“People with high blood pressure, diabetes – those are conditions brought about by life style. If you change the life style, those conditions will leave.”

Dick GregoryHYPERLINK

High Blood Pressure or Hypertension affects 80 million Americans and nearly half of the people in the UK between the ages of 65 and 74, and a large percentage of those between the ages of 35 and 65. One of the problems associated with high blood pressure is that you will probably not even know you have it until you happen to have your blood pressure taken during a routine physical examination.

Upon diagnosis, you may wonder why you never saw it coming. Most people don’t. Only those with severe high blood pressure experience any warning signs at all.

These signs can include headaches, impaired vision, and black-outs.

What is blood pressure exactly ?

It is the measurement of the force that blood applies to the walls of the arteries as it flows through them carrying oxygen and nutrients to the body’s vital organs and systems. Naturally, our blood is under pressure as it rushes through our arteries. Even those with blood pressure in the normal range will experience an increase in their blood pressure during rigorous physical activity or during times of stress. It only becomes a problem when the blood continues to run high. This condition of blood pressure is known as hypertension　or high blood pressure　and in 95% of the cases, the cause of it is never known. However, we do know the factors that set a person up to develop hypertension.

Factors influencing High Blood Pressure

They are as follows:

NON-MODAFIABLE RISK FACTORS ARE 4: HEREDITY-HIGH B/P RUNNING IN THE FAMILY

AGE-THE OLDER, THE HIGHER PROBABILITY YOU WILL END UP WITH B/P DEPENDING ON YOUR HEALTH AND HOW GOOD YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

SEX-MALES VS FEMALES

RACE-HIGHIER IN AFROAMERICAN AS OPPOSED TO WHITE.

MODAFIABLE RISK FACTORS=FACTORS YOU CAN CONTROL IN YOUR LIFESPAN. Obesity -　those with a body mass index of 30 or more Drinking more than 2 – 4 alcoholic drinks a day  Smoking High cholesterol Diabetes Stress and anxiety Excessive salt consumption

Possible causes of High Blood Pressure

Sometimes the cause of a person’s high blood pressure is determined, but this happens in only 5% of the cases. When a cause is found, the person is diagnosed with secondary high blood pressure [hypertension]. In most of these cases, the cause can be linked to an underlying illness such as kidney disease, adrenal gland disease, or narrowing of the aorta. Contraceptive pills, steroids, and some medications can also cause secondary high blood pressure [hypertension], though instances of this are not all that common.

High Blood Pressure and the important numbers

We hear the numbers, but do we really know what they mean? Since your blood pressure numbers can help you to understand your overall health status, it is important that you keep track of it. By knowing where your numbers are right now, you can head off such serious high blood pressure complications as angina, heart attacks, stroke, kidney damage, and many others that might surprise you – like eye problems and gangrene.

Medical professionals generally provide your blood pressure to you in terms of two numbers – a top one and a bottom one. For example, if your blood pressure is 120/80, they may say that you have a blood pressure of 120 over 80. Here is a definition for these numbers:

Your blood pressure requires monitoring when you have a systolic blood pressure of 140 or over and/or a diastolic blood pressure of 90 or over. Those with diabetes must maintain a lower blood pressure that those who don’t have the condition. Diabetics should maintain a blood pressure of less than 130/80.

Monitors for measuring High Blood Pressure

It is wise to monitor your blood pressure at home in addition to having it taken at your doctor’s office.　This will allow you to provide your doctor with readings that have been taken over time, providing a more in depth look at your personal health condition. This will help him or her to prescribe the righthypertensive medication　and treatment for your specific condition.

The best blood pressure monitors are those that take yourmeasurement　from the upper arm. Those that provide readings from the wrist or finger are not as reliable. You’ll also want to make sure that the blood pressure monitor you are considering has been proven in clinical trials. Trusted name brands include those made by Omron, LifeSource, Mark of Fitness, Micro Life, and A and D Instruments.　There are other brands available – the important thing is to do your research.

