Month: July 2020

If you are not someone that regularly visits their doctor, you may miss out on some helpful exams and tips that the doctor can provide.

Many healthy people, especially young people, skip going to the doctor for years because they feel fine.

Even if you are going to the chiropractor regularly, you may have some issues working against your efforts to be fully healthy. It is important to stay up-to-date on your regular exams. You could have an underlying health condition that you don’t know about. Early detection is key in making sure you will be okay. You want to live an enjoyable, long, and healthy life.

The following exams are recommended each year for a typical person:

• Mental check-up including anxiety and depression
• Bone health checks including osteoporosis
• Eyesight checks
• Immunizations against common diseases and viruses (example: flu shot)
• Screenings for cancer (skin, breast, colon, prostate, cervical, and more)
• Dental check-up
• Glucose and Cholesterol
• Blood pressure
• Blood nutrient levels such as Iron, B12, Magnesium, Potassium, and more

The list above does not include everything recommended for you. Check with your doctor to find out exactly what you would need. These exams become much more important as you get older.

You may have to see a few different doctors in order to get the whole list of recommended health screenings. For example, you may need to see a psychiatrist for mental health care, a bone doctor for bone checks, an eye doctor for eye checks, and a dentist for dental care. Choose the issue you feel is most important to you and your body first, and then check the rest if you can.

If you are 40 or older, it could be critical that you see a doctor and get these checked out.

You may have noticed that the whole country is arguing about face masks. Many people are saying they don’t help the spread, they are dangerous, they infringe on their rights, and many other excuses.  Some medical doctors are irresponsibly acting against face masks and telling their patients not to wear them.

The confusion and division is dangerous, and causing cases to greatly increase. However, the scientific evidence is out, it is updated to reflect the most recent data, and the main points are outlined below.

Face masks are absolutely necessary to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus and the infection that comes with it, called COVID-19. This information is coming directly from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website.

According to the CDC:

“COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet), so the use of cloth face coverings is particularly important in settings where people are close to each other or where social distancing is difficult to maintain.”

Those who should not wear masks according to the CDC:

• Children younger than 2 years old
• Anyone who has trouble breathing on a regular basis
• Anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance

These recommendations are for everyone. “Trouble breathing” outlined above is reserved for those who have a very hard time getting enough oxygen due to uncommon conditions.

It is not recommended that those who find masks annoying to claim they can’t breathe in them and refuse to wear them. Even if you feel uncomfortable or get some anxiety about the face masks, you are expected to wear them any time you are out in public. If you are unable to wear masks, consider alternatives. Get groceries delivered, have a friend or family member get your groceries and run errands for you, and don’t attend large gatherings.

The sooner you follow these guidelines, the sooner we can all have our freedom back and return to a more normal life. For further information on who should not wear a mask and other important details, visit the CDC website.

Knowing what to eat when you have diabetes can be a big challenge. If you make a mistake and eat the wrong things, it could be a dangerous thing.

The good news is that many cases of type 2 diabetes can be preventable or even reversible.

Whether you don’t have it and want to keep it away, or you do have it and want to undo the damage, this article should help you. Here are some tips for how to prevent or reverse diabetes and the right ways to eat.

Exercise and weight loss are important for a diabetic. If you can lose just 5-10 percent of your total weight, you will experience reduced blood sugars, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.

Losing a bit of weight may help you continue to exercise. The less weight you have when you run, jump, climb stairs, or move will help you do it all much easier. Imagine carrying a 15-20 pound backpack during a run. Not much fun right? What if you lost 15-20 pounds of body weight? It is a similar idea. Less weight to carry makes it easier to do anything.

If you are unable to lose weight or your doctor has not told you to lose weight, disregard the previous section and keep reading. Even if you have already lost weight and want to go the next step, keep reading.

A diabetes friendly diet:

1. Vegetables and fruits cooked and prepared in a way you enjoy
2. Whole grain bread and cereals with fiber, or oatmeal
3. Healthy fats from fish, olives, nuts, and more
4. Turkey or chicken (low fat)
5. Eggs, yogurt, dairy, and beans

What to avoid when you have diabetes:

1. Deep fried foods or trans fats
2. Chips, baked goods, desserts, and sweets that are packaged and processed
3. Sugar filled cereals, white breads, rice, or refined pasta
4. Red meat or processed meat (such as lunch meat)
5. Fat free or low fat foods that replaced fats with more sugar (some yogurt)

If you are feeling deprived and absolutely can’t stop yourself from eating one of the bad foods, make sure you get some exercise to burn the sugars a bit faster and prevent a high blood sugar episode. Learn to bake and cook your own foods. Replace the bad ingredients with healthy substitutes. Instead of adding white sugar, maybe add some fresh ripe fruit to your food instead.

With these tips, you should find living with diabetes to be much more simple.

Whether you are at work trying to do your best or you are at home trying to make the most of your days, you are probably trying to be productive.

At the end of each day you probably want to be able to say you did a lot or you got a lot done.

Just worrying about being productive can really be stressful. Add in what you want to get done and it might be overwhelming. This article will help you increase how much you can get done while also reducing the stress you feel about it all.

How to manage your time and reduce stress:

1. Make lists – What is on your mind? What tasks are always running through your head? Write them all down in no specific order. Whatever you write, you can always go back and organize the list later.

2. Stop distractions – Stop reading emails, stay off of social media, and ignore your phone for a while. How much of your stress is caused by excess distractions keeping you from your important tasks? If you need phone calls to stop, turn your phone on airplane mode. Let them leave a message or a text for you to check later.

3. Clean your work area – Just looking at the mess on your desk is enough to make you run away and never come back. So, take 10 minutes to clear it off. Throw away any papers you don’t need, organize and file the papers you do need, and get random clutter where it needs to go. Now you have room and less chaos for your work.

4. Plan for tomorrow (or a future day) – Do you have some especially busy days coming up? Are you planning a party? Are you moving? Is it keeping you from focusing on today? Take a few moments to make some lists and organize your thoughts on the big day coming up. Prioritize the more important aspects of the upcoming days and get those thoughts on paper. That alone might help you feel better.

5. Keep a journal of time – Are you worried you are spending way too much time doing something non-productive? Make an hourly chart and fill in what you do each hour for a day or two. Find out where most of your time goes and make adjustments if you can.

6. Take a break – It may actually be more productive to take a 10 minute break every hour than try to get everything done at once without stopping. Clear your mind, stand up from your desk, stretch, and start up again in a moment.

Hopefully all these good tips will come in handy for you. Relax, do some breathing exercises, and know you are in control of your tasks. You can do this!