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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Coconut Oil Diet: How to Burn Belly Fat With Coconut Oil

When attempting to lose weight, oil is usually the last thing that one would want to increase the consumption of. However, coconut oil is a definite exception to this weight loss rule. Extracted from none other than the coconut seed, coconut oil has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for an array of ailments and to promote the overall health of the body.
Fat Loss
Rather than sluggishly meandering its way into your body's fat posits, this oil is actually very easily burned by the body and it also helps to burn other fatty tissues in the body. This is due to the fact that it is made up of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA's) instead of long chain fatty acids (LCFA's) as most oils are. This means that coconut oil is easily absorbed into the liver and used for fuel. Furthermore, this also helps to burn off the stubborn LCFA's as, when the liver is overworked due to toxins, trans fats, sugars, alcohol, drugs, etc. it becomes sluggish and thus, cannot metabolize fat properly. Once it gets your liver running more efficiently, it literally jump starts your metabolism and thus, increases your fat loss. This is especially affective in problem areas such as the belly, where un-metabolized fats are known to dwell. What's more, it is also said to stabilize glucose levels which also promotes weight loss because a stable glucose level makes it easier to make healthy food choices instead of going for that quick fix of junk food with high sugar and fat content.
Boosts Thermogenesis - Coconut oil can also boost thermogenesis, or, the amount of heat, or calories, that your body burns during digestion. This definitely helps the body to lose belly fat faster, and also fat in other areas of the body. It is even actually said to be more thermogenic than protein, the opposite of which is usually true for edible oils.
Other Benefits
Fights Aging - Due to the fact that it's chock full of antioxidants, coconut oil is also said to have some anti-aging benefits.
Strengthens Immune System - Due to the high levels of capric, lauric, and caprylic acids, as well and antimicrobial lipids, it has antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties.
Hair and Skin- Since coconut oil contains some essential proteins, it can be used as a natural moisturizer for the hair and skin. If massaged into the scalp regularly, it can help to prevent dandruff as well as lice. It can also an affective treatment against damaged and shedding hair.
The Coconut Oil Diet
Interestingly enough, although it's commonly referred to as the "coconut oil diet", it really isn't a diet, (in the customary sense of the word) at all. The basis of the coconut oil diet involves swapping fats such as vegetable oil, lard, etc. for this oil. That is to say, you will use coconut oil as your primary oil for cooking, frying, and baking. You can even add it to your morning smoothie or shake if you don't use oils for cooking very often, or just want to add it as an additional supplement. This diet had been known to help many lose pounds and pounds of belly fat fairly quickly.
Overall
Remember that there is no such thing as a miracle worker in terms of losing weight, and especially stubborn belly fat. If you choose to implement the coconut diet remember to consult with your physician or health adviser as, although there are very few known side effects, your physician may have some key elements to your personal health.
Furthermore, coconut oil is not a miracle worker, it is much more effective when used in conjunction with an overall balanced diet, as well as exercise plan.

