Are you concerned about something that has to do with your health?

If you have any items, concerns or questions about health related items, please email me your questions I will do my best to provide you with well researched and accurate answers.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Does living near a fast food stop make you fat?

In a recent Wall Street Journal article they released the results from a new Harved study that will be published in the next American Journal of Epidemiology, that talks about this issue.  Reaserchers have found that there is no notable difference in BMI (Body Mass Index) of those who live near a fast food stop and those who do not.  The results showed that females that lived near a fast food stop showed slight increase in BMI but the Harvard researchers determined that the increase was not enough to determine if the effect was from the fast food restruant.

This 30 year study also noted that though the participants all came from a wide variety of social and economic back grounds and there was little racial diversity between them.  Though this research produced little evidence to help researchers better understand the changes in human BMI they will soon begin to carry out more research to find out if having fast food near where you work  or that you pass on your way to and from work daily have effects.

My best guess is that having to drive by so many of them has been terribly derogatory on my weight struggle.  Every time I get burnt out on one I just go to another.  I wish at the end of a long day I could just drive through and get a bag of healthier groceries. 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Your immunes system and the dangers of being to clean

There seems to be a lot going on today with children and I have read many scientific journals over the last year that all point to the same problem.  Cleanliness, they use to say it was next to godlyness, hover today many scientists say we have taken it to far.  In an anti germ world many find ourselves constantly using antibacterial soaps, hand rinses, cleaning towels and laundry detergents and various other solutions.  Have you ever wondered how we survived before these became so popular?  Let me tell you, we were healthy, stronger, and had far better immune systems protecting our bodies.

Studies know show that all the antibacterial products have a negative effect on our lives.  It works like this, our bodies are covered in more than 4,800 different types of bacteria.  Very little of it is harmful and much of it defends our bodies.  Bacteria produces enzymes that cut the DNA of viruses and kill them.  Every time we wash with an anti bacterial soap we actually weaken our own defense.  It goes far worse than that with children, did you know that today many children's immune systems are not properly developing because there environments are to clean.

There are such things as dangerous bacteria, most are not.  When you kill all bacteria your bodies immune system never learns to defend its self, then suddenly a harmful bacteria shows up and your helpless to its affects and suffer for a longer period of time while your immune system learns how to identify and fight it off.  By constantly being exposed to non harmful or weak bacteria your bodies becomes very good at defending its self, then when the day comes and the big bad disease shows up you are prepared and it has little affect on you.

To me the most frightening statistic is that 80 percent of the children who do not attend daycare develop asthma.  This is a true and frightening statement.  Children with very little exposure to the world now find them selves at a big disadvantage, being a strong proponent of home school I strongly reccomend that parents find ways for there children to interact with as many other virus-monkey children as possible to build there immune systems while they are still young.  A story I often hear from parents goes like this, my child never got sick, they were always healthy.   Then I had to put them in daycare and they immediately got sick and stayed sick for the first several months.  This is the point that most parrents try to pull there kids out.  Those that leave them in then follow with the rest of the story that reads, after several months of my children getting very single cold and virus that went around they suddenly stopped, and never really got sick again.  That is usually about the time the light comes on for most parents and they realize what happend and how exposure to so many things helped their children develop a strong immune system.

Unless working with someone who has a known serious condition most scientists no longer recommend the use of antibacterial products on a frequent basis.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Flu shots and great info at Fluwiki.info and also fluwiki.com

With the beginning of the fall season here I have wanted to talk about the flu shot for many weeks.  I may have a different point of view than many people as I receive eight hours of long and painful formal training every year from the CDC and administer thousands of them to soldiers in my area.
First do I believe in the flu shot?
Yes, completely. 

