Indigestion is a condition that can be caused by eating food quickly or eating too much and unhealthy food or food which are high in fat. Stress can also worsen it. It can also be due to other digestive conditions like Food Allergy, Gallbladder Disease, H. Pylori, Heartburn, Hiatal Hernia, Esophagitis, Lactose Intolerance, Ulcers Heartburn, Candidiasis , Peptic ulcers, Gastritis, Gallstones or Stomach cancer.

Symptoms of indigestion are

Nausea,
Gas, belching and flatulence
Stomach pain or, burning feeling in the upper portion of the stomach
Acid in the stomach
Feeling bloated
Uncontrollable burping
Heartburn
Feverish feeling
Stomach rumbling
Feeling of fullness in the stomach
Feeling sudden chills like fever

Dietary guidelines for indigestion

Eat small meals frequently
Eat slowly and in a relaxed manner and chew the food thoroughly.
Avoid highly spicy food, sweet food,
Avoid food with high fat content,
Avoid fluid intake during the meals
Drink plenty of water in between the meals.
Replace refined carbohydrates with whole grain carbohydrates, brown rice and pasta.
Reduce your sugar intake
Steam or grill food rather than frying it and avoid sauces and hot curries
Eat plenty of green vegetables.
Avoid eating fruits with of after meals. Eat it separately
Avoid carbonated drinks, caffeine, alcohol,

If you are overweight weight loss is and effective treatment for indigestion because Excess weight put pressure on the abdomen, and pushes up your stomach. It causes acid to back up into the esophagus.

To relieve stress practice meditation techniques.

Stop smoking if you are a smoker.

You have to see a doctor if there is

• Weight loss
• Severe stomach pain
• Loss of appetite
• Shortness of breath
• Dark stool
• Vomiting
• Blood in the vomit

Modern medicine for indigestion

Antacids are prescribed by doctors to neutralize stomach acid.
Taking antacids for long term will be harmful and can increase the severity or kidney problems

Antacids 4 hours prior to exercise

Herbal alternative for indigestion

Make an infusion by pouring 1 cup of boiling water into 2 tablespoons of dried meadowsweet herb and let it stand for 15 minutes. Decant the liquid and drink three times a day.

Aniseed infusion should be prepared with a teaspoon of aniseed in a cup of boiling water .leave it overnight. Strain the liquid and take it with honey.

Belleric myroblan is useful indigestion. Chewing a piece of the pulp of the fruit or an infusion made with 3 grams of the pulp of the fruits should be taken for these disorder.

Bishops weeds or ajwain or omum
Take ½ teaspoon of ajwain seeds with2 pinches of rock salt and wash it down with water.
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Bitter chamomile A powder of chamomile flowers or
1 or 3grams of oil extracted from the Bitter chamomile flowers can be taken with hot water. It can be made into a tea by pouring 200ml boiling water over the 2 teaspoon of dried flowers and allowing it to stand for a 5 hours.
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Blood wort or Rojmari
A decoction can be made with pouring 250ml of boiled water to 1 teaspoon of herb and 30 grams of this decoction can be taken daily .A dessert spoon of fresh juice of the flower should be taken 3 times a day.

Calamus
Burnt root of calamus mixed with coconut oil or a poultice of the root applied to the abdomen. The root powder should be used immediately. Calamus can also be used in the bath water.

Caraway seeds
The seeds can be chewed and washed down with water. 2 pinches after food is recommended.
Make a tea with boiling 1 teaspoon of the seeds in 1.5 liters of water and can be taken three times a day.

Cardamom

Take equal amounts of powdered cardamom seeds, ginger, cloves and coriander .After taking food take a pinch and mix in water and drink.

Cassia fistula
Cassia fistula pulp should be mixed with linseed oil or almond oil and applied around the navel .

Celery
Chewing and eating a stick of celery aids indigestion. You can also soak 1 teaspoon of celery seeds in a glass of butter milk for 5 to 6 hours.

Grind the seeds in the buttermilk and drink it. .

Cinnamon
Mix together cinnamon powder and 2 tablespoon of honey and take before food.

A stick or a table spoon of cinnamon powdered and simmered in a glass of water should be taken half hour after food . You can also add in a pinch of pepper and honey.

1 tablespoon of Cinnamon can be simmered in milk and taken with a little honey,

Coriander

2 teaspoon of Coriander leaves juice made freshly should be added to1 cup of butter milk can be taken 3 times daily.

