Health Alert - Guides for your Health

Urinalysis performs to analyze the urine physical color and appearance, microscopic appearance, and chemical appearance.  Your physician may require having urinalysis to diagnose certain disease such as urinary tract infection or kidney infection, diabetes mellitus, and high blood pressure and evaluate the causes of kidney failure.

Urine sample is collected from patient in order to perform urinalysis. It is recommended to get urine sample early morning since it is frequently the most concentrated urine produced in the day. To collect clean catch urine sample, male should wipe the head of the penis clean and female need to wipe between the vagina lips with soapy water and rinse well. Physician may give special clean catch kit that has a cleansing solution and sterile wipes. It is best to collect urine after the initial part of urine is disposed in the toilet and place it in the container provided. This is called the clean catch or the midstream urine collection.  The urine sample must be taken to the laboratory for analysis within one hour of collection but if it could take more than one hour, the sample should be refrigerated. The result of urinalysis is takes only for about 20 to 30 minutes.

May 15th, 2009 | Tags: urinalysis, urinalysis test, urinay tract infection | Category: Healthy Lifestyle | Comments (5)

One of the favorite menus here in the Philippines is mussels or tahong. Aside from being very nutritious and delicious, it is less expensive. It provides vitamin B and C, amino acids, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and zinc.

My brother in law gives us tahong for free during our visit, that’s why my husband prepared this delicious menu.

Ingredients:

1 kilo tahong
1 medium size ginger, cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
3 -4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
2 tbsp. cooking oil
salt to taste

Preparations:

1. In large pan, sauté garlic, onion and ginger for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add water. Bring to boil then add tahong. Stir occasionally. Simmer until the tahong shells have opened.
3. Taste the soup base and add salt if necessary.
4. Remove from heat and serve. Best serve with steam rice. Prepared calamansi and soy sauce or a mixture of vinegar and patis for condiment.

May 11th, 2009 | Tags: mussels, tahong | Category: Daily Menu and Recipe | Leave a comment

I cannot decide what to cook this day. I found tomato sauce in my kitchen and a chicken in our refrigerator plus carrot so I end up preparing a simple chicken tomato sauce. This recipe is also called chicken apritada, just add red and green bell pepper. Tomato sauce is contain lycopene which act as antioxidant to help reduce certain cancer.

Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken, cut into pieces
2 pieces carrots, cut into serving pieces
2 pieces potatoes, cut into serving pieces
1 medium size onion, sliced
115 g tomato sauce
1 head garlic, minced
3 tablespoon cooking oil
4 to 5 cups of water
Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. In saucepan, sauté onion and garlic.
2. Add chicken until brown.
3. Put in water and tomato sauce. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.
4. Add carrots and potatoes. Simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Remove from heat and serve.

* You can add red and green bell pepper to this recipe.

May 7th, 2009 | Tags: chicken afritada, chicken tomato sauce | Category: Daily Menu and Recipe | Leave a comment

One of the very common problems among kids is constipation.  Your child is constipated when he or she has trouble or difficulty having bowel movement or when the stools or poop are hard, dry and large. Also, he or she is constipated when your child has fewer than three bowel movements in a week.
The number of causes of constipation includes lack of fluid intake, dietary fiber and exercise. Usually, kid who eat a rich in fats foods or processed sugars tend to be constipated.  It is advisable to prevent eating burgers, fries, candy, cookies and sugary softdrinks.  Some babies become constipated when there is a transition from breast milk to baby formula or from baby food to solid food. Other cause of constipation is postponement of bowel movements. Some kids are busy with his or her activities that ignore their internal urges to go to the bathroom because they did not want to stop their activities. Stress is also cause of constipation.  It is when they are anxious about something such as project activity or school problems. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is also another cause of constipation

Some steps preventing your kid from constipation:

• Make sure to give them more fluids. It makes the stools move more easily through the intestines.

• Prepare more fiber. Give them food that is high fiber such as more fruits, vegetables, and whole grain bread.

• Regular meal schedule. It helps your kids develop routine bowel habits. It is essential to schedule their breakfast a little earlier to have a chance for a relaxed visit to the bathroom before school.

• Encourage them to get enough exercise. Physical activity pushes the bowels into action

• Habit of going to the bathroom. Train them or teach them to go to the bathroom if it is necessary. Give them enough time to sit on the toilet each day preferably after meal.

It is always best to talk to your physician about your kid symptoms for medical advices.  Before giving them an over the counter medication, consult to your physician.

May 6th, 2009 | Tags: constipation, IBS, kid constipation | Category: Parenting | Leave a comment

Here in the Philippines, jackfruit is called langka in tagalog.  I decided to write the health benefits of jackfruits since we have a plenty of trees of jackfruit in our backyard. My mother always cook ripe jackfruit in syrup by simmer it in water and sugar over the medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Eating langka or jackfruit provides plenty benefits to our body.  Let’s find out some health benefits of jackfruit as well as its nutritional value to our body.

• It is a good source of vitamin C

• It has phytonutrients that helps to prevent cancer cells and fight stomach ulcer.

• It is rich in potassium which helps to lower blood pressure.

• The extract of jackfruit root is help to control asthma and treat skin problems. It also helps to cure fever and diarrhea.

• It is low caloric contain fruit.

• It provides vitamins, carbohydrates and proteins.

It is good to eat always fresh fruits since our body needs natural vitamins.  Eat fruits always and live a healthy lifestyle.

May 4th, 2009 | Tags: blood pressure, diarrhea, fever, jackfruit health benefits | Category: Food and Nutrition | Leave a comment

It was last year when former President Corazon Aquino detected that she had colon cancer.  She will undergo operation as part of her treatment for colon cancer this coming Monday. The family asks for prayers for the successful operation.

