new site about pregnancy
Hello, everyone.. I know I should say huge sorry since I couldn’t manage my time to maintain this website. But there is another good news, that one of the biggest reason why I decided to “make-this-doctoradhi.com” hibernating-for-a-while is because I just set up a new website specifically for pregnancy issue (Yay! That’s my favorite & my interest!)
So, if you guys manage to read this post, feel free to visit : www.iwannabemom.com (so sorry that I created that for my Indonesian audience, so that it uses Indonesian language).
Okai then, I hope you all are doing great and well, and don’t forget to stay healthy always!
health is very important
I manage that this year we MUST have a healthy lifestyle, and if you’re an already-healthy person, it is good if you can be even healthier. Why am I saying this now suddenly in the middle of March 2009? Because lately, I found and heard so many terrible things happened to my close friends, related to their health.
This month, I lost one of my beloved friend at workplace (I’ve known him since 9 years ago). He passed away because of kidney failure. It just happened all in a sudden, so that there was nothing can be done to save his life.
Yesterday morning, I got a bad news that my uncle was having CVA (Cerebro-Vascular-Accident), people know that as stroke attack.
So in this short message, I just want to encourage everyone of us to start having a healthier lifestyle. No matter how health we are now, it is advisable that we live healthier and always put our health in our first priority in life.
Enjoy your weekend, and stay healthy always..
New Drug to Slow Prostate Cancer
Hellow, everyone.. Today I’d like to share a good news about the beauty of medical research and technology in helping cancer patients. This article is taken from webmd.com, and in case you don’t have time to read the whole article there, here are some of the highlights.
This new finding is all about an experimental pill that blocks the production of male hormones that fuel prostate cancer may help slow the growth of hard-to-treat tumors.
The novel agent, called abiraterone, shrank tumors by 30% or more in one-fourth of 31 patients whose prostate cancer continued to spread despite standard hormone therapy. In an additional 35% of men, tumors stopped growing.
“A few patients are still alive, without any signs of progression, more than a year after therapy began,” says researcher Charles J. Ryan, MD, a cancer specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
Without the new drug, they would have only been expected to live three or four months, he tells WebMD.
The researchers also used PSA levels to evaluate abiraterone’s effectiveness. PSA levels are a measure of a protein called prostate-specific antigen, which is produced by cells in the prostate. High PSA levels can signal cancer. The National Cancer Institute views a response to treatment as being seen when there is at least a 50% decline in PSA blood level.
After 12 weeks of treatment, abiraterone reduced PSA levels by 50% or more in 71% of the men. In two men, PSA fell to undetectable levels.
acne and diet
So many of you have heard about this famous rumor: “Some acne can be caused by specific diet“. Is it true?Actually there’re so many pro’s and con’s about this, but the truth is actually: it depends on everyone and each of you.
I will not suggest you to debate this issue, but rather than that, let’s take a brief look on what some studies have proven. Some people are getting acne after eating some foods, while other people are not at all. Here is one little example:
Why would dairy cause acne? The leading theories are that dairy may affect hormone levels in such a way as to provoke acne. (Acne has a well-established hormonal element). Food allergies or sensitivities may also be a possible explanation. Dairy products are a very common trigger for food sensitivities.
Unfortunately, if food sensitivities are a culprit, there are no rules. Reactions to food are extremely individual, which means that chocolate might exacerbate YOUR acne (if your immune system reacts to chocolate) but might not have any effect on MY skin.
Identifying whether (or which) foods affect your skin is tricky. You’d have to be alert to the foods that seem to cause problems for you and/or experiment with eliminating foods to see if you notice improvement. Perhaps it makes sense to start with a personal diet diary.
enough sleep will make you healthier
I read this beautiful article from Google Reader, and actually I already was told about this by my colleague few months ago. And since this article is quite light and easy, I wanna share to you as my weekend gift, hehehe.
Would you like to control your appetite, regulate your weight and boost your immune system without going on a special diet or taking a pill?
