Getting Help with Health Information

Here's a free source for some health information. You might find it interesting that when a patient leaves the doctor's office they forget anywhere from 40-80% of the information the doctor has given them.

One reason is that you may not have actually understood what the doctor told you. Getting a health care advocate in this case would be wise. The other reason is that we can't retain all of the information we are given.

So here is a quick resource to give you a little help. It's free, so check it out. They are cards to help you know what to ask your physician. Click here to order a free set. When you get to the site, click on the box in the middle of the page that says "health tips what you can do". This will take you to the page where you can order a free set of cards.

Nighttime Eating

Here are some more tips to curb nighttime eating.

Get your hands busy. Often times we turn to food if we are bored or lonely. There are a couple things you can do here. Take a walk, sign up for an evening class, take a bubble bath, or call a friend. Find a hobby. Something that will keep the hands busy, like knitting, journaling, puzzles, or sewing.

Go for liquids like a glass of water or a cup of tea instead of food. If you have to chew something, try some gum.

Clean out the pantry. Get rid of the chips and cookies and have fresh fruit and vegetables on hand.

Eat dinner later. Watch portion sizes and keep it healthy.

Go to bed early. You won't be eating if you're sleeping!!

Green Space and Health

I just read an article on green space and health. It was a large study done in Holland and looked at the health, not as individual's feelings of health, but rather on diseases present. They found that those who had green space around them such as parks were less likely to have disease present.

One of the most significant pieces was that those with green space around or near them were 90% less likely to have anxiety and depression, which we know accounts as the basis for most disease.

So find some green space near you!

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #6

One other place that you may not think about as harboring lots of bugs, is your purse. Think about where it has been and where have you set it down. Many long years ago, when I was in school and we were doing public health, I learned that when we went into a home, we carried paper towels which we were supposed to put on the floor or any surface before we put our bag on the floor or on any surface.

You should be cleaning your purse regularly, so that you don't pick up a bug which has gotten to you via your purse.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #5

Staying in the kitchen, think about your dish cloth of sponge. How often do you change your dish cloth? Have you ever put your sponge in the dishwasher? This is a great way to clean your sponges and should be done on a regular basis. Change your dish clothes frequently.

If you think about what you may be spreading around when you wipe the table or the counter, it will be easier to think about throwing that sponge in the dish washer, or getting a clean dish cloth.

Staying Healthy - 6 Things to Keep You Healthier #4

Now let's move into the kitchen. We know there are lots of things growing in there, but one of the places that you may not thing about is the cutting board. Wooden cutting boards are the worse. The hard plastic ones are much better because you can put them in the dishwasher after each use. How many of you have used the cutting board to cut something up and then just wiped it down with the dish cloth?

We've all probably done that at least once! If you don't want to or can't put your wooden cutting board in the dishwasher, mix up a mild bleach solution - 1 Tablespoon of bleach in 1 quart of water. I recommend that you clean your cutting board after each use.

Good News Or Bad News

Is it good news or bad news if you going your doctor does some tests on you and does not call you back? Researchers have found that this does not always mean everything is OK. In some medical practices there is a 26% failure to notify. This means that a quarter of the time, you may not be notified when you should be about a test result.

Make sure you get your results. Ask your doctor when you can expect the results and if you are notified, call the office and ask for the results. Never assume that because they have not called all is well!

Who's Job Is It For You To Be Healthy

I just read an article about the state of Alabama employees who have until November 30 to be checked for chronic diseases in order to keep their free health insurance. The plan is that they will have to be doing something about what ever is identified in order to keep their free health insurance. I think this is not a bad idea. Who is responsible for your health? Pushing you in the direction of getting healthier is not a bad idea.

I know that some people are way opposed to this because they feel the problem is the health care system and to an extent they are right. But we need to be our own best advocate and start living healthier so we don't need to get into the unhealthy health care system in this country.

Think Your Weight is a Result of Your Genes

I have heard many times people say that they are fat because they have a genetic predisposition or it runs in my family. Runs is the operative word here. If you are overweight or obese you likely never run or even exercise. One of my coaching students was obese and lost over 100 pounds. She used to complain about all of the pain in her knees and hips and how she couldn't exercise because of her painful joints. Now she exercises without effort and doesn't feel any of the pain she used to feel.

