plantae

If you spend time outdoors, chances are you have been bothered by poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac at some point. Most people are sensitive to the plants' oily sap. The sap is in the root, stems, leaves and fruit of these plants. If it gets on your skin, it causes a blistering skin rash. The rash can range from mild to severe, depending on how much sap gets on your skin and how sensitive you are to it. Problems can also happen if the plants are burned. Airborne sap-coated soot can get into the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory system.

The best way to avoid the rash is to learn what the plants look like and stay away from them. If you come into contact with the plants, wash your skin and clothing right away. If you develop a rash, ask your pharmacist about over-the-counter medicines. For severe rashes, see your doctor.

National Park Service

Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mix of dried, crumbled parts from the marijuana plant. The plant contains chemicals which act on your brain and can change your mood or consciousness.

There are many different ways that people use marijuana, including:

• Rolling it up and smoking it like a cigarette or cigar
• Smoking it in a pipe
• Mixing it in food and eating it
• Brewing it as a tea
• Smoking oils from the plant ("dabbing")
• Using electronic vaporizers ("vaping")

Marijuana can cause both short-term and long-term effects.

Short term:

While you are high, you may experience:

• Altered senses, such as seeing brighter colors
• Altered sense of time, such as minutes seeming like hours
• Changes in mood
• Problems with body movement
• Trouble with thinking, problem-solving, and memory
• Increased appetite

Long term:

In the long term, marijuana can cause health problems, such as:

• Problems with brain development. People who started using marijuana as teenagers may have trouble with thinking, memory, and learning.
• Coughing and breathing problems, if you smoke marijuana frequently
• Problems with child development during and after pregnancy, if a woman smokes marijuana while pregnant

It is possible to overdose on marijuana, if you take a very high dose. Symptoms of an overdose include anxiety, panic, and a rapid heartbeat. In rare cases, an overdose can cause paranoia and hallucinations. There are no reports of people dying from using just marijuana.

After using marijuana for a while, it is possible to get addicted to it. You are more likely to become addicted if you use marijuana every day or you started using it when you were a teenager. If you are addicted, you will have a strong need to take the drug. You may also need to smoke more and more of it to get the same high. When you try to quit, you may have mild withdrawal symptoms such as:

• Irritability
• Trouble sleeping
• Decreased appetite
• Anxiety
• Cravings

The marijuana plant has chemicals that can help with some health problems. More states are making it legal to use the plant as medicine for certain medical conditions. But there isn't enough research to show that the whole plant works to treat or cure these conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the marijuana plant as a medicine. Marijuana is still illegal at the national level.

However, there have been scientific studies of cannabinoids, the chemicals in marijuana. The two main cannabinoids that are of medical interest are THC and CBD. The FDA has approved two drugs that contain THC. These drugs treat nausea caused by chemotherapy and increase appetite in patients who have severe weight loss from AIDS. There is also a liquid drug that contains CBD. It treats two forms of severe childhood epilepsy. Scientists are doing more research with marijuana and its ingredients to treat many diseases and conditions.

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

A poison is any substance that is harmful to your body. You might swallow it, inhale it, inject it, or absorb it through your skin. Any substance can be poisonous if too much is taken. Poisons can include:

• Prescription or over-the-counter medicines taken in doses that are too high
• Overdoses of illegal drugs
• Carbon monoxide from gas appliances
• Household products, such as laundry powder or furniture polish
• Pesticides
• Indoor or outdoor plants
• Metals such as lead and mercury

The effects of poisoning range from short-term illness to brain damage, coma, and death. To prevent poisoning it is important to use and store products exactly as their labels say. Keep dangerous products where children can't get to them. Treatment for poisoning depends on the type of poison. If you suspect someone has been poisoned, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222 right away.

An herb is a plant or plant part used for its scent, flavor, or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicines are one type of dietary supplement. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts, and fresh or dried plants. People use herbal medicines to try to maintain or improve their health.

Many people believe that products labeled "natural" are always safe and good for them. This is not necessarily true. Herbal medicines do not have to go through the testing that drugs do. Some herbs, such as comfrey and ephedra, can cause serious harm. Some herbs can interact with prescription or over-the-counter medicines.

If you are thinking about using an herbal medicine, first get information on it from reliable sources. Make sure to tell your health care provider about any herbal medicines you are taking.

NIH: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Germs, or microbes, are found everywhere - in the air, soil, and water. There are also germs on your skin and in your body. Many of them are harmless, and some can even be helpful. But some of them can make you sick. Infectious diseases are diseases that are caused by germs.

