Pampering4life Helpful Tips: Surviving A Storm

In light of the last couple of weeks. I was fortunate enough to survive storm sandy but I must say it was very difficult at times living without power, heat, and still trying to deal with the bitter cold. I was not prepared to adjust my life in such a way I felt like I was on the island of survivor, but needless to say this is life way of teaching you lessons. It was truly a lesson for me but thank God I'm BACK!! Enjoy the helpful tips to keep you informed regardless of the storm.

Analyze Your Risk and Make a Plan

Gather together with your family and discuss the possible disasters that could affect you and your home. For instance, flooding and high winds often go hand-in-hand with hurricanes.

 

Identify meeting points for your family. If the storm strikes while you're separated, everyone should know where to go. Also identify a contact person who lives far enough away that they likely wouldn't be affected by the same storm system as you.

 

Examine your insurance policies and make certain they cover you in the event of a storm-related emergency. According to NOAA, homeowners insurance generally does not cover flooding damage.

 

Create a Survival Kit

Stockpile water and nonperishable or packaged foods. NOAA recommends one gallon of water daily for each person for three to seven days as well as enough food to last that long. Have something on hand to use for cooking, such as a propane-powered camp stove.

Collect all your important documents -- birth certificates, car titles, property deeds -- and store them in a safe place, preferably with some emergency cash. Also, remember blankets, clothes, flashlights and other non-food items you think you might need.

 

Obtain a battery-powered radio to monitor weather updates. Radio broadcasts generally also provide information from local emergency management officials.

 

Secure Your Home

Bolt all doors and ensure they are secure as possible.

Close and lock all windows.

Use impact-resistant shutters or board up windows if you are afraid of flying debris from the storm.

Pampering4life Health Tips: Heart Attack

A heart attack occurs if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked. If blood flow isn't restored quickly, the section of heart muscle begins to die.
Heart attacks are a leading killer of both men and women in the United States. The good news is that excellent treatments are available for heart attacks. These treatments can save lives and prevent disabilities.
Heart attack treatment works best when it's given right after symptoms occur. If you think you or someone else is having a heart attack, call 9–1–1 right away.

Overview

Heart attacks most often occur as a result of coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease. CHD is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart.
When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis (ath-er-o-skler-O-sis). The buildup of plaque occurs over many years.
Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture (break open) inside of an artery. This causes a blood clot to form on the plaque's surface. If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block blood flow through a coronary artery.
If the blockage isn't treated quickly, the portion of heart muscle fed by the artery begins to die. Healthy heart tissue is replaced with scar tissue. This heart damage may not be obvious, or it may cause severe or long-lasting problems.

Heart With Muscle Damage and a Blocked Artery

Figure A shows a heart with dead heart muscle caused by a heart attack. Figure B is a cross-section of a coronary artery with plaque buildup and a blood clot.

A less common cause of heart attack is a severe spasm (tightening) of a coronary artery. The spasm cuts off blood flow through the artery. Spasms can occur in coronary arteries that aren't affected by atherosclerosis.
Heart attacks can be associated with or lead to severe health problems, such as heart failure and life-threatening arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs).
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Arrhythmias are irregular heartbeats. Ventricular fibrillation is a life-threatening arrhythmia that can cause death if not treated right away.

Get Help Quickly

Acting fast at the first sign of heart attack symptoms can save your life and limit damage to your heart. Treatment works best when it's given right after symptoms occur.
Heart attack symptoms include:

• Chest pain or discomfort. This involves uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center or left side of the chest that can be mild or strong. This discomfort or pain often lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back.
• Upper body discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach.
• Shortness of breath, which may occur with or before chest discomfort.
• Nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), vomiting, light-headedness or sudden dizziness, or breaking out in a cold sweat.

Symptoms also may include sleep problems, fatigue (tiredness), and lack of energy.
If you think you or someone else may be having a heart attack, call 9–1–1 right away. Quick treatment can save your life.
Do not drive to the hospital or let someone else drive you. Call an ambulance so that medical personnel can begin life-saving treatment on the way to the emergency room. Take a nitroglycerin pill if your doctor has prescribed this type of treatment.

Outlook

Each year, about 1.2 million people in the United States have heart attacks, and many of them die. CHD, which often results in heart attacks, is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States.
Many more people could survive or recover better from heart attacks if they got help faster. Of the people who die from heart attacks, about half die within an hour of the first symptoms and before they reach the hospital.