Chutney can be made from fresh coconut, Coriander seeds, ginger, green chilies and black grapes is good.

You can also take 1 teaspoon each of coriander seeds and black grapes and mix it in water and drink it.

Take a teaspoon of fresh coriander leaf juice and add a pinch of salt and drink it twice a day.
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Cumin seeds
One teaspoon of cumin seeds boiled in glass of water strained and cooled should be mixed with one teaspoon of fresh coriander leaf juice and a pinch of salt .I t can be taken twice daily after meals as medicine.

Curry leaves
1 teaspoon of Fresh Juice of curry leaves with a teaspoon of lime juice and sugar should be taken three times a day.

1 tablespoon of curry leaves ground to fine paste and mixed with butter milk should be drunk in the morning before eating anything.

Dill
Tea can made with dill by adding 1 teaspoon of dill to 1 glass of boiling water and should be drank after cooling.

Taking a drop of dill oil mixed in a teaspoon of honey is very helpful.

Just chewing up a teaspoon of dill and washing it down with water is very good.

Taking 2 teaspoon of juice of fresh dill leaves is good as well.

Fenugreek
1 teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds fried in butter and made into a powder should be taken daily.

Henna
Powdered Seeds of henna plant should be mixed with ghee and made into small balls. The balls should be the size of marble; and can be taken with water.

Holy basil
Take 12 grams of the seeds of holy basil and soak cold water. Add 1 teaspoon of honey or sugar and take it in empty stomach.

Indian pennywort
Decoction of Indian pennywort with 1 teaspoon of fenugreek should be taken once a day.

Ginger
Take 1 inch piece of ginger and chew it and wash it down with water

Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera juice taken once is good for indigestion.

Aromatherapy for indigestion

Massage the abdomen in a clockwise direction with one drop any of the essential oil mixed with a teaspoon of your body’s suitable carrier oil.
Peppermint
Ginger
Orange
Rosemary

Avoid sunlight immediately after massaging
Do not use on babies
Do not use peppermint if you’re lactating.
Do not massage if you are nauseous.

You can also sniff any of these diluted essential oil for some relief.

Yoga for indigestion

Yoga’s that are good for indigestion are , Ustrasana, Trikonasana, Parsvakonasana, Uttanasana, Janu Sirsasana,Marichyasana, and Paschimottansana.

Again CAP has come up with reports that rice dumplings have been found to have boric acid. The boric acid found in these dumplings were 0.4ppm to 579.6ppm (parts per million). Boric acid can cause different illness like lead to gastro-intestinal illness, kidney damage and loss of appetite. Consumption of just 5 to 20 g can cause death in adult. Symptoms of boric acid poisoning are vomiting diarrhea sweat etc. even inhalation of boric acid can cause nausea vomiting, drowsiness coma and finally death.

The cap or the consumers association of penang has come up with a new report that farmers in Cameron highlands in Malaysia have been using banned pesticides for their crops. They said that they use it because the banned ones were more effective than the permitted ones even though they are more expensive than the approved ones. They bought the pesticides form local agents who in turn bought it from Thailand. About one month before harvesting the4y shift to approved pesticides. Some of the banned pesticides include Super Mac, Lannete, Naporex and Vertimec. It is not detected in foods because they will stop using the banned products just three weeks before harvesting. They also export to Singapore but those are treated with fever pesticides and would be washed very well before sending .

In a curious study research has identified that 1 in 29 people are prone to accident by 50 percent. These people are accident prone than others. Psychiatrist Ellen Visser and colleagues, studied accident victims in 15 countries and came to this conclusion. His findings have been published in Accident Analysis and Prevention. The study can’t identify who are prone but just says that some people are prone more than others.

Some patients in KwaZulu-Natal have complained of thugs stealing HIV anit retroviral drug Stocrin and using them to achieve a high. It is reported to be much better than other recreational drugs. Dagga or Cannabis is smoked together with stocrin. It was first reported in January. Those who take the HIV drug cocktail may experience dizziness and hallucinatory experiences while awake. Consuming alcohol with the drugs can worsen the side effects.

A new cancer treatment without side effects has been developed by Australian scientists. Traditional chemotherapy targets the whole body and healthy cells with powerful drugs and can cause serious side effects like falling hair, nausea and some times the treatment itself can be life threatening.

