Advice
from the Health Organizations
The same sources we utilized to compile the Health Statistics
and Did You Know? have also provided extremely important advice on ways we
can avoid or minimize our risks of developing illnesses.
This advice is helpful, but many of our clients tell us
it leaves them unsure of how to REALLY make changes to their diets and lifestyles
in order to prevent these diseases and illnesses.
Specifically, they describe the advice as “too general” and “not targeted
for them” specifically. For example,
in order to reduce the risk of developing cancer, the Cancer Society says
we should “eat a healthy diet – one that is low in fat and high in fiber.”
But how do we do it? What
kinds of foods should we eat? How
do we know if we have eaten “enough” fiber?
Is there such a thing as “enough?”
These sites are excellent sources of general information,
but they leave a lot of people wanting more.
For instance, many of us want to know that eating a low fat diet is
really benefiting us. That’s
where HealthPrints fit in. HealthPrints
have been helping people manage, understand, and track their bodies’ health
for over 23 years. Advice from
these health organizations doesn’t have to be your only resource for prevention.
YFH has made it easy for you to see whether the changes you are making
are working or whether they are even necessary!
If you are interested in seeing a complete list of the
tests we run to help our clients with these illnesses and symptoms, please
go to “What Tests Do We Run?”.
Advice
on. . .
Arthritis
Kidney Disease
Cancer
Liver Disease
Depression
Migraine
Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Heart/Cardiovascular
Sleep
Infertility
Weight Control
Arthritis
Advice
(sources: www.HealingWithNutrition.com,
www.ColoradoHealthNet.org)
- “Some
forms of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis, can be prevented with weight
control and precautions to avoid certain occupational and sports injuries.”
- “The
pain and disability accompanying all types of arthritis can be minimized
through early diagnosis and appropriate management, including diet and nutrient
supplements, weight control, physical activity, and self-management.”
- “Effective
help is available now for people who want to proactively manage their disease
and enjoy life to the fullest. The
traditional approach is medications and physical therapy, but now a massive
amount of nutrient research validates the effect diet and supplements can
have for the body to heal.”
Back
to top
Arthritis statistics
Cancer
Advice (sources:
American Medical Association – www.ama-assn.org, American Cancer Society
– www.cancer.org)
- “For
most of us, the 2 important keys to decreasing our cancer risk are knowledge
and action – knowing how to avoid cancer-causing agents and behaviors, knowing
what to look for if cancer should start, and acting on this knowledge.”
- “High-fat
diets have been linked to cancer of the breast, colon, prostate gland, and
endometrium.”
- Under
the heading “How is it diagnosed?”:
”blood tests may be used to check for anemia and to look for specific
tumor markers.”
- Under
the heading “What can I do to reduce my risk?” the Cancer Society says “exercise
regularly and eat a healthy diet – one that is low in fat and high in fiber.”
- “Prevention
and early detection are two of the most important and effective strategies
for … saving lives lost to cancer, diminishing suffering due to cancer,
and eliminating cancer as a major health problem.”
- “Scientific
evidence suggests that about one-third of the 552,200 cancer deaths expected
to occur in 2000 are expected to be related to nutrition and other lifestyle
factors and could be prevented.”
- “Regular
screening examinations by a health care professional can result in the detection
of cancers of the breast, colon, rectum, cervix, prostate, testis, oral
cavity, and skin at earlier stages, when treatment is more likely to be
successful.”
- “The
remainder of cancers (90-95%) are not hereditary, but result from damage
to genes that occurs throughout our lifetime, either due to internal factors,
such as hormones or the digestion of nutrients within cells, or external
factors, such as chemicals and sunlight.”
Depression
Advice (sources:
www.ColoradoHealthNet.org and National Depressive & Manic-Depressive
Association – www.ndmda.org)
- “Clinical
depression commonly co-occurs with other medical illnesses.”
- “If
you are not affected now, chances are that at some point in your life, you
yourself or someone you know will become affected (with depression).”
- “Even
if you don’t have a genetic predisposition (for depression), your body chemistry
can trigger the onset of depressive disorder, due to the presence of another
illness, altered health habits, substance abuse, or hormonal fluctuations.”
