Vitamin supplements not only provide nutritional needs, but also avoids the signs of aging. Several types of nutrients, like calcium and vitamin D, is not only useful for maintaining health, but also makes us stay young. What are the recommended supplements to maximize health and to keep us young?

Vitamin D
According to Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, a professor from Boston University School of Medicine, you can reduce your risk of colon cancer, breast and esophagus by 50 percent if you get enough vitamin D.

Vitamin D will inhibit the growth of cancer cells and activate the immune system to fight infection. The best source of vitamin D are egg yolk, fish, and foods that are fortified, such as milk and cereal. Sun exposure is also good for increasing vitamin D levels in the body.

Calcium
This mineral is essential to maintain bone strength and is required for muscle and nerve function. Lack of calcium will cause bone damage occurs more quickly than construction. In addition to bones, research shows calcium supplementation can reduce the risk of polyp formation of colon cancer.

Magnesium
Studies show magnesium deficiency is more common in older people than young people. This happens because for the older people, the body’s ability to absorb magnesium from food is reduced. In addition, medicines such as antibiotics and diuretic medicines also have the same affect. In addition to preventing diabetes, magnesium may also lower blood pressure.

Vitamin B
Several studies have shown, stroke and heart disease could be prevented if we get enough vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid.  Enough of B vitamins can also help us avoid typical elder diseases, like dementia.

Zoonoses diseases are increasingly getting the attention of the world. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention United States, for example, have recently focused their investigations on zoonotic diseases, or infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans or vice versa.

Henry Walke as the Head of Program Coordination Office and the World Health Development and public health at the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) United States said Tuesday (9/3/2010), about 60 percent of new infectious diseases emerge a zoonotic disease.

He said, zoonotic diseases have increasingly become a threat, especially in large populated country, diverse, and has a diversity of wildlife, including wild animals.

A number of factors trigger disease transmission are environmental changes caused distances between human and animals  shorten. Another factor is the domestication of animals, including exotic animals. As a result, diseases that was before stayed only in animals now moves to humans. A number of cases such as the occurrence of bird flu, rabies, and ebola are examples that cause serious problems and occurs in several countries.

“Most of the disease investigations by CDC lead to cases of zoonoses,” Henry said in the activities of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication in Atlanta, Tuesday.

To control these diseases, a good public health infrastructure is needed, like surveillance devices or monitoring of disease. CDC itself provides technical assistance on request from countries.  The assistance provided is usually technical assistance and expertise specific to a particular disease.

Ray Arthur, director of the Global Disease Detection Operations Center CDC says, disease detection and investigation program are more active, particularly after the emergence of SARS cases in various parts of the world. Through detection, there are more new pathogens found, at least five new pathogen in 2003 which turns to approximately 30 new pathogens until the year 2008.

Steve Monroe, director of Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases National Center for Zoonotic Vector-borne and enteric disease CDC says, a pathogen is not always entirely new. It can occur as the pathogen already exists, but not recognized. That’s because the pathogens isolated in the bodies of animals or isolated human.

“Generally, a new pathogen will be known after an increase in cases in the population,” he said.

To find new pathogens, they build a system, one of which is gathering news from thousands of media around the world. Media screening has become an early warning of disease.

If the case is considered significant, the team sent down to investigate the case. CDC has about 18 representatives around the world. In some countries they are investigating the wild polio virus, HIV, and avian influenza (H5N1).

Ray added, the challenge in dealing with diseases of global nature, among others, is the inability of the authorities at the scene to detect accurately. In addition, the leaders are also reluctant to report cases that happened to the global community.

Diabetes mellitus or diabetes has become a global health problem. If not treated, complications of diabetes will lead to a variety of other diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, impotence.

Christian Dr. Bibbins-Domingo, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, USA, recently published his research results on the incidence of heart disease with softdrink consumption.

He said the increasing consumption of soft drinks which generally contain high sugar, affects 130,000 new cases of diabetes, 14,000 new cases of heart disease, and 50,000 people with heart problems in the last decade.

“From the results of this study can be concluded, all policies that could reduce the softdrink consumption may have positive impact on public health,” said Dr. Bibbins-Domingo Christian.

By using computer simulation, heart disease associated with a variety of factors, such as obesity and consumption of food containing salt. “So far, we underestimated the incidence between heart disease and  softdrink because it is a popular drinks amongst teenagers. The focus of the disease research is adults over the age of 35,” said Domingo.

He added, the link between the incidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is very real. However, the increasing obesity factors may also be influential.

“Various studies show the impact of consumption of sugary drinks. For decades there have been an increase in sweet drinks consumption,” he said.

