Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

The development of language occurs extraordinarily rapidly in children. Language is believed to stem from an innate ability and develops as a result of maturation, but it is also dependent on environmental stimulation and learning.

Most babies are babbling soon after 6 months of age, and will then begin to form repetitive sounds such as ‘ma-ma-ma’ or ‘da-da-da’ over the next few months, especially if this is reinforced by others. Parents will often talk or sing to babies, and this sort of stimulation is very important in ensuring that babies fulfil their language potential. The next stage of language development for babies is to begin to use single words meaningfully. Often the first real words are ‘mama’ or ‘dada’, followed rapidly by other commonly used and simple words such as ‘bye’, ‘doggy’, ‘drink’, and so on. First words are frequently mispronounced and difficult to understand, and the progressive acquisition of vocabulary is dependent to some extent on reinforcement and stimulation by parents and other family members.

Toddlers then string several words together in meaningful phrases, and this is soon followed by sentences. By about 3 years of age they will have acquired some of the rules of grammar and language that form the basis of mature adult speech.

A child’s comprehension of language parallels speech development. Both speech and comprehension are dependent on adequate hearing. If a child is deaf or has a permanent or fluctuating hearing problem, then language may be absent or delayed, or there may be problems of articulation or intelligibility .

The rate ot language development will depend on a host of factors, to do with both the child and the environment. Girls generally tend to be slightly more advanced than boys in their language development. Second and later born children may have advanced development (because they have older siblings to model themselves on) or else may be a little slower (because their siblings will do their talking for them and make their needs known to parents). The temperament of a child may influence language usage — a shy, introverted child will tend to hold back in communication, whereas the reverse is true for a more confident, outgoing child.

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The ideal way to take any painkiller is to take a dose that completely relieves your pain and to repeat that dose every time the pain just starts to come back. If you are taking your painkiller by mouth or in suppository form, it will take fifteen to thirty minutes to start working. Injections work more quickly. It will then last two to six or more hours, depending on which one it is—check the table.

Doctors often recommend that you take a painkiller only ‘when you need it’ (whatever that means)! People who are told to do this often wait until their pain is excruciating before taking the next dose. This is a very bad way to take painkillers since, if you do this, you will never have good pain control. You will spend most of your time feeling frightened and anxious because you know that the pain is going to come back, and it will take a bigger dose to control it when it does. It is much better to work out how long it is before your pain just starts to come back and to take your painkiller regularly that often.

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Some people can develop an allergy to the synthetic Vitamin Bl tablets or injections.

Vitamin B2, or riboflavin, is found in dairy products and green vegetables, but is widely distributed throughout most natural foodstuffs.

A lack of riboflavin affects the skin and mucous membranes.

Nicotinamide, or Vitamin B7, is also widely distributed in most foodstuffs.

Lack of this vitamin — and usually with an associated lack of riboflavin — produces the disease known as pellagra, and this usually is seen in those whose staple diet is maize and little else.

Vitamin B6, or pyridoxine, is required for the proper functioning of nervous and skin tissue.

B6 has recently been used in relieving premenstrual tension (PMT).

Most of the B-group vitamins form part of the molecules of enzymes in the body, those chemical substances which are necessary for the build-up and break-down of all the body tissues.

Vitamin B12, or cyancobalamin, is formed in the body by the action of a chemical in the stomach acting on another chemical taken in with the food.

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Heart disease, usually by causing an abnormal rhythm, may lead to sudden loss of consciousness.

Hypotensive drugs, that is those used to control hypertension or high blood pressure, may cause giddiness or even fainting when the person suddenly changes posture from the sitting or lying to the standing position.

No matter what the cause of the syncope or faint, one common factor is the standing position.

Sudden loss of blood, such as may occur from a severed artery in an accident or from a miscarriage, or even with a heavy period or a severe nosebleed may lead to fainting.

Bleeding may occur from a duodenal ulcer and the rapid loss of one or two pints of blood may lead to fainting.

Conversely, reversing this, that is making a person lie flat, will rapidly prevent or lead to recovery from the faint.

Deep breathing, sitting, or putting one’s head between one’s knees, are inadequate means of preventing a fainting attack.

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Any doctor should be able to examine a woman’s breasts looking for lumps and at the same time teach her the technique of self-examination. An internal examination and a Pap smear can be taken.

For most cancers, the earlier they are detected, the better the results of treatment.

This applies to the commonest cancers in women and the means of early detection are available. Mahy women are either unaware of the available facilities or are just not motivated to use them.

Many women suffer discomfort in their bladder. It is usually called cystitis.

Yet it may not be the bladder itself which is involved in this most common of urinary problems.

The kidneys are on the back wall of the abdomen, just below the ribs, and lie one on either side.

They have several related functions concerned with the excretion of waste products and with the salt and water balance in the body. As blood flows through the filters of the kidney, a fluid is collected. As this fluid passes along the collecting tubule in the body of the kidney, some substances are reabsorbed and others are excreted into it.

The resulting fluid, urine, then leaves the kidney by a thin tube, the ureter, and flows down into the bladder, where the urine is stored until passed to the outside through another tube, the urethra.

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Treatments that are found to be active against certain types of cancer are then further tested in Phase III studies. In this phase of research, the aim is to find out whether the new treatment is better than what is already available. Not only completely new treatments but also variations on old treatments are tested—for example, different combinations, dosages or timing of previously available drugs.

No sophisticated research or statistical methods would be necessary if we were looking only for major improvements in treatment. It is a fact that the greatest advances in cancer treatment have been made simply by trying a completely new type of treatment in a series of patients. Here are some examples concerning chemotherapy.

