Symptoms And Treatment Of Chest Pain - 1482 Words

Chest pain has many forms. Some chest pain is described as crushing or burning. The pain can radiates to the neck, the jaw, then to the back, and travels through the arms. Most of the chest pain is life-threatening which can involve both heart and lungs. Although chest pain is attributed mainly to heart disease; usually, it is a wide range of comorbidities untreated such as hypertension, diabetes, unhealthy cholesterol level, and etc., which overtime will damage the heart muscles. Angina pectoral or chest pain is not a disease; it is a warning sign that the heart is not receiving enough oxygen. Therefore, the chest discomfort should not be ignored; this is a symptom of an underlying heart problem. For instance, the coronary arteries†¦show more content†¦Therefore, I will recommend some tests such as electrocardiogram –EKG. EKG is the simplest test to detect and evaluate the electrical activity of the heart. This test will show arrhythmia, how fast or slow the hea rt is beating and whether regular or irregular as well as the electrical signals or any signs of heart damage as a result of cardiac heart disease-CHD (2014). Other test such as stress test will help to evaluate when the heart is working hard and beating fast; consequently, it can show signs and symptoms such as abnormal blood pressure, heart rate, shortness of breath, changes in heart rhythm, electrical activity, as well as and chest pain which can be indicative of CHD (Silva, Choi Cheng, 2012). Other tests will be ordered such as chest x-ray, which will allow evaluating the heart, lungs and blood vessels. In addition of reveal any signs of lungs or heart failure. Despite the fact, a chest x-ray cannot diagnose angina or CHD. Cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography will be ordered to evaluate the inside of his arteries due to the hypercholesterolemia, as well as blood tests to monitor the level of fats, sugar, and protein in the blood (CBC, CM P, BMP, BNP, serial of cardiac enzymes, D-dimer, CRP, HgbA1c, etc) (Silva, Choi Cheng, 2012). Discuss the pathophysiology of his condition is very important especially

Essay Acid Base Extraction - 1511 Words

Acid Base Extraction The purpose of this laboratory assignment was two-fold, first, we were to demonstrate the extraction of acids and bases, finally, determining what unknowns were present. Second, we were to extract caffeine from tea. These two assignment will be documented in two separate entities. Introduction: Acid/base extraction involves carrying out simple acid/base reactions in order to separate strong organic acids, weak organic acids neutral organic compounds and basic organic substances. The procedure for this laboratory assignment are on the following pages. 3) Separation of Carboxylic Acid, a Phenol and a Neutral Substance nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The purpose of this acid/base extraction is to separate a mixture of†¦show more content†¦Add additional 5ml of water to funnel, shake as before Add 15 ml NaCl to funnel. Shakenbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bottom layer is white andnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;NaCl was added to the mixture and allow layers to separate gooey. wash the ether and draw off lower layer, which is layer and to remove discarded organic substances nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;NaOH and NaHCO3 Pour ether layer into 50ml Erlenmeyer flask from the top of the separatory funnel (not allowing any water droplets to be transferred) Flask 3 Add anhydrous NaSO4 to ether extractShow MoreRelatedAcid-Base Extraction: Benzoic Acid Two-Base Extraction1901 Words   |  8 PagesTWO-BASE EXTRACTION OF BENZOIC ACID, 2-NAPHTHOL, AND NAPHTHALENE FROM UNKNOWN SAMPLE # 131 Douglas G. Balmer (T.A. Mike Hall) Dr. Dailey Submitted 11 July 2007 Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to separate a sample of benzoic acid, 2- naphthol, and naphthalene of unknown proportions using a two-base extraction method. The three components of the mixture will react differently to sodium bicarbonate and sodium hydroxide because each of the bases’ conjugate acids has a differentRead MoreThe Effect Of Acid Base Extraction On Organic Compounds982 Words   |  4 Pages Introduction Acid-base extraction is a very useful technique in organic chemistry. It is used to separate organic compounds from each other. The idea is that most of organic compounds will be more soluble in organic solvents than they are in water (1). The extraction, in its most basic form, will result in unequal distribution of solute between two immiscible (not forming one mixture when added together) solvents (2). Since both of the solvents are immiscible, two separate layersRead MoreThe Effect Of Ph Solution Of Feed Phase On The Removal Efficiency Of Citric Acid1526 Words   |  7 Pages Figure. 