Assistive Technology Definition and TaxonomyWritten by RehabTool.com
Assistive and adaptive technologies can enhance lives of individuals with disabilities, increase their independence and productivity, and help them gain greater social inclusion. However, meaning of "Assistive Technology" often remains unclear and fuzzy to many healthcare professionals and disabled people who could benefit from it.
| | Have You Lost Your Spark?Written by Melinda Kempenich
Did you know research has shown that our body’s ability to produce enzymes decreases as we age? And, while this is taking place, malabsorption of nutrients, breakdown of tissue, and chronic health conditions as a whole increase. Some folks believe that enzyme supplementation is vital for elderly people. Well, yikes! I’m not young, young, but I do have to admit I am slowing down some. I feel sluggish a lot. So what exactly does this mean? What’s all this talk about enzymes anyway? I read that late Dr. Edward Howell, a physician and pioneer in enzyme research, called enzymes “sparks of life”. Enzymes assist us in most all bodily functions. Each enzyme has a specific function and each one has a specialized chemical shape. They can only initiate a reaction in a certain substance or group of related substances. Basically body must produce a great number of different enzymes. Some of different enzymes would be: digestive enzymes which break down food particles for storage in our muscles and liver, blood enzymes which allow iron to concentrate in our blood and also blood enzymes to help blood coagulate to stop bleeding, uricolytic enzymes catalyze conversion of uric acid, respiratory enzymes facilitate elimination of carbon dioxide from lungs, enzymes also assist kidneys, liver, lungs, colon, and skin in removing wastes and toxins from body. Enzymes also help with construction of new muscle tissue, nerve cells, bone, skin, and gland tissue. Enzymes do all this and more! Enzymes are so crucial to our health that I am awestruck. Scientists break enzymes down into two groups: digestive enzymes and metabolic enzymes. The digestive enzymes break down foods. There are three categories of digestive enzymes. The Amylase break down carbohydrates, and then different types of amylase break down specific types of sugar. Protease helps to digest protein. Lipase aids in fat digestion. The metabolic enzymes are enzymes that have to do with various chemical reactions with cells, such as energy production and detoxification. So if we want more energy it appears more enzymes are key.
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