Diabetes
Advice (source:
American Diabetes Association – www.diabetes.org)
- “Diabetes
is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin,
a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into
energy needed for daily life.”
- “The
cause of diabetes is a mystery, although both genetics and environmental
factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.”
- “Other
specific types of diabetes result from specific genetic syndromes, surgery,
drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses.”
- “Often
type 2 diabetes can be controlled through losing weight, improved nutrition
and exercise alone…”
- “People
with type 2 diabetes usually develop the disease after age 45, but often
are not aware they have diabetes until severe symptoms occur or they are
treated for one of its serious complications.”
Back
to top
Diabetes statistics
Heart
and Cardiovascular Advice (source:
American Heart Association –
www.americanheart.org)
- “When
you consider that many risk factors for heart disease, heart attack and
stroke can be changed and controlled by making healthier lifestyle choices,
you can understand why you should care if you have one or more risk factors.”
- “Cardiovascular
disease is America’s No. 1 killer.
You can help to lower these statistics by learning all you can about
your risk factors and how to minimize them.
A high level of cholesterol in the blood is one of the risk factors
you that you can change or control.”
- “Studies
suggest that high levels of HDL cholesterol reduce your risk of heart attack.”
- “You
get cholesterol in two ways. Your
body makes some of it, and the rest comes from animal products that you
eat, such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs, butter, cheese and whole milk.
Food from plants like fruits, vegetables and cereals do not have
cholesterol.”
- “Cholesterol
and other fats can’t dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from the cells by special
carriers called lipoproteins and there are two kinds that you need to be
concerned with. Low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) … and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).”
- “High
blood pressure is the No. 1 modifiable risk factor for stroke.”
- “Most
high blood pressure can’t be cured, but it usually can be controlled.
And its effects can be prevented or reduced – if it’s treated and
controlled early, and kept under control.”
Infertility
Advice (source:
Wayne Sinclair, MD & Richard W. Pressinger, (M.Ed.) www.chem-tox.com)
- “The
primary cause of infertility today is due to the wide range of chemical
exposures present in the home, job, diet, and environment.
Avoiding these circumstances should significantly improve the likelihood
of conception.”
- “Fertility
treatments resulted in only a 6 percentage point improvement in achieving
pregnancy over infertile couples who just “kept trying.””
- “Coffee
drinking caused a 20-25% reduction in blood flow to the brains of healthy
college volunteers 30 minutes after drinking 250 milligrams of caffeine.”
- “20-25%
of miscarriages are due to immune system problems.”
- “Drinking
water from Thomas Water Supply in the United Kingdom was pinpointed as the
cause of lower sperm counts and increases in abnormally shaped sperm.”
Back
to top
Infertility statistics
Kidney
Disease Advice (source:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases –
www.niddk.nih.gov; Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center Medical Encyclopedia)
- Maintaining the necessary daily water intake is major factor in proper
kidney function.
- Routinely checking your body's calcium will help prevent
kidney stones.
- Blood pressure maintenance is imperative for your kidneys'
health.
- Controlling your glucose levels before adult onset diabetes
sets in is a must as well.
- "Calculus formation (for example, kidney stones) may be due to a combination
of factors rather than any one factor. Such factors include local infection,
high levels of calcium or other salts in the blood, some conditions that
cause a reduction in the flow of bodily fluids, and a genetic predisposition."
- "Infection of the kidneys often results from the spread of infection from
the bladder."
- "Many disorders in other parts of the body have an effect on the kidney.
High blood pressure gradually damages the kidneys."
- "Diabetes affect kidney function. Diabetes mellitus not only causes sugar
in the urine... but may eventually cause damage to the glomeruli or to the
blood supply to the kidney."
Back to
top
Kidney disease statistics
Liver
Disease Advice (source:
Melissa Palmer, MD – www.liverdisease.com)
- “One
cannot expect to walk into the doctor’s office and request a diet for liver
disease. Such an across the
board diet simply does not exist.”
- “Other
medical disorders… must also be factored into any diet.
Each person has his or her own individual nutritional requirements,
and these requirements may change over time.”
- “Protein
intake must be adjusted in accordance with a person’s body weight and the
degree of liver damage present.”