7. Effect of pH solution of feed phase on the removal efficiency of citric acid Transport conditions: Feed phase: citric acid 10-2 M, pH 2-12. Stripping phase: deionized water, pH=6.8. Membrane: 12.60 cm2 of surface area, Calix[4]resorcinarene (0.15 g/g mixture of polymers), 0.03 ml 2-NPOE/g mixture of polymers. Values obtained after 5 days of experimentation. 3.8 Stability of PIMs In this study, one PIM was reused, whereas the feed and strip phases were replaced after one cycleRead MoreSeparation of Acid, Base and Neutral Compounds from a Solid Mixture by Liquid-Liquid Extraction1558 Words   |  7 PagesExperiment #1: Separation of Acid, Base, and Neutral Compounds from a Solid Mixture by Liquid-Liquid Extraction Introduction Liquid-liquid extraction is a technique used to separate chemical substances in order to purify or identify the various components of a mixture. Flavors, spices, perfumes, and medicines are just some of the everyday things that are extracted from plants and other natural sources [1]. The basic principle used to carry out this separation is the mixing of two liquids that areRead MoreOrganic Chem Essay example934 Words   |  4 PagesOrganic Lab I No. 5-6 Separation of a Carboxylic Acid, a Phenol, and a Neutral Substance (Two-week lab) Reading Assignment 1) Chapter 7 †¢ Introduction: P. 135- first paragraph †¢ Theory and Techniques (p142-145) o Properties of Extraction Solvents o Mixing and Separating the Layers o Drying Agents o Part 1: The Technique of Neutral Liquid/Liquid Extraction The description is for dichloromethane-aqueousRead MoreOur Experiment to Separate a Mixture of Organic Compounds Essay1308 Words   |  6 Pagesaccomplish the task? What techniques were used to purify and identify the product(s) of the reaction? In this experiment, an acid-base extraction was done to separate a mixture of an unknown acid and fluorene, a neutral compound. The possible unknown acids were 2-chlorobenzoic acid, 3-chlorobenzoic acid, and 3-methylbenzoic acid. The purification of the isolated unknown acid was performed by recrystallization and its identity was established by analyzing the melting point range of the pure productRead MoreUsing The Solid Liquid And Liquid Extraction Techniques For Extract A Strong Acid1613 Words   |  7 Pages Extraction Aleigha Spaulding Joseph Osazee 10-6-15 Abstract: This report presents the percentage recoveries found when using the solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction techniques to extract a strong acid, weak acid, base, and neutral compound from a mixture. During the solid-liquid section of the experiment, 0.5 M NaHCO , 0.5 M NaOH, 0.5 M HCl, and distilled water are used to dissolve and separate the acid, phenol, and amine solutions from the mixture, leaving the neutralRead MoreMethods Of A Solvent System For Extraction1652 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Extraction is a technique that is commonly used to separate mixtures, despite whether the components are solids or liquids. One of the most well-known examples of extraction is the brewing of tea or the making of coffee. Every pot of coffee or cup of tea involves solid-liquid extraction. The soluble flavor and caffeine are extracted from the solid tea leaves or ground coffee beans into hot water (the solvent). Insoluble plant material is left behind in the tea bag or coffee filterRead MoreDetermination Of Solubility Of Polar Solutes1074 Words   |  5 Pages Introduction In the extraction of certain compounds, solubility plays an important factor in how the procedure is performed. The identification of which solvent is best for the substance is crucial. The relation of polarity between the solute and solvent is determined at a molecular level. The relationship between the solvent and solute needed shared similar characteristics. Polar solutes are dissolved in polar solvents while nonpolar solutes are dissolved in nonpolar solvents. From a chemicalRead MoreGenetic Engineering Of People : How Dna Is Located, Extracted And Amplified1055 Words   |  5 Pagesvery beginning of where life is formed. DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, is the genetic finger print that is found in every living organism. The initial discovery of DNA was first identified in the late 1860’s by a Swiss Chemist named Friedrich Miescher (Pray, 2008). However, close to one hundred years later, American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick discovered that D NA molecules exist (Pray, 2008). DNA extraction from human cells begins when they are located in the sperm of

The Changing Role of Women Throughout the Era free essay sample