Pampering4life Health Tip: Stress and Breast Cancer

A new study suggests psychological stress may play a role in the development of aggressive breast cancer, especially among minority populations.
“We found that after diagnosis, black and Hispanic breast cancer patients reported higher levels of stress than whites, and that stress was associated with tumor aggressiveness,” said Garth H. Rauscher, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Rauscher and colleagues studied patient-reported perceptions of fear, anxiety and isolation, together referred to as psychosocial stress, and associations with breast cancer aggressiveness.
He cautioned that patients’ stress levels were examined two to three months post-diagnosis.
Researchers studied nearly 1,000 recently diagnosed breast cancer patients; of those, 411 were non-Hispanic black, 397 were non-Hispanic white, and 181 were Hispanic.
Researchers discovered psychosocial stress scores were higher for both black and Hispanic patients compared to white patients.

“Those who reported higher levels of stress tended to have more aggressive tumors. However, what we don’t know is if we had asked them the same question a year or five years before diagnosis, would we have seen the same association between stress and breast cancer aggressiveness?
“It’s not clear what’s driving this association. It may be that the level of stress in these patients’ lives influenced tumor aggressiveness.
“It may be that being diagnosed with a more aggressive tumor, with a more worrisome diagnosis and more stressful treatments, influenced reports of stress. It may be that both of these are playing a role in the association.
“We don’t know the answer to that question,” Rauscher said.

Emotions lie at the core of these high-risk habits. Poor diet, a lack of exercise and use of alcohol and tobacco all increase your risk of breast cancer. And simply put, you can’t successfully change your lifestyle without reshaping your mind — or at least how you handle negative emotions, anxiety and stress. Connect the dots between how you feel and how you react, then learn to follow a different path. Counseling, meditation, imagery and other tools can help you address negative feelings head-on and teach you how to reverse the behaviors associated with them. So instead of drowning in a carton of ice cream every time you’re stressed, maybe you’ll grab your sneakers and head out for a power walk instead.

Coping with the Emotional Tide of DiagnosisOn hearing those dreaded words, “You have cancer,” even the most well-balanced of us can be thrown into a tsunami of emotions like anger, sadness, and fear. These feelings — which stem from legitimate concerns and questions — can sometimes be difficult to deal with alone.

If you’re struggling with profound emotions, enlist the help of a loved one and talk to your doctor about your options, including therapy and medication. Consider joining a cancer support group. Most hospitals and treatment centers offer one; ask your doctor or care coordinator for details.

 

Believe It to Achieve ItWhile it may seem easier said than done, positive thinking can be a huge help. Behavioral studies show that those who strongly believe in their ability to achieve a certain goal or outcome — such as staying strong enough during chemo to go for a walk every day — generally feel and function better than those who feel helpless over their situation. Here are some practical ways to feel in control of your situation and enhance your quality of life:

• Take an active role in deciding your treatment course and other issues of care.
  
• Tend to your body during treatment — even if you’re having trouble liking your body at the moment: Good nutrition, regular exercise (or as much physical activity as you can handle) and restful sleep help fight stress, boost energy and speed healing.
  
• Nurture your spirit: Engage in meaningful activities — whatever that means for you, whether it involves art, music, volunteering, meditating or spending time with loved ones.

Pampering4life Healthy Eating Series: Sweet Sour Tofu

4 oz dried shiitake, soaked
2 pound tofu
2 each japanese cucumbers, peeled
1 each green bell pepper
3 each tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 each garlic cloves, crushed


---SEASONINGS---
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 3/4 c water
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon chili sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice


---GARNISH---
2 each green onions, chopped
Trim the shiitakes & set aside. Press the tofu for 30 minutes & cube. Quarter the cucumbers lengthwise & cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths. Chop the bell pepper. Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the tofu & carefully stir fry until the colour changes. Remove the tofu & add the garlic. Stir fry until the colour changes. Add all the vegetables to the wok & stir fry for 2 minutes. Add all the seasonings & continue to stir fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve garnished with green onions.

Pampering4life Health Tip: Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes means that your blood glucose (sugar) is too high. Your blood always has some glucose in it because the body uses glucose for energy; it's the fuel that keeps you going. But too much glucose in the blood is not good for your health.
Your body changes most of the food you eat into glucose. Your blood takes the glucose to the cells throughout your body. The glucose needs insulin to get into the body's cells. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas, an organ near the stomach. The pancreas releases insulin into the blood. Insulin helps the glucose from food get into body cells. If your body does not make enough insulin or the insulin does not work right, the glucose can't get into the cells, so it stays in the blood. This makes your blood glucose level high, causing you to have diabetes.
If not controlled, diabetes can lead to blindness, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations (having a toe or foot removed, for example), and nerve damage. In women, diabetes can cause problems during pregnancy and make it more likely that your baby will be born with birth defects.

