Do You Fill All Your Prescriptions?

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When you visit the doctor and he or she prescribes you some medication, do you always get the prescription filled? If you do, you may be surprised to find out who many people don’t fill them and this is an important issue in health care today. After all, a country can have the best health care system in the world, but if the patients, the health care consumers, don’t fulfill their part of the bargain, then it’s all for naught.

To find out how pervasive this problem could be, researchers in Massachusetts studied thousands of prescriptions that had been written for patients, over the course of a year. The results, which were published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, were disconcerting. The researchers found that of prescriptions given to 75,000 Medicare patients, 28% of first-time prescriptions were never filled. And even prescriptions that were filled weren’t always filled, with 40% being what was called low refill adherence. Most of these medication prescriptions that were not filled were for illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease, as well as for high cholesterol – all chronic illnesses that need to be managed to reduce the risk of severe and fatal events.

Health literacy is an important issue in health care today. It means understanding what is going on with your health and why treatments are done and medications are taken. What needs to be learned now is the reason why the medications aren’t taken. Is it because these diseases aren’t as “in your face” as others, meaning that the symptoms aren’t obvious enough that patients feel that they need to take their medications? Is it fear? Is it misunderstanding? Or is it something more simplistic, like patients not being able to afford the medications?

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Benefits of Green Tea on Lung and Prostate Cancer

For those of us that drink Green Tea there is some great news. Researcher’s that are studying Lung Cancer at the Medical University in Taiwan are studying what affect if any green tea may have on this type of cancer. The green tea research has offered promise; it is believed that the tea may offer some protection against lung cancer. The research included more than 500 people which yielded growing evidence suggesting the tea has anti-cancer powers.

It is a proven fact, that the there are fewer people with Lung Cancer as well as other types of cancer in Asia where the people drink green tea daily. Researchers have found in their studies, that extracts from green tea called polyphenols, can stop cancer cells from growing.

Green tea has caused a positive effect in a wide range of conditions, which includes heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Research using patients with Prostate Cancer tested a compound called Polyphenon E., which is found in green tea, the research was carried out by a Philadelphia-based company. Twenty six men were included in the study their ages ranged from 41 to 72 years; these men had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and were scheduled for radical prostate surgery.

The 26 men took four capsules containing Polyphenon E for an average of 34 days, until the day before their surgery. The capsules were the equivalent of drinking 12 cups of brewed concentrated green tea daily. At the end of this study the researchers found a significant reduction in levels of HGF, VEGF and PSA in these patients. Some patient’s demonstrated a reduction of more than 30% in their prostate cancer.

Patients with Heart Disease have also shown they benefit greatly from adding green tea to their daily diet. So the next time you sit down with a good book to relax you might want to enjoy a cup of green tea as well.

High Cholesterol The Causes

If you have high cholesterol you are not alone, there are approximately 100 million Americans that also suffer from this disease as well. High cholesterol comes from a variety of sources, including your family history and what you eat, the saying “you are what you eat",” in this case is so right.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance, which is produced by your liver; high cholesterol comes from eating certain foods, such as eggs and red meat. Cholesterol is a vital fat that circulates throughout your blood. Too much of the bad cholesterol, LDL raises your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other life threatening conditions. Low levels of the good cholesterol, HDL may also have the same effect.

Research has found that eating too much saturated fat can cause high cholesterol; this unhealthy fat is found in foods that come from animals. Beef, pork, veal, milk, eggs, butter, and cheese contain saturated fat. Packaged foods that contain coconut oil, palm oil, or cocoa butter may have a lot of saturated fat. You will also find saturated fat in stick margarine, vegetable shortening, and most cookies, crackers, chips, and other snacks. 

Some of the causes of high cholesterol are as follows:

When someone is over- weight it isn’t just bad for their social life it will also increase triglycerides and decrease HDL, or good cholesterol. Losing those unwanted pounds can go a long way toward improving your cholesterol level.

Get active the lack of physical activity may increase LDL, or bad cholesterol, and decrease HDL, or good cholesterol get off that couch and get moving something as easy as going for a daily walk will help.

Your age is a factor after someone reaches age 20; your cholesterol levels naturally begin to rise. In men, cholesterol levels generally level off after age 50. In women, cholesterol levels stay fairly low until menopause, after which they rise to about the same level as in men.

Your annual physical is the most important thing you can do to maintain good physical health. Ask you health care provider to explain your heart disease risk. Having certain diseases, such as diabetes or hypothyroidism, may cause high cholesterol.

If your family members have high cholesterol chances are that you will also. While talking to your health care provider be sure to make him aware of your family history.

Smoking can be deadly for example it can give you cancer, it can also lower your good cholesterol HDL as well as causing heart failure. Do yourself and your family a favor, stop smoking today.

