A Brief Intro To Coronary Calcium Score

Not just for the bones, calcium is good for your heart health as well. Your doctor would use what’s referred to as a coronary calcium score or scan to identify heart attack signs. This scan employs a special kind of X-ray, known as CT scan. The scan captures images of your arteries, the blood vessels carrying blood from your heart to other parts of the body, to check calcium levels. This scan could also be called as coronary calcium scan, cardiac CT (for calcium scoring), and calcium scan test.

Test Significance

The calcium this scan looks for is bonded to plaque. This isn’t the plaque associated with your teeth. It is another type found in the arteries. It’s partly made of calcium and fat and is not pro-heart.

At first, this plaque is waxy, and it slowly builds up. However, over a period, it could harden. Doctors may refer to this as “calcified” plaque. It is an issue for a couple of reasons.

First, hard plaque within the arteries is akin to a clog in your kitchen pipe. It obstructs your blood flow. In other words, enough oxygen doesn’t get supplied to your different body parts equally. If plaque accumulates in the arteries of your heart, you could feel chest discomfort and pain, called angina.

Second, the plaque could break down, resulting in a blood clot and leading to a heart attack. The coronary calcium score tells you the amount of calcified plaque that’s there in the arteries of your heart. Your physician and you could use the results and ascertain if any modifications to your lifestyle or medicine is needed.

When to Get the Scan?

Coronary calcium scores aren’t for all. During the test, your body would be exposed to radiation, which equals the amount of radiation you would typically get exposed to in a year. Due to this, you must consider getting this scan only if you really need it to confirm things.

First, you should know your likeliness of getting a heart disease. Your physician can figure this out depending on your age, cholesterol level, blood pressure, gender, and whether you smoke. A heart scan would make sense only if you have a medium, or moderate, risk of heart disease.

If the chances are low, the test most probably wouldn’t reveal any calcified calcium. In case there’s a high likelihood, you wouldn’t come across information that you did not know before. In both these scenarios, you will get exposed to additional radiation for no proper reason. But if there’s medium possibility, you may know what precautionary steps to take to keep heart disease at bay.

Reduce Your Heart Attack Risk Factors

Anyone can be at risk for a heart attack but some factors, whether they be genetic or lifestyle-related, can certainly up that risk. The good news is there are many ways to reduce your risk of having a heart attack even if you are genetically-predisposed to heart disease. Read on to learn what you can do starting today to reduce your risk.

Make Some Lifestyle Changes to Reduce Your Heart Attack Risk Factors

We all have habits we are not proud of and some of those habits are worse than others for your health. When it comes to lifestyle, smoking cigarettes is probably the top risk factor for heart attacks in men and women of all ages. What you heard about quitting is correct; it’s never too late to stop smoking! It’s been proven that within a short period of time of quitting, there are notable positive effects on overall health. Even if you have been smoking for many decades, you will still benefit from quitting. There is no doubt that stopping this habit can be very hard, rest assured that there are many resources available to help you kick this bad habit and get your health back on track. Now for the easier lifestyle changes. Diet is a big one. Follow the food guide to healthy eating so you get the right amounts of all the food groups. Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits is an obvious one but nuts, grains, proteins and dairy in moderation are all good for a balanced diet. Water is also essential and drink plenty of it! Drinking water flushes out toxins that can build up in the body and cause numerous problems that can affect heart health. It’s also a good idea to cut down on soda, greasy foods and foods that have a lot of sodium, sugar and preservatives and drink alcoholic beverages in moderation. Get some blood work done to see which vitamins and nutrients you are deficient in, if any, and focus on supplementing those things into your diet.

Exercise is the other majorly important thing to incorporate into your daily routine to reduce your Heart Attack Risk Factors. Make sure to incorporate plenty of cardio, weight-lifting, toning and stretching exercises most days of the week. Yoga and walking are great starters for anyone just getting into a fitness routine. Biking, swimming, dance aerobics and running are also great for more advanced fitness enthusiasts.

Genetic Factors

You can’t change any genetic factors you inherited from other family members but following the above guidelines can certainly help! The reality is if an immediate family member has heart disease, you are at a greater risk of developing it too. Diabetes is also a risk factor that can be controlled but it also runs in families so if a family member has it, you need to be careful and be screened for the disease throughout your life.

