Sugar-free Monday

Took me 2 years to rediscover my love for T-ARA’s 2014 Sugar-free song!

If you have not heard about it, you can listen to it on Youtube.

Stumbling across this song was purely by accident when I opened up this video of T-ARA’s progress from 2006 to 2016. Having lost touch with T-ARA since their controversy, I was really curious if they uploaded any more songs following their QBS-Like a wind in 2013/4. Naturally, the catchy beat of the song caught my attention and I was immediately drawn to it after the 1st play.

Apart from the catchy beat, the choreography in the chorus part attracted me the most! I really liked how much they exaggerate the sugar-free title with their hands doing the motion of adding sugar into an invisible cup of tea on top of an invisible table. The dance move following that was as swift as their lyrics and that was totally mesmerizing!

Even though there were plentiful repeats about “Sugar-free” and its chorus, I guess it stuck a chord with me about making healthy life choices.

The title of the song literally meant watch what you eat.

Sugar, when broken down in the body, becomes glucose, one of the building blocks of many macromolecules in our bodies and it is one of the major sources of energy. However, too much of these glucose in the blood can lead to many complications, with Diabetes as the worse.

There are two types of diabetes, and if you are not diagnosed with diabetes as a child, you are safe from Type I diabetes. In order to utilize the glucose in our blood, our body will break them down and generate energy in mini-factories called mitochondria in the cells. However, excess glucose will be stored for future use (e.g. exercising). Before glucose can be stored, an important hormone (called insulin) from the pancreas (an organ lying posteriorly of the stomach) is needed.

Location of the pancreas

Type I diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas cannot produce insulin and as a result, the body is unable to store glucose. This is why, as management of Type I diabetes, these people need insulin jabs – to provide their body with insulin to allow storing of glucose.

Can you imagine poking yourself each time you eat?

However, if you are Type I diabetes free and constantly exposed yourself to food with high sugar content, you are at risk of Type II diabetes. Type II diabetes, unlike Type I, is when your body overproduces insulin and your cells become unreceptive to these insulin molecules. In this scenario, insulin jabs will not help because your body cannot respond to insulin. The only way to manage Type II diabetes is to control the intake of sugar and constantly monitoring their glucose level to ensure the levels do not exceed their normal limits.

Exceeding normal limits of blood glucose can bring about many symptoms including high blood pressure, frequent thirst and hunger, frequent urination (especially night time) as well as numbness in the extremities. Complications can also arise if diabetes is not well managed. For instance, diabetic retinopathy (in cases where the sugar damages the blood vessels in the eyes and cause visual problems) or diabetic neuropathy (in which your nerves are damaged and you cannot feel anything) can have a very traumatic effect on the body.

Apart from being resistant to insulin, the inability of the body to produce insulin or proper function insulin hormone due to diseases can also result in Type II diabetes.

In order to avoid falling prey to Type II diabetes, it is imperative to consume food in moderation. Avoid soft drinks whenever possible because of their extremely high sugar content. For example, one can of cola (368g) contains 33g of sugar! Almost 3 cans of cola can contain more than enough sugar to make a cheesecake of the standard size!

Even though those sugar-free drinks are presumably the healthier option, there are other negative connotations associated with drinking coke (especially the acidity). Not saying that you cannot drink, but never consume them too frequently!

So next time, watch your sugar intake!

Always remember, prevention is better than cure!

Relating back to the song, this song reminded me to be sugar-free when I was in the supermarket down the soft drink aisle. In the end, I walked out of the supermarket with Ayataka Japanese Green tea which has 0 grams of sugar in it!

Salt VS Mouth Ulcers

Did your mother tell you to gargle salt water in your mouth when you had ulcers? Well, these old wives tales about salt healing mouth ulcers will be under scrutiny today! Regardless, I personally had ulcers in my mouth since young and spamming salt on to the region of open raw flesh can send tears trickling down my cheeks. Salt is a natural remedy I used every single time and, without fail, my ulcers would recover in a couple of days.

Intrigued by the workings of salt and the ulcers, I am here today to investigate how exactly salt works (and hopefully give me an idea on how to expedite the recovery process, I don’t like to have this large ulcer under my tongue 😦 ).

Can you spot the ulcer?

