Asthma & Diabetes

Many times, especially under GTF Worldwide Sdn Bhd, one will always link diabetes with many other diseases and complications, which we often known them as metabolic syndromes, such as heart diseases, inflammation, obesity and many many more. But a recent study shows that other complications, like asthma, also somewhat has some linkages with Diabetes Mellitus.

By looking at the above picture, normal asthmatic patients could have recognized this very easily. Yes, indeed, this is the normal inhaler which is used by many asthmatic patients nowadays. Whenever an asthmatic patient experiences an asthmatic attack, this little gadget which comes in handy will be their best savior. Once a puff, it loosens the respiratory tract of the patient. This relieves the critical condition of the person.

But one thing, this recent piece of research shows that inhaled corticosteroid (the substance found in the inhaler), would somehow increase in the rate of diabetes onset for as much as 34%. While if a person took a highest inhaled dosage, the rate could be increased to 64% in diabetes onset and 54% in diabetes progression.

Hence, according to Sammy Suissa, PhD., the lead investigator of the research, patients instituting therapy with high doses of inhaled corticosteroids should be assessed for possible hyperglycemia and treatment with high doses of inhaled corticosteroids limited to situations where the benefit is clear. Which is exactly the rule which should be obeyed by all asthmatic patients, should the research data fits what our biological reaction really applies.

Tame Diabetes with Exercise

Exercises are essential for everybody, and this of course, including diabetic patients. Recently, a new exercise guidelines and recommendations have published in one of the journal this month, which is Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Such guideline was also jointly issued by American Diabetes Association.

The research shows the importance of physical activity to health for all individuals. According to the new guidelines, it appears that 150 minutes is all it takes. The recommendation also mentioned that these 150 minutes have to be spread out at least three days during a week's time where, in a stipulation that there should not be two consecutive days between bouts of aerobic activities.

Apart from aerobic activities, strength training is also important right now for diabetic sufferers. According to the results of the research, resistance exercise (strength training) has the importance which is on par with aerobic exercise, plus in certain studies, was said to be even more important compare to aerobic exercises as it could reinforce additional benefits of combining aerobic as well as strength training for people with diabetes.

Previously, many physicians believed that exercises might not be suitable for diabetic patients due to excessive body weight they have as well as certain health complications they faced. However, with the proper precautions taken, majority of diabetic patients can undergo normal exercises. According to Colberg, Ph.D., who chaired the writing group, physical activity should not be an excuse for diabetic patients, in contrary, it should be a conscious part of every person's health plan.

CKD Risk in Certain Babies

The famous two "biological beans" that can be found in our bodies, are known as kidney. When speaking about kidney disease, everybody would think of chronic kidney disease. Such disease is "invisible" as the sufferer only experience symptoms such as the loss of appetite, fatigue and other trivial matters. As time goes by, the function of renal (kidney) worsens over a certain period. Such disease can be deadly if it is not treated at the right time.

Recently, a latest study found out that for pregnant women who also have Type II Diabetes, their offsprings are more likely to have higher risk in developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study was taken place in Washington, where more than 4,000 patients with childhood CKD were included. These patients were all 21 years old or lower. In order to make the study an accurate one, they were compared to over 20,000 healthy children to evaluate the relationship between a diabetic mother as well as the condition of kidney of their respective child.

The interesting findings about this study is that overall rate of childhood CKD was approximately 0.26 percents (which is also 1 per 400 births). As for the children whose mothers had diabetes before their pregnancy period, CKD risk was increased as many as 69 percents higher. As for mothers who developed diabetes during their pregnancy period, the chances of their children in getting CKD is 28 percents higher. Other than diabetic mothers, obese mothers also show a similar trend, where their children in their tummies could face a 22 percents higher in encountering CKD.

More researches are to be done in order to confirm the accuracy of such study. Nevertheless, consuming GTF products everyday is the right way to do in controlling and improving diabetes and other metabolic syndromes.

Fingers Fortune

When someone demand a palm of yours, they often act up like fortune tellers and the first thing they ever do is tell you what your future holds, the lines which are intersecting each other in the middle part of your palm, what they really mean and all sorts of believable explanations. Today, GTF Infozone brings you a scientific news which is quite similar with fortune telling, except that it is not superstitious, but it is scientific-based.

But this scientific fortune telling, only limits to the guys (sorry ladies, but you could read it up and share this information to your guy friends). As you can see in the picture above, this latest piece of information is about two of the five fingers that you have, which are index finger and ring finger respectively. According to a recent study which was funded by Prostate Cancer Research Foundation and Cancer, the lengths of these two fingers somehow determines the risk a male could have in getting prostrate cancer, particularly for men under the age of 60.

It is said that when a man's index finger is longer than his ring finger in length, this man has one third less likely to develop prostrate cancer compare to those whose ring fingers are in the same length, or longer than their index fingers.