Check in this weekend and learn ways to reduce your blood pressure in Part 2.

“Bees, wasps, and hornets can quickly take the fun out of summer activities, especially if an allergy makes an insect encounter a potentially life-threatening event. It’s best to “bee” prepared for whatever buzzes your way.”

Insect allergy expert David B.K. Golden, MD,Guest on MedicineNet.com (when the doctor bring the knowledge to you).

“Bumble bees, hornets, yellow jackets, and wasps are able to sting multiple times, since their stingers are smooth and can be easily withdrawn from the victim’s skin.”

MedicineNet.com 12/11/2013 Bee and Wasp Sting

We left off ending on WASPS yesterday and today’s topic is BEES! 2.)Types of Bees A.) Honeybees Honey bees have been around longer than humans; there is fossil evidence from 150 million years ago! Honeybees are highly social insects. Honeybees can contain up to 60,000 bees in its colony at its peak. Honeybees can fly up to 15 miles an hour. Worker bees are sexually undeveloped females. They build hives, forage for pollen and nectar for food and circulate air within the hive by beating their wings, among other tasks. The queen’s main job is to lay eggs, though she also directs activity within the hive. Male bees are called drones. In winter months when the hive needs to conserve resources, drones are expelled. Honeybees can only sting once, causing the bee to die, as the stinger and the venom sack get stuck in the victim’s flesh after use. Many people are afraid of bees because they think they will be stung by them, but bees are far more interested in going about their business foraging for pollen and nectar than they are in ‘stinging’ human beings. It actually takes a lot to provoke a bee to sting you – and many of our UK bees don’t sting at all.

