Lies Behind Detox Business

In majority of big cities in Indonesia, there are many clinics open offering detoxification therapy. Detoxification means exhausting toxic subtances in the body. Whereas research shows that the tool used for detoxification does not really suck toxic material in the body, but just changes the water color used in the treatment.

This therapy claims that it has adobted Chinese tradition which believe that toxic substance in human body can be released by putting foot in water, just in half a hour. The therapy can also make the body feel healthier and bolster immune system.

In medical world detoxification is the process of safely getting dangerous substance out of human system. But in Indonesia, many common people build detox clinics freely by using untested machines. The SIGI team find that such clinics spread at malls, supermarket, even at

urban residences. It can happen because people can buy the machine easily in open markets. "To draw toxic out of my body, we just pay as cheap as $5," Said a woman who exercise the therapy in a mall at Kelapa Gading area, North Jakarta. She hopes her skin will softer and her fat disappear after the treatment.

The process of detoxification does not take a long time. First the patient puts off all his adornments, especially everything made from metal. Then he should put his foot in hot water at the ankle level. The water afterwards is charged by electricity at the lowest level using tool connected with the machine. In some minutes the water in the pail changes its color. if the color is red, it means the toxic has came out from articulating link. If the water is green, it means kidney and liver toxic. But if it is black, it means there are heavy metal sucked from the body.

These therapy is popular among the people. Fifthy thousand people use the machine everyday. The attraction of the machine can influence doctor to use it. Even a doctor, work for outstanding hospital in Jakarta, become one of consultant of a brand of detox machine. Whereas the machines are clinically not recommended by Health Department. Some people even make the machine traditionally. One of them is with the brand name Resik.

Not only the clinics is full of patients, the seller of detox machine also gains high profit. One distributor said he ever sells two hundred machines. As we know, One machine can prize twelve million rupiahs.

Profesor Suhariningsih from Airlangga University, who teaches physics faculty, said that the color in the water is not a poison or wasteful subtance of human body. She assumed the machines just disperse metal ions of electrolytic capacitor put in the water. Even the machine can be dangerous because it release chlorin gas. The gas is very dangerous if it is inhalled by a human.

Profesor Iwan Darmawan from Indonesian University has the similar opinion with profesor Suhariningsih. He said the theory of sucking toxic from the body is unknown in medical world. "If the tool is really powerful, then this great discovery shall gain Nobel price." he said.

But dr. Aminuddin, a conslutant of E-Plus detox machine, has different opinion. He said that the machine really could transfer negative ions which belive can make body feel good. Some detox machines claims they have international certificates. But the SIGI team found a letter that the government refused one of detox machines. Dr. Farid W Husain from health department said that the machine could categorize as a health tool. "Most of the clinics do not have legal letter," he said.

However, the therapies in Jakarta are still booming. On the other side, in Surabaya, one of big cities in Indonesia, the therapies are no longer operate. It is because the provisional government banned these practices. The polices in Surabaya area also closed some of the clinics. Not only in Surabaya, the police also forbid the owners of the clinics in Lamongan. Although in some cities these practices were prohibited, Health Department said that they did not have authority to close the clinics which spreading in the capital.

Translated from www.liputan6.com

SUNSHINE, CAN BE USEFUL OR HARMFUL TO HUMAN

When we live in big cities, where there are so many skycrapers limit sunlight reach our bodies, we agree that how valuable is the sun for our living. People from those cities spend their vacation time to go to the places where there are a lot of open sunlight. Beaches in tropical countries is their main destination. However, the sunlight can be harmful if we are exposed too long in the open field. The article below perhaps is valuable to read for whom loving going to open field in tropical countries.

SUNSCREENS
by Lynn_Willis
 
Without the sun, there would be no life on Earth. It keeps our planet warm. Plants need the sun's radiant energy for photosynthesis. People need small amounts of exposure to activate vitamin D in their bodies, a substance important to bone-building and other biological processes.

You can have too much of a good thing though. Too much sun can cause sunburn. Over time, too much sun can age the skin, making it leathery and inelastic. Researchers have also noticed a strong correlation between too much sun when you are young and skin cancer when you are older.

Sunlight is made of many different kinds of light. These kinds of light have different energies and their properties are a result of these energies. Not all kinds of light cause sunburn. Only ultraviolet (UV) light damages skin.