Smart Gifting Ideas For Young Children—How About Harry Potter Tours?

Selecting a good gift for a child’s birthday or class graduation can be, in reality, and extremely complicated and difficult task. Simply giving what the child wants won’t be very smart idea.

Nine times out of ten, the child will be interested in something that is either unhealthy or inappropriate. You will also have to consider the preferences and desires of the parent. You wouldn’t want anybody giving your child an attractive but useless gift, would you?

This is where thinking out of the box and checking out gifts like Harry Potter tours can be very beneficial. For starters, this gift is not going to increase the child’s exposure to electronic devices. Children spend a lot of time on smart phones, tablets, and other Internet devices through the day. Giving a gift that simply makes them spend more time in front of the screen is not a smart choice.

Harry Potter tours will encourage the child to get out of the house and explore the outer world. Of course, the fact that the exploration will take place in a themed environment describing one of the most popular and famous character of the most popular and famous children’s book in the world is an added plus.

Another advantage of gifting such a tour is that the it will encourage the child to read more. Going to a tour based on the theme of Harry Porter won’t be fun unless the child knows and understands what the series is all about.

If the child has not read the series, then such a gift will certainly encourage him or her to learn more about the story. If the child has read the books, then the gift will be a good excuse to go through the stories again.

Of course, you need not stop there. After the tour, you can suggest numerous activities related to the theme like designing Harry Potter fashion accessories to a group enactment of the story. There are many activities that the child can be encouraged to participate in through his or her holidays based on this single gift alone.

Finally, selecting such a gift will give you the option of exploring other tours based on different characters and movies. As a consolation, you can check out virtual tours as well, which will allow the child to enjoy some time in front of his or her favorite electronic device.

On the whole, such a tour as a gift is likely to impress the child, his or her friends, and all related adult parties as well. Of course, the gift won’t be too heavy on your pocket either.

Teeth Whitening In Eastwood

Teeth Whitening in Eastwood services can help you to transform your muffled, colorless, and stained teeth to bright white ones. People who are embarrassed by smiling because of their bad looking teeth can now use the services of Teeth Whitening in Eastwood to get the whitening treatment and make your laugh bright again. You cannot look away from yellow or dull teeth, as it is the focal point of attention when someone speaks to you. When it is time for a group photo, why not give a big smile like everyone else. Coffee enthusiasts and regular smokers have a tough time as they have deep stains on their teeth. Going to the dentist in Eastwood to whiten is very popular as an effective remedy for dull and stained teeth.

The dentist at Eastwood has the qualification, experience, and ability to work with you and give you the best remedy to have the white teeth you want. The dentist may treat you there or can give you a Whitner that is easy to use and apply and has absolutely no side-effects for a quick solution. When you visit the dentist and have a single seating, you will observe the result after the very first session.

While some people avoid going to the dentists and use whitening paste, this approach is not feasible as a whitening paste takes a long time to show good results while the teeth whitening strips can be an expensive way to treat stained and pale teeth.

As a sub-specialty in dentistry, a cosmetic dentist is nowadays a popular figure. This popularity has been mainly due to their role in helping improve the appearance of people’s teeth. Although dental aesthetics is not predominantly a field of study, many dentists promote themselves as cosmetic dentists following accreditation in either prosthodontics or orthodontics.

In Eastwood when we talk about Teeth Whitening, this area of dentistry is fast becoming popular because of the gratifying results that these procedures have for those who are troubled by their teeth. One can check out the dentists in the area and book an appointment for a free consultation. Most dentists welcome the clients with warm smiles and take time to explain the procedure with clear cut pricing for the whole process. It is also a good idea to carry your insurance with you if you have dental coverage and show it to the dentist to see if the cost of your procedure is covered in your dental policy or not. Most dentists in Eastwood accept insurance and deal with the insurance company directly, so you do not have to pay anything.

How Accurate Are Ketone Test Strips?

