Healthy eating is about as fundamental a proposition as you get on your journey to taking control of your own health. This Straight, No Chaser offers you tips that represent the basics of nourishing your body!
Today, I’m going to speak on recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, which I’m building upon for your success. These bakers’ dozen of healthy eating tips represent simple, easy-to-do tasks to keep your meals healthy.
Your Healthy Eating Tips
Eat at home. This accomplishes so many things. If you eat at home, you know exactly what you’re eating. That quality control is important, and it allows you to both save money and get creative in your pursuit of health.
If possible, take the cooking out of your hands. Those of you with less self-discipline would do well to simply express your healthy desires to your loved one. Give her or him directions on your health goals and eat what’s brought to you.
Use a smaller plate. This act with help you with portion control. If you’re one of those who must finish your plate, this will help prevent you from overeating.
Stop eating when you’re full. The body actually is trying to tell you when you’re hungry and when you’re not. Try to overcome that voice in your head that tells you “finish your plate.” Calorie control is the vital component of health.
Make half your plate colorful fruits and vegetables. If you just remember dark green, red and orange colors are consistently full of nutrients and healthy, you’ll do well. Think of tomatoes, sweet potatoes and broccoli as examples.
Eat slowly. Even if you’re not chewing each morsel 20-25 times before swallowing, learning to savor your food will improve your eating experience and promote a sense of fullness and satisfaction with smaller portions. No, it won’t necessarily make you want even more.
More healthy eating tips
Lean Protein. Limit your red meat. Learn to appreciate lean meats, such as chicken, turkey and seafood. Beans and tofu are also excellent protein sources. When you do eat beef and/or pork, ask for lean cuts.
Seafood, not see (more) food. Make it your main course at least twice a week.
Whole grains. Just say the words and look for the words. When you’re buying breads, look for 100% whole grain. At a restaurant? Specifically ask for whole grains in your breadbasket. You cannot assume your breads are whole grain otherwise.
Avoid the extra fat. There’s no good in eating healthy if you cover the goodness with heavy sauces, gravies, syrups or salad dressings. Ask if low fat, low-calorie alternatives exist.
Got dairy? Learn to move beyond whole milk. Fat-free, low-fat, soy or almond milks (or yogurt without a daily drink) are all better options and provide the same amount of calcium and other nutrients without all the fat and calories.
Satisfy your sweet tooth in a different way. Learn to enjoy a fruit cocktail, yogurt parfait, baked apples or other healthy options as your dessert. All you’re really wanting is a dab of sugar anyway!
Learn variety; build your choices. Have you ever tried mango, kiwi, lentils or kale? If so, did you give up after the first taste? Many healthy foods need to be prepared to your liking. Think seasonings and preparation. Get creative!
Whatever you do, fast food is not the option. Invest a touch of time into these very simple tips and undo the bad luck to be found in most of your diets.
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Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
Today’s message is simple: Ask Your Physician! Straight, No Chaser continues this empowerment series with this simple direction. Think about it. When exactly was the last time you took questions into your physician’s office to ask? This post compiles a top ten list of questions we suggest you should ask and get addressed ASAP! Knowledge is health!
Questions
What’s the best approach to preventive care?
This question is a great lead in to a discussion on medical screenings and vaccinations. You should also use it to get direction on diet and exercise.
What internet resources can I trust for medical information?
There’s a big difference between you asking a physician about something you googled and you asking your physician’s thoughts on where you can go for good information on the internet. Don’t be surprised if you get sent back to www.jeffreysterlingmd.com!
Why am I taking/receiving this medicine?
Blind trust is much less important than informed empowerment. Understand why you need to take medicines and if there are alternatives to taking them. Be very careful about any substances you place in your body that change the way you function!
How do sleep and stress impact my health?
These are two rarely discussed topics during physician visits. Adequate sleep and being relatively stress-free are fundamental considerations upon which you build a foundation of health. Make sure you’re right on these!
How do you (the physician) protect your own health?
No, this isn’t imposing! There’s a lot to learn by this question. There’s not much that I’m doing for myself that I wouldn’t recommend for you!
Do I (or my child) really need an antibiotic?
If only you’d ask this question. However, it requires more insight than fear. You really do yourself a disservice by inappropriately and unnecessarily taking antibiotics. There will come a day that you really need them to work. Let’s hope whatever is infecting you hasn’t become immune due to using them for viruses that would have gotten better in a few days anyway and without them.
I’m really afraid about this? How concerned should I be?
You’re spending a ton of money on your fears. Why not address them directly during your physician visit. Or are you the type that’s going to do what you think is best anyway? Don’t let your fears overwhelm facts.
Can we discuss my wishes for end-of-life care?
No one seems to ask end-of-life considerations unsolicited in advance. Unfortunately, not doing so seems to extend family arguments until the most inappropriate time. There’s a way to have the conversation in a sensitive way. And no, it won’t lead to any death panels invading your home.
When do I need to be seen again and what would make being seen earlier necessary?
Between visits, you will have fears, concerns and issues that arise. Get clarity on these matters in advance.
What should I do if I think I need to go to the emergency room for something?
Although you have the right to go to the ER for anything you think could be an emergency, that can come with a tremendous cost and expenditure of a lot of time. It’s good to understand options for options for emergency visits with your doctor’s office. You should also get his/her advice on how to use call centers, urgent care and 911 for different levels of threats.
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Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
Cost effective self care is probably something you’ve never verbalized. However, it’s more likely something that’s constantly on your mind, whether consciously or otherwise. This is the third in the Straight, No Chaser series on health self-empowerment. If and as you become more inclined to become a better steward of your health, you’ll come to appreciate the considerations in this post!
Organizing Your Cost Effective Self Care
Let’s view this from five approaches: mental health, physical health, emotional health, social health and spiritual health. If you think about your life, these are its major considerations. Now, start organizing your approach to better care for yourself.
Mental Health
We put mental health first, because… “sound mind, sound body!” We’ve discussed how to optimize mental health before, but keep in mind this principal: the body can only perform as well as the mind is able to direct it. Let’s keep this simple and return to the notion of cost effective self care: exercise your brain on a daily basis with something as simple as reading a book, doing a Sudoku or crossword puzzle, or learning something (try a new language!). These activities produce massive benefits.
Physical Health
If you’ve followed Straight, No Chaser before, you likely appreciate the value of “close your mouth, and get off of your backside.” Physical health isn’t an absolute construct for anyone. Incremental measures produce relative improvements for everyone at every level of health. To that end, we’ve discussed better food choices more than emphasizing “dieting.” We’ve discussed activity even more than “exercise.” Remember, everything you place in your mouth either helps or hurts you. Everything your body is able to do is based on what you’ve trained and empowered it to do. Choose wisely.
Emotional Health
In many ways, emotional health involves stress-reducing coping mechanisms. You must prevent undue stress from choking off your best function and performance. Are you prone to express anger, anxiety, naivete, pessimism or sadness? If so, these are direct threats to your living your best life. We refer to you this stress management guide, but keep this in mind. Regarding emotional health, cost effective self care is – again – a relative consideration. Pick one area to work on at a time. Try a specific mental challenge to improve upon an area, such as road rage. Actively attempt to identify the best case scenario among your options. Commit to spend one day surrounded by an environment that is positive, affirming and stimulating. Then do it everyday!
