Researchers from the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Texas A&M University in College Station, as well as the Human Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, have found that OCs actually limit muscle gain from strength training in women under 35. The research involved 73 relatively healthy women aged 18 to 31. Of these, 34 used OCs and 39 did not. Both groups participated in a whole-body resistance exercise program consisting of 13 exercises performed three times per week for 10 weeks. At each session, they completed three sets of six to 10 repetitions of each exercise at 75 percent of maximum strength. The women were encouraged to eat enough protein to promote muscle growth.

Tests on the women showed that OC users had significantly lower levels of three muscle-building hormones—DHEA, DHEAS, and IGF-1—and elevated levels of one muscle-breaking hormone—cortisol. Lee said these findings “could help explain” why OC users showed diminished muscle gains from resistance exercise training, but that “vigorous future studies with more stringent control and clever design will be definitely needed to confirm the results and/or elucidate the underlying mechanism conclusively.”

The study findings were presented at the 122nd annual meeting of the American Physiological Society, which is also participating in the scientific conference “Experimental Biology 2009” being held in New Orleans.

It is most common to associate the onset of menopause with traditional symptoms like hot flashes and drastic menstrual cycle changes, but prior to those quite obvious signs that menopause has arrived, there are numerous other body changes for which women can be on the lookout. Many women also tend to ignore the signs of menopause they occur prior to their late 40s or 50s, but catching the symptoms early and correctly linking them to menopause can create the opportunity to use various natural health methods to minimize said symptoms and incur less stress about them.

Rola attributes most pre-menopausal symptoms, such as the twelve most common listed in this article, to an annovulatory cycle, something common for women in their 30s and 40s. In essence, it is the lack of ovulation, which results in the lack of the production of progesterone and an excess of estrogen. As women age, ovulations become fewer and farther between, and the resulting hormone imbalance causes signs of menopause to appear in many women. In addition, excess estrogen comes from birth control pills, especially in women who have been taking them for a number of years, as well as chemicals and pesticides used in the house and on foods. Altogether, the created imbalance in a woman’s body produces signs that women can notate.

There is a simple test online that one can find online, and there is no cost involved. In addition, one can ask a physician to consider the symptoms and make suggestions, though many doctors tend to be quick to recommend hormone replacement therapy, which relies on medications to balance the system.

A nationwide advertisement some time ago cited the “heartbreak of psoriasis,” and those who suffer from the skin disorder find that an apt description. Between 1 and 3 percent of the U.S. population suffer from the chronic skin disease with patches of scaly skin with a red itchy look, or silver dead-looking skin. Psoriasis was long considered a problem for a dermatologist, but recent developments indicate that it is an autoimmune disease with a possible genetic link that can be aggravated by smoking and alcohol consumption. The disease is not contagious, but it is incurable. Some treatments will temporarily alleviate the symptoms, but will not cure the disorder.

The study used data on 78,061 women between the ages of 27 and 44 who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study. The women were followed for 14 years. None had diabetes at the start of the study. Autoimmune diseases cause chronic inflammation within the body and inflammation is a risk factor for high blood pressure and may help foster insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. The authors considered that chronic inflammation could explain why women with psoriasis had a 63 percent increased risk of developing diabetes and a 17 percent increased risk of developing high blood pressure, compared to women without psoriasis.

Because the study was restricted to white women, the findings cannot be generalized to men or other races, according to the researchers.

Ever thought of life without ears!!! Of course, there are people who are leading their life without ears but just think of a movement if your ear stops working. You will surely miss the chirping sounds of birds, soothing sound of wind, refreshing sounds of silent music and so on. Moreover, you will find it difficult to understand what people say and how is your surrounding working. Surely, ear provides lot more than just hearing.

Ear is the only organ that help us in understanding our surrounding by listening to them. Many a times we fail to understand the importance of this vital part of our body. Ear continues working even while you are asleep. Let us learn something about ear and try to give a little care to this auditory organ of our body.

Middle ear is a small air-filled space which is present in the inner side of the eardrum. There are three tiny bones present in this part, known as ossicles. These bones are named according to their appearances: hammer, anvil and stirrup. Sound waves coming through outer ear moves the eardrum and these bones also move passing the vibration to the oval shaped window of the cochlea. The hammer bone lies close to the ear drum. When the sound waves move the eardrum, the hammer bone is automatically shaken. This vibration passes to the anvil and the stirrup bone which are also attached to the cochlea. Due to the size difference between the eardrum and the oval window, the middle ear can efficiently change the vibrations from the outside air to the watery fluid inside the cochlea.

The cochlea contains fluid that can move and bend the hairs present outside the cells. These hairs are very tiny and each ear has more than 17,000 hair cells. The inner hair cells create an electrical impulse which is passed along the auditory nerve to the brain. The outer tiny muscle cells react to the vibrations in the fluid by trembling and shaking. This is how we get stronger and clearer vibrations for the tiny inner hair cells. Rest of the work is accomplished by the brain and we start hearing.