Thursday, January 31, 2008

Color blindness

Color blindness (color vision deficiency) is an x-linked recessive trait. It means it is a trait that sits upon the X chromosome. The girls are XX and boys are XY, and a recessive trait can only be shown on the person if TWO recessive traits are present in the genotype. Girls would have to receive this trait both from their father and their mother to be affected. Since boys are XY, they only need one color blindness trait to be affected. Hence there is a greater probability that they would inherit it from either their mother or father.
It is recessive in the sense that if you have 1 normal copy of the X chromosome and 1 affected X chromosome; you are still able to see normally. That's why few women are color-blind. But in men, there is only 1 copy of the X chromosome present so if it is affected, then he will be color blind.
Red/Green color blindness is by far the most common form, about 99%, and causes problems in distinguishing reds and greens. Another color deficiency Blue/Yellow also exists, but is rare and there is no commonly available test for it.
There is no treatment for color blindness nor is it any significant disability. However, it can be very frustrating for individuals affected by it. Those who are not color blind seem to have the misconception that color blindness means that a color blind person sees only in black and white or shades of gray. While this sort of condition is possible, it is extremely rare. Being color blind does keep one from performing certain jobs and makes others difficult.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

INSULIN

Insulin has two critical roles in the body that we cannot live without. It can be the root cause of many health problems, including diabetes. Insulin carries sugar (glucose), fat and protein into your cells where they are used for energy and the repair of your cells. When you eat, a certain amount of the food will be converted into glucose and enter the bloodstream. As the sugar levels are high, the body senses it and the pancreas secretes insulin to lower the sugar level. This is insulin's second main function.
If you eat too much of any food, especially carbohydrates (starch and sugar) the levels of glucose in the blood rise to very high levels. In turn this triggers a large release of insulin from the pancreas. Your cells will take what they need and then insulin will begin the process of converting the excess glucose, fat and protein into fat and then put it all away in your fat cells. By combining foods the right way for your body, you will maintain optimum levels of insulin throughout the day.
The best way to control insulin and fight sugar cravings is to eat protein snacks when you are hungry or when you have severe "sweet" cravings. Also, try to limit yourself to three carbohydrate-containing meals per day and try to eat vegetables with most meals and snacks. A particularly good snack is non-fat cottage cheese and salsa. The only vegetables to avoid in the evening are corn, yellow or orange squash, peas, beets and carrots. They have high simple carbohydrate (sugar) content.
Good natural sources of protein for meals or snacks are:
Chicken breast TurkeyFish Lean PorkLean Steak 7% or less Ground BeefEgg whites Egg BeatersTofu Non-fat cottage cheeseNon-fat cheese Non-fat cream cheeseNon-fat sour cream Fat-free Ham or Canadian bacon
The key is to eat frequently throughout the day and also have a real sweet treat once a week if that will help you stay away from sweets the rest of the week.