health
Keeping your mind and body in check - popular topics in health and medicine to maintain a long and healthy life.
Diabetes Is Not One Size Fits All
“I’ve eaten so much sugar, I’m probably going to become diabetic.” I’ve heard this phrase a lot in my life. At work, school, amongst family and friends and it didn’t use to bother me until recently. November is diabetes awareness month and I wanted to educate a little bit about the differences. I have been diabetic since I was 13 years old. When I was diagnosed, I didn’t realize that it would mean an entire lifetime of finger pricks, insulin injections, doctor visits, and constantly looking at food labels to determine the correct dosage of insulin to inject. I am a type one diabetic which is very different than a type two.
By Thomas Treadaway8 years ago in Longevity
5 Tips for Healthier Eating
Small changes make all the difference. 1. Go to your local food/farmer's market. It could just be for the colours, the smells, and the variety. But it doesn't stop there. Because by you deciding to go and buy your food directly from the source ie the farmer, you are cutting the middleman out. You will actually be able to greet the person who grew your carrot or made your cheese, have a chat with them, ask specific questions or just haggle a bit. It doesn't get more straightforward than this. And surprisingly, the prices are usually lower than in your average big supermarket, even though the quality is higher. But one thing that will be really beneficial to you, especially if you pay close attention, is that you will notice the seasonal regional produce. We have become too accustomed to having certain food all year round, shipped from all corners of the world, sprayed with preservatives to last longer for their journey and shelf life. Grab a hot drink, a friend, your dog, and check out your local market and buy yourself something fresh to cook.
By Josephine Jasmine8 years ago in Longevity
Our Health
When we are young, we do not need much sleep, and our attention level is still pretty good. Unfortunately, as we start to get older, we notice that things change with our health. Maybe our metabolism has changed, so it might be more difficult to lose weight. Maybe you feel more tired than usual, and your energy level is just not what it used to be. No matter how well we eat, exercise, take care of ourselves things just do not seem to improve. If that is the situation with you, then it is time to see a doctor. Your doctor can do blood work to make sure that your iron levels are where they should be. They can also check your cholesterol levels.
By Lilli Adams8 years ago in Longevity
Living with Epilepsy
For me it is hard to write things like this especially as it causes anxiety for me and not many people understand what epilepsy truly is. I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to word this as best as I can. My medication is designed to slow down my brain and I'm trying my hardest to write this in a way people understand. I'm worried about sounding stupid for my story not making sense. So here it goes! When I was 13, I had my first ever epileptic seizure. I wasn't scared to begin with. When the "jerking" movements in my arms started I had thought it was normal. I had hit puberty not too long before that so it's possible that the trigger for my epilepsy beginning was due to the hormone change. It was about 6 am and I was brushing my hair and then the next thing I remember was waking up in an ambulance being told I had a seizure. I didn't know what it was at first so I thought nothing of it and acted like my normal happy self. Now things have changed so much.After many tests, the doctors had diagnosed me with Photosensitive Epilepsy and began my treatment with medication. I was naive when I was that age so had no idea of the challenging road ahead of me.
By Sian Walton8 years ago in Longevity
What It's Like Living with Chronic Illness
I'm sitting here in hospital, just writing and waiting. I'm here for my girlfriend today, instead of me for once. Whilst watching all the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals rush past and going on their daily business. I just sit and think about all times I've asked for help and support from these professionals. These professionals or, let's face it, people. I can see how hard they work, too hard. It's really not fair on them and the patients. As I am someone who has pretty much suffered all my life from chronic illness, I have seen and been through the systems and professionals that so many other people who suffer with chronic illness endure. I bet you weren't aware of how bad it is for some people. Bet you didn't realise how hard it is to get support or help in all forms — medical, housing, jobs etc.
By Sarah Manley8 years ago in Longevity
Sickle Cell Thalassemia CAN Be Cured
There's always another way! Sickle Cell Thalassemia CAN Be Cured I am from Adana, Turkey and I was born in 1993 with a combination of two different red blood cells disorders called Sickle Cell Anemia and Thalassemia (Sickle-Thal.)
By Cemre Mavruk8 years ago in Longevity
My Doctors Told Me I Was Anorexic... Because They Couldn't Find Anything Wrong with Me
I was always a picky eater. I remember because my mom would never let it go. I've always had a hard time eating new foods, but now we know most of it was because of my many food aversions, mostly due to being autistic, but also because ever since I could remember, eating hurt.
By Astraia Esprit8 years ago in Longevity
5 Ways to Boost Metabolism Rate
As someone who wants to lose a few inches around the muffin tops and is wanting the scales to stop being a thing of nightmares, there's nothing worse than trying the latest fad diet or cutting out all the “right” things and getting nowhere. We then seek comfort food which lands us right back to square one!
By Mel Woolven8 years ago in Longevity
Our Lungs
In this day and age, we are all a lot smarter than we were ten years ago. We know that cigarettes will eventually kill us. Now I expect that there will be people who read this and say that I do not understand because I do not smoke, but I used to. Now this will probably surprise people who know me, but I did. I smoked on and off in college. It was not an everyday thing, only when we would go out. I am from that era where you could smoke on an airplane, and so I did. I worked for many years as a flight attendant, and many of my friends smoked. I worked back when you could smoke on domestic flights. I mean, just imagine being trapped in an airplane with the last eight, nine, sometimes ten rows all smoking. As it is, you do not have good circulated air on an airplane, and then let us add smoking to it.
By Lilli Adams8 years ago in Longevity
Eating Healthy: Losing Weight Isn't the Only Thing that Makes You Lighter
We all feel body image pressure, no matter your gender, size, age, or any other category. I have suffered from these issues since I was a child, when I started becoming really aware and self critical of my body. It started off as rejecting any food I saw as 'bad' and wearing clothes that draped my body, hiding as much of myself as possible, and developed into something much more serious. Eating disorders and much more swamped my teenage years. It's an all too familiar story.
By Hannah Lilly8 years ago in Longevity
