Stay Healthy

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, the following are warning signs of a medical emergency:

– BLEEDING THAT WILL NOT STOP

– BREATHING PROBLEMS (DIFFICULTY BREATHING, SHORTNESS OF BREATH)

Did you know that your oral health can offer clues about your overall health — or that problems in your mouth can affect the rest of your body? Understand the intimate connection between oral health and overall health and what you can do to protect yourself.

Like many areas of the body, your mouth is teeming with bacteria — most of them harmless. Normally the body's natural defenses and good oral health care, such as daily brushing and flossing, can keep these bacteria under control. However, without proper oral hygiene, bacteria can reach levels that might lead to oral infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease.

The journey to lifelong health starts with but one small step – and then one leads to another. A positive change here, an unhealthy habit dropped there, and before you know it, you're travelling down a healthier path.

That's how it should be. Radical overhaul is overwhelming, but small, simple changes are oh-so doable. These are a few of our favorite ways to ease into health. Start with one. When you see what a big impact a humble change can make, you might be ready to tackle the whole list. After all, it's the little things, right?

Many people want to build up some “insurance” against dementia and other memory problems. But there’s no need to invest in pricey brain-training programs. Instead, do-it-yourself lifestyle changes have been shown to help ward off memory loss and dementia, reports the February 2015 Harvard Women’s Health Watch. The following strategies lead the list:

As the U.S. population ages, the number of Americans with major eye diseases is increasing, and vision loss is becoming a major public health problem, according to the National Eye Institute.

By the year 2020, the number of people who are blind or have low vision is projected to increase substantially, according to the Archives of Ophthalmology. Blindness or low vision affects 3.3 million Americans age 40 and over, or one in 28, according to study authors. This figure is projected to reach 5.5 million by the year 2020.

A few good choices can help you feel better and stay healthier. Getting diagnosed with health problems such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol is a wake-up call that it’s time to make major lifestyle changes. e good news is, a few simple changes can help you avoid such a diagnosis in the first place.

One of the most important components of any exercise or weight-loss program is resistance training. Resistance/strength training involves performing specific exercises, using either machines or free weights, to help improve muscle strength and endurance. Most weight loss seekers tend to ignore strength training and devote the majority of their training to cardiovascular exercise.

Over the past decade, we’ve had a mind-boggling increase in what is fast emerging as the most serious and costly health problem in the U.S.: morbid obesity. About 35 percent or 72 million American adults are obese, and of that number, 7 million adults are morbidly obese, a health condition which substantially raises the risk of mortality (death) and morbidity (chronic disease).

The rate of obesity has increased by almost 25 percent but the rate of morbid obesity has grown even faster: people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 40 increased by 50 percent. Perhaps most alarmingly, people with a BMI over 50—extreme obesity—grew by 75 percent, three times faster than the rate of obesity. Our children are not immune from the epidemic; we’ve seen a 300 percent increase in overweight children. Obesity-conditions are the fastest growing cause of death, and the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

When you eat, your body breaks food down to a form it can use to build and nourish cells and provide energy. This process is called digestion. Your digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube. It runs from your mouth to your anus and includes your esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines. Your liver, gallbladder and pancreas are also involved. They produce juices to help digestion.