Saturday, January 9, 2010

What is ORAC?

Free radicals have an important role in large number of biological processes, some of which are necessary for life, such as the intracellular killing of bacteria by phagocytic cells such as granulocytes and macrophages. Free radicals have also been implicated in certain cell signaling processes. Many diseases have their origin in inadequate free radicals activity in the body.



Many forms of cancer are thought to be the result of reactions between free radicals and DNA, resulting in mutations that can adversely affect the cell cycle and potentially lead to malignancy. Some of the symptoms of aging such as atherosclerosis are also attributed to free-radical induced oxidation of many of the chemicals making up the body. In addition free radicals contribute to alcohol-induced liver damage, perhaps more than alcohol itself. Radicals in cigarette smoke have been implicated in inactivation of alpha 1-antitrypsin in the lung. This process promotes the development of emphysema.


Knowing this, there was developed a method of measuring antioxidant capacities in biological samples. The method is called ORAC – an acronym for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. It has been discovered that a small group of super foods have up to twenty times the antioxidant power of other foods. This is why everybody recommends us to eat vegetables and fruits. It is recommended that we eat foods containing at least 3,000 ORAC units a day.

Here is a table containing some foods and their ORAC score.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Cervical Cancer II - symptoms, treatment, conclusion

The main symptoms of cervical cancer are lack of appetite, weight loss, unjustified fatigue, pelvic pain, back pain, bleeding and vaginal discharge. Pain and spills that accompany intercourse can also be signs of cervical cancer. HPV infection may be present for a long period without presenting any symptoms.


There are two main types of cervical cancer, but many other cancers may have their origin in the cervical area: melanoma, sarcomas and lymphomas. The main types of cervical cancer are cervical cancer with adenocarcinoma and cervical cancer with squamous cells. In terms of infection, it must be said that there are over 250 types of HPV virus, types 16 and 18 are responsible for most cases - more than 70%.


There are two major types of treatments, depending on the stage of disease progression. In the early phase of the faction to perform surgical resection of tumor, in advanced stages is radiation therapy and chemotherapy. There is the possibility of combination therapy with Cisplatin (click to see how Cisplatin works) and Hycamtin for cases where the disease is in stage IV B. The rate of survival 5 years after the discovery of disease is good, around 80-90% for cases detected in stage I and 50 -65% for cases detected in stage II. Forecast is much reduced in cases where the disease was discovered late and there are developed metastatic tumor formations.


There are also cases where the disease disappears without treatment from the body by the power struggle was self-defense. Therefore it is recommended to follow all the prescriptions for a healthy life. A few conclusions As is known, it is much easier to prevent than to cure a disease.


Many lives can be saved if a few simple things are taken care of: carrying a healthy life (with a diet low in meat and high in vegetables and fruits, daily consumption of at least 2 liters of good, clean water, respect the hours of rest), making periodic tests to detect disease (Babes-Papanikoli - at least once per year- and other tests) - which should begin within 2-3 years from the beginning of active sexual life (but not later than the age of 21 years), beginning of sexual life at an age appropriate and finding a stable sexual partner.



Friday, January 1, 2010

Cervical Cancer - Introduction

Cervical cancer is a form of cancer affecting the cervix or a certain area of it. Cervical cancer is the fifth type of cancer as number of deaths. Uterine tumor is generally made up of squamous cells, similar to those affecting the head, throat or anus. There are several types of uterine cancer, according to image cancer cells seen through a microscope.


Cervical cancer may have more cause, but the largest number of cases occurs in the cervix following infection with certain strains of human papilloma virus (HPV). The risk is greater for women who have sex with many partners (be they men or women). Other possible cause of cervical cancer are other infections with Chlamydia trachomatis and other infections (including HIV infection), inadequate nutrition, hormonal contraception, multiple pregnancies, family history (genetic factors). List risk factors in uterine cancer could not exclude smoking; it is a risk factor in almost any type of cancer.


The choice of conduct to prevent cervical cancer is vital that potential victims of this disease to focus their efforts on things that you can control: quitting smoking or avoiding habit of the addiction, deviant sexual behavior and avoid choosing a partner Sexual stable, choosing a balanced diet rich in vegetables and fruits. Men and they have an important role in terms of protecting their partners. It appears that circumcision decreases the risk for partner level. (I wonder why God asked the Jews to make circumcision.).


Women can significantly increase your chances of doing a form of uterine cancer or to detect disease in early form, thus saving lives and participating in monitoring programs. There are no exact figures at this point, but it seems that monitoring saves thousands of lives every year. Incidence of cervical cancer dropped significantly after the appearance of the cervico-vaginal cytology test.


It was invented by Georgios Papanikolaou and Aurel Babes (I’m proud to say this is a Romanian scientist), independent of this other. It is a screening method, providing high sensitivity and specificity, invented to detect cellular changes in the uterine cervix.

To be continued