Wellness and Longevity. Explore the Science of Wellness. Adapt the Science of Lifestyle Change, for health and longevity. Longevity information articles to improve your quality of life, today!
anchor2
So ...do feel free to support us so that we can continue to support you!.
As our society ages, more and more families are struggling to live
with a family member who is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer
disease. While memory loss can be a frightening experience for our
aging parents or grandparents, its’ impact on the family can be equally
frightening, particularly when there are young children in the home.
I learned that fact first hand when I brought my 93 year-old grandmother
home to live with us. There were a host of reasons why I felt she
should come to live with us; her home was old and in need of serious
repair, there was a steep set of stairs that she had fallen down more
than once, and perhaps most important, she had raised me as a child when
my own mother was ill. For all of these reasons and my stubborn belief
in the extended family, we brought her home to live with us.
After a very short time, we realized her dementia had progressed far
beyond the simple forgetfulness she occasionally displayed. On most
days, she would chuckle at her lapses of memory. On others she would
lash out verbally and even physically as she retreated in terror at the
unfamiliar.
Before coming to live with us, she had spent the past 30 years living
alone. In retrospect I realize she was completely unprepared for the
realities of living in an active household with children. The simple
act of going up and down the stairs would wake her from a sound sleep
and send her into a rage. The constant opening and closing of doors
would accomplish the same. The house was never clean enough, our
children had far too many friends coming to visit, and I never spent
enough of my time sitting at the table and visiting with her over
coffee.
Gradually, the reality became clear. I could not care for my children
and my grandmother at the same time. The needs of one were
diametrically opposed to the other. The active, laughter-filled
household that made all the neighborhood children want to visit our home
enraged my grandmother to the point of violence. Friends began to stay
away and my children searched for excuses to spend their time
elsewhere.
Agonized by the decision I had to make, God took pity and intervened.
My grandmother suffered a heart attack and spent two weeks in intensive
care. While she eventually recovered, she was left in a weakened state
and her equilibrium was severely compromised. The result: under medical
advice, she would be unable to return to our home and required 24-hour
care.
Today she lives in a Catholic nursing home and I am truly astounded by
the changes she has undergone in just a few short months. Their care
has been nothing short of miraculous. With diligent monitoring of her
diet she has lost the extra weight she put on, and has been removed from
all medication. She is more active, and truly enjoys the companionship
of others her age. She occasionally asks about coming back to live
with us and I laugh with joy. “Are you nuts?” I ask her. “You look
better today than you have in ten years.”
The simple reality is that others were far better equipped to provide my
grandmother with the care she needed. As our population ages, and
people live far beyond the life expectancy of even 20 years ago, more
and more families will be forced to acknowledge their limitations, just
as I was. Choosing to place a family member in a nursing home is not an
admission of failure on your part, but an acceptance of the fact that
prolonged life expectancy carries with it a need for more complex care
than the vast majority of us can ever hope to provide.
Bullying can take on many forms and can be very damaging to children both physically and emotionally. Bullying is the desire of one child to hurt, threaten, intimidate, or embarrass another child. Bullying can be more that just name calling and has even moved onto computers and cell phones. Bullying can be physical, emotional, written, verbal, and even sexual. Knowing the different ways children can bully each other will help to identify and stop bullying.
Physical bullying is when one child physically injures another child on purpose and with the intention of harassing, scaring, or embarrassing them. Hitting, kicking, and pushing as well as threats of physical violence are all ways that children engage in physical bullying. Sometimes a child will demand money of other belongings as a from of bullying. Boys more commonly use this type of bullying because they are usually more aggressive than girls. Physical bullying can have grave effects on victims if it is not stopped soon enough.
Verbal bullying is another common form of bullying and girls are more prone to engage in this kind of bullying. Verbal bullying occurs when children call others names, spread rumors or criticize each other relentlessly. Even though verbal bullying does not do any physical harm, it can still traumatize children and cause them to loose self esteem, become depressed, and loose interest in friends and activities. These effects can do a lot of damage to a child, and even affect them in the long term.
