Celebrating the Greatness of Kids
by Nurse on duty on May 15, 2012
It always feel good to know that a brand you’ve been using makes better purpose than just profiting from its consumers. In a consumer and advocate perspective, that makes you trust and believe in them even better. Because right now, it’s really hard to find someone who’ll even have the interest to invest in returning back something to show how they appreciate their consumers. Money and quality matters but value for the brand is more than that. Tang believes in this and Nurses Notes is a witness on how Kraft Tang celebrates the greatness of kids.
Have you discovered what a hero your child can be in his own small way?
Children who have been nurtured with the right values and live within an inspiring Read the rest of this entry »
Type 2 Diabetes in Women: Young, Slim, and Diabetic
by Nurse on duty on May 4, 2012
Type 2 diabetes is threatening a new group of people: seemingly fit women.
Stephanie Yi, 29, had a body most women would kill for. She never had to work hard to maintain her long-limbed, flat-bellied frame—weekend hikes near her northern California home and lots of spinach salads did the trick. She could easily afford to indulge her sweet tooth with the occasional buttery, sugary snack. At 5’7″ and 120 pounds, she had, she figured, hit the good-genes jackpot.
But everything changed two years ago, when a crippling fatigue left her sidelined from college classes. Listless, she dragged herself to a doctor, who suspected a thyroid imbalance. A blood test and a few days later, she received the alarming results: Her thyroid was fine; her blood sugar levels were not. She was prediabetic and on the cusp of developing type 2.
Stephanie was stunned. Of course, she’d heard diabetes was a health crisis. (At last count, 26 million Americans had the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) But weren’t type 2 diabetics fat, sedentary, and on junk-food-and-soda diets? Stephanie hadn’t been to a drive-through in ages; she didn’t touch meat. Yet, somehow, she’d gotten an illness most slim women dodge.
A Growing Threat
The CDC estimates that one in nine adults has diabetes and, if current trends continue, one in three will be diabetic by the year 2050. For decades, typical type 2 patients were close to what Stephanie pictured: heavy and inactive. They were also older, often receiving a diagnosis in middle age or beyond. But while such type 2 cases continue to skyrocket, there has been a disturbing increase in a much younger set.
What Your Eyes Say About Your Health
by Nurse on duty on May 1, 2012
Even if you boast 20/20, you should pay a visit to an eye-care specialist. “The eyes are one place in the body through which we can actually see veins and arteries firsthand, with no surgery or cameras,” says Shantan Reddy, M.D., an ophthalmologist and retinal specialist at New York University Langone Medical Center. That’s why an eye doctor may be the first to detect a serious health problem such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
One example: 65 percent of the time, eye doctors can spot signs of a patient’s high cholesterol before any other health-care provider (the condition shows up as yellowish plaques within the retinal blood vessels).
Behold, surprising health cues your eyes give away.
Eye Cue: Silver-or copper-colored arteries
Red Flag For: High blood pressure
More than 20 percent of people with high blood pressure don’t know they have it—a problem that could be solved if everyone visited their eye doctor more often. “We can see hypertension through the eyes because it gives retinal arteries a silver or copper hue that we call copper wiring,” says Reddy. If left untreated, the condition can cause blood vessels in the retina and throughout the body to harden, increasing the risk for heart attack or stroke.
5 Small Ways to Help Your Heart
by Nurse on duty on April 26, 2012
Still beating!
The two pieces of advice you’ve heard your whole life: Eat well and exercise. And yet, one in three people in this country are obese. Somewhere in those four words, the message gets lost. Your most important organ—your heart—suffers.
But small things—the apps you download, the way you think, and the foods you put on your grocery list—can make big changes. Here are five new findings to help you keep your heart healthy.
Load up on C
When a group of adults took vitamin C supplements—about 500 milligrams a day—their blood pressure was significantly lower after two weeks, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers think that C may keep levels of nitric oxide in the blood—which helps your blood vessels maintain normal blood pressure—in check. If supplements aren’t you thing, try cherries. A small study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that people who ate two daily servings of the fruit lowered their C-reactive proteins proteins—which are correlated with inflammation and heart disease—by 16 percent. Click here for the 5 Best Foods for a Strong Heart. Read the rest of this entry »
5 Most Surprising Reasons to Drink Water
by Nurse on duty on April 23, 2012
Of all the food and beverage choices you face every day, what’s calorie-free, virtually cost-free, and, oh yes, essential to keeping you alive? Plain ol’ water. But those aren’t the only reasons to drink it.
