Archive for the ‘Women’s Health’ Category
Weight Loss Exercise
Weight loss exercise can be a bit of a misnomer. If you start walking on a treadmill and working out with weights, you could well gain weight. But you shouldn’t take that as a sign of failure. It’s really a sign of success, because it means you’re building up muscle, which weighs more than fat.
There are numerous Olympic level athletes who have a body mass index, or BMI that says they’re overweight. That’s one of the hazards of relying on numbers like BMI exclusively. While it can be informative, it cannot distinguish between pounds made of fat and pounds made of muscles.
Perhaps rather than worrying about what the scales say when you begin a weight loss exercise regimen, you should rely on things like how your clothing fits and how you start to look different. And you don’t have to worry about developing bulky masculine muscles. Women’s muscles stay quite feminine even with regular workout routines.
Weight Loss Diet
by: Jocelyn Iyog
It is incredibly easy to slip into poor eating habits and then gain weight. Junk foods are readily available and inexpensive, and face it: sometimes you feel like you really need that big chocolate chip cookie to get you through an emotionally draining day. While there is nothing wrong with the occasional treat, if they become everyday occurrences, they won’t be as special, and you’re more likely to add pounds.
One hint that works well in weight loss diet is to follow the general guidelines for people with early type 2 diabetes. The big “rule” is to consume no more than 45 grams of sugars per day. You can find this information on nutrition labels. You could divide the allotment into no more than 15 grams of sugars at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or if it’s an occasion, like a birthday, you can “bank” those 45 grams for one special dessert.
Excess sugar can result in a surge of energy followed by a crash. Cutting sugars to 45 grams or less per day is a healthy, gradual way to loss weight.
Women and Body Dysmorphic Disorder
by : Jocelyn Iyog
Body dysmorphic disorder is a dangerous psychological disorder in which the person affected is excessively fixated on perceived defects in his or her physical features. Sometimes the disorder manifests itself in a general feeling of having a substandard appearance, despite any evidence to the contrary. Other times, a person with body dysmorphic disorder will fixate on a particular body part to the point of experiencing depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal.
While only 1% to 2% of people meet the diagnostic criteria for body dysmorphic disorder, more than half of them are women. The cause is not known. Whether psychological, environmental, or physical factors influence the development of the disorder is relatively unknown. There does, however seem to be a link between body dysmorphic disorder and prior abuse.
Symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder are most commonly found in young adults. But the disorder has been found in children and older adults, though far less frequently. The biggest risks are of major depressive disorder and increased risk of suicide. In fact, the suicide rate for people with body dysmorphic disorder is actually much higher than in people with major depression.
Treatment of the disorder involves a multi-faceted approach, including psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and certain antidepressant medications.
Is Osteoporosis in your Future?
by : Jocelyn Iyog
Osteoporosis, or “porus bones” causes bones to be weaker and more prone to breaking. Low levels of calcium, phosphorous, or other minerals can lead to the disease. The symptoms of osteoporosis may not be obvious until your bones have been significantly weakened. Some symptoms that might appear include back pain which could be severe if you have a fractured vertebra, loss of height and stooped posture, or fracture of the wrist or hip.
Bone “turnover” or breaking down old bone and building new bone takes about three months start to finish. When you’re young you build bone faster than it is broken down, but after your mid-30s, you gradually get to where you lose bone slightly faster than you regenerate it. This process is amplified by menopause. Whatever your age, you can do a lot to keep your bones healthy: exercise regularly, consume enough calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin D is necessary for good calcium absorption.
The risk factors for developing osteoporosis include: your gender (more common in women); advanced age; race, particularly Southeast Asians and Caucasians; family history; frame size (thin people and people with small frames are at higher risk); eating disorders; tobacco use; and use of SSRI antidepressants.
The Top 5 Threats to Women’s Health
by: Jocelyn Iyog
Some of the top 5 threats to your health if you’re a woman may surprise you. Here they are, according to the Mayo Clinic:
1. Heart disease. It’s the leading cause of death in women. Your risk is higher if you smoke, are overweight, are diabetic, or have high cholesterol
2. Cancer. Lung cancer is the biggest threat to women’s health among the types of cancer. Avoid smoking, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight, and consume plenty of fruits and vegetables. Also: wear sunblock, particularly in the summer.
3. Stroke. Again, smoking, high cholesterol or high blood pressure can increase your risk. You should also avoid trans fats and keep your blood sugar under control if you’re diabetic.
4. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Smoking is a huge risk factor.
5. Alzheimer’s disease. Though there’s no proven way to prevent it, it is a good idea to avoid high blood pressure and avoid head injuries. Wear that helmet when you ride your bike!
You probably noticed that many of these health threats have similar risk factors, many of which are things you can change, like eating too much fat, smoking too much, or abusing alcohol. If you make these changes, then if you do come down with one of the top health problems, your body will be in better shape to fight the disease or condition.
Alcohol Affects Women Differently than Men
by:Jocelyn Iyog
Serious medical consequences of the use of alcohol, such as heart damage, brain damage, and liver damage, are more likely in women than in men. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recently reported that women more easily achieve high levels of blood alcohol, and are at greater risk for the damage that alcohol does to the major organs. In addition, they are also more vulnerable to injury resulting from drinking related traffic accidents. Alcohol abuse also puts women at higher risk for being the victim of physical violence and rape.
Some of the differences are due to different metabolism between the genders, but there are other factors that are as yet unknown. What is known is that women develop alcohol induced liver damage in a shorter amount of time than men do, and after consuming less alcohol. Women are also more likely to die from cirrhosis.
Alcohol induced brain damage is also more of a risk for women than for men, according to studies using magnetic resonance imaging. Among heavy drinkers, women are also at greater risk of heart muscle disease associated with alcohol, despite the fact that women use 60% less alcohol than men on average over a lifetime.
Additionally, heavy drinking has been associated with higher risk for breast cancer, though drinking up to one drink per day does not appear to increase the risk. When it comes to traffic crashes, women are less likely to drive drunk than men, but they are more likely to be involved in an alcohol related crash if they do drive after drinking.
