Check Heart Age

https://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/heartage.aspx

http://www.jbs3risk.com/JBS3Risk.swf

Moringa Tree: The Tree of Life

Been looking for one nearby and finally found one by recognizing the fruit. 

Some of the benefits of this tree are as illustrated far below. 

What Makes the Cracking Sound? Explained by Dr. Lee Pierce

《健康与防癌》 癌症是如何变成?

CANCER INFO‏

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY ....


Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins


1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.


2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.


3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.


4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.


5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.


6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc., and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.


7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.


8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.


9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.


10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.


11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.




WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON:


a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.


b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved.


c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.


d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.


To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).


e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water--best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.




12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.


13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.


14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.


15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.
Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.


16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.




(PLEASE FORWARD IT TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT)

Private Cord blood Banking – Some Salient Questions and Straight Answers

Posted in - General, - Guest |

Dr Ng Soo Chin

Consultant Haematologist

(This article appeared in Berita MMA and is reproduced here with the permission of the author)

Preamble

Expecting parents are faced with a lot of important decisions before their baby is born. These include the basics, such as what to name the baby, which hospital and doctors to go to, breastfeeding vs. formula feeding, etc. And more and more, they have to consider the issue of whether or not to bank or store their baby’s umbilical cord blood (UCB) and in Malaysia, which company to bank with since there are now 3 competing companies!

What does the umbilical cord blood contain?

The presence of haematopoietic stem cells is the cell of interest. Compared to stem cells form bone marrow, the UCB stem cells are more primitive and more’ naïve’ and as a result allogeneic transplant can be done with only a partial HLA matched. There is likely presence of other cells of importance such as the mesenchymal and neural precursor cells which may be grown into other lineages such as, cartilage, fat, hepatic or cardiac cell under suitable environment.

What are the differences between public or community cord blood banking and private cord blood banking?

The public cord bank or community cord blood bank receives cord blood from voluntary donors and they are typed and stored for anyone who needs to use it. The bank is usually affiliated to a university and is run as a non –profit organization. The center that requests for the cord blood for use for specific patients will need to pay a fixed sum to the public cord bank to defray the expenses incur in collection, typing and storage of the cord blood.

The private cord blood banks cater for the individual family who chooses to store the baby’s UCB at time of birth. The parents concerned will need to pay for the collection and storage fees. They are run as a business concern and not infrequently, there were criticisms of hard- selling their services. There are currently 3 companies that provide such services in Malaysia and not surprisingly there is a tough fight for the clients who can afford such services.

What is the long-term viability of frozen cord blood?

So far, recovery of viable stem cells from cord blood is over 90% at 15 years^1. In theory, it should be possible to store cells for millenia at -196 C, the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Below -130 C, no liquid water exists in cells, which prevents biochemical reactions between molecules dissolved in water. At -196 C there is not enough thermal energy in the cell to drive any biochemical reaction. The only degradation that can occur at this temperature is reactions caused by cosmic background radiation. It can be calculated that, at normal terrestrial conditions, it would take about 2000 years before such reactions caused a significant amount of damage^2.

What are the potential benefits of collecting and storing umbilical cord blood?

If one reads through a brochure on private cord banking, UCB storage is branded as a form of medical insurance and it can be used for treatment of both malignant and benign blood disorders. Because umbilical cord blood contains a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells, it has been effective as an alternative allogeneic donor source in a variety of pediatric genetic, hematologic, immunologic, and oncologic disorders. The potential uses in regenerative medicine and degenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s diseases are generally highlighted.

What the cord bank operators fail to tell you?

The amount of stem cells harvested in the UCB will fall short of the minimum number required for stem cell or bone marrow transplant if the kid grows up to more than 100 pounds! On average, a cord blood sample contains 8.6 million nucleated cells per milliliter, and a successful transplant requires harvesting 1 milliliter of cord blood per pound of patient weight^3 .There are intense research going on to expand the cells in vivo and there are anecdotal reports of such success but it is not going to be easy and certainly will be an expensive undertaking. Certain childhood malignancy such as the common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is unlikely to benefit much from autologous UCB transplantation.

What is the chance of using the stored cord blood?