Social Health
In the era of social media, there are more social threats to your mental and physical health than ever before. Even without social media, maintaining meaningful relationships with family and friends is often a challenge. Simply put, the important consideration here is making your exposure to social networks as affirming as possible. Spend as much time with family, friends and social media as produces positive benefit to you. Minimize exposure to (or just avoid) them all when they become sources of negative energy or produce an undesired mental state of mind.
Spiritual Health
Did you know that a lifestyle that includes spirituality (with or without religion) is generally healthier? Whether it’s the organizing approach of religion or the general positive effects on mental health, spiritual health has been shown to be a key contributor to a healthy life. Cost effective self care measures here can be quite simple. Consider simple reflection, meditation, prayer or church. These activities all help you appeal to an affirming part of your existence.
Specific Steps for Cost Effective Self Care
As luck would have it, the Straight No Chaser post on increasing life-expectancy addresses this exact consideration. Review these tips. You’ll notice how simple (and cost-effective) these are. Go for it!
Tips 1-5
1. Take a walk. Just give yourself a brisk 30-minute
walk three times a week. Effect? Reverse your age by about 10 years.
2. Eat more fish. Doing so one to
two times a week can reduce your heart attack risk by approximately
one-third.
3. Lift weights. Yes, it gets tougher, but I’m
not recommending a Schwarzenegger workout. Lifting reverses muscle and bone
loss if you do it twice weekly. For those in their 50s or 60s, it can
produce strength scores similar to those in their late 30s.
4. Get a pet. This is a pretty easy way to avoid
depression and all that comes with it.
5. Hydrate. Your body is almost 70% water. Not
soda, water. Learn to embrace clear fluids. When you’re not going clear, coffee
and wine also have significant health benefits.
Tips 6-10
6. Equip your home. Everyone should have a
functioning smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguish, and
everyone in your home should know where they are and how to use them.
7. Put a helmet on your head. 1,000 people die
every year in the U.S. from motorcycle, bicycle, scooter or skydiving injuries
related to not wearing protective helmet.
8. Engage in safe sex. Yes, people are still
dying prematurely and living compromised lives because of the failure to wear
condoms while others protect themselves.
9. Be optimistic. This keeps the negative effects
of the body’s physiologic stress response from harming you.
10. Reduce your red meat intake. Even the daily
intake of just one serving of red meat equivalent to the size of your fist
decreases life expectancy by approximately 13 percent.
Tips 11-15
11. Spend time with friends. Healthy social
networks have been shown to add as much to your life expectancy as healthy
endeavors such as lowering high blood pressure and reducing high cholesterol
levels.
12. Be generous. Studies consistently show that
those who help others report better health than those who don’t. It may just be
correlation, but being on the right side of this fence makes the world a better
place.
13. Sleep. Seven hours a day gets done what your
body needs to function optimally.
14. Discover blueberries. There’s been much talk
about “superfoods.” Blueberries meet the criteria. Consuming approximately two
cups a day has been shown to prevent chronic diseases, reduce depression and improve
memory.
15. Enjoy sex and orgasms. There are a million
jokes about the benefits of sex, but legitimate benefits include burning
calories, reducing stress, inducing sleep and reducing pain.
Tips 16-20
16. Snack on nuts. Healthier nuts include
almonds, cashews and pistachios. Eating them five days a week has been
shown to add nearly three years to your life expectancy.
17. Get up! Sitting for more than three
hours at a time independent of other activities can reduce your life expectancy.
Take breaks, stretch and move around.
18. Maintain adequate intake of vitamins. You
shouldn’t need supplemental vitamins if your diet is appropriate, buy if it’s
not, here are the daily requirements that ensure optimal function. Vit C
(1200 mg/day), Vit D (400-600 IU/day), Vit E (400 IU/day), Vit B6 (6 mg/day),
calcium (1000-1200 mg/day) and folate (400 mcg/day).
19. Measure your blood pressure. Work to maintain
your blood pressure at or below 115/75. This will help you function as much as
approximately 25 years younger than someone of a blood pressure at or about
160/90.
20. Brush. Floss. Daily brushing and flossing can
improve your functioning by approximately six years.
Tips 21-25
21. Wear your seatbelt. The combination of
seatbelt wearing and driving within five MPH of the posted speed limit can
improve your life expectancy by approximately three and a half years.
22. Eat fiber. The number to know here is 25. If
you get 25 grams of daily fiber in your diet, that improves your function by
approximately two and a half years over consuming half that amount. Look for
high fiber dietary options.
23. Learn to laugh. Laughter actually does have
clinical benefits. It strengthens your immune system by decreasing the
stress-induced release of certain hormones. Learn to take or tell a joke!
24. Love fruits and vegetables. The more fruits and vegetables you eat compared to red meat, the better your life expectancy becomes.
25. Consume medical care, information and advice. Being proactive about your health increases both your life expectancy and life functioning compared to someone a dozen years younger who does not. This includes getting recommended screenings and immunizations.
Follow us!
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
Do you have health insurance? Even if you do, do you still feel like you pay a lot for your medical expenses? Here’s the point: do you know what the #1 cost of personal bankruptcy is in the U.S.? Medical bills. Want to know a very easy way to rack up huge bills? That would be using the emergency room as your source of care. The average cost of a visit to the ER for over 8,000 patients across the U.S. was $2,168, according to a recent study funded by the National Institute of Health. Look at these average costs (the interquartile range (IQR) represents the difference between the 25th and 75th percentile of charges, looking at the wide discrepancy in charges).
Can you afford this without insurance (or even
with insurance, given your co-pays and deductibles)? This Straight, No
Chaser post is the first of your empowerment series. Remember, health empowerment
starts with knowledge. Remember it’s the above types of charges that you’re
trying to avoid.
Did you know that according to the Census Bureau, there are still about 27.5 Americans without health insurance as of 2018 (that number was estimated to be as high as 50 million prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare)? 2018 was also the first year since 2008-09 for which there was an increase in this number. Draw your own inferences about why this is the case (or just look at the below picture!).
Insurance Options
Where do you start if you don’t have insurance? What should you do if you have insurance? What if it’s an emergency? Let’s go through a series of options you have available to you that you may not know how to enlist.
How do you choose affordable insurance coverage if you don’t have a job, your job doesn’t provide health benefits, or if you just don’t have enough money to afford it? Work through the following steps.
Look For Coverage Through Your Spouse or Domestic Partner. If you have a spouse or partner, there’s money to be saved by piggybacking off the other’s coverage. Explore this option before accepting a new plan that requires you to pay more.
Explore the Health Care Marketplace as Your First Stop. This is especially the case if you’re otherwise uncovered or are an entrepreneur or small business owner. It’s also especially applicable if you have a pre-existing medical condition. Go to healthcaregov.org for details.
