Although zinc is an essential mineral you need to consume in your diet, its pervasive significance in health has been a recent discovery, according to Linus Pauling Institute. Zinc plays a role in an array of chemical reactions that take place...
Garlic is a staple in cooking. It's so familiar that you often forget about its long heritage in folk medicine. From the village healer to the vampire hunter, garlic has made its way through myth and legend and is finally being tested by modern...
The adrenal glands are a pair of organs above the kidneys which produce hormones. The outer covering is called the adrenal cortex and is comprised of three layers: the zona glomerulosa, the zona fasciculata and the zona reticularis. The inner core...
Snowshoeing involves walking on loose-packed snow with foot attachments that prevent you from sinking into the snow. As such, snowshoes are wide and light because they are meant to spread your weight out over a larger surface area. Snowshoeing can...
Having a colicky newborn is stressful because of long bouts of crying, concern for the infant’s well-being and sleep deprivation. Colic is not entirely understood, but it's generally thought to be related to abdominal gas and bloating that...
Brain freeze, also called ice cream or slushy headache, results from eating or drinking very cold substances. It’s a self-resolving condition that’s not thought to cause any damage to your brain. Older theories speculating on the...
An organized form of group indoor cycling began in the late 1980s. This type of class is set to music and involves a variety of pedaling positions and intensity levels. One of the primary positions when riding your indoor cycle is the...
Calcium tolerance is often confused with lactose intolerance in health literature, but the two are not the same. Lactose intolerance occurs when a person has an inability to digest lactose, which is a sugar found in dairy products. According to P....
Urea and electrolytes are both found in the urine. Urea excretion is part of the body's' waste management system while electrolyte excretion is how the body regulates various chemical levels in the blood. The amount of both substances can help...
In medical terminology, the word "subluxation" applies to a joint that has been partially dislocated. Today, the term is actually more commonly invoked in a chiropractic setting. In the context of chiropractic, the word "subluxation" has a...
Gambling addiction is a chronic and often gradual condition that occurs when an individual is unable to control the impulse to participate in gambling, regardless of the negative impact that gambling might have on her life. Alternatively called...
Narcissistic traits are quite common in Western societies that value individualism, self-assertion and personal success. There are, however, individuals who express a pervasive pattern of narcissistic behaviors and traits that severely interfere...
Neuropathy is a functional disturbance or pathological change in the peripheral nervous system. Disorders that disrupt the normal functioning of the axons of the nervous system are called axonal neuropathies, and conditions that affect the myelin...
Fatty liver is characterized by abnormal accumulation of triglycerides. You can get a fatty liver from chronic alcohol consumption, which inhibits oxidation and increases the synthesis of fatty acids, and/or from the excessive consumption of...
Every human body, even the leanest and smallest, has an abundance of skin. The National Institutes of Health report that the average person has between 6 and 9 lbs, of skin organ, equating to approximately 2 square yards. As the body ages and...
Achilles tendonitis is an inflammation of the Achilles tendon resulting in heel and leg pain that can be debilitating. It occurs mostly from excessive physical activities such as running and jumping. Resting the ankle is the most likely treatment...
Fish oil can lower high triglycerides and also appears to help lower your risk for heart disease, but it may not do much if you suffer from liver disease, according to National Institutes of Health online medical encyclopedia Medline Plus. Fish...
In traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, the congestion or the buildup of bile of the liver is thought to be the underlying cause of more serious pathologies. The main functions of the liver in TCM are to store blood and ensure the smooth flow and...
Restless Legs Syndrome is primarily a sensory disorder. According to the RLS Foundation, approximately 12 million people in the U.S. are affected, women more than men. In approximately 80 percent of patients, RLS is associated with recurrent leg...
The emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance is a great public health concern. The role of inappropriate and excessive antibiotic use has been clearly demonstrated in the development of drug resistant bacteria. In contrast, studies...
Patients with chronic liver disease may have changes in liver function that affect stamina, mental status, coagulation or nutritional status, according to a clinical report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, in most cases,...
Cayenne pepper has been used by native Americans for gastronomic and medicinal purposes for several millennia, the University of Maryland Medical Center says. Cayenne is also utilized as a remedy for digestive and circulatory problems in other...
The kidneys play a central role in the urinary system, regulating excretion, the balance of salts in the body and blood pressure. While a diet rich in protein, essential fatty acids and fluids is important to maintain proper kidney function, many...
Pitching, or any repetitive motion done overhead, may cause injury to the collection of muscles and tendons known as the rotator cuff. The primary problems associated with rotator cuff injury involve excessive inflammation. The use of ice on your...
High liver levels, or elevated liver enzymes, indicate damage or inflammation to liver cells, says MayoClinic.com. The most common liver enzymes are alanine transaminase, or ALT, and aspartate transaminase, or AST. These enzymes, the most reliable...
Weight lifting is a common form of exercise that can strengthen and tone muscles. It can be performed by athletes in competitive sports but is also often done for cosmetic reasons. Weight lifting can bestow numerous health benefits on the body,...
Gamma-glutamyl transferase, or GGT for short, is a liver enzyme found throughout your body, especially your liver and kidneys. GGT helps transport amino acids and phosphates into your cells. Abnormal GGT levels can be observed in conditions such...
Excessive mucus and cough are indicative of a disease affecting the airways and lungs. Mucus serves to trap debris or pathogens, and the cough serves to expel it from the respiratory tract. As such, cough and mucus production can serve useful...
Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a progressive loss of memory and cognitive function. Although autopsy shows characteristic brain pathology, Alzheimer's etiology is unknown. For a small percent of persons with early-onset Alzheimer's, there...
