Healthcare, Health Insurance, Vitamins, Nutrition

February 15, 2010

What to Look for to Be Sure That You are in Good Health

Filed under: Nutrition — Tags: , , , , , , , — Christopher Taylor @ 12:20 am

But of course you have strong sculpted stomach muscles. However, do those abdominal muscles indicate that you are fit and healthy? Of course you could assess the physical health of anyone based on his or her external looks. A 6-pack, however, is not the only way to measure how healthy you are.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Weight is not the most consistent barometer of good health. Doctors use the body mass index or BMI to quantify an individuals weight against their size. One would calculate BMI by dividing kilograms by meter squared. When the BMI is between 18 to 25, it is mainly considered fit and healthy. Underweight BMI is less than 19, overweight BMI is between 25-30 and obese is 30 or more.

Nonetheless, an individual who is very fit with very little body fat could have a BMI over 25. This will put him or her in the over weight category.

For growing teens and youngsters, BMI is also an inefficient method for measuring health. Therefore, in place of using this antiquated type of measurement, what should be regarded instead, is the teens age and possibility for growth. If a child is putting on poundage too quickly for his or her age or not putting on enough weight, or not growing taller, this is a much better determinant of his or her health.

Round, Pear or Flat?

Another meter for good health is someones body shape. Health care providers also look at waist measurements because they know that apple-shaped men and women carry excess fat around their waistline. Obesity-related illnesses, as well as coronary heart problems are a higher risk for these men and women. If the midriff is larger than thirty five inches, the individual has a greater exposure to health problems such as diabetes or stroke.

Condition of Your Skin

Tanning or sun exposure can prematurely age your skin and enhance skin cancer risk. Freckles or moles that are unusually shaped or growing probably means abnormal skin cells. You should use sunscreen and get the diagnosis of a skin specialist about any odd-looking spots.

Oral Health

If there is bleeding when you spit after brushing your teeth, your gums may need attending to. Gums that bleed often are a sign of bad oral health and vitamin deficiency. Blood on the toothbrush is one of the most common indicators of gingivitis or gum disease, which in turn is a harbinger for cardiovascular diseases.

At least 2 times a year, one must see an oral hygienist to remove plaque. With improved daily oral hygiene habits and a healthy and balanced diet, gum diseases is preventable and reversible.

It is not just awful breath one should be concerned with, since gum disorders have been associated with cardiac disease and diabetes. The probability of an individual dying from a heart attack is 2 times greater for individuals who have gum disorder and tooth decay and also have three times the strong possibility of having a stroke.

Look Out for Your Lips

Another unhealthy state for the human body to be in is dehydration. Dry and coarse lips could be an indicator of dehydration. Dehydration can cause headaches and fatigue, as well as remove the moisture from the skin making it look decrepit and dry. Are your lips moist and kissable? If not, drink some water.

Toenails and Fingernails

Healthy fingernails and toenails are strong, colorless and smooth. If they are yellow, brittle and have ridges, these are evident warnings that your nails are in atrocious health. These unhealthy signs may signal odd levels of oxygen in the blood as well as kidney disease, vitamin deficiency and yeast infection.

As a result, even if you have six-pack abdominals and have the women faint all over you. If you exhibit the other manifestations of poor health and hygiene, you will certainly turn them all away. Do not disregard the manifestations of poor health.

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June 25, 2009

Air pollution and heart ailments

Filed under: Healthcare — Tags: , , , , , — blogadmin @ 1:20 am

Exposure to air pollution contributes to the development of cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke). A person’s relative risk due to air pollution is small compared with the impact of established cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, obesity, or high blood pressure.  However, this is a serious public health problem because an enormous number of people are exposed over an entire lifetime.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced its 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to educate the public about daily air quality levels, including information about ozone and particulate matter levels. The American Heart Association supports these EPA guidelines for activity restriction for people with heart disease or those who have certain cardiovascular risk factors and for people with pulmonary disease and diabetes and the elderly.

Air pollution is composed of carbon monoxide, nitrates, sulfur dioxide, ozone, lead, secondhand tobacco smoke and particulate matter.  Particulate matter, also known as particle pollution, is composed of solid and liquid particles within the air. It can be generated from vehicle emissions, tire fragmentation and road dust, power generation and industrial combustion, smelting and other metal processing, construction and demolition activities, residential wood burning, windblown soil, pollens, molds, forest fires, volcanic emissions and sea spray.

Nineteen percent of all U.S. counties with air-quality monitoring systems are presently not meeting these standards.  This inadequacy soars to much higher estimates in regions such as the industrial Midwest (41 percent) and California (60 percent).

Some research has estimated that people living in the most polluted U.S. cities could lose between 1.8 and 3.1 years because of exposure to chronic air pollution. This has led some scientists to conclude that short-term exposure to elevated levels of particle pollution is associated with a higher risk of death due to a cardiovascular event. And prolonged exposure to elevated levels of particle pollution is a factor in reducing overall life expectancy by a few years.

June 18, 2009

Pitfalls of obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy. Body mass index (BMI), which compares weight and height, is used to define a person as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2 and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m. Waist circumference, waist–hip ratio and body fat percentage are parameters that help measure obesity.

People become obese for several reasons, consuming too many calories (over eating), leading a sedentary lifestyle or lack of physical exercise, not sleeping enough (yes, sleep deprivation increases obesity risk), poor metabolism or it could also be because medications that make patients put on weight.

The problem with obesity is not restricted to his/her poor appearance only. It increases mortality risk. Obesity is one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide Health risk associates with obesity are:

- Bone and cartilage degeneration (Osteoarthritis):- Obesity confers a nine times increased risk in knee joint osteoarthritis in women.

- Coronary heart disease

- Gallbladder disease

- High blood pressure (Hypertension)

- High total cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)

- Respiratory problems

- Several cancers

- Stroke

- Type 2 diabetes

Obesity can be treated by achieving a healthy weight and maintaining the same. (much easier said than done). According to the Mayo Clinic, successful and permanent weight loss is best achieved as a result of increased physical activity, changing how and when you eat, and modifying your behavior. Some patients may be prescribed medication, while others might undergo weight-loss surgery.

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