Health related information and news from around the world.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that eating fish from any of America’s 46 polluted waterways could result in a slight increase in a person’s risk of getting cancer.

Consumers shouldn’t worry about the warning because grocery stores fish markets and restaurants do not carry fish from the polluted waterways. The EPA says the chief danger is to sports fishermen and poor people who fish to provide food for their families.

The potential danger is all the more insidious because the pollution doesn’t produce any physical signs of contamination on the bass, walleye, catfish, trout pike sunfish, and other freshwater fish affected. However, the EPA stresses that the risk of getting cancer from eating such contaminated fish is relatively small.

While the EPA has not discovered the cause of the pollution, it is known that most of the contamination came from a pesticide, called dieldrin; and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCf3s, widely used in electrical transformers.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says that even though there is only a small risk of getting cancer by eating contaminated fish, it does add to the overall risk of contracting the disease. NCI records indicate that as many as 2 out of every 10 Americans are diagnosed with cancer by age 70.

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Researchers have discovered that potassium deficiency may contribute to high blood pressure. The results of a recent study involving several healthy men who ate either a low-potassium diet or a normal potassium diet for one to two months showed that those on the low-potassium diet had considerably higher blood pressure levels after eight weeks than did the men on normal potassium diets.

The best way to add more potassium to your diet is to consume plenty of fruits and vegetables such as bananas, beans, and potatoes. While there is no Recommended Daily Allowance for potassium, most medical experts suggest a daily intake of from 2 to 3.5 grams. Your doctor can tell you more specifically how much your potassium intake should be each day. This is especially important if you are on medication or have some type of illness or disease.

The potassium in such fruits as bananas may also help ease the discomfort and pain of indigestion. Recently, researchers in India conducted a test involving 40 people who had all suffered stomach pain and nausea for several months. Half of the subjects were given a natural treatment consisting of capsules which contained banana powder. These people took eight capsules a day for about 2 months. The other 20 subjects in the test were given nothing for their pain and nausea. And all 40 subjects avoided such things as antacids and/ or ulcer medication.

The results of this test showed that half of the subjects who took the banana capsules gained complete relief. Most of the other people in this group reported at least some level of relief from their almost constant discomfort. Eighty percent of tired people in the other group—those who were given nothing for their indigestion—reported no relief at all.

Other research suggests that potassium-rich foods, such as bananas arid potatoes, may also help to reduce your chances for having a stroke. A 12-year study conducted by the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the University o California in San Diego has provided strong evidence in support of that theory- e study, involving over 850 men and women, showed that the people with the l° intake of potassium had the highest number of stroke- associated deaths. The people who consumed high levels of potassium seemed to be relatively “stroke-free”. Also, according to the study, an increase in daily potassium intake by 400 milligrams showed an almost 40 percent reduction in the risk of having a stroke.

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The key to successful weight control is the ability to make changes in your diet that can be maintained on a long-term basis. In some instances, doctors believe that ‘”consistent weight management—losing and regaining weight repeatedly—may actually be more harmful than being overweight. In fact, dieters who don’t maintain their initial weight-loss, often regain so much weight that they become heavier than they were before they went on a diet.

The safest and most effective way to diet is to go slowly, never losing more than two pounds a week. Losing more than two pounds in a week’s time usually means the weight-loss is in fluids and muscle, and not in fat. Your diet should ideally consist of as wide a variety of foods as possible. In some instances, under medical supervision, you may be placed on a highly restricted diet. Such a diet will force you to pay closer attention to the composition of each meal.

The most recommended diet places special emphasis on vegetables, fruit and complex carbohydrates, which are high in fiber and rich in vitamins and minerals. Such a diet contains fewer calories and less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, salt, alcohol, and slightly less protein. You don’t have to eliminate any individual foods with this diet, but you will have to cut down on your intake of certain foods, while increasing your consumption of others.

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Simply put, chiropractic treatment relies on physical manipulation and adjustments of the spine for therapy, rather than on surgery or drugs. Before consulting a chiropractor about a lower back problem, there are several things you should know.

1) Since lower back pain can have many different causes, including kidney disease, bladder tumor and prostate cancer, it is essential to have the condition and its cause properly diagnosed. Since a chiropractor deals with manipulation and adjustments of the spine, some patients may require the treatment of another specialist. In other words, some lower back problems require treatment which is beyond the scope of a chiropractor.

2) While chiropractors are licensed health care practitioners, individual chiropractor’s credentials may differ, which can have an effect on the type of therapy regimen prescribed. There are also varying state laws regarding credentials and certain kinds of treatment. Make sure you check out a chiropractor’s credentials before undergoing any treatment.

3) Chiropractors generally diagnose like other doctors. Chiropractic treatment, however, does not involve the use of drugs or surgery as therapy— it involves adjustments and manipulation.

4) As a chiropractic patient, you should undergo a comprehensive consultation, which includes a review of your body systems and your medical history. You should also undergo a thorough physical examination in which the chiropractor looks for “subluxation” or the partial dislocation of a joint. The physical should also look for postural problems and/or problems caused by improper positioning or functioning of one bone in relationship to another.

5) A chiropractor should come highly recommended by former and current patients. One way to find a good chiropractor is to talk with friends or associates who have had chiropractic treatment. Their positive recommendations should give you confidence in the chiropractor’s ability.

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