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Does sugar cause diabetes? No. There is absolute consensus that sugar does not cause diabetes. Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes) is an autoimmune health problem triggered by unknown environmental factors such as viruses. Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes) is strongly inherited but lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise and overweight increase the risk of developing it. Because the dietary treatment of diabetes in the past involved strict avoidance of sugar, many people wrongly believed that sugar was in some way implicated as a cause of the disease. While sugar is off the hook, high G.I. foods are not. Studies from Harvard indicate that high G.I. diets increase the risk of developing both diabetes and heart disease.

Are rice and pasta equal as carbohydrates? In the general sense that they are both high carbohydrate, low-fat foods with valuable amounts of micronutrients, they are equal. Pasta has a higher protein content than rice but most people eat more than enough protein anyway. Pasta and rice are not equal in terms of the G.I. factors. The G.I. factor of all types of pasta is low, usually between 40 and 50. Rice, however, can have a high G.I. (80 to 90) or a low G.I. (50 to 55) depending on the variety and, in particular, its amylose content. In Australia there are all types of rice available and it is not always possible to identify the variety on the label. Calrose rice has a high G.I. and Basmati rice has a low G.I.

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Summary of main points.

• There is a variety of factors which influence the fat loss response to exercise:

Fixed (age, gender, genetics, race) or variable (climate, diet, degree of obesity, fitness level). Exercise parameters (frequency, amount, time and type) can also alter the fat loss response within this range of influencing factors.

• There are arguments for and against resistance training for fat loss, however resistance training for fat loss probably has limited value relative to aerobic exercise.

The general indications for physical activity for fat loss is becoming clear that general prescriptions, while necessary, are insufficient alone as there is a variety of different responses to exercise within individuals and groups of individuals. One main influencing factor discussed previously is gender, with females having a lower fat loss response to exercise than males. There are a variety of other factors which can also significantly influence prescriptions for exercise for fat loss. These can be divided into ‘fixed’ and Variable’ factors. A third influencing factor is differences in prescribed exercise parameters.

There is a general need for more physical activity in anyone needing to reduce body fat, but the frequency, amount, time and type of activity can vary according to fixed and variable factors appropriate to the individual. While there is no strict science associated with this type of individual prescription at the moment, there are certain guidelines which can assist those working in the area in preparing individualised prescription.

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1. Whatever is being done to reduce obesity is not working and the developed world will be facing an explosion of diabetes and other diseases if obesity continues to increase.

2. Programs to decrease fatness should be markedly different to programs to increase fitness.

3. Body weight is only a surrogate measure of fatness and the term overfatness’ should be used where possible.

4. The aetiology of obesity is complex and it is particularly important to work closely with specialists when dealing with the severely obese.

5. Obesity and overfatness have complex, multi-factorial causes with biological, environmental and behavioural determinants suggesting that any notion of these being due to sloth or gluttony alone are now outdated.

6. Obese individuals need to understand that their degree of overfatness is genetically determined to a significant degree and that achieving a slim body requires a lifelong swim against the twin adverse tides of genes and environment. Realistic fat loss goals need to be set.

7. A population needs to change its environment to reduce the prevalence of obesity. Even small changes spread across the whole population have major influences.

8. There is a need to re-orient thinking about weight control from a simplistic, energy balance approach to a more complex, multi-dimensional, holistic approach involving long term lifestyle modification.

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Probably the most spectacular rejuvenation therapy of all times on a mass scale is the so-called Gerovital therapy. Gerovital is a procaine preparation, the rejuvenating effects of which were discovered by the Rumanian doctor, Professor Ana Asian, M.D.

Professor Ana Asian is very popular in Europe. Thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world travel to her Rejuvenation Institute in Bucharest and receive Gerovital treatments in hyper-modern clinics under doctors’ supervision. Dr. Asian says that she has treated over 40,000 people in her Institute.

Dr. Asian discovered quite accidently that procaine, previously commonly used as an anesthetic agent, had age-retarding property. She injected specially designed doses of procaine, which she named H3, into patients showing signs of degeneration and premature aging, and observed that stiff, immobile joints became flexible, pain disappeared and the patients gained new energy and vitality. Dr. Asian has improved her original H3 formula and uses only Gerovital, which she claims has been demonstrated in tests in Italy and U.S.A. as being superior to pure procaine. Gerovital has been used in Rumania for 17 years, and presently 40,000 persons all over Rumania are under continuous prophylactic treatment with Gerovital. Dr. Asian claims that Gerovital prolongs life and gives more energy, vitality and zest for living to older people. She recommends starting Gerovital treatments for preventive purposes at the age of 40. Between 40 and 60 Gerovital can be taken in tablet form. After 60, when absorbtion ability is diminished, she recommends injections.

According to Dr. Asian, aging processes start when the body’s ability to produce new cells and to replenish the old ones is diminished. Gerovital helps the body to regenerate new cell production, which is the reason for its rejuvenating effect.

I met Dr. Ana Asian in Sweden, in the summer 1968, where she lectured on her rejuvenating method. She is a living advertisement for her drug and her therapy. At 72 she looks as though she is in her late fifties. Her face is quite free from wrinkles and even the skin on her arms is perfectly smooth and firm as on a younger person. I have ‘ also talked with several persons who undertook Gerovital therapy, and they all seemed to be enthusiastic about its revitalizing and j rejuvenating effect.

Although Gerovital treatment is not endorsed by official medicine in most countries, it has an official sanction in Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, East Germany, and Rumania.

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