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PART I What is Epilepsy with a etiology; metabolic or systemic cause.

Most people with epilepsy are otherwise healthy; as long as it is controlled like most other diseases.  A seizure is a physical manifestation of paroxysmal and abnormal electrical firing of neurons in the brain.  Think of it as numerous voltage (hyperexcitability of neurons) going throughout the brain meaning brain waves going in all directions with the brain saying its too much activity.  In simpler terms the brain is saying I don’t know what to do, too much brain wave excitability for the organ to register in what to do and freaks out causing the brain to go into a seizure.

When the seizure occurs there is a decrease in oxygen since the brain isn’t capable to send messages during the seizure.  If the seizure continues to repeat one right after another the person is in status epilepticus and if the seizures do not stop the person can lead to a neuronal death;  like John Travolta’s son who died of this for example.

The term seizure disorder may refer to any number of conditions that result  in such a paroxysmal electrical discharge.  These conditions could be metabolic or structural in nature.

For example, if metabolic this could be “Canavan disease” which is primarily a disease of demyelination.  Your myelin sheath that protects and insulates the nerves is being destroyed and can cause a seizure as one of the symptoms.

*Another example being metabolic is thought to be caused by brain acetate deficiency resulting from a defect of N–acetylaspartic acid (NAA) catabolism (meaning breakdown is occurring).  Accumulation of NAA, a compound thought to be responsible for maintaining cerebral fluid balance, can lead to cerebral edema and neurological injury, like a seizure as one symptoms of the disease.

*A structural condition to cause a seizure could be a tumor in the brain.  Than there is just idiopathic, unknown cause for the epilepsy which if starts in childhood can resolve by the child growing out it, like in petite mal seizures but it not it goes into motor/focal or grand mal that is permanent the individual needs Rx for life.

Remember, etiology (the cause) of Epilepsy can be generally a sign of underlying pathology involving the brain–knowing the cause.  To find this out diagnostic tooling be a neurologist who specializes in epilepsy is the best resource to go to.  The epilepsy may be the first sign of a nervous system disease (ex. Brain tumor), or it may be a sign of a systemic or metabolic derangement.  Where the treatment may be able to resolve the seizure symptom completely where this wasn’t a seizure disorder or epilepsy but just a symptom due to another disorder that may be 100% cured, like a operable tumor removed surgically from the brain.

Metabolic and Systemic Causes of Seizures:

a.) Electrolyte Imbalance=In the blood having acidosis, heavy metal poisoning, Hypocalcemia (low Ca+) , Hypocapnea (low carbon dioxide), Hypoglycemia (low glucose), Hypoxia (low oxygen), Sodium-Potassium imbalance, and than Systemic  diseases (liver, renal failure, etc…).  Then their is also toxemia of pregnancy, and water intoxication.

b.) Infections like meningitis, encephalitis, brain abcess.

c.) Withdrawal of sedative-hypnotic drugs=Alcohol, Antiepileptic drugs, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines.

d.) Iatrogenic drug overdose=Theopylline, Penicillin.

Other causes of epilepsy can be Trauma, Heredity.

Structural causes of epilepsy:

Head trauma/Degenerative Disease like Alzheimer’s or Creutfeldz-Jacob or Huntington’s Chorea or Multiple Sclerosis or Pick’s Disease. There is also tumors or genetic disease or Stroke or Infections or Febrile seizures.

 

QUOTE FOR THE WEEKEND:

“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 Gregory (born October 12, 1932) is an United States”American Comedian”

What is HIgh Blood Pressure?

High Blood Pressure – what is it?

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 ?

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.                                                                                                                                                                                                   v Obesity – those with a body mass index of 30 or more                                                        v Drinking more than 2 – 4 alcoholic drinks a day                                                                               v Smokingv High cholesterolv Diabetesv Stress and anxietyv 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:

The top figure– this is your systolic blood pressure. It measures the force of blood in the arteries as your heart beats. The top number means the pressure is reading your heart at work.

The bottom figure – this is your diastolic blood pressure. It is the pressure of your blood when the heart is relaxed in between the times when it is pumping. Means the pressure is reading your heart at rest.

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 right hypertensive medication and treatment for your specific condition.

The best blood pressure monitors are those that take your measurement 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.

 

 

 

QUOTE FOR FRIDAY:

“People who care about animals tend to care about people. They don’t care about animals to the exclusion of people. Caring is not a finite resource and, even more than that, it’s like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.”