The Changing Role of Women throughout the Era â€Å"Grandma, why does mommy is so busy lately? † asked the cute-little grand-daughter of mine. While smiling, I only able to answer that her mother was working hard for her success. That is a simple situation which gave me clear picture about women in this era. I noticed that women nowadays are very committed to their career compared to women in my days. According to Goldman (2010), women of today are not women of yesterday-they are not just mother and housewives but executives, Prime Ministers and President of nations.Researchers had found that women role have changed vastly especially in their roles as a homemaker, in their career and in gaining confidence from men. To begin with, women’s role as a homemaker is not as the same as before. At past, managing the households are the women’s full responsibilities. This is because only men are supposed to support their family due to their nature which has more strength and strong capabilities than women. Meanwhile, women are responsible to take care of their families’ welfare such as cooking, cleaning and raising their children. ?†¦ideally women should devote their time to the home and family, and not engage to work outside the home† (Williams, n. d. ). In contrast, women’s responsibilities in this era are not only at home but to the world. Due to today’s economic circumstances, women try to help their husband by finding extra income. Theresa (n. d. as cited in Jones, 1994) states in culture which males are supposed to be the earning members of the household, and in which fathers and brothers are supposed to exercise control over the behavior of daughters and sisters, male self-esteem is threatened by finding that it is the daughter (sister) who is earning the income that is crucial to family well-being. As for their duty at home, they will hire a maid to settle it for them and their kids will be sent to the nursery. This shows that women are not fully responsible to manage the house as they can find an alternative to handle the chores.Besides that, women’s careers have changed completely and totally differ from before. In previous decades, women’s careers are not well established because of limitations during that time. Women are restricted to do harsh activities outside of their house and beyond of their parents’ guidance. They only work in indirect manner that is considered as a hobby such as weaving pines’ leaves, baking cakes and growing vegetables. In addition, women on those days were fully depending on their spouse. If their partner is passed away, they will have no financial support.However, at present, most women have a stable career. Blossfeld (1985, 1989, 1990) indicates recent labor-market studies in the Federal Republic of Germany show that women, more than women, profited from the educational expansion of the welfare state. Across cohorts, women have a bigger increase than men at all higher levels of education attainment. That means women are now well-educated because after the Independence Day, women have gained the rights to learn. As a result, women have a bright opportunity in career apart from their diligence, durability and sensitivity.According to Theresa (n. d. , as cited in Horton, 1999), based on analysis of available labour force surveys (from the 1960s to the 1990s) from Asia, Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East, that women’s labour force tends to increase over time along with the development of various industries that creates millions of job opportunities. To them, accumulation of property is important for their future. They want to stand on their own regardless the help from men. Various professionals such as accountants, doctors and lawyers are consisting of women.Hence, it is true that most of women work outside of their house to improve themselves and contribute to the country’s economy. Last but not least, women also have gained confidence from men. Women in the past are not liable to make any decision. This is because nobody wants to listen to their voice as they are considered as a weak gender. Croll (n. d. , p. 293), states that women’s movement criticized the activity of looking down on women’s work and it should be exclude from political and economic activities as it is a subsidiary and less urgent task. Furthermore, they are also not allowed to handle anything serious. As stated before, women only stay at home. Hence, they have knowledge that is less applicable in certain areas. They were prohibited to give suggestions in matters associate with any organization management. On the other hand, women are more trusted to make decision in this era. Because of that, women able to have a higher position in certain organization compared to men. Now, they can make important decisions as they have the qualifications in various sectors. For example, Zeti Aziz, Malaysia’s State Bank’s Governor has made many decisions regarding financial problems. This proves that women, too, are able to think wisely and handle serious situation despite their disabilities compared to men. As a conclusion, role of women at home, workplace and the perspective view of men towards them really have changed. They are not seen as a weak human being anymore and are really needed by the society. Although facts have proven that men are more able than women in various areas, women’s ability should not be neglected. Due to this ability, women have brought changes to the world. Hence, people should not underestimate the power of women.

