We know that the food we choose to put into our body can have a huge affect on our health and quality of life, but many of us still choose to eat unhealthy foods. Let’s face it, the unhealthy stuff tastes really good, and we don’t usually have cravings for healthy food. That’s exactly why obesity is such a large problem for both adults and children in our country…But is dieting the answer? I don’t think so. As we all know, dieting can often lead to a roller coaster of weight loss and weight gain, that leaves many weighing more in the long run.
So if dieting isn’t the answer…What is?
Well, I don’t think there is just one answer to this question. There are a million reasons why people become overweight, and once overweight, weight loss can be very difficult. That’s why focusing on a healthy eating lifestyle needs to be more important than actual dieting and weight loss.
The thing is – Your overall health is not determined simply by the numbers on a scale or where you fall on a BMI chart. It’s much more complicated than that. Obviously, these things are important guidelines, but they are certainly not the holy grail of good health.
Would you be willing to make changes in your lifestyle to reduce your chances of heart disease? — cross-posted to BlogHer Health & Wellness
February is National Heart Health Month…During this month we try to bring awareness to the symptoms and prevention of heart disease. Although many forms of heart disease are preventable, it continues to be the leading cause of death in women. According to the American Heart Association, each year nearly half a million women die of heart disease.
The biggest factors that contribute to heart disease are smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family history and age. Even though you can’t do much about your family history or your age, you can make lifestyle changes to avoid many of the other risk factors. Here is a list of what doctors recommend:
Troubling news about teens and sex…Teen pregnancy rates are up after a ten year decline. There is no doubt that teen pregnancy is on the rise. The question is…What can we do about it?
It seems obvious that abstinence-only programs aren’t working to reduce teen pregnancy. If you ask me, it’s not the “abstinence” part that is the problem, it’s the “only” part. I’m not against teaching abstinence as part of a sex education program, but to only teach abstinence seem irresponsible.
So then, what is the best way to reduce teen pregnancy?
I think it is well known that as we get older we have a more difficult time getting pregnant, but I was shocked to hear these new statistics on fertility. It seems that 90 percent of a woman’s eggs are gone by age 30, and only 3 percent remain by age 40. Ninety Percent of eggs are GONE! That’s a huge number. That’s a scary number.
From ABC News – Fertility: 90% of eggs gone by age 30!
It’s common knowledge that women have more difficulty conceiving as they age, but this is the very first study believed to quantify the number of eggs lost and it shows that the decline is more rapid than previously believed. Over time, the quality of ovarian eggs also deteriorates, increasing the difficulty of conception and the risk of having an unhealthy baby. The study was based on information collected from 325 women of varying ages in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.
Dr. Marie Savard, “Good Morning America” medical contributor, visited “GMA” to discuss the issue and its implications for moms-to-be. “Women lose eggs a lot faster than we thought,” she said. As you get older, conceiving is “much more difficult…Even all those assisted reproductive techniques are challenges.”
“That biological clock does tick,” she said, adding that her advice to women who want kids is, “the sooner the better.”
I imagine this news is going to cause a great deal of anxiety to women in their 30’s who were holding off having children. What do they do? Do they drop everything and try to have a baby before their eggs run out? And how will this affect women who want to pursue a career before motherhood? Are women going to have to start choosing motherhood over career for fear of future infertility?
I’ve written several posts on the problems of childhood obesity. Not only are the number of overweight children on the rise, but even more troubling, is the increase of adult diseases these children are developing. Obese children are developing life threatening conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure at an alarming rate. What kind of life expectancy are these kids going to have? In my own experience, I never had high blood pressure until my thirties, but in less than ten years, my high blood pressure has damaged three of the valves in my heart. If this could happen to me in such a short period of time; I can’t even imagine what the long-term effects of high blood pressure will be on obese children. And I don’t think we can afford to wait to find out.
But what can we do?
In the long run, I think it’s going to take both individual changes as well as policy changes to make a real difference in childhood obesity. And I think banning trans fats in prepared foods is a good place to start. But until then – Parents need to know what foods are highest in trans-fat and then avoid them as much as possible.
In a nutshell, trans fat is an issue because it is associated with all kinds of health problems. Trans fat can wreak havoc on your cholesterol levels – increasing your LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) and decreasing your HDL (the “good” cholesterol). A high LDL is a major risk factor for heart disease. HDL picks up excess cholesterol and takes it back to the liver, so higher HDL is a good thing.
