What are the proper principles for the use of painkillers in order to maximize their effectiveness?

What are the proper principles for the use of painkillers in order to maximize their effectiveness?

  1. No pain can not immediately stop the medicine; 2. Take painkillers regularly.

The maintenance time of painkillers is different due to the difference in the metabolism of drugs in the body, and regular medication can ensure that the blood concentration has been maintained in the effective range to ensure that the pain can be continuously relieved. If you wait for pain to occur before taking medication, patients will not only have to endure unnecessary pain, but also lead to drug resistance.

Is dependence on painkillers a physical dependence?

There is a certain dependence on painkillers accessible to conventional patients, but this dependence is often physical dependence, and addiction is not the same. It is not recommended that patients choose a certain painkiller for long-term use, because it may cause gastrointestinal burden, liver and kidney toxicity.

Vitamin C is helpful to improve immunity, the more supplement the better?

Myth:

Vitamin C is helpful in boosting immunity, and the more you take, the better.

The TRUTH:

Although vitamin C supplementation is helpful to improve immunity, it is not always better to take more supplements. Studies have shown that 200 mg of vitamin C per day is very safe and can prevent non-communicable chronic diseases.

Although long-term intake of 1000 mg/day of vitamin C has not been found adverse effects, but there are studies found that when vitamin C intake of more than 2000 mg/day can cause osmotic diarrhea, more than 3000 mg/day will appear diarrhea and gastrointestinal disorders, but also increase the risk of kidney stones.

Therefore, taking too much vitamin C can cause harm to the body, and the maximum tolerable intake of the human body is 2000 mg per day. For us, there is no need to supplement vitamin C too much, eat enough of the recommended amount of 100 mg/day.

Synthetic vitamin C

Can replace natural vitamin C?

Myth:

Synthetic vitamin C can replace natural vitamin C.

The TRUTH:

Natural vitamin C is a naturally occurring vitamin C component in food, and synthetic vitamin C is a vitamin C artificially prepared by chemical synthesis and other methods. The structure of these two types of vitamin C is exactly the same, and the source is ascorbic acid, so from the point of view of supplementing vitamin C, either of the two can be chosen.

But the difference is that natural foods not only contain vitamin C, but also contain bioactive substances, such as carotenoids, alkaloids, anthocyanins, sulfur compounds, and vitamin E. These bioactive substances not only have the ability of anti-oxidation and scavenging free radicals themselves, but also can cooperate with vitamin C to enhance the biological activity of vitamin C. For example, anthocyanins can prevent vitamin C oxidation, protect vitamin C, the synergistic effect of the two, DPPH free radical clearance rate is more than twice the use of vitamin C alone; Vitamin E also works synergistically with vitamin C to boost antioxidant capacity.

Therefore, compared with synthetic vitamin C, relying on food to supplement natural vitamin C can also antioxidant and remove free radicals, can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, but also has anti-inflammatory effect, improve the absorption rate and bioavailability of vitamin C, and better improve immunity. Synthetic vitamin C cannot completely replace natural vitamin C.

Do fruits contain more vitamin C than vegetables?

Myth:

Fruits contain more vitamin C than vegetables.

The TRUTH:

When it comes to foods containing vitamin C, some of the public’s first thoughts are fresh fruits such as oranges, strawberries and kiwis. So the vitamin content of fruit must be more than vegetables? In fact, the vitamin C content of vegetables is the same as that of fruits, and there are high and low points, and some vegetables have more vitamin C content than fruits.

Vegetables —

Bell pepper, color pepper: they are rich in vitamin C, of which the vitamin C content of bell pepper and color pepper is as high as 130 mg /100 grams, 104 mg /100 grams, that is to say, as long as eating 100 grams of bell pepper or color pepper can meet the vitamin C needs of an ordinary adult 130% and 104%. And both of these can be eaten raw, sweet taste, better nutrition retention, to avoid the loss of vitamin C in the cooking process.