Medicaid: In more than half the US, state Medicaid expansion accompanied the Affordable Care Act. This has resulted in the number of people qualified to receive Medicaid increasing dramatically. It’s also included many above the poverty line who previously hadn’t been eligible. Google your state insurance commissioner for your specific set of qualifications.
Medicare: You can qualify for Medicare if you receive Social Security disability benefits or if you’re age 65 or older. Check with the Social Security Administration for your eligibility.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA): COBRA is another short-term coverage option. It might be for you if you’ve been laid off or aren’t working. It’s especially appropriate if you had insurance through your former job or otherwise participated in a group health insurance plan. This is great for access but is a more expensive option than the health care marketplace.
Workers Compensation: If you are being treated for a workplace injury, your state’s workers’ compensation program might have health care solutions for you.
Less Obvious Insurance Options
Short-Term Health Insurance Coverage: Short-term coverage is available! Think about this if you need to avoid gaps while searching for other options. A simple Google search will point you in the right direction in your state.
High Deductible Health Plans: A high deductible “emergency” policy is another way to maintain a low-cost health insurance plan. However, it’s akin to making a bet that you won’t get ill. Maintaining a Health Savings Account (HSA) for smaller health issues will probably save you money in the long run.
Group Insurance from Organization Memberships: If you belong to any kind of membership organization (e.g. an alumni association, professional organization, business bureau, independent worker associations), it’s worth asking if they have a health insurance plan. These also provide reduced health insurance premiums for their members. You don’t have to go the route of employer-provided insurance.
Group Health Expenses Sharing Plan: These health expenses sharing plan involves a group of people pooling money together to pay each other’s health care costs. They operate a bit like their own insurance company. Members’ pooled contributions are invested and are usually reserved to pay major medical expenses. These plans aren’t typically used for basic day-to-day health costs like checkups or small procedures. Group health expense sharing plans aren’t insurance plans, so they’re not regulated in the same way as insurance. Look into the history of any of these plans before you join one.
Health Care Sharing Ministries (HCSMs): A health care sharing ministry (HCSM) is another example of a group of people with shared beliefs creating a health expenses sharing plan. An HCSM is a non-profit entity, so again, it’s not health insurance and it’s not regulated in the same way. This alternative to insurance often include provisions that accommodate the beliefs of the group. As a result, procedures (e.g. abortion) that are deemed objectionable would not be covered.
Health Insurance Discount Cards: These aren’t insurance options but a way of obtaining discounts on medical services. They provide low-cost health services in exchange for a membership fee. They also don’t offer any medical reimbursement but lower your costs when you use the services of members participating in the plan.
These are options. However, the question many of you have remains unaddressed: what if you believe you can’t afford any of these? Well actually you can; some of the above have eligibility based on financial status, such as Medicaid and Medicare. It’s up to you to do the work and discover where you’re eligible.
Furthermore, this is why health prevention is so important. This is why the rest of the health empowerment series focuses on what you can do to swing the pendulum away from waiting to need sick care toward being proactive with preventive and self-care. Stay tuned.
Follow us!
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
Straight, No Chaser is committed to health self-empowerment. In this new year, we’re going to help you have 2020 vision. Over the next ten weeks, we will systematically offer you an approach to becoming an active consumer of health. Simply put, gone are the days when you can afford (literally and figuratively) to leave 100% of your care in the hands of your medical team.
Health Self-Empowerment Series
Consider this series health self-empowerment. Here are the various
topics we’ll discuss, all of which focus on health prevention. Let this be the
year you move past sick care and googling.
1/13: The best ways to access health care (hint: it’s not the emergency room)
1/20: Health screening recommendations
1/27: Cost effective self-care
2/3: Stress and mental health management
2/10: Ten Questions to Ask Your Physician
2/17: Think healthy eating first, then diet
2/24: Think activity first, then exercise
3/2: Weight control
3/9: Avoiding accidents
3/16: Avoiding toxins
3/23: Putting it all together
You’ll notice that during this time, we are setting aside conversations about sick care and diseases. You should already know that there are over 2000 blog topics within Straight, No Chaser here at www.jeffreysterlingmd.com. You can find whatever you need in that regard by simply typing it in the search bar in the upper right corner. In the meantime, take control. After all, it is your life.
Follow us!
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
This Straight, No Chaser is all about avoiding the most frequent causes of death because… life!
It is interesting and curious to hear everyone obsess over how esoteric and rare conditions can potentially kill you. Here are some words to the wise: common things happen commonly. I’m going to make this a very simple post (with links to previous Straight, No Chaser posts covering the individual topics in greater detail). Let’s help you extend your life expectancy by offering very simple tips (three to five for each) key to avoiding the most frequent causes of death. This list is by no means comprehensive, but if you follow the achievable steps mentioned, you’ll be much better off than if you don’t.
The Five Most Frequent Causes of Death
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), here are the five most common causes of death in the United States for the year ending 2016. I’ve also included the number of annual deaths per condition; click on the heading for those blogs.
Stop smoking and exposing yourself to second-hand smoke.
Exercise daily. Walk at least two miles each day. It’s a final common denomination of other problems and is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. You want your LDL (“bad cholesterol” levels) low and your HDL (“good cholesterol” levels) high. If your LDL and/or overall levels are high, it’s an immediate prompt to reduce your belly, change your diet and exercise more.
Limit your calories. Never supersize anything. Eat only until you’re full. Learn about healthy plate sizes.
Control your blood pressure. This is the most important risk factor in stroke prevention. High blood pressure increases your risk for a stroke four-fold.
Control your blood sugar levels. Diabetics have a 1.5 times higher risk of stroke.
Control your cholesterol.
Stop smoking. Smoking increases your risk for a stroke between 1.5-2.5 times above the risk of non-smokers.
Control your weight through diet and exercise, which is bundled in each of the first three considerations.
There is no fountain of youth. Your cure won’t be found in a bottle, a fad or any other quick fix. It really is about diet, exercise and risk management. The choices you make matter. Remember, although these tips were focused on prevention, early detection and treatment at the time of crisis give you the best chance to survive. Learn early detection of heart attacks and strokes, learn CPR, get screened for cancer and learn how to survive car crashes. It’s not that hard if you’re actually trying.
Follow us!
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
This Straight, No Chaser is for National Handwashing Awareness Week and its related activities.
Yes, we need to have this conversation. I see you all day everyday. The simplest of acts – washing your hands – is also one of your most important daily acts. Doing it right helps you avoid all manner of illness. Doing it incorrect creates opportunities for disease to exist at multiple places on and in your body.
Of course the above picture is not an actual photo, but it’s a good depiction of what’s happening. Simply put, most of the day, your hands are pretty disgusting. You handle money that’s been handed hundreds if not thousands of times and never cleaned. You grab handles and door knobs all day long. You’re coughing and sneezing throughout the day, spewing germs into the air to be inhaled by others. And you spend time in the restroom. Your unclean hands contribute to many ailments, including colds, influenza, conjunctivitis (pink eye) and gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhea) and skin infections.
