Dietary and Lifestyle Recommendations

By Pattrick Jhonson

Consume Adequate Amounts of Calcium and Protein During stressful times, body protein is broken down to provide the body with energy. Over an extended period, this can lead to a loss of muscle. Another nutrient lost from the body during stress is calcium. This can be extremely serious, as it weakens the bones and increases the risk of osteoporosis . Strategy To safeguard your body's supply of these nutrients with­out compromising its health, make sure that you get plenty of foods containing these nutrients . Ideally, you should eat two portions of protein-rich foods and 1,000 milligrams (one gram) of calcium daily.

Getting this much dietary calcium from foods is difficult, however, so an acceptable alternative is to take a calcium supplement. Five hundred milligrams of calcium should be taken twice daily in the form of 1,250 milligrams of calcium carbonate, at mid morning and just before bedtime. Try ptophan is useful in treating depression when it is taken by someone who is experiencing carbohydrate craving. It is believed that such cravings are caused by inadequate levels of serotonin in the brain. A carbohydrate-rich, low-protein meal increases brain serotonin levels because such a meal reduces the blood levels of most amino acids (the building blocks of protein), but not of tryptophan. Tryp tophan competes with many of the other amino acids for a place on the transport mechanism that gives entry into the brain. After a high­carbohydrate meal, tryptophan has less competition and so brain levels rise. This serves to increase brain serotonin levels as well.

Though the increases produced by eating a high-carbohydrate meal only are small, taking a tryptophan supplement greatly increases relative brain levels. Protein-rich meals have, of course, the opposite effect, decreasing both tryptophan and serotonin levels. Strategy If you are suffering from depression and also find yourself craving carbohydrates, try eating a diet in which no more than 10 to 15 percent of your total calories come from protein sources .

If this doesn't seem to have much of an effect, a daily supplement of 1,000 to 3,000 milligrams of tryptophan per day might be the answer. It should be taken in three equal doses and consumed after meals. The effects of tryptophan last only a few hours, and so repeated doses are necessary. Taking the supplement after meals will prevent the nausea some people experience as a side effect. Obviously, the lower the dosage the better, and so you should experiment within the dosage range in order to see at which level you get concrete results. Never take more than 3,000 milligrams (three grams) of tryptophan a day without a doctor's supervision.

If your depression is severe, and if drug treatment and psychotherapy don't seem to be working, your doctor may suggest ECT. Also learn about some natural herbal supplements for depression treatment.

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Is There Anything I Can Do To Prevent Macular Degeneration?

By Matt Murren

Unfortunately, there are not any known ways to completely prevent age related macular degeneration. That said, there are many ways that you lower your risk. These tips have been known to help those who were genetically pre-disposed to macular degeneration.

Below are some secrets in lowering your risks before it is too late.

Get your eyes examined early.

Regular eye exams are critical in determining if you are at risk for developing macular degeneration or not. If you are pre-disposed genetically, you should make sure to schedule annual exams. This will help prevent potential eye loss later. It could also delay loss of vision of the doctors can detect it early on. Quit smoking. It is a known fact that those who smoke are up to 2 times more likely to have macular degeneration. The earlier you quit the lower the risk.

Eat well.

By modifying your diet to eat more nuts and fruit can help you lower your odds of getting macular degeneration. If you are allergic to nuts, you can take vitamins or supplements that are rich in omega-3’s as well as vitamin A and luteins. If you are already suffering from dry macular degeneration, there are measure you can take to prevent it from advancing. Some of these are:

· Eat your spinach. By modifying your diet to eat more dark green vegetables you can actually slow the progression and further vision loss. Your doctor may also want you to take vitamins and supplements.

· Exercise. By maintaining a healthy weight you will also lower your risk in getting more advanced forms of AMD.

· Hold the fat. Be sure to lower your fat and cholesterol intake. These fats can actually accelerate your AMD.

· Wear UV blocking sunglasses. You will want to protect your eyes from the harmful sun rays especially if you are already experiencing dry macular degeneration. Many doctors also treat AMD with advanced vitamin treatments. These vitamins include Vitamins A,C, and E. In addition, your physician might prescribe high levels of Zinc. Before you start high doses of vitamins, make sure you check with your doctor. Some high doses of vitamins can react with medications you may already be taking. If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, you will want to make sure you keep these diseases in check. These diseases may have an impact on the type of care you receive.

In extreme cases, you may also require laser surgery to destroy blood vessels before they cause additional damage to your vision. This process can also cause vision loss, but may be the only hope if your case has advanced symptoms. It is clear that early detection and prevention can help significantly with AMD. Maintain your weight and diet and you will be on the right track to maintain your eye health as you age.

Matt D Murren owns and operates http://www.dry-macular.com Dry Macular Prevention

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