‘What is Meningitis? Meningitis is an infection of the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges). Viral meningitis is an infection caused by viruses and bacterial meningitis is an infection caused by bacteria.

Viral meningitis is usually less serious and goes away without treatment. Many different viruses can cause viral meningitis. Most of the viruses are common during the summer and fall months.

Bacterial meningitis is extremely serious. Brain damage, hearing loss or learning disability may happen after having bacterial meningitis. It is important to know what bacteria are causing bacterial meningitis so that the correct medicine can be used to prevent others from getting sick. The earlier the medicine is given the more successful it is. Streptococcus pneumonia and Neisseria meningitidis are two kinds of bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis. Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria mostly attacks the very young but with the vaccination program in infants, meningitis in children happens less frequently.

Many of the viruses that cause viral meningitis can be spread through saliva or stool. Bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis can spread person-to-person through contact with fluids from the mouth or nose of a sick person. Most people already have natural protection against many of these germs.”.

John Hopkins Medicine

As you might think, bacterial infections are caused by bacteria, and viral infections are caused by viruses. Perhaps the most important distinction between bacteria and viruses is that antibiotic drugs usually kill bacteria, but they aren’t effective against viruses.

Bacteria

Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms that thrive in many different types of environments. Some varieties live in extremes of cold or heat. Others make their home in people’s intestines, where they help digest food. Most bacteria cause no harm to people, but there are exceptions.

Infections caused by bacteria include:

• Strep throat
• Tuberculosis
• Urinary tract infections

Inappropriate use of antibiotics has helped create bacterial diseases that are resistant to treatment with different types of antibiotic medications.

Viruses

Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and require living hosts — such as people, plants or animals — to multiply. Otherwise, they can’t survive. When a virus enters your body, it invades some of your cells and takes over the cell machinery, redirecting it to produce the virus.

Diseases caused by viruses include:

• Chickenpox
• AIDS
• Common colds

In some cases, it may be difficult to determine whether a bacterium or a virus is causing your symptoms. Many ailments — such as pneumonia, meningitis and diarrhea — can be caused by either bacteria or viruses.

“The overall function of the immune system is to prevent or limit infection.  The immune system can distinguish between normal, healthy cells and unhealthy cells by recognizing a variety of “danger” cues called danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Cells may be unhealthy because of infection or because of cellular damage caused by non-infectious agents like sunburn or cancer. Infectious microbes such as viruses and bacteria release another set of signals recognized by the immune system called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).When the immune system first recognizes these signals, it responds to address the problem. If an immune response cannot be activated when there is sufficient need, problems arise, like infection.”

NIH The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Gluten-Free Junk Food

Gluten-free is all the rage these days.

About a third of people in the US are actively trying to avoid gluten, according to a 2013 survey.

The problem with many gluten-free diets, is that people replace the gluten-containing foods with processed junk foods that happen to be gluten-free, what good is that going to do you in healthy eating (nothing).

These gluten-free replacement products are often high in sugar, unhealthy oils and refined grains like corn starch or tapioca starch. These refined starches lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar, and are extremely low in essential nutrients.

Alternatives: Choose foods that are naturally gluten-free, like unprocessed plants and animal foods. Gluten-free junk food is still junk food.

Agave Nectar 

This is a sweetener that is often marketed as healthy.

However, agave nectar is not as healthy as some people think. It is a highly refined sweetener that is extremely high in fructose.

High amounts of fructose from added sweeteners (not whole fruit) can be absolutely a disaster for your health.

The truth is, agave is even higher in fructose than other sugars.

Whereas table sugar contains 50% fructose, and high fructose corn syrup around 55%, agave nectar is 85% fructose.

Alternatives: Stevia and erythritol are healthy, natural and calorie free=stevia and erythritol..

Low-Fat Yogurt-it can be incredibly healthy.

Unfortunately, most yogurts found in the grocery store are extremely bad for you.

They are frequently low in fat, but loaded with sugar to make up for the lack of taste that the fats provided.

Put simply, the yogurt has had the healthy, natural dairy fats removed, only to be replaced with something much, much worse.

Additionally, many yogurts don’t actually contain probiotic bacteria, as generally believed. They have often been pasteurized.  This occurs after fermentation, which kills all the bacteria.

Alternatives: Choose regular, full-fat yogurt that contains live or active cultures (probiotics). If you can get your hands on it, choose yogurt from grass-fed cows.

Low-Carb Junk Foods

Low-carb diets are very popular these days, and have been for several decades.

There are plenty of real foods that you can eat on a low-carb diet, most of which are very healthy.

However, this is not true of processed low-carb replacement products, such as low-carb candy bars and meal replacements.

These are generally highly processed foods that contain very little actual nutrition, just a bunch of artificial ingredients mixed together and then sold as food.

Alternatives: If you’re on a low-carb diet, eat foods that are naturally low in carbs. Low-carb junk food is still junk food.

Ice Cream

Ice cream is one of the most delicious foods on the planet.

Unfortunately, it is also one of the unhealthiest. Most commercial ice cream is loaded with sugar.

Ice cream is also high in calories, and it is very easy to eat excessive amounts. Eating it for dessert is even worse, because then you’re adding it all on top of your total calorie intake.

Alternatives: It is possible to make your own ice cream using healthier ingredients and significantly less (or no) sugar.

Candy Bars

Candy bars are incredibly unhealthy

They are high in sugar, refined wheat flour and processed fats. They are also very low in essential nutrients.

Processed foods like candy bars are generally engineered to be super tasty (so you eat more), and have been designed so that it’s very easy to eat them quickly.

A candy bar may taste good and cause some short-term satiety, but you’ll be hungry again very quickly because of the way these high-sugar treats are metabolized.

Alternatives: Eat a piece of fruit instead, or a piece of real high-cocoa dark chocolate.

“Do you know what foods are unhealthy? When examining your diet, it can be difficult to determine what foods are healthy or not.

The most common unhealthy foods include highly-processed items “such as fast foods and snack foods,” says Vilma Andari, M.S. “Highly-processed foods tend to be low in nutrients (vitamins, minerals and antioxidants) and high on empty calories due to the content of refined flours, sodium and sugar.”  Examples of processed foods include: Chips, Cookies, Cakes, Sugar cereals.  What makes is unhealthy? “The preparation method and the types of ingredients the food contains make it unhealthy,” says Andari. “Sodium, sugar and fat (saturated fat and trans-fat) are key ingredients one should always monitor when eating out and shopping at the grocery store. The American Heart Association recommends keeping the consumption of saturated fat to less than 7 percent and the consumption of trans-fat to less than 1 percent of an individual’s daily calories.”.

wwwheart.org

“Almost 1 in 2 U.S. adults—or about 108 million people—have high blood pressure.¹

More than 1 in 7 U.S. adults—or about 37 million people—may have chronic kidney disease (CKD).²

High blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the United States after diabetes.^2″

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease

“Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, involves the wearing away of the cartilage that caps the bones in your joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.”.

MAYO CLINIC

“July means fun in the sun for many people. But with the beach and barbecue weather comes higher exposure to harmful Ultraviolet (UV) rays, which are the main cause of skin cells turning into cancer.

Taking extra precaution with your skin this summer is more important than ever, as the rate of skin cancer has increased dramatically over the last decade. According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. More skin cancers are diagnosed each year than all other cancers combined.

As part of July’s UV Safety Month, let’s explore how UV radiation can cause skin cancer as well as ways to prevent overexposure to harmful rays.”.

Saint John’s Cancer Institute