Are you sickly or do you get colds more frequently than others? Respectfully, a big part of that is because you have habits that put you at risk. Common things happen commonly.
Simple Steps to Lower Your Risk
Do it right
Experts recommend washing your hands with soap and clean water for at least 20 seconds. Be sure to get a good lather going and clean the back of the hands, between the fingers and under the nails. Dry them using a clean towel. There is a lot of science behind these recommendations, so be sure to follow them each time you wash your hands.
Memorize the five steps
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls hand washing “a do-it-yourself vaccine” and suggests remembering five easy steps: Wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry.
Learn the Four Principles of Hand Awareness
Endorsed by the American Medical Association and American Academy of Family Physicians, the four principles are: 1) Wash your hands when they are dirty and before eating; 2) Do not cough into hands; 3) Do not sneeze into hands; and 4) Don’t put your fingers in your eyes, nose or mouth.
These important points are simple things you can do to lower your risk for infections. First, you have to stop assuming you know more than you do about basic hygiene and allow yourself to start practicing better habits. For example …
When you sneeze, do you sneeze into your hands or into the air around you? Please learn the habit covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough by sneezing/coughing into your elbow and not your hands.
How often do you wash your hands? You must wash every time you begin to cook, before you eat, after you use the rest room, before you change a diaper and before you apply any topical medicine.
Have you ever noticed how much you keep your hands on parts of you that can become infected by doing so? Keep your hands out of your eyes, mouth and nose, and stop picking at your skin!
Follow us!
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
Want to increase your life expectancy and live better longer? You may want to keep this post. I haven’t exactly found the Fountain of Youth, but I do know what activities lead to a longer life expectancy. In honor of Thanksgiving, and in the spirit of being thankful for life, here are 25 tips that you can incorporate into your daily life to help you live a younger life every day and a longer life.
Tips 1-5
1. Take a walk. Just give yourself a brisk 30-minute walk three times a week. Effect? Reverse your age by about 10 years.
2. Eat more fish. Doing so one to two times a week can reduce your heart attack risk by approximately one-third.
3. Lift weights. Yes, it gets tougher, but I’m not recommending a Schwarzenegger workout. Lifting reverses muscle and bone loss if you do it twice weekly. For those in their 50s or 60s, it can produce strength scores similar to those in their late 30s.
4. Get a pet. This is a pretty easy way to avoid depression and all that comes with it.
5. Hydrate. Your body is almost 70% water. Not soda, water. Learn to embrace clear fluids. When you’re not going clear, coffee and wine also have significant health benefits.
Tips 6-10
6. Equip your home. Everyone should have a functioning smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguish, and everyone in your home should know where they are and how to use them.
7. Put a helmet on your head. 1,000 people die every year in the U.S. from motorcycle, bicycle, scooter or skydiving injuries related to not wearing protective helmet.
8. Engage in safe sex. Yes, people are still dying prematurely and living compromised lives because of the failure to wear condoms while others protect themselves.
9. Be optimistic. This keeps the negative effects of the body’s physiologic stress response from harming you.
10. Reduce your red meat intake. Even the daily intake of just one serving of red meat equivalent to the size of your fist decreases life expectancy by approximately 13 percent.
Tips 11-15
11. Spend time with friends. Healthy social networks have been shown to add as much to your life expectancy as healthy endeavors such as lowering high blood pressure and reducing high cholesterol levels.
12. Be generous. Studies consistently show that those who help others report better health than those who don’t. It may just be correlation, but being on the right side of this fence makes the world a better place.
13. Sleep. Seven hours a day gets done what your body needs to function optimally.
14. Discover blueberries. There’s been much talk about “superfoods.” Blueberries meet the criteria. Consuming approximately two cups a day has been shown to prevent chronic diseases, reduce depression and improve memory.
15. Enjoy sex and orgasms. There are a million jokes about the benefits of sex, but legitimate benefits include burning calories, reducing stress, inducing sleep and reducing pain.
Tips 16-20
16. Snack on nuts. Healthier nuts include almonds, cashews and pistachios. Eating them five days a week has been shown to add nearly three years to your life expectancy.
17. Get up! Sitting for more than three hours at a time independent of other activities can reduce your life expectancy. Take breaks, stretch and move around.
18. Maintain adequate intake of vitamins. You shouldn’t need supplemental vitamins if your diet is appropriate, buy if it’s not, here are the daily requirements that ensure optimal function. Vit C (1200 mg/day), Vit D (400-600 IU/day), Vit E (400 IU/day), Vit B6 (6 mg/day), calcium (1000-1200 mg/day) and folate (400 mcg/day).
19. Measure your blood pressure. Work to maintain your blood pressure at or below 115/75. This will help you function as much as approximately 25 years younger than someone of a blood pressure at or about 160/90.
20. Brush. Floss. Daily brushing and flossing can improve your functioning by approximately six years.
Tips 21-25
21. Wear your seatbelt. The combination of seatbelt wearing and driving within five MPH of the posted speed limit can improve your life expectancy by approximately three and a half years.
22. Eat fiber. The number to know here is 25. If you get 25 grams of daily fiber in your diet, that improves your function by approximately two and a half years over consuming half that amount. Look for high fiber dietary options.
23. Learn to laugh. Laughter actually does have clinical benefits. It strengthens your immune system by decreasing the stress-induced release of certain hormones. Learn to take or tell a joke!
24. Love fruits and vegetables. The more fruits and vegetables you eat compared to red meat, the better your life expectancy becomes.
25. Consume medical care, information and advice. Being proactive about your health increases both your life expectancy and life functioning compared to someone a dozen years younger who does not. This includes getting recommended screenings and immunizations. Also, have you heard of www.sterlingmedicaladvice.com?
Here’s a bonus tip: Avoid getting hit by that truck.
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Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
November is COPD Awareness Month. Unfortunately, you already know a lot about COPD without realizing it or even having to think about it. You’ve seen patients walking around with the oxygen tanks or tubes in their noses. However, that’s just the extreme. COPD is the third or fourth leading cause of death in the US depending on the source, with millions of individuals diagnosed. You also know COPD and cancers are why your doctors always warn you against smoking in any form. You know smoking is the leading cause of this. This Straight, No Chaser provides a brief overview of COPD and answers some key questions.
What Is COPD?
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe and advances in severity over time.
Appreciate that air goes from your mouth or nose through the windpipe (trachea) through several branches of airways, eventually connecting to blood vessels meant to carry oxygen to the organs of your body. These same blood vessels drop off waste gas known as carbon dioxide, which we exhale with each breath out.
Airway Changes Causing COPD
In COPD, less air flows in and out of the airways because of one or more of the following:
The airways and air sacs lose their elasticity. Elasticity is the stretchiness your lungs need to fill up with and push out air. In COPD, these sacs act less like a balloon and more like a lead pipe.
The airways make more mucus than usual, which clog them and make breathing more difficult. The inflammation caused by smoke and other irritants produce mucus. It’s not a good thing when instead of breathing air, you’re attempting to breathe a smoke-filled swamp of snot-like material.
