exercise

Hyperlipidemia, when is 202 a bad number?

High cholesterol. Have you ever been visiting and someone starts talking about cholesterol numbers? You think why do I care about these numbers. I eat well, I don’t over indulge, that must, mean that my numbers are good.

dice, game, craps-568059.jpg — DON’T ROLL THE DICE WITH YOUR HEALTH!

While we think that we do not need to know, those numbers. It is very important, to know those numbers. When you have high cholesterol, this means there is a higher chance of plaque in the blood vessels. Let’s think about those old water pipes the ones that get rust built up in them. Those pipes work, for a while. Eventually, we start tasting the rust in the water. As time goes on, we might see some rust particles in the water. If nothing is done, they will start getting clogged as the rust builds up, then one might crack.

anatomy, blood, vessel-156854.jpg — What is in your blood vessels?

That is what it is like with the plagues in our vessels. Over time they clog, when they clog it is not normal for the vessel to crack, but the clog stops blood flow. We have oxygen in our blood, so no oxygen either. When tissues do not have oxygen, they die. This can be the cause of a heart attack or stroke. Other ways that plaques can cause heart attack or stroke is that the plague can flake off, flow through the vessels until, they get to one that is to small. It will block off the blood flow.

So, when your provider says your cholesterol numbers are high, listen. There are many treatments that can include exercise, diet, medications to help with decreasing these numbers.

Hyperlipemia or high cholesterol can be hereditary. There are those folks who cannot change their genes. Mom or Dad, grand parent, great grand parent who have high cholesterol no matter what they do, is rare but happens. Do your best still to try to keep these numbers in a good range.

EXERCISE

Exercise: We tend to believe that exercise is hard. I can’t lift my arm, little alone weights. I can’t walk, my yard is all up hill. It is to hot or to cold. We can come up with half a million excuses to not get up and do something. Did you know that 30 minutes a day is beneficial. Simply get up and move. You can walk around your home. Even if it is small. You can walk in place; you can go up and down stairs in your home, if you have them and you’re physically able. Do something, here is a link to my week 1 blog on exercise for those who have difficulties with exercises. Also, check out week 2, 3, and 4.

EATING RIGHT

Diet: low cholesterol diet include:

*Choose healthier fats

*Limit food with cholesterol

*Eat plenty o soluble fiber

*Eat losts of fruits and vegetables

*Eat fish that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids

*limit salt

*Limit alcohol

According to health.harvard.edu

*Oats

*Barley and other whole grains

*Beans

*Eggplant , okra, Avocados

*Nuts

*Vegetable oils, Olive oil

*Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits

*Foods fortified with sterols and stanols: sterols and stanols help block your bodies absorption of cholesterol.

*Soy

*Fatty fish

*Fiber supplements

www.mayoclinic.org/disease-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/cholesterol/art-20045192

MEDICATIONS:

The most common medications are statins. These medications are able to make the plaque pliable. When the plague is pliable it is less likely to scale or flake off. It also helps to lower the cholesterol in the body. You should avoid taking with fiber, oat bran, pectin this may decrease the absorption of the medications. Also, it is noted widely that if taking a statin medication to avoid grapefruit juice as it can increase the bioavailability of medication increasing the risk of muscle pain(myopathy) and rhabdomyolysis. If your primary care provider suggest for you to start a statin medication and you start to have leg pain please contact their office and let them know.

We discussed three ways to help keep your cholesterol numbers in a good range. This can help prevent other health conditions. Please contact your primary care provider before starting any exercise program. This is not medical advice. This is for informational purposes only. Please contact your primary care provider with additional questions about any of this information.

Reaching that Goal!

Lets talk goals and work on them.

How have you been doing reaching your goals? We started with standing during commercials. Then moved onto Standing during the TV show. To walking around the room. We have talked about many different things that you can do while in your home.

If you are still working on the previous post that is OK!! But if you are ready to move on, lets get going. The weather is getting nicer so let’s head outside. I know that during covid we are to stay home. So home it is, in your own yard. See that mailbox, walk to it(if it is in your yard and/or you can maintain social distancing walking to it). Walk it, two or three times a day if you can.

In case you prefer to stay indoors, or you are still going to work. I have looked for some links to chair exercises . While this says for seniors, anyone can start here and use them. I also found some chair exercises for your office. When you are feeling that mid day slump. Any movement, exercise can help you to gain strength and endurance. This is a blog post with great information about exercises you can do at your desk.

network, rectangle, rings — All you short term goals = success to your long term goal. Keep working.

Goal setting is key to better health. The larger goal can be set at any time frame that’s obtainable for you. Then set smaller goals within that time frame. This helps you see progress while you are working toward your larger goal. Celebrate small victories to keep you excited. Think back three weeks ago, where were you, and where are you now. If you’ve set a goal and if you’re meeting your goals. You on your way!! Soon you will meet that larger goal!

shoes, legs, boys — Stand up for your health!

Challenge for this time is that you stand up for your goals. Reach your small goals so that you can achieve your larger goal. The weather is nice, by all means go outside and do your walking if you can. Stand up for YOU!!

7 ways to decrease your anxiety.

7 of many ways to help when you are suffering from anxiety symptoms.

Anxiety, what does it look like? Well the answer to that is different for most folks. Can it come on all the sudden? What if you have never had anything like that in the past? How do I cope with anxiety at home?