What is pre-diabetes?

Pre-diabetes means your blood glucose is higher than normal but lower than the diabetes range. It also means you are at risk of getting type 2 diabetes and heart disease. There is good news though: You can reduce the risk of getting diabetes and even return to normal blood glucose levels with modest weight loss and moderate physical activity. If you are told you have pre-diabetes, have your blood glucose checked again in 1 to 2 years.

What are the different types of diabetes?

The three main types of diabetes are:

• Type 1 diabetes is commonly diagnosed in children and young adults, but it's a lifelong condition. If you have this type of diabetes, your body does not make insulin, so you must take insulin every day. Treatment for type 1 diabetes includes taking insulin shots or using an insulin pump, making healthy food choices, getting regular physical activity, taking aspirin daily (for many people), and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
• Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes — about 9 out of 10 people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. You can get type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. In type 2 diabetes, your body makes insulin, but the insulin can't do its job, so glucose is not getting into the cells. Treatment includes taking medicine, making healthy food choices, getting regular physical activity, taking aspirin daily (for many people), and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body generally produces less and less insulin over time. This means that you may need to increase your medications or start using insulin in order to keep your diabetes in good control.
• Gestational (jess-TAY-shun-ul) diabetes occurs during pregnancy. This type of diabetes occurs in about 1 in 20 pregnancies. During pregnancy your body makes hormones that keep insulin from doing its job. To make up for this, your body makes extra insulin. But in some women this extra insulin is not enough, so they get gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually goes away when the pregnancy is over. Women who have had gestational diabetes are very likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

Who gets diabetes?

About 24 million Americans have diabetes, about half of whom are women. As many as one quarter do not know they have diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes occurs at about the same rate in men and women, but it is more common in Caucasians than in other ethnic groups.
Type 2 diabetes is more common in older people, mainly in people who are overweight. It is more common in African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans/Latinos, and American Indians.

What causes diabetes?

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes —The exact causes of both types of diabetes are still not known. For both types, genetic factors make it possible for diabetes to develop. But something in the person's environment is also needed to trigger the onset of diabetes. With type 1 diabetes, those environmental triggers are unknown. With type 2 diabetes, the exact cause is also unknown, but it is clear that excess weight helps trigger the disease. Most people who get type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Gestational diabetes — Changing hormones and weight gain are part of a healthy pregnancy, but these changes make it hard for your body to keep up with its need for insulin. When that happens, your body doesn't get the energy it needs from the foods you eat.

Am I at risk for diabetes?

The risk factors for type 1 diabetes are unknown. Things that can put you at risk for type 2 diabetes include:

• Age — being older than 45
• Overweight or obesity
• Family history — having a mother, father, brother, or sister with diabetes
• Race/ethnicity — your family background is African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic-American/Latino, Asian-American/Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian
• Having a baby with a birth weight more than 9 pounds
• Having diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes)
• High blood pressure — 140/90 mmHg or higher. Both numbers are important. If one or both numbers are usually high, you have high blood pressure.
• High cholesterol — total cholesterol over 240 mg/dL
• Inactivity — exercising less than 3 times a week
• Abnormal results in a prior diabetes test
• Having other health conditions that are linked to problems using insulin, like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
• Having a history of heart disease or stroke

What are the signs of diabetes?

• Being very thirsty
• Urinating a lot
• Feeling very hungry
• Feeling very tired
• Losing weight without trying
• Having sores that are slow to heal
• Having dry, itchy skin
• Losing feeling in or having tingling in the hands or feet
• Having blurry vision
• Having more infections than usual

If you have one or more of these signs, see your doctor.

How can I take care of myself if I have diabetes?

Many people with diabetes live healthy and full lives. By following your doctor's instructions and eating right, you can too. Here are the things you'll need to do to keep your diabetes in check:

• Follow your meal plan — Eat lots of whole grain foods, fruits, and vegetables.
• Get moving — Health benefits are gained by doing the following each week:
  • 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity
  or
  • 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
  or
  • A combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
  and
  • Muscle-strengthening activities on 3 days

• Test your blood glucose — Keep track of your blood glucose levels and talk to your doctor about ways to keep your levels on target. Many women report that their blood glucose levels go up or down around their period. If you're going through menopause, you might also notice your blood glucose levels going up and down.