The probability that the average child will require a transplant of her own stem cells before age 20 has been estimated as 4 in 10,000 (.04%)^4. Current estimates place the chances of a child needing to use his or her own cord blood sample at somewhere between 1 in 1,000 and 1 in 200,000^4

However, over the course of a lifetime up to age 70, the probability that a person will require a transplant of her own stem cells is 1 in 450 (0.23%), and the likelihood of requiring any transplant, from yourself or a sibling, is 1 in 220 (0.46%)^5. In other words it is not a common happening especially in the childhood when stem cell transplant is needed

What are the recommendations of the Professional bodies?

The American Association of Paediatrics in the latest 2007 policy statement^6 stated that private UCB storage as ‘biological insurance’ should be discouraged. There is not enough evidence to support the routine harvesting and storage of umbilical cord. The AAP panel express concern that “families may be vulnerable to emotional marketing (from private blood banks) at the time of birth of a child and may look to their physicians for advice.” They point out that the vast majority of children will never require the use of stored cord blood. The AAP experts conclude that because the potential uses of cord blood remain extremely “limited,” cord blood banking should only be considered “if there is a family member with a current or potential need to undergo a stem cell transplantation.” On the other hand, they encourage parents to donate cord blood “at no cost” to national stem cell banks, in much the same that organs are donated to help strangers in need. Parents should give informed consent before donating cord blood, and contact between the donor family and blood bank should be maintained in case “a genetic disease or (leukemia) develops” within the donor family.

The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of United Kingdom ^7 in 2006 proclaimed that”…there is insufficient evidence to recommend directed commercial UCB collection and storage in low risk families.

The European Group in Ethics in Science and New Technologies in 2004 wrote to the European Commission that the legitimacy of commercial cord blood bank for autologous or own use should be questioned as they sell a service, which has presently, no real use regarding therapeutic options. Thus they provide more than they can deliver. The activities of such banks raised serious ethnical criticisms. The same group recommended any kind of advertisement by commercial cord blood bank in the media, including the internet must be adequately controlled by public authorities. The support for public cord bank should be increased

What are the latest results of UCB transplants?

The use of umbilical cord blood to treat a wide variety of diseases is a relatively new and growing technology. More than 5500 unrelated-donor cord blood stem cell transplantations have been performed for malignancies, bone marrow failure, hemoglobinopathies, immunodeficiencies, and inborn errors of metabolism. Cord blood may be superior to bone marrow stem cell transplantation because of greater availability, a reduced risk for graft-vs-host disease, and less risk for blood-borne illness. However, autologous cord blood has less potential to treat diseases such as leukemia because the genetic traits for cancer exist within the blood sample destined for transplantations.

Historically UCB transplants have significantly high mortality due largely due to slow engraftment of stem cells. New innovate approach using double cord blood collection seemed to improve the transplant results. If double cord turns out to be the transplant format of choice, it would mean the storage of own UCB is an inadequate exercise as one still has to source for another cord blood collection.

What if I have not stored my child’s cord blood and he/she is struck with the dreaded illness mentioned, is she/he doomed?

Take a deep breath and calm down. You could search from the public cord blood bank or from the bone marrow registry for potential donors if no sibling matched donor is forth-coming. Some types of cancer with genetic basis e.g. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) may be best treated with stem cells form allogeneic source or different persons.

How do I feel (does it matter?) about the whole thing?

In the ideal world all children should have their UCB stored but for the expenses and logistics involved. I have no problems with people storing cord blood for own use later. Neither have I had any qualms about private companies collecting storing cord blood stem cells. My concern is that as consumers the parents are not being presented with the whole truth and this is not acceptable from viewpoint of good clinical practice. I am also concerned about the ‘entrapment syndrome’—the private cord blood Co can present various reasons to up their fees in the future and I don’t think the consumers have very little to fight back. What if the company folds? Despite being claimed as a form of medical insurance, I agreed with Dr Mitchell Cairo (Pediatric oncologist and stem cell researcher) that insurance should have a definable pay-offs and not on theoretical considerations. Perhaps, parents should instead invest on educational or health insurance for the baby rather than on something nebulous as private cord blood banking!

Disclaimer: The author has no personal interest in any of the private cord blood companies.