The walls of the airways become thick and inflamed. Over time, inflammation can cause permanent changes in the walls of the airways to compensate for the environment you’ve created.
The walls between many of the air sacs are destroyed. Ongoing inflammation overwhelms the body’s ability to repair itself, and eventually sheets of tissue in your airways are destroyed beyond repair, providing you with less tissue to exchange oxygen from the lungs to the blood vessels that carry oxygen through the body.
What causes COPD?
Cigarette smoking is far and away the leading cause of COPD. Most of those with COPD are current or former smokers. Heredity, childhood respiratory infections, and long-term exposure to other lung irritants, such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust may contribute to or cause COPD.
I’ve been told I have bronchitis. Is that the same thing?
There’s acute bronchitis, and there’s chronic bronchitis. In the US, COPD refers to two separate but similar conditions, emphysema and chronic bronchitis; most with COPD have both conditions. Now if you have acute bronchitis, it means something (like and likely cigarette smoke) is currently inflaming your airways. Over time this can permanently damage the airways and produce an ongoing state of inflammation – chronic bronchitis – with airway wall thickening and increased mucus production within the lungs. Let the smoker beware.
How is this different from emphysema?
In emphysema, the walls between many of the air sacs are damaged, losing their shape and elasticity. This damage also can destroy the walls of the air sacs, leading to fewer, larger and less efficient air sacs instead of many more efficient tiny ones. If this happens, the amount of gas exchange in the lungs is reduced, meaning you’re not getting enough oxygen in you and enough carbon dioxide out of you.
What are some symptoms of COPD?
COPD can cause coughing with mucus production, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, decreased ability to exert yourself and walk around. Even more symptoms may develop as a result of inadequate oxygen supply and inadequate carbon dioxide disposal.
How can I know if I have COPD?
One big problem with COPD is many have the disease and don’t know it until it starts becoming quite advanced. It’s safe to assume that if you’re a smoker and have difficulty breathing, you’re experiencing changes to your airways that aren’t in your best interest. You are advised to get evaluated. You are best advised to remove yourself from the source of the inflammation (in other words, stop smoking).
How does COPD affect my life?
For starters, it shortens it. It also markedly increases your cancer risk. At some point all the damage and changes to your lungs is going to cause some abnormality. Given this is the area you use to breathe, deliver oxygen to your organs and eliminate toxins from your body, all manners of things can go wrong, and they often do. COPD is a chronic, progressive disease. You may or may not pick up on the slow creep of diminishing ability to perform routine activities, or maybe you’ll just attribute them to aging (COPD occurs most often in middle-aged to elderly individuals). Once severe enough, COPD may prevent you from doing even basic activities like walking, breathing without difficulty, or taking care of yourself.
What’s the cure for this?
Here’s the frightening part: we’re talking about irreversible lung tissue change and destruction. Once layers of your airways have been ripped out (figuratively), they aren’t coming back. The damage is done. Prevention is your best defense.
So how is it treated?
There is no real treatment without removing the trigger feeding the ongoing inflammation. In other words, you’ll have to stop smoking to stop further progression. Additional measures involve support.
Supplemental oxygen may be needed to deliver enough oxygen to the tissues as an effort to combat the destruction and inflammation of tissue meant to facilitate oxygen exchange.
Medicines to reduce the inflammation and mucus may be prescribed.
Medicines to better open the airways past the clogging caused by inflammation and mucus may be prescribed.
Your physician will discuss these and other options. The truth is COPD has no cure. Once you have been diagnosed with COPD, efforts switch to slowing the progression and implementing measures to improve the quality of your life within the parameters defined by the advancement of your disease.
Finally, here is a short video from the National Institutes of Health.
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Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
November is National Diabetes Month. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has chosen to focus on the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease. You must come to understand that diabetes isn’t just contained to itself. This disease causes devastation across the entire body. For example, adults with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to die from heart disease or stroke as people without diabetes.
Get Empowered During National Diabetes Month
There are steps you can take to manage your diabetes. These same steps can also help lower your chances of having heart disease or a stroke. Try these.
Stop smoking or using other tobacco products.
Know and manage your A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.
Develop or maintain healthy lifestyle habits. Be more physically active and learn ways to manage stress.
Take medicines as prescribed by your doctor, not based on how you “feel.”
Wait, There’s More!
Click on the below links for any and all of these Straight, No Chaser posts Diabetes.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
Who wouldn’t want to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease? We’ve done a few challenges in this space. However, remember that we’re never as interested in the activity as we are the accomplishment. In other words, the best challenges aren’t as concerned with the exercise as the underlying health benefit. We’re not doing a formal challenge today, but I do want to give you five simple tips. If you accept the challenge of implementing them into your habits, they will dramatically reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.
This is an overly simplistic presentation with the goal of giving you achievable tasks toward holding off Alzheimer’s Disease.
Let’s Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
To be clear: there is presently no cure for Alzheimer’s. Therefore, the effort to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease is as good as it gets. We’ve discussed it at length in this space, and we offer links to better understand it. What we want you to know today is incorporation of a series of healthy lifestyle habits can offer a 60% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease than those practicing one or none of these habits. Simply put, according to multiple medical studies, the more healthy habits you adopt, the lower your risk will be of cognition decline.
Here’s the list:
Regular exercise (moderate to vigorous for at least 150 minutes a week)
Cognitive stimulation (engaging in later-in-life “brain exercise” activities)
Eating a brain-healthy diet
Not smoking
Light to moderate alcohol consumption
Regarding diet, the brain healthy diet is made of leafy green vegetables, nuts, poultry, beans and olive oil. It avoids red meat, sweet and fried foods (similar to the MIND diet).
Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). It is the most common form of dementia. These interventions lower your risk regardless of any generic risk.
Wait, There’s More!
Click on the below links for any and all of these Straight, No Chaser posts on Alzheimer’s Disease.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
It’s ADHD Awareness Month, and this Straight, No Chaser discusses Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (aka ADD). To begin with, let’s set aside the jokes or casual nature often applied to ADHD. “Everyone” doesn’t have a “little” attention deficit disorder. It’s not something everyone can expect to outgrow. It’s not a response to a lack of discipline. Let’s clarify some things.
What is ADHD?
ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. This suggests imbalance in the chemical makeup needed for perfectly performing brains. Although it’s typically diagnosed in childhood, it can last into adulthood. In fact, of the more than 6 million children with ADHD, about 2 million were diagnosed between ages 2-5.
Types of ADHD
Predominantly Inattentive Presentation: There is difficulty organizing or finishing tasks, paying attention to details, or following instructions or conversations. Distractibility is high, as is the frequency of forgetting details of daily routines.
Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation: Here’s where you see fidgeting and a seeming pressure to talk a lot. These individuals find it hard to sit still, doing homework or even finish meals. Impulsivity is frequent, resulting in habits of interrupting, grabbing and other signs of restlessness such as running, jumping or climbing. This can result in frequent accidents and injuries.