Does the flu shot make some people sick?
Yes, but very rarely and only when there are other underlying conditions.  I also think that even in these cases it is worth feeling under the weather for a day or to eliminate risk and spread.
Do people still die from the flu even with modern medicine?
Yes, just last year my wife's healthy 42 year old aunt died for the swine flu right here in the middle of Las Vegas.  More than 140 people healthy people died from the flu last year here in Las Vegas and hundreds of thousands across the country that were young, old and week.
The flu shot usually comes in two forms and it is important to know which one works best for you.  First is the nasal form, which is given by spraying a small mist of live virus into each nostril.  This is generally approved for all people under the age of 50 and who are not pregnant, allergic to eggs, or who care for an infant.  It is also not recommended for children under 6. This virus has been altered to a weaken state and does not have the ability to reproduce.
The second common way is a traditional shot, usually given in the arm, but sometimes given in the thigh for small babies and tiny children that don't have enough muscle development in the arms yet.  This vaccination is approved for just about everyone including the elderly, pregnant women and babies.  It relies on your body making antibodies of a dead virus.
Do I need to get the shot every year?
Yes, though this year for the first time in almost 20 years the strains of virus collected from throughout the world have not changed it still drastically increases your body’s ability to fight it off.  Most years the vaccination is a completely new form and is vital to making sure you don’t become another casualty to the virus.
Don’t be a carrier monkey.  When you make the decision not to get vaccinated you aid the virus in two ways.  First you give it a home to mutate which is why we have a constant battle with what at any time can become more powerful that any bioweapon ever created.  Second and the biggest reason is because you put all those you come in contact with at risk of losing their lives, especially grandma and babies.  Because you didn’t get sick does not mean you are not a carrier.  Lots of people every year don’t get symptoms until weeks after they have been infected and mean while spread the flu to everyone and everything they come in contact with.
I intend to go more heavily into detail on how our immune system works in my next post but it may help people to think of things like this.  Your immune system is the body’s police.  If your police had no idea what a criminal looked like or what they did it would not be very good at fighting them off and would spend most of its time on the defense when you have already been hurt by the criminals.  If your police are well trained and experienced they will spend most of their time on the offense and when something harmful say the flu virus enters your body they will not wait for it to start causing a problem.  Instead they will execute on site and you will have never known you were at risk.
I highly recommend taking a look at the above listed wikis, they are very well put together and can give you information on more factors such as sleep, diet and exercise and there effect on fighting off the flu.
Please dont hesitate to post if you have any questions or comments.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Is happiness important for health?

I recently spent several days beside my grandmother at Valley Hospital. She was in the surgical ICU and the doctors could not keep her blood pressure up. She was delirious through most of the stay and had to be strapped in bed. Trips to the hospital are nothing new for my grandmother. She has always been heavily medicated and in and out of serious care. Like many other times this was no different and the doctors had no idea what was medically wrong with her.

To me it seems to be the same problem, one that seems to be more and more common across the country.It is sadness, chronic unhappiness, and lack of will power. Some studies refer to this as depression, but I tend to agree with others that it is bigger than that.

Many new studies are beginning to show that happiness is a key factor in health. You mental attitude directly affects the way your body functions. A major portion of the new healthier life is tied directly to your attitude. For decades we have been aware of the effects of stress on our bodies, but most of us have tied the fact that a smile every day can lower our cholesterol, increase circulation, and improve both our heart and nervous system.

Though a smile is no replacement for a healthy diet, regular exercise, and regular medical checks it can lead to a lifestyle change that may make you happier, help you live longer and enjoy a better quality of life.

It also means it is important that we watch for our family and friends, especially as they age and loose desire to do anything with there life.

For any one concerned about my grandmother she is doing much better and will return to her assisted living home is a couple of weeks.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Food Allegies


I recently went to the doctor for a full checkup.  While there I asked him to check for any possible allergies I might have.  Several Years ago I had previously had an allergy skin test where they put a little bit of all the main items people are allergic to and poke your arms and back.  At that point in time the doctor said you’re partially allergic to peanuts but most people are, so just keep eating them.

This time the new doctor had my blood drawn and a fair amount of it.  When I met with him several weeks later in his office he went through my results with me and I was shocked.  It turns out most people are highly allergic to lots of things.  The doctor had my blood tested for nearly 100 items and I found out that I am highly allergic to my favorite foods that I eat every day.  Things like eggs, wheat, gluten, milk, some cheeses and garlic.

It turns out that some even though we enjoy eating lots of foods and enjoy them as main stables in our life we may still be allergic and our bodies may be fighting these foods and having bad reactions with out our knowledge.  However by getting one of these advanced blood allergy tests we can learn how to angle our diets away from these foods and improve the way our body operates.  I like to think of this like putting cheap fuel or alcohol in the gas tanks in our cars.  If we have always done it we have no idea how good are car might run if we switch over to a higher grade gasoline for a long period of time.
Though I have not yet eliminated all my allergy foods out of my life I have started to eliminate many and have noticed how much better I can feel even though I didn’t know it.  I also now understand why the flu shot makes me so sick every year, eggs not the virus.

Just as a tool of knowledge if not more, I highly recommend everyone gets the test and find out what ales them.