The Health Blog

Eliminate risk factors. Know your risk, which one can be changed and which are not.

Risk factors that you can change include some diseases. If you can control the disease, you may lower your risk for stroke. Controllable risk factors include:

• High blood pressure (hypertension). High blood pressure is the second most important stroke risk factor after age.
• Diabetes. Having diabetes doubles your risk for stroke because of the circulation problems associated with the disease. 2
• High cholesterol. High cholesterol can lead to coronary artery disease and heart attack, which can damage the heart muscle and increase your risk for stroke.
• Other heart conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, endocarditis, heart valve conditions, or cardiomyopathy.
• Smoking. Daily cigarette smoking can increase the risk of stroke 2½ times.
• Lack of physical activity.

Some risk factors, however, can’t be changed. Risk factors that you cannot change include:

• Age. The risk for stroke increases with age. Most strokes occur in people older than 65.
• Race. African Americans and Hispanics have a higher risk than people of other races.
• Gender. Stroke is more common in men than women. However, at older ages, more women than men have strokes. At all ages, more women than men die of stroke.
• Family history. The risk for stroke is greater if a parent, brother, or sister has had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).
  Prior history of stroke or TIA. About 14% of people who have a stroke have another stroke within 1 year.

Are you overweight? Have you tried to lose weight with diet and exercise, but failed? Are you concerned about your health? If so, you are definitely not alone. Worldwide, more and more people are struggling with obesity and it’s health consequences. As people search for help with weight loss, many are considering weight loss surgery. One of the most promising
surgical options is laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, also known as
lap band surgery.

Lap band surgery is a weight loss procedure that helps a person lose weight by limiting the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time and increasing the feeling of fullness after eating only a small amount of food. Lap band patients will not only eat less but will also learn new eating habits as they adopt a lap-band diet.

During surgery, small slits are cut into the body and the surgeon places a silicone ring, known as a lap band or gastric band, around the stomach opening. The band creates a new small stomach pouch and reduces the size of the opening to the main stomach area, slowing the digestion process. It is considered a safer and less drastic alternative to gastric bypass surgery
because it does not involve cutting the stomach and intestines or rerouting the digestive tract.

Do you prefer fast foods? Well, you have to refrain eating more now. A new study finds out that the typical Western diet increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Indulging in a typical Western diet of burgers, fries, and diet soda boosts your risk of getting heart disease and diabetes, a study shows.

This study found out that just two burger patties a day and one daily diet soda substantially boost the risk of getting metabolic syndrome, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Their findings:
1. The Western diet increased risk by about 18% overall of getting metabolic syndrome over nine years

2. Those who ate two or more servings of meat a day, or about two burger patties, boosted their risk by 26% compared with those who only ate meat twice a week.

3. Diet soda, one can a day, increased risk by 34%.

One of the approach to treatment of essential hypertension is lifestyle change. Here are the easy ways on changing your lifestyle:

1. Stop smoking. It has been emphasized in various health articles that smoking can cause hypertension. About 30% of all deaths from heart disease in the U.S. are directly related to cigarette smoking. That’s because smoking is a major cause of coronary artery disease especially in younger people.

How Does Smoking Increase Heart Disease Risk?

The nicotine present in smoke causes:

* Decreased oxygen to the heart.
* Increased blood pressure and heart rate.
* Increase in blood clotting.
* Damage to cells that line coronary arteries and other blood vessels.

2. Lose weight if overweight. Maintain body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2. For every 10 kilogram weight loss, BP drops by approximately 5-20 mmHg.

3. Reduce sodium intake (<2 g of sodium or approximately <6 g of sodium chloride).

Although, it feels miserable to experience it, nausea and vomiting are usually part of a healthy pregnancy. These presumptive symptoms of pregnancy usually appears in early pregnancy and typically disappears during the middle third of second trimester.