Combined Presentation: The above two types are not mutually exclusive, and patients may exhibit characteristics of both. Furthermore, symptoms and presentations may change over time.
Signs and Symptoms
Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active. It is normal for children to have trouble focusing and behaving at one time or another. The symptoms can be severe and can cause difficulty at school, at home, or with friends.
A child with ADHD might:
daydream a lot
forget or lose things a lot
squirm or fidget
talk too much
make careless mistakes or take unnecessary risks
find resisting temptation difficult
have trouble taking turns
have difficulty getting along with others
Causes of ADHD
The cause(s) and risk factors for ADHD are unknown, but current research shows that genetics plays an important role. The following addition considerations are currently the topics of research:
Brain injury
Exposure to environmental (e.g., lead) during pregnancy or at a young age
Alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy
Premature delivery
Low birth weight
Myths about Causes
Research does not support the popularly held views that ADHD is caused by the following (although in the individual patient, these considerations may worsens symptoms):
eating too much sugar
watching too much television
parenting
social and environmental factors such as poverty or family chaos.
Diagnosis
There is no single test to diagnose ADHD. Other behavior problems can have similar symptoms. One step of the process involves having a medical exam, including hearing and vision tests, to rule out other problems with symptoms like ADHD. Diagnosing ADHD usually includes a checklist for rating ADHD symptoms and taking a history of the child from parents, teachers, and sometimes, the child.
Treatments
In most cases, ADHD is best treated with a combination of behavior therapy and medication. For preschool-aged children (4-5 years of age) with ADHD, behavior therapy, particularly training for parents, is recommended as the first line of treatment before medication is tried. What works best can depend on the child and family. Good treatment plans will include close monitoring, follow-ups, and making changes, if needed, along the way.
Allow me to restate that: medication is not the first line of therapy for ADHD.
Managing Symptoms: Staying Healthy
Healthy habits give all patients the best opportunity for the best possible outcomes, and that’s the case with ADHD. Here are some recommended health behaviors.
Developing healthy eating habits such as eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and choosing lean protein sources
If you or your doctor have concerns about ADHD, you can take your child to a specialist such as a child psychologist or developmental pediatrician, or you can contact your local early intervention agency (for children under 3) or public school (for children 3 and older).
The National Resource Center operates a call center (1-800-233-4050) with trained staff to answer questions about ADHD.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
This Straight, No Chaser post gives you the information you need for National Dental Hygiene Month.
If you ignore your teeth, they’ll go away.
You may not think that bad dental hygiene can land you in the emergency room, but it does! One thing in particular I’ve noticed over the years is how oblivious some people are to their smiles—especially their teeth. We see it all: loose teeth, missing teeth, broken teeth, infected teeth, sensitive teeth, erupted wisdom teeth, gingivitis, bad breath, dental infections (especially abscesses), things stuck in the teeth, mouth cancer, yeast infections, rashes inside the mouth and other conditions. The mouth is the gateway to the body. Through it, you introduce many substances that can infect or otherwise damage you. Clinically, the appearance of your mouth, gums and teeth are often a direct statement about how well you care for the rest of your body.
You would think dental hygiene is an especially difficult proposition, but it’s actually quite simple. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), all you really need to commit to good dental hygiene is less than five minutes at a time, at least twice a day. Surely that’s not too much to ask of yourself for yourself, is it?
Let’s identify three sets of conditions you should be prepared to address with your activities. Each measure contains simple tips and habits you should employ to keep your smile making the right kind of introduction.
Dental Hygiene Prevention and Self-maintenance
Brushing and flossing keep your gums and teeth healthy by removing plaque and food particles that can serve as a source for infection and tooth decay. Here are your essentials.
Brush for two minutes at a time.
Brush at least twice a day and preferably after each meal.
Flossing is important. There are particles that collect under the gums and between the teeth that your toothbrush can’t reach.
Avoid the stainers. Tobacco products (e.g., cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars), excessive red wine and coffee contain a high quantity of very strong chemicals that stain and damage your teeth. Cranberry and grape juices also may stain teeth if consumed in excess. Besides cosmetic considerations, the staining isn’t the problem as much as fact that the chemicals causing the staining are also damaging your teeth and gums.
Prevention and Professional Maintenance
Do you have a dentist?
Regular dental checkups are very important for the ongoing maintenance of your teeth and the early identification of dental problems—before excessively expensive and painful options are needed.
Dental exams provide an opportunity for identification of several medical conditions and diseases whose symptoms can appear in the oral cavity (mouth).
Recognizing Possible Dental Emergencies
It is simultaneously understandable and befuddling that patients go without dental care as long as they do. By the time they come to the ER, invariably, some of these symptoms have been present and were ignored. If you’re experiencing the following symptoms, you’d do well to see the dentist early, before you end up in the ER.
Teeth have become sensitive to hot or cold stimuli
Gums are swollen and/or they bleed with brushing, flossing or eating
Continually bad breath or bad taste in your mouth
Difficulty chewing or swallowing
Pain or swelling in your mouth, face or neck
Spots or a sore that doesn’t look or feel right in your mouth and it isn’t going away
Jaw sometimes pops or is painful when opening and closing, chewing or when you first wake up
An uneven bite
Mouth is becoming unexplainably more dry than normal
You have a medical condition such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eating disorder or are HIV positive with new dental problems.
You are undergoing medical treatment such as radiation, chemotherapy or hormone replacement therapy with new dental problems.
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Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, although it doesn’t take a break during other months. Are you concerned about domestic violence? Probably, you should be. You are not alone. Domestic violence (DV) occurs in every culture and society. Also, it occurs in all age groups and in men and women. DV occurs in all races, income levels and religions. Likewise, it occurs in heterosexual and homosexual relationships. Furthermore, it is estimated that one in four women and one in nine men will be victims of DV at some point in their lives. That’s right. As a result, many (if not most) emergency rooms now screen every single woman for domestic violence. Therefore, you need to know the signs of danger and what you can do to get help.
A Simple Definition of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is the abuse that one person with control in a household inflicts on another. Perpetrators can include parents or other caregivers, siblings, spouses or intimate partners. DV reveals itself in several forms, including sexual (e.g., rape), physical (e.g., biting, hitting, kicking) and mental abuse (e.g., constant criticisms or threats, limiting ability to lead otherwise normal lives). These forms tend to center around abnormal control of an aspect of another’s life. Even more, the level of mental control is such that victims of DV often internalize the activity as normal. They also assign fault to themselves and/or accept responsibility for the abuse.
Domestic violence is a crime in all 50 states of the U.S.
First of all, it is a crime.
Above all, victims do not cause abuse and are not responsible for it.
Domestic Violence Awareness and Mental Health
Domestic violence has consistent adverse effects on mental health.
Children suffering from domestic violence often display developmental delays and aggressive behavior. Also, they have difficulty performing in school and tend to have low self-esteem. Furthermore, they are at greater risk for being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder.
Domestic violence increases the diagnoses of anxiety disorder, depression, panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is also associated with an increase in substance abuse.
