Improve Your Odds for a Long and Healthy Life
By Joanne Barker
You know the story: Somebody's 99-year-old aunt never exercised, smoked her whole life, and lived on a diet of red meat and ice cream. So why bother with healthy living, right?
"For every one person who lives a long life of unhealthy choices, there are countless others who die prematurely because of them," says Robert Schreiber, MD, physician-in-chief at Hebrew SeniorLife, an elder health care provider and affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Betting that you will be one of these people is playing a game of Russian roulette, Schreiber says.
The seeds for illness in many of Schreiber's patients in their 70s and 80s were sown in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, he says. "Probably 50% of cases of the most serious conditions -- heart disease, diabetes, stroke, many forms of cancer -- are related directly to lifestyle and behavior," Schreiber tells WebMD.
No one is guaranteed a life free of disease or injury. As we age, many of us will face at least one of these common health problems. But certain lifestyle steps can help forestall illness and sometimes prevent it altogether. They can also improve your quality of life and recovery if disease or injury does strike. Read on to learn what you can do to improve your odds.
Better Health through Diet
"Food provides essential vitamins and minerals that play a number of different and overlapping roles," says Jen Sacheck, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. Some vitamins support metabolism, some boost immunity, some are good for bones, some help synthesize protein -- and many do several of these things and more. "The key is: You have to have all of them for optimal health," Sacheck says.
Besides providing nutrients and fuel, food plays a decisive role in your weight. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk for many cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, to name a few. For people who are overweight, even a small amount of weight loss reduces the risk of many associated diseases.
If you do develop a medical condition, a nutritious diet is an important component of managing many diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.
Healthy Diet Basics
A healthy diet gives you enough fuel to get through the day without loading you up with excess calories. Start with foods from plants. The USDA's 2010 guidelines encourage Americans to eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, as well as more seafood and fat-free and low-fat dairy products.
In addition to focusing on beneficial foods, limit foods that may increase risk of health problems, like sweets. "Chocolate has some nutritional value, but is also high in sugar and fat," Sacheck tells WebMD. If you really love chocolate, enjoy it in small amounts, keeping the calories in mind.
Watch out for empty calories. For example, soft drinks have no nutritional value and are loaded with empty calories. You can find red flags for calorie emptiness in the list of ingredients on the label. If you see added sugar, saturated or trans fats, or refined grains, proceed with caution.
Getting Started: 4 First Steps to a Healthy Diet
Begin with these strategies to eat less and healthier:
1.Plan meals ahead of time to ward off unhealthy temptations.
2.Replace unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones. For example, an omelet made with egg whites and vegetables is healthier than one heaped with cheese and sausage.
3.Serve yourself smaller portions.
4.Slow down when you eat.
Healthy Living Through Exercise
"There is a huge amount of evidence that exercise helps lower the risk for serious diseases," Sacheck says. Exercise lowers the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many cancers, weight gain, depression, and cognitive decline. Some benefits – such as increased muscle strength and improved depression or blood pressure – may start earlier. Others -- such as reducing the risk for some cancers, heart disease, and diabetes -- build with years of sustained exercise.
Exercise can also promote weight loss, as long as you don't use it to justify eating more food. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you use. But don't let the numbers on the scale make or break your exercise goals. Being overweight and active is much healthier than being overweight and inactive.
Exercise Basics
Exercise works best when it becomes part of your life. Ideally, by exercising regularly, you will feel as if something is missing in your day when you take time off.
How much people should exercise varies, but a good goal is 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate exercise each week. Any physical activity that raises your heart rate or makes you sweat counts. This includes brisk walking, recreational sports, and heavy housework or yard work.
Getting Started: 4 First Steps to Regular Exercise
Try these steps to make exercise part of your daily life:
1.Some activity is better than none. When you have a choice between walking or driving, choose walking.
2.Find activities that you like and keep you coming back.
3.Start slowly. Overly ambitious plans tend to end in burnout.
4.Increase workout length or intensity in increments when you feel ready.
Quit Smoking for Better Health
Smokers, here's some good news: No matter how old you are when you quit, you improve your chances for a healthy life almost immediately.
A smoker's heart rate drops within 20 minutes after the last cigarette.
Carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop to normal 12 hours after quitting.
Within two weeks to three months after quitting, a smoker's heart attack risk begins to drop and lung function begins to improve.
One year of not smoking cuts the risk of coronary heart disease in half.