Chinese cabbage: The vitamin C content of Chinese cabbage is still good in green leafy vegetables, 64 mg /100 grams, try to choose low temperature cooking, such as quick fire stir-fry, small cabbage soup, or boiling water blanch directly cold, so as to retain more vitamin C.

Kale: This vegetable is nice to look at, mostly found in flower beds, and has a vitamin C content of 63 mg /100 g. It is also rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body and is good for eye health.

Cherry Tomatoes: Its vitamin C content is 33 mg /100 grams, 2.4 times that of large tomatoes, eating about 15 cherry tomatoes can almost meet the average adult’s daily vitamin C needs 66%. And it’s super easy to eat, one mouthful after you wash it!

The fruit —

Winter jujube: vitamin C content is quite considerable, 243 mg /100 grams, this amount, even if only eat two or three winter jujube, can meet the daily vitamin C needs. However, winter dates are high in calories, if you want to lose weight, don’t eat too much.

Kiwi fruit: The sour and sweet taste of kiwi fruit vitamin C content is excellent, 62mg/100g. Although it is not as good as winter jujube, eating 1 to 2 a day can almost meet the needs of vitamin C for a day, and the price is not expensive.

Strawberries: The vitamin C content of strawberries is as high as 47 mg /100 grams, the VC content is close to twice that of grapes, and strawberries are low-calorie, low-GI fruits, which are suitable for small partners who need to lose weight and control sugar.

Orange: Vitamin C content is 53.2 mg /100 grams, eating 1 to 2 fresh oranges can meet the daily vitamin C needs of the general population, but oranges are also rich in beta-carotene, eating too much will become minions, but it is not harmful to health, as long as you stop ingestion for a few days to recover.

It can be seen from the above that the vitamin C content of sweet pepper, color pepper, cabbage and kale in vegetables is higher than that of kiwi, strawberry, orange and other fruits under the same weight. The public can expand the range of ingredients in choosing supplements, pay attention to nutrition, and scientifically understand more nutritious ingredients.

Can cocoa lose weight?

As the summer solstice approaches, the temperature gradually rises. Many people want to lose weight as soon as possible in the “meat” season, and the topic of fitness has become quite hot online recently.

Some bloggers’ homemade “weight loss drinks” have become popular on many Chinese social platforms. “Two spoons of raw cocoa powder + half a bottle of oolong tea + milk, this bottle of homemade low-calorie milk tea praised” “Raw cocoa powder + Oolong tea, let me lose several pounds in a month, but also very convenient”… The number of clicks and likes of such content is quite high.

It is not difficult to find that cocoa powder occupies the “C position” of these diet drink formulas. So, what is cocoa powder? Does it really have weight loss benefits? The reporter interviewed relevant experts with these questions.

Cocoa powder is the product of processed cocoa beans

“Cocoa powder is what’s left after the cocoa butter is extracted from the cocoa liquid.” Kexin food and health information exchange Center science and technology communication Department director Ruan Guangfeng said.

The reporter learned that cocoa powder is the product of cocoa bean processing. People take the cocoa beans from the fruit of the cocoa tree, the cocoa beans are cleaned, screened, roasted, shelled, and then through post-processing to obtain cocoa liquid. Cocoa liquid is an important ingredient in the production of chocolate.

After further pressing, the oil is separated from the cocoa liquid, forming two raw materials: one is the raw material of chocolate, cocoa butter, which is a natural cooking oil with a faint chocolate flavor; The other is the residue of the cocoa liquid after degreasing – cocoa powder, which is known as cocoa powder after being crushed.

Figuratively speaking, cocoa powder is like the soybean meal obtained after the crushing process of soybeans. “It is used in food processing simply because it has the distinctive aroma of cocoa.” Mr. Nguyen explained.

In the national standard full text disclosure system, the recommended national standards queried by the reporter show that cocoa powder can be divided into natural cocoa powder and alkalized cocoa powder according to the alkalization process.