Zinc and Sleep on Acne Essay Example

Zinc and Sleep on Acne Essay Zinc is one of the longest-studied nutrients that correlates with statistically significantly less acne. Some months ago, I discovered that around 200mg/day of zinc picolinate could, under some circumstances, make me dramatically acne-free for the first time ever. That led to a very long course of study, research and experiments. For a megadose of zinc to affect acne dramatically, a good bet was that zinc is a cofactor in a reaction that affects acne. If you have a chemical reaction in the body like Zinc + X -gt; Y, then flooding the area with zinc will at least modestly increase the production of Y, since it makes it more likely that all the available X will get used up. After much study, I concluded that Y is actually zinc superoxide dismutase, or ZSOD. ZSOD comes with the usual labels people grope for in acne cures: anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, etc. But then, what is the X that must be combined with zinc to make this reaction? If I have to overdose on zinc to get enough Y, the implication is that what Im really deficient in is X. We will write a custom essay sample on Zinc and Sleep on Acne specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Zinc and Sleep on Acne specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Zinc and Sleep on Acne specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Like most people in America who eat meat, its highly unlikely that there is any lack of zinc in my diet. If I could remedy my deficiency in X, then I should be able to be acne-free without taking any zinc. More study led me to conclude that X is melatonin. Melatonin slows cell division. It may decrease the production of androgens right in the skin. And perhaps most importantly, melatonin crosses the cell membrane and directly stimulates your DNA to produce the precursor to ZSOD, the molecule that zinc must combine with in order to create ZSOD. Experiments with melatonin were immediately fruitful. By tending to my sleep cycle, I was soon able to be acne-free on less zinc, but still could not be acne-free reliably for long periods without any zinc supplement. Something was still missing. The final piece of the puzzle was finding the fairly recent discoveries that show that, in modern life, we fail to effectively suppress daytime melatonin because we live in relatively dim indoor light. When you dont effectively suppress daytime melatonin by having your eyes in outdoor light all day long, two bad things happen. First, your gut thinks its nighttime and you get carbohydrate malabsorption that keeps it from effectively digesting tryptophan (the fuel your body needs to make melatonin) and (tada! ) zinc! Second, you get a flattened melatonin curve when you sleep at night your body simply doesnt produce the giant burst of melatonin at night that nature intended. The data fits this hypothesis nicely, including the most obvious points: Do low zinc levels correlate with acne? Yes. Do low tryptophan levels correlate with acne? Yes. Do low ZSOD levels correlate with acne? Yes. Can this explain why primitive tribes are acne-free? Yes. This effect of daytime light is simply astounding. For example, I have long struggled with the ability to consume legumes. I bought into the standard advice that its a problem of gut flora, if you eat them long enough your gut will adjust and digest them better without gas, etc. If I had a large Coke and a large burrito, the result was 100% predictable: great intestinal discomfort. However, I now know that was simply another problem of failing to suppress daytime melatonin. By living in outdoor light all day, I can slam down a Coke+burrito with zero intestinal discomfort, hardly any gas at all. Ive repeated this experiment reliably several times, and outdoor light exposure is like a light switch (heh! ) on my ability to digest legumes. I speculate that the growth in acid reflux disease (and the esophageal cancer it can lead to) is probably another result of living in dim light during the day that produces carbohydrate malabsorption. The unfortunate thing is, although the pill-free cure for my acne is conceptually very simple, its also very hard for modern people to accomplish. I had to buy a laptop with an extra-bright screen so I could work outdoors during the day most people have indoor jobs with no option of working outdoors. Just look at some the many ways we guarantee we wont have a natural melatonin cycle: Work indoors all day. Indoor light simply does not produce the definitive OFF signal for pineal melatonin that outdoor light does. Even on a severely overcast day, outdoor light is much more intense (and also simply contains much more of the blue-green frequencies most effective at shutting down melatonin production). Sleep in the midst of light pollution. Ironically, while bright light is needed to shut melatonin all the way off, very little light is needed to depress the nighttime surge of melatonin that you need to make lots of ZSOD. A night light, a street light shining into your bedroom. Trying to sleep when the sun is up. Flipping on a light when you go to the bathroom. All easy ways to destroy your nocturnal melatonin surge. Go to bed at different times. Want to catch that late movie on the weekend? Its just like a