“Water drives basic body performance,” says Beth Reardon, director of nutrition for Duke Integrative Medicine, part of the Duke University Health System. “All of the systems in the body require water for proper functioning, and so do 90 percent of all chemical reactions in the body.”
Here are five surprising reasons to quench your thirst with water:
1. It will help you de-stress.
Why: Being sure to sip water throughout a stressful day can soothe stress-induced symptoms as diverse as headaches, tense muscles, fuzzy thinking, a pounding heart, and low energy. That’s because stress taxes all your basic body systems — and when you’re dehydrated, the effects are magnified.
Given that more than half your body weight is water, Reardon says, “just a 2-percent reduction in hydration has a dramatic impact on energy levels and cognitive function.” And dehydration further raises levels of cortisol — the “stress hormone.”
Water won’t wash your stressors away. But it can provide you with more energy, ease tension, slow breathing, and reduce the strain on your heart.
Water-drinking tip: ”Eight by eight — eight 8-ounce glasses a day — is a good general rule of thumb,” Reardon says, “but it’s a myth that’s the magic amount for everyone, because there are so many variables.” The “right” amount for you depends on factors including your age, your activity level, your health level, medications you’re taking, and the weather. So how do you know if you’re drinking enough? Follow your thirst, and know that you’re on the right track if you have straw-colored urine, Reardon says. Read the rest of this entry »
Caring for Elderly Relatives: How to Handle Family Conflicts
by Nurse on duty on April 20, 2012
Common causes of family tensions and disagreements
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that sensitive family dynamics can be one of the most challenging aspects of caregiving for an elder, given the tremendous financial, physical, and emotional demands involved. This doesn’t mean that family squabbles are inevitable. In fact, if managed well, the experience of caring for an older family member has the potential to bring relatives closer as you help this person through this final stage of life. Here’s how to avoid conflicts with family members and work through them when they occur.
Typically, disagreements arise because of:
- Roles and rivalries dating back to childhood. Mature adults often find that they’re back in the sandbox when their family gets together. This tendency can grow even more pronounced under the strain of caregiving.
If your sister was the favored child, for example, you may find that — no matter how successful and capable you are now — in your parents’ or relatives’ home you become a jealous, powerless little girl again.
- Disagreements over an elder’s condition and capabilities. It’s common for family members to have very different ideas about what’s wrong with a loved one and what should be done about it. You may be convinced that your family member is no longer capable of driving, while your brothers argue that he needs to maintain his independence.
- Disagreements over financial matters and other practical issues. How to pay for a family member’s care is often a huge cause of tension. Financial concerns can influence decisions about where the person should live, whether or not a particular medical intervention is needed, and whether he can afford a housekeeper. These conflicts are often fueled by ongoing resentment over income disparities and perceived inequities in the distribution of the family estate.
- Burden of care. Experts say the most common source of discord among family members occurs when the burden of caring for an elder isn’t distributed equally. “Usually one of the adult children in the family takes on most of the care-giving tasks,” says Donna Schempp, program director at the Family Caregivers Alliance, a national nonprofit organization that provides information and support to caregivers.
The primary caregiver might assume this role because he lives near the family member, is perceived to have the fewest obligations, or has the closest relationship with the person. Whatever the reasons, the situation is likely to make him resentful. Read the rest of this entry »
Food for Thought: What to Eat During Menopause
by Nurse on duty on April 16, 2012
Wouldn’t it be great if you asked your doctor how to deal with menopausal symptoms and she told you to eat plenty of chocolate and blueberry scones, and then wash it all down with copious amounts of red wine?
Unfortunately, we’ve all lived long enough to know that life doesn’t work out that way, and when it comes to combating the effects of menopause, you’ll be advised to eat different kinds of foods, namely those that are healthy. Yes, menopause may bring a gaggle of gruesome maladies, including hot flashes, dull skin, memory loss, and flatulence, but chocolate, flakey baked goods, and dry wine won’t do anything to ease the pain (at least in the long run).
Fortunately, there are some foods that will. Read on for some ways to use good foods to boost your menopausal body.
1. Increase your soy intake. Recent studies indicate that middle-aged women who consumed at least three soy products a day reported positive benefits for their hearts and bones. Soy protein also can improve skin, hair, and nails. Once considered a tasteless waste of chewing, today’s soy products include flavorful foods, such as soy cereal and roasted soy nuts. Soy products also can reduce hot flash frequency. Read the rest of this entry »
The 7 Deadly Emotions of Caregiving
by Nurse on duty on April 13, 2012
How guilt, resentment, and other powerful caregiver feelings can raise your stress and sap your energy — and what you can do to avoid the damage.
Nobody would ever choose a smiley face as the perfect symbolic emoticon for a caregiver. Caregiving for an ailing loved one is just too stressful — often triggering damaging emotions that can not only undermine your good work but harm your health, as well. Here’s how to cope:
Caregiver emotion trap #1: Guilt
Guilt is virtually unavoidable as you try to “do it all.”
What causes guilt: Guilt stems from doing or saying what you believe is the wrong thing, not doing what you perceive to be enough, or otherwise not behaving in the “right” way, whether or not your perceptions are accurate. Caregivers often burden themselves with a long list of self-imposed “oughts,” “shoulds,” and “musts.” A few examples: I must avoid putting Mom in a nursing home. I ought to visit every day. I shouldn’t lose my temper with someone who has dementia.
Risks of guilt: Caregiver guilt is an especially corrosive emotion because you’re beating yourself up over faults that are imagined, unavoidable — or simply human. That’s counterproductive at a time when you need to be your own best advocate.
What you can do: Lower your standards from ideal to real; aim for a B+ in the many aspects of your life rather than an across-the-board A+. When guilt nags, ask yourself what’s triggering it: A rigid “ought”? An unrealistic belief about your abilities? Above all, recognize that guilt is virtually unavoidable. Because your intentions are good but your time, resources, and skills are limited, you’re just plain going to feel guilty sometimes — so try to get comfortable with that gap between perfection and reality instead of beating yourself up over it. Read the rest of this entry »
Sleep Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making
by Nurse on duty on March 30, 2012
Snooze is the enemy!
There’s one time staying completely still could help you lose pounds: When you sleep. Clocking too little shuteye can make you hungrier, impair how your body processes sugar, and even increase your blood pressure, according to new research published in The American Journal of Human Biology.
How? After fewer than six hours of sleep, your body creates more ghrelin, a hormone that makes you hungry, and less leptin, the hormone that tells you when you’re full, says W. Christopher Winter, M.D., Medical Director at Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center.
Another effect: Sleep restriction revs up your sympathetic nervous system—the part associated with stress and the fight-or-flight response, says Kristen Knutson, M.D., of the University of Chicago. Though it’s not fully understood, a constantly running sympathetic nervous system could lead to high blood pressure and impair your body’s blood sugar response, which may contribute to diabetes.
You know sleep is important—so why aren’t you getting enough? Men’s Health asked some of the country’s leading sleep experts what men are doing wrong.
White rice link seen with Type 2 diabetes, says study
by Nurse on duty on March 17, 2012
Health researchers said on Thursday they had found a troubling link between higher consumption of rice and Type 2 diabetes, a disease that in some countries is becoming an epidemic.
Further work is need to probe the apparent association and diets that are notoriously high in sugar and fats should remain on the no-go list, they cautioned.
“What we’ve found is white rice is likely to increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, especially at high consumption levels such as in Asian populations,” Qi Sun of the Harvard School of Public Health told AFP.
“But at the same time people should pay close attention to the other things they eat.
“It’s very important to address not just a single food but the whole pattern of consumption.”
In the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Sun’s team said the link emerged from an analysis of four previously published studies, carried out in China, Japan, Australia and the United States.
These studies followed 350,000 people over a timescale from four to 22 years. More than 13,000 people developed Type 2 diabetes.
In the studies carried out in China and Japan, those who ate most rice were 55 percent likelier to develop the disease than those who ate least. In the United States and Australia, where consumption of rice is far lower, the difference was 12 percent.
Participants in the two Asian countries ate three or four servings of rice a day on average, compared to just one or two servings a week in the Western countries.
White rice is the dominant form of rice eaten in the world. Machines produce its polished look by hulling and milling, leaving a grain that is predominantly starch.
Brown rice, by contrast, has more fiber, magnesium and vitamins, and a lower “glycaemic index,” a measurement of sugar content, than white rice.
Sun said the study did have limitations, including full details about what the volunteers ate in addition to rice.
“I don’t think I can put forward a 100-percent confirmed case, given that this is a meta-analysis of four original studies,” he said.
“But I see a consistency across these studies, and there is biological plausibility that supports the association between white rice consumption and diabetes.”
He added: “More trial data are needed to corroborate or refute our observations.”
Diabetes affects nearly 350 million adults worldwide, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Diet is only one factor in Type 2 diabetes, a complex disease that involves high levels of blood sugar that cannot be processed by the hormone insulin. Obesity and lack of exercise are also cited as culprits. - AFP News