Written bullying takes the form of abusive letters both on paper and in emails and text messages. Passing mean notes and pictures used to be the only form of written bullying but today, because the internet makes spreading information so easy, written bullying has become easier than ever. Children will write derogatory things about their victim online for the whole world to see. They will also use chat rooms and IM's to spread rumors and make nasty comments either to other children or the victims themselves.
Emotional bullying is another form of bullying and is also more common among girls. Emotional bullying includes excluding others from a group, victimizing others and ridiculing them. Any comments or actions that are meant to hurt another person's feelings are considered emotional bullying. This type of bullying is just as serious as any other because victims eventually become damaged emotionally. Victims of emotional bullying often blame themselves for the bullying and suffer life long effects.
Sexual bullying occurs more often in older children and includes unwelcome sexual comments, advances, and the display of sexual material. Sexual bullying is a very serious issue and can be considered sexual harassment. Children who commit this type of bullying can face serious consequences, and even be held legally responsible.
Bullying can happen to anyone and even popular, seemingly well adjusted children can bully others. Every type of bullying is serious, and should be dealt with accordingly. Understanding the different types of bullying can go a long way in preventing bullying and stopping it if it does happen.
With diabetes on the rise, doctors are extremely concerned about associated risks such as heart disease and stroke, which together kill two out of three people with diabetes. Fortunately, a recent study indicates that more people with diabetes are making the link between diabetes and their increased risk for heart disease and stroke.
According to a 2014 awareness survey conducted by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC), 45 percent of people with diabetes understand their increased risk for heart disease.
Experts believe even more awareness is needed, however. The ADA and ACC continue to work together to share important information, tools and resources to encourage people with diabetes-and health care providers-to learn more about the impact of diabetes on the heart.
Other findings from the 2005 ADA/ACC awareness survey show:
• 69 percent know they may develop high blood pressure
• 64 percent know they are at risk for cholesterol problems
Importantly, more people with diabetes are talking to their health care providers about managing diabetes comprehensively:
• 45 percent of people with diabetes now have a goal for blood glucose levels
• 57 percent have a goal for blood pressure
• 61 percent have a goal for cholesterol
These figures are encouraging, but awareness may not be moving fast enough to keep pace with the growing prevalence of diabetes.
Recent statistics indicate diabetes has risen by over 14 percent. The need for increased education and awareness about the link between diabetes and heart disease is now more critical than ever.
Armed with the best information, people with diabetes can properly manage their diabetes, understand their risks for complications such as heart disease and stroke, and take action to live a longer, healthier life.
In a perfect diabetic world, you take your insulin, eat your meals and exercise and your blood glucose levels remain stable. But things happen, you take your insulin late, you eat a light meal and then spend all afternoon running errands. This is a recipe for hypoglycemia a condition when your blood glucose levels fall dangerously low. Hypoglycemia isn't so much a hazard for the baby but it is for a mom with gestational diabetes. The best way to prevent this from happening is to know the signs and how you feel when you blood sugar is getting low and to carry emergency supplies with you at all times.
Some of the symptoms of low blood sugar include feeling: *Hungry *Nauseous *Light-headed *Faint In the case of any of these symptoms, you should test your blood sugar right away and have something to eat. The best choice is a glass of juice or another food item that is considered fast-acting such as a piece of fruit or a piece of candy. Carry something with you at all times and a regular snack too. If you are out and need to eat (say you are stuck in your car during a traffic jam) it is important to have food with you.
Other precautions that you should take when you have #gestational diabetes include carrying a card or another item that identifies you have diabetes and what type of insulin you are taking. The worse case scenario is you passing out and the people who come to help you need to know that you are diabetic. Make sure people at work and your family members are aware of your condition and know what warning signs to look for if you need help and when to bring your some juice or something else to eat.
A pregnant woman who has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes is going to receive a lot of medical support in the form of frequent doctor appointments and nutritional counseling. But she may also be in the need of emotional support. It is hard to change the way you eat and live your life when you are pregnant and adjusting to a new disease in addition to that can be overwhelming. There are many forms of support you can seek out. The support from your spouse or partner is going to be very important. They cannot be eating an ice cream sundae in front of you while you are expected to abstain. Since eating like a diabetic is a healthy lifestyle change, you both should follow the diet set forth for you keeping in mind the extra caloric needs of different people.