DV increases the incidence of psychotic episodes, suicide attempts and homelessness. Its presence also slows recovery from those suffering from other mental illness.
DV increases the risk of retaliatory violence against the perpetrators.
Please … contact us if you’re in need of support. Our expert crisis counselors are here for you, 24/7. 1-844-724-7754 or www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com. You don’t have to “endure with dignity.”
There’s More!
Read these additional Straight, No Chaser posts as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Feel free to ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. As a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Receive introductory pricing with orders!
This Straight, No Chaser guide acknowledges the important work of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Breast Cancer Awareness
How’s your breast cancer awareness? Breast cancer affects so many of us. If it doesn’t affect you or your family as well, I hope it’s not because you haven’t been paying attention. Sadly, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. It’s more likely than not that every single one of us has been affected by this, either directly or through a friend or family member.
Breast Cancer is Different
All cancer is devastating, but something about breast cancer is different. We’ve found the way to eradicate certain cancers and have made remarkable progress on others. Aside from the hereditary component, breast cancer seems so…random, so dehumanizing and so debilitating to so many.
Unlike so many of the things I address as an emergency physician, breast cancer isn’t like trauma, STDs and many other conditions, where one is often directly suffering the consequences of their behavior. It is vital that you appreciate the need and value for early detection to give yourself the best possible chance for the best possible outcomes. This guide discusses all these considerations in detail.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
I appreciate the sentiment behind a National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but if I could offer you anything on this, it would be a plea to be ‘aware’ every month, and use this month as a (re)commitment to take basic steps that will reduce your risk, a charge to maintain steps for early evaluation and a prod to point you toward prompt treatment if and when needed.
In fact, those three areas have been the topics of multiple Straight, No Chaser posts. Links to them are included below. In the meantime, please share this or other information about breast cancer with any and all females in your life. I also hope you choose to engage your family, friends and others in conversations geared to improving breast cancer awareness. Odds are many of them have been or will be affected by breast cancer.
Ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Also, take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. Additionally, as a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Another free benefit to our readers is introductory pricing with multiple orders and bundles!
This post introduces the Straight, No Chaser 30-Day Plank Challenge.
The Straight, No Chaser challenges are always designed to find the simplest way to directly affect conditions that directly correlate with disease. This month’s example again looks at heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Did you know that the simple act of measuring your waist circumference screens for possible health risks related to being overweight and obesity? Specifically, if you carry your fat around your waist instead of at your hips, you’re at a higher risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This risk goes up with a waist size that is greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men. If you’re measuring your waist, do so just after you exhale. Stand and place a tape measure around your middle, just above your hips.
There are many good ways to reduce the size of your waist. This month’s challenge focuses on a simple and effective one. As always, we’re not asking for more than two minutes of your day! Furthermore, let’s be clear. The goal of these challenges are to launch lifestyle changes. Doing these for the short-term aren’t going to get you where you need to be.
What Is a Plank, and How Do I Do It?
A plank is a simple but effective core exercise. It builds stability and strength throughout the entire body. If you do it right for long enough, it even offers cardiovascular support. In our challenge, we’re aiming for the lowest common denominator. This means we’re going to keep this simple, acknowledging there are many variations of planks you can do. It’s also simple because you don’t need anything other than enough space to drop and hold the pose for the allotted number of seconds.
Here’s the how-to for the basic (high or front) plank.
Your body is perpendicular to the ground with the stomach facing down. Your torso is held off the ground with either your elbows or hands. It’s just like being stuck in an extended push-up! Focus on these particulars:
Keep your elbows directly under your shoulders.
Line up your wrists and elbows.
Keep your chin tucked, within a few inches of your neck.
Push your body upwards. Hold your body in a straight line for the duration of your plank.
If you need to modify, switch to a forearm plank. Rest your weight on your forearms instead of your palms.
Keep your chest and abs tight for the duration of your plank. This ensures the core muscles are working together.
If you feel the tightening of your thighs, this is a good thing.
The Plank Challenge Goal
We want you to get to two-minutes. If you’re an experienced planker, go for it! If you’re new to this, follow the challenge schedule for best results. At this level, you will produce a tighter core, reduce that waist circumference, improve your posture, strengthen your back and assess your cardiovascular function.
Cautions
Under all circumstances, you should be medically cleared to engage in physical activity prior to beginning activities such as this that will stress your heart and other organs.
If you discover that you’re having difficulty due to breathing difficulties or a rapid heart rate, STOP! Here are some other warnings:
Don’t hold your breath.
If you are feeling neck or back pain, STOP. These are not symptoms to be ignored.
Plank Challenge Check-in
Let us know how you’re doing. Send any comments through the comment section below. You can otherwise reach us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter by clicking the social media icons below. Let’s go!
Follow us!
Ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Also, take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. Additionally, as a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Another free benefit to our readers is introductory pricing with multiple orders and bundles!
This Straight, No Chaser acknowledges that September is Pain Awareness Month.
In the midst of all the conversation about the national opioid epidemic, many of those suffering from acute and chronic pain are finding themselves lost in the struggle. Better public education regarding expectations, beliefs, and understanding about pain are all important. Additional measures include professional education and training for better, comprehensive, and integrated pain management.
The Scope of Ongoing Pain
Recent reports on chronic pain estimate that chronic pain affects approximately 50 million U.S. adults. Furthermore, high-impact chronic pain (i.e., interfering with work or life most days or every day) affects approximately 20 million U.S. adults. Are you part of this statistic?
Better Pain Awareness Strategies
More than even, patients need to be educated about expectations and consequences of accepting different forms of treatment for pain management. Start with understanding that even as your pain is real, it doesn’t necessarily require narcotics. Also, appreciate that the use of narcotics come with risks and consequences.
Better Pain Management Strategies
Understand that physicians are balancing competing concerns. Your treatment for pain involves more than just the dispensing of narcotics.
Better pain management is also a major element in addressing the current opioid crisis. Additional information is available from the US Department of Health and Human Services here.
Wait, There’s More
Read these additional Straight, No Chaser posts to round out your knowledge during Pain Awareness Month.
Ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Also, take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. Additionally, as a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Another free benefit to our readers is introductory pricing with multiple orders and bundles!
This post is for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. We offer answers to a few questions and additional resources. The first is this video from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about whether you should get tested for prostate cancer.
Basic Facts
Men (and those who care for men – meaning everyone) should be knowledgeable about prostate cancer. I don’t mean physician-level knowledgeable, but there are just a few facts that you should know that are meaningful. We’ll cover those in this Straight, No Chaser.
Aside from skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the U.S. It is also one of the leading causes of cancer death among men of all races. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2018, there will be over 164,6900 new cases and well over 29, 430 deaths (13% increase from 2017) from prostate cancer. Approximately 11.2% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their lifetime. Here are some prostate cancer basics.
Who’s at risk for prostate cancer?
Age: This is simple. The older you are, the greater your risk of developing prostate cancer.
Race: Prostate cancer is more common in certain racial and ethnic groups.
