Food has undergone many changes as science and technology have progressed and many new aspects of food were revealed. Nutrition took on a mantle of its own and today forms a very important part in dictating our daily food intake. No longer do most people just eat to live.

Nutrition has been classified into six major nutrition groups namely carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. Each one has a role to play in providing a balanced diet to the body. Another way of classifying food is the food pyramid, which covers Fat, Dairy, Meats, Fruits and Vegetables, and Grains.

Each food group has its own part to play in the overall diet of an individual. To avoid stomach disorders and other food related problems, such as indigestion and ulcers, one has to try and eat a balanced meal which contains as many food groups as possible. This is turn will lead to a balanced diet wherein all food ingested is nutritious and can be utilized by the body without any wastage.

Avoid starchy food, fatty foods, foods heavy in spices, and foods with additives wherever possible as these do not aid digestion. Similarly, an excess of salt and sugar would be harmful and the benefits that these foods normally provide would be lost. Every food item plays a small part in our overall nutrition and health. Anything that is too little or too much would upset the balance of the body and its system.

As with all other fields, food too has seen a lot of innovation and variety. Unfortunately along with the good food there are also a whole range of foods which has a feel good factor to it but does nothing for the health of the person. These are called empty calorie foods in the form of soft drinks, various types of snacks, processed food, etc. Temptation is very difficult to resist so one must strike a balance wherein all desires for food are covered without compromising on the nutrition required by the body.

A good, balanced diet would ideally consist of a controlled intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sugar and salt, and meats, whilst eating enough fruits, vegetables, wholegrain products, low fat or normal fat dairy products, good fats such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils, fat-free meats, poultry, and lentils. Last but not least, check the calorie count of the food on your plate. There is a lot of nutritional information available regarding the content of food and its calorific value. Investing in a guide and eating your way to good health without being obsessive could pay rich dividends by way of health. Along with all this, a sustained and energetic exercise regime will go a long way to a healthy you.

What is Acidity?

The human stomach contains gastric glands which are responsible for the proper digestion of food in it. Gastric glands achieve the digestion by secreting various acids, the chief of which is the hydrochloric acid. These acids are aided by various enzymes of the stomach in bringing about digestion. The level of acids in the human stomach is generally controlled; but for some reason if the level of acids increases beyond the normal levels, then the condition is known as acidity.

Hence, acidity is the condition in which there is an excess secretion of acid within the stomach. Other names for acidity are hyperacidity or acid dyspepsia.

Why is Acidity caused?

The stomach is equipped with these acids in order to be able to digest the food. The acids are released when foods enter the stomach. However some foods are difficult to digest than the others. For such foods, the stomach needs to secrete more acids. Continuous secretions of such acids could lead to acidity in the stomach.

This excessive production of acids could be made higher due to various factors. Ulcers in the stomach are one of the commonest causes in increasing acid production.

People with stomach cancers will also have acidity problems as one of the symptoms. For this reason, acidity should not be ignored if it lasts for a long period of time, or if the person is older.

There is a condition known as the acid-reflux complex, due to which the stomach acids are refluxed back to the food pipe. When this happens, a prominent sour taste is felt in the mouth, and a belch might occur.

What are the Symptoms of Acidity?

When a person has acidity in the stomach, there can be a vast difference in the kinds of symptoms observed. For some people it may be a simple bellyache, but for others, it could lead to days of restlessness with continuous cramps in the stomach.

In fact restlessness is the most common symptom of acidity, followed by nausea and vomiting. There is a sour taste felt in the mouth, which is due to the excess deposition of the acids. Sometimes there are sour belches and passing off wind. Other digestive problems like constipation and indigestion will also occur. In some cases, stiffness is felt in the stomach.

How can Acidity be avoided?

A proper dietary pattern is the best thing in order to avoid acidity. The following tips must be followed:-

# Avoid foods that are rich in oils and fats. These foods are difficult to digest, so they may make the stomach release more acids.

# The diet should contain a proper blend of all the tastes. Spicy foods must be just one dish rather than the whole meal.

# Fibers are necessary in the diet as they help in the digestion.

# Red meats must be eaten only occasionally, if at all.

# After a meal, the body must be given some sort of exercise. This could be as simple as going for a stroll.

Gastric and duodenal ulcers are generally treated with several types of medicines by doctors. They advice people to reduce stress and to modify their lifestyle.When treating H.pylori the following types of medicines are used H2-blockers, proton-pump inhibitors and mucosal protective agents.So these medications are used in combination with antibiotics.When complications arise and when the medication is ineffective, surgery may be required.

The amount of acid that the stomach makes is reduced by H2-blockers. These medicines include cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), famotidine (Pepcid) and nizatidine (Axid).The stomach production of acid is modified by proton-pump inhibitors and these ones stopping the stomach acid pump, which is the final step of acid secretion.Omeprazole (Prilosec) was recently aproved and now is recognized an available drug and is ten times more powerful in suppressing stomach acid production than the H2-blockers.A stomach acid production can be suppressed by a potent acid inhibitor.It is more common for treating people whose ulcer fail to respond to H2-receptor blockers or other medications and those with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.The lining of the stomach is protected by the mucosal protective agents.The prescribed medications are sucralfate (Sulcrate or Carafate) and misoprostol (Cytotec).The antacids such as Tums and Rolaids and bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) are not prescription medications.