Joining a group of pregnant women is helpful too.You can go through your pregnancies together and when your babies are born you can continue with your support network as your children grow up together. Touch base with your endocrinologist to see if they know of a support group specifically for women with gestational diabetes. You can share recipe tips and provide the emotional support needed as you ride the roller coaster of pregnancy with diabetes. There are many online support groups too with a specialization in many different complications that can arise in pregnancy. Or join a support group for woman online whose babies are due at the same time as yours. You may even meet someone online that lives in your neighborhood.
Don't feel that you have to deal with your diabetes on your own. Help and support are available. If you can't find it readily with a little research you are sure to find what you need.
All you need is a proper diet of fresh fruits and vegetables and get plenty of exercise and you'll be fine.” Ever heard those words from your doctor? If that's all he/she recommends then you're missing out an important ingredient for health that he's not telling you. Fact is that you can adhere to the strictest diet, watch everything you eat and get the exercise of a marathon runner and still come down with diabetic complications. Diet, exercise and standard drug treatments simply aren't enough to help keep your diabetes under control.
Diet and exercise are the two words given out by established medicine and the media as the only cure-all; repeated endlessly like a holy mantra. The word “fresh” is glossed over and likely you miss that word too. The simple truth is that what you buy from your supermarket shelves and bring home is not fresh. Those veggies look good on the outside, but they lack essential nutrient that everyone needs to maintain a healthy lifestyle, most especially those with diabetes. Without those nutrients, you are a prime target for degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease and arthritis.
Those veggies on your store shelves come from farms whose soil has been depleted of vitamins, minerals and the antioxidants your body needs to maintain health. Today you'd have to chow down 17 bowls of spinach to get the same amount of nutrition that one bowl would have supplied 100 years ago. And along with this severe depletion come the herbicides, pesticides, additives and other treatments to those fruits and vegetables fresh and looking good before they get to your kitchen table. If that wasn't enough most of us live a hectic lifestyle that does nothing to help maintain good health.
We smoke, we drink and eat far to much. Lack of exercise and sleep leads to high stress and depression. With all these factors combined and you have a recipe for disease and death!
It’s
possible that the following writing will not cover all you hope to
learn as regards a specific aspect of “Anti Aging”, but it will make you
far more informed about “Anti Aging” in general. Thus, it doesn’t
really matter what your keyphrase is in relation to “Anti Aging”,
whether it is “Aging Anti Beauty Product”, “Anti Aging Organic” or “Skin
Products”, read this writing and you will be delighted with what you’ll
see therein. It is interesting to note how excited about growing
up you are when you are young. Then all of a sudden, all that begins to
change when you notice you are growing old.
Everyone hates old age, no
doubts about it, especially because of the wrinkles associated with age.
But don’t despair because there are many solutions out there that can
help you manage the aging process and the wrinkles that come with it.
Funny how the people who really want to look young even when they’re old
are the same ones who are too lazy to do anything about it. Funny also
how they happen to be the ones with the funds to see such a thing
through. So they pay doctors and scientists for research into things
that can make them live longer, if not forever. And hey the results that
come out each and everyday show that science is making more progress
into anti aging than was the case many years ago.
However hard you
try, you are bound to grow older. It’s the one thing, as they say, that
goes up and never comes down. But with anti aging, you could slow the
process, or you could make it look as though it wasn’t even happening. The
remaining part of this piece has to add up the missing pieces about
“Anti Aging” if the first part of this writing hasn’t. No doubts about
it your “Eureka” moments are obviously ahead… as you keep on reading. As
you grow older, you must learn better how to manage stress pattern in
your body. If you fail at this, then there is no amount of cosmetic
surgery that can save you from looking old. The worry lines will always
show through no matter what you do. You will find all kinds of nutrition
and physical fitness products in a convenience store that will help you
with anti aging. Also some skin care lotions, hormone replacements, and
vitamins are known to be helpful. You can top them off with various
supplements and herbs. Some physicians recommend them for life extension
programs. It is no surprise that Egyptians are among the first to
show interest in life extension. Research shows that of the knowledge
they had in the past, much was used to research into means of making
life longer and finer. And when this failed, they at least contemplated
carrying it over to the afterlife.