The new treatment uses nanotechnology to create tiny particles which specifically attack cancer cells, and the healthy cells are not affected. They used a bacterial cell and removed its reproductive powers by stripping a chromosome and made the cell capable of carrying the anti- cancer antibodies. This latches on to cancerous tumors and releases the drug into the tumor. This reduces the tumors. This treatment could be used on tumors in breast, ovaries, colon and lungs. Animal experiments in dogs and mice have been successful in treating without side effect and using a very little drug.

According to the managing director Jennifer MacDiarmid, from biotechnology company EnGeneIC, now the treatment can be customized for individual patients. This drug is expected to go though human trial by the end of the year and may be available to patients with in a few years,

A study conducted by Maura L. Gillison, an assistant professor of oncology and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, has found that oral sex can cause cancer more than vaginal sex. Those with HPV virus are 32 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer than those without the virus. The mouth is more susceptible to HPV virus. There is a higher chance of contracting the virus that has more than 6 sex partners. Recently there has been a rise in oral cancer among younger generation who drinks and smokes less. This prompted the study. Such a report will lead to a widespread use of the HPV vaccination. HPV is usually detected by the sores in the mouth that takes time to heal or will not heal. Around 100,000 adults in US are diagnosed with throat cancer.

Aflatoxin a natural occurring fungus is the most powerful cancer causing agent. Higher level of aflatoxin can lead to liver damage, cirrhosis, edema, alteration in digestion liver cancer. It cannot be destroyed by cooking under normal conditions. High temperatures and high humidity can promote the growth of the fungus. It is colorless, tasteless and odorless. Baby food and infant cereals are some of the foods that are found to have more than the permissible amount of aflatoxins in it. The other common foods that has been found to have aflatoxin rice peanuts and peanut butter black pepper, wine, wheat figs, pistachio nuts, corn products like corn flakes, , cotton seed, milk, brazil nuts, pea cans, walnuts, maize sorghum, peal millet, soybean, sunflower, coriander, turmeric, ginger, almond, Coconut, Brazil nut. Even the milk of animals which have been fed with feed contaminated with aflatoxin had the toxin in it. Pets fed with contaminated food can be also at risk of getting cancer.

To offset the effects of aflatoxin in your body it is advisable to take in more of vegetables like dill weed, celery, parsley, parsnip and carrots.

A cure for a diabetic patient is either by replacing islets or by regenerating islets. In 1996 Michael Helyer, a 41 year old from New Zealand with type 1 diabetes was injected with LCT’s (Living Cell Technologies Limited ) diabetes product containing pig islet cells. It helped reduce the insulin requirement by 34 percent. 10 years later a laparoscopy check showed that there are both living and functioning pig islet cells in his abdomen. The pig cells are producing insulin even now. Next month trials will be started in Russia on transplanting pf cell into diabetics. There is also the fear of a possible spread of pig-borne disease so New Zealand authorities haven’t yet allowed the trial to be held there. LCT has said that if the new trial becomes successful the new pig islets in a capsule form in alginate gel might be available with in two years. All diabetics will be keenly following these developments.

There has been promising development in the field of stem cell therapy for type 1 diabetics. The stem cells of the patients are taken from their blood and are injected and gradually the pancreas will regenerate the insulin producing beta cells and they will start producing insulin naturally. In the trial published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 15 newly diagnosed patients were treated with stem cells other than 2, the rest of them were successful in stopping medication or injections for up to 3 years. For a person who has to take up to 4 to 6 injections a day it will be a great relief. Embryonic stem cells are the most versatile among stem cells but its research has been opposed by many religious leader and some of the prominent politicians in the world. This treatment is expected to be widely available only within 5 to 8 years time.

FDA has notified healthcare professional and patients that Zelnorm (tegaserod) can cause a higher incidence of cardiovascular events. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation of East Hanover, New Jersey, will voluntarily discontinue marketing of Zelnorm (tegaserod) in the United States. Zelnorm (tegaserod) is a prescription drug used for treatment of women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the constipations that comes with IBS but is reported to have serious side effects. Zelnorm does not cure IBS or treat it but reduces pain, discomfort in the abdominal area, reduces bloating and constipation.

Recently there have been reports of pet food being recalled. Menu foods was the first to recall 60 million containers of wet dog and cat food sold under 100 different brand labels. The reason for the recalls was due to the reports of dogs and cats dying of kidney failure. They attributed it to wheat gluten from china which is contaminated with chemical found in plastics and pesticides. The food recalled was mainly moist dog food, pet snacks and also a brand of dry cat food. For more information on which foods has been recalled you can go to http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html#recall

What are the alternatives? Many of pet owners have started to prepare food at home and buy some organic and natural pet foods.