According to Today’s Dentistry, salt water mouthwashes are excellent treatment for wounds in the mouth. Salt is a natural disinfectant and is able to destroy bacteria infested in the region where your ulcers are. In addition, salt reduces swelling as well. Using salt for short-term remedies to cure your mouth ulcer is good, however, the long-term ones can damage the enamel of your teeth because the acidity will slowly erode and soften your teeth’s enamel. For those who are unsure of what an enamel is, it is a layer of protective substance that covers the crown of a tooth.

Yeap, that is your enamel protecting your crown.

According to Science Tribune, the use of salt can be dated back to the Egyptians in the 1600 B.C. where in Medical Sciences, salt was believed to dry out and disinfect wounds. Fast forward to almost 2000 years ago, the Greeks discovered that salt affected basic body functions like digestion and excretion and Hippocrates frequently used salt for treatment. The use of salt in medical treatment can be seen propagating towards the presence to Roman times, into the Arab world, and the in the Middle Ages.

Before we venture into the wonders of salt, we first need to understand how mouth ulcers came about.

Also known as Canker sores, mouth ulcers are small lesions that develop in areas of your mouth including your inner cheeks, gums, lips, and tongue. The most common causes of Canker sores are local trauma and aphthous stomatitis. According to Medline Plus, there are three types of sores: Cold sores, Canker sores, and sores of a more malignant disease. Before delving into salt treatment, I believe it is important to establish the kind of sore you have in your mouth.

Cold sores are caused by HSV-1 (Herpes simplex virus type 1, a kind of sexually transmitted disease that results in oral herpes. If you are wondering, HSV-2 is the one that causes genital herpes) and are very contagious. These sores are generally red in appearance and blisters usually crusted over. It is important to seek medical attention because medication such as Acyclovir, Famciclovir are able to target and wipe out the HSV-1 population. Gargling salt might further irritate your blister and make the infection worse.

Canker sores, on the other hand, are not contagious are usually pale or yellow enclosed by a red outer ring.

Well, have you ever wondered why are Canker sores yellow?

Ulcers are breaks in the skin or the mucous membrane (one of the superficial layers of tissues that can secrete mucus, a natural lubricant in our body), starts to undergo disintegration. When the necrosis (or the death) of your mucous membrane penetrates beyond the connective tissue border (the deeper level in which connects, supports, binds or separates other tissues and organs), it can damage your lamina propria  (another layer of your connective tissues).

The photo above is a diagrammatic representation of ulceration (right) where necrosis of mucous membrane (purple) beyond the connective tissue border (pink) can be seen.

Erosions involving the epithelial layer (purple) are often red in appearance, and therefore, the superficial cold sores are always red because the damage does not go beyond the connective tissues. The red color is a derivative of the exposed lamina propria (pink). However, during ulceration, the connective tissue has been eroded as well. These lesions, in response to an open wound, triggers the body to secrete fibrin (a natural type of protein involve in the stitching up of wounds during a small tear or break) and the fibrinous exudate gives the ulcer a yellow-grey color. Inflammation to the surrounding tissues gives the ulcer a red halo.

Causes of Canker sores are currently not known, but stress, hormone changes, lack of vitamins are factors thought to cause them.

With reference to the photo above, Canker sores are yellow or pale in color circumferenced by a red ring unlike Cold sores, which look blistered and red in nature.

For those interested in Mouth Sores, these are self-limiting symptoms that will go away on its own, sometimes for up to 6 weeks. However, if you are concerned, I suggest you have an appointment with your medical practitioner who can advise you better.

Similarly, Canker sores are self-limiting and take no more than 10 days to recover. However, those with Canker sores should avoid food that can irritate the sore, including spicy and sharp tasting foods (like pineapples).

So how does the salt works?

Well, none of the journals I found or articles I saw online gave me insights as to how salt facilitate the recovery. But based on several facts below, I will be hypothesizing instead.

According to Eric Shapira, D.D.S., salt temporarily increases the pH balance of your mouth. Majority of the bacteria in your mouth prefer a slightly acidic environment, by creating an alkaline environment, bacteria struggle to survive and breed. Thereby inhibiting excessive growth of bacteria that can infect your ulcers.