If you are a smoker who has developed a health problem, giving it up can still make a difference. If you face surgery, chemotherapy, or other treatments, quitting smoking helps improve your body's ability to respond to therapy and heal. It may also lower the risk of a cancer returning or a second cancer developing.
Getting Started: 5 Tips to Quit Smoking
To help you quit and prepare for quitting, try these strategies:
Make a list of reasons you want to quit.
Set a quit date.
Prepare yourself for challenges by mapping out ways you will cope.
Let friends and family know about your plans to quit.
Clear your surroundings of cigarettes and anything that makes you want to smoke.
Healthy Living: The Big Picture
Working toward a healthier life is not always easy, and some days may be harder than others. If you have trouble staying on track, Schrieber suggests this: "Ask yourself what kind of legacy you want to leave behind," he says. "Your purpose in life is up to you. When you have one, healthy choices make more sense."
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Is Novak Djokovic's new, gluten-free diet behind his win streak?
By Chris Chase
A simple allergy test could have led to one of the most dominant stretches in tennis history. Since Novak Djokovic's nutritionist discovered last year that he was allergic to gluten, the tennis star has switched to a gluten-free diet and is staying away from most processed carbohydrates.
That means no pizza, pasta, pretzels or various other starchy foods that don't necessarily begin with "p." Djokovic made the change last year. Since then he's made the final of the U.S. Open, won the Davis Cup and Australian Open, defeated Rafael Nadal four times, and is currently on a 39-match winning streak, the third longest of the Open era. So much for the idea of a carbo boost.
Those with an allergy to gluten often have trouble digesting the protein, which can lead to various medical issues. When he received the positive allergy test, Djokovic played it safe and cut out the starches altogether.
Is Djokovic better because the gluten allergy was affecting him phsyically or is he better because he improved his diet in general? It's a chicken and egg question. Though as a Cornell nutrition professor told The Wall Street Journal, the effects of the new diet could be more mental than anything.
"If you believe in a cause of your disorder, it becomes the cause," David Levitsky told the newspaper . "We see this in many different studies. If you believe it, you change your behavior in the direction of being cured."
Djokovic spoke about the change earlier this year. "I have lost some weight but it's only helped me because my movement is much sharper now and I feel great physically," he said in April.
The gluten-free diet didn't turn Novak Djokovic into a great tennis player. He was a Grand Slam champion and No. 3 in the world while eating the protein. The change may have turned him into a greater, more fit tennis player or it may have simply made him believe he was a greater, more fit tennis player. And, really, isn't that the same thing?
A simple allergy test could have led to one of the most dominant stretches in tennis history. Since Novak Djokovic's nutritionist discovered last year that he was allergic to gluten, the tennis star has switched to a gluten-free diet and is staying away from most processed carbohydrates.
That means no pizza, pasta, pretzels or various other starchy foods that don't necessarily begin with "p." Djokovic made the change last year. Since then he's made the final of the U.S. Open, won the Davis Cup and Australian Open, defeated Rafael Nadal four times, and is currently on a 39-match winning streak, the third longest of the Open era. So much for the idea of a carbo boost.
Those with an allergy to gluten often have trouble digesting the protein, which can lead to various medical issues. When he received the positive allergy test, Djokovic played it safe and cut out the starches altogether.
Is Djokovic better because the gluten allergy was affecting him phsyically or is he better because he improved his diet in general? It's a chicken and egg question. Though as a Cornell nutrition professor told The Wall Street Journal, the effects of the new diet could be more mental than anything.
"If you believe in a cause of your disorder, it becomes the cause," David Levitsky told the newspaper . "We see this in many different studies. If you believe it, you change your behavior in the direction of being cured."
Djokovic spoke about the change earlier this year. "I have lost some weight but it's only helped me because my movement is much sharper now and I feel great physically," he said in April.
The gluten-free diet didn't turn Novak Djokovic into a great tennis player. He was a Grand Slam champion and No. 3 in the world while eating the protein. The change may have turned him into a greater, more fit tennis player or it may have simply made him believe he was a greater, more fit tennis player. And, really, isn't that the same thing?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Diagnosing Fibromyalgia: Common Misdiagnoses
The symptoms of fibromyalgia are similar to many other diseases.
By Jeanie Lerche Davis
Jackie Yencha hit the wall at age 22. "I couldn't handle the pain any more," she says. "I was terribly fatigued, not feeling well, not sleeping well." But it took Yencha seven years to get an accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Her first diagnosis -- reflex sympathetic dystrophy -- resulted in experimental surgery that did nothing to relieve her pain. In fact, numerous surgeries followed to correct the problems from that procedure. Years went by. Yencha was still in pain, still getting little sleep.