 

Jonathan Safran Foer (born February 21, 1977) is a writer. … nonfiction titled Eating Animals While Foer’s works have been released to … 21 KB (3,107 words) – 02:35, 23 September 2013)

Part 2 HOW TO KEEP A HEALTHY MUSCULAR SYSTEM & WHY!

You want to know if this can be prevented? Well YES, it can!

The good news is that the effects of this normal declining or atrophying in the muscular system when getting older can be decreased in the severity by exercising regularly. The sooner you get in a regular plan of doing it the easier it will be as you grow older. By staying active always in your years of living you will continue to be muscle toned and build new muscles as well as keep your muscular system happy and healthy with not allowing it to become atone (loose in tonicity of the muscle=little strength if any).   So you don’t have to be 15 or 20 or 30 or 40 years old to start this. The longer you hold off on some form of exercise (mild to moderate to intense) the longer it takes to tolerate it and adapt to this being a part of your daily living. Like anything else for most; it may not be easy at first but in time whatever exercise you choose 3x, 5x, or even daily the sooner you will love it and want it in your life. It can range from belly dancing, to gym workouts, to fast walking, to racquetball, to swimming or hiking. Anything beats sitting most of the day or sitting behind a desk for work hours than coming home for dinner followed by TV than sleep.

 According to the American College of Sports Medicine, most individuals should be doing moderate aerobic activity four or more days a week for at least 30 minutes at a time. Aerobic exercise can be defined as that which engages your heart and lungs, so a leisurely walk won’t do it. Keeping your muscles healthy aerobically should also be fun and can be done with others. Hiking is a great example of such an enjoyable activity since walking hills force both big and small muscles to optimally utilize oxygen. It is much easier than you think.   If you are overweight think about getting into your therapeutic body mass index of weight that can take 6 months to even less or for some take a year up to two years. Whatever time it takes to get in your therapeutic range it’s worth the while in getting yourself at a weight that allows you to start exercising=being active. When you reach that point in life it allows you to do so much more with your life than sit on the side lines but instead play on the field with a big view of more enjoyment and activity. Anyone can do it; you just need to have the power and perseverance. The ending results are worth it for one person only, YOU but it will give people around you a positive impact as well. If you have a condition that doesn’t allow you to do the types of activity that I mentioned earlier there is always home remedies from treadmills, using dumb bells in light weight lifting (2.5lbs. to 20lb.), sit ups, just walking around the yard or block or using the pool you may have doing laps. You can figure it out with the help of asking your doctor (For people with any disease/illness or condition it is recommended to go to the physician first to get clearance in getting activities that you’re allowed to do). Always a health fitness coach could give direction but not replace a doctor for clearance in activity).

The foods that will help your muscular system in staying healthy: Eating well on a consistent basis is also essential in maintaining healthy muscles. The National Institute of Heath recommends you should eat 6 small meals a day. All meals being at the same level of calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and sugars (fairly low) excluding your one meal out of the 6 meals being high in protein (lean meats and more green vegetables primarily. These meals are 3 hours apart. By doing this you keep your sugar level at a steady rate (no peaks in sugar level). Keeping your glucose (sugar) level steady you prevent fat storage occurring. When we have too much sugar left in the bloodstream, that we got after digestion of a meal, first we use up any sugar that was transferred into our bloodstream as fuel but by absorbing it into our tissues for the energy but when we have used all the sugar we needed at that point and still have extra glucose (due to a large meal) the extra sugar in the blood gets stored somewhere in the body equaling fat storage that equals weight gain. Eat 2 or 3 moderate to large meals a day you’ll always run into this problem (extra sugar being stored in your body). To prevent this from happening you eat 6 small healthy meals a day which are lower in calories, carbs, fat and sugars including the portions, that’s the logic. Know that all carbohydrates, all sugars (calories) with certain fats when entering the stomach after eating break down into further simple or complex sugars. Than they transfer into the bloodstream when digestion is done in the stomach=more sugar than just the amount that is present on the back of the container, regarding the food that you’re eating at that time. The 6 healthy meals a day are not saying 6 big macs or small whoppers. I am talking about healthy foods eaten by the 4 food groups. In making your muscles healthier begin to make better choices with each meal. Seek to replace saturated fats and refined sugars with healthy fish (high protein) but not daily (have it 2 to 3 times a week) and fiber based foods (daily). Other suggestions include eating your first meal of the day within 30 minutes after waking up. Lastly and very important drink water (at least eight glasses a day or if possible 2 to 3 liters a day). Drinking this much helps your muscles in doing their function better, they move easier (think of the fluid helping the muscle in not drying out which allows the muscle to function better in range of motion).

