The new Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: Part 3

However, old habits die hard and in North America and the Mediterranean diet has not exactly been a hit.

The diet ingredients can be monotonous and quickly lead to boredom. Consumers should know that the Mediterranean diet is not the panacea to good health.

A simple walk into any one of the Mediterranean countries will reveal the truth- obesity and diabetes are also rampant in the people who have stuck to this diet for decades.

There is no one diet which is great or health. Almost any diet in moderation is fine. Good health is based on many principles including a healthy diet, exercise, not smoking, great genes and a lot of good luck.

The new Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: Part 2

The Mediterranean pyramid also encourages

- Regular exercise
- Enjoying meals with others which allows for
foods to be enjoyed more and creates a healthy
appreciation of life
- Eating low amount of processed foods but adding
more plant foods, fresh vegetables and whole grains
- Using olive oil in moderation for all cooking
and salad dressing
- If you are going to eat dairy products- go for
the low fat varieties
- If you are going to eat meat, choose poultry instead
of lean meat. Limit lean meat to only a few times a month or less

Over the past 18 years since the Mediterranean diet was first introduced, a lot of clinical research has been down to reveal the health benefits of such a diet. Further, some restaurants have even based their menus on this style of cooking.

The new Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: Part 1

For decades everyone has been talking about the Mediterranean diet and how great it is. Most people have tried it – some like it, others have adapted to it and most did not really care.

Now there is a new Mediterranean diet pyramid. Just what is this and why the change?

Well the new change is now in the form of a pyramid indicating what forms the majority of our diet. All the plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, olive oil and whole grains form the base of the pyramid.

With the growth of the health supplement industry, now herbs have been added to the pyramid. The herbs are primarily added as flavoring agents and may lessen the need for salt or fat to the cooking.

On the narrow part of the pyramid, one can add fish and sea foods. It is recommended that one eat such foods at least twice a week or more because of the presence of omega 3 fatty acids………………..

Everything about Tamiflu: Part 3

Is Tamiflu safe for pregnant or breastfeeding women?
Tamiflu appears to be safe for pregnant women and those who are breast feeding. Experts believe that the consequence of not treating Swine flu in pregnant women are more dangerous that the drug. It is far safer to take Tamiflu flu.

So far pregnant women who have taken Tamiflu and given birth have shown no harmful effects of the drug. Women are advised to continue with breast feeding while taking Tamiflu because it has been shown that only tiny amount of the drug does get into breast milk.

There are some experts who recommend that pregnant women should take the alternative drug, zanamivir, which comes as a nasal spray and goes directly to the lung and not to the rest of the body. It is less likely to go to the baby.

Everything about Tamiflu: Part 2

All consumers should understand that Tamiflu is not a cure for swine flu. It does reduce symptoms of the illness and duration of illness. When taken within the first 48 hours, some people tend to recover a lot faster when taking Tamiflu. Finally, one is less likely to develop complications of bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections when taking Tamiflu.

There are suggestions that Tamiflu can help reduce complications of swine flu but there is no real hard evidence to show that as of yet.
In general Tamiflu is safe. It does have a few side effects of which the most common are nausea and vomiting.

Rare complications reported from Europe where the drug has been extensively used indicate that Tamiflu can also cause seizures, mood alterations, confusion and loss of concentration. One school report indicated that children given Tamiflu at the outbreak resulted in nearly 50 percent developing side effects ranging from nausea, stomach cramps and difficulty sleeping.

Everything about Tamiflu: Part 1

What is Tamiflu?

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is a relatively new antiviral drug. It acts by stopping growth of the virus. Tamiflu works best when it is taken soon after symptoms of swine flu occur – within the first 48 hours. This is the time period when the virus is dividing fast. If the drug is delayed, the virus burden is quite high and the virus has most likely spread and Tamiflu does not work well.

Tamiflu is available as a capsule or liquid. It must be taken for 5 consecutive days when one develops an acute infection.

All adults and children can be treated with Tamiflu, but pregnant women and those individual with chronic kidney diseases should take the alternative anti viral drug known as Zanamir (Relenza).

To date the evidence for effectiveness of Tamiflu is nonexistent. There are not many studies are available which have studied the drug in detail. Some clinical studies show that it works very well for the common cold virus and isolated reports show that the drug is effective for most cases of swine flu when taken within the first 48 hours.

Moreover, there are ample laboratory studies which show that Tamiflu is effective against swine flu. However, there are also just as many reports indicating that the drug is not effective.