Trans fat also increases triglycerides and causes more inflammation. Triglycerides are another kind of fat that may contribute to hardening or thickening of artery walls. Trans fat consumption is associated with an increased risk of stroke and type-2 diabetes.
Here are two links that can help you avoid trans-fats…
Be Careful of Diet Resolutions – Cross Posted at BlogHer Health & Wellness
Welcome to the dawn of a new decade. I would be lying if I said I was sad to see the last one go.
It’s a new year, and once again we will all spend time analyzing our lives. We will wonder if there is something we can change that could make our lives better in the coming year.
Christmas. Is it the most wonderful time of the year? Or the most stressful time of the year? Would it surprise you to know that 8 out of 10 people suffer some degree of stress during the holiday season?
Many people start to feel a little melancholy around this time of year, especially right after Christmas. It’s colder, and darker, and there are much less activities to keep us busy. This early onset of night isn’t so bad when Christmas lights are everywhere you turn. But when the lights go down, so do many people’s mood. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder, and it makes you SAD.
Seasonal Affective Disorder affects millions of people every year, and for some reason, more women than men. Are you one of them? Or do you know someone who suffers with SAD? The symptoms can be mild to severe, and understanding why this happens is the key to helping yourself or loved ones get through this seasonal depression.
My kids are big kids now (15 & 18), and I really miss those years when they were younger and I got to be Santa. I loved shopping for toys, the hours wrapping, and especially watching the joy on their faces as they tore through everything in a matter of minutes. Back then, I was blissfully ignorant of all the dangers lurking in those toys. My only concern was getting the best deals I could find and making sure both my kids had an equal amount of gifts to unwrap. But it’s not so easy for moms today.
If you’re a mom, or anyone buying toys for a child this year, here is a round-up of posts that can help you make safe toy choices.
Stem Cell Research: Mixing religion, science and politics equals controversy.
This week president Obama announced the release of 13 new embryonic stem cell lines to be used for research. Scientists are hopeful that this research could someday treat or even cure diseases like Diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and spinal cord injuries (just to name a few). But this decision isn’t without controversy.
Although, I have a hard time understanding why there is such a big controversy. If you consider the two-day old embryo to be life, then wouldn’t you want that life to have some sort of meaning? When the alternative to research is the trash, isn’t there more dignity in research?
This is a one minute video that demonstrates what is currently happening to unused frozen embryos “LIFE” from fertility clinics. These are the same embryos, that could be used to advance scientific research and to save lives…
I wrote about my feelings on stem cell research back in 2007, and my feelings are still the same. I believe the unused embryos that would otherwise be discarded from fertility clinics, should be treated with the same respect we give organ donation.
My daughter Nicole, who is a big Miley Cyrus fan, heard about a project Miley was supporting called Get UR Good On. As soon as she heard about it, she wanted to get involved. The idea was to do something good in your community, video it, and then upload it onto the Get UR Good On website to encourage others to do the same.
Nicole loves to cook Thanksgiving dinner, so she decided she wanted to cook a holiday dinner for women and children in need, so that’s what we did.
We contacted the Daytona women’s shelter and they were very excited about Nicole’s idea for a holiday dinner and toy give-away for the children. Then the work began.
Publix donated $50.00 and helped us get good deals on the food. Even so, that didn’t nearly cover the cost of the food, but a few friends and family pitched in to help with the rest. Then Nicole decided to use her own money (that she received for getting straight A’s in school) to buy the children toys. She bought — dolls, puppets, stuffed bears, coloring books, crayons, toy trucks and cars, pom-poms, magic tricks, books, play-dough, and more.
The CDC estimates that there are 76 million cases of food-borne illnesses each year, and of that number more than 300,000 will be hospitalized and 5,000 will die. Those are high numbers, especially considering these types of illnesses are very preventable.
On Thursday we will all be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, and some of us will even contract one of these food-borne illnesses. But there are things we can do to reduce our risk of of food-borne illness.
To start, here is a great video on Holiday Food Safety from the FDA website…
Are women just too emotional for mammograms before 50?
Unless you’ve been under a rock all week, you have probably heard about the government task force that has recommended new guidelines for breast cancer prevention. It goes something like this…
If you’re younger than 50 or older than 75, you no longer have to worry your pretty little head about breast cancer, or getting those pesky boob squishing mammograms.