Lastly, salt is an isotonic solution. That is, the solution contains the same salts and minerals in our bodies at the equal concentrations which means the salt solution you use for gargling will not affect or further aggravate the wound.

Because salt acts as an antiseptic and does not exacerbate the wounds, I hypothesized that salt sets the condition for the connective tissue to rebuild quickly, while keeping infections at bay. However, there are some questions I would raise with regards to salt and the interaction.

Wouldn’t the higher salt concentration result in the leaching of scarce minerals out from the connective tissues?

Or wouldn’t the excess salt get absorbed into tissues and overstimulates the other chemicals?

Does it mean that in an aseptic environment, healing becomes a lot quicker? But the mouth is never a sterile environment. Is there a mechanism in which facilitates faster healing?

What if some of these micro-floral we killed from the salt overdose play a crucial role in healing?

Wow, I hope someone out there and perhaps do a study on this and tell me how exactly salt works!

Keeping abreast with October’s edition

In case you don’t know, October is the Breast Cancer Awareness month – an annual worldwide campaign to educate people about breast cancer. During this month, different websites advocate for raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research. For instance, in the UK, wearitpink.org will hold this event “Get Pinky” on the 23 October where everybody is donned is pink. The website also provides ideas on how you could get pink, get educated and possibly, contribute to a fantastic cause.

In another web site – the National Breast Cancer Foundation INC., talks about how many people may be aware of breast cancer but forget to plan out steps along the way to detect the diseases as well as treating them and spreading encouragement. This web site is founded by Janelle Hail in 1991 where she herself survived breast cancer. From then on, Janelle has made it her personal mission to educate other women about this pernicious disease.

Not to mention, here are several web sites that support this campaign – American Cancer Society, Singapore Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, and many more.

Without further ado, let’s stop the talking and begin educating.

Overview

In females, the breast is made up of glands called lobules that can produce milk when stimulated with the right hormones. Ducts that run from these lobules which convened at the nipple carries the milk. Generally, breast tissue contains fats (approximately 75%) and fibroglandular tissues (less than 25%). In addition, breast tissues consist of lymph nodes and blood vessels.

Similarly, in males, the breast sits atop the pectoralis muscles which extends horizontally from the edge of the sternum (the bone in the middle of your chest) out to the midaxillary (center of the under arm) line. Also, there is a tail of breast tissue called the ”axillary tail of Spence” that extends into the axilla (underarm).

The only differences between the male and the female breast is that male breast tissue lacks the specialized lobules since there is no physiologic need for milk production.

Anatomy of male and female breast

So, why do males have breast?

If you are curious why males have breast when physiologically, there is no need for milk production, then here’s why.

The human fetal blueprint is initially female. This might confuse you for awhile, but keep reading.

Shortly after fertilization, the cells starts to split. As time passes, the number of cells increases at an exponential rate until a ball of cells forms. At five weeks of gestation, the neural tube slowly develops into a spine and by the sixth week, the outlines of several features (such as the arms, legs) appear.

Also, at the sixth week, the fetus begins to take on the biological accouterments of gender. If the fetus has the Y chromosomes, testosterone will stimulate the development of the male sexual organs. Since Y chromosomes account for the presence of testosterone in fetal development, females fetuses stick to their original blueprint and develop the female sexual organs.

However, before all these development of the sexual organs, all fetuses have breast and nipples developed. In other words, all fetuses, regardless of sex, will have breast and nipples.

The only difference between both sex is that the spike in female hormones during puberty results in the breast ducts to grow. Also, lobules begin to develop.

What is cancer?

To put it simply, cancer is when abnormal cells start to grow without control and invade other tissue over time. Cancer can spread through the blood and the lymphatic system.

A schematic to demonstrate how cancer grows

Breast cancer

Breast cancer, as the name suggest, affects the breast. Usually, cancer starts off in the inner lining of milk ducts or lobules known as ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma respectively. The majority of breast cancer occur in females, with over 200,000 new cases diagnosed yearly in the United States alone. This disease rarely occurs in men, adolescents, and children. Breast cancer have many different subtypes and treatment options varies.

Causes

Experts are not definitively sure of the causes behind breast cancer. However, based on certain risk factors, one can determine the likelihood of developing breast cancer.

1. Age – Getting older

Age is a risk factor. The older a woman, the higher the chances of getting breast cancer. Over 80% of all female breast cancers occur in women above 50 years old.

