The first week of January was full of news reports of giving advice on your new diet and exercise program to help you lose the weight you’ve always wanted to. In a previous post and video I talk about some do’s and don’ts when planning for your weight loss New Year’s resolution.
In the video below, I talk about some medical issues to keep in mind before starting your program. For example, do you have a family history of medical problems like high blood pressure or diabetes? If so, you may want to schedule an appointment with your personal physician before jumping on the diet and exercise bandwagon.
If you find this video helpful, I invite you to check out other TV interviews at MikeSevilla.TV. Enjoy!
A recent medical study reported a fairly unique finding: Pregnant women who snore frequently are at an increased risk for developing gestational diabetes.
The Associated Professional Sleep Societies (TAPSS) reported that 24 percent of habitual snorers had an official diagnosis of gestational diabetes as opposed to 17 percent of nonsnorers. As gestational diabetes affects 4 to 6 percent of all pregnant women, this study is significant according to Louise O’Brien, Ph.D. who is associated with the department of neurology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Up until the publication of the University of Michigan study, the health risks associated with snoring included greater than ten seconds of interruptions of breathing, frequent waking from sleep, potential strain on the heart which then results in hypertension, increased risk of heart attacks, and stroke. Now the tide has changed. Read more »
Stroke killed 2,000 fewer Americans in 2008 (the last year with complete numbers) than it did in 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in its latest annual Deaths report. That dropped stroke from the third leading cause of death in the United States to the fourth.
Good news? Yes and no. It’s always good news when fewer people die. The reduction suggests a payoff for efforts to prevent stroke and improve the way doctors treat it.
Yet the drop from third to fourth place is due largely to an accounting change. The CDC reorganized another category, “chronic lower respiratory diseases” (mainly chronic bronchitis and emphysema), to include complications of these diseases such as pneumonia. The change substantially increased the number of deaths in this category, which had long trailed stroke as the fourth leading cause of death.
More worrisome is that the decline in deaths from stroke isn’t matched by a decline in the number of strokes. On the rise since 1988, stroke now strikes almost 800,000 Americans a year, and that is expected to grow. Read more »
As more older women attempt to beat the biological clock and conceive, they are at greater risk for developing birth-related complications. For women over 45, there is less than a 1 percent chance of getting pregnant using their own eggs. Successful pregnancy for women over 45 is nearly always the result of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and the use of an egg donor.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University reviewed birth records from 2000 to 2008, specifically looking at the records of 177 women who gave birth at the age of 45 and beyond. The majority of the women had IVF and received donor eggs, and 80 percent of the babies were delivered via cesarean section (C-section).
Despite their celebrity, Kelly Presley (age 47), Celine Dion (age 42), and Mariah Carey (age 40), are older pregnant women who are at risk. The premature birth of Celine Dion’s twin sons did not surprise me at all. Women over 35, and especially those over 45 with underlying medical problems, should be treated prior to becoming pregnant. I cannot emphasize this enough. Read more »
There are plenty of “survivalists” out there who stock their basements with canned goods, getting ready for some unexpected (and unlikely) apocalypse. Meanwhile there are things that are much more likely to happen to you — like getting sick — which many of us don’t prepare for at all. So to help you get started, here are five important tips on how you can become a healthcare survivalist:
1. Take care of your chronic conditions. Whether it’s high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, depression, asthma or any other kind of ailment, do what it takes to manage your own care. Take your medications and follow your doctors’ instructions. Why? Because if you don’t, your condition can get worse and lead to even more serious problems. As much of a pain as it may (literally) be, there’s a reason the old saying “an ounce of prevention” still resonates today — because it’s true.
2. Live a healthy lifestyle. Everyone gives you this advice, but with studies showing that 42% of Americans will be obese by 2050, it doesn’t seem to be getting through. Denial can wonderfully appealing; but when it comes to your health, it can also kill you. Stop smoking, exercise, and eat right. You may find that your employer has programs in place that will help you do all of those things, and many of them work. Why not give one of them a try? You can’t improve your life all at once, but you can start. Your life will be happier if you keep yourself healthy. So rather than whistling past the graveyard, jog past it. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
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Stroke killed 2,000 fewer Americans in 2008 (the last year with complete numbers) than it did in 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in its latest annual 
