It’s not a serious problem, but it sounds awful. When you get laryngitis, which can be caused by a cold, the flu, or simply using your voice too much, you can start sounding like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. Some people lose their voices entirely for a few days or even longer.
Sip warm tea with lemon. This traditional remedy is often used by professional singers whose voices are about to give out. Tea contains tannic acids, which can help soothe inflamed tissues in the throat. Adding lemon to the tea will help cut through mucus, which will also help bring your voice back to normal.
Pour down the water. Drinking eight to twelve glasses of water a day will help lubricate the larynx, which is essential for stopping laryngitis. It’s best to drink water that’s room temperature. Water that’s too hot or too cold can irritate the larynx even more.
When laryngitis is stealing your voice, fight back with these easy tips.
Settle in for a hot shower. Breathing hot, steamy air will help relax your throat and airways so you can breathe – and talk – more easily. Using a humidifier at night can also be very helpful.
Forget the salt water. This is one traditional remedy to skip when you have laryngitis. Gargling with salt water can dry out the throat even more. In addition, the vibrations of gargling can cause the vocal cords to slap together, which can increase the irritation.
Don’t take aspirin. Even though aspirin can help relieve the discomfort of a sore throat and laryngitis, it also slows the time it takes your body to form blood clots. Since laryngitis may be caused by minor injuries to the vocal cords, taking aspirin can actually slow the healing time.
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WHEN TO SEE THE DOCTOR
Laryngitis rarely causes anything worse than a little hoarseness and a
tickly throat. If the pain is severe, however, or if you’re wheezing or
coughing up blood, you need to see your doctor immediately. In some
cases the upper airways will get so swollen that it’s hard for air to get
through. Without treatment, the airways could close entirely. So it is
important to get medical help right away.
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Handle your voice with care. If you’ve been spending weekends cheering your daughter’s volley ball team, your vocal cords may pay the price. When you have laryngitis, it’s essential to speak quietly for awhile – or, whenever possible, not at all. And forget about whispering: It’s even harder on your vocal cords than talking in a normal voice.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
LACTOSE INTOLERANCE
Judging from the impressive lineup of celebrities with milk mustaches in newspaper and magazine advertisements, you’d think that everyone is drinking milk. But the truth is, many adults can’t stomach milk or other dairy foods.
Doctors have estimated that up to 70 percent of the world’s adult population may have difficulty digesting lactose, a sugar found in milk, cheese, and other dairy foods. The reason for this is that adults often don’t produce enough lactase, which is the enzyme needed to digest the lactose in dairy foods. When your body can’t digest lactose, you may have gas, bloating, or diarrhea. Doctors call this problem lactose intolerance.
Some people were born with lactose intolerance. More often, the problem gradually gets worse with age, which is why children can usually drink milk while many adults can’t. Both men and women can develop lactose intolerance, but it’s a more urgent problem for women. Why? Because it makes it harder for them to get the calcium they need to prevent osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease that mainly strikes women.
If you have lactose intolerance, even small amounts of dairy foods may make you quite ill. Most people, however, can enjoy some dairy foods without having problems. In addition, there are a number of ways to get the benefits of dairy without the problems. Here’s how.
Start small. Evidence suggests that most people with lactose intolerance are able to enjoy small amounts of dairy foods. Try having a small glass of milk and seeing if it agrees with you. Then gradually increase the amount until you discover your upper limit. In most cases, people with lactose intolerance will tolerate dairy foods better when they have them with meals.
Have a little yogurt. To get the benefits of dairy without the problems, may people turn to yogurt. Yogurt containing live cultures of bacteria is easier for the body to digest than milk or other dairy foods. In fact, eating yogurt will often make it easier for you to digest other dairy foods, as well. Frozen yogurt doesn’t work, however, because freezing deactivates the live cultures.
Take supplemental protection. To replace the lactase your body isn’t producing naturally, you can buy lactase supplements in pharmacies and some grocery stores. These supplements may be taken in pill or capsule form, or simply as drops that you put in a glass of milk. Or you can buy reduced-lactose milk, which has far less lactose that regular milk.
Explore milk substitutes. If you can’t drink cow’s milk, you can enjoy other forms of milk, such as soy milk. Many people with lactose intolerance find buttermilk easier to digest than regular milk.