"I became desperate ... the pain never got better," Yencha tells WebMD. That's when she headed to the Cleveland Clinic, where comprehensive testing showed she had fibromyalgia.
"You need to find a doctor who will listen and who really knows fibromyalgia," says Yencha.
"A lot of doctors out there don't know much about it," she explains. "We hear from people all the time ... people in small towns who say no one here has ever heard of this."
What Is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes disabling pain all over the body -- as well as stiffness and tenderness in muscles, tendons, and joints, experts say. It is most common among women ages 35 to 55.
Although it's one of the most common muscle problems, the cause is a mystery, fibromyalgia researchers say. There is no inflammation or joint damage, as occurs with arthritis. There is no damage to internal body organs, as with rheumatoid conditions like lupus. It is called fibromyalgia syndrome because it is identified by a collection of symptoms.
Indeed, the list of possible fibromyalgia symptoms is a long one:
While it's not clear what exactly triggers fibromyalgia, researchers are homing in on the basic mechanisms. Fibromyalgia is considered a disorder of pain regulation. Patients have higher levels of two substances -- a nerve chemical called substance P, and nerve growth factor in the spinal fluid. They also have lower than normal levels of the brain chemical serotonin, as is also true with people suffering from depression and anxiety.
All this produces a dysfunction in the body's ability to process pain -- and creates supersensitive nerves throughout the body, explains Andrew J. Holman, MD, a rheumatology specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle. To make things worse, people with fibromyalgia have difficulty getting a good night's sleep -- so they constantly wake up feeling fatigued.
The result: Everyday sensations of discomfort and pain are amplified beyond the norm. Slight bumps and touches can cause disabling pain if you have fibromyalgia. This pain can be aggravated by outside factors -- noise, weather changes, and stress.
To figure out what's going on, doctors diagnose fibromyalgia by examining specific "tender points" on the body. "There are 18 specific tender points -- specific locations that are tender for everyone," Holman tells WebMD. "But for people with fibromyalgia, these points are significantly more tender. People are more sensitive at those points. A dysfunction in the central pain processing amplifies their sensations."
Tenderness or pain in at least 11 of these 18 points is the hallmark of fibromyalgia, says Holman. Also, the pain is widespread on both sides of the body -- neck, buttocks, shoulders, arms, upper back, and chest. Tender points are around the elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, back of the head, and the breast bone.
Doctors test these tender points to make the fibromyalgia diagnosis. Yet it's not always so clear-cut what the widespread pain indicates. It takes a careful ear to discern what's really going on, explains Martin Grabois, MD, chairman of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
"Physicians are used to diagnoses like a herniated disc, where there's pain in a specific location," Grabois tells WebMD. "That's not so with fibromyalgia. Some pain is above the waist, some below the waist, at the shoulders, etc., and there are sleep disturbances, fatigue. These are symptoms of a number of diseases. They are not isolated to fibromyalgia."
The muscle pain can range from mild discomfort to severe enough that it limits a person's everyday life -- including work and social activities. The pain is often described as burning, gnawing, throbbing, stabbing, or aching. When the person relaxes, the pain may be more noticeable -- and less so when they're active.
Sleep Dysfunction Affects Pain Sensitivity
The sleep problems associated with fibromyalgia -- insomnia and fragmented sleep -- may be the root of the pain, says Holman. It deprives people of stage IV deep sleep, the non-rapid-eye-movement sleep that helps us feel refreshed in the morning.
Fibromyalgia research is showing that an automatic arousal is triggered in the brain during sleep, Holman tells WebMD. "The basic fight or flight response is activated at night while you're sleeping. The hormones epinephrine and adrenaline are released as the body becomes vigilant, aware. That causes the transition from deep restorative sleep into light sleep."
These disruptions rob the person of restorative processes that occur during deep sleep, he explains. "It's during deep sleep that most growth hormone is produced. Muscles regenerate and heal, and neurotransmitters are replenished in the brain. The body's ability to recuperate from the day's stresses -- including small pain sensations -- is believed to occur during deep sleep."
The brain has a "pain threshold," Holman adds. "During the day, low signals in the brain can be ignored and you continue doing what you're doing. But if the system is overwhelmed, at night the normally nonpainful stimuli become painful. Lack of deep sleep amplifies all sensations -- what we call central pain amplification."