Selected Infections and Conditions Associated With HIV Infection

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) belongs to the family Retroviridae, subfamily Lentiviridae. Retroviridae organisms share a distinct biologic characteristic: an initial stage of primary infection followed by a relatively asymptomatic period of months to years and a final stage of overt disease. HIV causes many diseases. Here are several of them.
Pneumonia
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is one of the most common opportunistic infections in patients with AIDS. It typically occurs in patients with CD4 counts less than 200 cells/μL. Other factors associated with a higher risk of PCP include CD4 percentage lessthan 15%, oral thrush, recurrent bacterial pneumonia, high HIV-1 RNA level, unintentional weight loss, and previous episodes of PCP.
The onset of illness is insidious, with several days to weeks of fever,exertional dyspnea, chest discomfort, weight loss, malaise, and night sweats. Chest radiography typically shows bilateral interstitial pulmonary infiltrates, but a lobar distribution and spontaneous pneumothoraces may occur. Patients with early disease might have a normal chest radiograph. Pleural effusion is uncommon.
Tuberculosis
The resurgence of tuberculosis in the United States is not entirely explained by the HIV epidemic. Factors such as socioeconomic conditions, immigration, breakdown of the public health infrastructure, and lack of interest of the medical and scientific community in tuberculosis all play a role. In addition to the impact of HIV on the incidence of tuberculosis, there are other important interactions between HIV infection and Mycobacterium tuberculosis: tuberculosis may accelerate the course of HIV infection; unlike many of the opportunistic infections in patients with HIV infection, tuberculosis can be cured if diagnosed promptly and treated appropriately; and tuberculosis can be prevented. Tuberculosis occurs among HIV-infected persons at all CD4 counts. However, its clinical manifestation may differ depending on the degree of immunosuppression. When tuberculosis occurs later in the course of HIV infection, it tends to have atypical features, such as extrapulmonary disease, disseminated disease, and unusual chest radiographic appearance (lower lung zone lesions, intrathoracic adenopathy, diffuse infiltrations, and lower frequency of cavitation). To prevent Tuberculosis need to heal the symptoms of HIV. For this there are special medications, such as atripla. They inhibit razmnozhnie cell disease.
Mycobacterium avium Complex Infection
Organisms of the Mycobacterium avium complex are ubiquitous in the environment and include M. avium and M. intracellulare. They cause disseminated infection in HIV-infected persons, especially when immunosuppression is severe (CD4 count <50 cells/μL). Disseminated M. avium complex infection is the most common systemic bacterial infection in patients with HIV infection. Common presentations include low-grade fever, night sweats, weight loss, fatigue, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and lymphadenopathy may be present. Common laboratory abnormalities include anemia and increased alkaline phosphatase levels. Blood cultures are usually positive; however, organisms can also be isolated from stool, respiratory tract secretions, bone marrow, liver, and other biopsy specimens. Syphilis Sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis, that cause genital ulceration may be cofactors for acquiring HIV infection. In general, the clinical manifestations of syphilis are similar to those among non-HIV-infected persons. However, atypical presentations may occur. For example, in primary syphilis, multiple or atypical chancres can occur and primary lesions might be absent or missed. The manifestations of secondary syphilis are protean and might persist from a few days to several weeks before resolving or evolving to latent or later stages.
The most common manifestations are macular, maculopapular, or pustular skin lesions characteristically involving the palms and soles and accompanied by generalized lymphadenopathy and constitutional symptoms of fever, malaise, anorexia, arthralgias, and headache. Manifestations of tertiary or late syphilis include neurosyphilis, cardiovascular syphilis, and gummatous syphilis. Neurosyphilis has been reported to occur earlier and more frequently and to progress more rapidly in patients with AIDS than in HIV-negative patients. Concomitant uveitis and meningitis also may be more common among HIV-1-infected patients with syphilis. There are reports of false-negative and falsepositive serologic tests for syphilis in patients with HIV. However, serologic response to infection in general seems to be the same in HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons and there are no specific clinical manifestations of syphilis that are unique to HIV. Management of HIV-1-infected patients with syphilis is similar to the management of non-HIV-infected persons.

Chronic Ankle Pain

The ankle is a complicated joint made up of many bones, ligaments, tendons, fascia and muscles. In sports, ankle sprains tend to me one of the most popular injuries. Many of these injuries resolve themselves however there are more ankle sprains that you may imagine that cause long-term persistent pain and disability.
The unfortunate problem that leads to long term disability of ankle pain is improper treatment of the sprain to begin with. Most sprain type of injuries are treated with RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation. Although this treatment may make you feel better temporarily in the long run if this is the only treatment you may be setting yourself up for a long term injury of the ankle. Or worse yet, setting yourself up for a knee, hamstring or hip injury. There have been studies that show that untreated ankle sprains can lead to future compensation problems leading to other injuries.
Persistent long term ankle pain can be as a result of having disrupted fascia not completely corrected. Fascia covers just about everything inside the body and acts as a communicator between the muscles, bones, organs and cells throughout the body. Once disrupted from trauma the disrupted fascia has been found to be one of the leading pain generators of the damaged site going undetected by conventional diagnostic testing including X-ray, ultrasound and MRI.
The fascia is located throughout the ankle area covering ligaments, tendons, muscle and bone. A sharp, severe twisting of the ankle will disrupt this fascial tissue. The fascial tissue is not designed to bounce back quickly and becomes disrupted. As an example it can become wrinkled like a shirt or pulled away from its insertion somewhat like a tent stake in the ground. Even though you can see the stake still in the ground the state is loose and has pulled away from its original insertion position.
When the fascia is treated with specific protocols to reinstate the fascia to its original position the patient will see immediate relief. The swelling will begin to relieve, the pain will be drastically reduced, the range of motion will increase immediately. In clinical studies properly corrected disrupted fascia stays corrected, There has been no evidence of the chronic pain returning.
For people who are suffering with long term pain this treatment is highly effective. Most people suffering with long term ankle pain normally have a break down in the fascia as well as a breakdown in the muscle group supporting this area. When both areas have been addressed with proper treatment the patient can resume a normal life including all of their normal daily activities without the fear of the pain returning.