Alcohol intake is also a known risk factor of coronary heart disease – directly or indirectly. It has become associated with heart disease in many ways. Alcohol leads to increased triglycerides, owing to its similarity of structure with glycerol, a component of triglycerides. Many good laboratories do not take blood samples for lipid profile test (which includes triglycerides) if the patients have consumed alcohol in the last 12 hours.

Alcohol also adds huge calories to the patients. Many people eat a lot of fried items while drinking. This also adds to fat, cholesterol and calories. Alcohol is often associated with increased stress and bad interpersonal relationships in the family. Alcohol is also one of the major causes of liver disease and failure, besides gastritis and neurological damages.

There has been some confusion about recommending of alcohol in some newspapers and medical journals. It has been shown that alcohol can increase the HDL levels in the blood, but it also increases the triglycerides – it does more harm than benefit to the patients. One must see all the effects rather than one isolated parameter.

Moreover, many of these research studies are carried out in countries where the temperature is very low and alcohol is used in considerable quantities. The extrapolations are not justified with regard to alcohol. Many studies have also shown that alcohol also leads to an increased incidence of heart disease.

*18/283/5*

With four decades of knowledge of the many side-effects of the Pill, there are still too few doctors who adequately warn their patients of the many potential risks and serious problems associated with taking the Pill. In 1995 Professor John Guillebaud, a noted English expert on Family Planning, wrote, “Although not risk free, the Pill’s benefits far outweigh its risks. Another way of saying this is that the Pill is safe — but some women are dangerous.”

Such double speak lulls doctors and women into a false sense of security, assuring them that the newer generations of oral contraceptives are now perfectly safe. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

Hormones are very powerful substances. Begin tampering with nature’s finely tuned messengers of life’s processes and you are asking for trouble. This is especially true for young women. A woman’s psyche is intimately connected to her monthly flow of hormones.

*126/165/1*

Individuals with RA require more rest than they did before they developed the condition. Adequate rest takes many forms, including physical, emotional, and local rest.

Getting adequate sleep is imperative because sleep provides a healing factor for the body and the mind. We recommend ten hours of sleep daily, particularly during periods when the arthritis has flared up. You may prefer to sleep eight hours at night and take two one-hour naps during the day. If getting adequate sleep proves difficult, ask your doctor to recommend or prescribe pain or sleeping medications to help you.

We can sometimes rest physically and emotionally at the same time – this happens when we sleep, for example. Taking a fifteen- or twenty-minute break in the morning and afternoon can also make an incredible difference in productivity. Learning and performing stress reduction and relaxation techniques during tense times may be particularly beneficial. During these breaks try to relax your mind and body. If you can manage to lie down with your feet elevated, you’ll increase the benefits of the break. Taking these prescribed breaks routinely each day may allow you to avoid the severe exhaustion that occurs when you become overly fatigued.

From time to time it’s a good idea to reflect on the day’s activities. Think about what you did during the day and when you felt most tired. This review exercise will allow you to schedule strategic rest breaks during the day which will help you avoid becoming overtired. If necessary, discuss these recommendations with your employer; he or she will probably agree that this is time well spent. It is to everyone’s benefit for you to retain your energy so you can be as efficient and productive as possible.

Local rest means resting specific parts of the body. Getting local rest will help you protect your joints from undue stress; this can be achieved by wearing splints, which can be fabricated to protect the wrists and hands, and by using techniques designed to reduce joint stress.

*48/209/5*