Stress is the curse
of living in modern times. Everyone suffers from stress. And the stress
we suffer takes a heavy toll on our bodies, emotions and minds. Feeling stressed out, worn out by fatigue or just simply having a miserable day, the best thing to do is relax. Watching
television may be a form of relaxation for some, but is not a
recommended method by experts. When we watch TV we are bombarded with
commercials, ads, sounds and images. So how do we achieve relaxation? If
there are thousands of ways we can get stressed, one of them is not
meeting deadlines, there are also many ways we can relax.
In
recent studies, experts have determined that heart disease is linked to
anger and irritability is linked to mental stress. Too much stress
brings about ischemia that can lead to or cause a heart attack.
Relaxation takes on added importance in light of this matter. Managing
your anger and attitude is significant to heart health, and relaxation
can help you manage stress.
Gaining too much or too little weight during pregnancy can risk both mom and baby’s health.
Most women think of pregnancy as the one time in their lives
that they are free to gain weight. They carry out nightly refrigerator raids, forgo
their formerly tough workout sessions and declare family-size ice cream tubs
as single-serving containers. Hey, I do have a family member growing inside of
me!
And while anyone who does comment on a pregnant woman’s
weight gain will likely live to regret it, there is reason for concern
over too-big belly bumps. About
half of women gain too much weight during pregnancy,
according to a 2015
Obstetrics & Gynecology study of more than 44,000 women. The effects
hit
more than vanity. Excess weight gain puts women at risk for health
problems
including pre-eclampsia (a potentially deadly condition
marked by high blood pressure and damage to organs such as the kidneys),
says Gema Sanabria-Martinez, a maternal and fetal medicine researcher
at the Virgen de la Luz
Hospital in Spain.
Furthermore,
excess weight gain is to blame for up to 20 percent of pregnant women
developing gestational diabetes, in which blood sugar levels are too high
during pregnancy. Women who develop gestational
diabetes are seven times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes in the years
following pregnancy. This may be due to metabolism disorders that can progress during
gestational diabetes, Sanabria-Martinez says.
Mom’s
weight can also affect baby’s health. After delivery, babies born to mothers with
gestational diabetes are at risk for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), jaundice,
breathing problems and admittance to the neonatal intensive care unit, adds
Stephen Thung, chief of obstetrics at The
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Children of women who gain too much weight during
pregnancy are also more than four times likelier to be overweight at age
3 than those whose mothers gained the right amount, per research from
Harvard Medical School.
While
less common than gaining too much weight, gaining too little (or even losing)
weight during pregnancy can also contribute to serious health complications,
including preterm births, low birth weights and, according to a 2014 American
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology study, overweight children. In the recent
Obstetrics & Gynecology study, about 1 in 5 women didn’t gain enough
weight during pregnancy. Women with the highest BMIs or body mass indexes, indicators
of one’s height-to-weight ratio, were twice as likely to gain too little weight
compared to other women in the study. Know Your Numbers:
Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy
So
where’s the scale-moving sweet spot? Well, it depends on how much you weighed
before your pregnancy test displayed a smiley face.
According to the Institute of Medicine’s current
guidelines, women who were at a normal weight (a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9)
before
conception should gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy.
Women who were underweight (a BMI of less than 18.5) should gain between
28 and
40 pounds during pregnancy. Women who were overweight (a BMI of 25 to
29.9), should aim for 15 to 25 pounds. For obese women (a BMI of 30 or
greater), 11 to
20 pounds gained is recommended. (Although some experts believe it’s OK
for
obese women to gain less weight, weight loss during pregnancy is always
discouraged, Thung says.)
Gestational diabetes can occur in any pregnant woman, but there are certain risk factors that make it more likely:
A woman is overweight.
She is over 30.
She has a strong family history of diabetes.
She had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy.
She previously had a baby weighing more than 9 pounds at birth.
She has polycystic ovary syndrome.
She has glycosuria, or glucose in the urine.
She
has impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. These
conditions are characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose, the
first after fasting and the second after consuming a high-glucose drink.