Are you using your joint pain which is a result of the extra weight you're carrying around as an excuse not to exercise? You can start slow and easy, but the biggest factor here is to start. Learn how to start simply by getting some exercise in your every day routines. Pick up my free ebook on Too Busy To Exercise. Another good thing to do is to participate in the great summer free health giveaway.

More Healthy Ways to Cheat on Your Diet

Yesterday I talked about ice cream. I forgot to mention one thing about ice cream. One of the things you can do is to top your ice ream with fresh fruit or nuts. This will help you get a fruit serving in, make the ice cream taste better and you'll feel like you're really "cheating."

I also mentioned yesterday to have one day a week when you get to eat what you want. I want to add to that a bit and say, select a reasonable sized portion. If you are really craving a cookie, then pick one that is a reasonable size, don't go for the biggest one you can find or make. I had a friend once who said she ate just one cookie, but it was one of those the size of a 12 inch pizza! Make whatever you choose something special. If you want a candy bar, choose your favorite one rather going for a bag of bite size candies. The adage is true here as it is with potato chips, you can't just eat one, so if you only have one candy bar, you won't eat the whole bag.

Healthy Ways to Cheat on Your Diet

I shuddered a bit when I wrote diet in the title, because of the many negative connotations that brings up. But the reality is that many of you out there are on a "diet." Many of you are likely feeling deprived and if you do slip then you really let it all go. So here are some tips for "cheating" in a healthy way.

Keep your cheating to occasional. I like to say give yourself permission to eat whatever you want one day a week. You could do this as often as once a day depending upon your overall health, weight, activity level and overall diet.

First, eat real things. If you are a big ice cream fan, then eat ice cream where the ingredient list is basically cream, sugar and milk. Avoid those ice creams with lots of additives. Also keep in mind that low fat may mean very high sugar. You are better off to do real ice cream made with cream as you will get less sugar. Be reasonable about how much you eat. I know you could eat half the carton, bu this is a treat, so spoon out 1/2 cup and celebrate that 1/2 cup and enjoy every bite instead of just shoving down.

Wellness Versus Illness

Jim made a great about my post from 2 days ago. Yes, medical school teaches doctors to look for, diagnosis and treat illness. It does not look at how to keep a patient in wellness. The focus is definitely disease. This is why many doctors are not helpful when you're looking for answers to keep you well or for promoting wellness. Have you ever had gone to the doctor and all is well and they day "Just keep doing what you're doing." This is not teaching you about how to stay well.

There are always things we can be doing better to maximize our wellness and keep working on staying out of the healthcare system. If you get what you focus on, then focus on wellness. It's not that most people think about disease or illness, but rather they don't think about it one way or the other and have never been taught how to keep themselves well. It does take some work to stay well and the benefits are beyond your wildest dreams.

How to Beat the Economics of Staying Well

Do things that will make you healthy and keep you healthy. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Eat smaller portions of meats, chicken and fish, filling up on good green and bright colored vegetables.

Remember to fit exercise in. You don't have to go to the gym or spa to do this. Walking is free. Walk for 60 minutes a day without stopping. Practice Yoga at home. You can get a DVD to help you begin, or find a program on the TV. Jump rope, any piece of rope will do, you don't have to go buy a special jump rope.

Laugh every day for 10-15 minutes. The earlier in the day you do this, the better, but any time is better than not at all. See my previous posts in April regarding laughter.

Economics of Healthcare

If the cost of seeing your doctor is prohibitive, consider going to a clinic or community center for health care. Usually the costs are prorated because the clinic is subsidized by the government. This will help you if you have a chronic condition that requires follow-up care.

Also consider going less often. Perhaps you don't need to be seen as frequently. Negotiate this with the doctor.

Look for any free tests or screenings. I live in Colorado and we have a public Health Fair every year. There are many free screenings at this event. You can also get blood screenings at a very reasonable cost - much cheaper than going to a doctor's office. If you need help interpreting the results, respond to my blog and I will get you help.