Genetics: This risk is twice to three times more likely if you have a father, brother or son who has had prostate cancer. This is not the same as saying you’ll develop prostate cancer if a family member did.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
It is of interest that a wide variety of presentations exists in those later diagnosed with prostate cancer. Some men don’t have symptoms. In these cases, prostate cancer is discovered on screening examinations. Other men present with several symptoms, often including the following.
Blood in the urine or semen
Difficulty completely emptying the bladder
Difficulty starting urination
Frequent urination (especially at night)
Pain in the back, hips, or pelvis that doesn’t go away
Pain or burning during urination
Painful ejaculation
Weak or interrupted flow of urine
What Is Prostate Cancer Screening?
Cancer screening means looking for cancer before it causes symptoms. The goal of screening for prostate cancer is to find cancer early that may spread if not treated.
There is no standard test to screen for prostate cancer. Here are two tests that are commonly used to screen for prostate cancer.
A blood test called a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test. PSA is a substance your prostate makes. This test measures the level of PSA in your blood. Your PSA level may be high if you have prostate cancer and for many other reasons, such as having an enlarged prostate, a prostate infection, or taking certain medicines.
Digital rectal examination, when a health care provider inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into a man’s rectum to feel the prostate for anything abnormal, such as cancer.
How Is Prostate Cancer Treated?
See the above chart for more detailed information. Optimally, treatment for prostate cancer should take into account
Your age and expected life span with and without treatment
Other health conditions you have
The severity (i.e. stage and grade) of your cancer
Your feelings (and your physician’s medical opinion) about the need to treat the cancer
The likelihood that treatment will cure your cancer or provide some other measure of benefit
Possible side effects from treatment
Different types of established treatments are available for prostate cancer, including the following:
Closely monitoring the prostate cancer by performing prostate specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal exam (DRE) tests regularly, and treating the cancer only if it grows or causes symptoms. This is called active surveillance.
Surgery to remove the prostate and or surrounding tissue. This surgery is called a prostatectomy.
Radiation therapy with high-energy rays to kill the cancer..
Hormone therapy perhaps could be named “hormone blocking therapy.” These medicines blocks cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow.
Ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Also, take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. Additionally, as a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Another free benefit to our readers is introductory pricing with multiple orders and bundles!
This post is about suicide prevention and recognition.
Suicide Prevention: One Conversation Can Save a Life
Suicidal thoughts affect individuals of every age, gender and background. In fact, suicide is often the result of an untreated mental health condition. Although common, suicidal thoughts should not be considered normal. Often, they indicate more serious issues. They should never be ignored.
In 2016 alone, nearly 45,000 individuals died by suicide. September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Straight, No Chaser at www.jeffreysterlingmd.com joins the legions of resources shedding light to this still taboo topic. Please reach out to reach out to those affected by suicide, raise awareness and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to treatment services. It is also important to ensure that individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention. Don’t wait until after the fact to wonder why it happened. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
We’re in Week Two of our 30-Day Push-Up Challenge! Follow this link, and participate! It only takes a minute and is an excellent measure of your heart health!
Follow us!
Ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Also, take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. Additionally, as a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Another free benefit to our readers is introductory pricing with multiple orders and bundles!
Here are some ideas, modified for this audience, originally put together by the editors of Healthy Aging® Magazine.
Do not act your age
…or at least what you think your current age should act like. What was your best year so far? 28? 40? Now? Picture yourself at that age and be it. Some people may say this is denial, but we say it’s positive thinking and goes a long way toward feeling better about yourself. (Tip: Don’t keep looking in the mirror, just FEEL IT!)
Be positive in your conversations and your actions every day.
When you catch yourself complaining, check yourself right there and change the conversation to something positive. (Tip: Stop watching the police reports on the local news.)
Drop your negative associates and so-called friends.
Have negative friends who complain all of the time and constantly talk about how awful everything is? Drop them. As cruel as that may sound, distance yourself from people who do not have a positive outlook on life. They will only depress you and stop you from moving forward. Surround yourself with energetic, happy, positive people of all ages and you will be happier too. (Tip: Smile often. It’s contagious and wards off naysayers.)
Walk like a vibrant, healthy person.
Come on. You can probably do it. Analyze your gait. Do you walk slowly because you have just become lazy or, perhaps, have a fear of falling? (Tip: Make a conscious effort to take big strides, walk with your heel first, and wear comfortable shoes.)
Stand up straight!
You can knock off the appearance of a few extra years with this trick your mother kept trying to tell you. Look at yourself in the mirror. Are you holding your stomach in, have your shoulders back, chin up? Check out how much better your neck looks! Fix your stance and practice it every day, all day until it is natural. You will look great and feel better. (Tip: Your waistline will look trimmer if you follow this advice.)
Smile!
Research shows people who smile more often are happier. Your teeth are just as important to your good health as the rest of your body. Not only is it the first thing people notice, but good oral health is a gateway to your overall well-being. (Tip: Go to the dentist regularly and look into teeth whitening. Nothing says old more than yellowing teeth!)
Avoid Loneliness!
Lonely? Stop brooding and complaining about having no friends or family. Do something about it now. Right this minute. Pick up the phone, landline, or cell and make a call to do one or more of the following: Volunteer your time, Take a class, Invite someone to meet for lunch, brunch, dinner, or coffee. (Tip: Volunteer at the local public school to stay in touch with younger people and to keep current on trends, take a computer class or a tutorial session at your cell phone store to keep up with technology, choose a new person every week for your dining out.)
Start Walking!
Start walking not only for your health but to see the neighbors. Have a dog? You’ll be amazed how the dog can be a conversation starter. (Tip: If you don’t have time for a dog, go to your local animal shelter and volunteer. You will be thrilled by the puppy love!)
Set up your annual physical and other health screenings.
Make this month the time to set up your annual physical and other health screenings. Go to the appointments and then, hopefully, you can stop worrying about ailments for a while.
Do the creative things you’ve always wanted to do!
Find your inner artist. Who says taking music lessons is for young school children? You may have an artist lurking inside you just waiting to be tapped. Have you always wanted to play the piano, violin, or tuba? Have you ever wondered if you could paint a portrait or scenic in oil? What about working in wood? (Tip: Sign up now for fall art or music classes and discover your inner artist!)
There’s More for Healthy Aging!
Read these Straight, No Chaser posts for a discussion on what to expect with aging and how different parts of your body normally adjust. The keys to healthy aging are at your fingertips.
Speaking of healthy aging, follow this link and participate! It only takes a minute and is an excellent measure of your heart heart!
Follow us!
Ask your SMA expert consultant any questions you may have on this topic. Also, take the #72HoursChallenge, and join the community. Additionally, as a thank you, we’re offering you a complimentary 30-day membership at www.72hourslife.com. Just use the code #NoChaser, and yes, it’s ok if you share!
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s books There are 72 Hours in a Day: Using Efficiency to Better Enjoy Every Part of Your Life and The 72 Hours in a Day Workbook: The Journey to The 72 Hours Life in 72 Days at Amazon or at www.jeffreysterlingbooks.com. Another free benefit to our readers is introductory pricing with multiple orders and bundles!