What is Bipolar Disorder?I’m not going to try and give a medical definition here of bipolar disorder. There are plenty of those around on the internet if you care to do a search. I am simply going to give you my opinion, based on my experience. Bipolar disorder was formerly known as manic depression and this term for the disorder is still used in some quarters today. Bipolar disorder, as the name suggests, involves mood swings between depression and elevation plus all points in between. It does not only affect your mood however. It can affect your behaviour, your thought patterns, sleep patterns and feelings. These affects may be minor or major, but the effects of bipolar disorder in whatever its form require management and treatment. Untreated, a person who suffers from bipolar disorder can be well and truly on a path of self destruction. Indeed, the suicide rate amongst bipolars is quite high. Interestingly enough, bipolar disorder is referred to as a “mental illness”, yet if this is true and it is something in the mind, then how is it that it is treated with drugs? No-one has yet identified specifically what or how bipolar is caused, but the most common suggestions are that it is something to do with cells and activity in the brain. The brain is the organ we know least about, but it is a physical organ. That being the case, perhaps we should be referring to bipolar disorder as being as much a physical illness or disorder as diabetes. Bipolar disorder is a chronic disorder. That is, once it has been diagnosed you’ve won the lottery. You have it for life. The symptoms of bipolar disorder are broken up into two groups for all intents and purposes. These are depressive symptoms and manic symptoms. Manic symptoms are broken down however into a further sub-group known as “hypomanic” symptoms.Depression

Mania

A lower form of mania also can exist which is known as hypomania. Symptoms of hypomania can include all of the above, but to a lesser degree. A person in a hypomanic state may exhibit many of the above symptoms but only to the point where they appear to be very happy or cheerful. Consequently, it is not as visible or easy to diagnose as a full blown manic episode. Because of the two types of mania, bipolar disorder is broken down into two groups, that of Bipolar 1 and Bipolar 2 and it is here that I will quote from the American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th Ed.Bipolar 1Characterized by the occurrence of one or more Manic Episodes or Mixed Episodes. Often individuals have also had one or more Major Depressive Episodes.Bipolar 2Characterized by the occurrence of one or more Major Depressive Episodes accompanied by at least one Hypomanic Episode.

Currently there are two polio vaccines that are in use throughout the world to fight against polio. Jonas Salk, the man who invented the first, started his work on a vaccine in 1955. The vaccine worked in two steps: first a dose of killed polio virus is injected, and then an oral polio vaccine must be taken which contains a live but much weakened form of the virus. This vaccine was first tested in 1957 on humans, and was later liscensed in 1962. Then came along another vaccine that was developed by Sabin. This live-virus vaccine quickly became to more popular route of the two for 4 main reasons:

1. Due to it’s live state it has the ability to spread and to infect other individuals who have not been vaccinated. This sounds bad, but in the spread, it allows the remote body to build up some immunity to the virus.

2. Due to the fact that the oral vaccine performs its magic in the gut, it works on immunity there in the central system which in turn reduces the spread of the virus on the outside. If the polio vaccine is injected directly into the bloodstream it will immunize the inividual, however it does not not reduce his or her ability to spread the virus.

3. Everything is a matter of money these days, especially when it comes to healthcare. Sabin’s «live» vaccine was cheaper than than Salk’s «dead» vaccine.

4. The last reason for the increased popularity of Sabin’s vaccine is that the oral vaccine is alot easier to widely administer to the general population than the injected vaccine. This means that patients are more likely to complete the series of vaccinations that are required to attain full immunity.

Sabin’s vaccine is the standard treatment for polio to date. The dead virus was able to bring Polio to terms, however it was the live-virus vaccine that was able to completely eliminate the wild spread of the polio virus in the United States.

