Pampering4life Health Tip: Arthritis

Arthritis is a general term used to refer to any disorder that affects the joints. Joints are places where bones meet, such as your elbow or knee. There are more than 100 types of arthritis. Most types of arthritis cause pain or swelling in the joints. Some types also can cause problems in your organs, such as your eyes or skin.
The most common type, osteoarthritis (OSS-tee-oh-ar-THREYE-tuhss), is often related to aging or injury. In osteoarthritis, the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in the joint breaks down. When this happens, the bones grind against each other. This causes pain and swelling. It most often affects the fingers, knees, and hips.
Rheumatoid (ROO-muh-toid) arthritis is an autoimmune disease, in which the body's defense system, called the immune system, attacks the lining of the joints throughout the body. Often these are joints in the hands and feet. Rheumatoid arthritis also may affect internal organs.
Gout is a common and painful type of arthritis caused by a buildup of uric acid in the body. Deposits of uric acid in joints — often the big toe — cause extreme pain, swelling, and redness. Other joints may be affected as well.
If you have joint pain, see your doctor. Finding out about arthritis early and getting the right treatment can prevent further joint damage and help control symptoms. Many types of treatment are available, including medicines and surgery.
These steps also might help ease arthritis symptoms:

• Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight can strain your knees and hips.
• Be physically active. Moving all of your joints will help you. Your doctor or nurse can show you some gentle stretching exercises and how to move more easily. Going for a walk every day will help, too.
• Take a warm shower in the morning.
• Use an ice pack on sore areas.

Arthritis can make it hard to work and do activities you enjoy. Even if only one joint is affected, you might need to change the way you do many daily activities to use this joint less. Your doctor and therapists can help you find new ways of doing things in your home or workplace, so you can live with less pain.

Healthy Breastfeeding Through Nutrition

Healthy Eating

Many new mothers wonder if they should be on a special diet while breastfeeding, but the answer is no. You can take in the same number of calories that you did before becoming pregnant, which helps with weight loss after birth. There are no foods you have to avoid. In fact, you can continue to enjoy the foods that are important to your family — the special meals you know and love.
As for how your diet affects your baby, there are no special foods that will help you make more milk. You may find that some foods cause stomach upset in your baby. You can try avoiding those foods to see if your baby feels better and ask your baby’s doctor for help.
Keep these important nutrition tips in mind:

• Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated (but fluid intake does not affect the amount of breast milk you make). Drink when you are thirsty, and drink more fluids if your urine is dark yellow. A common suggestion is to drink a glass of water or other beverage every time you breastfeed. Limit beverages that contain added sugars, such as soft drinks and fruit drinks.
• Drinking a moderate amount (up to 2 to 3 cups a day) of coffee or other caffeinated beverages does not cause a problem for most breastfeeding babies. Too much caffeine can cause the baby to be fussy or not sleep well.
• Vitamin and mineral supplements can not replace a healthy diet. In addition to healthy food choices, some breastfeeding women may need a multivitamin and mineral supplement. Talk with your doctor to find out if you need a supplement.
• See our Breastfeeding fact sheet for information on drinking alcohol and breastfeeding.

Can a baby be allergic to breast milk?

Research shows that a mother’s milk is affected only slightly by the foods she eats. Breastfeeding mothers can eat whatever they have eaten during their lifetimes and do not need to avoid certain foods. Babies love the flavors of foods that come through in your milk. Sometimes a baby may be sensitive to something you eat, such as dairy products like milk and cheese. Symptoms in your baby of an allergy or sensitivity to something you eat include some or all of these:

• Green stools with mucus and/or blood, diarrhea, vomiting
• Rash, eczema (EG-zuh-muh), dermatitis, hives, dry skin
• Fussiness during and/or after feedings
• Crying for long periods without being able to feel consoled
• Sudden waking with discomfort
• Wheezing or coughing

Babies who are highly sensitive usually react to the food the mother eats within minutes or within four to 24 hours afterwards. These signs do not mean the baby is allergic to your milk itself, only to something you are eating. If you stop eating whatever is bothering your baby or eat less of it, the problem usually goes away on its own. You also can talk with your baby’s doctor about any symptoms. If your baby ever has problems breathing, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Vegan diets

If you follow a vegan diet or one that does not include any forms of animal protein, you or your baby might not get enough vitamin B₁₂ in your bodies. This can also happen if you eat meat, but not enough. In a baby, this can cause symptoms such as loss of appetite, slow motor development, being very tired, weak muscles, vomiting, and blood problems. You can protect your and your baby’s health by taking vitamin B₁₂ supplements while breastfeeding. Talk to your doctor about your B₁₂ needs.

Fitness

An active lifestyle helps you stay healthy, feel better, and have more energy. It does not affect the quality or quantity of your breast milk or your baby’s growth. If your breasts are large or heavy, it may help to wear a comfortable support bra or sports bra and pads in case you leak during exercise. It is also important to drink plenty of fluids. Be sure to talk to your doctor about how and when to slowly begin exercising following your baby’s birth.