form of jetlag your bodys 24-hour clock just got bumped and may take days to settle back down to match your regular bedtime again. Take in lots of caffeine. Caffeine will both depress your nocturnal melatonin peak and shorten the hours you sleep, both ways to become melatonin-deprived. Vegetarianism. Without meat, it becomes more difficult to get enough tryptophan and zinc in the diet. If you combine that with eating high-fructose foods like apples, pears, etc. and living in dim light during the day to produce fructose malabsorption, that greatly raises the odds of acne. This is not to say you cant be a vegetarian and acne-free, but it is plausible that some vegetarians might have to take a couple of pills to get there. Sunglasses, hats, travel in cars, etc. If you compare modern people to the completely acne-free primitive tribes that still exist, its almost like we are comically trying to avoid getting any daylight in our eyes. We stay indoors all day. When we travel, we run from shaded building to shaded car (often with dark-tinted windows). We cover our eyes with dark glasses not just when the light is bright, but often just as a fashion statement when the light isnt even bright at all! Depression. Depression and a screwed-up melatonin cycle often go hand-in-hand. But of course, acne itself is strongly correlated with depression. This is a real chicken-and-egg scenario. What causes what? The mess is more complicated by the fact that anti-depressants may tinker with the melatonin cycle for better or worse themselves. What is easy to say is that it would be better to not be depressed if you want a normal melatonin cycle (but that may be a complete tautology for some people! ). A Zinc-less Zinc Regimen I probably cant think of all the inventive ways people destroy their melatonin cycle, but heres the basic remedy to achieve natural levels of melatonin and ZSOD: Go to bed at the same time each night. Sleep in total darkness. (Black out your bedroom, go to sleep when the sun goes down, wear a sleep mask, never turn on a light in the middle of the night, etc. ). Avoid caffeine, especially evening caffeine. Spend all day in outdoor light without sunglasses or hats. Sleep gt;= 8 hours. (This becomes easy when you stop megadosing caffeine and suppress your daytime melatonin. ) FAQ Thats too hard. I just cant Since Ive been doing it for weeks now, I agree with you. I have the luxury of being able to choose to work outside, but its a pain I essentially do office work out on my deck. Its a pain to say I cant go to that midnight movie. Its a pain to put tinfoil on the bedroom windows, wear a sleep mask, etc. Its a pain to open every shade in the house every morning and get my eyes outside ASAP. All I can say is, its nothing like the pain of cringing when I have to go out in public with acne. Cant I just take a pill? Since there are periodic reports in the medical literature of people who hurt themselves by taking extreme doses of zinc (400mg/day, 800mg/day, even more) for their acne, I suspect you can just take a pill, but it could send you to the hospital eventually. I could argue in great detail why you cannot achieve the desired effect by taking melatonin orally, but the fact is many people have tried melatonin pills for acne and they just dont cure it. A melatonin pill before bedtime might help you sleep a little better and jumpstart a busted melatonin cycle, but you really wont need that if you effectively suppress your daytime melatonin. Put another way, if you need that bedtime melatonin pill to sleep, you probably still have a busted melatonin cycle. Why me? How come my acne-free friends can I used to just throw my hands up at this and invoke the fairy dust of it must be our genes. However, now that I have a detailed theory of the mechanism of acne that seems to me to hold water, I can say that theres a decent chance its you in significant part because you are doing some things different than your friends. For example, in college, were most of my friends staying up until 4am and virtually never going outside like me? Hmmmm, not really. And once you induce carb malabsorption by screwing up your melatonin cycle, then suddenly all the Coke I love to drink does make some difference, and the formerly confusing fact that trying to eat healthy by eating fruit really didnt work is incredibly frustrating. The fact is, I suspect I can induce acne in most of the acne-free people you know: just keep them in dim light all day every day, keep them in bright light when theyre trying to sleep, give them lots of high-fructose foods with every meal (Coke or apples your choice), and supply lots of caffeine. There may well be a genetic component to the why me? question, but it may be quite small compared the actual details of your acne-inducing lifestyle. What about dairy? I still dont know. The fact is, while living the outdoor lifestyle, I have been able to eat a suspicious amount of ice cream without the usually reliable cystic acne response, but I havent pushed it. It is plausible that the mechanism for dairy producing acne is not beta cellulin, but simply sugar (lactose), and that once carbohydrate malabsorption is cured by suppressing daytime melatonin, dairy isnt a problem. But I do not yet feel certain of that. Are you acne-free? What pills are you