Tobacco cigarettes are widely known to be harmful to your health, and their nicotine content makes them addictive. Some of the most common dangers are an increased risk of stroke, coronary artery disease and various lung diseases, including cancer.
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The International Normalized Ratio, or INR, gauges the effectiveness of blood thinning medication such as warfarin. People that are at high risk of blood clot formation, such as those that have suffered heart attacks or strokes, need an INR of about 2.5 to 3.5. However, people with an INR of 2.0 to 3.
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The market for carbonated soft drinks, diet and nondiet, was worth nearly $73 billion in the United States in 2008, according to “Beverage Digest.” Many of these beverages contain phosphoric acid, a substance that has a possible link to several health problems.
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Facial redness after you eat or when it’s hot is called facial flushing. Skin flushing causes your skin to turn bright red in various parts of your body, and the face is a common place to develop flushing.
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The acid/base balance is expressed in terms of pH. An acidic environment has a pH of less than 7.4, whereas a basic or alkaline setting has a pH of greater than 7.4. Molecules that give off hydrogen maintain an acidic pH. In contrast, alkaline molecules attract hydrogen.
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Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas to help regulate blood sugar levels. High insulin, or hyperinsulinemia, is when insulin levels remain elevated as opposed to the normal fluctuations of insulin necessary to lower blood sugar in relation to eating.
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Menopause is a natural, hormone-related condition that marks the end of a woman’s childbearing years. Changes associated with this condition can lead to weight gain and make it noticeably more difficult for you to drop unwanted pounds.
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Bipolar disorder is a medical and mental illness that impacts your mood, behavior and daily level of functioning. This illness causes mild to severe bouts of depression and mania or mixed episodes of both.
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Degenerative disc disease (DDD) can be a confusing diagnosis, says Dr. Peter Ullrich, Jr., at Spine-Health.com. Not truly a disease or necessarily progressive in nature, DDD, is a degenerative process that affects the discs between your spinal vertebrae.
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Thumb tendinitis can make daily tasks that are normally taken for granted difficult. You may have pain while writing, typing or texting on your phone. Thumb tendinitis is typically caused by overuse of the muscles that move your thumb.
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Gastroesophogeal Reflux Disease (GERD), also known as Acid Reflux or "heartburn," is a common problem affecting 10 to 20 percent of the population in the United States.
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The liver is the largest gland in the human body and the sole internal organ that has the ability to regenerate itself. Its key functions include secretion of bile, storing vitamins, clotting blood and destroying bacteria.
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Natrilix SR is a diuretic that works to reduce high blood pressure, known as hypertension. High blood pressure occurs when blood pushes against the artery walls hard enough to result in medical problems such as heart disease.
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Nausea is a sensation of illness that causes vomiting, which is a forceful action that brings the stomach contents up through the esophagus and out of the mouth. Coughing is a forceful movement that removes substances from the airways.
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If you’re suffering from addiction, cravings or unwanted habits, acupressure using ear seeds might be for you. In this form of traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, a practitioner places the tiny seeds of the vaccaria plant on key points on the ear and tapes them in place.
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The kidneys play an important role in keeping the body healthy by filtering out wastes and reabsorbing essential substances, such as sugar. When the kidneys develop stones large enough to block the passageways in the renal pelvis and ureter, urine gets trapped and wastes start to accumulate.
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Managing diabetes effectively requires knowledge of the condition and the steps necessary to avoid complications. Blood glucose levels that are too high or too low for prolonged periods have detrimental effects on overall health and can lead to death. A diabetic seizure is a serious complication of this disease.
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When blood tests reveal you have a higher than normal number of white blood cells (WBCs), or leukocytes, this is known medically as leukocytosis. White blood cell counts usually fall between 4,000 and 11,000 cells per microliter.
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Itchy, festering ears can result from eczema, a skin condition that affects infants, children and adults. Eczema of the ears can affect the ear lobe, skin covering the folds of the outer ear and the external auditory canal which is the tube through which sounds travel to reach the middle ear.
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A ministroke is also known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA). While many of the symptoms of a TIA are the same as a stroke, the damage produced as the result of a ministroke is not permanent. If the symptoms last longer than 24 hours or the damage is permanent, physicians will classify it as a regular stroke.
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