Honeybees…….will sting if defending their honey stores or their queen, or if they think you are threatening their life by standing or sitting on them.  Honeybees have a barb at the end of their sting which remains under your skin after they have stung.   When a honey bee stings a person, it cannot pull the barbed stinger back out. It leaves behind not only the stinger, but also part of its abdomen and digestive tract, plus muscles and nerves. Honey bees, including killer bees, have barbed stingers that tear off when they try to fly away after stinging, so these bees die after the sting and thus can sting only one time. In this case the stinger and venom sac typically remain embedded in the skin of the victim.This massive abdominal rupture kills the honey bee. Honey bees are the one of the few species of bees to die after stinging. They usually die right after they have stung.  It is worth noting that honeybees have a somewhat variable temperament, from extremely docile to quite tetchy. This is down to genetics: certain crosses can be hard to handle, even by experienced beekeepers. The good news is that honeybees almost never sting anyone who is not close to their nest/hive, so don’t worry about being stung whilst gardening or walking through a field.You are less likely to be stung whilst honeybees are swarming than at any other time.  Male honeybees have no sting If you have reason to think you may be allergic to bee venom, you should carry an Epipen (A PREPARED EPINEPHRINE DOSE WITH A NEEDLE to prevent anaphylactic reaction.) B.) BumblebeesLike their relatives the honey bees, bumblebees feed on nectar, using the long hairy tongue (proboscis) to lap up the liquid; the proboscis is folded under the head for flight. Bumblebees gather pollen to feed their young Theywill only sting if their nest is threatened or if you squeeze them, sit on them or stand on them. They are not naturally aggressive and it takes a lot to provoke them. If they feel threatened by you they will ‘tell’ you. They do this by raising one of their middle legs in the air. When you move away they will put their leg back down again – but if you go closer (and if they are unhappy about this) they will lift another leg in the air. If you go closer still – they will lift two legs up vertically in the air or turn on their back and show you their sting! This is called ‘posturing’ but very rarely leads to them actually stinging you.  If bumblebees DO ever sting, their sting has no barb like the honeybee, so they will not die afterwards Male bumblebees do not have a sting.  You can identify the males of some species quite easily by their pale yellow facial hair and little yellow moustaches. Also, male bumblebees are in less hurry than the females when foraging and have thin hairy legs (females have a wide shiny, smooth top corbicula on their back legs and are often carrying pollen) C.) Solitary bees There are over 230 species of solitary bee in the UK and it is VERY rare for anyone to be stung by one of these bees. As solitary bees have no honey stores to protect, there is no reason for nature to have provided them with a good defence weapon like the honeybee. The females are equipped with tiny stings but rarely, if ever, do they use them. You would have to be squashing them to provoke them to sting – and even then, the sting is so insignificant that it cannot pierce human skin. There are just one or two exceptions. Although the effect is not as severe as a honeybee sting, our tiniest species of ground nesting solitary bee, Lasioglossum and Halictus, both have fully functioning stings capable of penetrating human skin.  None of the male solitary bees have stings. D.)Carpenter Bees Carpenter bees, also dubbed the ‘wood boring bee’ got their name from their ability to drill through wood and nest inside the hole that they drilled.  These bees are honestly some of the most amazing bees in the world due to the fact that their hole is almost always nearly perfectly the same size: a half of an inch in diameter.  How many insects can make a near perfect circle in a piece of wood?  Not many and that is why the carpenter bee is one of the most interesting bees in the world … next to the honey bee of course! There are many different ways to tell a carpenter bee from other bees. The adult body length is usually about one half of an inch to about one inch and they are so robust they even resemble the bumble bee a little bit.  The top surface of the abdomen on the carpenter bee is almost bare and it is going to be shiny.  You can tell a male from a female by the color of their face: the male is going to have a yellow face while the female is always going to have a black face.  These bees are usually bare and shiny black, though some have a few little yellow markings on the rear. Carpenter bees can be pollinators as well, so some people offer them bee-homes in their gardens with pre-drilled wood houses. You will notice many different signs of carpenter bees if you have an infestation at your home.  For example, you will begin to notice holes in all of your wooden surfaces, as this is where the carpenter bees will make their nest.  This can be in any wood surface anywhere from siding, overhangs, desks, fences and even window frame!  Carpenter bees are definitely bees that you should get rid of and not linger on, the longer you wait to get rid of these bees, the more wood they are going to infest. If you are looking for a way to stop the carpenter bees from entering your home and getting to your wood, simply treat your wood.  Bare and unpainted wood is definitely something that carpenter bees look for, especially redwood, cedar, cypress and pine.  If you cure your wood and make sure to put down some carpenter bee preventative, you should have absolutely no problems with these bees getting anywhere near your wood. So as you can see, these bees are not only some of the most annoying bees to homeowners but they are pretty interesting too.  It is not often that you run into an insect that can drill through wood and seeks to make their nest in wood.  Just make sure that you take these few steps in order to prevent these amazing creatures from ruining your wood and you should have no problems with these amazing insects!  Just a quick coat of paint or even just a quick coat of stain will definitely protect your wood from being infested with carpenter bees or any other kind of weather issues.  Just remember that if you do not treat your wood in the spring, you could end up with carpenter bees! COME BACK TOMORROW FOR PART 3 HOW TO TREAT A STING with KNOWING THE SEVERITY OF THE REACTION & WHAT TO DO!

“Most stings arise because an insect perceives a threat to their colony. Bees and wasps commonly sting because an intruder has neared the hive or nest.”

MEDICINENET.COM 12/11/2013 Bee and Wasp Sting

Spring and with having summer around the corner brings certain insects coming out of hibernation which are with STINGERS and you should know how to deal with them. At least 40 deaths occur each year in the U.S. as a result of serious anaphylactic sting reactions. A bee sting is strictly a sting from a bee (honey bee, bumblebee, sweat bee, etc.). In the vernacular it can mean a sting of a bee, wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket. Some peoplemay even call the bite of a horse-fly a bee sting. The stings of most of these species can be quite painful, and are therefore keenly avoided by many people. Bee stings differ from insect bites, and the venom or toxin of stinging insects is quite different. Therefore, the body’s reaction to a bee sting may differ significantly from one species to another. The most aggressive stinging insects are vespid wasps (including bald-faced hornets and other yellow jackets) but not hornets in general (e.g., the European hornet is less harmful). All of these insects aggressively defend their nests. In people with insect sting allergy, a bee sting may trigger a dangerous anaphylactic reaction that is potentially deadly. Honey bee stings release pheromones that prompt other nearby bees to attack. There are over 25,000 species of wasps found throughout the world. Some of the most common wasps include:

• The yellow jacket and hornet, both of which live in groups, or colonies, in temperate climates.