 

Don’t Hate the Dentist – Not in Your Best Interest

Are there any healthcare professionals more feared or dreaded than the dentist? I feel badly for them. Imagine being in a social situation, introductions made and the new acquaintance saying something like “I’m terrified of dentists,” or “oh boy, I haven’t been to a dentist in ages. I hate them.” I know the prospect of dental work isn’t pleasant – not too many people actually look forward to it, but dentists play a very important role in our overall health.

The MayoClinic.com says it well: “While the eyes may be the window to the soul, your mouth is a window to your body’s health.” According to the Canadian Dental Association, 7 out of 10 Canadians develop gum disease at one point in their life.

Problems with teeth and gums can contribute to serious health issues and can cause illness as well. People with heart disease and diabetes, for example, are at risk for problems. Read more

Healthy Life In Seven Steps

Instead of waiting for the first of the year why not start building a healthier life as of today.

I received a wakeup call when my health care provider sent me for a cholesterol test and it showed I was on the high end.

At that point I went in search of a way to turn my life around; I found there is no limit to articles on healthy lifestyles. You can find everything from healthy recipes to daily exercise suggestions.

With obesity being so prevalent in today’s society causing heart disease and diabetes we should all take a good look not only at our life, but the lifestyle of our family as whole.

To help you on your way to a healthier life you will need to:

• Limit saturated and Trans fats in your daily diet, which causes high cholesterol and coronary artery disease.
• High protein low fat foods will aid in making your diet healthy. Foods such as lean poultry and fish, using egg whites or egg substitutes instead of the whole egg. Eliminate butter and whole milk use skim milk and yogurt instead.
• Add fiber, minerals and vitamins to your families’ diet by including fruits and vegetables. It is much easier today to get your family to eat these foods with all of the recipes you find on line.
• Select whole grain cereal, breads and snacks for breakfast and pack them in a healthy lunch. Whole grain foods are filled with fiber, nutrients, vitamins and minerals for your families’ healthy heart.
• When adding salt to your diet you are adding the risk of high blood pressure, which can cause cardiovascular disease. It is in your best interest to eliminate salt as much as possible.
• Cutting back on the amount of food you put on your plate and not going back for seconds is a tremendous help in watching you weight and gaining a healthy body.
• Planning your meals ahead of time will allow you to add fiber and eliminate foods high in fat and cholesterol.        

To find more information click here: Heart healthy diet

People with Bipolar more prone to life threatening physical disease

We often hear that stress is tied to physical disease so it might not be surprising that people with bipolar disorder are found to be more likely to die early of physical disease.

A study done by a professor of psychiatry at University of Washington found that people with bipolar disorder have an increased risk of dying from natural causes compared to other people of similar age and gender without a mental disorder.

Risk of death caused by common conditions of heart disease, respiratory diseases, stroke, and endocrine problems such as diabetes were cited to be as much as 200 percent higher.

When I am overly stressed and life seems to be weighing extra heavy on me, I know my body is more prone to aches and pains – and often I will end up with colds, flu or even bronchitis. I can only imagine what the complete body of a person with the more complex mental illnesses endure.

If you or someone you know suffers from bipolar or other mental illness, do you find their physical state is more challenged?

Source: All Headline News

H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine

In 1918 there was a flu pandemic that killed 30 to 40 million people.

The H1N1 pandemic is the first one to hit with such great force in 41 years.

While targeting certain age groups 6 months to 24 years and those with underling health problems such as heart, liver, kidney disease as well as asthma the medical community is trying to avoid millions of deaths with H1N1. It is recommended that children from 6 months to 9 years of age get 2 doses of the H1N1 vaccine.

People 65 and over have immunity to the swine flu virus, due to the fact that they have had the swine flu at some point in their life when they were younger. Laboratory test that were done proved this pre-existing immunity.

In the U.S. Deaths due to the swine flu have at this time climbed to over 1,000 adults and over 100 children. According to the World Health Organization deaths are mounting in the thousands, the number of people infected as of Oct. 30, 2009 with the swine flu is over 440,000.

Even with the warnings there are over 47% of the U.S. population state they will not get the vaccine. The World Health Organization cannot stress enough how important it is to not only get the H1N1 vaccine, but also the regular flu vaccine as well. Over 30 to 40 thousand people 65 and older die each year from the regular seasonal flu. Even with the long lines to get the swine flu vaccine, waiting a couple of hours could be the most important thing you can do for your families’ health.

• Guarding against the swine flu can be as simple as washing your hands frequently and using hand sanitizers.
• Use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, or cough and sneeze into your elbow.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth.
• Avoid friends and family that are ill.
• Eat healthy foods such as fruits, fruit juices, vegetables.
• Make sure to get plenty of sleep and exercise.