"When people finally get deep restorative sleep, fibromyalgia improves substantially," Holman says. "But the best strategy to treat the sleep is not a sleeping pill. The strategy is to turn off the arousal in the brain stem that's interrupting the sleep. We want to allow people to sleep."
Difficulty Diagnosing Fibromyalgia
As with chronic pain, sleep problems are common -- and it's not always easy diagnosing fibromyalgia syndrome as the problem.
"The primary care doctor is at somewhat a disadvantage," Berney tells WebMD. "There are no specific tests for fibromyalgia diagnosis. To make a diagnosis, one has to make sure it's not something else -- lupus, thyroid dysfunction, rheumatoid arthritis. The list of possible diseases associated with these symptoms is fairly extensive. It's the vagueness of the symptoms that delays the diagnosis."
"You won't necessarily have all of the symptoms of these disorders, but you can have a component of each," says Grabois. "Patients often go to a lot of doctors trying to figure out what's wrong. The doctors are not familiar with fibromyalgia syndrome so they don't necessarily know the diagnostic criteria for it -- and they don't necessarily check for it."
Also, the level of misery is different for each patient, he points out. "Some have pain worse than others." For some, the pain is continuous. For others, it comes and goes. Some people wake up feeling like they have been exercising all night.
Getting a Correct Diagnosis
If you have seen several doctors -- yet still don't have relief -- see a specialist, Grabois advises. The National Fibromyalgia Association provides a list of specialists who understand the disease -- experts in pain management, rheumatology, and neurology.
Prepare for your appointment. Before meeting with the doctor, prepare to accurately communicate your symptoms. Think about these:
There are no lab tests or scans that can help doctors diagnose fibromyalgia. But various blood tests can help them rule out other medical conditions. Some patients need to have respiratory problems checked or get a sleep apnea study, Berney says. "On occasion, the problem is sleep apnea or snoring, both of which disturb sleep."
Find the right doctor. It's important to find a doctor who cares about you -- and wants to help you, says Mary Rose, PsyD, clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep specialist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "It's very common, physicians having very little time. Sometimes they don't really hear everything a patient says."
Never stay with a physician you don't like or trust, Rose tells WebMD. "It's not all in your head -- and while you may be depressed, depression is not the whole picture of fibromyalgia. We see depression with cancer, cardiac disease, and we know those are real. Pain is very frustrating. In the medical community, we probably don't have the empathy for pain that we should."
Get emotional support. A therapist's support can be helpful when you're dealing with fibromyalgia, Rose notes. "Fibromyalgia has such a stigma. Sometimes it is really helpful to see a therapist -- not because you're crazy, but because you have to deal with pressure and stigma. It's nice to have someone objective to talk to."
By Jeanie Lerche Davis
Jackie Yencha hit the wall at age 22. "I couldn't handle the pain any more," she says. "I was terribly fatigued, not feeling well, not sleeping well." But it took Yencha seven years to get an accurate diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
Her first diagnosis -- reflex sympathetic dystrophy -- resulted in experimental surgery that did nothing to relieve her pain. In fact, numerous surgeries followed to correct the problems from that procedure. Years went by. Yencha was still in pain, still getting little sleep.
"I became desperate ... the pain never got better," Yencha tells WebMD. That's when she headed to the Cleveland Clinic, where comprehensive testing showed she had fibromyalgia.
"You need to find a doctor who will listen and who really knows fibromyalgia," says Yencha.
"A lot of doctors out there don't know much about it," she explains. "We hear from people all the time ... people in small towns who say no one here has ever heard of this."
What Is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes disabling pain all over the body -- as well as stiffness and tenderness in muscles, tendons, and joints, experts say. It is most common among women ages 35 to 55.
Although it's one of the most common muscle problems, the cause is a mystery, fibromyalgia researchers say. There is no inflammation or joint damage, as occurs with arthritis. There is no damage to internal body organs, as with rheumatoid conditions like lupus. It is called fibromyalgia syndrome because it is identified by a collection of symptoms.
Indeed, the list of possible fibromyalgia symptoms is a long one:
- Chronic muscle pain
- Muscle spasms or leg cramps
- Sleep problems
- Severe fatigue
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Morning stiffness
- Headaches
- Difficulty concentrating
- Skin sensitivities
- Irritability
- Intestinal problems
How fibromyalgia develops is also a mystery. "The onset can be fairly abrupt, triggered by a motor vehicle accident or a mishap at work," says Steven Berney, MD, chief of rheumatology at Temple University Health System in Philadelphia. "Very quickly the condition sets in. You feel bruised for the next couple of days, but there's the expectation that whatever is disrupted will heal. When the pain doesn't wear off, it becomes clear something else is going on."
