Lactose is found in all animal milks. Goat’s milk, for example, has 5% to 10% more lactose than dairy milk. It was assumed that only a minority of people suffered from lactose intolerant, but the latest research dispels this myth. The reality is that virtually everybody is lactose intolerant - it’s just a matter of degree.

With lactose intolerance the body is unable to digest lactose properly, causing varying degrees of nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea, which begin about 30 minutes to 2 hours after milk consumption.

The symptoms of lactose intolerance will vary with individuals, depending on how well you tolerate it, and the amount of lactose consumed. The condition develops over time, getting worse with age. Men and women suffer equally.

Lactose is the main sugar in milk. When it is consumed it gets broken down by lactase bacteria into glucose and galactose. But if, like most people, you don’t have enough lactase you will not be able to break the lactose down and this then causes the symptoms of lactose intolerance.

Most human babies have enough lactase to breakdown and use the lactose in human milk. But within one or two years of life the baby gradually loses the capacity to produce lactase and cope with lactose.

In the USA, for example, over 50 million people are regarded by the medical profession as being clinically lactose-intolerant. Certain ethnic and racial populations are more widely affected than others. As many as 75 percent of African-Americans and American-Indians (and 90 percent of Asian-Americans) are lactose-intolerant. The condition is least common among persons of northern European descent.

Even those who do not think they are prone to lactose intolerant will suffer from the condition whenever dairy or goat milk is consumed. But the effects for such people may be mild and hardly noticeable. Typically, slight feelings of indigestion or bloating will be associated with a rushed meal or poor food, rather than with lactose intolerance.

There is plenty of research showing how lactose in milk causes human illness (too many studies to quote here). But a quick search on Internet will reveal the research on this subject.

The dietary guidelines given by the US authorities (for people wanting to avoid lactose intolerance) is to recommend they eat other calcium-containing foods like broccoli, fish and calcium fortified juices. This is poor advice because what people really want is information on milk alternatives.

Clearly, you can use ‘lactose free’ milk. In the USA, for example, you can buy ‘Lactaid’ which is sold as lactose free. But lactose-free milks are generally not so widely available; also they tend to be more expensive.

But the biggest drawback is that lactose-free milk is usually ultra-pasteurized (also known as UHT or ‘Long Life’ milk). This is a major drawback because all the research is showing that UHT milk is much worse for health compared to regular pasteurized milk. For example, the research is showing that UHT milk may be the biggest dietary cause of a variety of serous brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntingdon’s and others.

What then is the best way to avoid lactose in milk? There is a simple solution: switch to milk made from nuts, seeds, or soybeans. These non-dairy milks offer a wonderful variety of delicious flavours and they are full of healthy nutrients.

Asking how does stress affect health is a top priority. Most of us may already be aware of the various studies that point to stress as a major factor in certain conditions. The question is whether there is any truth to the news that stress can be harmful to our health.

It is true that stress can do damage to our over all health. The exact conditions however that are believed to be caused by stress are still being disputed. Various research studies are now focusing on finding out the exact impact of stress on the human body. Even without conclusive results though, there are already some alarming facts about stress. The OSHA says that stress is a major hazard. It has been correctly named so especially since 43% of the population have conditions brought about by stress.

There are many possible health problems that could be due to stress. Here are only some of them:

- Heart disease isn’t just because of what you eat and drink. You could develop some form of heart disease if you are too stressed out. Heart disease develops gradually. Every time you experience stress, your heart rate and blood pressure increase. These can in turn strain your arteries which is where heart disease begins.

- How does stress affect health everyday? Stress actually impairs your immune system. Without this crucial system functioning well, you are likely to get sick with certain illnesses. Such common complaints as colds could affect you more often than usual. You could also become a constant victim of other common infections.

- You could gain more weight when under stress. This is due to the body’s quick use of carbohydrate stores. This in turn could encourage you to eat more. On the flip side, those who are too busy to even eat could lose weight and consume all of their energy stores. That would leave them with nothing to draw energy and nutrients from.

- Stomach distress is a common bedfellow of stress. You may feel like wanting to discharge when you are tense. This is caused by the speed up of the digestive process that is brought about by the effects of the stress hormone. You could also develop hyperacidity if you make it a habit to prioritize your responsibilities over your meal schedule.

- Your mind may also suffer from too much stress. It is not uncommon for people under a lot of stress to experience deeper psychological problems. You could suffer from anxiety attacks, develop depression or become overly obsessive compulsive.

- Stress can rob you of your sleep. Night sleep is the body’s way of recharging itself so you can face the next day with renewed energy. If you lose sleep, your body would not have been rested well enough. This naturally takes its toll on your daily performance. Your vital organs suffer too since they have been on working mode from dusk till dawn.

- Stress also translates to a variety of body problems that don’t seem to have any other clear cause. You could experience muscle aches, headaches, gum disease, hair loss and many more.

So how does stress affect health? As these conditions would show, it can affect it in various ways. Make it a point to learn to manage stress to ensure your health.

Panic attacks happen to people as a result of a variety of triggers. Because people who suffer from panic attacks do not have a single trigger to attribute their panic attacks to, there’s also no standard treatment for panic attack. However, one such popular treatment for panic attack is psychotherapy. This, when used with other treatments that complement its effectiveness, is used to treat panic attacks.

There are treatments for panic attacks aside from psychotherapy that serve as alternatives and complements. These are usually therapeutic procedures applied once a person is found to have a propensity towards panic attacks. While causes of panic attacks and what specific things and situations are identified as definite triggers, there are some symptoms that help signal a panic attack. Indicators include hot flushes or chills accompanied by chest pains, palpitations, numbness of hands, dizziness, breathing difficulties, and nausea.

One such therapeutic practice used as treatment for panic attack is cognitive-behavioral therapy. As implied by the name, it is designed to teach behavioral techniques to the person suffering from panic attacks. Moreover, these methods are used to condition the mind to recognize triggers for panic attacks and condition the thought process so as to minimize a small fear from morphing into a full-blown panic attack. Muscle relaxation and breathing techniques are taught, which will help counter bodily reactions to panic like muscle contractions and palpitations. Reassurance of the absence of tangible threat that justifies panic attacks is also given.

The fact that cognitive-behavioral therapy combines mental reassurance and physical relaxation methods is one of the reasons why it is an effective treatment for panic attack. This combination of mental and physical techniques reduces and eventually eliminates the occurrence of panic attacks.

Advanced treatment for panic attack is prescribed when psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy fail to work as effectively. Usually, these treatments include the use of antidepressants, one of which is known as Tofranil. Aside from helping through the chemical intervention of the antidepressant to reduce physiologically related responses to panic, patients are also greatly relieved by the knowledge that they are proactively participating in their own treatment.

SSRI’s or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil and Zoloft are more frequently prescribed by the doctors for treatment of panic attack. In fact, these medications are referred to as the first line of treatment for panic attack disorders. Therefore, they can be regarded as the most effective and most commonly used mode of treatment for panic disorders.

Anti-anxiety medications such as Ativan, Xanax and Klonopin are prescribed at the start of medication therapy. When using medications for treating panic attack, it always best to start with the lowest possible dose and gradually increase depending upon the patient’s need.

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