Hallelujah! I wonder how long it will be before we go back to giving women Valium for chest pain? Who needs preventative care when it’s not 100% effective anyway? Hell, just go ahead and give us anti-anxiety meds for all of our ills…I’ll betcha we save a bundle on healthcare costs.Women already outlive men by a bunch of years, maybe this will even things out a bit…Isn’t equality what we’ve been cryin about all these years?
OK, I know, I went a little too far with my analogy. But seriously, this is what’s going on…
On Monday, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that routine mammograms start at age 50 instead of 40, that women receive the test every two years as opposed to annually, and that physicians no longer train women to perform breast self-examination.
Imaging centers saw cancellations for mammograms more than double since the news of these “recommendations” were announced. I wonder how many of those women may actually have breast cancer right now and will miss the opportunity for early detection and treatment?
I have to admit, I’ve been having a lot of cynical thoughts running through my head since I heard this disturbing news. Like…
I can’t help but think that if the pharmaceutical companies were profiting from mammograms these recommendations would be suggesting that they begin ten years earlier rather than later.
And then there’s this one…
If a healthcare reform bill is going to benefit the insurance industry (and it must – considering all their lobbying dollars), then insurance companies need guidelines that will allow them to reduce the amount of money they shell out for quality health care.
I know these are just thoughts, but when government panels are established to become corporate bean counters of women’s health policy, it makes me a little angry.
The thing is, when it comes to healthcare for women – I want to see more choices for women, not less.
Check out this video, it really does a nice job of addressing the problems associated with these new guidelines…
Was I the only one who was completely shocked to find out that this so called panel of experts had three representatives from insurance companies, but no experts in oncology or breast cancer?
Today the blogging community is praying for Anissa Mayhew, a loving mother of three, who blogs at Free Anissa and Hope 4 Peyton. Anissa suffered a stroke yesterday afternoon, and we are all hoping and praying that she will make a full recovery.
It’s so important to eat health even when you’re on a budget. And in today’s economy many of us will find ourselves looking for ways to make our holiday meals without breaking the bank. Thankfully, there are many women blogging about just that. Here is a quick blog round-up that can help you have a wonderfully frugal holiday.
In honor of Word Diabetes Day I’ve decided to do a blog roundup of women blogging diabetes. Most are blogs by women who are living with diabetes, and others are women blogging about parenting a child with diabetes. I’ve also included several informative links and resources at the end of this post.
If you blog about living with diabetes or World Diabetes Day, please leave your link in comments.
Do you know someone who suffers with Alzheimer’s disease? Or someone who is a caregiver to a loved one with this devastating disease? If so, you understand the heartache associated with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Who are we without our memories of past experiences? For most of us, the though of losing our memories to Alzheimer’s disease is horrifying. But there is much more to Alzheimer’s than memory loss.
Did you know that one in four Americans living with HIV are women? It’s true. HIV/AIDS is affecting more and more women, specifically African American women. It’s actually become the leading cause of death in African American women between the ages of 25-34.
When I first saw this, I honestly thought it was a joke.
(CBS) Kellogg, the nation’s largest cereal maker, is making new, controversial claims that its Krispies cereals can help boost kids’ immune systems.
Does fortifying junk food with a couple of vitamins make it healthy? No, of course not. Processed foods and foods high in sugar are not healthy. Period.
So why would Kellogg’s think that by adding a few vitamins to its kid cereals, that they could then call them healthy? Let me take a guess – $$$$$$$$$$. Isn’t it interesting how they are making these claims about “boosting your families immunity” at a time when most mothers are fearful of the H1N1 virus? Coincidence? Or just super good marketing strategy?
The truth is…Sugar (and many of the other ingredients in these cereals) actually weaken the immune system, so claims of boosting immunity are totally bogus. Shame on you Kellogg’s – You are clearly taking advantage of this swine flu crisis to increase your bottom line.
What do you think about this? Let me know in comments.
This is a re-write from something I wrote back in January 2007…
Finding Empowerment Through Adversity
When we are suffering it is very difficult, if not impossible, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But it is there. We will get through it. And in time, our wounds really will be healed.
Can something good come out of adversity? Often in the face of adversity, we are unable to see anything through our pain. The only thing we can think about are questions. Why is this happening to me? How will I go on? How will I survive?
Although we may want to, we should not turn away from our pain. It is very important that we feel all of our feelings during these times of adversity and heartache. Denying our pain, or denying our feelings, will not benefit us in any way. In fact, it will likely prolong our troubles. But if we look at our situation, and face our problems head-on…we will triumph.