By the way, colon cancer is uncontrolled growth of the cells that line inside of the colon or rectum.  It is also called colorectal cancer.  Symptoms includes rectal bleeding, bowel habits change, abdomen or rectum pain, weight loss, paleness, fatigue, yellowish color of the skin or whites of the eyes.

It is important to recognize some factors or causes that contribute to the development of colon cancer.  Let’s find out.

• Age – Most colon cancer is diagnosed at the age of over 50.
• Genetic link – It is said that those who have a relatives or family member has the risk to develop the colon cancer.  It is due to inherited gene.
• Medical history – Those who have history of benign growths like polyps that have been surgically removed also have a risk to have colorectal cancer.
• Diet – High in fat and cholesterol may causes of colon cancer. Also a low fiber diets is also associated with the increased risk.
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – The condition of ulcerative colitis and Chron’s disease also related with colon cancer. The longer a person has had IBD has a greater chance of developing colorectal cancer.
• Lack of exercise - Some research shown that those who have inactive lifestyle contribute to colon cancer development.

Treatment includes the surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.  Surgery is the operation that involves the removal of cancerous section of the colon. Chemotherapy is a treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells while radiation therapy is involves the use of radiation to destroy growing cancel cells.

If you experience any of the symptoms of colorectal cancer, it is advice to have appointment with your physician for further evaluation.  The physician or doctor performs clinical evaluation such as complete medical, family and drug history and physical examination. Sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy test may be performed for the detection of colorectal cancer.

May 3rd, 2009 | Tags: colon cancer, colonrectal cancer | Category: Cancer | Leave a comment

Last night, I heard the news about the spreading of a new and different strain of swine flu virus. A strain of swine flu is suspected to be the killer of dozen of people in Mexico.  Swine flu is caused by type A influenza viruses among pigs.  It regularly happened in pigs but human infection can also occur. Similar to seasonal flu, it is air borne disease so it is very contagious.

Here in the Philippines, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) set precautionary measure for the passenger. A quarantine procedure is done with individual who has suspected to have swine flu.

According to TV Patrol, a symptom of swine flu is like a symptom of simple seasonal flu such as fever, lack of appetite and coughing. Also, other symptom includes sore throat, runny nose, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea. Swine flu virus is directly passed on from pigs to people.  However, it can be also transmitted from human to human. Just like a seasonal flu, the transmission is through coughing or sneezing of people infected with swine flu as well as by toughing something with swine flu virus. So, it recommended washing hand very often, cover nose when cough or sneeze and avoid contact with sick people to prevent swine flu. Swine flu virus is not spread by food so it is safe eating pork.

April 25th, 2009 | Tags: swine virus | Category: Healthy Lifestyle | Leave a comment

I have a friend who was married five years ago but up to now they have no children. My friend found out that she has polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a health problem which affects woman’s menstrual cycle as well as the ability to have children, heart, hormones and blood vessels. A woman with PCOS has high levels of androgens (male hormones), many small cysts (fluids filled sacs) in the ovaries and missed or irregular periods.

The cause of polycystic ovary syndrome still unknown but associated with genetic and insulin. Women with PCOS will be likely to have a mother or sister with PCOS. For some women with PCOS, their body has too much insulin in their body. Excess insulin tend to increase production of androgen.

Common symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome includes; infrequent or irregular menstrual period or no menstrual period at all, excessive growth of body and facial hair, infertility (unable to produce child), ovarian cysts, overweight or obesity, acne or oily skin and dandruff, and type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance. Some symptoms of PCOS may be similar to other medical condition. It is best to consult your physician for a diagnosis.  Through pelvic examination, blood test, ultrasound, glucose screening test for blood sugar levels and blood levels for cholesterol and triglycerides, PCOS can be detected.

Since there is no cure for PCOS, it is necessary to prevent problem.  Some treatments for PCOS are oral contraceptives (birth control pills), diabetes medication, weight reduction and medication to treat hair growth or acne.  For those who want to be pregnant, a fertility medication or ovulation induction medication is advised to stimulate the ovary to make one or more follicles and release the egg for fertilization.  Surgery is used with those that do not respond with fertility medications.

Woman with PCOS often feel embarrassed and depressed and has low self-esteem. Of course, having PCOS is difficult so it is important to give enough love for them so that they feel secured in order to boost self-esteem.

April 23rd, 2009 | Tags: PCOS, polycystic ovary | Category: Womens Health | Leave a comment

Pork dinuguan is also one of the familiar menus here in the Philippines. It is often serve with puto or steam rice. It a meat simmered with spicy gravy of pig blood with chili and vinegar.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo pork belly, cut into small cubes
1/8 pork liver, diced
2 cups of pig’s blood (frozen)
1 head garlic, minced and crushed
1 medium size onion, minched
2 pieces laurel leaves
1/2 cup vinegar
2 cups stocks
1 tbs. cooking oil
3 long green peppers
2 teaspoon sugar
Pepper (optional)
Salt to taste

Preparations:

1. Simmer pork for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. Set aside and keep the pork stock.
2. Sauté garlic and onion on a casserole.
3. Put in pork liver, pork, laurel leaves, salt and pepper. Mix and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add in vinegar. Bring to boil. Don’t stir. Simmering without cover for about 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Add in pork stock and simmer for about 5 minutes.
6. Put in pig’s blood, sugar and peppers. Add salt if necessary.
7. Simmer until consistency thicken and stir occasionally to prevent from curdling.
8. Remove from heat and serve.

April 21st, 2009 | Tags: pork dinuguan | Category: Daily Menu and Recipe | Leave a comment