HealthStatus - How is your health? » Volume 89

Understanding Osteoarthritis

HealthStatus — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:10:34 +0000

Osteoarthritis, otherwise known as "degenerative joint disease", is one of the most common forms of arthritis with more than 20 million American sufferers to date.

While most people that suffer from the most severe forms of Osteoarthritis are age 60 or higher, it is a "degenerative" disease, therefore its effects to our bodies happen over a span of a lifetime. People as young as 25 can experience painful osteoarthritis.

The word "Osteoarthritis" is derived from two words standing for joint and inflammation. So it’s easy to see how this disease operates within the human body.

At each point where our bodies have the ability to bend, the joints, our bones come together divided by small areas that are made up of cartilage. The cartilage acts as a connection point between our bones providing us with a wider range of motion that would not be possible without it. We could not walk, bend, sit, or twist. We would be pretty much motionless without the ever important cartilage.

What Are Head Lice?

HealthStatus — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:04:04 +0000

Head Lice are human parasites and are transmitted by human contact with an infected person. They are not transmitted via animals, including the family pet. The reason why is because head lice, as mentioned earlier, are a human parasite and live off of the consumption of human blood.

They are generally small in size (adults can grow as large as a sesame seed) and dark in color (usually brown) making them often times hard to detect. Adult lice females lay eggs, referred to as NITs as close as possible to the “host’s” hair shaft. The female bugs can lay up to 150 NITs in their life-cycle.

The medical term for a case of head lice is Pediculosis, or sometimes referred to as Pediculosis Capitis (infestation of the scalp with lice). They are considered to be contagious as they can be spread from one person to another, but are not considered to be a harmful disease.

Based on recent medical information, head lice do not normally carry or spread harmful diseases, and do not carry any harmful diseases. More often than not, they are best described as a nuisance than anything else.

Losing Oodles Of Pounds With Dance

HealthStatus — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:54:58 +0000

Dance is not just an art but a great form of exercise, too. In other words, it is an amusing way of exercising to achieve a lean and fit body. One of the main advantages of losing weight through dancing is that it does not feel like a boring chore. The music and rhythm of dance makes it quite exciting and fun-filled. You enjoy your dancing sessions more than gym sessions. This is because besides conditioning your body, it helps to condition your mind.

To enjoy these benefits through dance, it is essential to choose an appropriate dance form, the one that you enjoy and that will also help you lose weight. Though all dance forms involve burning of calories, some forms like belly dance, salsa, and jazz involve moves that help in burning calories faster. On an average, a person loses 350 calories in one-hour dance session. Moreover, learning and dancing in a group keeps a person motivated. Thus, people dancing their way to fitter bodies seldom miss their dance classes.

Dance as an exercise is well acknowledged by the fitness trainers, and hence, they too have started including dance moves in their exercise sessions. Dance has several health benefits as given here

Weight Loss

Dance is an aerobic exercise, and hence, a great way to burn calories. Nowadays, there are special dance classes meant for people interested in losing weight. These dance forms have special moves that help people to lose weight faster. Dance is as effective as other exercises like walking, jogging, and swimming. It involves exercising every part of the body, and thus, helps a person to lose weight uniformly.