When the body burns fat to produce energy, it can be said to be in a state of ketosis. This means that the level of ketones in your blood rises. There are different ways of determining ketone levels in your blood. Due to their low cost and ease of use, ketone test strips are among the most popular. But how accurate are these strips? Well, the accuracy of ketone strips are dependent on a few factors.

Levels of Ketone in your Urine

Ketone strips only measure the number of ketones in urine. In other words, its measurements are based on the ketones that go unused rather than what is present in the blood. Remember that just because your body excretes a small amount of ketones does not mean that the same is reflected in the blood. You could safely be in ketosis while releasing low levels of ketones from your body through urine. In this, therefore, ketone test strips are inaccurate.

Water Intake

The amount of water you drink can affect ketone strip readings. If you drink a lot of water, urine will be diluted and there will be lower ketone concentration. On the other hand, low or no intake of water which leads to dehydration will also result into higher concentration of ketones in urine. Put in another way, you must drink normal amounts of water in order to get accurate results. Therefore, ketone test strips are unreliable and can produce inaccurate results for many people.

Adaptation to Burning Fat

In the initial stages of ketosis, the body learns how to turn fat into fuel. When you begin a ketogenic diet, your body will not be using ketones as efficiently as it is supposed to. Consequently, more ketones will be excreted through urine, resulting into high readings. Later, the body adapts to the process of burning fat and there will be more ketones in the blood than in urine, which ultimately translates to low readings. Hence, the ketone test strips will be showing not only inaccurate results but also the extreme opposite of what is true about your state of ketosis.

Final Verdict

In normal circumstances such as taking just the right amounts of water, ketone test strips may produce accurate results. However, it is not always easy to determine whether your body is in a normal state of not. Therefore, you will most likely get inaccurate results. If you want to increase the chances of accuracy, you are better off using other methods of measuring ketone levels such as blood ketone meter.

Guide To Rhododendron Honey

Deciduous fruit and Rhododendron Honey is grown mainly for the fresh market. Excess fruit can, however be dried to create added value ond reduce crop losses. Apricots and peaches should be dried in the sun after sulphuring. Drying fruit is a process whereby fruit is sulphured to preserve it and then dried. Suphur dioxide (S02), sulphite or metabisulphite (sodium or potassium) can be used as preservative. Potassium and sodium metabisulphite are corrosive and should be stored in closed containers.

These substances should be sprinkled over fruit using a plastic watering can, as metal contamination could discolour fruit and impair quality. In the preliminary drying stages, the preservative inhibits;

  • the growth of moulds and other organisms that could contribute to spoilage;
  • enzymatic browning reactions during drying; and
  • non-enzymatic browning of dried fruit and Rhododendron Honey during storage, provided that sufficient levels of sulphur dioxide are present.

Sulphuring and the increased heat caused by combustion of the sulphur lead to an increase in temperature (usually about 10 degrees celsius) and also to softening of the fruit tissue. The increased temperature also leads to increased movement of sulphur dioxide into the fruit pieces. Sulphur dioxide is formed during combustion with oxygen in the air. The volume of air in an empty sulphur house is not sufficient for complete combustion of the quantities of sulphur used in fumigation.

The fruit being sulphured also takes up volume and even less air is available. Consequently, it is essential that air be allowed to enter the sulphur house continuously. This implies that a similar outflow of air containing sulphur dioxide must take place. This ventilation process is essential for successful sulphuring of Rhododendron Honey. Some very successful producers of dried fruit have used two sulphur pans per sulphur house, depending on the size.

The final sulphur dioxide concentration is not only a factor of the concentration after sulphuring, but also of the retention during drying. Fruit tends to lose sulphur dioxide during drying. The longer the drying period, the greater the losses. Periods of high humidity also increase losses. Take care to ignite the sulphur correctly. One of the best methods is to use a gas (LPG) blowtorch. Sulphuring of Rhododendron Honey can be done in brick houses or under plastic sheeting (available from building supply merchants).

Apricots

The fresh fruit is cut around the indent line, using a sharp knife. Cut all the way through; tearing the fruit will lead to poor appearance. The cut fruit is packed on drying trays (cut surfaces up). Make sure that the fruit is packed closely together to prevent the halves from rolling when the trays are handled. During sulphuring, fluid collects in the cavities.

