What You Need To Know About Celiac Disease

I have Celiac Disease and have been able to manage it quite well by following a strict gluten free diet. Once you get into the routine of checking foods, it becomes almost second nature.

Celiac Disease is a digestive disorder that causes damage to the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food.

The main cause of Celiac Disease is the abnormal reaction in the body to the nutrient, gluten. Gluten is present in many foods and can be found in wheat products and grains such as rye, barley and oats.

Some other names for Celiac Disease are Coeliac Disease, Coeliac Sprue and more commonly, Gluten Intolerance.

The development of this condition is unknown but it has been strongly suggested that it could be due to: – A genetic susceptibility to the illness – Stress – Pregnancy – Exposure to gluten as a child

If you suspect that you or someone in your family has developed Celiac Disease, the symptoms include: – Anaemia – Cramps – Chronic Diarrhoea – Weight Loss – Fatigue – Bloating

Symptoms can be wildly different from one person to another, and some celiac sufferers don't have any symptoms at all. The best way to know for sure is by getting tested.

Until recently physicians had to rely on clinical signs to suggest the diagnosis and to select which patients should have further investigation to prove the diagnosis. Since these signs may be vague and difficult to spot, simple blood screening tests are becoming available to help this process.

Another method used to diagnose Celiac Disease is using celiac tests. These home tests are available from chemists and online shops and can give a quick and accurate diagnosis without going to the doctors.

However, the most effective method is using a bowel biopsy. This biopsy is conducted by a professional in the gastrointestinal field.

Unfortunately, if you are diagnosed with Celiac Disease there is no known cure. The only solution is a strict adherence to a gluten free diet.

Sufferers need to be vigilant about the foods they buy at supermarkets at restaurants to avoid gluten. They should always read the labels when shopping for food as gluten is present in many foods. Some examples are soups, luncheon meats and sausages from the supermarkets.

The good news is that it is very possible to lead a happy, normal life even if you sufferer from Celiac Disease. The solution is to stay away from gluten by following a strict gluten free diet.

Source: Sam Chim

Diagnosed With a Herniated Disc? What to Do Next…

You’ve probably heard people say they have a "slipped" or "ruptured" disc in the back. Sometimes they complain that their back “went out”. What they’re most likely describing is a herniated disc. This condition is a common source of back and leg pain.

Discs are soft cushions found between the vertebrae that make up the spinal column (your backbone). In the middle of the spinal column is the spinal canal, a hollow space that contains the spinal cord. The nerves that supply the arms, leg, and torso come from the spinal cord. The nerves from the neck supply the arms and hands, and the nerves from the low back supply the butt and legs. The discs between the vertebrae allow the back to move freely and act like shock absorbers.

The disc is made up of two main sections. The outer part (the annulus) is made up of tough cartilage that is comprised of series of rings. The center of the disc is a jelly-like substance called the nucleus pulposus. A disc herniates or ruptures when part of the jelly center pushes through the outer wall of the disc into the spinal canal, and puts pressure on the nerves. A disc bulge is when the jelly substance pushes the outer wall but doesn’t completely go through the wall.


What do you feel?

Low back pain will affect four out of five people during their lifetime. The most common symptom of a herniated disc is “sciatica”. Sciatica is best described as a sharp, often shooting pain that begins in the buttocks and goes down the back of one leg. This is most often caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve that exits the spinal cord. Other symptoms include:

*Weakness in one leg or both legs
*Numbness and tingling in one leg (pins & needles)
*A burning pain centered in the low back
*Loss of bladder or bowel control (seek medical attention immediately)
*Back pain with gradually increasing leg pain. (If you have weakness in both legs. Seek immediate attention.)


How do you know you have a herniated disc?

Your medical history is key to a proper diagnosis. A physical examination can usually determine which nerve roots are affected (and how seriously). A simple x-ray may show evidence of disc or degenerative spine changes. An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is usually the best option (most expensive) to determine which disc has herniated.


Why do discs herniate?

Discs are primarily composed of water. As we become older (after the age of 30), the water content decreases, so the discs begin to shrink and lose their shape. When the disc becomes smaller the space between the vertebrae decreases and become narrower. Also, as the disc loses water content the disc itself becomes less flexible.

