Lung disease involving recurrent breathing problems. The characteristics of asthma are three airway problems:
• obstruction
• inflammation
• hyper-responsiveness

What are the symptoms of asthma?

Sometimes the only symptom is a chronic cough, especially at night, or coughing or wheezing that occurs only with exercise.

Why is asthma on the rise?

Some scientists theorize that the decline in serious illness may be one factor in the increase of allergic asthma. They believe it is possible that an under-utilized immune system may overreact to lesser irritants, inappropriately triggering the release of histamine and other inflammatory substances in the lungs.
Other researchers believe that the increased amount of time children are spending indoors is increasing their exposure to carpeting and other allergen-triggers.

What are the risk factors for an asthma attack?

Although anyone may have an asthma attack, it most commonly occurs in:
• children, by the age of 5
• adults in their 30s
• adults older than 65
• people living in urban communities

Other factors include:
• family history of asthma
• personal medical history of allergies

Children most susceptible to asthma attacks include the following:
• children with a family history of asthma
• infants and other young children who when they develop a respiratory infection, they also tend to have wheezing
• children who have allergies
• children who have exposure to tobacco smoke and other allergens prior to birth

What happens during an asthma attack?

These problems are caused by an oversensitivity of the lungs and airways.
contraction of airway muscles
mucus production
swelling in the airways
Lungs and airways overreact to certain triggers and become inflamed and clogged.
Breathing becomes harder and may hurt.
There may be coughing.
There may be a wheezing or whistling sound, which is typical of asthma. Wheezing occurs because:
a) muscles that surround the airways tighten, the inner lining of the airways swells and pushes inward.
b) membranes that line the airways secrete extra mucus.
c) the mucus can form plugs that further block the air passages.
d) the rush of air through the narrowed airways produces the wheezing sounds.

How is asthma diagnosed?

To diagnose asthma and distinguish it from other lung disorders, physicians rely on a combination of medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests, which may include:
• spirometry
• peak flow monitoring (PFM)
• chest x-ray
• blood tests
• allergy tests

Management.

• Avoiding risk factor
• Taking the medicine regularly
• Contact your doctor at any respiratory infection or breathing difficulty

.

Dr. Salam Al Sibai
Fujairah Medical Centre

Looking to lose a few kilos? Want to have more energy? Learn to make healthier choices? Join us at Good Habits

Good Habits for a Healthier Lifestyle: What does Diet mean to you?
If you have come back from your summer holidays with several excess kilos, or have gained weight during Ramadan, you may think, NO!… not another diet?
Diet! That dreaded word. The word every woman and plenty of men hate to hear, and even hate to think about. What do we really mean when we use the word DIET? Karen Hatherley-Greene of Good Habits tells us, “So many people think DIET means starvation, deprivation, suffering, depression and a whole list of other negative connotations. That’s not so!” Karen suggests taking a closer look at “DIET” to find the secret of your success!

D. is for DETERMINATION.
Without determination, you will never reach your goal. Everyone has their own weight loss goal and you will never reach that goal if you are not determined to get there. You must be determined to face up to the task. You must be determined to be responsible for yourself and your weight loss. Determination means not giving up when the going gets tough. Determination means realizing that weight loss can be slow and it can be difficult – but sticking with it until you get there! Only the really determined will get there. How determined are you?
I. is for INCENTIVE.
We all need an INCENTIVE to lose weight. In fact, we need an incentive to take on any not-so-pleasant task! Perhaps the Eid holidays, a wedding, a new job, a celebration or special occasion is your incentive – an occasion when you want to look and feel at your very best. While that incentive is important and can give you a very real target to aim towards, don’t just focus on one event. Focus on yourself. The greatest incentive for losing weight is you and your health. Your health is your wealth and being a healthy weight can make all the difference to your health. Money cannot buy your health but you can invest in it! You can invest in better health, fitness, energy and well-being with healthy eating and regular exercise. When you really think about it, you have the all-important incentive for losing weight.
E. is for EDUCATION.
You need to educate, or re-educate yourself, in healthy eating and healthy living! That might mean leaning how to cook low-fat, knowing how to read nutrition labels or try different types of exercise until you find what works for you. Benefit from the weekly informative meetings at Good Habits, each week a different topic is highlighted and there is a wealth of practical ideas that helps you to understand why and how.
T. is for TARGET.
Your target is your ultimate goal. To stand on the scales and see the needle point to your target weight will be your ultimate satisfaction. No one is saying the journey is easy. Then again, anything that is worth having in life is never easy but is worth working hard for.
You see a DIET is not something to be afraid of, or hate. It is a way of life. It is what you want it to be. With DETERMINATION, an INCENTIVE and EDUCATION you will reach your TARGET.
Good Habits members meet once a week in Fujairah. The group is small, friendly and interactive.