Light energy is measured in wavelengths?the smaller the wavelength, the greater the energy. UV light is usually broken down into three subtypes:

UVA, 320 >> 400 nm wavelength 
UVB, 290 >> 320 nm wavelength 
UVC, 200 >> 290 nm wavelength 

UVC light will do the most damage to your skin. Fortunately, this kind of light is completely absorbed by the atmosphere. Too much UVB light is responsible for sunburns. UVA light can damage your eyes over time. UVB and UVA go right through the air and clouds, which is why you can still get sunburned on a overcast day.

Sunscreens work by absorbing some of the UV light before it reaches your skin. Compounds such as cinnimate, oxybenzone, salicylates, and dibenzoylmethanes absorb UV light at different wavelengths, so many manufacturers put more than one UV-absorbing compound in their spray or lotion to give better protection from the sun. Most sunscreens block UVB rays.

Scientists aren't sure which type of UV light "UVA or UVB" causes the increased likelihood of skin cancer. To be sure you are protecting yourself from damaging rays, sunscreen should be one part of an overall strategy to keep your skin healthy. In Australia, the country that has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, people are urged to "slip, slop, slap". That is, slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat when you need to spend time in the sun. Staying out of the sun during peak hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) is also recommended.
 
original source: www.chemistry.org

Return to my Blog with Diabetes Article

Hallo all, I am glad I can write again on my blog. I have left it for many months because I had pretty much activities outdoor. By the way, I am interested in posting about diabetes since my mother suffers this illness. But the most interesting diabetes article for me is about what things cause someone suffer it faster than others.

How to Give Yourself Diabetes

Although researchers don’t know exactly what causes diabetes, it affects 21 million people in the U.S. and continues to “spread.” The American Diabetes Association explains that in diabetes, the body doesn’t produce or properly use insulin. (Insulin converts starches and sugars into our body’s fuel.)

Here’s few things that can put you on the fast track to diabetes.

• Watch two or more hours of TV daily. Increased risk: 14%
  

• Have one bout of major depression. Increased risk: 23%
  

• Eat lots of processed meat. Increased risk: 43%
  

• Skip breakfast every morning. Increased risk: up to 50%
  

• Drinking one soda every day. Increased risk: 83%
  

• Wake up at night and don’t return to sleep. Increased risk: 98%
  

• Eat fast food more than twice a week. Increased risk: 100%
  

• Have the majority of your extra body mass (fat) around your waist instead of evenly distributed. Increased risk: a whopping 330%
  

We say it a lot around here, but it bears repeating: Eat healthy and exercise to help avoid all of the above.

Source: http://www.healthbolt.net/2007/04/24/how-to-give-yourself-diabetes/

Notes: It sounds terrible. Watching TV and skipping breakfast can cause diabetes!! Is it true? Unfortunately, the writer does not give the credible sources of what he has written.

Air Pollution in General

I have posted earlier an article about air pollution caused by drugs which happened in Rome. It is clearly a new modern kind of air pollution which threathens human life. However, it is important for us to know what air pollution is in general, and why it can affect to human's health. The article I took from http://www.lbl.gov has a clear explanation about it.

What is Air Pollution?

Air is the ocean we breathe. Air supplies us with oxygen which is essential for our bodies to live. Air is 99.9% nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and inert gases. Human activities can release substances into the air, some of which can cause problems for humans, plants, and animals.

There are several main types of pollution and well-known effects of pollution which are commonly discussed. These include smog, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. Each of these problems has serious implications for our health and well-being as well as for the whole environment.

One type of air pollution is the release of particles into the air from burning fuel for energy. Diesel smoke is a good example of this particulate matter . The particles are very small pieces of matter measuring about 2.5 microns or about .0001 inches. This type of pollution is sometimes referred to as "black carbon" pollution. The exhaust from burning fuels in automobiles, homes, and industries is a major source of pollution in the air. Some authorities believe that even the burning of wood and charcoal in fireplaces and barbeques can release significant quanitites of soot into the air.

Another type of pollution is the release of noxious gases, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and chemical vapors. These can take part in further chemical reactions once they are in the atmosphere, forming smog and acid rain.

Pollution also needs to be considered inside our homes, offices, and schools. Some of these pollutants can be created by indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. In the United States, we spend about 80-90% of our time inside buildings, and so our exposure to harmful indoor pollutants can be serious. It is therefore important to consider both indoor and outdoor air pollution.

How to Get Your Calcium Supplies

It's easy for you to get your calcium in pills. But what you miss are the extras you get by eating foods that are good calcium sources and rich in other nutrients that do your body good. So here's a quick shopping list, and don't miss the bonus at the end: It will help your body get the most out of every calcium-rich bite you feed it.

