Difficulty breathing - one of the symptoms of heart failure

Dyspnoea or Breathlessness can be defined as an awereness of increased drive to breathe. It is normal on exercise. It is pathological if it occurs while doing something that does not require much exertion.

Breathlessness is a non-specific symptom as it can be caused by cardiac, respiratory, neuromuscular and metabolic conditions. Today we will look at the cardiac causes of difficulty breathing.

There are several caused of difficulty breathing  due to heart problems:

1. Acute left heart failure
2. Chronic heart failure
3. Arrythmia
4. Angina equivalent

5 reasons for not being able to lose weight!

I am sure you understand the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and probably the reason you are reading this article is because even though you are trying, you are just not being able to lose weight!

There can be many reasons for not being able to lose weight. Some you can control and some (your metabolic rate) you can't control. Let's look at the ones you can.

What is the Difference Between Obesity and Overweight?

Differentiate between obesity and overweight. Find out your BMI and compare it with the BMI chart.

Although the terms overweight and obesity may sound alike, they are two different things.

What is considered overweight?

Overweight is defined as any weight in excess of weight recommendations for a given person (> 18 years) in the desirable weight table (see the table below).

Heighta (IN.)	Weight (LB)
	Men	Women
60		109 ± 9b
62		115 ± 9
64	133 ± 11	122 ± 10
66	142 ± 12	129 ± 10
68	151 ± 14	136 ± 10
70	159 ± 14	144 ± 11
72	167 ± 15	152 ± 12
74	175 ± 15

a = Heights and weights without shoes and other clothing.
b = Desirable weight for a small framed woman at this height would be approximately 109 lb. minus 9 lb., or a total of 100 lb; for an average framed  woman, 109 lb.; for a large framed woman 109 lb. plus 9 lb., or a total of 118 lb.
Source: Food and Nutrition Board, National Research Council

Causes of overweight

The cause of excess weight might include:

• Excess fat.
• Extra-heavy skeletal framework.
• Excessively muscular physique due to weight lifting or prolonged physical activity. 

A person can be overweight without being fat. Studies of college freshmen show 23 percent of the male students and 36 percent of the female students are overweight!

List of Foods with Vitamin C

Today we present you with our list of top 10 common foods with high vitamin C. Hope you enjoy it!

Vitamin C is just awesome!

Did you know that man, monkey and guinea pigs are perhaps the only species known to require vitamin C in their diet?

Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, just like all the other vitamins! We need vitamin C for many good reasons, and one of them is the production of Collagen.

Collagen is a protein that accounts for 25% of the total body protein! It forms the supporting structure for blood vessels, bones etc. Without vitamin C, body doesn't produce enough collagen, and even the collagens that are produced are not strong enough to support the different structures. So, deficiency of vitamin C leads to a disease condition called Scurvy, which is characterized by bleeding gums, subcutaneous bruising, weak bones, delayed wound healing and so many other things.

So, since we humans can't produce vitamin C, the only way to make sure we get enough vitamin C is by eating lots of foods which are high in vitamin C.

What vitamins to take during pregnancy

It is extremely important to have a healthy and adequate diet during pregnancy to make sure you and your baby stay safe and go through the whole process of pregnancy smoothly. You diet should be rich in a wide variety of nutritious foods to meet the needs of your baby and your body. It is only natural that the daily requirement of energy increases in pregnancy as well as lactation.



Today's post is about "What vitamins to take during pregnancy?". Please do not have the misconception that the vitamins that I am going to mention today are the only vitamins that you have to take during pregnancy.

Your body requires all the vitamins in certain amounts, whether you are pregnant OR not. This post is about some particular vitamins that you have to take in additional amounts during pregnancy (and lactation).

Classification of Vitamins

What is the classification of vitamins? Read to find out!

Vitamins are extremely important essential micro-nutrients for your body even though they are required by the body in very small amount. Vitamins do not produce energy but they enable the body to use other nutrients to produce energy. In the coming weeks I'll write more about vitamins and minerals. Let's start today by classifying vitamins.

Classification of Vitamins!

Minerals- Definition, Types, Functions, Sources, Daily requirements, Deficiency disorders of common minerals

Read this hub to know about the essential minerals that are needed by your body for optimum health and vitality...

What are minerals?

Minerals are inorganic substances required by the body in minute amounts for growth, repair and regulation of body functions.

 Classification of minerals:

1. Major minerals: Present in the body in large amounts and their daily requirement in man to maintain optimum nutrition is appreciable. A few examples are, Ca2+, Na+, K+, Mg2+.

2. Minor elements: Also known as trace elements. They are required by the body in amounts less than few milligrams per day. A few examples are Iron, Iodine, Copper, Cobalt, Zinc, Fluorine, Molybdenum, Selenium, Chromium, Tin, Nickel, and Manganese.

Functions of minerals:

1.Formation of bones and teeth

2.Contraction of muscles

3.Transmission of nerve impulse

4.Specific functions like formation of thyroid hormones by iodine

5.Maintenance of osmotic pressure of fluids.

Let's have a look at some of the most important minerals individually.