It turns out you may just need more sleep. Researcher Neil Stanley has recently called for society to “reclaim the night” for some shut-eye. A good night’s sleep may be just as important as exercise and a healthy diet, but it’s rarely emphasized in public health campaigns. Aside from increased grumpiness and a reliance on caffeine, studies have indicated that inadequate sleep can lead to heart disease, diabetes and depression.
Yet society tends to scorn sleep. The culprit may be the very technology that was supposed to give us more free time. We’ve grown used to the convenience of 24/7 accessibility but found it increasingly hard to disconnect. And that is the biggest reason why we often lack of enough sleep time. And personally, I have to admit that by the growth of technology and communication tools, it really reduce my sleep time. I always sleep no more than 6 hours (sometimes reaching 7 hours) these 2 weeks, and I don’t know if it is connected, but I think I get fatter (need to go back to healthier life).
Combination of stress, social networking, and internet can make our life unhealthy for the long run. So, by this simple article, I encourage all of us -including myself- to balance our life, with healthier lifestyle, healthier foods, and surely with enough sleep time.
Okay, that’s it for now.. Enjoy your weekend and stay healthy always.
tips about ovulation
Morning everyone.. I hope you are all doing well and healthy always.
Yesterday I was having a chat with my best friend, and she planned to have second baby. What then inspired me was I realize that some women still don’t know about ovulation. I did once write about ovulation, please have a brief look, but I still sense that some women don’t understand that well, which is important for them.
Ovulation is a moment -usually happened- in the middle of menstrual cycle, in which the fertile egg is expelled and if then it meets the sperm, it is what so called conception. If a woman’s period cycle is regular, it is quite simple to predict when the ovulation occurs. I did give an example to understand this in my previous article. But the question is “How can I predict it if I have irregular cycle?”
I’ll share some tips for women (and also men, if you don’t want to make your women pregnant) to determine and predict when the ovulation occurs:
- Basal body temperature. This is very simple and inexpensive method. But this has some limitations. You cannot predict when the ovulation occurs, but if you keep regular note about your body temperature in the morning, you can then understand the chart.
- Ovulation predictor kit. Some ovulation predictor kits test urine for hormones that signal that ovulation is imminent. Such tests typically detect levels of lutenizing hormone (LH), which is produced by the pituitary gland and triggers ovulation. LH generally rises 12 to 36 hours before ovulation occurs. To properly use these tests, “if you think you ovulate on day 14 of your cycle, start testing on day 11 so you can clearly see a negative and then clearly see a positive”.
- Saliva test. This is quite similar with the urine test, instead this is using your saliva. And one more thing, unlike urine tests, which are disposable, this type of test can be used forever.
- Cervix mucus. Pre ovulation and during ovulation you may feel your cervix is very high, open and wet. It signals the organ to welcome the “sperms”.
- Sexual drive. Some people confess that they usually feel a higher sexual drive in the middle of their cycles. So if tonight your partner wears new sexy lingerie, maybe that’s one of the sign? Hehehe..
Okay, I think that’s it for today. Enjoy your weekdays, and stay healthy always..
Stress can make you ugly ?
Hello, everyone.. How’re you all doing? I hope you’ve been filled up with some love from last weekend valentine’s party.
Okay, so today I’d like to discuss a bit about stress. And don’t get surprised, stress can make you ugly! Really, doctor? Yes, it might be. How could that be? Here is the simple explanation.
Stress, in some levels, is needed in our daily life. Stress can challenge us to do better, to improve, and even to innovate. Bu stress has many other negative effects on your body. Under significant physical of psychological stress, your body releases a stress hormone, called cortisol. Cortisol in the natural world, could help save your life in dire circumstances. It helps keep your blood pressure up, makes your kidneys work harder, pushes your liver to get rid of toxins more effectively, and changes your metabolism from storing energy to burning it.
How about the skin health now? How can stress affect your skin?