Go fishing One tin of sardines (about 3½ ounces) supplies 370 mg of calcium. That's much more than a glass of 1% milk (290) and about a third of the daily 1,000 mg you need. (After 50, make that 1,200.) Plus these little fish are bursting with healthy omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, which helps your body absorb calcium.

Drink the other bottled calcium Mineral waters contain as much as 108 mg of calcium per cup -- not as much as milk, but hey, there's a big bonus: no calories! Just check the label to be sure your fave has the right stuff.

Build a smarter lunch salad Salad bars are full of calcium if you know what to pick, and we're not talking cheese cubes. Start off with 1 cup each of spinach (30 mg of calcium), romaine (15 mg), and broccoli (43 mg). Then add ½ cup of navy beans (62 mg) and 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds (176 mg), plus whatever else floats your lunch boat. Total: around 325 mg of calcium, plus beaucoup fiber, vitamins C, A, E, some protein, and a healthy, filling, good-for-all-of-you meal.

Get juiced A medium orange has -- surprise -- about 55 mg of calcium, and calcium-fortified OJ has a hefty 300 mg a cup or more. Not to mention all those sunny citrus vitamins.

Bonus: Take a walk Even if you're getting plenty of calcium, your body may be slow on the uptake. It needs vitamin D to deposit calcium where it's most needed, but very few foods contain D. However, your skin makes lots of D when it's exposed to sunlight, and fast. About 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure a few times a week is all that's needed. That's the main reason why something as simple as getting a safe amount of sun can make your RealAge as much as 1.7 years younger.

Original Source: http://food.yahoo.com

Notes: What's interesting to me is that one of the comments followed by this article. I think the comment is factly true, because we can see that osteoporosis cases are still high in the world, even in the country that its people has a good standard of living. Here is the comment:

Posted by Mr. BIG on Wed, Jun 20, 2007, 8:03 pm PDT

This is a good article, but it stops short of discussing the real issue of calcium. Most of the calcium you find in foods that add this mineral to the food to claim that the food is good for you because it contains calcium, is calcium carbonate. This is the cheapest form of calcium because it's not from a living source, but from rocks. Blackboard chalk is calcium carbonate. It causes kidney stones, can be toxic to the body, the bones only contain about 10% of this type of calcium, and the liver has to sort it out before the water can be used by the body. Also, before calcium can be absorbed, the stomach must be acidic. Calcium also competes with magnesium for absorption in the jejunum and the amount of calcium absorbed will depend on the body's need for it compared to magnesium. Antacids that are being recommended by doctors, pharmacists, and drug companies are causing calcium deficiencies because they just don't know the truth or have other motives such as profit, for recommending or selling the antacid garbage. The Boniva drug interrupts the blood calcium to bone calcium cycle and wreaks havoc with the coronary calcium levels in the blood, leading to problems with cholesterol. If you consume calcium without understanding these things and managing the digestive system properly, the calcium found in drugs, processed foods, combined with synthetic vitamins, ends up in the sewer system and the person with problems like osteoporosis, thinking that they are doing the right thing. Amazing. No wonder 75% of all Americans are dying of heart disease and degenerative diseases are on the increase, and our longevity is now ranking 24th in the world.

AIR POLLUTION IS MORE COMPLEX

Most people think that air pollution just come primarily from automobile exhaust and industrial emissions. But today we will know from the article below that a new, strange air pollution have emerged as a threat to our health.

There's something in the air in Rome: cocaine

ROME (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered particles of cocaine and marijuana, as well as caffeine and tobacco, in the air of Italy's capital, they said on Thursday.

The concentration of drugs was heaviest in the air around Rome's Sapienza university, though the National Research Council's Dr. Angelo Cecinato warned against drawing conclusions about students' recreational habits.

Calling their study "the first in the world to show the presence of particles of cocaine suspended in the atmosphere of the city," the researchers said they took samples in Rome, the southern city of Taranto and in Algiers in North Africa.

Nicotine and caffeine were detected in all three, "showing how widespread consumption of these substances is and how they remain in the atmosphere," state-funded CNR said in a statement.

The concentration of cocaine in Rome's atmosphere was only 0.1 nanogrammes (1 nanogramme is one billionth of a gramme) per cubic metre at its height during winter months, the researchers said. But the conclusions were worrying for public health.

"It is well documented that even small concentrations in the air of these pollutants can seriously damage health," said Dr. Ivo Allegrini of the CNR's Institute for Atmospheric Pollution.

Source: reuters