We may sometimes feel like we are losing the battle; but when we push through the battle, we come out on the other side the winner of the war. That’s because we are empowered when we conquer life’s toughest battles. Only at these times of empowerment do we grow into the people we are meant to be. Think about that for a minute. Who would you be right now, if it wasn’t for the adversity you have been through in your life?
For me personally, I wish I had never had to go through many of the painful events of my life – loss, divorce, illness, betrayal, just to name a few. But I also know that I would not be the woman I am today, had I not. My past heartache and my past pain, are what make me the compassionate person that I am today. And in retrospect, I don’t think I would want to be the kind of person who knows no hardships. It is because of these hardships that I appreciate every thing I have, even the little things, the things that many people often take for granted.
I can now see that my past adversity, has truly been a blessing in my life. And although I don’t look forward to future adversity, I do know it will come. And when it does come, I will have the knowledge of my past strengths to help me overcome, and once again triumph.
My hope for everyone, is that they are able to one day look past their pain, to find their empowerment.
November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. I hope this post will provide information and facts about epilepsy, while also showcasing women blogging about life with seizures.
Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages – more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease combined. Almost 500 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every day in the United States. Epilepsy affects 50,000,000 people worldwide.
In two-thirds of patients diagnosed with epilepsy, the cause is unknown.
Epilepsy can develop at any age and can be a result of genetics, stroke, head injury, and many other factors.
In over thirty percent of patients, seizures cannot be controlled with treatment. Uncontrolled seizures may lead to brain damage and death. Many more have only partial control of their seizures.
The severe epilepsy syndromes of childhood can cause developmental delay and brain damage, leading to a lifetime of dependency and continually accruing costs—both medical and societal.
It is estimated that up to 50,000 deaths occur annually in the U.S. from status epilepticus (prolonged seizures), Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), and other seizure-related causes such as drowning and other accidents.
The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population and the risk of sudden death is twenty-four times greater.
Recurring seizures are also a burden for those living with brain tumors and other disorders such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, tuberous sclerosis, and a variety of genetic syndromes.
I found this video on a blog called My 3 Peanuts – It is a very informative video that explains exactly what happens during a seizure.
This is my response to seeing so many bloggers and commenters turning the “choice” to vaccinate for H1N1, into a free for all hate fest against moms who are “choosing” not to vaccinate.
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate, that is the question many moms are facing when it comes to Swine Flu and the H1N1 vaccine (including me). As far as I’m concerned, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the H1N1 vaccine. There is plenty of information available for parents to educate themselves on both the H1N1 virus as well as the vaccine, and I believe every mother has the right to make the decision she believes is best for her children. But not everyone thinks so, there are many moms on the internet freely venting their disdain for anyone who doesn’t vaccinate their child for H1N1.
Diet and exercise are important for good health, but did you know laughter is too? If you want to be as healthy as you can be, than laughter needs to be part of your healthy living regimen. Is it?
Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse.
People who laugh heartily on a regular basis have lower standing blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body.
Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to the study at the University of Maryland Medical Center (cited above). The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
Here is a Humor Survey by the University of Maryland Medical Center…
The American Cancer Society, the Official Sponsor of Birthdays, joined forces with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to reinvent the birthday cake. Because healthy living is key to creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays, the Society and CIA challenged CIA’s baking and pastry students to create a better-for-you birthday cake. The winner is now the official birthday cake of the American Cancer Society. “Ace of Cakes” Chef Duff Goldman joined the Society and CIA to select the winner, Chef Alexandra Mudry’s new take on red velvet cake, from a pool of five talented finalists.
Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you’re told… maybe not. How would you cope?
That’s the question the twenty young people in this book had to answer when they were diagnosed with childhood cancer. Perseverance shares life lessons learned through their stories and educates the reader on how to incorporate them into his/her life. It tells of their trials and tribulations, of their triumphs, and of the unique challenges that day-to-day life brings them. Perseverance also provides an intimate look at the lives and journeys of these young people and how their courage and strength have affected the lives of others.
I’m honored to be a member of the American Cancer Society’s Blogger Advisory Council, a small group of volunteers that advises the Society on its social media strategy. Part of our mission is to help spread the word that we have power in the fight against cancer. And our first step is to build awareness and encourage women to get involved. Because…Visibility equals power! So we have started a blog “chain” to spread the word among women bloggers. We call it Bloggers for More Birthdays.
