Health News

DMARDs stands for disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Most DMARDs take a long time to begin working. In addition, because these are such strong agents, you must be carefully monitored by your doctor while taking these drugs.
Some DMARDS that can be helpful to you.There are many DMARDs that are helpful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, including Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine), Rheumatrex (methotrexate), Imuran (azathioprine), Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide), Arava (leflunomide), and Azulfidine (sulfasalazine).
Aren’t some of these drugs used in chemotherapy for treating cancer?In some instances, these drugs are useful for the treatment of various cancers. They interfere with the division of cells and can be useful in treating tumors. In the treatment of arthritis, we are trying to accomplish the same thing—the obliteration of the cells responsible for the disease process.
What is hydroxychloroquine?Hydroxychloroquine is a drug used to treat malaria. A brand name for this drug is Plaquenil.Hydroxychloroquine moderately useful in the treatment of RA.Exactly how it acts in the treatment of diseases like RA is not known. This drug is known to act as a mild suppressor of the immune response and gently even thins the blood in some studies.What is the usual dose?The standard dose of the drug is 200 milligrams twice a day. It becomes most effective about three to six weeks after you begin to take it.Hydroxychloroquine and a similar compound chloroquine are used for the treatment of diseases like lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, and anti-phospholipid syndrome.It is considered one of the safest DMARDs available. Serious adverse effects are rare.
What are some of the side effects?Occasionally, patients may experience visual problems including change in pigmentation of the retina of the eye or some loss of feeling of the cornea. An eye exam is recommended six months after starting the drug and every six months thereafter. Persistent nausea or an allergic reaction with itching and rash are also possible. All in all, this drug is quite safe and free of side effects.*32/141/5*

Since the days we went to grammar school, we have been shown colourful charts listing the number of calories, proteins and vitamins in hundreds of different foods.
Remember the sign near the blackboard showing a glass of milk, a loaf of bread and a nice red beefsteak? Next to each picture were a lot of figures which we could add up to give us the total carbohydrates and minerals contained in what we ate. We were taught, from schooldays on through our adult life, that these charts were our best guide to health. Now is a good time to ask: “Have we been misled?”
My belief is that such charts are helpful. But .. . they are also missing two of the most important facts of dieting. Two facts which can cause the entire chart to be meaningless and misleading.
No chart ever says anything about the correct temperature of foods. And they never list any order in which to eat the items.
Have the experts who draw these charts forgotten that the value of each food will change due to temperature and position in the meal?
To prove the seriousness of this charge, let’s go back and take another look at that schoolroom
chart which starts off showing a glass of milk. . . .
Milk has vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, etc. But what the chart does not show is that if you drink milk cold, it has a different effect than when you drink it warm. There is no mention of the fact that if you drink milk at room temperature it will be digested more completely—and your body will receive more of the vitamins, protein and carbohydrates. Just changing the temperature can change the whole count and totals on those so-called “perfect” charts.
Feed a new-born infant on cold milk, instead of lukewarm milk, and you will have sad proof by checking the condition of the baby’s skin, scalp and nails. Both types of milk will nourish, but the warmer kind will do a tremendously better job.
Nowhere on the magic charts do they tell you whether to drink your glass of milk before your meal, while eating, or afterward. Again, the vitamin and calorie count, etc., will be changed. This change in food value can occur because the value of the milk will depend on how thoroughly it is digested and assimilated. It will depend on whether the milk runs into conflict with other foods which you are eating at the same time.
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