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'There is no scientific basis for the need
for extra oxygen among people who are not short of breath.' |
Practical
health tips (2)
L ast week, we recom-mended holding our
breath whenever we use hair sprays or household chemical cleaning sprays, etc.
to protect our body from the adverse effects of these chemicals. Some people,
while not even practicing the simple measure we suggested above, go to the other
extreme of a reaction, which is likewise harmful to our body. I am referring to
a new "fad" very popular in Las Vegas and other big cities: "Oxygen Therapy."
This useless, money-wasting, and even dangerous, "treatment," claims to
invigorate the body by inhaling this "extra and pure oxygen," for only a few
dollars for so many minutes. The cost of a session will be enough to buy at
least a sack of rice. You will see the ignorant, unsuspecting victims, sitting
on bar stools, with nasal cannula, breathing in oxygen (filtered through
bubbling colored water for visual effect), much like ICU patients, sans the
color. There is no scientific basis for the need for extra oxygen among people
who are not short of breath. Too much oxygen is even bad for our lungs. The
amount of natural ambient oxygen we have in the atmosphere is "perfect" for us,
except in polluted areas. But even in those areas, using a mask is better than
inhaling oxygen. The ambient oxygen level is enough, even in such places, but
what we want is not to inhale the pollution. And inhaling more oxygen does not
accomplish that. So, beware of this fraud.
***
Another scam is the sale of "air purifier" necklace,
available in many shops, like Sharper Image, Brookstone, etc. If you were in an
enclosed room, with an air-conditioner, which is an air purifier to a great
extent, the use of modern multi-layer air purifier system is effective and
healthy. But using an "air purifier" necklace, even if held close to the nose,
is useless. One does not have to be a rocket scientist or a physician to
understand that unless you have an air-purifier that can clean the ambient air
around you (effectively filtering the air of the entire space you are in, as in
a room), that purifier is worthless. As a matter of fact those room air
purifiers have a specified effectively or coverage limit as to what size room it
can clean. So, if you want to wear one around your neck, make sure to get one
that will clean the air of the entire city you are in. And that will surely be a
pain in the neck, indeed.
***
Microwaves are convenient in this day and age of our hurried
life. But make sure you do not stand within 5 feet from it. For one thing, the
lens in your eyes might get "cooked," and lead to premature opacification,
cataract. Other effects of this "microwave radiation" are still being debated.
It is prudent to be careful, anyway. In a similar vein, avoid laser pointer "red
beam" from hitting the eyes of people and animals.
***
When taking public stairs or using an escalator, it is best
not to touch the hand rails, whenever safely possible. Thousands of hands, many
of them contaminated from unhygienic personal habits or from handling paper
money and coins which have passed through possibly millions of hands, are loaded
with bacteria. These germs are therefore on handrails on public places, office
buildings, shopping malls, etc. A laboratory culture on these handrails has
shown them to be teeming with germs, which could cause infections. A good
personal habit to wash hands after using the bathroom, after eating, after doing
any chores, or after touching any objects in public areas. Using plain soft and
water, or even water alone, is enough to reduce the infection rate dramatically.
***
Some people wipe their hands with alcohol, others use
anti-bacterial soaps. Alcohol dries the skin fast, so it is a good habit to use
skin moisturizer after washing our hands or face or body. Skin lotion helps keep
our skin moist and healthy, just like the protective amniotic fluid when we were
in our mother's womb. The use of antibacterial liquid soap, if done often, might
cause bacterial tolerance or resistance, just like ingesting antibiotics pills
often, especially without the physician's advice. In these situations, if the
abuse is continued, there will come a time when the antibiotic, when needed to
treat a bacterial infection, will not longer be effective. A good example of
this is the so-called "MRSA" (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)
flesh-eating bacteria, which bug used to be successfully killed by first
generation (cheaper and less toxic) antibiotics. Frequent hand washing with
clean water, with or without soap, is good for our health.
***
Billions of dollars are being spent for weight reduction for better health,
but one simple (no-brainer) idea in weight management is to eat less (lower
calorie-intake) and more physical exercise (greater calorie output). Since our
body weight is to a great measure a result of the balance between calorie intake
and calorie burned, the more we burn calories by exercising, and the less
calories we take in, the lower our weight will be. Drinking a tall glass of
water before each, for instance, to "fool our satiety center in the brain to
make it "think and feel" that the stomach is fuller, will make us eat less. If
one is underweight and would like to gain weight, the opposite can be done: eat
more while maintaining the same daily exercise level. This will increase the
calorie balance. This strategy is the healthier and cheaper way of weight
control and maintenance, compared to buying expensive diet suppressant pills and
beverages, which have harmful side-effects, and usually ineffective in the long
term.
Email address: scalpelpen@gmail.com
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