taking? Every week that I stick with all the rules to maintain my melatonin cycle, Im acne free. In fact, I sometimes cheat and have caffeine, or miss my bedtime. That sometimes results in a zit, but not always. I stopped taking zinc. I have stopped taking my normal complement of vitamins for a couple of weeks and stayed acne-free, but wont give them up for longer than that because I start getting arthritis. Maybe its just Vitamin D? No. Ive been Vitamin D replete for years (gt;50ng/dl) with no effect on acne. Its possible that if youre horribly Vitamin D deficient (many modern people are) you wont be able to absorb zinc well, compounding your problems. While working outdoors, I work in the shade with no direct sunlight on my skin (though as much view of sky in my eyes as possible). The only times my skin is in direct sunlight is when the sun is low in the sky (little UVB). So, despite spending massive hours outdoors, I havent tanned at all so far this year. As always, any hope that Vitamin D is really a significant factor in curing acne has to overcome the hurdle of explaining why theres no epidemiological evidence that it varies strongly with latitude (Canadians should have way more acne than Texans if Vitamin D were crucial to the disease). Can I do [ ] instead? Who knows? But if its really important to you to get rid of the acne, set aside 2 weeks where you can strictly control your light exposure, and see whether this works. I say set aside, because I find this regimen amazingly hard. The indoors couch is like a magnet for my butt; I initially had to literally keep a stopwatch outside to keep from fooling myself that I was spending more hours outside than I really was. If you can do it religiously for 2 weeks and it doesnt eliminate all new acne, then the heck with me and my theory. If it does, then youve gained some understanding of how you can control the disease and you can do your own experiments and make your own trade-offs. Get an hour of outdoor light in the eyes immediately after waking, before work, and before breakfast. Totally drop caffeine of all forms (it both depletes zinc and of course affects the sleep cycle). Try to arrange lunch so I can eat outside, and have eyes in outdoor light as many minutes as possible before actually eating the food. Likewise, try to get eyes into the outdoor light immediately after work and before eating. Avoid/reduce carbs (especially high-fructose fruits and fizzy drinks) when there was no significant outdoor light exposure before the meal. Make it a priority to get the all-day outdoor light exposure on weekends. Carefully tend my sleep cycle to get the best nocturnal surge I can. Zinc and Sleep on Acne Essay Example Zinc and Sleep on Acne Essay Zinc is one of the longest-studied nutrients that correlates with statistically significantly less acne. Some months ago, I discovered that around 200mg/day of zinc picolinate could, under some circumstances, make me dramatically acne-free for the first time ever. That led to a very long course of study, research and experiments. For a megadose of zinc to affect acne dramatically, a good bet was that zinc is a cofactor in a reaction that affects acne. If you have a chemical reaction in the body like Zinc + X -gt; Y, then flooding the area with zinc will at least modestly increase the production of Y, since it makes it more likely that all the available X will get used up. After much study, I concluded that Y is actually zinc superoxide dismutase, or ZSOD. ZSOD comes with the usual labels people grope for in acne cures: anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, etc. But then, what is the X that must be combined with zinc to make this reaction? If I have to overdose on zinc to get enough Y, the implication is that what Im really deficient in is X. We will write a custom essay sample on Zinc and Sleep on Acne specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Zinc and Sleep on Acne specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Zinc and Sleep on Acne specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Like most people in America who eat meat, its highly unlikely that there is any lack of zinc in my diet. If I could remedy my deficiency in X, then I should be able to be acne-free without taking any zinc. More study led me to conclude that X is melatonin. Melatonin slows cell division. It may decrease the production of androgens right in the skin. And perhaps most importantly, melatonin crosses the cell membrane and directly stimulates your DNA to produce the precursor to ZSOD, the molecule that zinc must combine with in order to create ZSOD. Experiments with melatonin were immediately fruitful. By tending to my sleep cycle, I was soon able to be acne-free on less zinc, but still could not be acne-free reliably for long periods without any zinc supplement. Something was still missing. The final piece of the puzzle was finding the fairly recent discoveries that show that, in modern life, we fail to effectively suppress daytime melatonin because we live in relatively dim indoor light. When you dont effectively suppress daytime melatonin by having your eyes in outdoor light all day long, two bad things happen. First, your gut thinks its nighttime and you get carbohydrate malabsorption that keeps it from effectively digesting