2. Genetics

Women with family members or relative with breast or ovarian cancer are more likely to develop the disease. Especially those women who inherited the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Another gene, TP53, is also linked to higher risk for breast cancer.

3. Estrogen exposure

Precocious women have a greater chance of developing breast cancer due to earlier, and longer, exposure to estrogen. A female hormone that is required for the normal functioning of the reproductive system.

4. Obesity

Similarly to pointer 3, there higher levels of estrogen in obese menopausal women sharply increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

Symptoms

The most common symptom is when a lump or mass have been noticed in the breast or the axilla. Changes to the breast skin or nipples are also signs of breast cancer. However, the presence of lumps should never be assumed as cancerous because benign lesions such as fibroadenomas or cysts can also result in lumps.

Signs of breast cancer

Diagnosis

There are several diagnostic test one can do to check for symptoms of breast cancer.

Firstly, a breast examination will be conducted by the physician to detect the presence of lumps and other abnormalities (refer to diagram). If a physician discovers anything unusual, he will recommend a mammogram.

Types of breast anomalies

A mammogram is a diagnostic imaging that screens for radiographical abnormalities. In addition, other forms of screening could be utilized – magnetic resonance imaging or ultrasound. Once an abnormality is detected, a biopsy will be performed to determine if the cancer is benign or malignant.

What happens during a mammogram

This is how biopsy results look like

Statistics 

Below are several posters taken from the various breast cancer awareness websites.

Statistics taken from Complementary PrescriptionStatistics taken from Pfizer pharmaceutical company

Statistics taken from National Cancer Registry Ireland

Treatment

Main options may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy or surgery. There are several factors the healthcare team will need to make before establishing the treatment method. Surgically, one may need to remove the lump, a process known as lumpectomy, while retaining the healthy tissues. However, if requires, the whole breast might be removed by a process called mastectomy. Sometimes, the lymph nodes in the axillary region will have to be removed to prevent the metastasizing of the cancer cells.

However, with each treatment, there will be side effects that can be tough to pull through. Your healthcare team should also introduce you to your available treatment options and help you choose the right treatment option for you. One might find mastectomy useful, but others might find it otherwise. Hence, you should sound off to your physician should there be any concerns.

Prevention

Zinc test for early breast cancer

A new study suggests it may be possible to detect early signs of breast cancer with a test that measures changes in zinc isotopes and could be used as a biomarker. This research is led by scientists from the University of Oxford in the UK.

According to this research, tumor cells causes subtle changes in zinc isotopes. In a study of 10 people – 5 healthy personnel and 5 with breast cancer, those with breast cancer had a significantly lighter zinc isotopic composition compared to those healthy controls. The team has also discovered that sulfur-rich proteins play a key role in the usage of zinc by the cancer cells.

Studies are still undergoing and eventually when further research confirms the effectiveness of using zinc as a biomarker, detection at early stages of breast cancer would be possible.

Mammography

Mammography is the standard test for breast cancer and studies showed that mammography is best for reducing breast cancer mortality in women aged over 50. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) previously stated in 2002 that using mammography as sole means of screening reduces the mortality of breast cancers significantly.

Recent researches conducted in the subsequent years concluded that mammography screenings effective. In a particular experiment, data obtained from around 20 cohort and 20 case studies conducted indicate that women aged 50-69 who underwent mammography screening had a breast cancer mortality around 40% lower than those who did not. However, the efficacy of mammography screening among women aged 40-49 is considered to have limited effects.

Fish oils help to reduce breast cancer risk

A study published in BMJ found that women who had higher levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids had a 14% lower risk of developing breast cancer. The authors from Zhejiang University, China recommended eating 1 or 2 portions of oily fishes (tuna, salmon, etc) per week. You can read more here.

Physical exercise

Researchers from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill reported that exercising five days a week has been shown to reduce a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.

And this is why you should exercise. Exercising keeps many diseases at bay.

Now that you are equipped with a better apprehension of breast cancer, do spread the awareness and keep the knowledge alive! You will never know how this shared information could save someone else’s life.

Sources

John Hopkins Medicine – Breast Caner and Breast Pathology

Live Science – Why Men have Breasts

Medical News today