Monday, July 30, 2012

General Health Pointers


Some pointers that top alternative medical doctors have involve everyone’s diet and what can energize you (2 doctors agreed as to the “instant energizer,” p. 21 and 23, Women’s Health, 2009).  Andrew Weil, M.D. (drweil.com) states that ‘my diet is filled with a variety of fresh, unprocessed foods and an abundance of fruits and vegetables…I like wild salmon [“It gives you omega-3 fatty acids when wild….EXCELLENT for the brain, skin and hair!” –S.D.] and whitefish.  I also eat some cheese, nuts, whole grains, and soy foods.” (p. 20, Women’s Health, 2009)  Rather than adding the empty, water-weight-gaining spice of salt, use pepper, curry, garlic and other spices and seasonings to add flavor to your food!!

Go to :  http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/howmany.html for a quick analysis of the amount of fruit and vegetables that you need, based on age, sex and activity level.

Alice Domar, Ph.D., executive director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health (among other titles) believes that:

“Instead of worrying about everything in your diet, make a few smart changes.  Switch from white to whole grain bread.  Switch from white rice to whole grain [“like quinoa, spelt, millet, bulgur wheat, etc. that you can buy in bulk from the local Whole Foods Market—they even have instructions on how you cook it, on the bulk bin; so take your time when you go shopping there!”—S. D.] or brown rice.  When you make a salad, be creative:  Throw in dried cranberrles, nuts, cheese….Those changes were so easy!” (p. 21, Women’s Health, 2009)

Christiane Northrup, M.D. (author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause) and Dr. Domar agree that an “instant energizer” is exercise; the latter, saying that “If I’m feeling down or tired, the one thing I know that’s going to get me going is exercise.  I’ve solved most of the world’s problems during my walks.” (p. 21 and 23, Women’s Health, 2009)  If you can’t afford private gym membership, check out your local YMCA/YWCA or recreation center for cheaper options.  But, if you pay for membership in any gym, you need to already be exercising at home for awhile.  Most gym memberships are a waste of good money because they rarely get used!

{DISCLAIMER:  I am not a licensed healthcare professional.  If you have any health concerns, please consult an M.D., integrative or functional medical doctor, naturopathic doctor/N.D., doctor of osteopathy/D.O. or nurse practitioner.}

Reference:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  (2012, June 28).  [Fruit and vegetable serving calculator].  Nutrition for everyone.  Retrieved July 30, 2012 from http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/howmany.html
Women’s Health.  (2009).  Report #4:  Private healing secrets of the world’s best alternative doctors.  Women’s health:  12 reports (pp. 19-23).  Rodale Inc.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Get Tested for Diabetes!


Being African-American alone is a risk factor for developing diabetes (in addition to whether it runs in your family).  My father had it and my sister has it…You also do not need to be overweight or obese to get diabetes.  It is a worldwide epidemic!

George Edmond Smith, MD in Taking Care of Our Own:  A Black American’s Guide to Family Medicine sums up the importance of knowing whether you have diabetes:  “It [diabetes] affects African Americans at a disproportionately high rate.  African Americans are fifty-five percent more likely than White Americans to have the disease.  Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, amputation, and heart and kidney failure for African Americans.” (p. 71, 2004)  People are being diagnosed at earlier ages, especially children(!), with Type 2 Diabetes; with many going through life UNDIAGNOSED and, by not knowing, not treating their disease!!  This post is about the various blood tests available to diagnose diabetes, so that you don’t go through life not knowing whether or not you have it.

The test that doctors tend to give you to diagnose diabetes means that you have to fast the night before—the typical person is inconvenienced by this, so it’s usually not even administered.  Now that the a1c test (the test that I had done 1.5 years ago that showed me as pre-diabetic) has become standardized, world health experts are hoping that many more—the majority of people—will ask for and get tested for diabetes.  There is a problem with using the a1c on people of African descent, and that is “[they] may have a less common type of hemoglobin, known as a hemoglobin variant, that can interfere with some A1C tests” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012).  Thus, African-Americans might want to fast the night before and get the more commonly used test!  I invite you to read the text from “The a1c test and diabetes” for yourself, if interested in pursuing this topic with your doctor.

In the course of writing this blog, as I am in the process of trying to lose abdominal belly fat—a risk factor for various chronic diseases—I will tell you about weight loss tips, and my experiences with them.  All of this with the goal in mind being the prevention of my (and maybe your) pre-diabetes from developing into full-blown diabetes!

Reference:

Smith, G.E.  (2004).  Taking care of out own:  A Black American’s guide to family medicine.  Roscoe, IL:  Hilton Publishing Company.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.  (2012, June 19). The a1c test and diabetes.  Retrieved July 18, 2012 from http://www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/A1CTest/#11