More typically, there is a gradual onset, Berney tells WebMD. "The pain becomes more severe over time. That's more difficult to diagnose. You're looking for something that set this off, and you can't find it."
Fibromyalgia research shows that the disorder seems to run in families. Recent studies show that genetic factors may predispose some people to fibromyalgia. An illness or injury that causes trauma to the body can make subtle fibromyalgia symptoms more apparent -- and more troublesome, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association.
"The pain is very real and markedly impedes their lives," Berney says. "People who were very active become disabled by pain and fatigue. 'I want my life back' becomes the charge."
The Tender Points of Pain With FibromyalgiaWhile it's not clear what exactly triggers fibromyalgia, researchers are homing in on the basic mechanisms. Fibromyalgia is considered a disorder of pain regulation. Patients have higher levels of two substances -- a nerve chemical called substance P, and nerve growth factor in the spinal fluid. They also have lower than normal levels of the brain chemical serotonin, as is also true with people suffering from depression and anxiety.
All this produces a dysfunction in the body's ability to process pain -- and creates supersensitive nerves throughout the body, explains Andrew J. Holman, MD, a rheumatology specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle. To make things worse, people with fibromyalgia have difficulty getting a good night's sleep -- so they constantly wake up feeling fatigued.
The result: Everyday sensations of discomfort and pain are amplified beyond the norm. Slight bumps and touches can cause disabling pain if you have fibromyalgia. This pain can be aggravated by outside factors -- noise, weather changes, and stress.
To figure out what's going on, doctors diagnose fibromyalgia by examining specific "tender points" on the body. "There are 18 specific tender points -- specific locations that are tender for everyone," Holman tells WebMD. "But for people with fibromyalgia, these points are significantly more tender. People are more sensitive at those points. A dysfunction in the central pain processing amplifies their sensations."
Tenderness or pain in at least 11 of these 18 points is the hallmark of fibromyalgia, says Holman. Also, the pain is widespread on both sides of the body -- neck, buttocks, shoulders, arms, upper back, and chest. Tender points are around the elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, back of the head, and the breast bone.
Doctors test these tender points to make the fibromyalgia diagnosis. Yet it's not always so clear-cut what the widespread pain indicates. It takes a careful ear to discern what's really going on, explains Martin Grabois, MD, chairman of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
"Physicians are used to diagnoses like a herniated disc, where there's pain in a specific location," Grabois tells WebMD. "That's not so with fibromyalgia. Some pain is above the waist, some below the waist, at the shoulders, etc., and there are sleep disturbances, fatigue. These are symptoms of a number of diseases. They are not isolated to fibromyalgia."
The muscle pain can range from mild discomfort to severe enough that it limits a person's everyday life -- including work and social activities. The pain is often described as burning, gnawing, throbbing, stabbing, or aching. When the person relaxes, the pain may be more noticeable -- and less so when they're active.
Sleep Dysfunction Affects Pain Sensitivity
The sleep problems associated with fibromyalgia -- insomnia and fragmented sleep -- may be the root of the pain, says Holman. It deprives people of stage IV deep sleep, the non-rapid-eye-movement sleep that helps us feel refreshed in the morning.
Fibromyalgia research is showing that an automatic arousal is triggered in the brain during sleep, Holman tells WebMD. "The basic fight or flight response is activated at night while you're sleeping. The hormones epinephrine and adrenaline are released as the body becomes vigilant, aware. That causes the transition from deep restorative sleep into light sleep."
These disruptions rob the person of restorative processes that occur during deep sleep, he explains. "It's during deep sleep that most growth hormone is produced. Muscles regenerate and heal, and neurotransmitters are replenished in the brain. The body's ability to recuperate from the day's stresses -- including small pain sensations -- is believed to occur during deep sleep."
The brain has a "pain threshold," Holman adds. "During the day, low signals in the brain can be ignored and you continue doing what you're doing. But if the system is overwhelmed, at night the normally nonpainful stimuli become painful. Lack of deep sleep amplifies all sensations -- what we call central pain amplification."
"When people finally get deep restorative sleep, fibromyalgia improves substantially," Holman says. "But the best strategy to treat the sleep is not a sleeping pill. The strategy is to turn off the arousal in the brain stem that's interrupting the sleep. We want to allow people to sleep."