You can help…Join Bloggers for More Birthdays by dedicating a blog post to someone you love who’s been affected by cancer. It’s a simple way to celebrate those you love. Just write a post (like I’ve done here), host our badge, and know that whatever you write, you are helping to raise awareness and inspiring others to join American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer.
My contribution to this effort is about an angel named Becky…
Becky was my best friend. A wonderful mother. And a great mom-mom. Even though she’s been gone for over seven years, a day rarely goes by that I don’t think of her and wish she were here. Time has helped to replace some of my grief with many lovely memories, but it hasn’t healed my anger towards the disease that took her from us. Cancer.
I hate cancer, and I hate that my friend didn’t get a chance to be a survivor. Why her? She deserved to be a survivor, she deserved to have more birthdays. She fought this disease with every ounce of strength she had, but in the end cancer took away every ounce of strength she had.
Although I’m angry, I’m also grateful for the time I did have Becky in my life. She was there for me during some very tough times. I know I’m who I am today, partly because of her influence in my life. I only wish I was able to thank her for that.
No matter how much time goes by, I will never forget the angel she was…and still is.
If you’ve posted, let The American Cancer Society know so they can feature it! Just put a link to your post in the comments section here, or email your post to bloggersubmit@officialbirthdayblog.com. You’ll be showing your support for More Birthdays and bring visibility to your blog.
Is stress wearing you down? Are you worried about the bad economy? Your job? The mortgage? Your health? Your family? If so, you are not alone.
Life is always changing, and that can feel very stressful. But often, seemingly bad things will happen in our lives, that will actually turn out to be the catalysts to something positive. It’s very true that when one door closes another will open. Although it never feels so great when that one door closes. Recently I’ve had several doors close on me. But as hard as it’s been, I can already see that these things needed to happen to bring me closer to where I am meant to be.
There are three things we can do to help relieve the stress in our lives…
This week has been designated as a week to raise awareness and change perceptions of adult and child Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). And this year there will be a focus on the reasons why early diagnosis is so important.
Because proper diagnosis is so important, I’m starting this post with information about the common symptoms of ADHD, and I’ve ended it with informative links.
“Go Confidently In The Direction Of Your Dreams” — Henry David Thoreau
With the pressures of daily life, do any of us really have time to think about our dreams? Do we even know what our dreams are? Kids know what their dreams are, just ask them…What do you want to be when you grow up? It is always such and easy answer for them. But once we do grow up, then what? Is is too late for us?
What if we never realized, that we might have been forgetting to follow our dreams? Worse than that, what if we thought we were following our dreams, but it turned out that we were living a nightmare? Then what? Is it too late? Do we get a second chance at our dreams?
When is it too late to follow your dreams? I would like to believe the answer to that question is never. I think our dreams are ever changing, and ever evolving, just as our lives are. I think that it’s o.k. not to be exactly sure what our dreams are, and it’s also o.k. if our dreams change from time to time. The only thing that is not o.k., is to give-up on our dreams. Because, once you give-up your dreams, you lose hope for your future.
But why then, do so many people give-up or deny their dreams? That is an easy one to answer…They give up because they are afraid, afraid of failure. Fear is what stops us from following our dreams. Fear is the darkness that casts a shadow over our light. And, fear is what we need to overcome if we want to reach for our dreams.
The most important thing to remember…Is to never let go of your hopes and dreams, even when you are not sure what they are. So, take some time to figure out what your greatest dreams are for your life, and then walk confidently towards them, without fear.
My name is Catherine Morgan, and I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. Above are links to my blogs, that also list many of the posts and articles that I've written for them.
I'm also at BlogHer Health & Wellness.
We know that the food we choose to put into our body can have a huge affect on our health and quality of life, but many of us still choose to eat unhealthy foods. Let’s face it, the unhealthy stuff tastes really good, and we don’t usually have cravings for healthy food. That’s exactly why obesity is such a large problem for both adults and children in our country…But is dieting the answer? I don’t think so. As we all know, dieting can often lead to a roller coaster of weight loss and weight gain, that leaves many weighing more in the long run.
My kids are big kids now (15 & 18), and I really miss those years when they were younger and I got to be Santa. I loved shopping for toys, the hours wrapping, and especially watching the joy on their faces as they tore through everything in a matter of minutes. Back then, I was blissfully ignorant of all the dangers lurking in those toys. My only concern was getting the best deals I could find and making sure both my kids had an equal amount of gifts to unwrap. But it’s not so easy for moms today.
Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you’re told… maybe not. How would you cope?