The experts warn, to prevent diabetes, we must reduce the intake of beverages with added sugar. If one has diabetes, then the blood sugar, weight, blood pressure and blood fat levels must be controlled. If doing sports could not control it, one should take medication.

Be careful, hepatitis C virus could attack you. To avoid the diseases that can damage the liver, there’s no harm in reading this article.

Hepatitis C spreads contagiously and spreads through the blood.  It is highly vulnerable to drug users and people who do blood transfusions. Infection can also be transmitted from infected mother to their baby, before or during birth.

According to femalefirst, that’s not all, hepatitis C can be transmitted through unprotected sex with someone who has the virus, tattoo, ear or body piercing, acupuncture, electrolysis and facial surgery.

The danger is that the virus can cause severe liver damage or even cause liver cancer.

Geoffrey Cleghorn, 61, from London, recently declared cured after 12 months of treatment for hepatitis C.

“I have suffered from hepatitis C test. Before, I did not realize it was a virus. Exhausted and tired all the time, but I thought it was only due to the increasing of age. Now I’ve recovered. I’m virus-free and I felt brilliant and more younger than I was before I was diagnosed with the disease. I urge anyone to check up, “said Geoffrey.

Have ever you felt the pain in the feet or hands in the morning? If you have, then you must be alert and immediately find ways to overcome them. It may be that you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. This disease can cause permanent disability and even premature death.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the joint tissue. It is possibly also attack other organs. If it is not treated immediately, there will be joint damage and disability, and even premature death. Rheumatoid arthritis is not an independent disease, but rather a group of diseases. But the cause is still unknown.

The disease is caused by many factors. Can be genetic, could also be due to an unhealthy lifestyle. If any family members who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, chances are the child or offspring suffer the same disease. Unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking may like to increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

It is a general think that all of rheumatic diseases are caused by uric acid. Whereas rheumatic disease because of uric acid (gout arthritis) is only approximately 7 percent of the rheumatic diseases. This disease can attack all people, both children and adults. But the most frequently attacked are young adults to the elderly.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that is widespread and involves all racial and ethnic groups in the world.  It usually starts in children before the age of 16 years. Generally, this disease attacks the joints of the fingers, wrists, shoulders, knees, and feet. At an advanced stage, patients will not be able to perform daily activities and quality of life decreases.

Factors Causes and Symptoms

Autoimmune disease occurs because of interference with the normal functioning of the immune system, so that the immune system attack the body’s own tissue. It could also be due to the failure of antibodies to recognize his own body cells and considered a foreign body so destructive.

Rheumatoid arthritis attacks the joints wrapped in a layer commonly called sinovium and cause inflammation of the joints wrappers. Result sinovitis (inflammation of the sinovium) that chronic damage to joint cartilage, bone, tendons and ligaments in the joints. Inflammation causes sinovium out some substances that undermined cartilage cells, causing damage to bone and may result in the disappearance of the joint surface that would interfere with joint motion. If it is not immediately treated, can occur permanent disability.

Rheumatoid arthritis usually causes problems in several joints in the same time.

In the early stages, this disease usually attacks the small joints such as wrists, hands, ankles, and feet. Next it will attack shoulder joint,  elbows, knees, hips, jaw, and neck. Generally, this disease attacks the joints of the fingers, wrists, shoulders, knees, and feet.  This situation will occur in the morning and will disappear in the afternoon.

Other symptoms include fever, decreased appetite, weight loss, weakness, and less blood. Sometimes the patient does not feel the symptoms.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Diagnosis is usually established from the patient history. Diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis can be said positively when the patient is experiencing as described above for 6 weeks.They will also be carried out laboratory and radiology tests to determine the condition of the patient’s joints.

It can also be carried out joint fluid analysis. The doctor will take joint fluid with a sterile needle, and joint fluid will be analyzed whether there are elevated levels of leukocytes or not.

The goal of treatment is to reduce joint inflammation and prevent or slow joint damage that can cause permanent disability. Besides treatment is also intended to prevent muscle weakness. Early treatment is to improve the comfort and maintain the independence of patients in order not to depend on others.

Previously, the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms start to eliminate the pain such as reducing swelling dab pain. Now, treatment is intended to stop the disease in order not to continue, to prevent loss of joint function, and prevent disability, thus preventing premature death. In the future, treatments directed to reduce the disease despite treatment is stopped.

Treatment of this disease is divided into two, namely treatment with drugs and therapies such as physiotherapy, psychological, and surgery. Lack of drug consuming could occur side effects, the use of fairly complex procedures, slow effects, and the failure rate is quite large.

If the various treatments have been carried out and did not succeed and there is a strong enough reason, it is recommended for surgery. Surgery is an option if the provision of drugs failed to prevent and slow down joint damage. Surgery can restore function to damaged joints.