Save on your medications. Ask for the least expensive drug. You don't necessarily have to have the latest drug on the market. Also, know about the programs for $4 or $5 for a 1 month supply of your prescription.

Peventive Healthcare

As I mentioned yesterday, the economic crunch is definitely affecting people's ability to pay for healthcare and prescriptions. One of the things that people feel they can cut out is regular teeth cleaning. Not a good idea, but I understand that dental coverage with insurance is not always available and if it is like the plan I have, it only covers about 30% of one cleaning per year. So here is a tip to help you continue to keep your mouth healthy during these difficult financial times.

If you have a local dental school, go to the dental school clinic. The cost will be much less and you can be sure to not neglect your dental health. Letting your dental health go is going to cost you majorly in the future, so stay up with it.

If there is not a dental school in your area, strike a deal with your current dentist. Let them know your inability to pay. They are usually very willing to work with you, so that you continue to get preventitive care.

Best Diet Tips #4

My next best tip for weight loss is to get connected. If you can find a group that holds regular sessions, this will be most helpful for you. Studies have shown that the more group sessions a person attends, the weight they lost.

Get help from your family and friends to keep you motivated not only to lose the weight, but also to keep it off. There is nothing more detrimental to your plan, than a family member or friend who continually functions in a non-supportive way. These things may not be in the conscious mind of the person, but what they do or say makes it easier for you to fall away from your plan. An example of this, would be my husband, who was OK with me losing weight, but when he would cook, we would have a huge meal. I finally asked him to stop cooking for the army when there were only 2 of us and that I would dish up my own plate. Believe me, I cut a lot of calories just by eating less.

Best Diet Tips #3

You don't have to be skinny to be healthy. If weight is an issue for you, continue to cut calories. Even a small weight loss like 10 pounds can positively affect your health.

Just losing 10 pounds can help lower your blood pressure as well as lower your blood sugar levels. If you are watching cholesterol levels, a 10 pound weight loss will positively affect the good and bad cholesterol levels in the direction that you are shooting for.

Don't put so much emphasis on losing 25 or 50 or 100 pounds. Put your emphasis on decreasing the amount that you eat.

Your Job and Your Health

As you might imagine, your health is definitely influenced by your job. In today's economy there are some new factors which are affecting our health that may not have been an issue before. These factors not only influence your health, but how long you will live.

The factors around work that influence your health these days are things like, do you still have a job, how secure are you in your job, and how much do you enjoy your work. These are factors which may have a huge impact on your health and longevity, perhaps more than if you are on the right diet to lose weight.

One of the most devastating factors above to our health is the loss of our job. In Finland, after a major layoff occurred, the risk of death from heart attack went up fivefold for those losing their jobs. In the USA, studies are currently being done to look at this, but some of the preliminary results show that people who lost their jobs in their 50s were twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years.

A study in Michigan has shown that job insecurity can be as bad for health as a bout with a serious illness and worse than an actual job loss. Part of this boils down to you feeling valuable in your job.

Soy

You may not have grown up eating soy, but there are lots of products in the stores these days made from soy. And as usual there is controversy over whether soy is good or bad. So today I will go over some of the positive things about soy and tomorrow I will hit some of the bad things about soy.

Probably the best thing about soy is that it is an excellent low fat protein source. But this is just one of it's features. Soy also contains minerals like iron, zinc and calcium. The true health benefit of soy is in the isoflavons it contains. Isoflavons are similar in chemical structure to our own estrogen.

Isoflavons help women combat the symptoms of memopause, as well as improve bone health, decrease heart disease risk, reduce cancer risk, and protect against prostate problems.

7 Healthy Habits

For the next 7 days, I'll be giving you a habit that will help you stay healthy. The first one is getting the right amount of sleep. Adequate amounts of sleep are required for you to stay healthy. The question most people have is how much sleep should I be getting?

Studies have shown that 7-8 hours produces the best longevity and healthiest individuals. If you sleep less than this you are likely to have more disease and a shorter life span. One thing that is good, if you don't get 7 straight hours, but you get a chance to take a nap during the day, this is OK. Taking that time to rest will help your body to stay healthy.