Many celiacs lose weight before they are diagnosed; indeed it is often one of the reasons people go to their doctors in the first place. Once on a gluten-free diet the symptoms disappear, and as a result of better absorption or simply eating more, some people gain too much weight. Losing weight should be based on eating sensibly rather than lurching from one diet to another. Be wary of low carbohydrate diets, as high protein diets can cause acidosis, which in turn can lead to calcium being lost from the bones. You should always check the ingredients of any low calorie / low fat / low carbohydrate products as they may use ingredients containing gluten to thicken or stabilize the product. These are often wheat based. Moderation is the key. Don’t deprive yourself but be honest with yourself. Snacking and raiding the fridge can add huge amounts of empty calories. Consider the relationship you have with food – if you are using it to compensate for feeling unhappy it is better to deal with the underlying problem rather than use food. You end up with both the unhappiness and a weight problem. It is quite useful to keep a food diary for a week before attempting to change your diet. (This refers to weight loss only, you must stick to your gluten-free diet at all times.) Look for empty calories, hidden fats and sugar. How much alcohol are you drinking? Be absolutely honest. Cut down on convenience foods as they are usually high in fat, sugar and salt. The best way to lose weight is to: Eat regular meals, particularly breakfast. Consider your portion control, and use a smaller plate. Don’t feel you have to eat everything on your plate. Always stop eating when you are full! Eat lots of fruit and vegetables – at least 5 portions a day, Fill up on vegetables – if it is green and leafy or red you can eat as much as you like Eat potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes and parsnips in moderation The way you cook food is important – Remember frying, roasting or putting loads of butter on vegetables adds lots of fat and calories – beware Cut out the snacks – they are often very high in fat and or sugar. If you must eat between meals eat fruit, carrot or celery sticks Be sensible with carbohydrates –chose wholemeal rather than white bread, rice and pasta as it takes more calories for the body to digest, you feel full for longer and they have a higher level of vitamins and minerals. Eat them in moderation Trim fat off meat and don’t eat the skin of fish or poultry – there is a high concentration of fat just under the skin Beware hidden calories in drinks / snacks – a single tin of non – diet fizzy drink contains the equivalent of 7 teaspoonsfull of sugar Crisps / biscuits / cakes / chocolate / sweets should be a treat they are laden with fat, salt and sugar Alcohol is high in calories; approximately 80 calories for a small glass of wine. (1 unit). Cut your intake of salt – sodium can increase blood pressure. Eating and weight are like the seesaw at the park. One end represents the calories you take in – what you eat. The other end is the calories you use in your daily activities including exercise. If you eat more calories than you use you will put on weight. The seesaw will go up – as will your weight. If you eat fewer calories than you use you will lose weight. The seesaw will go down – as will your weight. Drink plenty of water – it will purify the system and help to make you feel full. Drinking ice-cold water will burn off more calories than drinking water at room temperature. It is vital that you follow a sensible balanced diet when you are trying to lose weight, ensuring you get enough vitamins and minerals if you want to remain healthy. We all know that is good advice, but for celiacs yo-yo dieting can seriously damage your health!

The humanity is always being challenged yearly. What good is a year if there has been no major threat to our humanity? It may be quite evil to say, but that’s reality. Every year, there are lots and lots of people who die from diseases, natural calamities or terrorist acts. It is a quite a scare to consider that one day, it might be us who will be the next victims. The current scare that is making officials all over the world S%$T their pants out is the H5N1 strain. The H5N1 is a strain of bird flu virus that has been found to be very deadly. It has been considered to be deadly because of the rate it has been transferring from one bird to the other. The scaring thing about it is that once the birds show symptoms of the disease. They have only a few days to live. The virus also spreads rapidly, sometimes spreading the virus to other flocks in just a matter of days. Another scary thing about it is that a flu virus tends to mutate. If it does mutate and joins with a human flu virus it can be considered deadly for our species. So far the people who have been affected did not contact the disease from other people. They got the disease because they were unhygienic in handling domesticated birds that are infected. However, recent developments have now got more people scared. The evens in Turkey should be observed more carefully. This is because in the span of only a week, 15 people were infected. Some may think that the virus has now mutated. If it has now mutated, we have bigger problems than Saddam Hussein. Currently we only have tamiflu to fight it with. Tamiflu is just an antiviral drug that prevents new virus from emerging out of the infected ones. Some experts even claim that Tamiflu does not help. If it does help, there is just nit enough to give to the whole world either. The problem with the companies being hesitant to produce the tamiflu or any other vaccine for bird flu for that matter; is because they are afraid the threat becomes bust and they might waste a whole lot of money. The H5N1 strain is really becoming the stuff only movie producers think about. It’s like the movie Outbreak. However, in real life the threat is bigger and we face a scarier situation when we just laugh about it. Thinking like it’s just Colonel Sander’s Big Joke. The best thing we have to do is just remember to live a healthier and hygienic lifestyle. Because as always prevention has always been the best answer of humanity to any threat that looms.