Ulcers can be treated by a short course of combined high dose antibiotic therapy rather than acid-suppression alone.So are used two types of combined therapy: triple therapy and dual therapy.The triple therapy includes: metronidazole (Flagyl),tetracycline (Achromycin or Sumycin) and Pepto-Bismol, all taken four times a day.This therapy lasts two weeks.The treatment in destroying the H. pylori bacteria and in reducing the risk of reoccurrence is 90 percent effective.Dual therapyincludes:amoxicillin taken two to four times a day or Biaxin three times a day and Prilosec taken two times a day.It lasts two weeks and the treatment is 80 percent effective.

Vagotomy, antrectomy and pyloroplasty are the most common types of surgery for ulcers. For example vagotomy involves cutting the vagus nerve which gives messages from the brain to the stomach. The acid secretion is reduces by this interruption. Antrectomy removes the lower part of the stomach,the one which stimulates the secretion of digestive juices.So the duodenum and the small intestine is enlarged, so the contents pass more freely from the stomach.

The most common approach of physicians when a child patient accuses a sore throat is to examine the throat, tonsils and neck lymph nodes to check for ant signs of streptococcus infection. If the present signs indicate the strep bacteria, doctors usually give up further testing and prescribe antibiotic medications for streptococcus. Children with no actual symptoms of a bacterial condition are considered to suffer from a virus and no other tests are indicated.

The most available and easy method to detect streptococcus in a sore throat is the swap test when a cotton swab is rubbed against tonsils and back of the throat, then sent back to analysis. The first swab test method is the common one, ready in 5 minutes and performed in the doctor’s office. If it comes out positive there are 95% chances that your child has a streptococcus infection; if the result is negative a chance of 5% persists that the probe is wrong. In such cases you might want to appeal to a bacterial culture that will last longer to be confirmed but will give you 99% certainty. It is made by incubating a harvested probe in an incubator to verify a possible bacteria multiplication.

Test swabs and bacterial cultures are very much indicated in suspect diagnosis as they can protect the patient from an unnecessary ant biotherapy or from becoming antibiotic resistant. In severe cases, doctors prescribe antibiotics while waiting for the test results and then stop the medication if the test is negative; milder cases however should wait for the culture results. Parents that want to start an antibiotic right away to prevent their child’s status from getting worse must be advised to wait for the test results as a wrong therapy may increase the patient’s bad symptoms.

Waiting a few days before starting the treatment will allow the immune system to activate and fight back the infection. Delaying the therapy will only prolong the sore throat symptoms but will not make the condition worse and will not increase the risk of further complications. Doctors advise however that the strep test is performed right away and an ant biotherapy is started immediately if the result is positive. An early treatment in case of streptococcus detection is very much useful to stop the patient from being contagious for others and will also prevent worse complications as the bacteria can spread to the main organs such as heart, kidneys or may provoke a rheumatic fever.

Antihistamines are commonly used to treat eczema - the rationale being that eczema is sometimes the result of the body's overproduction or release of histamine as a natural response to allergens. However, antihistamines interfere with the vital role of histamine in the body and also cause side effects that may be worse than the skin condition you're trying to treat. Your best bet is to try an effective, topical eczema treatment that will not alter natural function and will not exacerbate the condition, and to find out the consequences of antihistamines before you choose them as an option.

Histamine is present in almost every cell of the body. Its highest concentrations are in the lungs, skin and gastrointestinal tract. It performs a number of basic functions including the secretion of stomach acids during digestion and regulation of sexual response. It is also a neurotransmitter - a chemical that enables messages to travel from one nerve cell to another.

Histamine's function in the immune system is to increase the blood supply to an area of injury or invasion by a foreign substance so that the body may heal or combat damage with the nutrients and other healing elements in the blood. This action often causes redness, swelling, itchiness, rashes and hives-like skin reactions - which is why antihistamines are often prescribed as eczema treatment.

However, antihistamines are not always safe. Doctors advise that you check with them before taking antihistamines if you have asthma or chronic bronchitis, high blood pressure, glaucoma, problems with your liver, kidney, prostrate or stomach, if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, if you have any other chronic illness or are on any medications including herbal supplements - not exactly an eczema treatment you can just whip out of the medicine cabinet at a moment's notice.

Additionally, taking antihistamines can cause histamine deficiency, the symptoms of which include mouth ulcers, headaches, excessive growth of body hair, ringing in the ears and visual and aural abnormalities. Histamine deficiency is also associated with a number of mental and emotional conditions: studies have found that about half the people diagnosed with schizophrenia have low blood histamine levels. In fact, their condition improved when histamine levels were increased.

If your eczema is accompanied by life-threatening symptoms such as difficulty breathing, you should check with your doctor regarding taking antihistamines. However, if you are simply trying to handle itchy, dry skin, or eczema, use a topical eczema treatment that will not cause further problems.