Reduce the symptoms by trying these home remedies:

1. Diet Modification:
- Eat small amounts of food frequently.
- Avoid spicy and fatty foods, and foods with odors that bother you.
- Try eating simple carbohydrates, such as saltine crackers, unbuttered toast, plain baked potatoes, white rice, gelatin desserts, broth, pretzels, popsicles, herbal or decaffeinated tea with sugar, or non–diet ginger ale.
- Combine these simple carbohydrates with a serving of protein, especially right before bed to minimize swings in blood sugar that may contribute to nausea.
- Drink liquids between meals and not during meals to minimize nausea and vomiting.
- Keep crackers at the bedside table to help with nausea in the morning.

We already have known some proven benefits of coffee. An additional benefit was found out in a recent report.

Participants reported their coffee-drinking habits. The data show that coffee drinkers were 41% less likely to have been diagnosed with liver cancer than people who don’t drink coffee.

For every daily cup of coffee people drank, their odds of having been diagnosed with liver cancer dropped by 23%, compared with people who never drink coffee.

People who drank a lot of coffee were 55% less likely to have been diagnosed with liver cancer than those who didn’t drink any coffee.

A breathing technique known as the Papworth method can cut asthma symptoms by a third, a new study finds.

The Papworth method is a sequence of breathing and relaxation exercises developed in the 1960s. The training involves a diaphragmatic breathing technique, emphasizes nose breathing and the development of a breathing pattern to suit current activity. The breathing exercises are accompanied by relaxation training and education focused on helping people integrate the exercises into their daily life and recognize the early signs of stress.

The study, published online ahead of print in Thorax, included 85 people with mild asthma. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either five sessions of treatment by the Papworth method in addition to their medical care, or to continue to rely on their usual drug therapy.

Incredibly, there are also indications that EPA might increase brain size. Scans have revealed regeneration in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for memory, reason and processing information. This direct impact on the brain could be why EPA has demonstrated such a profound effect on mental functioning and on mood.

Numerous other studies have shown that EPA reduces the risk of sudden death in heart attack patients and possibly plays a significant role in reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. It lowers bad cholesterol and reduces triglyceride levels; it thins the blood and lessens the risk of atherosclerosis. It can improve skin conditions such as psoriasis, acne and eczema, and helps to alleviate the inflammation and pain associated with arthritis and the list just goes on and on.

Women’s Health Magazine lists 100 simple ways to burn calories. Do five of them a day and you can lose a pound a week. The list shows us that it is possible to lose weight from simple daily activities.

1. Slather on lip balm 765 times.

2. Relive the ’80s. Lip sync George Michael’s Faith 16 times.

3. DVR an episode of Arrested Development and watch it commercial free. (Ten straight minutes of laughter can burn 40 calories–no joke.)

4. Watch the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. (Serious stuff doesn’t scorch as many.)

5. Wiggle while you watch for 40 minutes: Fidgeters burn up to 350 more calories a day than couch potatoes.

The American Heart Association has issued eight new recommendations to help reduce congenital heart defects in babies.

The recommendations include actions women can take before becoming pregnant.

The recommendations, printed in the journal Circulation, are as follows:

• Take a multivitamin that contains folic acid.
• Get preconception and prenatal medical care.
• Get screened for diabetes. If you have diabetes, manage it carefully during pregnancy.
• Get vaccinated against rubella and influenza (flu).

If you have an inherited disease called PKU (phenylketonuria), which affects your diet, talk to your doctor about proper nutrition during pregnancy.

1. Apple cider vinegar is used to detoxify various organs in the body together with the blood stream. It aids in blood oxidization thereby keeping it from becoming thick. The health benefits of apple cider vinegar extend to healing wounds and skin lesions. Poultices of cider vinegar can be applied to a stubborn open wound.

2. Apple cider vinegar also promotes digestion and neutralizes any toxic substance taken into the body. Regular intake of cider vinegar and honey is said to provide relief to those suffering from arthritis and painful joints. Consumption of about 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water can restore natural clotting properties of blood.

3. Apple cider vinegar benefits those suffering from ear discharge and eczema. Apple cider vinegar is said to have miraculous effects on those suffering from hair loss by taking care of tissue salt deficiency. Apple cider vinegar has a potent supply of potassium that can help in remedying teeth decay and splitting of fingernails.