Potassium is an essential mineral that helps in healthy functioning of your body   it helps in muscle contractions, fluid balance, and nerve signals. Your body receives the required amount of potassium from specific food sources and processes the same. The excess potassium is eliminated from the bloodstream by your kidneys.

Under normal circumstances, your blood levels should be between 3.5meq/l and 5.5meq/l for potassium to carry on these functions. Healthy kidneys play a vital role in keeping the potassium levels in check.

In case your kidneys are unable to remove excess potassium, it may get stored in your blood, leading to a condition known as hyperkalemia.

The link between your kidneys and potassium

The mineral potassium and your kidneys share an intricate relationship. If the levels of potassium in your blood are too high, it can pose a threat to your cardiac condition   leading to a ;heart attack or ;irregular heartbeat.

Hyperkalemia occurs when the kidneys fail to function properly. Your kidneys work to balance the amount of potassium consumed with that, which is eliminated through urine. Your body takes in potassium through the foods and drinks you consume. In the initial stages of your kidney disorder, they may be able to make up for high levels of potassium. However, as your condition worsens, they may be unable to eliminate enough of the mineral from the body.

How to find out if you have high potassium levels

The only way to figure out if your potassium levels are healthy or too elevated is to go for a blood test. The test measures the level of potassium in the bloodstream.

As long as your kidneys are healthy, your potassium levels will be under control. Therefore, if you have hyperkalemia, or if there are chances of you getting it, you may have to cut back on foods that are high in potassium content. Besides, you will have to rely on diuretics and potassium binders.

How Are Kidney And Potassium Connected?

Yoga can cure numerous common ailments like asthma and arthritis if practised frequently. Yoga cannot cure diabetes, yet it is helpful in controlling the glucose in the body to a great level. There are different yoga asanas that are cures for lower back pain and acid reflux. Here is how yoga cures some common ailments:

 

Asthma: the main practical cure for asthma lies in yoga. Inhalers can spare your life when you get an asthma attack; however, for a long-term cure, you need to rehearse pranayam and anulom-vulom.

Diabetes: it is one of the most common illnesses on the planet. You cannot generally cure insulin resistance; however, some yoga asanas like the triangle posture (trikonasana) can control your glucose levels.

Heart disease: bhujangasana or cobra pose stretches the chest, massaging organs inside, including heart, and allowing more blood flow to it, thus stimulating and strengthening the heart muscle. Kapalbhati pranayama is also very good for the heart since it increases the absorption of oxygen in the blood. Yoga is proven to be an excellent heart risk improvement practice according to current research too.

Thyroid disorders: yoga asanas like shoulder stand, inverted pose, plough pose, and the fish pose all help in making the thyroid gland work optimally again. The cobra pose and ujjayi pranayama also work wonders by re-balancing metabolism and working on the throat reflex pathways to cure thyroid imbalance. ;

Headache: migraine and headaches are frequently brought on by insufficient blood supply to the brain. Attempt the yoga postures like shirsasana or a headstand to cure headaches or migraines as opposed to taking medicines.

Back pain or lower back pain: it has turned into a common condition among the working class and individuals even undergo surgery to stop the pain. Attempt yoga postures like tadasana or the tree posture.

Joint inflammation or arthritis: arthritis is an ailment that causes serious joint pain. However, yoga can control the amount of pain brought on because of joint inflammation. Attempt the surya namaskar as a flexible approach to cure arthritis.

Liver problems: liver issues can go from minor ingestion to extreme greasy liver disorder. To keep your liver sound, try some extremely basic yoga postures that may increase the blood circulation in the belly. The stretching posture is a great illustration.

Depression: yoga is one of the best and most powerful cures for depression. If you would prefer not to be reliant on antidepressants and dozing pills, attempt yoga asanas like uttanasana.

Polycystic ovaries syndrome (pcos): it is one of the most common problems that are troubling young women nowadays. The side effects are irregular periods, and it can even lead to infertility. So attempt yoga postures like the body stance to cure ovarian cysts without medications or surgery.

 

10 Diseases You Can Cure With Yoga

What are the different types of sickle cell disease?

Sickle cell disease or sickle cell disorder is a term often used to talk about a group of diseases affecting hemoglobin. It is the oxygen-carrying element of blood that makes up 2 alpha globins and 2 beta globins. Sickle cell disease happens due to beta-globin mutation and depending on the abnormality in mutation.