There are four main types of germs:

• Bacteria are one-celled germs that multiply quickly. They may give off toxins, which are harmful chemicals that can make you sick. Strep throat and urinary tract infections are common bacterial infections.
• Viruses are tiny capsules that contain genetic material. They invade your cells so that they can multiply. This can kill, damage, or change the cells and make you sick. Viral infections include HIV and the common cold.
• Fungi are primitive plant-like organisms such as mushrooms, mold, mildew, and yeasts. Athlete's foot and yeast infections are common fungal infections.
• Parasites are animals or plants that survive by living on or in other living things. Malaria and head lice are infections that are caused by parasites.

There are many different ways that you can get an infectious disease, depending on the type of germ. They can include:

• Through direct contact with a person who is sick. This includes kissing, touching, sneezing, coughing, and sexual contact. Pregnant people can also pass some germs along to their babies.
• Through indirect contact, when you touch something that has germs on it. For example, you could get germs if someone who is sick touched a door handle, and then you touch it.
• Through insect or animal bites.
• Through contaminated food, water, soil, or plants.

Infectious diseases can cause many different symptoms. Some are so mild that you may not even notice any symptoms, while others can be life-threatening.

There are treatments for some infectious diseases, such as antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal and anti-parasitic medicines. But for other infections, such as some caused by viruses, you can only treat your symptoms while you wait for your immune system to fight off the germ.

You can take steps to help prevent many infectious diseases:

• Get vaccinated.
• Wash your hands often.
• Pay attention to food safety.
• Avoid contact with wild animals.
• Use a latex condom every time you have sex. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.
• Don't share items such as toothbrushes, combs, and straws.

Protein is in every cell in the body. Our bodies need protein from the foods we eat to build and maintain bones, muscles and skin. We get proteins in our diet from meat, dairy products, nuts, and certain grains and beans. Proteins from meat and other animal products are complete proteins. This means they supply all of the amino acids the body can't make on its own. Most plant proteins are incomplete. You should eat different types of plant proteins every day to get all of the amino acids your body needs.

It is important to get enough dietary protein. You need to eat protein every day, because your body doesn't store it the way it stores fats or carbohydrates. How much you need depends on your age, sex, health, and level of physical activity. Most Americans eat enough protein in their diet.

Heroin is an illegal, very addictive opioid drug. It's made from morphine, which comes from the seedpod of opium poppy plants. These plants grow in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Mexico, and Colombia. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin.

People inject, sniff, snort, or smoke heroin. Some people mix heroin with crack cocaine, which is called "speedballing." All these ways of taking heroin send it to the brain very quickly, which makes it highly addictive.

People who use heroin report feeling a "rush" (a surge of pleasure). And then they may feel other effects, such as a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the arms and legs. They may also have severe itching, nausea, and vomiting. After these first effects, they will usually be drowsy for several hours, and their breathing will slow down.

People who use heroin over the long term may develop many different health problems. These problems could include liver, kidney, and lung disease, mental disorders, and abscesses.

People who inject the drug also risk getting infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and bacterial infections of the skin, bloodstream, and heart (endocarditis). They can also get collapsed veins. When a vein collapses, the blood cannot flow through it.

Repeated use of heroin can lead to tolerance. This means users need more and more of the drug to have the same effect. At higher doses over time, the body becomes dependent on heroin. If someone who is dependent on heroin stops using it, they have withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms can include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and cold flashes with goose bumps.

Repeated use of heroin often leads to heroin use disorder, sometimes called addiction. This is more than physical dependence. It's a chronic (long-lasting) brain disorder. When someone has it, they continue to use heroin even though it causes problems in their life. Some examples include health problems and not being able to meet responsibilities at work, school, or home. Getting and using heroin becomes their main purpose in life.

It's possible to overdose on heroin. This happens when a person uses so much heroin that it causes a life-threatening reaction or death. All heroin users are at risk of an overdose because they never know the actual strength of the drug they are taking or what may have been added to it. And people often use heroin along with other drugs or alcohol. This can increase the risk of an overdose.

When people overdose on heroin, their heart rate and breathing slow down. Their breathing may slow do so much that not enough oxygen reaches the brain. This condition is called hypoxia. Hypoxia can lead to a coma, permanent brain damage, or death.

A medicine called naloxone can treat a heroin (or other opioid) overdose if it is given in time. It works by blocking the effects of the opioid on the body. Sometimes more than one dose of the medicine is needed.

There are two forms of naloxone that anyone can use without medical training: nasal spray and injectable. People at risk of an overdose are encouraged to carry naloxone with them. They can buy naloxone at a pharmacy.

Treatments for heroin use disorder include medicines to treat withdrawal symptoms, medicine to block the effects of opioids, and behavioral treatments. Often, a combination of medicine and behavioral treatment works best. People getting treatment for heroin use disorder should work with their health care providers to come up with a treatment plan that fits their needs.

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that that's found in all the cells in your body. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much of it in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries and narrow or even block them. This puts you at risk for coronary artery disease and other heart diseases.

