Healthy Living: Mind, Body, & Spirit

Top 3 causes for preventable premature death

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 "Researchers have a new list of preventable causes of death. The top three: smoking, high blood pressure, and overweight or obesity."

A new list? That list seems as old as the hills. I honestly do not know what the top three preventable causes of death use to be, but I have known that simple fact for 30 years, and I am no scientist or doctor.

Anyway, it is nice to know that scientists are coming to the same conclusion that those of us who are into living a healthy lifestyle have known by instinct.

Karen Wright, B.S.
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com

Exactly What is Cholesterol, and Why is it Good and Bad?

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living

I have written a bit about fats and cholesterol in a post several weeks ago. HDL (the good kind) means High-density lipoproteins and LDL (the bad kind) means Low-density lipoproteins. I explained that I remember that HDL is the good kind by remembering "H" is for happy, while the LDL is the bad kind by remember "L" is for lousy. That's my silly little trick.

Today, I came across some information on the National Institutes of Health's website that made things even easier to understand. "Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the heart. Our bodies need some excess cholesterol, but excess cholesterol deposited in our blood can raise our risk of Heart Disease or Stroke. Excess cholesterol can build up in our arteries, including the coronary arteries, where it contributes to narrowing and blockage."

Okay, we know that the LDL cholesterol is bad for us and can kill us or leave us paralyzed from a stroke if it builds up and sticks to the artery walls and clogs them. But how does the HDL, good cholesterol work, and why is it good for us? The HDL keeps the LDL "bad kind" from sticking to the sides of the arteries. It actually carries cholesterol in the blood from other parts of the body to the liver, which removes it. So we definitely need the good kind.

Should your health care professional just give you one number for your cholesterol, make sure you have them tell you the exact numbers for your LDL and HDL and make sure you know if you need to improve one or the other.

How do we increase our "good" kind and lower our "bad" kind? Now, we are back to lifestyle. Good healthy food and plenty of exercise. If your problem is really major, you may need medication until you can get control of it through diet and exercise. But just depending on medication while continuing a lousy diet and sedentary lifestyle is a very poor way to live. A healthy lifestyle should always be the goal.

Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.PathwaytoHealthyLiving.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.SeniorPro.com

Using Medications Improperly Can Be Deadly

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living

In January 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public health advisory about the improper use of topical anesthetics, which are skin numbing products, such as benzocaine, lidocaine, tetracaine, and prilocaine (do an Internet search on www.webmd.com). These drugs are found in over-the-counter (OTC) as well as prescription medications in creams, ointments, and gels. They can be absorbed into the blood stream. The FDA has warned that if used improperly, they can cause:

• irregular heartbeat
• seizures
• breathing difficulties
• coma
• death

The FDA has stated several cautions for consumers. Two of them are:

1. Don't apply these products to irritated or broken skin.
2. Don't wrap treated skin with plastic wrap or other dressings. Wrapping or covering treated skin with any type of material can increase the chance of serious side effects.

As I researched what these creams or ointments were used for, I found that they were used to treat insect bites, dental pain, and other topical uses.Lidocaine patches are used to treat Shingles (adult chicken pox). Now this is really confusing. Why are these drugs in ointments to relieve the pain of insect bites and shingles and in dental paste for mouth sores if they are not to be used on irritated or broken skin?

Improper Use of Skin Numbing Products Can Be Deadly is an article on the FDA website. They issued this advisory after two women died who used topical anesthetics before laser hair removal. It is scary how what seemed like a simple numbing cream turned deadly.

The more material I read about how to use these drugs "properly" (a simple looking ointment), the more confused I was. It is painfully clear that just because we can buy something over the counter, or our doctor gives us a prescription does not mean it is safe. Drugs do not have to be illegal to be dangerous.

Karen Wright, B.S.
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.SeniorPro.com

How Many Calories Should I Consume a Day?

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living

If knowing how many calories you should be consuming to maintain your weight or to lose or gain weight is important to you, it can be quite frustrating. There are formulas you can calculate on your calculator, but one really needs to take into account  age, height, weight, gender, and activity level.

On the Mayo Clinic's website, they have an on-line calculator that takes all that into consideration and calculates what you currently should be consuming to maintain your weight. Now if you want to lose weight, you have two choices. You can either reduce your allotted calorie intake, or you can increase your activity level, or both. Click here to use their calorie calculator.

As for myself, I only want to lose a few pounds, and I don't want to cut down on the food I eat. I eat extremely healthy and like the food I eat, so I realized I just need to increase the amount of my exercise. I played around with the calculator and realized, I can do that. Check it out and have fun with it.

Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.PathwaytoHealthyLiving.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.SeniorPro.com

What is a Healthy Weight?

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living

It is estimated that over 1/2 of adults in the U.S. are overweight. It is also estimated that 15% of children and adolescents ages 6 - 19 are over weight. The media is overflowing with ads about dieting. If we eat this company's food or take that diet pill, maybe we can be as beautiful and successful as the celebrity advertising it.

That is not a good reason to be a healthy weight. Being overweight increases our chance of developing diabetes, heart disease, and a myriad of other problems. Feeling healthy and being able to live an active and quality life is the reason to maintain a healthy weight.

For most people (not the muscular athletes), calculating our Body Mass Index (BMI) will indicate whether or not we are of proper weight. The BMI correlates with body fat for most of us. It will indicate if we are underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese.

• An adult who has a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight.
• An adult who has a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has an on-line BMI calculator. There is even a BMI calculator for children and teens, which is calculated differently than for adults. Click here.

If you like math and want to figure it out on your own, the formula to calculate the BMI is: 
Weight (lb) / [height (in)]2 x 703 - Calculate BMI by dividing weight in pounds (lbs) by height in inches squared and multiplying the total by 703. For example if you are 150 lbs and 5'5", you would divide 150 by 65 squared and then multiply by 703. (150/4225)(703) = BMI of 24.96.

Maintaining a healthy weight is not done by dieting but by living a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition, fitness, and attitude.

Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.SeniorPro.com

 

Finding Accurate Nutritional Information

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living

There is a lot of information on the Internet about nutrition and diet. Some of the information is credible and some of it is bogus. I have created a new page on this Blog titled "Reliable Nutritional Links." The purpose of this page is to help you find accurate nutritional information. I do not personally endorse these links, but I am adding links that I do believe will provide accurate and up-to-date nutritional information.

Be leery when someone touts that their product solves all problems without you having to do any lifestyle changing. Also be aware when the only data they have to back up their claims is personal opinion. I came across a website recently that claimed to be a review of several different brands of a particular supplement. The review consisted of the author of the webpage having used several different brands of this supplement over the course of 6 months. He was promoting this particlar brand because it made him "feel better" "sleep better," and "have more energy" all in about three days. I thought "yea right." That was a red flag to me saying, "I'm either dishonest, or I'm an idiot." Claims like that cause me to not be interested in a product at all.

There are many products out there that may be very good when combined with proper eating, exercise, and a life led with purpose. My advice is do your homework and visit this Blog often. I will share some of my personal experiences with my readers as well as reliable resources as much as possible.

Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.PathwaytoHealthyLiving.com
www.SeniorPro.com

How Old Are You Really?

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living

Our biological age probably is not the same as our calendar age. What we eat, the activities we participate in, and our emotions all play a part in how healthy we are and how old our body thinks it is. On AARP's website, there is a fun little quiz to take that will give you an idea of your biological age, life expectancy, and ideas on what to do to improve your score.

I took this same type of quiz about 10 years ago and then again today. According to this nifty little quiz (both times), my life expectancy is about 96 years. Now the question for me really is, if I really live to be 96 or thereabout, am I going to become a healthy old woman or a sickly disabled one? I am inspired by the famous Grandma Moses who started her second career as an artist in her 70's and lived to be 101.

It seems to me as a grandmother raising grandchildren at age 55, I still have a lot of living to do, as long as I take good care of myself.

Visit AARP's Longevity Calculator at http://longevitycalculator.aarp.org/

Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.PathwaytoHealthyLiving.com
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.SeniorPro.com

I took this same type of quiz about 10 years ago and then again today. According to this nifty little quiz (both times), my life expectancy is about 96 years. Now the question for me really is, if I really live to be 96 or thereabout, am I going to become a healthy old woman or a sickly disabled one? I am inspired by the famous Grandma Moses who started her second career as an artist in her 70's and lived to be 101.

It seems to me as a grandmother raising grandchildren at age 55, I still have a lot of living to do, as long as I take good care of myself.

Visit AARP's Longevity Calculator at http://longevitycalculator.aarp.org/

Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.PathwaytoHealthyLiving.com
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.SeniorPro.com

The word "health" What does it mean to you?

By Karen Best Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
Pathway to Healthy Living

The other day I was working on a health education project.I needed some pictures that depicted a healthy lifestyle. I was browsing a free online clip art and photo site and typed in the word "health." In my mind when I think of the word "health" I think of "healthy." Searching by the word "health," I found pictures of sickness, doctors, and nurses. It is interesting how words mean different things to different people.

It reminded me of when I went back to college as a single mom at age 40. I learned that my language was different than others. If I told someone I was going to "the club," I meant the health club to work-out not the drinking type of club. I learned who spoke my language and who did not.

This Blog is dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle and helping others do the same. The other day when talking with a friend who suffers from fibromyalgia (I have dealt with the same syndrome), I told her how last year, I could hardly walk up my stairs because of the pain in my knees. Now I run up and down them, literally. She could see how much better I was and asked what I was doing differently. A total diet change was the main thing. I went backwards for a few years but am back to eating the way my body needs. I am also back to working out at the "health club,"  and it feels great again.

Karen Wright, B.S. Community Health Education
www.RaisingYourGrandchildren.com
www.GrandparentingBlog.com
www.PathwaytoHealthyLiving.com
www.SeniorPro.com