Natural cocoa powder is brown-yellow or light brown, more difficult to dissolve in liquid, and taste bitter, generally not directly used in the production of liquid products. The alkalized cocoa powder is brown-red or brown-black, which is obtained after the addition of edible alkali during the processing of cocoa beans, tastes slightly better than natural cocoa powder, and can be dissolved in water.

There is no direct weight loss effect of any food

On social platforms, many people recommend cocoa powder because it “can lose weight.” So, does eating cocoa really have this magic effect?

“The key to weight loss is your energy budget.” Ruan Guangfeng said that reasonable control of intake and consumption of calories, so that the daily consumption of calories greater than the intake of calories, in order to achieve weight loss.

Reporters on an online shopping platform to “cocoa powder” as a keyword search, and randomly open a product interface, found that the nutrition table indicated that the brand of cocoa powder per 100 grams of calories 1623 kilojoules (about 387 kcal), accounting for about 19% of the daily needs of the human body; Running at a moderate speed for an hour burns about 250 kcal; The recognized “weight loss food” – broccoli, contains about 36 kcal per 100 grams. Cocoa powder is not low in calories, but why do many people still say it has a good weight loss effect?

Liang Tingting, a dietitian in charge of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, said in an interview that if cocoa powder is used as a meal replacement (that is, do not eat other foods) to eat, for some people, it may indeed have a weight loss effect, but this effect is not necessarily brought by cocoa powder. If people do not eat in the short term, the intake of calories will be reduced, even if they do not eat cocoa powder, they can achieve the purpose of weight loss.

“Eating cocoa powder is actually not a direct weight loss, any food has no direct weight loss effect.” Mr. Ruan concluded.

The reporter also observed that some people claim that cocoa powder is “rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals, and has an appetite suppressive effect.” But is it really the case?

“It is true that cocoa is rich in antioxidants, but the claim that it is’ rich in minerals, vitamins and can suppress appetite ‘has not been verified by the authorities.” Mr Ruan said.

Liang said that suppressing appetite may not be the effect of cocoa powder. In the case of insufficient energy intake, the human body’s appetite will be suppressed in the short term. In addition, the stronger satiety brought by cocoa powder will also make people eat less to a certain extent. She said that if the cocoa powder is used as meal replacement powder in the short term, it can indeed achieve certain weight loss purposes, but if it is eaten in the long term, it is not good for health.

So, how to eat the right, eat good cocoa powder?

First of all, cocoa powder cannot be used exclusively as a meal replacement. In the production of meal replacement, pay attention to the balance of nutrition. The human body needs to take in several major types of nutrients every day to include, coarse and fine grains to match, and according to the different amount of exercise, but also to take in a certain amount of carbohydrates; Unsaturated fatty acids, high-quality protein, fresh vegetables and fruits should also be guaranteed. If cocoa powder is consumed alone, the body may lack nutrients such as protein and unsaturated fatty acids. Secondly, for people who want to lose weight, because cocoa powder contains a lot of dietary fiber, it is suitable to eat half an hour before meals to enhance the sense of fullness. However, it is also important to note that cocoa powder is high in calories, so do not eat too much at once.

Why is my rheumatoid arthritis getting worse?

Rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that wreaks havoc on the joints, not only affects the patient’s body, but also can have a bad effect on the mental state.

Many people think that it is no less harmful than cancer, so rheumatoid arthritis is also called “immortal cancer”. Although rheumatoid arthritis does not directly affect the patient’s life, it can cause joint deformities that seriously affect the quality of life.

In clinical practice, we also see that many patients in the early stage of the disease is not serious, but for various reasons, the condition gradually worsened, and the joint stiffness deformity quickly appeared, which is a pity.

So what are the causes of rheumatoid arthritis worsening?

  1. The age of onset is small and the number of swollen joints is large

Current research has found that the earlier the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, the more swollen and painful the number of joints involved, the more stubborn the condition.

The process of rheumatoid arthritis disease development is the process of joint ankylosis deformity, for young patients, rheumatoid arthritis disease course is long, the damage to the joint time is correspondingly longer, the condition is more complex. If the number of swollen joints is larger, the degree of inflammation caused is also heavier, which can also aggravate the progression of the disease.

  1. Rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP antibody titers are particularly high

Current studies have found that patients with high titers of rheumatoid factors and anti-CCP antibodies have complex rheumatoid arthritis conditions, and joint damage caused by bone erosion is more obvious, and it is easy to be accompanied by multi-system damage such as lung interstitial disease.

  1. High ESR and C-reactive protein, accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are disease activity indicators of rheumatoid arthritis, and the higher the level of the two, the more serious the inflammation degree and the more complex the disease. At this time, it is also more likely to be combined with fever, fatigue, weight loss and other systemic symptoms.

  1. Low dose hormone therapy is not effective

Hormones are still an important drug in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. For rheumatoid arthritis patients with poor effects of conventional slow action anti-rheumatic drugs, the addition of small doses of hormones can mostly rapidly reduce inflammation in the short term, prevent joint deformation or important organ function damage. However, if the effect of small doses of hormones is not good, or long-term need for large doses of hormones to maintain the efficacy of rheumatoid arthritis patients, more than suggest that their disease is complex and stubborn.

  1. Stop taking the drug by yourself and do not follow the doctor’s advice

In fact, the most common cause of deterioration of rheumatoid arthritis is that patients stop taking drugs on their own and do not follow medical advice. Many patients fear the adverse reactions of drugs, or worry about lifelong medication, stop taking drugs on their own, do not follow medical advice, and even look around for so-called “miracle drugs”, “secret recipes”, “folk remedies”, resulting in rheumatoid arthritis in the disease activity period for a long time, miss the best treatment period, resulting in deterioration of the disease, irreversible damage to the joints, it is a pity.

It can be seen that there are many reasons for the deterioration of rheumatoid arthritis, including the causes of the disease itself and the patient’s own reasons.

Under the current level of medical conditions, as long as the systematic standard treatment can be adhered to, even if there are many adverse factors, the condition of rheumatoid arthritis can be controlled in a better degree, but the premise must be to comply with the treatment plan formulated by the rheumatologist and follow the doctor’s advice.

Tilpotide, the strongest weight-loss drug, has a unique activity to stimulate insulin secretion

Tirzepatide is a diabetes treatment developed by Eli Lilly and Company. It is a dual agonist of glucose-dependent insulin-stimulating polypeptide (GIP) receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor. Activating the GLP-1 receptor reduces hunger and thus diet and caloric intake, while activating the GIP receptor reduces diet and caloric intake and increases energy expenditure. Tilpotide is being fast-tracked for approval as a new weight loss treatment and is expected to be available by the end of the year.

A previous Phase 3 clinical trial showed that participants in the 15mg dose group lost an average of up to 22.5% (24 kg) of body weight after a 72-week treatment with tilpotide. It is the first investigational drug to achieve an average weight loss of more than 20% in a Phase 3 clinical trial, and it is the best drug to date for weight loss.

On June 5, 2023, researchers from Duke University, the German Diabetes Research Center, and Eli Lilly collaborated to publish a paper in the journal Nature Metabolism entitled: The incretin co-agonist tirzepatide requires GIPR for hormone secretion from human islets.

The study is the first to use human donor cells to demonstrate that tilpotide is indeed a dual GIP receptor and GLP-1 receptor agonist, and not just a so-called super GLP-1 receptor agonist. The study also demonstrated that Tipotide’s activation of the GIP receptor is integral to its stimulation of insulin secretion.

Corresponding author Jonathan Campbell, a professor at Duke University School of Medicine, said that understanding the multiple targeted mechanisms of action of tilpotide opens up a whole new world for the development of better drugs for weight loss and diabetes.

