Age
Main causes of sexual dysfunction in women –
Main causes of sexual dysfunction in men -
What the doctor wants to know…
Adapated from an article in SWEET magazine - www.sweetmagazine.org
Free, clear and important health information by Dr Ayan Panja
Ok, so you’ve heard it all before but I’m going to say it anyway. Guess what? Smoking’s bad for you. “We know!!! Tell us something new…”, I hear you all shout. So what’s new? Well, for a start smoking is worse for you if you’re diabetic. Also, a recent study released at the National Smoking Cessation Conference earlier this summer shows that people are more likely to spend less on food and clothes before they decide to cut down on their cigarettes. Can you believe that? Those of you who smoke may not be surprised, because however hard times get there’s always money for fags. Talking of money, the government make a huge amount of revenue from smokers, but has decided in some parts of the
Before I incur the wrath of irritated smokers by the questions I’ve just asked, (nothing irritates smokers more than being told to stop), I have something to share with you. I myself am an ex-smoker. I don’t want a medal for my admission and I’m not proud of it, and I am certainly not a smug ex-smoker. I remember just how impossible it seemed to stop which is why I want to challenge smokers with the questions above. Sometimes I thought I’d never do it. In fact, I only stopped because I knew I really had to and I’ll tell you later how I did it and how it changed my health and my life.
I want to talk a little about smoking and it’s effect on diabetes in particular because it is so important. The emphasis of smoking on lung disease is very clear in all our minds but not many people know that smoking is now proven to be an independent risk factor for diabetes. Let me just clarify that. That means that smoking on its own can increase your risk of developing diabetes by making your tissues resistant to your body’s insulin. There’s more. If you are diabetic and you smoke then you risk of developing heart disease, kidney disease and stroke (which are increased anyway in diabetes), are all increased even more. For men there’s the added problem of erectile dysfunction.
The biggest risk to diabetics is that smoking is bad for the circulation. Here’s what happens (the science bit). The internal lining of our blood vessels are usually silky smooth and ‘non-stick’ making sure that blood flow carried on normally and that our organs receive enough oxygen. Cigarette smoke adds carbon monoxide damages this ‘non-stick’ vessel wall and makes it attract fats and plaques, thus beginning the clogging up process of the blood vessel known as atherosclerosis. This is the beginning of what is known as ‘cardiovascular disease’. When a blood vessel becomes completely clogged up or blocked, it effectively kills off what it supplies – so in the case of a heart blood vessel, blockage would lead to a heart attack and in the brain it would result in a stroke, but it can be a vessel in your leg (known peripheral vascular disease). It’s not just big arteries that become blocked. The vessels in your eyes and kidneys can accelerate the complications of retinopathy and nephropathy. You get the picture. Add to this the fact that diabetics have a propensity to developing earlier cardiovascular disease you have a recipe for disaster. Diabetes + Cigarette smoking = Early death is likely.
The good news:
There’s loads of ways to stop. No-one can force people to stop smoking, but once you’ve made the decision you’ll find that there is lots of help at hand.
The most popular way to stop is nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). This has up to 20% success rate. What’s more it is more effective with one to one counselling. Willpower alone works in around 3% of cases. Most people “try to give up” around 6 times before they succeed.
NRT exists in many forms: Patches, lozenges, tablets, gum, an inhaled method called an ‘inhalator’ (which gives the same hand-to-mouth feeling as a cigarette) and there are other non-NRT tablet based medications too. Your GP or practice nurse can help you find the best method for you or you can contact your local NHS smoking clinic. In terms of cost, NRT will cost around £3.55 a week when prescribed by your GP. To compare this to the cost of cigarettes, if you smoke 10 a day you’re looking at spending just under £20 a week.
Other commercial ways to help you stop smoking include hypnotherapy, drinking syrups which makes cigarettes taste awful, going cold turkey or reading one of several books on the subject. The latter is how I did it, but to be honest, use whatever you think will work for you.
The quicker you stop, the quicker you stop the damage to your blood vessels. In fact even after 24 hours of stopping smoking, your chances of suffering a heart attack decrease. How amazing is that?
I told you earlier that I would tell you about how stopping smoking changed my life. Well, I quit using a book by the late and great anti-smoking guru Allen Carr. After about six weeks I was jumping out of bed every morning with bags of energy, I could taste food properly for the first time in years, my skin was much clearer and less dry, my fitness improved dramatically and my general feelings of tiredness disappeared. All in all, I felt like kicking myself that I hadn’t stopped before – it was much easier than I thought. Also I realised that my life was not being controlled by cigarettes any more. I was free. The number of times I used to drive out of my way via a petrol station just to buy some cigarettes, go out in storms or the freezing cold to have a drag or two, or have to get change from the bar just for the cigarette machine at the pub. It’s laughable thinking about it now. The most amazing thing was that I wasn’t missing cigarettes at all, and my friends who were still smoking were simply jealous. The craving feeling passed after two or three days. After all, no-one’s ever died of craving a cigarette and smokers can incredibly control it when they are on an aeroplane or in a public building.
Some smoking facts:
Male smokers have lower sperm counts than non-smokers on average and female smokers are more likely to miscarry.
Each cigarette cuts around 8 minutes off your life on average
After three months of stopping smoking your lung function can increase by up to 30%
Top tips and a challenge:
If you’ve been thinking about stopping then you’re almost there. Once you know you want to stop it’s time to action. Can you take the 12 week challenge? Could you be a non-smoker within 12 weeks from now?
Adapted from an article in SWEET magazine - www.sweetmagazine.org