• Yellow jackets, which have black and yellow stripes on the abdomen, form underground nests.

• Hornets are predominantly black with some yellow markings on the head and thorax. Hornets form paper-like nests that are attached to trees, bushes, or buildings.

• Certain animals have developed stinging as a form of defense or hunting. Venomous stings can have a local reaction, meaning pain, swelling, redness, itching, and possible oozing around the sting site, or a systemic reaction, meaning with local symptoms plus hives or airway and circulatory problems across the whole body. Local symptoms meaning the reaction to the sting is in one local area and systemic meaning the reaction is generalized throughout the body.

1. For starters let us begin with the types of Wasps.

A-Hornets Hornets are a type of wasp closely related to and resembling yellow jackets, according to National Geographic. While the majority of the approximately 20 species of hornets are found in tropical parts of Asia, these stinging insects can also be found throughout Europe, Africa and North America. Hornets are social insects that live in community hives dominated by queens.They are considered pests and potentially dangerous by many because they aggressively defend their hives by using their stingers. Reacting quickly after disturbing a hornets’ nest will help you prevent excessive stings and potential allergic reactions. Hornets are a large species of wasp, growing up to 2 1/2-inches in length. Hornets become aggressive when they feel threatened or must defend their nest. Unlike a bee, hornets can sting multiple times, as their stingers are not barbed. A hornet sting delivers venom beneath the skin that causes a painful reaction for up to three days following. You can treat a hornet sting to relieve some of the pain and swelling, making the healing process tolerable. Hornets are very, very painful. As soon as you are stung by a Hornet a red welt will develop and the throbbing pain will begin. Before trying to treat a Hornet sting be sure you are safely away from the Hornet and nest. A Hornet will sting many times and if you kill a Hornet their Hornet friends back at the nest will come after you too. When a Hornet is killed it releases a scent and other Hornets will come to investigate. If you are allergic to Hornet stings seek emergency medical attention.  B.) Yellow Jack.ets–Stinging Wasps Overall, stinging wasps have warning colors, either yellow, brown, to even blue or red. Wasps have pointed abdomens attached to the thorax by a thin waist called a petiole. They build papery nests from wood fibers, very common in the northeast. The colonies that live in these nests are led by one egg-laying queen. The female nest-building workers are the only ones with stingers, which are modified egg laying apparatuses. If threatened, they will gather into a stinging swarm to protect the nest. REMEMBER wasps have the ability to sting repeatedly. Tune in tomorrow for Part 2 on Bees and how they work and what their response is to the living human being.

“Hearing loss can be categorized by which part of the auditory system is damaged. There are three basic types of hearing loss: conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss.”

See more at: http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Types-of-Hearing-Loss/#sthash.dFNTIvGJ.dpuf

“High cholesterol itself does not cause any symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol levels are too high. Therefore, it is important to find out what your cholesterol numbers are. Lowering cholesterol levels that are too high lessens the risk for developing heart disease and reduces the chance of a heart attack or dying of heart disease, even if you already have it.”