Difficulty Diagnosing Fibromyalgia
As with chronic pain, sleep problems are common -- and it's not always easy diagnosing fibromyalgia syndrome as the problem.
"The primary care doctor is at somewhat a disadvantage," Berney tells WebMD. "There are no specific tests for fibromyalgia diagnosis. To make a diagnosis, one has to make sure it's not something else -- lupus, thyroid dysfunction, rheumatoid arthritis. The list of possible diseases associated with these symptoms is fairly extensive. It's the vagueness of the symptoms that delays the diagnosis."
"You won't necessarily have all of the symptoms of these disorders, but you can have a component of each," says Grabois. "Patients often go to a lot of doctors trying to figure out what's wrong. The doctors are not familiar with fibromyalgia syndrome so they don't necessarily know the diagnostic criteria for it -- and they don't necessarily check for it."
Also, the level of misery is different for each patient, he points out. "Some have pain worse than others." For some, the pain is continuous. For others, it comes and goes. Some people wake up feeling like they have been exercising all night.
Getting a Correct Diagnosis
If you have seen several doctors -- yet still don't have relief -- see a specialist, Grabois advises. The National Fibromyalgia Association provides a list of specialists who understand the disease -- experts in pain management, rheumatology, and neurology.
Prepare for your appointment. Before meeting with the doctor, prepare to accurately communicate your symptoms. Think about these:
- What your symptoms are -- and when they started.
- How long they've been going on -- and whether it's been continuous, or off and on.
- Have you noticed any triggers for your symptoms?
- How do your symptoms affect you? Is pain sharp, a dull ache, does it cause nausea?
- How do symptoms affect your feelings? Does pain make you depressed or anxious?
- How do symptoms affect your work or home life? Are you very fatigued and can't do normal activities?
- What drugs, herbal remedies or supplements are you taking?
- What surgeries have you had?
- What current treatments has another doctor or specialist prescribed?
There are no lab tests or scans that can help doctors diagnose fibromyalgia. But various blood tests can help them rule out other medical conditions. Some patients need to have respiratory problems checked or get a sleep apnea study, Berney says. "On occasion, the problem is sleep apnea or snoring, both of which disturb sleep."
Find the right doctor. It's important to find a doctor who cares about you -- and wants to help you, says Mary Rose, PsyD, clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep specialist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "It's very common, physicians having very little time. Sometimes they don't really hear everything a patient says."
Never stay with a physician you don't like or trust, Rose tells WebMD. "It's not all in your head -- and while you may be depressed, depression is not the whole picture of fibromyalgia. We see depression with cancer, cardiac disease, and we know those are real. Pain is very frustrating. In the medical community, we probably don't have the empathy for pain that we should."
Get emotional support. A therapist's support can be helpful when you're dealing with fibromyalgia, Rose notes. "Fibromyalgia has such a stigma. Sometimes it is really helpful to see a therapist -- not because you're crazy, but because you have to deal with pressure and stigma. It's nice to have someone objective to talk to."
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Improve Your Odds For A Long and Healthy Life
By Joanne Barker
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
You know the story: Somebody's 99-year-old aunt never exercised, smoked her whole life, and lived on a diet of red meat and ice cream. So why bother with healthy living, right?
"For every one person who lives a long life of unhealthy choices, there are countless others who die prematurely because of them," says Robert Schreiber, MD, physician-in-chief at Hebrew SeniorLife, an elder health care provider and affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Betting that you will be one of these people is playing a game of Russian roulette, Schreiber says.
The seeds for illness in many of Schreiber's patients in their 70s and 80s were sown in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, he says. "Probably 50% of cases of the most serious conditions -- heart disease, diabetes, stroke, many forms of cancer -- are related directly to lifestyle and behavior," Schreiber tells WebMD.
No one is guaranteed a life free of disease or injury. As we age, many of us will face at least one of these common health problems. But certain lifestyle steps can help forestall illness and sometimes prevent it altogether. They can also improve your quality of life and recovery if disease or injury does strike. Read on to learn what you can do to improve your odds.
Better Health through Diet
"Food provides essential vitamins and minerals that play a number of different and overlapping roles," says Jen Sacheck, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. Some vitamins support metabolism, some boost immunity, some are good for bones, some help synthesize protein -- and many do several of these things and more. "The key is: You have to have all of them for optimal health," Sacheck says.
Besides providing nutrients and fuel, food plays a decisive role in your weight. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk for many cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, to name a few. For people who are overweight, even a small amount of weight loss reduces the risk of many associated diseases.
