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addicts’ Cravings have Different Roots in Men and Women 0

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Addiction occurs in both men and women but the kind of addiction they enjoy varies greatly. Some addictions are quite common in both the sexes. There are various forms of addictions; among this drug addiction, alcohol addiction, cigarette smoking and gambling are some of the common ones.

Addiction in Men and Women

Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction is more prominent in men than in women. Men have 80% more tendency to become dependent on alcohol than women and their dependency lasts for lifetime. Men in the age group between 20 to 40 years are more susceptible to alcohol addiction than those above 40 years.

Drug Addiction

Men are more addicted to hallucinogens, such as Marijuana, than women. Women are generally more habituated to sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs (Barbiturates) such as Valium, Amytal, Serax and Doxylamine, to name a few. These drugs are basically used to treat sleeplessness.

It is believed that it’s the male sex hormone oestrogen that is responsible for higher addiction rate in males. All addictive drugs trigger brain to release a neurotransmitter substance called Dopamine which is also known as feel-good drug. Oestrogen also affects the dopamine effect by enhancing its release by the brain. Thus, males get addicted to these drugs faster and easier than females.

There is also a difference between men and women in the mode of drug intake. Women start self administrating the drugs much faster than men.

Addiction to Cigarette Smoking

Addiction to cigarette smoking is very common in both men and women. But the intensity of cigarette smoking is less in females than males. Also nicotine intake is also less in women than men. Both men and women are addicted to cigarette smoking due to different reasons. Women smoke to reduce their hunger and control their mood swings while men smoke to improve their work ability, enhance alertness, to decrease pain and to calm down their aggressive mood.

Some other forms of rare addictions are sexual addiction, porn addiction and love addiction.

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Addiction has different meanings for both men and women. For men it’s a stress buster and for women it is a mood booster. Whatever may be the reason, addiction is always harmful to both men and women.

You’ve been asking for it, and now you’ve got it! Finally, Dr. Oz brings the cameras out of the studio and into his family’s home to reveal all his secrets.

Over the years, Dr. Oz has shared so much health advice from his television studio. Now, you’ve got an all-access pass to where his health begins – at home. By traveling into his kitchen, his medicine cabinet, and even his bedroom, you’ll learn the secrets and surprises Dr. Oz and his family use every day to stay healthy and live longer. Read on so you can learn to do the same in your home.

Dr. Oz’s Kitchen

Dr. Oz considers the kitchen the heart and soul of his house. Here, he lets you in on the kitchen secrets to really kick your health up a notch.

Kitchen Secret #1: Dried Tart Cherries

The first thing you’ll find in Dr. Oz’s kitchen pantry are dried tart cherries – lots of them! While sweet cherries contain a variety of health benefits, tart cherries (like the Montmorency and Balaton varieties) are loaded with antioxidants, have been shown to reduce muscle soreness, and fight heart disease thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties. They can even help you sleep better at night as they contain melatonin – a hormone secreted by the brain that regulates our sleep cycle. Eat a handful of dried tart cherries every day as a low-cal snack, especially after dinner.

Kitchen Secret #2: Onions

Red onions can reduce your risk of heart disease, due to their high concentration of polyphenols, antioxidants that can reduce the inflammatory effects of coronary artery disease. In fact, the total polyphenol content of onions is higher than that of tomatoes, carrots and red bell peppers. To reap onions’ benefits, store them in a cool, dry place. Then, when peeling onions, be sure only to peel off the “papery” outer layer. The rest of the outer layers are rich in heart-healthy flavonoids that you want to be sure to incorporate into your meals.

Kitchen Secret #3: Bulgur Wheat

Similar tasting to rice or cous cous but with a higher nutritional value, bulgur wheat makes a great side dish. Just 1 cup has 33% of your dietary fiber for the day and 6 grams of protein. It’s naturally low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. And it’s high in manganese, a mineral that is essential for bone health. It is also a low glycemic index food, producing only small fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels compared with high glycemic index foods like rice and potatoes. To really get its benefits, eat bulgur wheat as a side dish two to three times a week.

The link between neck pain and headaches is often overlooked, say the chiropractors at Complete Injury Management

It is estimated that 50 million Americans suffer from headaches on a frequent basis. Each and every year, headaches are the cause of 157 million days lost at work, 10 million doctor’s visits, and $50 billion in health care costs.

Headaches can result from many things, but one cause that is often overlooked is neck pain. The fact is, however, that neck pain is a common contributor to headaches.

Here are three categories of people who are at risk of neck pain and the headaches it can cause.
1. Sleeping In an Awkward Position
If, when you wake, you find that you have a headache, examine the position you were in when you woke. An everyday cause of neck pain is sleeping with your head in an awkward position.

A first step is to examine the pillow(s) you are using. If they are too low or too high your head may be at an awkward angle which causes neck pain. Experiment with different pillows to get a better position, and if necessary try an ergonomic pillow to reduce or eliminate the risk of neck pain.