Guide To Rescue Davit System

The divers using the Rescue Davit System need a highly energetic diet, which can include snacks between dives and must provide sufficient fluids to prevent dehydration. Dietitians recommend diets rich in fiber and low in fat, with abundant cereals, vegetables and fruit.

These tips are also good for the Sub. Carbohydrates provide rapidly usable energy. Our body accumulates energy in the form of “glycogen” in the muscles and the liver. During the year, we use the accumulated reserves, which must be restored. To achieve this, for example before a dive, we need a light meal rich in carbohydrates. These should represent 55 – 60 percent of the daily energy intake.

Foods rich in carbohydrates are pasta, rice, bread, cereals, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and fruit juices. Foods rich in simple carbohydrates should, however, be used sparingly: foods like sweets and biscuits, in fact, have many calories, but poor nutritional value.

Protein foods are essential to replenish or build muscle mass and for proper muscle function. The protein requirement, however, is lower than the contribution of today’s Western diets. The recommended daily dose of protein is 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, in the healthy adult. This means, for example, 200 to 300 grams of lean meat per day.

An excess of protein, however, can be useless and contribute to dehydration, due to the increased need for water for the excretion of protein side-products through the urine. Despite the bad publicity fats have today are important elements of nutrition. The recommended intake is around 30 percent of the total daily calories. Fat contributes to the sense of satiety, and is also important as a source of energy, but must be taken in moderation.

It is known that the fat contained in extra virgin olive oil, particularly rich in poly-unsaturated fats and natural anti-oxidants should be preferred to animal fats such as meat or butter. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are also useful in maintaining low levels of LDL cholesterol (dangerous) and high levels of HDL cholesterol (useful)

Proper feeding is important for diving using the Rescue Davit System. Alcoholic and caffeinated beverages should be avoided, as they can both contribute to dehydration. Drinks “for sportsmen” are thick, rich in sugar, extra calories and superfluous salts, the best drink is water, which should be drunk in abundance, especially on hot and sunny days.

If you take food between dives, do only light snacks, especially if you are on a boat and tend to suffer from seasickness. Obesity can be dangerous, increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, joint disease and certain types of cancer.

Fertility Tourism In Europe

Moms are often tempted to use fruit or vegetable purees on trips, and although these are great for variety or as a snack, it is important to note that core mealtimes, such as breakfast, lunch or dinner, be reserved for nutritionally complete meals – either in the form of your baby’s milk feed or a nutritionally complete offering.

Milk is sold in powder form and must be mixed with low-salt water. Cow’s milk is made up of different substances: casein (milk protein), whose structure is modified and is not very concentrated to reduce the risks of constipation, colic and allergies; polyunsaturated fatty acids more digestible and very important for growth; dextrins and maltose (simple sugars easy to absorb); sodium, potassium, calcium and phosphorus salts (so as to avoid muscular disorders, the nervous system and the heart); additional vitamins and minerals.

Compliance with the law is not always a guarantee of safety: the health of the child is jeopardized if, for example, some producers add a substance called melamine. Fertility Tourism in Europe is booming.

From 4 to 12 months, the child must drink continuation milk (enriched with iron, copper, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus). At this point the child begins to develop the muscles, the bones get longer and the baby needs more energy because it begins to move. In addition, follow-on milk is important for the weaning stage, where the child also begins to eat more solid foods such as meat, fruit or vegetables.

Special milks are produced to deal with particular food situations. There are different types: hypoallergenic milk, high digestibility, soy milk, rice milk, lactose-free milk (ie lactose-free milk), premature milk, growth milk, anti-reflux, anti-cancer, anti-retardant or acidified.

Do not forget the organic milk, safe for the child. Milk powder, for example, comes from organic crops and therefore does not undergo at-risk treatments or additions of GMO ingredients, genetically modified organisms, and radiation. In addition, organic farming always safeguards the most endangered animal species, and provides animals with optimal breeding conditions, in large open spaces. The artificial organic milk comes from controlled breeding of cows, whose structures do not impede a dignified life for the animals.

