Avoid Giving Your Baby Water to Drink

Babies younger than six months old should never be given water to drink, physicians at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore remind parents. Consuming too much water can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication.

"Even when they're very tiny, they have an intact thirst reflex or a drive to drink," Dr. Jennifer Anders, a pediatric emergency physician at the center, told Reuters Health. "When they have that thirst and they want to drink, the fluid they need to drink more of is their breast milk or formula."

Because babies' kidneys aren't yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water, Anders said. Losing sodium can affect brain activity, so early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes. Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face, and seizures.

Water as a beverage should be completely off limits to babies six months old and younger, Anders and her colleagues say. Parents should also avoid using over-diluted formula, or pediatric drinks containing electrolytes.

Anders said it may be appropriate in some cases to give older infants a small amount of water; for example to help with constipation or in very hot weather, but parents should always check with their pediatrician before doing so, and should only give the baby an ounce or two of water at a time.

High Cholesterol May Cause Sexual Disfunction

The key to a good sex life may, indeed, lie in the heart — or at least the blood vessels it supplies. For most healthy people, the signs of sexual arousal — penile erections or vaginal lubrication — happen automatically.

But both of these responses require a rich blood flow to the genitals. Cholesterol can build up in these blood vessels, as well as others in the body, preventing these arteries from opening appropriately to increase blood flow and causing sexual dysfunction.

In men, that constricted blood flow may result in an inability to develop erections. In fact, studies are finding that erectile dysfunction is often a marker of high cholesterol and arterial hardening, which is usually a “silent” condition. A recent British study found that 18 of 20 men who had erectile dysfunction but no symptoms of heart problems actually had high levels of LDL.

In women, the high cholesterol/sexual dysfunction link is less clear, but experts say that both men and women should discuss problems of sexual functioning with their physicians and be sure that cholesterol screening is included in physical examinations.

Overweight Threats Fertility

Men's as well as women's body size matters when it comes to fertility.

New research suggests that obesity can reduce the quality of men's sperm as well as lower a woman's chances of successfully conceiving a child using in vitro fertilization.

Danish researchers found men who are overweight or obese have significantly lower sperm counts than men of normal weight. In addition, men who were underweight also had lower sperm counts compared with normal-weight men.

The study showed that overweight men who had a body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height used to measure obesity) over 25 had a nearly 22% lower sperm concentration and 24% lower total sperm count compared with healthy weight men.

A BMI over 25 is considered overweight and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.

Underweight men who had a BMI under 20 also suffered from similar reductions in sperm counts.

"Body mass within the ideal "normal" range was associated with higher sperm concentration, higher total sperm count, and a lower percentage of abnormal sperm," write researcher Tina Kold Jensen, MD, PhD, of the University of Southern Denmark, and colleagues.

Another study by American researchers showed that obese women are also more likely to suffer fertility problems, even when their embryos are fertilized in the lab and then implanted in their wombs.

Porn Can Cause Brain Damage ?

Addiction to pornography among children can cause brain damage leading to depression and behavioral problems that can be just as serious as those caused by illegal drugs.

Donald Hilton Jr., a neurosurgeon from the Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, mentioned that pornography addiction could cause changes in the brain’s neurotransmitters and may interrupt oxygen metabolism in the brain.

Hilton said such changes would cause the brain to focus too much on pleasure receptors, thus failing to control behavior.

“Just like other addictions, pornography addiction will interrupt dopamine, which functions as a neurotransmitter, and it will cause a part of the brain to shrink,” Hilton said. The shrinkage occurs in the Ventral Tegmental Area, or VTA, at the front of the brain.

Hilton said children were susceptible because the part of the brain that controls memory is not yet fully developed.

He said with time the porn-damaged brain can heal itself but will never return completely to normal.

‘I’ve found

that porn addiction is

the hardest

to escape’

Donald Hilton Jr., neurosurgeon

Fish for a Smarter Baby

A recent study reported by American Epidemiology Journal found that there is a positive correlation between frequency of eating fish during pregnancy and intelligence level of the child when the child reached 3 years old.

Why? Because fish contains omega-3 that is one of the most important component in brain development.

Many critical stages of brain development occurs before the baby is born. Almost all of a baby’s neuron develop during certain period of pregnancy.

The study mentioned that a mother who regularly consumes fish during her pregnancy was proven to have a more intelligent child with better motoric development compared to child from a mother who is rarely eat fish in her pregnancy.

A mother who consumes at least 2 portion of fish every week during pregnancy is proven to have baby with higher cognitive skill, better capability to learn new words, and also better visual intelligence.

Recognize TIA, The Warning Sign of Stroke

TIAs are important in predicting if a stroke will occur rather than when one will happen. They can occur days, weeks or even months before a major stroke. In about half the cases, the stroke occurs within one year of the TIA.

TIAs occur when a blood clot temporarily clogs an artery, and part of the brain doesn't get the blood it needs. The symptoms occur rapidly and last a relatively short time. Most TIAs last less than five minutes. The average is about a minute. Unlike stroke, when a TIA is over, there's no injury to the brain.

It's very important to recognize the warning signs of a TIA or stroke. The usual TIA symptoms are the same as those of stroke, only temporary:

- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body

- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding

- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes

- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

The short duration of these symptoms and lack of permanent brain injury is the main difference between TIA and stroke.

As written by American Heart Association

Some News About Some Warm-Weather Staples

Some news about some warm-weather staples

Lemonade It may prevent kidney stones. In a long-term study, Duke University doctors found that people who drank a daily mix of lemon juice and water had increased levels of urinary citrate (low levels are linked to stones). Avoid sugary, calorie-laden mixes and stick to ’ades made with real lemon juice.

Air conditioning It may make us fat. Before AC, we had to expend energy (and burn calories) to regulate body temperature; now it’s done for us. So turn off the air once in a while, open the windows and let your body do its job.

Watermelon Don’t store uncut melon in the fridge: It may be healthier at room temperature. Why? Cancer-fighting carotenoids still develop after a melon is picked, but cold temps seem to slow the process.

As written by : Bridget Nelson