tryptophan (the fuel your body needs to make melatonin) and (tada! ) zinc! Second, you get a flattened melatonin curve when you sleep at night your body simply doesnt produce the giant burst of melatonin at night that nature intended. The data fits this hypothesis nicely, including the most obvious points: Do low zinc levels correlate with acne? Yes. Do low tryptophan levels correlate with acne? Yes. Do low ZSOD levels correlate with acne? Yes. Can this explain why primitive tribes are acne-free? Yes. This effect of daytime light is simply astounding. For example, I have long struggled with the ability to consume legumes. I bought into the standard advice that its a problem of gut flora, if you eat them long enough your gut will adjust and digest them better without gas, etc. If I had a large Coke and a large burrito, the result was 100% predictable: great intestinal discomfort. However, I now know that was simply another problem of failing to suppress daytime melatonin. By living in outdoor light all day, I can slam down a Coke+burrito with zero intestinal discomfort, hardly any gas at all. Ive repeated this experiment reliably several times, and outdoor light exposure is like a light switch (heh! ) on my ability to digest legumes. I speculate that the growth in acid reflux disease (and the esophageal cancer it can lead to) is probably another result of living in dim light during the day that produces carbohydrate malabsorption. The unfortunate thing is, although the pill-free cure for my acne is conceptually very simple, its also very hard for modern people to accomplish. I had to buy a laptop with an extra-bright screen so I could work outdoors during the day most people have indoor jobs with no option of working outdoors. Just look at some the many ways we guarantee we wont have a natural melatonin cycle: Work indoors all day. Indoor light simply does not produce the definitive OFF signal for pineal melatonin that outdoor light does. Even on a severely overcast day, outdoor light is much more intense (and also simply contains much more of the blue-green frequencies most effective at shutting down melatonin production). Sleep in the midst of light pollution. Ironically, while bright light is needed to shut melatonin all the way off, very little light is needed to depress the nighttime surge of melatonin that you need to make lots of ZSOD. A night light, a street light shining into your bedroom. Trying to sleep when the sun is up. Flipping on a light when you go to the bathroom. All easy ways to destroy your nocturnal melatonin surge. Go to bed at different times. Want to catch that late movie on the weekend? Its just like a form of jetlag your bodys 24-hour clock just got bumped and may take days to settle back down to match your regular bedtime again. Take in lots of caffeine. Caffeine will both depress your nocturnal melatonin peak and shorten the hours you sleep, both ways to become melatonin-deprived. Vegetarianism. Without meat, it becomes more difficult to get enough tryptophan and zinc in the diet. If you combine that with eating high-fructose foods like apples, pears, etc. and living in dim light during the day to produce fructose malabsorption, that greatly raises the odds of acne. This is not to say you cant be a vegetarian and acne-free, but it is plausible that some vegetarians might have to take a couple of pills to get there. Sunglasses, hats, travel in cars, etc. If you compare modern people to the completely acne-free primitive tribes that still exist, its almost like we are comically trying to avoid getting any daylight in our eyes. We stay indoors all day. When we travel, we run from shaded building to shaded car (often with dark-tinted windows). We cover our eyes with dark glasses not just when the light is bright, but often just as a fashion statement when the light isnt even bright at all! Depression. Depression and a screwed-up melatonin cycle often go hand-in-hand. But of course, acne itself is strongly correlated with depression. This is a real chicken-and-egg scenario. What causes what? The mess is more complicated by the fact that anti-depressants may tinker with the melatonin cycle for better or worse themselves. What is easy to say is that it would be better to not be depressed if you want a normal melatonin cycle (but that may be a complete tautology for some people! ). A Zinc-less Zinc Regimen I probably cant think of all the inventive ways people destroy their melatonin cycle, but heres the basic remedy to achieve natural levels of melatonin and ZSOD: Go to bed at the same time each night. Sleep in total darkness. (Black out your bedroom, go to sleep when the sun goes down, wear a sleep mask, never turn on a light in the middle of the night, etc. ). Avoid caffeine, especially evening caffeine. Spend all day in outdoor light without sunglasses or hats. Sleep gt;= 8 hours. (This becomes easy when you stop megadosing caffeine and suppress your daytime melatonin. ) FAQ Thats too hard. I just cant Since Ive been doing it for weeks now, I agree with you. I have the luxury of being able to choose to work outside, but its a pain I essentially do office work out on my deck. Its a pain to say I cant go to that midnight movie. Its a pain to put tinfoil on the bedroom windows, wear a sleep mask, etc. Its a pain to open every