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Excess Cola Can Paralyze Muscles

Think twice before you take a sip from that cola bottle this summer. Experts are warning that excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from  mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis.
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This is because the cola drinks can cause blood potassium to drop dangerously low, they report in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

They tell of the curious case of an Australian ostrich farmer who needed emergency care for lung paralysis after drinking 4-10 litres of cola a day.

He made a full recovery and was advised to curtail his cola intake, BBC News portal reported on Tuesday.
Another example included a pregnant woman who regularly consumed up to three litres a day for the last six years and complained of tiredness, appetite loss and persistent vomiting.

A heart trace revealed she had an irregular heartbeat, most likely caused by her low blood potassium levels.
Once she stopped drinking such quantity of cola, she made a full and uneventful recovery.

The investigators believe these cases are not atypical and that many people risk problems due to their intake. Manufacturers insist the products are safe when consumed in moderation.

In a commentary, Clifford Packer from the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Centre in Ohio said: “We have every reason to think that it is not rare. With aggressive mass marketing, super-sizing of soft drinks, and the effects of caffeine tolerance and dependence, there is very little doubt that tens of millions of people in industrialised countries drink at least 2-3 litres of cola per day. “It follows that the serum potassium levels of these heavy cola drinkers are dropping, in some cases, to dangerous low levels.”

The author of the study, Moses Elisaf from the University of Ioannina in Greece, said it appeared that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks – glucose, fructose and caffeine. “The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalaemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients. However in most of cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role.

“This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose.”

Despite this, he warned that caffeine free cola products could also cause hypokalaemia because the fructose they contain can cause diarrhoea. “We believe that further studies are needed to establish how much is too much when it comes to the daily consumption of cola drinks.”

Sources: The Times Of India

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Tea Healthier Than Water

According to researchers, drinking three or more cups of tea a day is as good for you as drinking water. It may even come with extra health benefits.

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Contrary to the common belief that tea dehydrates, tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers.

Experts believe that flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health. These polyphenol antioxidants are found in many foods and plants, including tea leaves, and have been shown to help prevent cell damage.

Sources:
BBC News August 24, 2008
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition January 2007; 61(1):3-18

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Near-Death Experience

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Researchers at the University of Southampton are conducting a study of near-death experiences.

Some people who have experienced near-death report seeing a tunnel or bright light, while others recall looking down from the ceiling at medical staff.

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People who experience near-death often see a bright light

BBC News website readers have been sending in their stories.
A few years ago I was knocked of my cycle at a roundabout. The next 15 minutes are missing but I was aware that the light was blindingly pure and a richer blue than I have ever seen. I was surrounded by trees in reality, but the light was astounding and there was no noise whatsoever, there were no thoughts in my head, just wanting to be in the light. Then I realised that there was a person who I believed was my guardian angel. She was so tall that she could literally touch the sky, her body went on forever. She kept repeating “don’t touch your head, don’t touch your head”. I did and suddenly pain and reality returned and I was aware of all that was going on. I was so sad because the light was gone and the guardian angel in reality was a lady who had stopped to help and she was not tall.
Jane, Bracknell, Berkshire, United Kingdom

I was involved in a head-to-head car accident a year ago, which caused me to lose consciousness and black out. I was taken to the hospital and was under cardiac arrest for 14 minutes. I remember vaguely seeing myself walking through a field with my deceased brother James. It felt like only a moment before I “awoke” in which I felt extreme pain shoot up through my entire body. I have now recovered but I still keep that memory with me.
Betsy Cromer, Boston, United States

I had an operation during which I was pumped with antibiotics that I was allergic to. I recall my soul slowly rising to the ceiling in the hospital and out of my body. My sisters were on either side of the bed begging the doctors to do something. As my body continued to rise a doctor gave me an injection. My soul (I believe) then began to lower itself back into my body. The following day I explained this to the doctor and he confirmed I had a near-death experience.
Gary Williams, London, United Kingdom

Several days before my wife died she had a cardiac arrest from which she was recovered. She told me that she was up against the ceiling watching the medical team working to save her. She found herself reflecting that she was leaving me and her daughter and made the tremendous conscious effort to come back to stay with us. But, she said, if it happened again she might not have the strength to return. Three days later it did and she didn’t.
Gerard Mulholland, Paris, France

In the early 1980s I was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from an electricity generator. I was rushed to Winchester hospital where my life was saved by a blood gas spectrum analyser. Meanwhile, I was going through a dark tunnel with beautiful lights and flowers at the end – with wonderful organ music! I didn’t have a care in the world. Suddenly I stopped going through the tunnel and an American voice was shouting at me saying something like, “you’re not going to die you bastard – it’s not your time’! Apparently, when I woke up the young American doctor was surprised when I asked him, ‘Do all Angels have American accents?’ Rob, Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom

I had a heart attack, considerable pain and discomfort. My wife called 911. They arrived, loaded me into an ambulance and proceeded to the emergency room. My memory is that about a mile from home I went to sleep and began to dream. It was quite pleasant. There was a group of people talking and interacting pleasantly. I recognised no one but there was a purple tint to everything. I “woke up” just before we arrived at the emergency room. I told the EMTs that I had been napping. I was astonished that there were contact pads on me and my shirt had been cut off. They informed me I had flatlined. I can’t describe it but what I experienced left me with a sense of peace and possibly less of a fear of dying.
Larry Huffman, Newton, NC, United States

I fell off a ledge backwards and hit my head and back on a rocky ground, when I was travelling in rural Laos a few years ago. I recall vividly seeing the back of my travelling companion’s head, bending over me. And I remember feeling annoyed at him – because he didn’t seem to be doing much to assist me. Then I opened my eyes, and saw him from the ‘normal’ angle.
Michele Legge, Canberra, Australia

Having worked as a nurse in a Critical Care Unit for 10 years, I have spoken with several patients directly after their near-death experiences. They all describe going down a brightly lit tunnel and experiencing complete peace and tranquillity. This is then followed by being pushed back down the tunnel again back to their bodies. One lady explained how she returned to her body, she then felt terrified for a few minutes because she could see the medical staff and got the impression they thought she was dead.
Shirley Learthart, Hastings, United Kingdom

Sources: BBC NEWS:Sept. 19, ’08

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Why Tofu Wrecks Your Brain

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Eating high levels of some soy products, such as tofu, could raise the risk of memory loss. A study that examined more than 700 elderly Indonesians found that high tofu consumption (at least once a day) was associated with worse memory, particularly among those over age 68.

Soy contains phytoestrogens, which may heighten the risk of dementia.

However, tempeh, a fermented soy product made from the whole soy bean, has been associated with better memory. This could be related to the fact that it contains high levels of the vitamin folate, which is known to reduce dementia risk.

Sources:
BBC News July 4, 2008
Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders June 27, 2008; 26(1):50-57 [Epub Ahead of Print]

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Why Low Cholesterol is NOT Good For You

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Too little of one type of cholesterol has been linked to memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.

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Scientists studied more than 3,500 civil servants to investigate how levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol were associated with memory. HDL cholesterol can influence the formation of the beta-amyloid “plaques” that are a distinctive feature in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Higher levels of HDL are also believed to protect against damage to blood supply caused by the narrowing of the arteries.

After the five-year study period, the researchers found that people with low levels of HDL were 53 percent more likely to suffer memory loss than people with the highest levels of HDL.

Those with impaired memory are at an increased risk of developing dementia later in life.
You may click to see:->What is the normal level of cholesterol?
Sources:

* BBC News June 30, 2008

* Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology June 30, 2008

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