Health habits are important. Unhealthy habits that have that an impact on your muscles is:

-Stress, which can be brutal for your entire body systems including your muscular system. Having emotional stress places an inordinate amount of demand on your muscles. Ways to conquer the stress is relaxation therapy (ex. Next time you have an emotional stress (angry to sad) focus and sit back with take 10 deep breaths, tired after work go to bed earlier about ½ hr. to an hour and play soft music to fall off to sleep, still not working than do EXERCISE-it tires your stress and eat healthy foods not junk).

-Poor diet: To build muscle and lose fat, you need a variety of proteins, veggies, fruits, carbs, and healthy fats properly portioned for your meals. Eating a protein helps build and maintain your muscles. It also helps fat loss because protein has a higher thermic effect than carbohydrates or fats.

There is not just one food to eat or one type of exercise to do or one healthy habit to perform that will keep you healthy, there are choices. Come onto my website which is no fee, no charge, no hacking, it will just let 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 a healthier diet is using with all 4 food groups in 6 meals, with knowing the exercise right for you and what healthier habits are for a better muscular system and overall life.   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 and you decide if you want them. I happen to eat them 5 times out of the day with one meal being my meat or fish (high protein) and vegetable (lean and green). You make all the choices, like I do. Wouldn’t you want to be stronger, more active, with less disease/illness for yourself and for even others throughout the nation including the future generations? Well than click on over to healthyusa.tsfl.com and take a look with what Dr. Anderson and myself can provide for you. I have been in the health care system over 25 years as a Registered Nurse and I know you or anyone will benefit from this information (I lost over 20lbs. so far). Take a peek.

 

Part 1 HOW TO KEEP A HEALTHY MUSCULAR SYSTEM & WHY!

To understand how this system and health relate you need to understand how it works in the body. What is the muscular system? It is a body system composed of a network of tissues (cartilages, ligaments, tendons, fascias, joints, etc…) that allows the human body to control movement inside and outside of it. As simple as walking to exercise to activities we do from within the body to survive (Ex. heart beating, lungs breathing, veins returning blood to the heart from the legs=activities we don’t focus or concentrate on when awake or asleep.). Our muscles are divided into groups:

1-Skeletal Muscle:   Found in the skeletal system and provides controlled movement. It maintains body movement from our head to our toes=jaw movement, poster, producing heat in the body to simply speaking while you’re standing and so much more. You get the idea that this system plays a vital role in many functions we carry out daily but a lot of times we take this for granted since we use the skeletal muscle for our daily routine functioning that is both voluntary and involuntary.

2-Visceral Smooth Muscle: Found in the digestive tract, urinary tract, and blood vessels; contractions not under voluntary control.

3-Cardiac Muscle: Found only in the heart; contractions not under voluntary control.

Skeletal muscles are organs and do vary in size and shape from long and thin, broad and flat, to bulky masses and some not.

The skeletal muscle is highly vascular. Muscle fatigue and pain result when there is insufficient oxygen delivered to the muscle. Oxygen is the fuel to the human body in making it possible for us to function and survive; without it we can’t live.

You see how important this system is and we need to keep it healthy. Keep your muscular system healthy as a priority in your daily life. By doing this you will not only improve your quality of life, overall, but you will also begin to focus more easily on enjoying what’s truly important in your life. With staying healthy in your life it will increase the risk of you living longer and a more productive one. Prevention of injury to the muscular system and all the systems of the body is the answer to happiness, so start now and the younger the easier and better are the results.

How can you do this, well there are 3 main factors that would highly impact reaching a healthy or healthier muscular system and it’s NEVER too late to get started. They would be:

1-DIET 2-EXERCISE 3-ROUTINELY PRACTICING HEALTHY HABITS

 At first it may seem like a challenge but when it gets in your regular routine of daily living it’s a BREEZE. I can say that because I made changes to a degree with better healthier living. If I can do it so can you. It really isn’t that difficult.

 Let me first inform you what happens to the muscular system as we get older. We become more inactive from our younger years (meaning sedentary lifestyle with no form of activity) and we are more prone to practice poor healthy habits (including what’s in your diet and how you eat). The reason for this is we are no longer in high school with a higher metabolism or in college as well but working crazy hours on the run with the family and don’t have the time like we did but you end up with the following:

                                                                                                                                                                                           As we get older the tissue that comprises everyone’s muscular system decreases in size and relative strength. When muscle fibers die they are replaced by FATTY TISSUE. This makes the movement of muscles more difficult.

QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY:

“A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.“

Proper dieting and regular walking How it helps the human body stay healthy.

First diet doesn’t necessarily mean you’re on a struggle eating special foods. Diet can simply mean that the foods that your eating and if done regularly eating foods HIGH in FAT, CHO (carbohydrates), CALORIES, and SUGAR you will also be high in your weight count unless you are working out extensively since it allows you to burn off the excess in FAT, CHO, CALORIES and SUGAR that the body doesn’t need. What also plays a role is your activity and this does not include your regular activities of daily living (so work doesn’t count even if you are in a job constantly on your feet, like possibly a Doctor, a traffic controller, or even a Nurse, like myself for over 25 years, in hospital settings…).   So some form of exercise, not having to be aerobic but if you do more power to you, it has to be done daily or every 2 to 3 times a day. Why and how does this help the body?

Is there anyone out there like myself that had nice legs but in time became bigger where you went from having 2 tone frankfurter legs ( nice and juicy) to 2 fat sausages looking well done (cellulite kicking in) causing you to cover them up with only fitting into dark leggings. Well I resolved this problem and it didn’t take vigorous working out either. It took discipline with the understanding of how the body works in creating pounds of additional fat/cellulite on the body due to diet and not doing routine or any exercise. My arms, abdomen, face with the neck (to some degree) started looking better through my diet change.   I increased my metabolism and kept it at a steady rate=6 small low glycemic meals a day which takes into account the amount of fats, CHOs, sugars, calories and small HIGH PROTEIN meal sizes that you eat.   The ending result when eating high glycemic meals and even large portion low glycemic meals causes fat storage in the body=cellulite, which we see in time. This is due to meals that are too high in calories, fat, sugars, CHO’s. Most adult Americans are overweight (over 60%) this is because many eat more than what the body needs for energy at that one time. After the energy that is needed by the body at that time is used from that meal then the extra energy=free circulating glucose in the bloodstream gets stored somewhere in the body causing an increase in fat storage on the body=Increase in the body weight.   Keep in mind ladies after 40 y/o pre and actual menopause occurs at sometime. This causes the metabolism to slow down even more which in turn causes an increase in the chance of putting weight on at the abdomen, legs, & hips. Our fuel for the body is FOOD&one of the ending products making up our fuel is glucose & when used in excess=a large meal, you store a lot of glucose away=fat storage=Wt. gain.   For further info go to my web page. 1

Another key in keeping healthy and even toning up muscles, especially in the legs is WALKING. This activity helps the body in 2 major ways (without doing major work-outs). One it helps the human body in both toning it (particularly the legs) and losing weight. Than 2 it helps prevent certain diseases, especially if you are still young adolescence or a young adult aged without disease at this time .

What physical activity does (even just walking briskly for 1-2 miles a day or 2-3x a week on a routine basis) will help in weight and health. Other than regular activities of daily living, like walking, burns calories, increases your good cholesterol (HDL) and decreases your unhealthy triglycerides. This helps prevent certain cardiac diseases; like blockages in the arteries=arthrosclerosis or strokes due to blockages or even helping someone already diagnosed with it by maintaining it with other RX methods (Ex. Meds, diet, etc…). Walking and even jogging improve circulation in the legs, and proper circulation helps ward off the development of varicose veins. Exercise also reduces overall high blood pressure and strengthens your entire circulatory system. The higher in the intensity of the activity the higher in number of calories you burn which includes CHO’s.   Activity/Exercise causes your metabolism to increase giving you an extra boost of energy (can even boost up the sex life, you have that extra energy) I have even increased my activity outside at home using the pool and walking with my sweetheart & dogs on our 2+ acres which makes a nice walk for all. It has proven to me that it has improved my sleep from doing the activity at least 4 to 6 hours, if not earlier, before sleeping, since it does increase your metabolism causing you to be more awake at first. Activity in your life can only benefit you, Remember to check with your general practitioner before starting any new exercise program, especially if you have any health concerns/diseases.  If you want to learn more about how to diet with exercise (not necessarily intense workout) and make yourself healthier with even getting others involved to do the same than join me at my website healthyusa.tsfl.com and read the information it provides and see if this is something you would want. No fee, no charge, no donations or hacking. I hope you join me; if I can do it, you can do it. All it takes is a little drive in wanting to feel and even look better for yourself and others being a good mentor (for children, spouse, family, and friends, etc…) to spread healthiness in the USA.   It would benefit everyone (even our healthcare) in time=less disease/illness for the next era and even generation to come. Thank you for coming by reading the site.