Health and Fitness

Baxter says trial on new flu shot promising

Baxter International Inc., working to modernize the production of influenza vaccines, this morning said its seasonal flu product is showing "strong antibody responses and good tolerability" in an early stage clinical trial in humans.

Although Baxter is still several years from winning approval of the product, the study shows Baxter's reformulated seasonal flu vaccine is tolerable. In late 2004, Baxter had to suspend final-stage human sudy of its seasonal flu vaccine because it was causing fevers in some patients.

The Deerfield-based medical product giant is trying to develop a flu vaccine produced with cell tissues, which is a method that would allow manufacturers to quickly brew vaccine by the vat and likely eliminate shortages like the one that rattle U.S. consumers and health-care providers from time to time.
The cell-based approach is a sharp contrast to the tedious, 1940s method still used today that involves hand-processing millions of chicken eggs in labs. For each dosers shine a light through the shell of an egg to find the fluid surrounding an embryo, inject a strain of the flu virus and let it incubate for several months.

The current method is a long months-long process fraught with risk, while cell-based vaccines are more consistent and could be produced in as little as nine to 12 weeks.

In the latest clinical trial, Baxter said more than 900 patients were studied. Baxter said the preliminary data show its cell-based seasonal influenza vaccine's "tolerability profile" to be similar to egg-based seasonal flu vaccines on the market. There were, however, some side effects that included headaches and some injection site reactions, Baxter said.

Baxter is building momentum for its vaccines business. The company is also in the final stages of testing for a vaccine against strains of the Avian influenza, also known as the bird flu and is working with governments around the world interested in stockpiling the product in the event of a pandemic outbreak. Chicago Tribune

Start taking vitamins and nutritional supplements when you plan a trip abroad! Depending on how wild your travel plans are, you could be in need of some anti-malarial shots, or boosters of long forgotten vaccinations you first had as a child. The doctor will be able to explain to you what drugs are needed for what parts of the world, but might not have time to go into detail about how travel affects your nutrition, or where in the rest of the world you can buy your vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Adjust your body clock slowly

When you travel, your body clock has to acclimatise to some big changes. Make sure you don’t plan any strenuous activities in the first couple of days of your vacation. Waking in the middle of the night and snoozing during the day are all natural ways your body deals with timezone hopping. If you are away for just a short vacation, there’s no need to totally switch to local time, a process that can take up to one day per timezone. Appropriate Vitamins and Nutritional Supplements that can help keep you awake, or help you sleep at a good time, are an acceptable alternative.

Take street food and boiled water in moderation

On getting to your destination, you should take time to get used to the local food and water. Your system will probably be reluctant to go into an all local diet straight away, but relying on imported products the whole time you are there won’t strengthen your ability to cope if your western lifelines are suddenly removed from you. Drink plenty of water, and make some of it local tap water, but remember that in most countries, tap water MUST be boiled first. Again, it may be tempting to try street food as soon as you arrive, but allow yourself time to get used to the cooking style and ingredients. Spicy food doesn’t agree with everyone!

Give your body regular nutritional supplements

If you’re abroad to relax, you may think that all those vitamins and nutritional supplements you swallowed when at home aren’t necessary. After all, weren’t they related to the stresses and strains of home life? Wrong. Your nutrition while away from home will be all messed around, and you need to keep up with regular inputs of the essential vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Take care of your medical condition

If you have a chronic condition, you will know how important it is to be regular with your medicinal intake. Be sure to carry enough of your prescribed drugs, vitamins and nutritional supplements that work on your condition. And with the new regulations in most airports around the world, it’s important to keep your drugs, vitamins and nutritional supplements in their original packing to avoid a lengthy search session before boarding the plan. Liquid medication, vitamins and nutritional supplements should be in small bottles, or should be carried in the hold. Check the requirements of your destination if you are in any doubts as to what is allowed.

Getting hold of familiar drugs abroad

What about buying drugs, vitamins, and nutritional supplements while you’re abroad? Again, it depends on where you go. If you stick to the bigger cities, you will have no problem finding pharmacies that stock the standard array of familiar western brands and nutritional supplements. Further a field and you’ll need to stock up. And you never know - if you take time to ask around, you should find out some interesting local traditions and practices regarding nutrition and nutritional supplements that may enhance your own actions. Every region in the world is full of natural health practices that are only starting to be taken seriously by the average westerner.

