Secret Diet Tips Revealed - The Underrated Super Food

The humble onion has to be one of the most simple foods, yet did you know how amazingly powerful, and beneficial it is to your health and well-being?

You probably already know that onions are very good to help with curing coughs and colds - this is due to the vitamins C, D & E, that it contains. This combination of vitamins are very effective for helping to boost your immune system, and help to reduce inflammation, so can help to clear catarrh and help your breathing by opening up your airways.

However, onions have far more benefits that just helping the common cold. They also contain chromium and a variety of sulfides. Chromium helps to improve insulin and maintain stable blood sugar levels. The sulfides help lower blood lipids and lower blood pressure as well. Sulfides also help to protect the body against tumour growth, so regular consumption of onions can help reduce the risk of developing a range of cancers.

If this was not incredible enough, the benefits continue. Onions contain flavonoids which help to protect the body against cardiovascular disease. The highest concentration of flavonoids are contained in the outer layers (once the skin is removed) so try not to over peel an onion, else most of the benefits will be lost.

Onions also contain fructooligosaccharides which stimulates the growth of good bacteria and helps to reduce the growth of harmful bacteria in the colon. They can help fight bacteria including E.Coli & salmonella.

Due to it's antibacterial properties, onions can help relieve insect bites or stings. Simply crush an onion, collect the juice and apply it to the sting/bite to help relieve the discomfort.

As well as having anti-bacterial properties, onions also contain anti fungal & anti-parasitic properties, so onions can help combat Candida infections. Onions can also help to flush excess fluids from the body, so can help aid with water retention.

To obtain the full benefit from onions, it is best to eat them raw where possible, although adding onions to stews, soups or onions can still help as the goodness will be absorbed by the fluid in the stew/soup.

The onion is a truly remarkable vegetable, and low in calorific content (around 55 calories for a medium-sized onion), so why not make yourself an onion, tomato and avocado salad or some onion soup and start harnessing the power of the onion to help improve your health today.

May Is Stroke Prevention Month

May is Stroke Prevention Month. A stroke is defined by Wikipedia as the rapid loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia (lack of blood flow) caused by a blockage or a hemorrhage (leakage of blood). As a result, the affected area of the brain cannot function, which might result in the inability to move limbs, speak or see from one side of the body.

Strokes are a medical emergency and can cause permanent neurological damage, complications and death. Strokes are the leading cause of adult disability in the United States.

Risk factors include old age, hypertension, previous strokes, diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking and atrial fibrillation. High blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor.

Nutrition is also a factor in stroke prevention. Including oranges and grapes daily seem to lower your risks. This news comes from reviewing 14 years of follow-up data gathered from 70,000 women participating in the U.S. Nurses' Health Study, a landmark trial that has been on-going since 1976 and is still recruiting volunteers. The stroke findings were published online February 23 in the journal Stroke.

Flavones are a subclass of flavonoids, antioxidant compounds found naturally in fruits, vegetables, red wine, dark chocolate, coffee and tea. The researchers, from England's Norwich Medical School, found that women whose diets included the most flavones had a 19 percent lower risk of stroke linked to blood clots than those whose diets were lowest in flavones. They reported that most of the flavones came from citrus fruits, and recommended that women choose whole fruits rather than juice to increase their flavones intake. A typical serving of citrus fruit contains 45 to 50 mg of flavones. The women with the highest intake consumed more than 470 mg per day. The researchers noted that the women whose diets included the most flavones also ate more fiber, took in less caffeine and alcohol, smoked less and exercised more than the women with the lowest flavones intake.

Dr. Weil suggests that eating an abundance of vegetables and fruit, particularly purple fruits and berries (and red wine if you drink alcohol), all of which contain protective compounds called proanthocyanidins. This study adds new and valuable information to what we already knew about effective dietary changes to maintain cardiovascular health. In addition, I recommend omega-3 fatty acids in the form of wild, cold-water fish or fish-oil supplements, freshly ground flaxseeds and walnuts to help reduce the inflammatory reactions that can raise the risk of stroke. Other measures to help cut stroke risk include getting plenty of garlic in your diet, since it can act as a blood thinner, and drinking green tea on a regular basis for its antioxidant effects. Be sure to get regular exercise and take measures to reduce stress in your life.