Cholesterol is made by your liver. It travels through the blood on proteins called lipoproteins. One type of lipoprotein, LDL, is sometimes called the "bad" cholesterol. A high LDL level leads to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries. Another type, HDL, is sometimes called the "good" cholesterol. It carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Then your liver removes the cholesterol from your body.

The main treatments for high cholesterol are heart-healthy lifestyle changes and medicines. The lifestyle changes include healthy eating, weight management, and regular physical activity.

Heart-healthy lifestyle changes include a diet to lower your cholesterol. The DASH eating plan is one example. Another is the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet, which recommends that you:

Choose healthier fats.You should limit both total fat and saturated fat. No more than 25 to 35% of your daily calories should come from dietary fats, and less than 7% of your daily calories should come from saturated fat. Depending upon how many calories you eat per day, here are the maximum amounts of saturated fats that you should eat:

Saturated fat is a bad fat because it raises your LDL (bad cholesterol) level more than anything else in your diet. It is found in some meats, dairy products, chocolate, baked goods, and deep-fried and processed foods.

Instead of saturated fats, switch to foods with healthier fats, such as lean meat, nuts, and unsaturated oils like canola, olive, and safflower oils.

Limit foods with cholesterol. If you are trying to lower your cholesterol, you should have less than 200 mg a day of cholesterol. Cholesterol is in foods from animals, such as liver and other organ meats, egg yolks, shrimp, and whole milk dairy products.

Eat plenty of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber helps prevent your digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol. You should try to get 10 to 25 grams of it per day. Foods that are high in soluble fiber include:

• Whole-grain cereals such as oatmeal and oat bran
• Fruits such as apples, bananas, oranges, pears, and prunes
• Legumes such as kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and lima beans

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. They are important sources of vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients.

Increase plant stanols and sterols in your diet.These are substances that also help prevent your digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol. You should try to get 2 grams of them per day. They can be found in whole grains, nuts, legumes, and oils, such as olive oil and avocado oil. They are also added to some foods, such as certain types of orange juice, margarine, and bread.

Eat foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. These special fats can lower LDL and triglyceride levels. They can also help control blood pressure and may lower your risk of heart rhythm problems. If you have heart disease, they may lower your risk of heart attack. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in:

• Fish such as salmon, tuna (canned or fresh), and mackerel. Most people should try to eat these fish two times a week. But if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should avoid fish that could be high in mercury, such as mackerel.
• Plant sources such as walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, and canola and soybean oils. But they have smaller amounts of omega-3 acids than the fish sources.
• Fortified foods, such as certain brands of eggs, yogurt, juices, milk, soy beverages, and infant formulas.

Limit salt. You should try to limit the amount of sodium (salt) that you eat to no more than 2,300 milligrams (about 1 teaspoon of salt) a day. That includes all the sodium you eat, whether it's added in cooking, used at the table, or already present in food products. Limiting salt won't lower your cholesterol, but it can lower your risk of heart diseases by helping to lower your blood pressure. You can reduce your sodium by instead choosing low-salt and "no added salt" foods and seasonings at the table or while cooking.

Limit alcohol. Alcohol adds extra calories, which can lead to weight gain. Being overweight can raise your LDL level and lower your HDL level. Too much alcohol can also increase your risk of heart diseases because it can raise your blood pressure and triglyceride level. It's best not to drink, but if you do:

• Have no more than 2 drinks per day if you are a man
• Have no more than 1 drink per day if you are a woman

Nutrition labels can help you figure out how much fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, fiber, and sodium is in the foods that you buy. This can help you eat healthier and lower your cholesterol.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

A vegetarian diet focuses on plants for food. These include fruits, vegetables, dried beans and peas, grains, seeds and nuts. There is no single type of vegetarian diet. Instead, vegetarian eating patterns usually fall into the following groups:

• The vegan diet, which excludes all meat and animal products
• The lacto vegetarian diet, which includes plant foods plus dairy products
• The lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, which includes both dairy products and eggs

People who follow vegetarian diets can get all the nutrients they need. However, they must be careful to eat a wide variety of foods to meet their nutritional needs. Nutrients vegetarians may need to focus on include protein, iron, calcium, zinc and vitamin B12.

United States Department of Agriculture

Vitamins are substances that your body needs to grow and develop normally. Vitamin A plays a role in your:

• Vision
• Bone growth
• Reproduction
• Cell functions
• Immune system

Vitamin A is an antioxidant. It can come from plant or animal sources. Plant sources include colorful fruits and vegetables. Animal sources include liver and whole milk. Vitamin A is also added to foods like cereals.

Vegetarians, young children, and alcoholics may need extra Vitamin A. You might also need more if you have certain conditions, such as liver diseases, cystic fibrosis, and Crohn's disease. Check with your health care provider to see if you need to take vitamin A supplements.

NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements