சிறுநீரகக் கற்களை கரைக்கும் உணவுகள்

இன்றைய காலத்தில் சிறுநீரகக் கற்களால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டோரின் எண்ணிக்கை அதிகமாக இருக்கிறது. அதிலும் அந்த சிறுநீரகக் கல் ஏற்பட்டால் ஆரம்பத்திலேயே அதனை சரிசெய்ய வேண்டும். அதிலும் கற்களின் அளவு 5 மிமி குறைவாக இருந்தால் அதனை கண்டிப்பாக வீட்டில் இருக்கும் ஒரு சில உணவுகளின் மூலமே சரிசெய்துவிடலாம். இல்லையென்றால் லாப்ரோஸ்கோப்பி என்ற சிகிச்சையின் மூலமே நீக்க முடியும். மேலும் சிலருக்கு அந்த கற்களின் காரணமாக வயிற்றில் அடிக்கடி வலியானது ஏற்படும். அவ்வாறு ஏற்பட்டால் உடனடியாக அதனை கரைப்பதற்கான முயற்சியில் ஈடுபட வேண்டும். அவ்வாறு அதனை ஈஸியாக வீட்டில் இருக்கும் ஒருசில உணவுகளை வைத்து கரைக்கலாம். தண்ணீர்: அனைவருக்குமே சிறுநீரகக்கல் போதிய தண்ணீரானது உடலில் இல்லாத காரணத்தினாலே வருகிறதென்று நன்கு தெரியும். ஆகவே எப்போது கற்கள் உடலில் இருக்கிறதென்று தெரிககிறதோ, அன்றிலிருந்து ஒரு நாளைக்கு 5-6 லிட்டர் தண்ணீரை குடிக்க ஆரம்பிக்க வேண்டும். இதுவே ஒரு சிறந்த எளிதான வழியாகும். வெந்தய தண்ணீர்: ஒரு டீஸ்பூன் வெந்தயத்தை ஒரு டம்ளர் தண்ணீரில் படுக்கும் முன் ஊற வைத்து, மறுநாள் காலையில் வெறும் வயிற்றில் குடிக்க வேண்டும். இதனால் சிறுநீரகக்கற்கள் கரைவதோடு மட்டுமல்லாமல், உடலில் இருக்கும் டாக்ஸின்களும் வெளியேறுகின்றன. டால் மிஸ்ரி: இது ஒரு புதுவிதமான படிகமாக்கப்பட்ட சர்க்கரை கட்டிகள். இந்த சர்க்கரைக் கட்டிகள் பனை மரத்திலிருந்து செய்யப்படுகிறது. இந்த பொருள் கிடைப்பது சற்று கடினம் தான். ஆனால் அதன் பலன் மிகவும் உயர்ந்தது. இது சிறுநீரகக்கற்களை கரைக்கும் ஒரு சிறந்த பொருள். ஆகவே அதனை இரவில் ஒரு டம்ளர் தண்ணீரில் ஊற வைத்து, மறுநாள் காலையில் அதனை குடிக்க வேண்டும். முக்கியமாக அந்த கட்டிகள் தண்ணீரில் நன்கு கரைந்திருக்க வேண்டும். வாழைத்தண்டு: சமையலில் பயன்படும் வாழைத்தண்டுகளை வாரத்திற்கு ஒரு முறை சமைத்து உண்டால், சிறுநீரகக்கற்கள் வராமல் இருக்கும். அதுவே கற்கள் இருப்பவர்கள், அதனை தினமும் ஜூஸ் போட்டு குடித்தால், கற்கள் விரைவில் கரைந்துவிடும். ஏனெனில் அதில் அதிகமான அளவு நார்ச்சத்தானது இருக்கிறது. மேலும் அதில் நீர்ச்சத்தும் அதிகம் உள்ளது. கொத்தமல்லி இலைகள்: கொத்தமல்லி ஒரு சிறந்த மூலிகைப் செடி. இதில் பல வித நன்மைகள் அடங்கியுள்ளன. அதிலும் அந்த கொத்தமல்லியை நீரில் போட்டு, கொதிக்க வைத்து, அந்த தண்ணீரை மட்டும் குடிக்க வேண்டும். இதனால் ஒரு நல்ல பலன் கிடைக்கும். எனவே சிறுநீரகக்கற்களை நீண்ட நாட்கள் வைத்து, அதனால் அறுவை சிகிச்சை செய்யுமளவு கொண்டு செல்லாமல், வீட்டிலேயே தினமும் அதற்கான உணவுகளை சரியாக உண்டு வந்தாலே, கற்கள் கரைந்துவிடும் என்று மருத்துவர்கள் கூறுகின்றனர்.

Psychology of possibilities can enhance health, happiness, research says

First-time mothers who pay attention to their emotional and physical changes during their pregnancy may feel better and have healthier newborns than new mothers who don't, according to research to be presented at American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention.

"These findings continue more than 40 years of research that has made clear that whether you are mindless or mindful makes a big difference in every aspect of your health and well-being -- from competence to longevity," Ellen Langer, professor of psychology at Harvard University and a pioneer in researching mindfulness, said in an interview. Langer is a past recipient of APA's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest.

For Langer's recent study, researchers trained women pregnant with their first child in mindfulness with instructions to notice subtle changes in their feelings and physical sensations each day, she said. When compared with two other groups of first-time pregnant mothers who did not have the mindfulness training, these women reported more well-being and positive feelings and less emotional distress. "They had higher self-esteem and life satisfaction during this period of their pregnancy and up to at least a month after birth," Langer said. "And this also had a positive impact on their deliveries and overall health of the newborns."

