

"Credit-card debt, which went from $4,800 to $7,300 per household. Another factor is that it's often beneficial, given the alternatives, to declare bankruptcy. At most, 29% of bankruptcies are caused by medical bills, and even that's likely an overstatement."

She then abruptly changes course, declaring that "even Republicans concede that a full repeal is unlikely." I challenge her to name one current Republican congressperson who's stated this. In fact, every single Republican Senator has signed onto S. 192 (The ObamaRepeal© Bill).

Project much, Reed?

Earlier, I opined that the number of people affected by the lifetime caps was "vanishingly small." Any idea just how small? Try "an estimated 20,000 insured Americans reached the lifetime limits of their coverage each year." Now, in the blog world, we have something called "fact-checking," which pretty much requires that one back up statements like this with a citation or link. One supposes that the NYT imprimatur is proof enough, because documentation certainly isn't forthcoming.

Finally, it's all about the narrative: Ms Abelson uses the sad story of cancer patient Hillary St. Pierre, whose coverage was slated to run out under her plan's lifetime max. Buried many, many paragraphs in, we learn that, even if her plan bailed, she "also now qualifies for Medicare." Way to bury the lede, Reed.

As I mentioned, removing the lifetime caps may well be a good, workable idea. But to paraphrase Judge Vinson, "it's not the Removal of Lifetime Caps and Pay for Preventive Care bill."

I doubt we'll see that story in the Gray Lady.

But What About the EMPLOYER Mandate in Obamacare?

Rob Johnson of WGST asked me during an interview how Obamacare had impacted Georgia business and their group health plans. My response was the impact is minimal  . . . so far. The big change will come in 2014 but Obamacrap has had some effect on group health insurance premiums.

Two provisions of Obamacrap that have already affected Georgia employer health plan rates are the "free" annual wellness exams and requiring most employers to cover dependent children up to age 26.

The second provision is quite odd to me since I did not consider myself a child at age 26 and still don't. If you had not moved out of the house when you finished school we had a break-the-plate celebration.

The idea is, if your dinner plate was broken you would find somewhere else to live and eat.

None the less, while the expansion of the definition of a child had an impact on rates, so far it has been minimal. I expect that might change over the next year as parents add on children that have expensive medical problems while the healthy children are left to fend for themselves.

If this happens, watch for dependent rates to rise as a reflection of the increased risk of high claims.

Most employer group health insurance plans in Georgia already had low cost, and in some cases, free annual exams any way. So the removal of a nominal copay of perhaps $30 and substituting "free" has not had an effect on premiums and probably won't.

From a risk standpoint, it is doubtful if more people will seek to have their annual exam simply because it is free. This is especially true for males who would rather take a beating than go to the doctor, especially if they are not sick.

The bigger impact on business health insurance premiums will come in 2014 when all employers with 50 or more employees will be subject to "play or pay" rules.

While yesterday's court ruling did not specifically address the employer mandate it stands to reason that this was an oversight, perhaps by those who brought the suit, to address the requirement that businesses must provide health insurance or pay a fine (tax).

I am not a Constitutional lawyer, and apparently neither is Obama or members of Congress,  but it would appear to me that if the INDIVIDUAL mandate (requiring individuals to buy health insurance or pay a tax) is unconstitutional, then the same should apply to the EMPLOYER mandate.

Starting in 2014 if individuals do not buy health insurance they are fined.

Starting in 2014 if employers (with 50+ employees) do not buy health insurance for their employees they are fined.

What is the difference?

To my untrained eye, nothing.

I want to thank Rob Johnson and the folks at AM 650 WGST in Atlanta for inviting me on their show. You can hear a portion of the show including the interview with Bob Vineyard of Georgia Insurance Shop as well as some real legal scholars by clicking on the link in my name and wait for the audio to begin.

Mandating Health Insurance and Revolvers

As we've pointed out (and as Judge Vinson reconfirmed), if the gummint can make you buy health insurance, it can make you buy anything. More to the point, if the gummint can make you buy something you don't want, it can make you buy anything you don't want.

But that's just a blog and a judge, right?

Not so:

In South Dakota, five state legislators "have introduced legislation that would require any adult 21 or older to buy a firearm “sufficient to provide for their ordinary self-defense.”

Unlike ObamaCare©, however, they're pretty flexible about what kind of weapon you select.

Now that's what I call "pro-choice."

ObamaRipples

Twice in the past week, I've had to break the news to anxious parents: no, you can't insure your perfectly health minor child.

Hunh?!

Late last week, a gentleman called in looking for coverage for his 9 year old son. The family had been covered by CareSource, the local Medicaid insurer. Due to changing circumstances, the child was no longer eligible, and the parents needed to find alternate coverage for him.

No luck.

This morning, a worried grandmother called. Her 16 year old granddaughter is in the same boat: she will be taking custody of the young lady (we presume) in a month or so, which will render the teen ineligible to continue her current coverage.

Again, thanks to the (unintended?) consequences of ObamaCare©, they're out of luck.

In the first instance, I suggested to the young man who called that we write a policy for both him and his daughter; in the second case, this is not an option. Grandma's on Medicare, and you can't add a child to a Medicare supplement plan.

I did suggest to both of them that they contact the state SCHIP plan (called Healthy Start here in Ohio). This program, available at no cost to children up to age 19, families and some others, uses means testing to determine eligibility. It's possible that either (perhaps both) of these children will qualify.

The downside, of course, is that their coverage will be paid for by thee and me, not the parents or grandparents, as would be the case with a *real* health insurance plan. You're welcome.

Body Browser: Think Google Earth for the Human Body!

Yesterday Google released Body Browser. Think Google Earth for human anatomy.

Body Browser is described as a 3-dimensional multi-layered anatomical model of the human body that you can rotate, zoom in on, and search. More information about Body Browser is available in Google Labs.

Great to see Google developing this new tool that should be useful for educators, physicians, and others in the health care field. I can't wait to show this new tool to my kids.

Thanks to Brian Klepper over at Care and Cost for blogging about this new Google health tool.

Very cool!