One of the most frequently asked questions is the frequency with which the child can use the formula during the day. The infant’s age is decisive. Until the third month of life, the baby can drink six feedings a day every three and a half hours; around the fourth month, you can switch to five feeds every four hours; in the fifth and sixth month, at four feedings as shown in Fertility Tourism in Europe.

Are Cosmetic Contact Lenses Worth It?

Putting contact lenses in the eyes every single day can be very frustrating for some people. For others, they look at it as a way to change up their look a little bit if they wish to. There is a growing trend of using cosmetic contact lenses in order to get a different look for different occasions. What exactly should people be looking out for when they decide to go this route?

The first step when looking at contact lenses for cosmetic reasons is to see if there are any issues with the eyes in general. Some people are just not going to be able to wear contact lenses very well because their eyes are just not going to be very accepting to the feel of the lenses. If that is the case, a person should stop using the contact lenses almost immediately.

If the eyes are able to take contact lenses, a person needs to make sure that they are going with a reputable company before throwing things into their eyes. It can be a very dangerous thing to wear contact lenses for a long period of time without really knowing much about how the contacts were made. This is definitely not something that should be skipped on when it comes to quality material. If contact lenses are not made properly, they can do some serious damage to the eyesight in a hurry.

Natural colors are always going to do better when it comes to realism. For a lot of people, they might want to change their eye color to something like green, blue, brown or something else that is common in other people. This is for daily use for the most part, and some people will opt to wear them on a pretty frequent basis.

There are also cosmetic contact lenses that come in weird colors and designs. These are usually done for show, and maybe for special occasions. Most people are not going to opt to use contact lenses with designs on them in a professional setting or anything like that. Not only is it going to be very distracting, but it is also going to make a person look less than a little bit professional.

Shopping online is the best way to find these cosmetic lenses. In fact, a lot of optometrists will not even carry something like this because they believe in using contact lenses only for medical purposes. There are very different uses for contact lenses out there, and sometimes people just want to change up how their eyes look in general. As long as the right research is done beforehand, it is a relatively safe activity.

How Chinese Medicine In Melbourne Benefits Clients

For centuries Chinese medicine has helped millions of people improve their health. Over the last few decades, clients of Chinese medicine in Melbourne have benefited from health and wellness with traditional methods.

Whatever goals in restoring harmony in a person is only possible when the mind, the body, and the soul are addressed as one. It’s not about treating a symptom, but instead, about treating a condition. This is done by using, for example, herbal medicines, acupuncture, and massage, which all help to heal the body.

Whether you’re a male with fertility issues or a woman having trouble getting pregnant, you can benefit from the various health solutions offered by traditional medicine. There’s even pregnancy support for women who don’t have fertility issues, but instead, suffer from morning sickness. The benefits residents of Chinese medicine in Melbourne have found extend to varying skin conditions, from acne to psoriasis, or muscle injuries and so much more.

Using the various traditional medicine techniques, clients can experience relief from deep tissue massage as one way, for instance, to treat anxiety and depression or even insomnia. Experts can prepare you for your IVF journey and its different stages. Treatments vary depending on a client’s needs and their physical, emotional and energetic levels. According to some studies, there are signs that the success rates of IVF and acupuncture are increased.

In the case of skin disorders, they’re beyond inconvenient and sometimes cause various health conditions because of itchiness that could interfere with sleep. Acupuncture can help relieve the symptoms of skin disorders, including shingles, eczema and others, and ultimately calm the skin and help it heal. As for pain management and relief, acupuncture has proven to be an effective treatment, and sometimes, with just minimal treatments, clients see and feel positive results. Often, for pain, various forms of treatment are used in combination, such as massage, acupuncture, cupping, heat therapy and more.

Therapeutic massage relieves muscular aches and pains while it helps to calm the mind and ultimately reduce stress. This age-old treatment also improves circulation, enabling the oxygen and blood to reach tension areas and helps release knots for overall wellness. With regular therapeutic massage treatments, it can, in addition to reducing physical stress, also help emotional health, as it restores peace in the mind, the body and the soul.

In the end, traditional Chinese medicine and treatments are about the whole individual, not just a symptom of a condition. In order to heal from any type of illness, we must address the person completely to ensure there is no damage left behind in any part of the person.