Venue: VIP Room, The Fujairah Tennis & Country xClub,
Every Sunday 5.30 - 6.30pm
Contact Karen on 050 653 7854 or visit www.goodhabitsuae.com

Juice fasting is generally safe for everyone. However, diabetics and persons on medication requiring meals should check with their physician. Fasting is not for children or women who are pregnant or nursing. If there is a medical reason why you should not fast, then don’t. Check with your doctor first.
As for everyone else, juice fasting is one of the best things you can do for your health! It is especially helpful for weight loss, detoxification, preventing and treating cancer. Freshly extracted, raw vegetable juices are the fastest way to naturally get the largest amount of nutrients to the cellular level of the body. This is because, with the fiber removed, nutrients can be easily and quickly absorbed into the bloodstream without going through the process of digestion. (Please note however: This is not true of any juice found in a can, bottle, or container. All processed juices have undergone heat processes to kill the enzymes to prevent spoiling on the store shelf. This processing destroys almost all nutritional value.) On the other hand, fresh, live juices bring to the body all of the natural vitamins, minerals, protein, and enzymes required to repair and replenish itself.
Juicing takes a bit of effort, and like any activity, practice and repeated effort do pay off. Rest assured - the rewards of juicing are well-worth the time and effort! We’ve put together some helpful rules of thumb and juice recipes to kick-start your juicing experience so.
Rule 1: Don’t drink with meals.
Freshly made vegetable juices, taken in quantity, are not a beverage. They are a raw, highly digestible food - the nutritional & health benefits of which are unsurpassed. It is best to not drink juice or any other liquid with a meal as it dilutes the digestive juices and makes digestion difficult.
Rule 2: It is a good idea to dilute your juice 50/50 with water.
You can juice almost anything you can eat raw. Vegetables are best, especially carrots, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, zucchini squash, romaine lettuce, sprouts, celery and cabbage. You may juice fruits also, naturally. Freshly made raw apple, grape, and melon juices are delicious. It is not generally a good idea to juice potatoes, eggplant, or Lima beans. In a moment, I will go more in depth about specific vegetables and the conditions for which they may be helpful.
Rule 3: Scrub & soak, but spare the nutrients.
When possible it is best to use organically grown vegetables. Organic produce generally boasts higher nutrient levels, without the addition of harmful chemicals. However, if organic is not an option for you, here’s what you should do:
It is wise to peel vegetables and fruits that have been sprayed or waxed.
Carrots and other underground vegetables often do not need peeling. Instead, give them a good scrubbing with a nylon-bristle vegetable brush while rinsing under water.
Beets are the exception. Since beet skins are very bitter, it is wise to peel beets before juicing. A hint to save time: dip the beets for about 20 seconds in boiling water and then peel them... it’s much easier.
Rule 4: Drink your freshly prepared juice right away. That is - within moments!
One reason is that your juice will, of course, taste best right after preparing it. Another reason for the rush is that fresh juice contains a great amount of raw food enzymes and vitamins, many of which are quickly lost as the juice sits. So don’t let it sit - drink it right down, with the thought that this is unbelievably good for you!
Rule 5: Juice the vegetables & fruits that serve your specific needs!
CELERY juice is very tasty, but a bit high in sodium. Use small amounts of this juice to flavor the others. Juice celery leaves and all for the most benefit.
CUCUMBER juice is remarkably tasty. It tastes rather different than a cucumber itself. Peel cucumbers before juicing to avoid the waxes applied to their skins to enhance their shelf life in supermarkets.
ROMAINE LETTUCE or BEAN SPROUTS will make an especially nutritious juice with a taste that is well worth acquiring. This “green drink” is loaded with minerals and chlorophyll.
ZUCCHINI SQUASH juiced up tastes better than you’d ever imagine. Peel first. You’ll probably really enjoy the taste of this juice. It also keeps the juicer from clogging on higher-fiber vegetables.
BEET juice is, traditionally, a blood-builder. Beets must be peeled before juicing. Beet skins are very bitter. The beets, on the other hand, are quite sweet and make great juice. They will also permanently stain your juicer, so don’t try to remove that color by washing. More important, beet juice will color your bowel movements. So, don’t be alarmed.
Rule 6: Avoid combining fruit juices with vegetable juices.
The only fruit I combine with vegetable juices is apple, and sometimes lemon. For every 8 to 10 carrots you run through your juicer, add one apple. It’s delicious!
Rule 7: Don’t drink too much fresh juice all at once.
Have two 8-oz. glasses of juice spread out over an hour instead of one 16 oz. glass. The reason is that the body will more efficiently use and assimilate 8 oz. at a time. Also if you drink too much fresh juice at once, or if you don’t dilute the juice enough, your body will be overcome with a rush of enzymes that may cause a headache. At any rate, you can’t really hurt yourself with fresh juices, so DRINK UP!