• Take your diabetes medicine exactly as your doctor tells you.

Talk to your doctor about other things you can do to take good care of yourself. Taking care of your diabetes can help prevent serious problems in your eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth, and blood vessels

Is there anything I can do to prevent diabetes?

Yes. The best way to prevent diabetes is to make some lifestyle changes:

• Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight raises your risk for diabetes. Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI)  to see if you're at a healthy weight. If you're overweight, start making small changes to your eating habits by adding more whole grain foods, fruits, and vegetables. Start exercising more, even if taking a short walk is all you can do for now. If you're not sure where to start, talk to your doctor. Even a relatively small amount of weight loss – 10 to 15 pounds – has been proven to delay or even prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
• Eat healthy
  • Eat lots of whole grains (such as whole wheat or rye bread, whole grain cereal, or brown rice), fruits, and vegetables.
  • Choose foods low in fat and cholesterol. Read food labels. If you eat 2,000 calories per day, you should eat no more than 56 grams of fat each day.
  • If you drink alcohol, limit it to no more than one or two drinks (one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5-ounce shot of hard liquor) a day.
• Get moving. Health benefits are gained by doing the following each week:
  • 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity
  or
  • 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
  or
  • A combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity
  and
  • Muscle-strengthening activities on 3 days
  
  Some suggestions for fitting physical activity in:
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator
  • Take a brisk walk on your lunch break
  • Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk
  • Get off the bus or subway a few stops early and walk the rest of the way
  • Walk or bicycle whenever you can

Take care of your health with proper nutrtion and lifestyle modifications. If you are not sure how to make these changes you may need to seek an expert. If you are ready to begin your journey to a healthier you contact our office for your nutrition pre-screening consultation. The journey begins when you are ready.....

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 

 

October is "BREAST CANCER" awareness month. Everyday millions of women are diagnoised with breast cancer. It's time to Make Strides Against Breast Cancer. You can start by giving to your local cancer society this month. We can fight this together! Learn more about cancer below....

Cancer occurs as a result of mutations, or abnormal changes, in the genes responsible for regulating the growth of cells and keeping them healthy. The genes are in each cell’s nucleus, which acts as the “control room” of each cell. Normally, the cells in our bodies replace themselves through an orderly process of cell growth: healthy new cells take over as old ones die out. But over time, mutations can “turn on” certain genes and “turn off” others in a cell. That changed cell gains the ability to keep dividing without control or order, producing more cells just like it and forming a tumor.
A tumor can be benign (not dangerous to health) or malignant (has the potential to be dangerous). Benign tumors are not considered cancerous: their cells are close to normal in appearance, they grow slowly, and they do not invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors are cancerous. Left unchecked, malignant cells eventually can spread beyond the original tumor to other parts of the body.

The term “breast cancer” refers to a malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. Usually breast cancer either begins in the cells of the lobules, which are the milk-producing glands, or the ducts, the passages that drain milk from the lobules to the nipple. Less commonly, breast cancer can begin in the stromal tissues, which include the fatty and fibrous connective tissues of the breast. Over time, cancer cells can invade nearby healthy breast tissue and make their way into the underarm lymph nodes, small organs that filter out foreign substances in the body. If cancer cells get into the lymph nodes, they then have a pathway into other parts of the body. The breast cancer’s stage refers to how far the cancer cells have spread beyond the original tumor.

Breast cancer is always caused by a genetic abnormality (a “mistake” in the genetic material). However, only 5-10% of cancers are due to an abnormality inherited from your mother or father. About 90% of breast cancers are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and the “wear and tear” of life in general.

There are steps every person can take to help the body stay as healthy as possible and lower risk of breast cancer or a breast cancer recurrence (such as maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, limiting alcohol, and exercising regularly). Always remember, breast cancer is never anyone's fault. Feeling guilty, or telling yourself that breast cancer happened because of something you or anyone else did, is not productive.