REFERENCES

1. Kobylka, P., et al. 1998, Transplantation, 65(9):1275-1278.

2. Mazur P. 1988, Ann NY Acad Sci. 541:514-31. “Stopping biological time. The freezing of living cells”

3. W Reed, et al, Blood 2003; 101(1):351

4. FL Johnson, 1997; J Ped Hem Onc 19(3): 183-186

5. : Pasquini, MC, Logan, BR, Verter, F, Horowitz, MM, & Nietfeld, JJ 2005 ASH meeting poster#5260

6. Pediatrics. 2007;119:165-170

7. Royal college of Obstetrics and Gynecology: Scientific advisory committee opinion paper 2:June 2006

Last 5 posts by Palmdoc

Saggy eyes - July 7th, 2010

Private healthcare in Malaysia: Too expensive? - July 6th, 2010

Managing Cardiovascular emergencies in a Malaysian Hospital - challenges and issues - July 6th, 2010

ABG - a new definition according to an HO! - July 5th, 2010

Feedback: tian ma tu chung seven leaves ginsengs - July 2nd, 2010

FRUITS AND HUMAN BODY

GINGER – STOMACH

Root ginger, commonly sold in supermarkets, often looks just like the stomach. So it’s interesting that one of its biggest benefits is aiding digestion. The Chinese have been using it for over 2,000 years to calm the stomach and cure nausea, while it is also a popular remedy for motion sickness. But the benefits could go much further.

Tests on mice at the University of Minnesota found injecting the chemical that gives ginger its flavour slowed down the growth rate of bowel tumours.

BANANA (SMILE) – DEPRESSION Cheer yourself up and put a smile on your face by eating a banana. The popular fruit contains a protein called tryptophan. Once it has been digested, tryptophan then gets converted in a chemical neurotransmitter called serotonin. This is one of the most important mood-regulating chemicals in the brain and most anti-depressant drugs work by adjusting levels of serotonin production. Higher levels are associated with better moods.

GRAPES – LUNGS

OUR lungs are made up of branches of ever-smaller airways that finish up with tiny bunches of tissue called alveoli. These structures, which resemble bunches of grapes, allow oxygen to pass from the lungs to the blood stream. One reason that very premature babies struggle to survive is that these alveoli do not begin to form until week 23 or 24 of pregnancy. A diet high in fresh fruit, such as grapes, has been shown to reduce the risk of lung cancer and emphysema. Grape seeds also contain a chemical called proanthocyanidin, which appears to reduce the severity of asthma triggered by allergy.

TOMATO – HEART

A TOMATO is red and usually has four chambers, just like our heart. Tomatoes are also a great source of lycopene, a plant chemical that reduces the risk of heart disease and several cancers. The Women’s Health Study — an American research programme which tracks the health of 40,000 women — found women with the highest blood levels of lycopene had 30 per cent less heart disease than women who had very little lycopene. Lab experiments have also shown that lycopene helps counter the effect of unhealthy LDL cholesterol. One Canadian study, published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, said there was “convincing vidence’ that lycopene prevented coronary heart disease.

CARROTS – EYES

SLICE a carrot and it looks just like an eye, right down to the pattern of the iris. It’s a clear clue to the importance this everyday veg has for vision. Carrots get their orange colour from a plant chemical called betacarotene, which reduces the risk of developing cataracts. The chemical also protects against macular degeneration an age-related sight problem that affects one in four over-65s. It is the most common cause of blindness in Britain . But popping a betacarotene pill doesn’t have the same effect, say scientists at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore

MUSHROOM – EAR

Slice a mushroom in half and it resembles the shape of the human ear. And guess what? Adding it to your cooking could actually improve your hearing. That’s because mushrooms are one of the few foods in our diet that contain vitamin D. This particular vitamin is important for healthy bones, even the tiny ones in the ear that transmit sound to the brain.

BROCCOLI – CANCER

Close-up, the tiny green tips on a broccoli head look like hundreds of cancer cells. Now scientists know this disease-busting veg can play a crucial role in preventing the disease. Last year, a team of researchers at the US National Cancer Institute found just a weekly serving of broccoli was enough to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 45 per cent. In Britain , prostate cancer kills one man every hour.