Go to Amazon for best selling books on home cooked pet food

You can make a healthy Easter basket. For Children you can add some fresh fruits, some self baked cookies, organic carrots, nuts, make some dark chocolate, pretzels, raisins, muffins, dried fruits, Jam made with organic fruits, favorite treats ,candles made of soy wax or bees wax, and add in photo, glitter and use markers as well and personalize it. Add some plastic eggs as well as some colored eggs. Stuffed animals, small toys coloring books, color pencils and also be added.

For adults it can be gift cards, cd’s DVD’s an apple ipod or anything which he or she likes very much.

If you are lazy to do these you can buy easter basket here.

Easter bunny is a symbol which originated in German folklore around 1500s. During easter the rabbit is said to leave gifts especially Easter baskets. It is considered to be a pre Christian character where the rabbit was considered to be a fertility symbol. The first edible Easter bunny was made with pastry and sugar. Now Chocolate bunnies are popular which started around 18th century European confectionary traditions which spread everywhere.

You can buy chocolate bunny here

Leeks are known scientifically as the Allium porrum. It is related to the vegetable family like onions and garlic. Leeks are like big scallions with a small bulb shape at the bottom and long cylindrical bundle of green flat leaves. Its flavor is almost like shallots.  When you buy look for dark green leaves firm and straight which shouldn’t be wilted or bruised or yellow in color. It can be stored without washing in the refrigerator and will stay fresh for a week or two. Just before using the leeks clean the soil which can get into the layers of the leaves. The edible portions of the leeks are onion bulbs and the light green leaves and can be used raw in salads. Leeks can be used raw in salads or can be poached, stir fries, steamed and used in sauces.

There are many medicinal purposes of leeks

• It lowers LDL cholesterol and raises hdl cholesterol.

• It fights cancer. You have to take it two or three times a week helps in prostate and colon cancer. Compounds found in leeks protect colon cells from cancer-causing toxins. It also stops the growth and spread of any cancer cells that are likely to develop.

• It stabilizes blood sugar levels. It is a very good source of manganese and a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, and iron. So it helps in stabilizing blood sugar. They also slow the absorption of sugars from the intestinal tract.  It also helps in the metabolism of sugar in the in the body.

There aren’t much harmful effects in the intake of leeks other than the presence of Oxalates. Those with kidney and gall bladder problems are advised to avoid eating leeks. Oxalates can also interfere in the absorption of calcium from the body. Oxalates can become concentrated in the body fluids and can harm loins and thyroid as well if it is taken too much.

Hydroquinone (HQ) is a poison, used in photo processing and is in many beauty products which claim to whiten and lighten the color of the skin. It is mainly recommended to lighten freckles, age spots cholasma and melasma.  Due to evidence of carcinogenicity, kidney and liver damage, thyroid disorder, Exogenous Ochronosis( black speckling in the dermis) and leukemia the FDA has proposed a ban on over the counter sales of products containing HQ . In one case Exogenous Ochronosis was reported after using for 3 months with a 2% solution. It is absorbed into the blood stream and excreted via kidney and stored in the body and bones when it is applied on the skin. There are many side effects to (HQ)also like burning, itching, redness, irritation and tingling.

Malaysia has withdrawn Six seasoning and soy products from Thailand found to have high levels of the cancer-causing agent 3-MCPD. 3-MCPD is found in soy sauces and related products which have been produced using the savoury ingredient acid hydrolysed vegetable protein (acid-HVP).hydrolysed vegetable protein, is a flavouring used in various food products such as oyster and fish sauce, soup stock and seasoning.Products which contain levels of 3-MCPD above 0.05 mg/kg should be avoided.3 -MCPD (3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol) is the most common of a group of chemical contaminants known as chloropropanols.

Foods which had dangerous level of 3-MCPD included breads, savoury crackers, toasted biscuits, cheeses, doughnuts,malts,modified starches, burgers and salamis. .

According to new research by Finnish researchers, show that smoking harms the health of blood vessels and lead to erectile dysfunction. Smokers have a 50% greater risk than non smokers. Smoking prevents penile blood flow and interferes with nitric oxide activity essential for erection or lead to hardening of arteries which is known to be involved in erectile dysfunction. This is not the first time that smoking and erectile dysfunction has shown a connection.