If you do develop a medical condition, a nutritious diet is an important component of managing many diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.
Healthy Diet Basics
A healthy diet gives you enough fuel to get through the day without loading you up with excess calories. Start with foods from plants. The USDA's 2010 guidelines encourage Americans to eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, as well as more seafood and fat-free and low-fat dairy products.
In addition to focusing on beneficial foods, limit foods that may increase risk of health problems, like sweets. "Chocolate has some nutritional value, but is also high in sugar and fat," Sacheck tells WebMD. If you really love chocolate, enjoy it in small amounts, keeping the calories in mind.
Watch out for empty calories. For example, soft drinks have no nutritional value and are loaded with empty calories. You can find red flags for calorie emptiness in the list of ingredients on the label. If you see added sugar, saturated or trans fats, or refined grains, proceed with caution.
Getting Started: 4 First Steps to a Healthy Diet
Begin with these strategies to eat less and healthier:
1.Plan meals ahead of time to ward off unhealthy temptations.
2.Replace unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones. For example, an omelet made with egg whites and vegetables is healthier than one heaped with cheese and sausage.
3.Serve yourself smaller portions.
4.Slow down when you eat.
Healthy Living Through Exercise
"There is a huge amount of evidence that exercise helps lower the risk for serious diseases," Sacheck says. Exercise lowers the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many cancers, weight gain, depression, and cognitive decline. Some benefits – such as increased muscle strength and improved depression or blood pressure – may start earlier. Others -- such as reducing the risk for some cancers, heart disease, and diabetes -- build with years of sustained exercise.
Exercise can also promote weight loss, as long as you don't use it to justify eating more food. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you use. But don't let the numbers on the scale make or break your exercise goals. Being overweight and active is much healthier than being overweight and inactive.
Exercise Basics
Exercise works best when it becomes part of your life. Ideally, by exercising regularly, you will feel as if something is missing in your day when you take time off.
How much people should exercise varies, but a good goal is 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate exercise each week. Any physical activity that raises your heart rate or makes you sweat counts. This includes brisk walking, recreational sports, and heavy housework or yard work.
Getting Started: 4 First Steps to Regular Exercise
Try these steps to make exercise part of your daily life:
1.Some activity is better than none. When you have a choice between walking or driving, choose walking.
2.Find activities that you like and keep you coming back.
3.Start slowly. Overly ambitious plans tend to end in burnout.
4.Increase workout length or intensity in increments when you feel ready.
Quit Smoking for Better Health
Smokers, here's some good news: No matter how old you are when you quit, you improve your chances for a healthy life almost immediately.
A smoker's heart rate drops within 20 minutes after the last cigarette.
Carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop to normal 12 hours after quitting.
Within two weeks to three months after quitting, a smoker's heart attack risk begins to drop and lung function begins to improve.
One year of not smoking cuts the risk of coronary heart disease in half.
If you are a smoker who has developed a health problem, giving it up can still make a difference. If you face surgery, chemotherapy, or other treatments, quitting smoking helps improve your body's ability to respond to therapy and heal. It may also lower the risk of a cancer returning or a second cancer developing
Getting Started: 5 Tips to Quit Smoking
To help you quit and prepare for quitting, try these strategies:
Make a list of reasons you want to quit.
Set a quit date.
Prepare yourself for challenges by mapping out ways you will cope.
Let friends and family know about your plans to quit.
Clear your surroundings of cigarettes and anything that makes you want to smoke.
Healthy Living: The Big Picture
Working toward a healthier life is not always easy, and some days may be harder than others. If you have trouble staying on track, Schrieber suggests this: "Ask yourself what kind of legacy you want to leave behind," he says. "Your purpose in life is up to you. When you have one, healthy choices make more sense."
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
You know the story: Somebody's 99-year-old aunt never exercised, smoked her whole life, and lived on a diet of red meat and ice cream. So why bother with healthy living, right?
"For every one person who lives a long life of unhealthy choices, there are countless others who die prematurely because of them," says Robert Schreiber, MD, physician-in-chief at Hebrew SeniorLife, an elder health care provider and affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Betting that you will be one of these people is playing a game of Russian roulette, Schreiber says.
The seeds for illness in many of Schreiber's patients in their 70s and 80s were sown in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, he says. "Probably 50% of cases of the most serious conditions -- heart disease, diabetes, stroke, many forms of cancer -- are related directly to lifestyle and behavior," Schreiber tells WebMD.