National Women's Health Week May 13-19 Stop Smoking

Most women smokers say they want to quit. So how do you move from wanting to quit to actually quitting? A first step is to find reasons to quit that are important to you. Consider the many good reasons to quit smoking.

Your health

Your health begins to improve the minute you stop smoking, and you begin to lower your long-term risk of many smoking-related diseases. Smoking causes or can contribute to many serious health problems, including:

• Cancers of the lung, throat, mouth, voice box, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, uterus, stomach, and blood
• Lung diseases
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Atherosclerosis, or hardening and narrowing of the arteries
• Gum disease
• Eye diseases that can lead to blindness
• Osteoporosis and the risk of hip fracture

Smoking also:

• Makes illnesses last longer
• Causes more wound infections after surgery
• Makes it harder to get pregnant

Smoking during pregnancy can hurt the mother and baby. It increases the risk of:

• Placenta previa — when the placenta covers part of or the entire cervix inside of the uterus. This can lead to bed rest, early labor, and cesarean section.
• Placental abruption — the placenta separates too early from the wall of the uterus. This can lead to early labor or infant death.
• Early rupture of membranes, or water breaking, before labor starts, so the baby is born too early
• A baby with a low birth weight
• Damage to an infant's lungs
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Miscarriage
• Stillbirth

Your quality of life

When you quit, you will never again have to leave your workplace, your home, or other places to smoke. You won't need to worry about whether your smoke is bothering others. The money you would have spent on cigarettes can be saved or used to buy other things. Plus, you will be surprised by how good you feel overall. Over time, some of the ways you will look and feel better are:

• You will breathe more easily.
• You will have more energy.
• Your lungs will be stronger, making it easier to be active.
• You will be able to smell and taste things better.
• You hair, breath, and clothes will smell better.
• The stain marks on your fingers will fade.
• Your skin will look healthier.
• Your teeth and gums will be healthier.
• You will feel good about being able to quit!

Other people's health

When you quit, you no longer create secondhand smoke, which is harmful to the people around you, and especially children. When you quit, you become a role-model to children and other smokers who want to quit. When you quit, your own children are less likely to grow up to become smokers themselves.

Simple Steps To Improve Food Choices

There are many small ways that you can change your eating habits so that you eat healthier foods. Consider these tips when choosing or preparing your foods.

At home

• Fry foods with a little bit of olive oil rather than butter, margarine, or lots of vegetable oil.
• Use canola oil when baking.
• Prepare fish such as salmon or mackerel twice a week.
• Sprinkle slivered nuts or sunflower seeds on your salads instead of bacon bits.
• Eat Canadian bacon or lean ham instead of bacon.
• Try low-fat frozen yogurt instead of regular ice cream.
• Eat broiled, baked, roasted, or grilled chicken without the skin instead of fried chicken.
• Add lettuce, tomato, and other vegetables, rather than cheese, to your sandwiches.
• Eat extra lean ground beef (5% fat) instead of regular ground beef (25% fat).
• Try whole-wheat tortillas instead of regular flour tortillas.
• Try whole-wheat or multigrain bread instead of white bread.
• Try low-fat, low-sodium crackers instead of regular crackers.
• Eat water-packed rather than oil-packed tuna.
• Use mustard, catsup, or low-fat mayonnaise on your sandwiches instead of regular mayonnaise.
• Try making sandwiches with 95% to 97% fat-free lunch meats.
• Use lemon juice, herb vinegar, or reduced-calorie salad dressings on your salads.
• Choose nonhydrogenated peanut butter. You can tell that it's nonhydrogenated if there's some oil on top of the peanut butter. Hydrogenated peanut butter is all solid at room temperature.
• Eat lower-fat cookies, such as graham crackers or fig bars.
• Choose canned fruits packed in water rather than syrup.

Eating out

In any restaurant:

• Ask for salad dressing, gravy, or sauce on the side and use sparingly.
• Choose main dishes that are broiled, baked, roasted, or grilled, instead of deep-fried or pan-fried.
• Don't be afraid to make special requests, such as asking that something be cooked with less fat.

When ordering a sandwich:

• Add lettuce and tomato.
• Ask for whole-wheat or rye bread.
• Choose mustard instead of mayonnaise.

At Chinese restaurants:

• Have brown rice instead white rice.
• Order a side dish of steamed broccoli.

At fast food places:

• Order smaller burgers. Skip the cheese and bacon.
• Order a grilled chicken sandwich.
• Order garden or grilled chicken salads with low-fat dressings.
• Choose water or low-fat milk instead of regular soda.

At pizza places:

• Ask for vegetable toppings, such as mushrooms or peppers, rather than meat toppings.
• Get whole-wheat crust.
• Request half the cheese.
• Eat a salad with low-fat dressing in place of a slice of pizza.