Targeting the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor to treat diabetes has a long history, and for people with type 2 diabetes, GLP-1-based drugs can restore insulin production and thus lower blood sugar. In addition, the drug can increase the feeling of fullness and reduce appetite, which can help with weight loss. This makes GLP-1-based drugs very attractive in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. One intuitive feeling is that Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist developed by Novo Nordisk, will have sales of more than $10 billion in 2022.

Tirzepatide is a dual agonist of glucose-dependent insulin-stimulating polypeptide (GIP) receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor. It can increase satiety, reduce appetite, and increase energy consumption, resulting in better weight loss.

However, the GIP receptor has long been unpromising as a therapeutic target for metabolic diseases, and it has even been suggested to block the receptor rather than activate it. Some in the industry have speculated that telpotide’s activation of the GIP receptor may not be important, or that it may be acting as a “super” GLP-1 receptor agonist to exert a better therapeutic effect.

So is this really the case?

In this latest paper, the research team found that in mice, tilpotide does stimulate insulin secretion primarily by activating the GLP-1 receptor, but this is actually due to the low level of GIP receptor expression in mice.

In human islet cells, GIP receptors are essential for insulin secretion when stimulated with tilpotide. They also found that tilpotide stimulated the islets to secrete another hormone, glucagon. GIP stimulates glucagon secretion, while GLP-1 inhibits glucagon secretion. The discovery that tilpotide stimulates glucagon secretion provides further evidence that the drug has important activity on GIP receptors.

This study shows that tilpotide is a true dual receptor agonist and not just a super GLP-1 receptor agonist, which also validates the great potential of using single molecules with multiple receptor activity as drugs for the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Here are five signs that your immunity may be in trouble

Immunity is an important physiological function of human body. Once it is damaged, various diseases can take advantage of it.

Many people think about what to eat to improve their immune system after they are sick, but it is the daily accumulation of immunity.

How is immunity lost?

  1. Lost in unhealthy eating

High-salt diets: Can harm the immune system and weaken the antibacterial response.

Sweet tooth: can affect the bactericidal ability of white blood cells.

Always forget to drink water: Drinking water can help the body flush out toxins, and not drinking enough can affect immunity.

  1. You lose it in the middle of the night

Enhancing immunity is one of the important functions of sleep. Immune factors of sleeping body are formed during sleep.

Staying up late for a long time can lead to weakened immunity, fatigue, low energy, and unexpected colds and allergies.

Sleep deprivation severely affects the function of the immune system’s T cells and prevents B cells from producing antibodies. Compared with normal sleep, people who slept only four hours a night had 50 percent fewer humoral immunity-dependent B-cell antibodies.

Sleep deprivation not only leads to decreased immune function, but also increases the chance of opportunistic infections.

A good, healthy sleep is a guarantee of improved immune function, which helps fight viral infections.

  1. Lost in a state of agitation

Negative emotions will cause a series of physical changes, and may also cause cancer. Adverse psychological factors and negative emotions will lead to weakened immune surveillance.

The decline of immunity causes endocrine disorders, so that tumor cells have a chance to get rid of inhibition, so that the probability of tumor occurrence increases exponentially.

Depression and other negative emotions lead to reduced lymphocyte function, low immunity, prone to cancer.

Especially in women, emotions have a greater impact on immunity and endocrine function, leading to abnormal menstruation, easy to catch a cold, prone to thyroid nodules, breast hyperplasia, uterine fibroids and other diseases.

  1. It’s lost in sitting

Sitting for too long can lead to an overall decline in fitness, with research finding that sitting for too long increases the risk of bowel cancer by around 44 per cent!

Sitting for long periods of time can affect blood circulation, which in turn leads to a slower movement of the intestines and a longer period of time for toxic metabolites to move down and out of the body, which can increase the risk of enteritis and even bowel cancer over the years.

Sedentary people are more likely to have abdominal obesity. If a large amount of fat is deposited in the liver, it will slowly evolve into fatty liver, which will not only affect the detoxification function of the liver, but also further increase the risk of liver fibrosis and liver cancer.