WALNUT – BRAIN

THE gnarled folds of a walnut mimic the appearance of a human brain - and provide a clue to the benefits. Walnuts are the only nuts which contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. They may also help head off dementia. An American study found that walnut extract broke down the protein-based plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Tufts University in Boston found walnuts reversed some signs of brain ageing in rats. Dr James Joseph, who headed the study, said walnuts also appear to enhance signalling within the brain and encourage new messaging links between brain cells.

CHEESE – BONES

A nice ‘holey’ cheese, like Emmenthal, is not just good for your bones, it even resembles their internal structure. And like most cheeses, it is a rich source of calcium, a vital ingredient for strong bones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis later in life. Together with another mineral called phosphate, it provides the main strength in bones but also helps to ‘power’ muscles. Getting enough calcium in the diet during childhood is crucial for strong bones. A study at Columbia University in New York showed teens who increased calcium intake from 800mg a day to 1200mg – equal to an extra two slices of cheddar - boosted their bone density by six per cent.

Mumps

Reviewed by Dr John Pillinger, GP

What is mumps?
Mumps is caused by a paramyxovirus. Of the more common childhood illnesses, it is the disease with the longest incubation period and can take as long as three weeks from infection to outbreak, which can make it difficult to track down the source of infection.

The virus is contagious for about two to three days before and up to seven to eight days after the disease breaks out.

How do you catch mumps?
Mumps is a viral infection spread by airborne droplets from the nose or throat. However, it is the least contagious of the five major children's diseases and requires close contact before infection can occur. Though small children can get mumps, the disease is most common after the age of two.

Today, most children are vaccinated against mumps with the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination.

The virus enters the body through the airways, then passes around the body in the bloodstream. It can end up almost everywhere - the kidneys, thyroid gland, pancreas, sexual glands and, not least, the salivary gland. The virus thrives in the parotid salivary glands, which lie in the cheeks just in front of the ears.

What are the symptoms of mumps?
Mumps usually begins with two days of discomfort and an increasing temperature. This is followed by an uncomfortable feeling in the jawbone, later accompanied by a swelling of the parotid glands. Often the swelling occurs unevenly, on one side of the face before the other. The body temperature may rise to 40oC and the swelling can feel oppressive and sore. The earlobes stick out and the child's face eventually looks very swollen. The child experiences pain when opening their mouth. In mild cases the swelling may only last three to four days, but it can go on for a week or more.

How does the doctor make the diagnosis?
Usually the doctor makes the diagnosis based on the symptoms.

What complications may arise?
Although the swollen parotid glands and high temperature caused by mumps may be unpleasant, the most serious repercussions involve possible infection of other organs.

In 20 to 30 per cent of the cases of adult men with mumps, the disease infects the testicles (orchitis) causing swelling, pain, soreness and a higher temperature. This often occurs about a week after the disease has broken out, and is a serious infection that may cause sterility.

However, among the few sexually mature men who contract mumps, only half get orchitis. Of these patients, only 10 per cent are affected in both testicles, and even then it does not necessarily cause sterility. If sterility occurs, there is still a chance that fertility may return.

Boys who have not reached puberty and are not sexually mature rarely get this kind of inflammation of the testicles.

The risk of women contracting oophoritis – inflammation of the ovaries – is even smaller than inflammation of the testicles in men. However, should this happen, it has no effect on fertility.

Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) is a recognised but uncommon complication.

A less rare complication of mumps is meningitis, which may appear 3 to 10 days after the onset of mumps. This is an inflammation of the membranes of the brain or spinal cord. Meningitis is a serious disease, but in connection with mumps it is usually mild. However, it still requires close attention and special care of the patient.
The symptoms of mumps-meningitis are:

• headache
• aversion to bright light
• possible vomiting
• typically a stiff neck, leaving patients unable to touch their chest with their chin and causing the head to bend slightly backwards.

How are mumps treated?
Apart from staying in bed while the swelling and temperature is at its highest, mumps demands no special attention.

Prior to the development of a vaccine mumps was considered to be a part of growing up for many children. If the disease is contracted later in life, the risk of the unpleasant complications listed above is far greater.

Children can return to childcare institutions or school when they are feeling well and the swelling of the glands has subsided.

Who should be vaccinated?

Today it is recommended that all children get the MMR vaccination, which contains a vaccine against mumps. This vaccine gives the same lifelong immunity and protection against the disease as the disease itself.