Types-
Sickle cell diseases can be of many types depending on the gene mutation in the blood. Some of the common types are-

Sickle hemoglobin s disease (ss)
Hemoglobin ss disease or sickle cell anemia is the most popular type of scd. It takes place when hemoglobin s gene mutation is inherited from both mother and father. In simple words, it happens when the child inherits one substitution beta-globin gene from each parent. In this type, the body only produces hemoglobin s. It is mostly found in people of african and indian origin.

Sickle hemoglobin- c disease (sc):
Patients with sickle hemoglobin sc disease have a moderately dissimilar swapping in their genes of beta-globin. Here, both hemoglobin c and hemoglobin s are inherited from each parent. It may cause similar symptoms like anemia but remains relatively l. People of west african and mediterranean origin are more prone to this.

Hbs beta-thalassemia
People with this type of scd inherit one sickle cell gene s and one gene for beta-thalassemia from each parent. Zero and plus are the two common types of beta-thalassemia. While beta 0 thalassemia usually takes a severe form, beta + thalassemia is a milder form of the disease.

Sickle beta-zero thalassemia
Beta-zero thalassemia takes form when the child inherits the beta s gene from one parent and beta 0 thalassemia gene mutation from the other. With similar symptoms to anemia, it is a slightly severe form of beta-thalassemia.

Sickle beta-plus thalassemia
Substitutions in both beta-globin genes take place in patients with sickle beta thalassemia (sb) disease. This may even lead to the requirement of blood transfusion if no normal beta globin is produced. Mediterranean and caribbean people are more likely to have this disorder.

Hemoglobin sd, hemoglobin se, and hemoglobin so
These are the few rare and not less common types of sickle cell diseases. They are also less severe. People with these forms of scd inherit one sickle cell gene s and one gene from uncommon hemoglobin (d, e, or o) from each parent.

Sickle cell trait
Hbas
People with sct have one sickle cell gene s and one normal gene a from both mother and father. Ones with this disorder show few to no signs of the disease and usually spend a normal life. However, the risk to their future generations still exists.
 

What Are The Different Types Of Sickle Cell Disease?

C-reactive protein ;is a type of protein produced by the liver in response to an infection ;or inflammation. When your body contracts an infection, the white blood cells produce proteins to fight it. Some of these proteins activate the liver into producing c-reactive protein. For many years, the crp ;blood level has been used to ascertain the level of infection or inflammation.

Assessing the risk of heart disease ;with c-reactive protein

The level of crp is a potential indicator of how likely you are to develop cardiovascular diseases. This is because the development of atherosclerosis is linked with inflammation within the walls of your blood vessel. This results in higher levels of c-reactive protein in atherosclerosis patients than in those without the disorder.

The greater the crp levels, the more chances you have of being affected by cardiovascular disorders. The test also determines the risk of a second attack.

The value of knowing your crp levels depends on whether you come under one of three cardiovascular risk groups.


	
	High risk   not important to know crp because you should be combining lifestyle changes and aggressive treatment to reduce risk
	
	
	Intermediate risk   helpful to find out crp levels, as it can provide vital information crucial in deciding the next line of treatment
	
	
	Low risk   even if your crp levels are high, you will not be at risk   due to negligible risk factors and low cholesterol levels   that should require more than just lifestyle changes
	


To find out crp levels you will have to take a blood test. C-reactive protein is classified into  


	
	High   equal to or greater than 3
	
	
	Intermediate   between 1 and 3
	
	
	Low   below 1
	


If you are having a c-reactive protein test to check for heart diseases, your healthcare provider may recommend a cholesterol test as well. A number of other tests may also be prescribed to evaluate your risk further.

How C-reactive Protein Can Pose A Risk For Heart Disease?

Hepatitis is a medical condition that occurs when an infected person's liver gets inflamed. There are several reasons that can result in hepatitis, including viral infections, heavy alcohol abuse, and autoimmune conditions.

 

Mostly, hepatitis is a result of an infection caused by a virus. Such a condition is called viral hepatitis. Today, we will talk about the three most common types of viral hepatitis diseases:

 ;


	
	Hepatitis a
	
	
	Hepatitis b
	
	
	Hepatitis c
	


 

Hepatitis a

Hepatitis a is a result of hepatitis a virus infection in a person and is relatively uncommon.

