FOOD FOR THE BRAIN SERIES - PART 3a

Brain Booster Serie

Water, proteins, carbohydrates, fats vitamins and minerals are the brain food for peak thinking performance. Each of them has their own role in feeding the brain, each can be associated with a particular food source in which it is most easily found.

The question is how to identify good brain foods and improve our diet with these essential brain boosting ideas?

What do we mean by good quality food?

Nutritionist encourage us to go for the "nutrient dense" rather than "empty calories".

Empty calories food are particularly highly processed foods like pastries, biscuits, sweets and chocolates, sugary breakfast cereals, preserved meats ad high-fat salty snacks. Most of the time these food consumption will make us meet - or even EXCEED!!! - our daily calorie requirements and they DO NOT contain the necessary vitamins and minerals needed to encourage mental and physical health.

On the other hand, good quality whole foods are the freshest fruits and vegetables, crisp salads, fresh fish and naturally reared poultry and meat, whole grains, nuts, seeds and pulses.

Most of us mistakenly understand that such food only contain carbohydrates, protein and fat. To lose weight most of us leave out carbohydrate, where in our diet we leave out rice and we only eat fruits and vegetables which we think only contain vitamins and minerals. This is totally wrong, a misconception that have been practised by most of the women who want to slim down.

The truth is, all foods contain some protein, fat and carbohydrates, plus an assortment of vitamins and minerals. For an example, although chicken, fish and beef are predominantly protein foods, they still contain small amounts of carbohydrates, and although brown rice supplies a lot of carbohydrates, it still contain some protein, vitamins and minerals. Vegetables and fruits supply lots of vitamins and minerals in a primarily carbohydrates base

FOOD FOR THE BRAIN SERIES - PART 3

TIPS

Some tips on maintaining an even supply of glucose flowing to the brain

* Always eat breakfast - porridge oats or wholemeal toast with a poached egg is better tha a sugary cereal

* Eat small frequent meals, which contain protein plus slow-releasing carbohydrates; protein counteracts the effects of carbohydrates

* Avoid sugar and sweet- stevia rebaudiana can be used as a substitute to sugar extracted from sugarcane

* Avoid fast releasing carbohydrates such as processed breakfast cereals, cake made with white flour and white rice (go for wholegrain)

* Avoid caffeine in coffee, tea and cola drinks (SAY "NO" TO TEH TARIK)

* Avoid alcohol

* Avoid, or at least reduce cigarettes (SAY "NO" TO CIGARETTES)

* Reduce stress (unnecessary stress should also be avoided)

* Eat complex carbohydrates found in wholegrain bread, brown rice and vegetables

* Exercise regularly (find TIME for it)

They are super duper yummy..but..please say NO.. you can have them once a while..have a taste of it not the whole bunch of them at one time.

Endometrioma

What is ENDOMETRIOMA?

According to MedicineNet.com part of the condition known as endometriosis. Endometrioma is a type of cyst formed when endometrial tissue (the mucous membrane that makes up the inner layer of the uterine wall) grows in the ovaries. It affects women during the reproductive years and may cause chronic pelvic pain associated with menstruation.

According to Wikipedia An endometrioma, endometrioid cyst, endometrial cyst, or chocolate cyst is caused by endometriosis, and formed when a tiny patch of endometrial tissue (the mucous membrane that makes up the inner layer of the uterine wall) bleeds, sloughs off, becomes transplanted, and grows and enlarges inside the ovaries.

Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial glands and tissue outside the uterus.

Women with endometriosis may have problems with fertility.

Endometrioid cysts, often filled with dark, reddish-brown blood, may range in size from 0.75-8 inches.

Endometrioma is also referred to as an endometrioid cyst.

These are some of the symptoms:

Some or all of the following symptoms may be present, though it is possible not to experience any symptoms:

• Dull aching, or severe, sudden, and sharp pain or discomfort in the lower abdomen (one or both sides), pelvis, vagina, lower back, or thighs; pain may be constant or intermittent—this is the most common symptom
• Fullness, heaviness, pressure, swelling, or bloating in the abdomen
• Breast tenderness
• Pain during or shortly after beginning or end of menstrual period.
• Irregular periods, or abnormal uterine bleeding or spotting
• Change in frequency or ease of urination (such as inability to fully empty the bladder), or difficulty with bowel movements due to pressure on adjacent pelvic anatomy
• Weight gain
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fatigue
• Infertility
• Increased level of hair growth
• Increased facial hair or body hair
• Headaches
• Strange pains in ribs, which feel muscular
• Bloating
• Strange nodules that feel like bruises under the layer of skin

Treatment

About 95% of ovarian cysts are benign, meaning they are not cancerous.

Treatment depends on the size of the cyst and symptoms.

The pain may be treated with:

• pain relievers, including acetaminophen/paracetamol (Tylenol), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), or narcotic pain medicine (by prescription) may help reduce pelvic pain. NSAIDs usually work best when taken at the first signs of the pain.

• a warm bath, or heating pad, or hot water bottle applied to the lower abdomen near the ovaries can relax tense muscles and relieve cramping, lessen discomfort, and stimulate circulation and healing in the ovaries. Bags of ice covered with towels can be used alternately as cold treatments to increase local circulation.

• combined methods of hormonal contraception such as the combined oral contraceptive pill – the hormones in the pills may regulate the menstrual cycle, prevent the formation of follicles that can turn into cysts, and possibly shrink an existing cyst. (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1999c; Mayo Clinic, 2002e)

Also, limiting strenuous activity may reduce the risk of cyst rupture or torsion.

Cysts that persist beyond two or three menstrual cycles, or occur in post-menopausal women, may indicate more serious disease and should be investigated through ultrasonography and laparoscopy, especially in cases where family members have had ovarian cancer. Such cysts may require surgical biopsy. Additionally, a blood test may be taken before surgery to check for elevated CA-125, a tumor marker, which is often found in increased levels in ovarian cancer, although it can also be elevated by other conditions resulting in a large number of false positives.

For more serious cases where cysts are large and persisting, doctors may suggest surgery. Some surgeries can be performed to successfully remove the cyst(s) without hurting the ovaries, while others may require removal of one or both ovaries.

When you are being diagnosed to have endometrioma and the doctor advised you for it to be removed, what will you do? Well...the doctor knows best..