Helpful Information

Anti-Aging MedicineEight Tips to Help You Feel and Look Great

  • Avoid Obesity
  • Sleep Well
  • Eat Whole Foods
  • Take Appropriate Nutraceuticals
  • Exercise Often
  • Mental Brain Fitness
  • Avoid Smoking, Caffeine, Refined Sugars
  • Have Optimal Gut Health

Migraine HeadachesWhat triggers migraines?

Different people respond to different triggers:

  • Dietary (irregular meal patterns, eating sweets or starchy foods, caffeine)
  • Sleep disturbances (irregular sleep, too much or too little sleep)
  • Emotional (excitement, anger, fear, anxiety, stress)
  • Environmental (weather, bright, glaring lights, loud noise)
  • Alcohol
  • Food additives (MSG, nitrites in luncheon meats, etc)
  • Hormone imbalance

Suggestions on how to decrease the incidence of migrane episodes

Avoid stressful situations

  • Learn relaxation methods
  • Breath, meditate, yoga, bubble bath, soothing music

Avoid toxins

  • Certain perfumes, air pollutants, smoke, insecticides

Know what you eat/drink:

  • preservatives
  • milk, eggs, beef w/hormones
  • eat organic
  • filtered water not in plastic bottles

Know body’s hormone imbalances

  • mostly estrogen dominant and synthetic progestins will trigger migraine episodes (try to balance hormones)

CholesterolAbout Cholesterol

Only about 20% of cholesterol comes from the food you eat. The other 80% is made by your body. Things such as age and family health history affect how much cholesterol your body makes. Cholesterol levels tend to rise as you get older. Unfortunately, there are usually no signs that you have high cholesterol. But it can be detected with a blood test. These tests can also help your doctor predict what your risk for heart disease may be.

Total Cholesterol

Your blood test report shows your cholesterol levels in milligrams. The total number is based on:

  • LDL (“bad” cholesterol)
  • HDL (“good” cholesterol)
  • Triglyceride (a type of fat found in your blood) levels

Bad cholesterol: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)

Too much LDL in your blood can clog arteries. This can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke

Good cholesterol: High-density lipoprotein (HDL)

High levels of HDL can help protect you from a heart attack or stroke. HDL carries cholesterol from the body’s tissues to the liver. So, low levels of HDL can increase the risk of heart disease.

Lifestyle Changes

Your diet, weight, physical activity and exposure to tobacco smoke all affect your cholesterol level. These factors may be controlled by eating a heart-healthy diet, such as fiber, polyunsaturated fat such as olive oil, and monounsaturated fats, such as avocados, olives, fish oils; dietary fiber such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes, enjoying regular physical activity and avoiding tobacco smoke. In some cases, drug therapy may well be indicated for people whose lifestyle changes alone are not enough to reach healthy cholesterol levels.

Antacids

The conditions that require using an antacid include heartburn, stomach upset, dyspepsia (upper stomach upset). Here are four groups of antacids and what they do:

    1. Traditional Antacids: Tums, Rolaids, Maalox
      Use calcium carbonate or aluminum hydroxide Works just like adding baking soda to vinegar (alkaline antacid neutralizes strong stomach acid Releases carbon dioxide, causes you to burp Take when you have occasional heartburn (they act quickly and for a short time)
    2. Bismuth Subsalicylates: Pepto Bismol, Kaeopectate (used for over 100 years)
      • Helps buffer stomach acids
      • Coats surfaces inside stomach
      • Anti-inflammatory
      • May kill some bacteria Good for relief of heartburn and controls peptic ulcer symptoms
      • May have adverse reactions with some drugs, check with physician
    3. H2 Blockers: Pepcid AC , Zantac 75
      • Takes longer to work, over an hour
      • Talk to doctor if using more than two weeks
      • Blocks histamine that signals body to make more acid
      • Should be taken by people who have GERG and have heartburn more than twice a week
      • Also for people with gastric reflux
      • Talk to doctor if talking for long periods of time
    4. Proton Pump Inhibitors: Prilosec
      • Take up to 5 days before they work
      • Becoming more popular to manage gastric reflux systems
      • Helps reduce acid production in stomach
      • Prevent cells that produce stomach acid from secreting acid
      • May hinder calcium absorption
      • Best for long-term management of acid reflux, peptic ulcers dyspepsia, stress gastritis
    5. Other Options: Better diet, herbal
      While it’s good to take medication when needed, you should understand how drugs work in your body and understand the risks and benefits.

Portions of this article from Jody Barnes at www.helium.com

Cough Drops: What You Need to Know

Group #1 – Pectins and Sugars
Examples include Fisherman’s Friend, Throat Discs, Ludens and Bear Throat Pops. These help to increase salivation to hydrate the throat. There is no medicinal advantage, just sugars and pectins.

Group #2 – Irritants (for scratchy, itchy throats)
Examples include menthol/phenol additions such as Vicks, Halls, Robitussin, N’Ice and Cepastat. These cough drops help relieve throat irritation by changing mucousial linings that are inflammed due to colds, trauma, yelling and screaming or from excessive coughing.

Group #3 – Anesthetics/Benzocaines (numb the throat)
Examples include Sucrets, Chloroseptic and Cepacol. These take away the pain of a sore throat. They don’t eliminate the sore throat, but temporarily relieve the symptoms

Group #4 – Homeopathic Herbals
Examples include Ricola. Again, they do not cure cough, but they alleviate symptoms. This also can include remedies such as honey, tea and lemon or other herbal products. Gargling with saline solution may help.

Adults, Children and Coughs
The American College of Chest Physicians makes these recommendations:

“For Adults with an acute cough or postnasal drip, the best option is proably an older variety antihistamine with a decongestant, such as Dimetapp Cold and Allergy Elixir, Robitussin Allergy and Cough Liquid or Vicks Nyquil. It also recommend that adults up to 65 years old receive a new adult vacccine for whooping cough.

“For children younger than 14, ACCP also strongly urges that over-to-counter cough and cold medications not be used. The risk of dangerous side effects can outweigh any benefits.

Quoting the ACCP, “Cough is very common in children. However, cough and cold medicines are not useful in children and can actually be harmful.. In most cases, a cough that is unrelated to chronic lung conditions, environmental influences or other specific factors will resolve on its own.

When is a cough serious enough for medical attention?

“Excessive coughing or coughing that produces blood, or thick, discolored mucus is abnormal, so see your health care provider as soon as possible.”

American College of Chest Physicians, Jan 9, 2006

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