Gozzylous Blog

Anxiety: Worry dogs you constantly for no logical reason, and you imagine terrible things happening to you. Or maybe you’re fearful about taking trips or going to parties or meetings. If so, you might have generalised anxiety disorder. People with GAD experience “uncontrollable worrying,” says Dr. Peter Norton, director of the Anxiety Disorder Clinic at the University of Houston. Symptoms include chronic nervousness, trouble sleeping, and fatigue. Massage This heavenly therapy slows the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which are linked to anxiety, says Dr. Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Her research found that a month of weekly 20-minute massages lowers cortisol levels—”a very good objective index of anxiety,” she says—by 31 per cent. Massage also causes a relaxation response, which eases anxiety. Exercise “Exercise makes you pay attention to its sensations, such as breathing ...

Often people think of coffee just as a vehicle for caffeine,” writes Dr. Rob van Dam of the Harvard School of Public Health. “But it’s actually a very complex beverage,” containing hundreds of different chemical compounds. Grown in more than 70 countries around the world, coffee has something of a contentious history with health experts, who have long cautioned that over-consumption may be detrimental to our health. More recent studies, however, paint a rosier picture for the Coffee plant’s roasted berries (they’re not actually beans), suggesting that when consumed in moderate amounts — and without heaping on the sugar and cream — the magical stuff can harbor numerous potential health benefits. A look at a few of them: •Coffee may help fight depression. Start your day with a smile: A joint study from the National Institutes of Health and the AARP discovered that folks who quaffed four or more cups of java a day were 10 per cent less likely to be depressed th...

When minor medical issues crop up (nosebleeds, insect stings, dandruff!), chances are your medicine cabinet already contains some effective—and surprising—fixes for what ails you. Here are common household items that do double duty, saving you a trip to the pharmacy—and cash in the process! Antacid: The effervescent type with sodium bicarbonate helps neutralize the acid that causes painful heartburn symptoms. “Antacid formulations such as Alka-Seltzer contain aspirin, an anesthetic that can help ease the sting and itch of insect bites,” says Howard Sobel, MD, a clinical attending physician in dermatology and dermatologic surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. He recommends making a paste with a crushed antacid tablet, a pinch of oatmeal (also a skin soother), and water and applying it to the skin. Results are immediate—and this DIY formula has a healing bonus that other anti-itch salves lack. “Calamine lotion contains zinc oxide, which can be dryi...

Non-starchy vegetables, beans, and fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, and berries. Even tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, and papayas tend to have a lower glycemic index than typical desserts. Eat grains in the least-processed state possible: “unbroken,” such as whole-kernel bread, brown rice, and whole barley, millet, and wheat berries; or traditionally processed, such as stone-ground bread, steel-cut oats, and natural granola or muesli breakfast cereals help reduce blood sugar. Limit white potatoes and refined grain products such as white breads and white pasta to small side dishes. Limit concentrated sweets—including high-calorie foods with a low glycemic index, such as ice cream— to occasional treats. Reduce fruit juice to no more than one cup a day. Completely eliminate sugar-sweetened drinks. Eat a healthful type of protein at most meals, such as beans, fish, or skinless chicken. Choose foods with healthful fats, such as olive oil, nuts (almo...

Uncontrolled high blood pressure, commonly known as hypertension, has been said to kill in at least eight different ways. They include stroke, diabetes, kidney failure, heart attack, aneurysms, end-stage liver failure, coronary heart diseases and  sudden death. Emeritus Prof. of medicine, Oladipo Akinkugbe, describes high blood pressure as a condition that occurs when there is excessive pressure on the walls of the artery and adds that this causes damage to the blood vessels, as well as vital organs in the body when it is not controlled. Hypertension is also a major health concern for Africans. In Nigeria, about 57 million people are estimated to be hypertensive with many still undiagnosed.Akinkugbe says  this high incidence of hypertension is a major reason why many die suddenly from heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure is preventable and it is also manageable, so you need not die from it if you make efforts to control it. According to Akinkug...