Veggie Juice Recipes:

Super 8 Juice
1 kale leaf
1 collard leaf
small handful of parsley
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot, greens removed
1/2 red pepper
1 tomato
1 broccoli floret

Carrot Lemonade
4 - 5 medium carrots
1/2 medium lemon
1 apple
1 small 1.5 - 2” wedge red cabbage
1 round of Ginger, about the size of a quarter

Vegetable 8
1/2 Tomato
1/4 Cucumber
1 Carrot
1 Celery stalk
1 Handful Spinach
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Cup Cabbage
1 Green Onion

Grape seed Extract as a Treatment for Wrinkles

Method
Buy capsules of grape seed extract, and take orally. There is no daily recommended amount for grape seed extract, but some experts recommend taking between 25–150 mg, one to three times daily. Use a cream containing grape seed extract, and massage it into your skin once or twice a day.
Start with red grapes, and process them in a food processor. Apply to your face, and leave on for 15-20 minutes. Rinse.
Why It Works
Grape seed extract contains proanthocyanidin, the same antioxidant that can also be found in grapes, grape juice, and red wine. Proanthocyanidins have been shown to strengthen the capillaries, help maintain the elasticity of the skin, and help stabilize collagen levels in the skin. Some normal degradation of skin cells is caused by the enzyme elastase, which is released when the skin is damaged or inflamed (such as when the skin is sunburned). Grape seed extract is thought to block the activity of elastase in the skin. It is also known to improve circulation, which helps all the cells and organs in the body to maintain better health. Grape seed extract also contains alpha hydroxy acids, which are commonly used in skin care products to help exfoliate dead skin cells.
Precautions
No supplement or skin cream can make up for decades of damage done to the skin by poor diet and exposure to the sun. One of the main causes of wrinkles is damage caused by years of sunbathing. If you are worried about skin health, supplements and creams containing antioxidants will help, but it is equally important to eat a nourishing, balanced diet, and drink plenty of water.
Grape seed extract is well tolerated by most people whether it is taken orally or topically. It has been used safely for up to eight weeks at a time in clinical trials. A few people, though, develop side effects from taking it. Side effects include headache, dry and itchy scalp, dizziness, and nausea. Some people are allergic to grapes; if you are, or suspect you may be, allergic, then you may want to try doing a patch test on your skin before using topical products containing grape seed extract more extensively.