Adapted from an article in Sweet magazine - www.sweetmagazine.org
(Article adapted from SWEET magazine - www.sweetmagazine.org)





To go into detailed explanations around all this would take too long, but I hope I have given you some easy pointers. As is my philosophy, I am only telling you to do what I would do because I honestly believe it is best for your health.
For links to books which I recommend on this topic and others, please visit my practice website - http://www.medicalplanet.co.uk/
Happy eating...
Apologies for the radio silence. Been very busy... but I'm back... Rarely, admission to hospital is necessary and a course of steroids and oxygen therapy may be needed to treat the condition.


Other winter health tips
Choose the right food and drink
A balanced diet is the best way to ensure an adequate intake of nutrients. Certain foods boost your immune system, which is responsible for combating infection from viruses. Oily fish like tuna, mackerel, salmon and sardines contain Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids, which fight infection and help keep your heart and joints healthy. Fruits and fruit juices are a great source of Vitamin C, which finds it’s way into your immune system’s "white" blood cells, thereby supporting it. Green vegetables like peppers, cauliflower and cabbage also provide plenty of Vitamin C. Certain ingredients used in cooking such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, turmeric, ginger and garlic are also of benefit. Turmeric and ginger are used in Ayurvedic cold remedies, and garlic has anti-bacterial properties.
Enjoy exercise
Getting yourself out of breath for 30 minutes four times a week, is considered moderate exercise. This can be almost anything – from jogging to a pilate. Within limits, regular exercise can make you less prone to infection. Other beneficial effects include improved fitness and a positive effect on mood.
Herbal remedies
Echinacea is the gold standard herb for boosting your immune system. It is available from health shops and chemists, and is usually taken for no longer than two weeks at a time.
And finally...keep warm and get some sun
Humidity protects your mucous membranes, (the body’s moist linings), against attack from viruses. Sunlight, or just being out in natural daylight, is supposed to improve your mood at wintertime. This can prevent seasonal affective disorder, (SAD), which is a condition in which mood fluctuates with varying light levels.

1.Minimise or best remove soft furnishings like cuddly toys, fur cushions etc. from your bedroom
2.Try regular thorough vacuuming of your mattresses and carpets, preferably with a vacuum cleaner with an allergy filter
3.Reducing the humidity in your home with adequate ventialtion and possibly a de-humidifier
4.Wash your bed clothes at the highest possible temperature (usually 60 degrees C)
5.Buy a micro-porous mattress cover from a shop like Homebase or Woolworths

Fertility, or rather infertility - It's a big issue affecting more people every year. Why?
Well.... life has changed over the last fifty years. Many say that forty is the new thirty, as people are living longer and in general enjoying better health, often deciding to start families later, particulalry in the Western world.
However, one important thing that has not changed is the number of ovulations (or number of times that a woman will produce eggs) in an average lifetime. Of course this is by no means the only factor involved in fertility, but it is clearly of great importance.
It is important to note that there is a steep and steady decline in ovarian function after the age of 35 - i.e the numbers and the quality of eggs diminish. Many people reading this will think that IVF can get around this problem, and it can - sometimes. There are often long waiting lists on the NHS and the process can be both emotionally and financially exhausting.
Having said this, there are many causes of infertility - male and female - including anatomical, hormonal and lifestyle factors. For instance smoking can decrease sperm count.
Sometimes no cause can be found and this is known as medically unexplained infertility.
So when should you worry about fertility?
Firstly make sure you:
-Stop smoking
-Cut down or even better stop drinking alcohol
-Eat healthily and exercise regularly
-Start taking 400 micrograms of folic acid a day (for women)
If you have done these and are not having success after a year of trying please see your doctor. A set of blood tests for her and a semen analysis for him is a usual starting point in terms of investigations.
It's so topical, what with childhood obesity at an all time high in the UK right now, and the rates of adult obesity being double what it was in the 1980s, I just had to cover it.