shade in the house every morning and get my eyes outside ASAP. All I can say is, its nothing like the pain of cringing when I have to go out in public with acne. Cant I just take a pill? Since there are periodic reports in the medical literature of people who hurt themselves by taking extreme doses of zinc (400mg/day, 800mg/day, even more) for their acne, I suspect you can just take a pill, but it could send you to the hospital eventually. I could argue in great detail why you cannot achieve the desired effect by taking melatonin orally, but the fact is many people have tried melatonin pills for acne and they just dont cure it. A melatonin pill before bedtime might help you sleep a little better and jumpstart a busted melatonin cycle, but you really wont need that if you effectively suppress your daytime melatonin. Put another way, if you need that bedtime melatonin pill to sleep, you probably still have a busted melatonin cycle. Why me? How come my acne-free friends can I used to just throw my hands up at this and invoke the fairy dust of it must be our genes. However, now that I have a detailed theory of the mechanism of acne that seems to me to hold water, I can say that theres a decent chance its you in significant part because you are doing some things different than your friends. For example, in college, were most of my friends staying up until 4am and virtually never going outside like me? Hmmmm, not really. And once you induce carb malabsorption by screwing up your melatonin cycle, then suddenly all the Coke I love to drink does make some difference, and the formerly confusing fact that trying to eat healthy by eating fruit really didnt work is incredibly frustrating. The fact is, I suspect I can induce acne in most of the acne-free people you know: just keep them in dim light all day every day, keep them in bright light when theyre trying to sleep, give them lots of high-fructose foods with every meal (Coke or apples your choice), and supply lots of caffeine. There may well be a genetic component to the why me? question, but it may be quite small compared the actual details of your acne-inducing lifestyle. What about dairy? I still dont know. The fact is, while living the outdoor lifestyle, I have been able to eat a suspicious amount of ice cream without the usually reliable cystic acne response, but I havent pushed it. It is plausible that the mechanism for dairy producing acne is not beta cellulin, but simply sugar (lactose), and that once carbohydrate malabsorption is cured by suppressing daytime melatonin, dairy isnt a problem. But I do not yet feel certain of that. Are you acne-free? What pills are you taking? Every week that I stick with all the rules to maintain my melatonin cycle, Im acne free. In fact, I sometimes cheat and have caffeine, or miss my bedtime. That sometimes results in a zit, but not always. I stopped taking zinc. I have stopped taking my normal complement of vitamins for a couple of weeks and stayed acne-free, but wont give them up for longer than that because I start getting arthritis. Maybe its just Vitamin D? No. Ive been Vitamin D replete for years (gt;50ng/dl) with no effect on acne. Its possible that if youre horribly Vitamin D deficient (many modern people are) you wont be able to absorb zinc well, compounding your problems. While working outdoors, I work in the shade with no direct sunlight on my skin (though as much view of sky in my eyes as possible). The only times my skin is in direct sunlight is when the sun is low in the sky (little UVB). So, despite spending massive hours outdoors, I havent tanned at all so far this year. As always, any hope that Vitamin D is really a significant factor in curing acne has to overcome the hurdle of explaining why theres no epidemiological evidence that it varies strongly with latitude (Canadians should have way more acne than Texans if Vitamin D were crucial to the disease). Can I do [ ] instead? Who knows? But if its really important to you to get rid of the acne, set aside 2 weeks where you can strictly control your light exposure, and see whether this works. I say set aside, because I find this regimen amazingly hard. The indoors couch is like a magnet for my butt; I initially had to literally keep a stopwatch outside to keep from fooling myself that I was spending more hours outside than I really was. If you can do it religiously for 2 weeks and it doesnt eliminate all new acne, then the heck with me and my theory. If it does, then youve gained some understanding of how you can control the disease and you can do your own experiments and make your own trade-offs. Get an hour of outdoor light in the eyes immediately after waking, before work, and before breakfast. Totally drop caffeine of all forms (it both depletes zinc and of course affects the sleep cycle). Try to arrange lunch so I can eat outside, and have eyes in outdoor light as many minutes as possible before actually eating the food. Likewise, try to get eyes into the outdoor light immediately after work and before eating. Avoid/reduce carbs (especially high-fructose fruits and fizzy drinks) when there was no significant outdoor light exposure before the meal. Make it a priority to get the all-day outdoor light exposure on weekends. Carefully tend my sleep cycle to get the best nocturnal surge I can.