The recent rise in the number of mumps cases among young students is thought to be entirely due to these children having missed being vaccinated earlier in their life.

In the UK, the vaccine is offered to all children between 12 and 18 months, with a second booster dose before starting school between the ages of three and five.

Based on a text by Dr Per Grinsted
Last updated 19.11.2008

Pinguecula:

Pinguecula
Overview
A pinguecula (pin gwe' cue la) is a benign, yellowish growth that forms on the conjunctiva. They usually grow near the cornea on the nasal side. Pingueculae (plural form of pinguecula) are thought to be caused by ultraviolet light and are most common among people who spend a great deal of time outdoors.
This growth does not affect vision, but may cause irritation if it becomes elevated. In rare cases, the pinguecula may gradually extend over the cornea, forming a pterygium.
Signs and Symptoms
Pingueculae are harmless growths and rarely cause symptoms.
Yellowish, raised area on the conjunctiva
Irritation and scratchiness
Dry eye
Occasional inflammation of the conjunctiva
Redness if the area becomes irritated
Detection and Diagnosis
Pingueculae can often be seen with the naked eye; however, the doctor diagnoses the growth with a careful examination with a slit lamp microscope.
Treatment
Because of their benign nature, pingueculae rarely require treatment. Occasionally, the growth may become inflamed, causing irritation and dryness. The doctor may prescribe artificial tears for lubrication and mild anti-inflammatory medication to reduce swelling.

Barcode Systems: Made in China

敬知各位親朋好友:
最近世界各國對中國黑心食品 , 確實達到恐懼的地步 告訴您條碼下前三位數字
690 -695 即屬中製(為了您尊貴的玉體再便宜也不要買)

Number System

Barcode System, if the number system start with 690 - 695, its Made in China.

Sample barcode, this one here Made in Taiwan.

Check out the link it you like to know more about barcode system...

http://www.cyberlink.com.hk/barcode.htm

Basically, there are 2 type of barcode systems, one by US and the other by European.

The US version is not designed for international use.

The example that you see above are European systems EAN-13 which is widely use nowaday.

UPC - Universal Product Code
The "UPC-A barcode" is by far the most common and well-known symbology, at least in the United States. An UPC-A barcode is the barcode you will find on virtually every consumer good on the shelves of your local supermarket, as well as books, magazines, and newspapers.
UPC-A encodes 11 digits of numeric (0 through 9) message data along with a trailing check digit, for a total of 12 digits of barcode data. An example of a typical UPC-A barcode is:

EAN-13 - Article Numbering System (EAN) in Europe
EAN-13, based upon the UPC-A standard, was implemented by the International Article Numbering System (EAN) in Europe. This standard was implemented mostly because the UPC-A standard was not well designed for international use, but probably partly because no-one likes the U.S. to be in charge of anything-especially the Europeans. :)
EAN-13 is a superset of UPC-A. This means that any software or hardware capable of reading an EAN-13 symbol will automatically be able to read an UPC-A symbol. The only difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A is that the number system code in UPC-A is a single digit from 0 through 9 whereas an EAN-13 number system code consists of two digits ranging from 00 through 99, which is essentially a country code. Each country has a numbering authority which assigns manufacturer codes to companies within its jurisdiction. The manufacturer code is still five digits long, as is the product code, and the check digit is calculated in exactly the same way.

Number System: The number system consists of two digits (sometimes three digits) which identify the country (or economic region) numbering authority which assigned the manufacturer code. Any number system which starts with the digit 0 is a UPC-A barcode.

How to Tie Rope Knots : How to Tie a Trucker's Hitch Knot

Numbers in a blood pressure reading

Blood pressure is "a measurement of the force applied against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood through the body. The pressure is determined by the force and amount of blood pumped and the size and flexibility of the arteries." A reading consists of two numbers, for example: 112/77, which is read as "112 over 77."

The first number,
systolic blood pressure, measures the maximum pressure exerted as the heart contracts, while the lower number indicates diastolic pressure, a measurement taken between beats, when the heart is at rest.

According to high blood pressure guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA), numbers under 140/90 and over 90/60 are generally considered normal in adults.
For greater accuracy, measure blood pressure while in a seated position with your arm at the same level as your heart, after you have been at rest for five minutes or more. Baselines vary considerably from one individual to the next.