This week we will dive into anxiety. Anxiety is our bodies way of “warning” us that something might happen. The common symptoms are feeling of unease, heart racing, chest pain, feeling of shaking (may or may not be noticeable on the outside), sweating, pacing you get the idea. Anxiety can come on all the sudden, or can come on slowly. It can happen to anyone at any time. Most people can relate, that they had a significant event in life, that happened prior to the first time they experienced anxiety. There are many medications out there that can be used for anxiety. However, medication will take up to 40 minutes to take effect. See the list below on things you can try to do at home. Most of these will help in less than 40 minutes.

Now for the part that everyone is reading this blog to find out. How do I manage anxiety!!

1)Talk to a friend: While this seems simple, that is exactly what you need when you are anxious. Having someone to help you process the situation can be very helpful. Just hearing another view on a problem’s solution can be very comforting.

2)Take a walk: Just getting out and doing this can calm you. It takes you away from the place that the anxiety started. It allows for you to get some fresh air, see other things, and get your mind off of the situation that started your anxiety flare.

3)Take a bath, a warm bath with some soothing smells like lavender can help ease the spirit.

4)Listen to quiet music, water falls, light rain, birds chirping. You can get CD’s that have all these sounds and more. You could most likely find an app on your phone with the same types of music. These have been out for years and many people are able to relax when listening.

5)Read, do you have a favorite book? Do you prefer to look through magazines? Maybe you prefer kindle or online reading. Give this a try, next time you become anxious. Do not read about what makes you anxious, but look up things that are comforting to you.

6)Deep Breathing see this video on deep breathing exercises.

7)Exposure: Do you have a specific activity that causes you to become anxious. Slowly exposing yourself to this activity for only very short timeframes can help with overcoming your anxiety about that activity.

Do not turn to illegal drugs and/or alcohol. These are not good resources, drugs are addictive and while they may take away the symptoms for a bit, they are not great alternatives. Alcohol can cause many other diseases such liver disease, dementia, depression and more. When you turn to these, it can actually make anxiety worse over time.

The magic pill blog post, that I wrote, can be used here also. Many times, people want the pill that takes all their anxiety away. Pills do help at times, but are not great long-term options. They can help with as needed. However, sometimes you will require higher doses, the longer you take them. It is best to learn techniques that will help you at any time. Studies show that behavioral changes are better long-term treatments than medications in most anxiety type situations.

A little about medications for anxiety. There are both daily (maintenance) and as needed(rescue) type medications. You need to see your primary care or mental health provider to discuss if they are appropriate for you. I am not giving you medical advice this is only information to help you understand. If medication is warranted (by your provider) you will most likely be given a daily medication. These take 6-8 weeks for full effects and have some potential side effects (as do most anything you put in your mouth). These are the best for your control of anxiety along with behavioral changes. Short acting or rescue medications are sometimes used to help while getting the daily medication started. Sometimes you need to continue with rescue after the 6-8 weeks, but use, should be much less by that point. Again, talk with your primary or mental health provider about these options if you are interested. This is only for information purposes and is NOT healthcare advice.

So, if you are doing something daily that increases your anxiety, try to avoid that activity. You can try to have less exposure until it is not triggering your anxiety. For example, if you are watching the news several hours a day, and it increases your anxiety. Consider decreasing that activity and only watching 30 mins a day. You will get what you need without over doing it. Follow the information above to try to calm your anxiety, learning to use these behavior type activities, can be helpful anywhere, anytime. But like most things you have to practice. So when its needed you know what to do.

I challenge you to take the time and effort to use these techniques to help with your anxiety. If you have other tricks that help you, please, comment below.

Magic Pill

We all want that quick fix, pop a pill in my mouth, and all my troubles go away. You get the idea. In America we are very automatic. We want quick gratification. We don’t want to have to put forth the effort to get skinny, healthy, smart, or the income that we want.

Let’s talk about the “magic pill”. We all want that quick fix, pop a pill in my mouth, and all my troubles go away. You get the idea. In America we are very automatic. We want quick gratification. We don’t want to have to put forth the effort to get skinny, healthy, smart, or have the income that we want.

Let’s talk about BMI. No one really wants to talk about their weight, including me. There are all kinds of scales and charts that tell us if you are this tall, you should weigh this much. And while it’s true we should be a decent weight; we should also be fit. If you watch TV no doubt, you will see one diet plan, after another diet plan, after a diet pill. In between all of those commercials you will find the commercials for all the local restaurants.

Food is a huge part of our world. We have to start looking at food for what it is. Food is fuel for our bodies. I, like most, indulge probably more than I should. Actually, I know i indulge more than I should. We tend to eat when we’re at social events, because we’re bored, because we’re studying, because we see someone eating. That is a habit that is hard to break. Therefore, it may be easier just to make better choices.

Even though some commercials say they have that magic pill (there’s not one). As with anything in life, we have to want it badly enough that we change our habits to make it happen. If you want your BMI to be with in normal limits, you have to decide that is what you want, and then exercise and eat in moderation. There’s no quick easy way.

My challenge to you is to work hard on whatever your goal. To put in the work and make that goal yours. Your return will be a healthier you. Sometimes it is a matter of accountability. Please feel free to comment with what you have accomplished each week. Let others see your ideas and give you praise for your accomplishments.