No one is guaranteed a life free of disease or injury. As we age, many of us will face at least one of these common health problems. But certain lifestyle steps can help forestall illness and sometimes prevent it altogether. They can also improve your quality of life and recovery if disease or injury does strike. Read on to learn what you can do to improve your odds.
Better Health through Diet
"Food provides essential vitamins and minerals that play a number of different and overlapping roles," says Jen Sacheck, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. Some vitamins support metabolism, some boost immunity, some are good for bones, some help synthesize protein -- and many do several of these things and more. "The key is: You have to have all of them for optimal health," Sacheck says.
Besides providing nutrients and fuel, food plays a decisive role in your weight. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk for many cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, to name a few. For people who are overweight, even a small amount of weight loss reduces the risk of many associated diseases.
If you do develop a medical condition, a nutritious diet is an important component of managing many diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.
Healthy Diet Basics
A healthy diet gives you enough fuel to get through the day without loading you up with excess calories. Start with foods from plants. The USDA's 2010 guidelines encourage Americans to eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, as well as more seafood and fat-free and low-fat dairy products.
In addition to focusing on beneficial foods, limit foods that may increase risk of health problems, like sweets. "Chocolate has some nutritional value, but is also high in sugar and fat," Sacheck tells WebMD. If you really love chocolate, enjoy it in small amounts, keeping the calories in mind.
Watch out for empty calories. For example, soft drinks have no nutritional value and are loaded with empty calories. You can find red flags for calorie emptiness in the list of ingredients on the label. If you see added sugar, saturated or trans fats, or refined grains, proceed with caution.
Getting Started: 4 First Steps to a Healthy Diet
Begin with these strategies to eat less and healthier:
1.Plan meals ahead of time to ward off unhealthy temptations.
2.Replace unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones. For example, an omelet made with egg whites and vegetables is healthier than one heaped with cheese and sausage.
3.Serve yourself smaller portions.
4.Slow down when you eat.
Healthy Living Through Exercise
"There is a huge amount of evidence that exercise helps lower the risk for serious diseases," Sacheck says. Exercise lowers the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many cancers, weight gain, depression, and cognitive decline. Some benefits – such as increased muscle strength and improved depression or blood pressure – may start earlier. Others -- such as reducing the risk for some cancers, heart disease, and diabetes -- build with years of sustained exercise.
Exercise can also promote weight loss, as long as you don't use it to justify eating more food. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you use. But don't let the numbers on the scale make or break your exercise goals. Being overweight and active is much healthier than being overweight and inactive.
Exercise Basics
Exercise works best when it becomes part of your life. Ideally, by exercising regularly, you will feel as if something is missing in your day when you take time off.
How much people should exercise varies, but a good goal is 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of moderate exercise each week. Any physical activity that raises your heart rate or makes you sweat counts. This includes brisk walking, recreational sports, and heavy housework or yard work.
Getting Started: 4 First Steps to Regular Exercise
Try these steps to make exercise part of your daily life:
1.Some activity is better than none. When you have a choice between walking or driving, choose walking.
2.Find activities that you like and keep you coming back.
3.Start slowly. Overly ambitious plans tend to end in burnout.
4.Increase workout length or intensity in increments when you feel ready.
Quit Smoking for Better Health
Smokers, here's some good news: No matter how old you are when you quit, you improve your chances for a healthy life almost immediately.
A smoker's heart rate drops within 20 minutes after the last cigarette.
Carbon monoxide levels in the blood drop to normal 12 hours after quitting.
Within two weeks to three months after quitting, a smoker's heart attack risk begins to drop and lung function begins to improve.
One year of not smoking cuts the risk of coronary heart disease in half.
If you are a smoker who has developed a health problem, giving it up can still make a difference. If you face surgery, chemotherapy, or other treatments, quitting smoking helps improve your body's ability to respond to therapy and heal. It may also lower the risk of a cancer returning or a second cancer developing
Getting Started: 5 Tips to Quit Smoking
To help you quit and prepare for quitting, try these strategies:
Make a list of reasons you want to quit.
Set a quit date.
Prepare yourself for challenges by mapping out ways you will cope.
Let friends and family know about your plans to quit.
Clear your surroundings of cigarettes and anything that makes you want to smoke.
Healthy Living: The Big Picture
Working toward a healthier life is not always easy, and some days may be harder than others. If you have trouble staying on track, Schrieber suggests this: "Ask yourself what kind of legacy you want to leave behind," he says. "Your purpose in life is up to you. When you have one, healthy choices make more sense."
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