Somatotropin (best known as Human Growth Hormone or HGH for short), secreted by anterior pituitary gland. Though it consists of a hundred and ninety amino acids, somatotropin is still one of the simpler hormones and can be created artificially. HGH has two main positive effects to the human body.

Human Growth Hormone affects other kinds of cells. HGH binds itself to the proper receptors of the cell in order to change the way it works. For example, somatotropin bonded to the HGH receptors of the fat cell is responsible for breaking down triglyceride, thus disabling the fat storage ability of the cell and making it impossible to the fat cells to store circulating lipids.

Another thing somatotropin does is inducing production of IGF-1 - a hormone similar to insulin responsible for growth factor. The hormone is secreted from the liver, but also from other tissues if activated by HGH first. The secretion of IGF-1 governs the majority of growth-related HGH effects.

The same IGF-1 is thus responsible for the muscle growth. IT helps the muscle cells to differentiate and proliferate as well as stimulates the cells to increase their amino acid uptake rate. This way, the HGH effects include also increased protein synthesis rate and improved overall muscle and skin state.

Human Growth Hormone can influence the following:

Metabolism of proteins: Somatotropin influences the rate of using up amino acids in the cells as well as improve the rate of protein synthesis and lower the rate they are oxidized.

Fat metabolism: Human Growth Hormone is known to improve the utilization of fat and the efficiency the fat is broken down.

Carbohydrate metabolism: Along with insulin, somatotropin is responsible for keeping the blood sugar level within a norm. To sum this up: Human Growth Hormone is necessary for the body to be healthy. First, with only low levels of HGH muscles cease to be as effective and quickly weaken. All protein-only parts of our bodies (hair, nails and skin) lose their good look and will be prone to breaking up and fat will cease to be broken up making it extremely hard to get rid of it from the organism.

It does not really matter whether the hormone is doing its job directly or by assisting other hormones or improving the efficiency of key chemical reactions. The point is that Human Growth Hormone is necessary for wellbeing of the human body.

Despite the beneficial effects of HGH, until now there were no chances for ordinary people to benefit from HGH treatments. As a typical treatment had a price of several thousand dollars, only the richest and most powerful members of the human family had enough resources to benefit from HGH effects.

Some time ago however, the concerns and natural supplement firms greatly improved the technology of inducing the secretion of Growth Hormone in the body with no need of injecting HGH from outside hence greatly decreasing the price of the treatment. Now, thanks to Growth Hormone releaser, it is now possible to make the body increase the HGH production and secretion rate to the level typical to young and healthy organisms.

One of the examples of an HGH releaser if GenF20 - a supplement coming from a quality supplement company that is able to induce the production rate of pituitary glands in order to increase their HGH production rate. Then, the Growth Hormone starts to work in a 100% natural way and is transported to all important areas by the glandular system - just like in case of teenagers. This has also another good point: until now, it was impossible to treat patients with HGH in any other way than injection as the hormone molecules are a bit too large to be able to cross the walls of your stomach or bowels. Using supplements allow us to let the body to produce the hormone itself hence freeing us from troublesome treatment methods.

The results of HGH work inside the body can only be compared to the bath in the Fountain of Youth. At least that's what most doctors who reviewed it said.

Nutritional supplements are holistic. Vitamins are natural. Herbs are organic. So you can take them without concern, right?

Well, not exactly.

Like any other product that you may come in contact with or ingest, various nutritional supplements can cause side effects in some people. Unfortunately, many proponents of vitamins and herbs don’t encourage you to constantly check your condition to ensure that you aren’t having a reaction to your over-the-counter supplements.

To help you take precautionary measures, the following listing of potential side effects to nutritional supplements has been developed. As with any list, you may have different (or no) symptoms at all; however, if you experience any of the following, it’s recommended that you switch to another nutritional supplement formula as a precautionary measure.

Subtle to Mild Side Effects

1. Tingling of the lips, skin, or tongue lasting only a few moments or up to an hour. Usually goes away without any remaining symptoms.

2. Mild stomach discomfort after taking nutritional supplements. Sometimes, this is not so much a side effect of the vitamins, but could simply be that you’re taking them at the wrong time of the day or with foods that react to the nutritional supplements.

3. Itchy feeling on the skin, usually on the face or torso. Goes away quickly and is more annoying than debilitating.

Moderate Side Effects

1. A red or raised rash that doesn’t go away immediately. Usually itchy or painful (e.g., the site of the rash burns). Responds to steroidal creams or medications.