Teaching mindfulness through attention to variability may be helpful for many disorders, including asthma, depression and learning disabilities, to name a few, according to Langer.

"Noticing even subtle fluctuations in how you feel can counter mindlessness, or the illusion of stability. We tend to hold things still in our minds, despite the fact that all the while they are changing. If we open up our minds, a world of possibility presents itself," she said.

Author of the popular books "Mindfulness," "The Power of Mindful Learning," "On Becoming an Artist: Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity," and most recently, "Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility," Langer is known for her work on the illusion of control, aging, decision-making and mindfulness theory.

In her lecture, Langer will describe her research to test possibilities rather than find out what is typical. "Psychologists have traditionally studied the 'norm' rather than exceptions that could show that we are capable of far more than we currently realize," she said. Among other research, she will describe her work showing how a change in mindset has resulted in weight loss and improved vision and hearing, and how subtle differences in choice of words can improve health.

Langer first demonstrated the psychology of possibilities in her landmark 1981 "counterclockwise" experiment in which a group of elderly men spent time immersed in a retreat created to reflect daily life in the 1950s and where they were told to speak of the past in the present tense. Men in a comparison group reminisced for the week and were given no instructions regarding verb tense. The experimental group showed greater improvement in vision, strength, joint flexibility, finger length (their arthritis diminished and they could straighten their fingers more) and manual dexterity. On intelligence tests, 63 percent of the experimental group improved their scores, compared to 44 percent of the control group, Langer said.

BBC television recently replicated the study with British celebrities in a program that has been viewed in Great Britain, Australia, India and Hong Kong. It's currently being replicated with local celebrities in Germany and the Netherlands, Langer said.

"It is important for people to realize there can be enhanced possibilities for people of all ages and all walks of life," Langer emphasized. "My research has shown how using a different word, offering a small choice or making a subtle change in the physical environment can improve our health and well-being. Small changes can make large differences, so we should open ourselves to the impossible and embrace a psychology of possibility."

Provided by American Psychological Association

"Psychology of possibilities can enhance health, happiness, research says." August 2nd, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-psychology-possibilities-health-happiness.html

Posted by

Robert Karl Stonjek

Two effective treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis also cost-effective

(Medical Xpress) -- Two treatments found previously to be the most effective for patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) have now been found to be the most cost-effective treatments according to new research led by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry.

The latest results from the PACE trial show that both cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET), as supplements to specialist medical care, offer good value for money for healthcare providers when the cost of treatment is weighed up against improvement in quality of life. 

CBT and GET were found to be even more cost-effective when the savings to wider society – through a reduced need for additional care by family members – were taken into account. Adaptive pacing therapy (APT) was not cost-effective. 

The research was led by King’s College London, the University of Oxford and Queen Mary, University of London, and was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK government departments.

The researchers drew their conclusions in line with healthcare cost criteria used by NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), which considers treatments costing less than £20,000 to £30,000 per year lived in good health (known as a quality-adjusted life years, or QALYs) to represent value for money. 

Professor Paul McCrone, Director of the Centre for the Economics of Mental and Physical Health at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry and lead author of the paper, said: 'It’s very encouraging that two treatments found to help a significant number of CFS/ME patients are also cost-effective based on existing NICE criteria. There is now a strong case for the NHS to invest in providing these therapies. Our research suggests this investment would be justified in terms of improving quality of life for patients and could actually save costs to society if the impact on family members is taken into account.'

Professor Michael Sharpe from Oxford University and a co-author of the paper said: 'In the PACE trial we found that the rehabilitative treatments CBT and GET improve the fatigue and disability of people with CFS/ME. This new analysis of the trial data finds that these treatments are also cost-effective in improving patients’ quality of life. They are potentially cost-saving to society if the time of family and carers is also considered. This new evidence should encourage health service commissioners to provide these treatments to all those patients who need them.'

Professor David Lomas, Chair of the MRC Population and Systems Medicine Board, which co-funded the PACE trial, said: 'CFS/ME has a profound effect on patients and can severely impact their quality of life. These promising findings demonstrate how MRC funding can help to identify treatments that are not only effective, but are financially viable for the health service. There is still a pressing need to understand more about the underlying causes of CFS/ME and we recently announced a further £1.6m of funding for this purpose in the hope it will lead to new diagnostic tools and treatments.'

CFS/ME is a long-term, complex and debilitating condition that affects around 250,000 people in the UK, including children. Symptoms include profound physical and mental fatigue, muscle and joint pain, disturbed sleep patterns and concentration and memory problems. The combination and severity of symptoms varies from patient to patient, making it a difficult condition to diagnose and treat.

In 2011, the first findings from the PACE trial showed that CBT and GET benefit around 60 per cent of patients with CFS/ME, for whom fatigue was the main symptom. The latest study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, compared the cost-effectiveness of each treatment after one year against the criteria used by the NHS watchdog NICE. The researchers looked at the total cost of each course of treatment to the NHS and to wider society through patients requiring time off work and informal care from friends and relatives. 

Specialist medical care was the cheapest option in terms of absolute cost to provide, but when the benefit of treatment on quality of life was taken into account, CBT became the most cost-effective option (likelihood of 62.7 per cent). There was a 26.8 per cent likelihood that GET was the most cost effective, while the likelihood for APT and standard care alone were 2.6 and 7.9 per cent, respectively.

More information: McCrone, P. et al. ‘Adaptive pacing, cognitive behaviour therapy, graded exercise, and specialist medical care for chronic fatigue syndrome: A cost-effectiveness analysis’ PLoS ONE  doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040808

Provided by King's College London

"Two effective treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis also cost-effective." August 2nd, 2012.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-effective-treatments-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek