Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)? If so, you may be wondering what the causes of polycystic kidneys are. To answer this question is to understand that PKD is a genetic disease brought about by the transfer of an abnormal, mutated gene from one or both of the parents. Well, this is a slight lie - there is a rare form of the disease which can be gotten from old age and a pattern of dialysis, amongst other reasons. There are two forms of the disease which are genetic - autosomal dominant PKD and autosomal recessive PKD.

To understand the cause of polycystic kidneys, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at these 2 forms of PKD. This first form we will discuss is autosomal dominant PKD which affects around 90% of the 7 million people worldwide who have this life-threatening disease. In order to inherit the abnormal gene, the child need only receive the abnormal gene from the one affected parent. This means they have a 1 in 2 chance of inheriting the gene and hence suffering from autosomal dominant PKD in mid to late life, when it is likely to occur.

The other, rarer from of genetic PKD is autosomal recessive PKD. This is the childhood form of the disease which afflicts 1 in 20,000 people. In this type of PKD, the child must inherit the abnormal gene from both affected parents, giving them a 1 in 4 chance of suffering from the disease. Now that the gene that causes PKD has been discovered, couples can undergo family planning counseling to discuss the possibility if their offspring developing PKD.

Hopefully this article clears up what the causes of polycystic kidneys are. Of course, if you feel you may be experiencing any of the common symptoms such as blood in the urine, urinary tract infections and abdomen/lower back pain it is highly recommended to visit your doctor.

Are you looking to lose weight? If so, then you will need a solid diet plan that actually delivers the weight loss you desire. In short, you need diets that work. Does such a creature exist? Yes, and here are 3 top diets that will help you drop the pounds.

The Zone Diet: This is a diet that has become quite popular in recent years. It is certainly one of the diets that work and it's also relatively easy to get the proverbial hang of. Basically, The Zone Diet seeks to deliver healthy food to the body's system. If it is not good for you, you won't eat it in the Zone Diet. However, there is a hard and fast rule present and it is as follows: The choices of your daily intake of food must be 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates. The fats will not be saturated fats that are bad for you and the carbs will be natural as opposed to processed. Again, with this diet you will always be eating healthy which, by its very nature, means a lower calorie consumption per day. That's the Zone diet. So what the second diet in our review?

The Atkin's Diet: Much has been written about this very basic diet that has proven to be popular and unpopular at varying times in "diet history." This food diet first arrived on the scene in the 1970s and was popular for a short time before fading from memory. It returned in the 1990s to enormous support and popularity proving to be one of the diets that work and a very reliable weight loss method. In time, the popularity faded but here is some news: There is much to gain from the Atkin's Diet. At its core, this is a diet that works around the notion that carbs can make you fat because they turn to fat easily, and help spike insulin levels which are known to promote fat storage.

The pure form of the diet involves eliminating all carbs in an induction phase so as to force the body to burn fat for energy. However, some simply cut back on carbs from their foods as opposed to limiting them. This will have solid results as well. After all, carbs are loaded with calories, they do turn to fat quickly and they definitely spike insulin levels. So cutting some carbs out of your diet will prove helpful. Okay, moving on. What's the third on the diets that work list?

The Sugar Busters Diet: This is somewhat similar to the Atkin's Diet in the sense that sugars are carbs. However, not all carbs are bad for you. Refined and processed sugars are generally really bad for someone that wants to lose weight as they are loaded with empty calories which pack on fat. With this particular diet, you will be looking at the grams of sugar in various food items. If that gram count of the sugar is way up there, then you are to stop eating it, to make this one of the diets that work. Yes, most of us love our sugary foods. But such foods are notorious for their ability to pack on unwanted fat. Cutting sugar out of your diet will certainly make weight loss a lot easier than most assume.

As many of us come to age, we are motivated to search for answers to questions on how to restore and regenerate our bodies' faltering systems. We start to worry about how all the potentially dangerous substances in our environment may worsen disease, or affect our overall health. We look for preventives to conditions such as diverticulitis and cancer. Because of these reasons detoxification diets are considered.