At the same time easy to cause the body immunity decline, increase the risk of a variety of diseases.

Good changes in immune function can occur within minutes of starting exercise, although the duration is relatively short.

Regular exercise for 20 to 40 minutes a day can fully mobilize human immunity, and can maintain a good immune state for a long time.

  1. Lost with age

After entering old age, the body’s immune system gradually ages. Especially with diabetes, chronic bronchitis and other chronic diseases, easy to be invaded by pathogens, reduce immunity.

There are five manifestations

The problem of immunity should be emphasized

When you show the following symptoms, perhaps you should pay attention to the problem of immunity, such a long-term will not only make people prone to disease, but also may aggravate some diseases.

  1. Wound recovery is slow and easy to inflammation

After an accidental scratch, the average person’s immune system responds quickly, encouraging blood clotting and white blood cells to gather to fight off germs outside the body, preventing inflammation.

But people with poor immunity may have slow wound healing, two or three days without scab, and inflammation, ulceration and other performance.

  1. You sweat for no apparent reason

People who sweat more, no matter what the weather, may also be less immune than others. And this kind of person may also be easy to sweat when sleeping, always sleep not steadfast.

This inexplicable sweating situation, most also related to poor immunity.

  1. Prone to diarrhea and gastrointestinal discomfort

The intestinal mucosa is also a line of defense for the immune system. When immunity is weak, it is likely to give the bacteria a chance to enter the body.

For example, in the same case of eating out, the food may not be very sanitary. Some people will be fine after eating, but some people will vomit and diarrhea, which also indicates that the immunity may be weak.

  1. You get sick frequently and have repeated illness

Frequent colds, fevers, and sore throats, and may not recover on and off for a long time after falling ill, can also indicate that their immunity may be poor.

  1. Low energy and feeling tired all the time

A weak immune system can also cause chronic fatigue problems.

Some people are easy to feel weak, tired, a little activity has no strength. This is also a sign of weak immunity.

How to improve their immune function?

  1. Eat a healthy 3 meals a day

If you want to protect your immunity, you have to eat three meals, not just one a day.

  1. Aim for 4 major food groups every day

Including grain tubers, that is, food; Vegetables and fruits; High quality protein foods; Finally, there are oils.

  1. Aim to eat at least 12 foods a day

Eat at least 12 of these four groups of foods every day to reach a level of nutrients that can help improve your immune system.

  1. Eat at least 25 foods a week

That is to say, you eat at least 25 kinds of food a week, it is a high probability that the nutrition is relatively balanced, can enhance the resistance of a diet.

Staple food: Eat 150~500 grams of staple food throughout the day.

Of course, this refers to fine grain or coarse grain, rice, white flour and so on, together with a part of the grain potato, such as sweet potato, yam, taro, potatoes and so on, is what we call food.

Vegetables and fruits: not only supplement adequate vitamins and intake of dietary fiber we want.

High quality protein foods: that is, meat, eggs, milk, soy products, which meat to eat at least 100~150 grams, eggs to eat 1 ~ 2, milk to drink 1 ~ 2 bags, and eat a little tofu, constitute a high quality protein combination to enhance the constitution, enhance resistance.

Grease: Finally, there should be a little grease to do protection, 2~3 spoons of oil every day.

If you follow these four suggestions, you will be able to meet the nutritional needs of three meals a day, and enhance resistance to the universal principle, whether it is the elderly, adults, children, are basically applicable.

Of course, different people may have different characteristics, and we can make adjustments based on the basic principles.

  1. These nutrients help boost our immunity

Good protein. In addition to proteins found in foods, there are a variety of other proteins that have been condensed into preparations.

Vitamin trace elements. Well-known vitamins such as A, C, D, E and B vitamins are known to fight oxidation.

In addition to iron and zinc, are able to help us improve resistance.

A variety of proteins in the body synthesis of human antibodies, need is these vitamins, trace elements as a coenzyme, as a catalyst to help synthesis.

With the help of these nutrients, our immunity will be improved.