She is black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, or a Pacific Islander.
How Is Gestational Diabetes Diagnosed? The routine test used to diagnose gestational diabetes is called a glucose challenge.
The woman consumes a drink with 50 grams of glucose; an hour later, her
blood is tested to see how well the body has processed that glucose. If
her blood glucose level is 140 milligrams/deciliter or more, the doctor
will prescribe a second test, known as a glucose tolerance test, to confirm the diagnosis. After
a fast of eight to 12 hours, the woman drinks a liquid with 100 grams
of glucose. Then her blood is tested four times, once at baseline and
then again each hour for three hours. Two abnormal readings indicate
gestational diabetes; one suggests the woman should be screened again in
a month. Pregnant women at very low risk for gestational
diabetes—that is, those who are a member of an ethnic group that has a
low prevalence of diabetes, are younger than 25, of normal weight before
becoming pregnant, with no close family history of diabetes and no
history of abnormal glucose tolerance or troublesome pregnancies—might
not be screened at all. Women who are neither at high or low risk should
be screened between 24 and 28 weeks into pregnancy. Women at high risk
might be screened earlier, although it is not always possible to detect
gestational diabetes much before 24 weeks.
The
US studies has shown that around 70% of the citizens do not get the
proper rest they need. For this reason, people are suffering poor
health, depression and so on. Getting proper rest will help you keep
your health in good condition. When you lack proper rest, it affects
your concentration. To stay health you need proper rest, sustenance and
exercise daily. As a person ages the body goes through
senescence, or changes out of the ordinary. The bodily functions start
to decline its actions. For that reason we may suffer, sleep disorders,
including insomnia.
What you should know: According to
philosophers, theorists, experts, etc women are likely to experience
insomnia more so than men. While many citizens find it difficult to fall
asleep, some of us suffer insomnia, which is harder on our health. On
the other hand, if you sleep too much during wake hours, it will affect
your concentration, impair your memory and cause other problems as well,
such as sleeping at night. If you get too much sleep, just like
insomnia you may incur high blood pressure. Heart disease and strokes
are commonly caused from insufficient or oversleeping as well. You
should also learn about Sleep Apnea, which is a common sleep disorder.
This disorder is harder to detect than any other sleeping ailment. Sleep
apnea is often noted by sleeping partners. Doctors can rarely detect
the disorder until a sleeping partner comes forward. The disorder causes
the person to wake up all through the night gasping for air. During the
day hours, the person often drifts into sleep uncontrollably.
The factors behind sleep disorders: Sleep
disorders, which causes interruption of restful relaxation can alter
your internal organs. Your patterns and rhythms may change often. Your
bodily functions will flip out and feel confused, causing a series of
interruptions. You may experience joint and muscle pain, especially at
the legs, or you may snore at night. The factors can lead to high risks
of illnesses, depression, etc. To avoid such complications you will need
to reduce stress and perhaps seek help for your sleep disorder.
What should I avoid? When
you find it difficult to sleep, try staying away from caffeine after 7
p.m. Avoid nicotine and alcohol also before going to sleep. If you find
it difficult to drift into sleep, try counting sheep. This will bore
your mind watching visual captures of sheep jumping over a fence
repetitiously. Some people can fall asleep watching television. If it
works for you do it. If you are one of those people who listen to music
and television and it starts your adrenaline flowing, then leave it
alone. You want to avoid eating or exercise before heading to bed as
well. Exercise will boost metabolism. Eating may cause indigestion.
Helpful tips: If
you find it difficult to sleep at night, try adjusting the room
temperature, especially if you feel uncomfortable. Turn out the lights
so that the room is dark, unless you need a night light due to
consistent waking at night due to restroom visits. If you are afraid of
the dark, keep in mind that burglars can easily trip in dark areas
verses lighted areas. This gives you the advantage of calling for help,
since you are aware that someone is in your home. If the lights are on,
you are inviting the burglar to stroll freely, tip-toeing through the
house without awakening you.
This country unfortunately teaches us to
run to a lighted area when in danger. Sometimes the light can get you
killed. If you find it difficult to sleep at night, you will likely need medical attention, especially if the problem is on going.