Detoxification diets will cleanse all your systems, and restore some of the energy you have lost along the way. You will be supporting your body's own detoxification processes by rejuvenating all systems - respiratory (lungs), GI (colon, liver, gallbladder), urinary, skin, and lymphatic. It is simply a way of eating differently - instead of less - in order to help out clear your systems, and make you feel young and refreshed. No need to count calories or weigh scales to haul around. You just need to pay close attention to what you eat, and how several foods affect your system to optimize your overall health.

A detoxification diet allows you to get at the source of what ails you by gradually limiting food preference, and tracking the way your body feels once it has become cleansed of certain food types. Foods are re-introduced and their effects will be more remarkable than they were before once the slate is clean. This will let you recognize what it is you ought to be eating (and not eating) in order to feel good again.

The Essential Phases on Detoxification Diets

Over a seven-day period, drive to eliminate alcohol, caffeine, candy and chocolate, soft drinks and sweeteners from your diet, making sure to track all the effects you experience. For the first few days, as your body rids itself of stored pollutants and fat, you may experience mild headaches, fatigue, nausea, light headedness, joint or muscle stiffness, and digestive changes. As soon as you've had a chance to apply and assess the effects of eliminating these products, you may be adequately energized, and wish to simply continue indefinitely with this new regimen. Then eat foods that are high on nutritional benefit.

At all times a vital part of bodily functioning, fluids are particularly significant when implementing a detoxification diet for the reason that they help to keep your bowel hydrated, and aids in flushing wastes from your system. An insufficient quantity of fluids can lead to constipation and toxicity in the bowel and kidneys.

Whilst detoxifying, it is imperative to enhance fiber intake as it will be required to facilitate in cleansing the colon and keep waste products moving properly. Elimination of urine and stools is the body's crucial way of ridding itself of toxins. Regular bowel movements lessen the likelihood that toxins will be reabsorbed into the body.

As soon as you have accomplished detoxification diets, many of the nagging symptoms you are experiencing - things like headaches, low energy/fatigue, aches and pains, skin irritations, indigestion, insomnia, depression, distention, flatulence, and hemorrhoids - will be reduced, elimination will no longer be a frustrating ordeal, and eventually you may feel even better than you did when you were younger.

One of the most effective and natural way of detoxification is water fasting. In fact, it has been a popular and powerful health recovery treatment since ancient times. It is a procedure wherein the body is allowed to heal by itself. With the absence of food, the body is left to exhaust all of its natural resources in order to harvest sufficient fuel for its functioning. Consequently, it tends to consume everything that it can, even those that are not essential to its functioning including wastes produced by the blood, bacteria, viruses, stored fats, and fibroid tumors. In short, through fasting the body naturally cleanses the body of accumulated toxins and as a result heals itself.

The period of fasting depends on the person. It may take several days, several weeks, up to a month or even more than a month. It basically depends on the person's health condition and what he intends to achieve. The primary beneficial effect of water fasting is detoxification, and second is weight loss.

Many of the most notable physiological changes in the body during fasting take place during the first three days. Generally, the body's main source of energy comes from glucose, a type of sugar harvested from the food we eat. The liver is capable of storing excess sugar or glycogen. Normally, the stored glycogen is enough to fuel the body for have a day. But while fasting, the store d glycogen is exhausted within the first 24 hours.

At that point, the body starts to use of fatty acids or ketone production as fuel in place of glucose. This shift usually starts on the second day. And since glucose is no longer sufficient, the body improvises. The body converts glycerol and amino acids into glucose. However, the body's protein must be tightly conserved in order to protect muscle tissue and vital organs from being damaged during times when not enough food is taken in by the body. Thus for the rest of the period of water fasting, the body uses fatty tissues for energy due to protein sparing.

And since the body is solely taking in water during fasting, the bowel is also given a good cleansing. Moreover, the digestive system is given ample time to recuperate, strengthening the mucosal lining of the intestines, keeping toxins from entering the bloodstream.

So for the entire fasting process, not only do the organs of the body undergo repair and strengthening, the body is also undergoes detoxifications and weight loss. However, it must be noted that water fasting is not a cure all treatment and must be performed with precaution. Distilled water is most advised for cleansing due to the water's natural magnetic properties and ability to absorb more toxins to be flushed out of the body. Spring and filtered water are also good to use.

Virtually any one person can fast. However, exceptions are those people with inherent metabolic disorder as well as those having a rare genetic disease characterized by the lack of essential enzyme needed to process fatty acids. Also, people who are malnourished and in a state of starvation are excluded from this treatment for it will not give the desired healthful effects. People who are suffering from anorexia, bulimia, severe anemia, or diabetes are also not advised to fast. Furthermore, pregnant or nursing women should not fast because during these stages, both the mother and the baby need plenty of nutrients.

The symptoms that women experience when going through menopause vary from woman to woman and also vary in intensity.

The most common symptoms relating to menopause are however;

- Weight Gain after menopause/ Loss of muscle mass
- Loss of bone density
- Increased risk of heart disease
- Increase in abdominal fat
- Hot flashes
- Irritability
- Insomnia
- Poor concentration
- Depression

Popular belief is that all of these symptoms are linked to hormonal changes, however from the above list only hot flashes has been proven to be a result of a change in hormones. Exercise can help counter all these symptoms, including hot flashes. The effect exercise has on your body can have a positive influence over any of the above negative symptoms and feelings.

Weight Gain after menopause

This is the most common symptom associated with menopause. The weight gain experienced is not caused by changing hormones. It is due to the fact that as women approach the age of 40, the rate at which muscle mass is lost, increases. This is coupled with a decrease in metabolism and results in weight gain which can be hard to shift. Losing a pound of muscle means women will burn up to 50 calories less daily. Many women will turn to calorie controlled diets and strict portion control. This however simply slows metabolism down further and makes it more difficult to lose the weight.

This slow down in metabolism and increase muscle mass can be reversed by exercise. A combination of aerobic exercise and progressive weight training can significantly increase both metabolism and muscle mass of women in their 40's and 50's, even women in their 90's!

Loss of Bone Density

Loss of bone density in women begins in their early 30's. Women can lose up to 1% of total bone mass yearly until menopause. Upon reaching menopause, loss of bone density can rapidly increase and in some women they will lose up to 2% of total bone density annually. By the time a woman is 60 it is not unheard of for her to have lost 30% of her total bone density.

The main contributing factor to this is lack of Estrogen. Whilst exercise does not wholly replace Estrogen deficiency research has shown that including light aerobic exercise and weight training can dramatically reduce bone mass loss in women. The exercise need not be intensive to have results. Brisk walking combined with light weight lifting will provide very effective results.

Increased Risk of Heart Disease

The risk of developing coronary diseases significantly increases in postmenopausal women. This risk can be reduced by commencing on a regular exercise programme. In general, studies have shown that a strong relationship exists between exercise and lowered risk of heart disease.

By exercising you help to increase your heart rate and get blood flowing around your body more easily. It may sound grim but women who are aerobically fit are a lot less likely to die from heart diseases.

Increase in Abdominal Fat

Abdominal fat comes in two basic varieties - Subcutaneous and Visceral. First off is the wobbly stuff you can pinch. The second is much more insidious; it lurks in the abdominal cavity and has been linked with various serious health problems.

Studies have shown that middle-age of itself will cause a gain in subcutaneous fat, whereas menopause as such was associated with an increase in total body fat and visceral fat.

The way to beat the fat belly problem is to undertake regular moderate exercise. If you can, try doing some aerobic exercise like walking, jogging or dancing for at least 30 minutes a day. Twice a week try to do some resistance training, (exercising with weights). Studies have shown that people who do not exercise will put on more visceral fat while those exercising at the levels suggested will not put on any. Over time it was shown that exercisers were also more successful in keeping visceral fat off.

You need to note however that while doing sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles, they won't help you get rid off visceral fat.

Hot Flashes

The hot flash is probably the most discussed symptom of menopause. At this time of your life your body is producing less estrogen and progesterone. As a result, the hypothalamus, your body's thermostat, gets mixed signals: is it hot or cold? Because of this your blood vessels end up expanding and contracting randomly.

Exercise helps to decrease hot flashes by lowering the amount of certain hormones and by raising endorphine levels. Even 20 minutes three times a week can significantly reduce hot flashes.

Irritability/ Insomnia/ Poor Concentration/ Depression

These symptoms are all linked to one another and experiencing one or more of these symptoms is more than likely to result in experience of one or more of the others. During menopause your stress levels can soar. Heightened stress levels can lead to poor sleeping patterns, which in turn results in poor concentration and irritability.

Studies have shown that exercising helps to reduce stress - whether it is caused by hormone changes or not. Exercising is not only enjoyable but it helps your body to release tensions but keeps your mind occupied.

It is clear that exercise is one of the best remedies for dealing with the symptoms associated with menopause. Aerobic exercise combined with progressive weight lifting will increase muscle mass and bone density along with increasing metabolic rate. Weight loss during or after menopausal is not any harder than losing weight at any other age; it is simply about combining the correct techniques and shifting those stubborn fat cells for good!

It is important to consult your medical practitioner before commencing on any exercise programme.

Low carb diets are currently the most popularity type of diet regimen being used by many fitness conscious people. The low carb philosophy is taking the world by storm as millions of people are now trying out this new diet in the hopes of losing excess weight and fat.

Proponents of the low carb diet philosophy are also saying that aside from losing weight, it also has other inherent benefits. They said that it lowers cholesterol, helps control diabetes or completely stop it from developing in certain individuals. These are claims that seem to have been supported by actual facts as followers of a low carb diet plan have reported the same thing.

This is well and good because it is a good development to finally find a diet plan that is not only going to help you lose weight but will also have very noticeable and significant medical benefits.

But it cannot also be denied that there are many diet plans out there that are either not effective, bogus or even harmful and have a detrimental effect on one's health. So the question also remains. Are low carb diets safe?

Not surprisingly there are certain arguments that are being presented against low carb diets and ultimately there are also moves to debunk the low carb diet philosophy. In fact, in 2004 a Canadian court made a ruling that foods that are sold in the country are prohibited from being marketed with reduced or no carbohydrate content. This is because, as the court ruled, carbohydrates have been seen as having no health risks. The ruling also stated that all packaging that has and indication of "low carb" or "no carb" be phased out by 2006.

According to some critics and detractors of the low carb diet philosophy there are side effects to following this diet regimen. Some of the side effects of consuming low amounts of carbohydrates include ketosis. This is a certain metabolic state that is characterized by headaches, nausea, tiredness, dehydration, and dizziness. There is also the emanation of an sweet-smelling breath odor. There is also a chance of constipation because dietary fiber is usually cut down in the prepared dishes. In fact, because of the prevalence of constipation among Atkins Diet followers, there is now a clear guideline for the addition of fiber supplements during the induction stage.

The cutting down of calories that are taken from carbohydrates and replacing them with calories taken from meat may also increase the likelihood of raising the intake of both saturated fat and cholesterol - and this could increase your chances of getting heart disease. It has also been a contention that with the lessened carbohydrate - increased protein intake the kidneys will have to work harder to flush out impurities in the body. There is also a marked change in the acidity levels of the blood which can result in bone loss.

But according to trials made to prove the hypothesis, there was no evidence that following a low carb diet will damage the kidney or result in bone density loss.

The frustrating part will be that after you are off the low carb, you will very probably gain back all the weight that you have loss and even more. This is because your muscles are active and they continuously burn calories. Since you have less fewer muscle mass now, your body's metabolism or capacity to burn calories slows down tremendously.

In other words, when you put on weight again, you are putting on body fat instead of muscles if you do not exercise. You will be fatter and less healthy than before you went on the low carb. To compound matters, because of lesser muscle tissues resulting in lower metabolism and thus lesser calories being burnt, you are going to get fatter.