Or try it with chocolate. Evidence suggests that adding a little cocoa to milk makes it easier for the body to digest. To get the benefits of calcium with a little chocolate flavor, it’s certainly worth a try.
Buy hard cheeses. Different cheeses contain different amounts of lactose. The hard cheeses, like Swiss or extra-sharp cheddar, are among the easiest for people who have lactose intolerance to digest.
Concentrate on calcium. The worst part about having lactose intolerance is that it’s often hard to get all the calcium you need without drinking milk or eating cheese. To make up for this missing mineral, it’s a good idea to eat calcium-rich foods like broccoli, kidney beans, tofu, and dark green, leafy vegetables such as cassia, amaranth, turnip greens, leaves of colocassia and fenugreek. In addition, orange juice is often fortified with calcium.
**********************************************************
WHEN TO SEE THE DOCTOR
Many people with lactose intolerance are able to diagnose the
problem themselves by giving up dairy foods for a while, then having
a glass of milk and seeing what happens. If you suspect you have
lactose intolerance, but you aren’t sure, call your doctor. He can
perform a test that measures how effectively your body breaks down
lactose.
**********************************************************
Doctors have estimated that up to 70 percent of the world’s adult population may have difficulty digesting lactose, a sugar found in milk, cheese, and other dairy foods. The reason for this is that adults often don’t produce enough lactase, which is the enzyme needed to digest the lactose in dairy foods. When your body can’t digest lactose, you may have gas, bloating, or diarrhea. Doctors call this problem lactose intolerance.
Some people were born with lactose intolerance. More often, the problem gradually gets worse with age, which is why children can usually drink milk while many adults can’t. Both men and women can develop lactose intolerance, but it’s a more urgent problem for women. Why? Because it makes it harder for them to get the calcium they need to prevent osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease that mainly strikes women.
If you have lactose intolerance, even small amounts of dairy foods may make you quite ill. Most people, however, can enjoy some dairy foods without having problems. In addition, there are a number of ways to get the benefits of dairy without the problems. Here’s how.
Start small. Evidence suggests that most people with lactose intolerance are able to enjoy small amounts of dairy foods. Try having a small glass of milk and seeing if it agrees with you. Then gradually increase the amount until you discover your upper limit. In most cases, people with lactose intolerance will tolerate dairy foods better when they have them with meals.
Have a little yogurt. To get the benefits of dairy without the problems, may people turn to yogurt. Yogurt containing live cultures of bacteria is easier for the body to digest than milk or other dairy foods. In fact, eating yogurt will often make it easier for you to digest other dairy foods, as well. Frozen yogurt doesn’t work, however, because freezing deactivates the live cultures.
Take supplemental protection. To replace the lactase your body isn’t producing naturally, you can buy lactase supplements in pharmacies and some grocery stores. These supplements may be taken in pill or capsule form, or simply as drops that you put in a glass of milk. Or you can buy reduced-lactose milk, which has far less lactose that regular milk.
Explore milk substitutes. If you can’t drink cow’s milk, you can enjoy other forms of milk, such as soy milk. Many people with lactose intolerance find buttermilk easier to digest than regular milk.
Or try it with chocolate. Evidence suggests that adding a little cocoa to milk makes it easier for the body to digest. To get the benefits of calcium with a little chocolate flavor, it’s certainly worth a try.
Buy hard cheeses. Different cheeses contain different amounts of lactose. The hard cheeses, like Swiss or extra-sharp cheddar, are among the easiest for people who have lactose intolerance to digest.
Concentrate on calcium. The worst part about having lactose intolerance is that it’s often hard to get all the calcium you need without drinking milk or eating cheese. To make up for this missing mineral, it’s a good idea to eat calcium-rich foods like broccoli, kidney beans, tofu, and dark green, leafy vegetables such as cassia, amaranth, turnip greens, leaves of colocassia and fenugreek. In addition, orange juice is often fortified with calcium.
**********************************************************
WHEN TO SEE THE DOCTOR
Many people with lactose intolerance are able to diagnose the
problem themselves by giving up dairy foods for a while, then having
a glass of milk and seeing what happens. If you suspect you have
lactose intolerance, but you aren’t sure, call your doctor. He can
perform a test that measures how effectively your body breaks down
lactose.
**********************************************************
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