We can see this in the skin where elevated cortisol can change both the skin’s structure and function. Studies have shown that chronically elevated cortisol levels lead to a decrease in your skin’s natural lipid or fat barrier. These lipids are essential to keep your skin protected and to prevent it from drying out. Without a layer of lipids on your skin, it is no longer waterproof, and irritating soap and water from hand washing or bathing is able to penetrate the skin, causing inflammation. Without a protective lipid layer, the moisture in your skin evaporates easily, leaving the skin dehydrated. This dry, flaky skin is even more susceptible to damage or irritation.
Elevated cortisol also impairs your skin’s natural defense system. Your skin is constantly producing specialized protiens that act as bacterialcides, killing off unwanted intruders on your skin. Stress can lead to a drop in production of these first line defense proteins, leaving your skin vulnerable.
As conclusion, if you get too stressed out, be careful, since it sooner or later can affect your skin health, and by the end of the day, make you ugly, hehe.. So, manage your stress, and stay healthy and beautiful always!
Happy Valentine’s Day
Hello, everyone.. I don’t write any article these days, because I believe many of you will focus your energy on preparing your most precious valentine’s day moment.
Today I would love to say “Happy Valentine’s Day” to everyone, celebrate the true meaning of love, be filled with love, and don’t forget to share your love to others around you.
your heart speaks
I’ve been thinking about that since few years ago when I was still a med student. And today I find an interesting article that answers my thinking, it is true -not just emotionally but medically- that your heart speaks.
In this week of valentine, maybe it is the perfect time to discuss anything related with love. And, yes, today I’m gonna discuss a little bit about love and its relationship with our heart health.
“Please listen to what my heart is saying now, honey“, maybe that statement will be often heard this week. We often use the “heart” word as expression of love. But some medical papers have proven that “heart” words are really related with the real heart health. In simple words, if your heart is happy, it contributes good effect for your heart health. And if you’re deeply broken hearted, later you will have bad effect for your health heart.
How come? Here some of the scientific explanations for that.
Michael Irwin, MD, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine, is also director of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology. It’s a research center named for the late Norman Cousins, a journalist who, in the late 1970s, introduced Americans to the concept of holistic healing — that positive emotions can impact one’s health.
“People who are depressed — and who have heart disease — are more likely to have higher levels of cytokines, molecules that are linked with immunity and with inflammation,” he explains. “There’s good evidence from animal studies that increased levels of cytokines put people at risk for depression, which becomes a vicious cycle that leads to greater heart disease.”
Through functional MRI, researchers “can examine very precisely how people respond to a change… exactly how their brain activity is altered when they relax or if they have higher cytokine levels,” explains Irwin. “As a medical doctor, I want to know how these findings affect my patients — and people with heart disease may be more sensitive to stressors. Depressed people are more sensitive to stressors. Until we understand that, we can’t develop new treatments.”
Doctors will tell you, “broken heart syndrome” or stress-induced heart failure is a medical condition — and a perfect example of the heart’s power and vulnerability, writes Mimi Guarneri, MD, a practicing cardiologist and author of the book, The Heart Speaks. “The condition seems to be caused by high levels of hormones that the body produces during severe stress, which can be temporarily toxic to the heart.”
So, it is true -not just myth- that your emotional feeling, your love status is closely related to your heart health condition. In this week of love (people say that, don’t they?), let’s celebrate the healthy and happy love. It doesn’t have to absolutely be with your girlfriend or your boyfriend, husband or wife, but love is everywhere around you. Speak out love, and stay healthy always!
be good to your heart (podcast)
Today I’m trying to post a podcast (MP3 audio file) in this blog. With a big thanks to Adwin for his great help, please enjoy the new version of my health articles, in podcast format. Later I’ll do my best to post regular podcast in this blog.
Enjoy your weekend, and stay healthy always!
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about
This blog is created simply to share medical and health knowledge to all my readers. I do hope that this health information will enrich us and will keep us healthy.
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some thoughts
- doctoradhi.com is a contributor in imedix.com
- doctoradhi.com is starting a new healthier diet plan 2009
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