2. Numbness of tongue or lips within an hour of taking nutritional supplements. May require medical attention.

3. Headache that seems to always occur after taking vitamins or nutritional supplements. May mimic migraine or cluster headache throbbing.

Serious to Severe Side Effects

1. Anaphylaxis (inability to breathe and swallow due to swelling of esophagus.) This is a dangerous occurrence and victim or loved ones should immediately call 911. Usually, this extreme symptom occurs after the FIRST ingestion of nutritional supplements or vitamins. In very rare cases, a patient can suddenly become symptomatic after years of taking the same nutritional supplements.

2. Fainting or feeling lightheaded for no reason. Again, this type of nutritional supplement side effect cannot be ignored; though fainting in and of itself is not usually dangerous, it is a way for your body to tell you that something is wrong. You may not be allergic to your vitamins and herbs themselves, but may simply need to adjust your dosages.

3. Total or partial paralysis (or stroke). Though not common, this can happen in certain individuals; however, most have had previous conditions that might lead to this symptom of taking nutritional supplements.

4. Heart attack, renal failure, or other organ-related condition. Obviously, this is one of the most deadly types of side effect to vitamins and herbs. But it’s important to note that it doesnt always come out of the blue. If you’re diligent about reading the early warning signs (which are usually mild to moderate), you can often stave off any toxic responses to certain nutritional supplements.

It’s critical to note that the vast majority of nutritional supplements will not cause most people any negative side effects at all. In fact, they are generally helpful and can actually prevent or head off common conditions and diseases. Just make sure that you’re being a wise consumer and listen to your body whenever you decide to incorporate a new element into your nutritional supplements as a protective measure. Heres to your continued health!

One of the important things you can do for your overall health is to eat a healthy diet. Your diet affects your weight and increases your risks of health diseases. Deciding a healthy diet is easier to say than to do because it is tempting to eat less healthy foods. Different people decide different healthy diet because you might eat this kind of diet while others just cannot stand the food you eat and find its alternative. That’s what health experts are here for, to let us know which food are healthier than others.

What are the principles of healthy eating?

Know What Healthy Food Is and How You Should Eat

When pursuing a healthy eating plan, you should remember the following:
1. Try and Eat a Variety of Different Colored Food - You should remember that different foods have different nutritional values. Food can be rich in antioxidants or Vitamin C. So, when you go to do your regular weekly shop, try and see what different colored foods you can pick up.

Down the fruit and vegetable aisle you should see greens, yellows, oranges and reds. You should have as much of a color variety in your trolley as you can. For example, when picking out fruit pick up strawberries, oranges, pineapple, apples, blueberries and bananas and you will notice what a large color selection you actually have. The same goes for vegetables. Basically, more color means that it is better and healthier for you.

2. Eat Foods from All Food Groups - The problem with many diets these days is the fact that they tell you to cut certain foods from certain food groups, out of the diet altogether. This means that you lose important nutrition and don’t eat as healthy as you could be. So, the answer to a healthy diet is to eat a variety of different foods.

Generally, fruit and vegetables should make up the main portion of your diet but you still need carbohydrates such as potatoes, meat or fish and a little bit of fatty foods like flaxseed oil which many experts recommend as part of a good fat diet. Overall, a diverse mixture of all food groups is needed for a healthy diet!

3. When You Need to Eat Snack, Do It on Healthy Foods – It doesn’t mean that just because you want to lose weight, you’ll have to skip your snack. In fact, snacking can actually be quite good for you just as long as you are eating the right foods.

Generally, when we want to eat snack, we reach for a biscuit or a packet of crisps. However, if you want to eat a healthy snack, then you will have to swap those for nuts, seeds or fruit and vegetables. That way you will get energy, you will also be full until your next meal time and it will be completely healthy.

Since you know what foods you like and what you don’t, you really have to decide for your own healthy eating plan. However, the said tips above can help you to choose the best healthy eating plan for you.

If you are switching to a healthy eating plan, then a Proactol™ can help you. Proactol™ is new clinically proven weight loss product that can help you cut down your fat intake by 28% of your dietary fat intake when taken after food. You don’t have to deprive yourself of foods you love to eat healthy. Just eat the food you like in moderation and take Proactol™ to deal with your diet effortlessly.

Practicing a sensible weight loss is not just taking a diet pill - you should live for a long-lasting healthy lifestyle.