                                                                

 

Women Vitamins: Keeping Healthy With Supplements

Vitamings For Women

We all know that women live longer than men - in fact the gap now has narrowed to five years. Partly because men are looking after themselves better. But what about Japanese women ? Did you know (WHO figures) that the average life expectancy of a Japanese woman is 86. It must be the diet but maybe there are other environmental factors as well. Maybe the Japanese women have a secret women vitamin formula? No,it is simply that the Japanese diet always consists of rice and vegetables with meat and fish. The nutrition experts say that the more colourful a meal is, the better it is as each of the colours represent the many and varied nutrients and vitamins that we need. Certainly the Japanese meal is like that. The idea of small portions is a winner as well. The Japanese also win when it comes to the battle against obesity. Only about 3% of the population are obese - compare that to USA where the figure is a staggering 30%. So to live longer and remain slim, we have to eat properly and that is easier said than done !
So, how do we remain healthy and expand our normal life expectancy? Of course eating the right kind of foods is key but for some of us taking the right type of vitamins will at least give us the nutritional allowance our body needs daily. Take a look below for some suggestions.

Vitamins for Women: What You Need
Our bodies are like fine cars. You can’t put regular gas in a Porsche and expect it to run well. For that reason, you should consider adding the following nutrients to your diet:

• Calcium. As you age, your bone mass decreases and you need more calcium to lower your risk of osteoporosis. You typically need 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium daily, depending on how old you are. You can reach this daily requirement by consuming dairy products (preferably fat-free), drinking pure orange juice that has been fortified with calcium, or taking calcium supplements.
• Vitamin D. As you get older, you lose some of your ability to convert sunlight into vitamin D, and without vitamin D, your body can't use calcium. Also, using sunscreen to protect yourself from skin cancer means shutting out some of the vitamin D you'd get from just being outside in the sun. To compensate for this loss, older women might consider taking a multivitamin containing both vitamin D and calcium. To help you understand how much vitamin D you need each day, consider this: A glass of milk provides about 100 international units (IU) of vitamin D. If you’re over 50, you should be getting 400 IU daily; over 70, you need 600 IU.
• Iron. If you’re still menstruating, you need to be sure you're getting an adequate amount of iron in order to prevent anemia. “Food sources are a good starting point, but you may need supplements,” says Skolnik. You’ll find iron in meat, poultry, beans, eggs, and tofu. “It’s important to pair your iron-rich meals with foods that contain vitamin C, like orange juice or citrus fruits, because vitamin C helps increase iron absorption," Skolnik says. If you are a woman past menopause you need less iron, so unless your doctor recommends an iron supplement, you should look for a multivitamin without iron.
• Folic acid. Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant need to get more folic acid; it has been shown that low levels of this B vitamin can lead to birth defects in the baby affecting the brain and spinal cord. In addition to supplements, folic acid can be found in orange juice, beans, and green vegetables, and in foods such as breads and flour that have been fortified with it.
• Beta-carotene. Skolnik says that antioxidants — cancer-fighting substances like beta-carotene and vitamin C — help defend your body against cell damage. "Food sources are best for beta-carotene, and they include carrots, apricots, papaya, cantaloupe, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and mangoes.” In other words, look for the color orange when you're in the produce aisle.
• B6 and B12. Like vitamin D, vitamin B12 is not processed as well by older women and may be one vitamin to consider taking in supplement form, perhaps through a multivitamin. Both B vitamins are very important as you grow older. "Vitamin B6 helps with red-blood cell formation and vitamin B12 helps with nerve-cell and red-blood cell development," Skolnick says. These vitamins can be found in a wide variety of healthful foods; following basic food pyramid recommendations is a good way to make sure you get enough of each. As an example, Skolnick says "you can get a day's supply of vitamin B12 by eating one chicken breast, one hard-boiled egg, a cup of plain low-fat yogurt or one cup of milk, plus one cup of raisin bran."
• Omega-3 fatty acids. These acids have been shown to act like natural anti-inflammatory substances in the body. They may also be important in helping to keep your heart healthy. As a woman gets older, her levels of estrogen decline, and that puts her at greater risk for heart disease, Skolnik says. Fatty fish, like salmon and tuna, is a great source of omega-3 fats, and pure orange juice is often fortified with omega-3s. Or, she adds, “Taking fish oil capsules is an excellent way to make sure you target these important fats."

The bottom line, focus more on your health so you can be healthy. Taking vitamins is no substitute to eating a variety of fruits and vegetables that are loaded with phytonutrients and enzymes that is needed daily to repair your body of its own defense. Consider using this article as a guide to what maybe missing in your journey to health. This is your time to be the best you possible by starting with your health first. To learn more about staying healthy be sure to visit our website at gethealthynow