WebMD

In our body we have cholesterol which is a type of fat. In certain foods is cholesterol depending on the food you buy. Your total cholesterol includes LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Let’s differentiate the two, LDL is bad cholesterol because it can build up in the arterial walls and form plaque in time. That build up in the arteries will reduce blood flow and increase your risk to heart disease, especially eating frequently the wrong foods with high and bad cholesterol over years (Example. coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and eating like this for years can lead to a heart attack or from s/s arising scarring the person to go to the doctor and find out they have blockages & need surgery. The s/s arising scarring the person can range from chest pain, and can be radiating down the arms, sweating profusely, weakness/fatigue increases in your life, dizziness, you feel like you’re going to fall or actually due to the fatigue/weakness=low B/P due to the blockage or the heart just working too hard in doing its function since the cardiac output is decreased from the blockage) Take one of my dear friends who I have known almost 35 years who was a workaholic 10to14hr/7 days a week for at least 25 years and this week he had to undergo surgery for a coronary artery blockage bypass for 5 vessels blocked 80% to 100%. He had a successful bypass done but now has a long rehab hall to get better due to high cholesterol eating, smoking (that both play an impact in plaque & tar build up in the vessels) but he also was obese about 50lbs. This could have been prevented if he changed his diet, watched his weight, and quit smoking years ago but that takes discipline, making sacrifices=all within your hands to allow for healthy habits now (prevention) or later when problems occur (treatment), if caught in time. There is a way out of this happening to you. HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol is also known as good cholesterol because it is thought to help remove bad cholesterol from the body; if you decide the right foods in the right portions that will have more HDL than LDL in them. Differentiating the 2, now another component to keep in mind is risk factors that can put you at risk for heart disease and your doctor will determine what additional risk factors you have putting you at risk for heart disease. These risk factors can be modifiable (controllable by individuals) or non-modifiable (non-controllable by individuals).

Modifiable Risk Factors=High B/P, Diabetes, Low HDL=good cholesterol, High LDL=bad cholesterol, smoking, eating foods high in SATURATED FAT & CHOLESTEROL, lack of any activity in your life (your regular routine doesn’t count), & harmful use of alcohol.

Non-modifiable Risk Factors=4 types only which are: 1-Heredity (The higher the risk is when the heredity is closer to you in your family tree=Nuclear family–mom, dad, and siblings). 2-Age (Men aged 45y/o or older & Women aged 55 y/o or older) 3-Gender (It may affect your risk, for years heart disease was considered a man’s disease but we now know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women as well as men. Although men tend to develop coronary artery disease earlier in life, after age 65 the risk of heart disease for both genders is equal.) 4-Race (Heart disease is higher among African Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, native Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans compared to Caucasians).

The answer to prevention or treatment of cardiac disease is changing or modifing your diet, if it’s unhealthy 100% or just partially. The answer includes exercise (from just walking or if you like working out, even better) and if needed medication but your doctor will decide. All these changes can modify your blood lipid profile=cholesterol control, which helps increasing your heart to a better tolerance with activity, stress and simply functioning. Recommended is going to a cardiologist for people diagnosed with heart conditions or your general practitioner with any illness/disease before making changes to help guide you towards the right choices. Your doctor can help you in determining which prevention or treatment plan is best for you.

Foods high in cholesterol=Fast foods, whole fat dairy products-milk/cheese/butter/mayonnaise/ bacon/processed deli meats/salad dressings and shortenings.

The key is to be living a healthy life. This consists of diet, exercise or activity and healthy habits learned and practiced routinely in your life that will help prevent or assist in treating cardiac disease. The better we treat ourselves regarding health the higher the odds we will live a longer and healthier life. There is not just one food to eat or one type of exercise to do or one healthy habit to keep you healthy, there’s choices. Come onto my website which is no fee, no charge, no hacking, just letting you check us out to look further in understanding how to take a shape for your life with Dr. Anderson and even myself as your health coach in helping you learn what healthier habits or changes you want for a healthier way of living. It allows you to make all the decisions in what you want to do regarding what to eat (diet), exercise/activity, and what healthy habits you want to add in your life. We just provide the information and healthy foods in your diet, if you decide you want it. You make all the choices. Wouldn’t you want less disease/illness for yourself and for others throughout the nation including the future generations. Thank you for lending me your ear in listening how we can help you get healthier and make a healthier USA. Click onto heathyusa.tsfl.com and I hope to hear from you soon.