Calcium Supplements
A new study combined with information from previous studies has concluded that taking calcium supplements puts you at a higher risk for heart attacks.
I learned something new from this information and that is that cholesterol cannot harden in your arteries without calcium. The hardened plaque that builds up in your veins is estimated to contain about 3% of cholesterol and a whopping 50% of calcium.
The problem is that many of us need calcium for our aging bone health. So what’s an eater to do? The advice in general seems to be stop taking supplements. Calcium comes in animal based foods such as milk, cottage cheese, cheese, etc. It also comes from some plant based foods like spinach, broccoli, and some beans. The advatage of eating plant based foods with high calcium is that they are harder for us to breakdown and digest so much of it will prevent the calcium from sticking. So if you’re eating a lot of dairy it’s a good idea to also eat a lot of leafy greens.
It’s always something, isn’t it?
Walking a dog can help seniors maintain healthy lifestyles.
A recent study examined elderly people who walk dogs on a daily basis, and if this activity has helped seniors after three years. I walk the dog regularly will help parents maintain a better overall health? The lack of physical activity is one of many great modifiable risk factors that may adversely affect the health of a parent.
Lack of exercise.
Smoking.
Alcohol obesity and overweight (which is often linked to inactivity)
diet is not enough fruit and vegetables.
Under Article American Heart Association who participate in regular physical activity can improve your health in several ways, including:
A healthy weight.
Heart.
Low levels of health stress.
Lower blood pressure.
Dog walking may help seniors avoid a sedentary lifestyle, according to the above study, dog ownership does not necessarily affect the physical activity for seniors. The study focuses on groups again three years later and found that dog walkers older were twice as likely to walk at least 150 minutes per week than other groups.
Dogs may help seniors be more active for the years.
Another Obvious New Study
Overeating is an addiction akin to cocaine and heroin addictions. Scientists say that while this study is on rats and humans may react a little differently, this study tells us that there may be changes in the brain brought on by fatty foods that are likely to cause us to overeat to the point of obesity.
The study took three groups of rats. The first group only ate rat food. The second group was allowed to eat fatty food for one hour per day, and the third group was allowed the junk food for 23 hours per day. They found that the rats in the first two groups ate as expected which was normal, but the last group kept having to eat more and more because they were getting too used to the increased dopamine in the brain which made them feel good. This is how they said that drugs behave in our brains.
So this tells us what? I guess it says that the more you eat the more you want or need to eat of the fatty foods, to be happy? It makes a certain amount of sense however I suspect that there’s a little more to it than that.
Study Finds Fault With Pot
A new study has found that smoking cannabis over a long period of time can cause delusions, hallucinations, or psychosis.
The study shows that people who use pot at the age of 15 or younger were twice as likely to have psychosis than those who never smoked it.
The study involved 3,801 people. Of those 65 had “non affective psychosis like schizophrenia and 233 had one or more hallucination,
That sounds very scary to those who smoke pot, however I find this quote suspicious in meaning.
“People who were vulnerable to psychosis, in other words had isolated psychotic symptoms, “were more likely to commence cannabis use, which could then subsequently contribute to an increased risk of conversion to a non-affective psychotic disorder,” the research said.”
I could be wrong but that seems to say to me that there was something amiss with these folks to begin with and then they started smoking pot, which made their mental problem worse.
I also think they are talking about a very small number of people and did not account for other factors that could cause these psychosis.
I guess it’s like any other study where you can always find the outcome you’re looking for.
ER Doctors Surprised at New Studies Findings
This new study shows that people who are uninsured and end up at the ER are 80% more likely to die than those that have some kind of insurance plan, with the exception of Medicaid. Doctors are said to be shocked that the percentage was so high. They say when someone comes into the ER after a trauma they don’t ask about insurance and do everything they can to treat and save the person.
Experts are trying to come up with likely reasons why they got these type of results. Some of their guesses seem sound enough to be reasons. For instance, after the trauma victim is in the hospital they may not get as many tests or doctors visits as those who are insured. Another reason is that they may already have advanced disease that is untreated aside from the trauma that brought them into the ER.
I know that when I was dying and went to the ER I was treated very well and they saved my life. After four days in the hospital and I was out of the woods then they rushed me out, but they felt bad about it and gave me a lot of freebies med wise to take home. I was very grateful for all they did.
Agent Orange Once Again in The News
The list of diseases that people who were exposed to Agent Orange can now get, has grown to 15. The new diseases caused by this chemical are hairy cell leukemia, Parkinsons, and ischemic heart disease.
Agent Orange was the name of a combination of chemicals that were used during the Vietnam War to clear the jungles so the American soldiers could find their enemies more easily. When these soldiers started to come home they began to show symptoms of some serious illnesses. The government tried to deny it at first but there has been so much proof and such a high number of sick veterans they had to admit that Agent Orange was responsible.
First Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
A University of Kansas study suggests that memory loss may not be one of the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. This is something I’ve been thinking about lately because I’ve noticed that as I am writing sometimes I look at what should be a very familiar word and all of a sudden after I’ve typed it, it looks strange and somehow wrong to me. I’ve been a little worried about it although I’m way too young for Alzheimer’s. I’m sure it’s something else but Kansas is pointing out that thinking and or learning problems could preceed memory loss by years.
Until they know for sure and develop some kind of treatment or cure, I’ll be paranoid every time this happens. I’ve taken care of Alzheimer’s patients and it’s not a nice place to be. One of my residents asked me if her husband would be visiting her that day, every afternoon I saw her. Her husband had died and I had to break the news to her of that every day and it was as if she was hearing it for the first time. Though it was the correct thing to do, it was cruel and after a while I just started lying to her and omitting the fact he had died.
Sids, The English Version
A recent study on Sids in England revealed that over half of the babies there who died from Sids were co-sleeping. That’s not all. It further suggests that the adult who was sleeping with the infant on the couch perhaps were also either drunk or under the influence of drugs. They have added this to the ever growing list of reasons why a baby would die from Sids.
All I know for sure is that my 2 year old nephew died from Sids sleeping alone in his crib. I believe my sister found him on his stomach, but he was a month short of his 2nd birthday and could and did turn over and reposition himself in his sleep. My sister did nothing wrong and did nothing to cause this.
Kids and Violence
A recent study says that about 60% of American kids have been the victims of some kind of abuse or violence. As a country we should be ashamed. This number includes neglect and all types of violence against kids under the age of 17 by parents, strangers, and other youths.
I think we need to concentrate on lowering this number before we try to make peace around the world. Obama just won the Nobel Prize for peace? Maybe he should start in his own backyard first. As a representative of our country, he should be too ashamed to accept such a prize.
Womens Health and Age 70
A new study has found that although most women can live to age 70, those that maintained a good weight from the ages of 18 to 50 were in good health at age 70. Those that were overweight between the ages of 18 and 50 tended to have suffered from a number of diseases by the time they reached 70. These diseases included diabetes and heart diseases.
Don’t call it quits if you have reached 50 and are heavy. You can still benefit from losing weight and exercising.
It’s just another reason to wish for 18 again isn’t it ladies? Or is it?