Aromatherapy for sensitive nose.

Eucalyptus essential oil information
Eucalyptus essential oil is extracted from Eucalyptus globulus of the Myrtaceae family and is also known as Tasmanian blue gum or blue gum.
In aromatherapy, this essential oil helps to clear the mind and focus concentration, while reducing swelling in the mucus membranes. It is very valuable in fighting respiratory problems, fighting inflammation and sore muscles, rheumatism, headaches and nervous exhaustion, while boosting wound and ulcer healing and soothing skin eruptions.

Oil properties
Eucalyptus has a clear, sharp, fresh and very distinctive smell, is pale yellow in color and watery in viscosity.

Origin of eucalyptus oil
The Australian Blue-gum can sometimes reaches a height of 100 meters (300 feet), making it one of the highest trees in the world. There are over 500 species of Eucalyptus trees, with tough long and narrow blue-green leaves, creamy white flowers and smooth pale bark.
The 'eu' and 'kalypto' means 'well' and 'covered' in Greek, referring to the cup-like membrane that covers the flower bud, which is thrown off as the flower expands.
The Australian Aborigines calls it 'kino' and they use the leaves to cover serious wounds. Eucalyptus oil was introduced to Europe in 1788, and the first oil exported to England was called 'Sydney peppermint'. It was extracted from Eucalyptus peperita which is a more industrial type of oil.
The tree uses a lot of water while growing and has been used to clear water-logged land, draining the water from swamps where malaria mosquito may be found. The tree was thought to prevent malaria in the past, due to this draining action.

Extraction
Eucalyptus oil is extracted from the fresh or partially dried leaves and young twigs.
Chemical composition
The main chemical components of eucalyptus oil are a-pinene, b-pinene, a-phellandrene, 1,8-cineole, limonene, terpinen-4-ol, aromadendrene, epiglobulol, piperitone and globulol.

Precautions
Eucalyptus oil should be used with care and people with high blood pressure and epilepsy should avoid it. Excessive use of this oil may cause headaches.

Therapeutic properties
The therapeutic properties of eucalyptus oil are analgesic, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-neuralgic, anti-rheumatic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, astringent, balsamic, cicatrisant, decongestant, deodorant, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypoglycaemic, rubefacient, stimulant, vermifuge and vulnerary.

Uses
Eucalyptus oil has a cooling and deodorizing effect on the body, helping with fevers, migraine and malaria. For the respiratory tract, it helps with coughs, asthma, throat infections, sinusitis and catarrhal conditions. It soothes inflammation and eases mucus, clearing the head from the stuffiness of colds and hay fever.
Eucalyptus oil is useful as a warming oil when used for muscular aches and pains, rheumatoid arthritis, sprains and poor circulation.
In skin care it can be used for burns, blisters, herpes, cuts, wounds, skin infections and insect bites. It can furthermore boost the immune system and is helpful in cases of chicken pox, colds, flu and measles.

Summary
Eucalyptus oil is very helpful when used for headaches, fevers, ailments of the respiratory tract, muscular aches and pains and in skin care. It has a soothing and calming effect on the whole body and helps with the immune system.

The oil is also effective against bacteria - especially staphylococci, and has a refreshing and stimulating action on the mind, helping to improve concentration.
Burners and vaporizers
In vapor therapy, eucalyptus oil may be used for: frequent sneezing, hay fever, flu, respiratory problems, as an insect repellant, headaches and for helping to improve concentration.

• Blended massage oil or in the bath
  Eucalyptus oil can be used in blended massage oil, or diluted in the bath, to assist with arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, mucous congestion, colds, headaches, rheumatism, sinusitis, catarrh, fatigue and muscular aches and pains.
• In a cream or lotion
  Apart from giving pain relief to muscular spasms and rheumatism, eucalyptus oil can also help speed up the healing of slow healing wounds and ulcers, calm skin eruptions and clear congested skin.
• Used neat or dab on with a bud
  Eucalyptus oil can be used neat on the skin for insect bites or wounds, but care should be taken when doing so.
• Gargle
  When very diluted eucalyptus oil is added to a gargle, so it can be used for soothing a sore throat.