Choosing the Right Dialysis Career

Dialysis careers are typically available at hospitals and private outpatient clinics. Dialysis workers in hospitals tend to work with very sick patients who might need around-the-clock care in addition to their dialysis. Workers in the private outpatient clinics are usually working with patients who are using dialysis as a maintenance procedure over the long haul.

A third option growing in popularity is to be a dialysis nurse working with patients who are learning to perform their own procedures at home. These nurses train patients in the hemodialysis process and then monitor them going forward. Dialysis careers in all three settings are wide open right now, as are most careers in the medical field.

Becoming a Dialysis Technician

One of the nice things about dialysis is that healthcare professionals can get their start as technicians with just a high school diploma. That's all you need to begin earning your dialysis technician certification at a local community college, vocational school, nursing school or hospital training course. It helps to have a strong background in high school math and science, but it's not absolutely necessary. As long as you can complete the necessary coursework, you can earn your certification pretty quickly.

Part of the certification process is hands-on training under the supervision of a registered nurse. If you can't find a program offered by a local hospital or outpatient clinic, you might benefit through a direct-hire program that gives you on-the-job training. Under such a program you might take your classroom training through a local community college or a hospital class, then finish your hands-on training as an employee of that hospital or clinic.

Becoming a Dialysis Nurse

In most cases, a hospital dialysis unit is staffed by registered nurses (RNs) who have earned a college degree. If you want to be a dialysis nurse, plan on a minimum four-year bachelor degree program and passing a state licensing exam. As a registered nurse, you will most likely oversee a team of dialysis technicians and other nurses who work in your department or clinic.

For the right person, a dialysis career is a great choice. But it's a unique kind of medical care that requires a special bedside manner and the ability to work with patients for extremely long periods of time. If this is something that interests you, you might want to talk to other dialysis workers and pick their brains. They are an invaluable source of information and advice when making your career choice.

Aspiration Procedure - What It Is and Why You May Get One

Having a baby is a huge choice and sometimes, women decide not to have the child. If you're in the early stages of pregnancy, there are many options available to you. For example, there's the morning after pill that will terminate an early pregnancy if taken after intercourse. Yet, if you're a bit further, you may consider what's known as an aspiration procedure. This involves a special instrument that a gynecologist uses to basically suction out the baby from the uterus. There are many reasons why women end up getting this done. Explore these reasons below.

Oftentimes, women or girls find themselves pregnant while still in high school or college. With so many future plans waiting for them, a baby would completely disrupt these plans. Also, girls are also afraid of what they're friends and family may think and this alone is enough to convince them to terminate the pregnancy. If this is the case, an aspiration procedure is usually the next step.

On the other hand, some women are out of school, completely grown and climbing the corporate ladder. Then, one day they wake up and have a positive pregnancy test. This can happen even to women that thought they were protected by taking birth control pills or using condoms. However, sometimes women miss pills or the condom breaks. As a result, they end up getting pregnant. Yet, if they are still trying to pursue a career, and a baby is just not in the cards right now, a woman may decide to terminate the pregnancy.

Also, some women are married with kids and facing the end of their biological clock when the "oops" baby happens. These women have oftentimes gotten their last child out of diapers and are totally not trying to get pregnant. In addition, some women have even thought they were unable to conceive and wake up one day pregnant. If this is just too much for them to handle as well as afford, they will visit a trusted clinic for an aspiration procedure.

Furthermore, some women are victims of violent sexual assaults that leave them pregnant. There are some women that will keep their kid even though he or she was conceived violently. Others cannot imagine seeing the pregnancy to term because of so many emotional issues. Bottom line, these women will end up getting an aspiration procedure which will allow them to begin to put the assault behind them instead of dealing with caring for the attacker's child.