 ;

Regions, where hepatitis a is more common, are:

 


	
	Africa
	
	
	Asia
	
	
	Central and south america
	
	
	Eastern europe
	


 ;

How it is transmitted

Hepatitis a virus can be present in the fecal matter and blood of an infected person. Hence, it is transmitted via the oral route, involving ingestion of the virus into a person through the feces.

 

Different ways you can get hepatitis a infection are:

 ;


	
	Having in-person contact with a hepatitis a-infected patient
	
	
	Sexual contact with a person who hosts the virus
	
	
	Consuming contaminated food or drink
	
	
	Eating undercooked shellfish
	
	
	Being near contaminated toilets and diaper changing areas
	


 

Hepatitis b

Hepatitis b is caused by the hepatitis b virus.

 ;

Regions, where hepatitis b is more common, are:


	
	Western pacific region
	
	
	African region
	


 

How it is transmitted

You can contract hepatitis b virus through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of hepatitis b infected person.

 ;

Different ways you can get hepatitis b infection are:

 


	
	Sexual contact with someone with hepatitis b virus infection
	
	
	Sharing injections and other tools
	
	
	Born to hepatitis b infected parent
	
	
	Direct contact with blood of an infected individual
	
	
	Sharing personal belongings and toiletries like razors or nail clippers.
	


 ;

Hepatitis c

Hepatitis c occurs by the infection caused by hepatitis c virus.

 

Regions, where hepatitis c is more common, are:


	
	Eastern mediterranean region
	
	
	European region
	


 ;

How it is transmitted

Hepatitis c virus is spread through blood and other bodily fluids.

 

Different ways you can get hepatitis c infection are:

 ;


	
	Sharing injections
	
	
	Born to hepatitis c mother
	
	
	Sexual contact with an infected person
	
	
	Piercing or tattooing with unsterilized equipment
	
	
	Injuries with needles pr blades
	
	
	Sharing razors, or toothbrushes
	


The A, B and C of Hepatitis

While yoga is mainly considered to be a physical process that unites our spiritual conscience, there's more to it. Meditation, prayer, breathwork, and rituals are some self-disciplinary practices that make up the entirety of yoga.

 

Benefits

Apart from physical well-being, yoga also ensures that your overall health gets a boost and you feel rejuvenated. Some scientific benefits of yoga are-

 ;


	
	Increases flexibility
	


Yoga offers many asanas and styles to choose from and almost all of them contribute to improving flexibility. Yoga acts as a catalyst to increase mobility in older people.


	
	Relieves stress
	


Studies suggest that the second most cited reason for people to practice yoga is that it releases stress. Science proves that yoga helps lower the stress and tension levels in individuals.


	
	Boosts mental health
	


Some studies have observed that yoga is an excellent practice to treat major depressive disorder (mdd). Both movement-based and breathing-based yoga therapies are helpful to improve mental health.


	
	Reduces inflammation
	


Reports suggest that yoga reduces inflammation in the body. As a result, it prevents any chronic disease.


	
	Increases strength
	


Some styles and asanas of yoga can also be strength building. Yoga s effectiveness at improving physical strength has been suggested by many reports.


	
	Reduces anxiety
	


There are numerous anxiety disorders that need care such as anxiety disorders, social anxiety, and phobias. Yoga in the form of meditation helps in reducing the symptoms of the same.


	
	Boosts immunity
	


Excessive stress affects your immune system directly. One is more susceptible to diseases if the immunity is weak. As yoga is a proven way to relieve stress and reduce inflammation, it helps the body develop stronger immunity with time.


	
	Improves balance
	


Balance is important for performing daily movements. Yoga has shown considerable progress in improving bodily balance. Being consistent with yoga makes sure that you get long-lasting benefits as well.


	
	Cardiovascular functioning
	


Pranayama or yogic breathing greatly helps numerous systems in the body. Controlled breathing lowers the chances of change in heart rate, stroke, and more.


	
	Improves quality of sleep
	


Yoga improves the quality of sleep. It is also because of the aftereffects of the exercise. However, yoga has some qualities like mental calming and stress relief that allow a sound sleep.


	
	Boosts bone health
	


Isometric contractions in yoga provide a holistic engagement of bones. They also reverse the bone loss related to osteoporosis and osteopenia.


	
	Improves brain functioning
	


Yoga stimulates the functioning of the brain and boosts energy levels. Studies suggest that it can improve executive functioning, mental flexibility, task switching capabilities, and memory.







 

Scientific Benefits Of Yoga

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