- “People
need some fat in order to properly absorb the four fat-soluble vitamins
– A, D, E, and K. Without some
fat, these vitamins may become deficient in the body, even if they are being
taken in supplemental form.” (nutritional guideline for people with liver
disease)
- “At
some point, the liver can become damaged due to the strain of processing
an overabundance of certain vitamins and minerals (particularly iron, vitamin
A, and niacin).”
- “Requirements
of vitamins and minerals in the diet of a person with liver disease must
be evaluated on an individual basis.”
- “Since
stomach acid is needed to properly absorb calcium, antacids, such as Tums,
which reduce stomach acid, are poor sources of calcium.”
- “If.
. . fatigue continues to persist (a common symptom of liver disease), there
are a few simple measures that may be of help.
A healthy, low-fat, well-balanced diet, cessation of smoking, alcohol
intake in moderation, and a daily exercise routine are all essential lifestyle
adjustments.”
- “Any
excess weight should be eliminated with a sound weight reducing diet.” (regarding
people with liver disease)
- “Albumin
levels can be low in conditions other than liver diseases including malnutrition,
some kidney diseases and other rarer conditions.
Migraine
Advice (sources:
American Medical Association – www.ama-assn.org,
www.headache.com.au)
- “Migraines
are known to be associated with several neurological and psychiatric conditions,
including depression, epilepsy, and stroke.”
- “Headaches
were the most commonly reported individual recent illness condition.”
- “There
are many different causes for headaches, and this is the most likely reason
why they are so common.”
Back
to top
Migraine statistics
Osteoporosis
Advice (sources:
www.ColoradoHealthNet.org, www.BoneSummit.com)
- “Counsel
all women on the risk factors of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a “silent” risk factor for fracture just
as hypertension (high blood pressure) is for stroke.”
- “Recommend
BMD (bone mineral density) testing to postmenopausal women under age 65
who have one or more additional risk factors for osteoporotic fracture.”
- “Recommend
BMD testing to all women age 65 and older regardless of additional risk
factors.”
- “Advise
all patients to obtain an adequate intake of dietary calcium and vitamin
D.”
- “The
balance of data suggests that calcium intake has a positive influence on
bone mass in premenopausal women.
Even small advances in bone mass provide great reductions in fracture
rates.”
- “Calcium
is only useful to the skeleton once it is absorbed.”
- “Iron
and calcium supplements should be taken at different times because they
compete for absorption.”
- “Patients
may benefit from understanding the bioavailability of the various forms
of calcium. Some forms are
mostly passed through the body and not absorbed.”
- Treatments
include: “change lifestyle
risk factors: tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, high protein intake” and “adequate
calcium intake.”
- In
response to: Are there steps
that individuals can take to reduce the likelihood of osteoporosis? The
answer is “Yes. People should
supplement their diets with calcium and vitamin D… while smoking, alcohol,
and excessive caffeine should be avoided.”
Back
to top
Osteoporosis statistics
Sleep
Advice
(source: National Sleep
Foundation – www.sleepfoundation.org)
- Sleep
experts recommend “at least 8 hours of sleep a night for adults to function
properly.”
- “But
as we work longer hours to get more done, individual productivity levels
are suffering due to sleepiness.”
- “It’s
unfortunate that in our 24/7 society, sleep is viewed as expendable and
something you can catch up on anytime.
The problem is, people aren’t catching up on sleep, they’re simply
continuing to accrue a sleep debt that puts them further behind as they
try to keep up with life’s demands.”
- “Studies
show naps can restore short-term alertness and enhance both concentration
and memory.”
Back
to top
Sleep statistics
Weight
Control Advice (source:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases – www.niddk.nih.gov)
- “Studies
indicate that increased abdominal or upper body fat is related to the risk
of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, gallbladder
disease, stroke, and certain cancers, and is associated with overall mortality.”
- “The
health risks associated with obesity and being overweight do not conform
to rigid cutoff points.”
- “Americans
spend $33 billion annually on weight-loss products and services.
(This figure represents consumer dollars spent in the early 1990s
on all efforts at weight loss or weight maintenance including low-calorie
foods, artificially sweetened product, and memberships to commercial weight-loss
centers.)
| Site Map |
©YFH, 2000 |
Last Updated September 29, 2002 |
|
|