2. Spending a Long Time Working at a Computer MonitorIndividuals who use computers for a large part of the day are highly susceptible to neck pain. This is typically caused by the position of the computer user in relation to the monitor. Often the chair is badly placed or set at the wrong height, or the monitor is too low or too high, or at an uncomfortable angle, and this puts a strain on your neck.

If you find yourself having to tilt your head back or forward or at any other angle to view the monitor clearly, you are likely to suffer neck pain.

3. Taking Part in Sports or Demanding ExerciseSports enthusiasts and people who enjoy working out vigorously run a high risk of aches and pains, and both activities presents a high potential for neck pain.

It is important to minimize the risk by following sound coaching principles in the way you pursue your sport and applying sensible precautions when you exercise.

If you fall into any of these categories, you could be suffering from tension headaches due to neck pain. The important point is to take them as an alarm call and review your situation.

Complete Injury Management

Statins Linked To Lung Abnormalities In Smokers

While some studies have suggested that statins might be beneficial in the treatment of fibrotic lung disease, others have suggested that they may contribute to the progression of pulmonary fibrosis by enhancing secretion of inflammasome-regulated cytokines, and numerous case reports have suggested that statins may contribute to the development of various types of ILD.

"Based on earlier case reports of statin-associated ILD and data suggesting that smoking is associated with the interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) which underlie ILD, we hypothesized that statins would increase the risk for ILA in a population of smokers," said George R. Washko MD, MMsC, and Gary M. Hunninghake MD, MPH, of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Brigham and Women''s Hospital in Boston. "Accordingly, we evaluated the association between statin use and ILA in a large cohort of current and former smokers from the COPDGene study. In addition to the association between statin use and ILA we found in humans, we also demonstrated that statin administration aggravated lung injury and fibrosis in bleomycin-treated mice." Bleomycin has been shown to induce lung inflammation and fibrosis.

The findings were published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society''s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Assessment included pulmonary function testing and CT scanning for radiologic features of ILA. Among 1,184 subjects with no evidence of ILA, 315 (27%) used statins, compared with 66 of 172 (38%) subjects with ILA. After adjustment for a number of covariates, including a history of high cholesterol or coronary artery disease, statin users had a 60 percent increase in the odds of having ILA , compared to subjects not taking statins. No other positive associations between ILA and cardiovascular medications or disorders were detected. The association between statin use and ILA was greatest with statins with higher hydrophilicity (readily absorbed or dissolved in water), such as pravastatin, and in higher age groups.

The effects of statins on lung injury and fibrogenesis were also examined in a study in mice, which were pretreated with pravastatin prior to intratracheal bleomycin administration. Statin use was found to exacerbate bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis. In a further in vitro study, statin pretreatment was shown to enhance Nlrp3-inflammasome activation through mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation in macrophages. "These results implicate activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in fibrotic lung disease," said Jin-Fu Xu MD, and Augustine M. K. Choi, MD, of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, in Shanghai, China and the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Brigham and Women''s Hospital in Boston, respectively.

There were some limitations to both studies. Findings in the mouse model were not replicated in human samples. All study subjects were current or former smokers, perhaps limiting the applicability of the results to others. Cigarette smoking by itself may lead to pulmonary inflammation. Finally, the duration and dosage of statin therapy was not available for the majority of patients.

"While statin use was associated with ILA in our study, caution should be used when extrapolating these findings to the care of patients," concluded Dr. Hunninghake. "The significant benefits of statin therapy in patients with cardiovascular disease probably outweigh the risk of developing ILA, and statin use may benefit some patients with respiratory disease. Clinicians should be aware, though, that radiological evidence of ILD can develop in some patients treated with statins."

Source-Newswise

An increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension with cumulative levels of exposure to nitrogen oxides, was observed in a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University.

The study, which appears online in the journal Circulation, was led by Patricia Coogan, D.Sc., associate professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health and the SEC.

While it is well established that air pollution increases the risks of acute cardiovascular events such as stroke and myocardial infarction, it is not known whether exposure increases the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. However, emerging findings from laboratory and clinical studies suggest that air pollution may predispose to both conditions.

Researchers assessed the risks of incident hypertension and diabetes associated with exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM2.5) in a cohort of approximately 4,000 African American women living in Los Angeles. NOx are indicators of traffic-related air pollution. From 1995-2005, 531 incident cases of hypertension and 183 incident cases of diabetes occurred among the participants in the Los Angeles area. The risk of diabetes increased by a significant 24 percent, and the risk of hypertension by 11 percent, for each 12 ppb increase in exposure to NOx. There also were suggestive increases in risks of both diseases associated with exposure to (PM2.5), but the evidence for this was weaker than for NOx.

According to the researchers, two previous follow-up studies have suggested that traffic-related pollution increased the incidence of diabetes, but no African Americans were included. "A link between air pollution and the risks of diabetes and hypertension is of particular importance to African American women, because the incidence of both conditions is almost twice as high in African American women as in white women and African Americans live in more highly polluted areas than white Americans," said Patricia Coogan, D.Sc., the study's lead author. "In addition, even a modest effect of air pollutants on the risks of hypertension and diabetes will have significant public health impact due to the high incidence of these conditions and the ubiquity of exposure to air pollution," she added.

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