The lengths of both fingers were said to have been set forth when the person is in the womb of a mother. In connection to that, the lengths of fingers are said to be affected by the amount of sex hormones (testosterone, in this case) exposed to the baby in mother's womb. Researchers believed that less testosterone equates to a longer index finger; and they also now believe that being exposed to less testosterone before birth helps protect against prostate cancer later in life. However, more researches are being conducted currently as to find out more connections and the factors of prostrate cancer occurrence.

The Catalyst of Cancer

Other than the existence of the magnificent trivalent chromium, GT&F Products are also known to have sufficient amount of essential vitamin B as well as antioxidants. Speaking of antioxidants, they play a pivotal role in preventing many harmful consequence on human health, among the examples are cancer, heart diseases, or even altitude sickness. This statement was very well recognized publicly (that antioxidant plays an important part in preventing cancer).

But today, one of the latest findings which can be found in British Journal of Cancer (2010), pointed out that in preventing cancer from occurring, consuming a high amount of vegetables as well as fruits do not contribute much in the prevention. Although it contributes, but it is not effective enough as it still could not provide a marked result. In the contrary, a close link was found between the prevention of cancer as well as the reduction of alcohol intake.

An Oxford University professor, Professor Tim Key mentioned that vegetables and fruits should mainly being treated as the source of many different kinds of essential nutrients, but it should not being treated as a bench mark as to what amount of consumption it shows certain protection against cancer. On the other hand, consuming high amount of alcohol, which would lead to obesity in the long run, has appear in scientific statistics that it remains closely linked with the occurrence of cancer.

Being overweight, there are a number of possible cancers which could occur. Among the many possible cancer types are breast cancer, or the more complicated cancers such as pancreatic, oesophagael or even kidney cancer. When the alcohol consumed is further broken down, it could even lead to other types of cancers such as mouth, throat or liver cancer. And of course, smoking is still believed to be one of the top reasons of high risk in getting cancer.

Binge Drinking Doubles!

When we were small, we always see those who were older than us, enjoy drinking, yes, drinking alcohol (liquor) is what we meant here. In those childhood memories, all we could recall about alcohol, were probably bitter taste, disgusting wastage which came out from the mouths of those who suffered hangovers. As a result, as a kid ourselves when we were younger, the word alcohol actually disgusted us.

But as we grew older ourselves, alcohol seems to be the "in-thing" gradually. A man who does not drink alcohol does not seemed to be "cool", as majority of men were foreseen as individuals who will involve themselves in business in the near future, and engaged in functions relating to alcohol drinking. As time passes by, it is now turned out to be a generation where even females like to drink a cup or two.

Conventionally, we know that excessive alcohol would bring bad bad consequences, nobody likes hangovers, nobody likes bad breath which is caused by excessive drinking. And worst of all, previously binge drinking is known to cause damages to liver, kidney and even cause heart disease, guess what, binge drinking is now known to have the potential to double your chances of having heart diseases!

A study which was conducted in France and Belfast (in Northern Ireland), found that binge drinking can nearly increases two times the risk of getting heart disease. The reason why these two places were chosen for this study, was because in France, middlemen usually consume alcohol very evenly throughout the week, while middlemen drinkers in Belfast consume relatively higher amount of alcohol in one day, and those days were only during the weekends. As a matter of fact, the drinkers in these two areas have about the same amount of alcohol consumed averagely, in a week.

A binge drinker was defined by researchers as drinkers who consume more than 50g of alcohol in a short period of time, and hence participants who reported regularly drinking four or five 125 ml glasses or more of wine or half pints of beer on a single day would be classed as binge drinkers. As a results of this study, the mean alcohol consumption among Belfast drinkers was 22.1g per day, while the French consumed 32.8g per day. But since drinkers in Belfast consumed relatively higher amount of alcohol in a short period of time (that is, averagely relatively more than French drinkers in a day), the prevalence of middlemen drinkers in that particular area who experienced heart complications was also increased 20 times higher than the drinkers in France.

Benefits of Pomegranate

Many fruits are said to bring great benefits to human. For example, in the past, oranges (citrus fruits) are recommended strongly by doctors, and as the time goes by, everybody is advising everybody else to take oranges too, because it does proved to be a good source of antioxidant as well as a kind of fruit where it is able to prevent certain diseases. But for now, the medical field discovers another fruit which could bring additional benefits.

Pomegranate is the name of the fruit. Recent analyzes showed that individuals who drank pomegranate juice appear to be experiencing lesser cardiovascular events, as pomegranate juices are said to reduce cholesterol, lower excessive blood pressure, which in turns reducing the chances of premature death.

Other than that, the authors of the article (published article about the health benefits of pomegranate juices, source from American Society of Nephrology, ASN) also mentioned that by drinking the controlled amount of pomegranate juice, this may reduce the complications which often occur to dialysis patients.