While aging, excess weight, improper lifting and the decrease in water in the discs all contribute to the breaking down of discs, the primary cause of a herniation or bluge is uneven compression and torsion that’s placed on the discs.

This uneven pressure is caused by imbalances in muscles that pull the spine out of its normal position and then your body is forced to function in what I call a physical dysfunction. Every human being develops these dysfunctions over time and eventually they cause enough damage to create pain.


The best treatment options

When it comes to treating a herniated disc, there are traditional treatments such as ice/heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, cortisone injections, anti-inflammatory medications and even surgery. While these may deliver some relief, it will usually be temporary if at all.

But the major problem with these traditional treatments is that they can’t fix or heal a herniated disc as they do not address the actual cause of the problem. For example, even if you were to have a surgery and get some pain relief, the fact is the dysfunctions that caused the disc to herniated in the first place are still there and if not addressed, they will continue to place uneven pressure and strain on the discs and sooner or later you will likely have another problem with that disc, or others.

Without identifying and addressing the underlying cause of the problem, which is the physical dysfunctions caused by imbalances in muscles, you will likely continue to suffer with this condition and the continuous flare ups for years.

Unfortunately, most doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists don’t spend time or focus on identifying the physical dysfunctions that are responsible for the condition so most people end up jumping from one useless traditional treatment to the next and suffer for months or years unnecessarily.

If you have been diagnosed with a herniated disc, or are wondering if your back pain may be caused by a herniated disc, either way you must identify and address the physical dysfunctions that are causing your pain as part of your recovery.

Source: Dr. Robert Duvall, Dpt, Atc

Why Body Acne is Harder to Treat Than Facial Acne

Suffering from acne can be a lonely feeling, seeming as if you are the only one going through with it. But millions of people all over the world suffer with the same problem. Suffering from facial acne is already hard enough but the worst part is when it spreads through out the body making it even harder to treat. Trying to treat acne that is on your back is difficult because of the skin’s thickness.

The back has thousands of sebaceous glands that are producing lots of oil, making acne more severe. Around puberty back acne starts to form aggressively. When the male hormone group is active it stimulates the sebaceous glands causing it to produce an extra amount of sebum. Just below the surface of the skin the sebaceous glands are situated. Oil is produced continuously by sebaceous glands through the openings of the skin (known as pores).

Using the facial acne treatment on your body would not be that effective because of the skin’s toughness. Your skin may be very sensitive so you’d probably want to refrain from carrying things on your back such as a backpack.

Bacteria can cause the surrounding tissues to become inflamed causing acne to then be formed. Each person responds differently to bacteria buildup and overproduction of sebum. What you eat can also have an effect on your body causing your skin to breakout.

Acne can be very annoying and very irritating, causing us to feel uncomfortable in public areas. In the summer one is prevented from wearing swimsuits, tang tops and the like. Whenever we have bumps and bruises on our body we don’t feel comfortable wearing anything that will expose too much of our skin, believing that we will draw too much unwanted attention. No one wants to spend their summer covered in long sleeves and pants or staying in the house for that matter.

Finding the right treatment can be an exhausting time-consuming task. And taking medication can leave you with side effects. When searching for acne products you should know that all acne is not the same and needs to be treated in different manners.

It is not just teens that are suffering from body acne – adults are dealing with it to. Some adults may not experience acne until they reach their thirties.

Studies show that 75% of those who suffer from acne on the face experience it on other parts of the body.

90% of the people suffering from acne have it on their chest and back.

Very few acne sufferers use acne treatments to treat their symptoms. Only 5% use treatments for acne.

95% percent of the people are ashamed to go out in public.

I can understand wanting to stay out of the public eye. I’ve experienced bumps all over my body when I was in the seventh grade. It was scary looking. My father thought I had the measles. We went to go to see the doctor and he wasn’t quite sure what it was. It was kind of strange because it was all over my body but my face was still clear. Three weeks later it cleared up but I still had marks from where the bumps were.

We should not allow these kinds of things get us down. As long as we are breathing we should all be able to enjoy life.


Source: Andre Hollinshed