Tag Archives: tips

A Cup of Tea

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Week2Blog5

Grab a cup of tea now because its health benefits can only do you good. Many places in the world like in Asia, Europe, and more drinks tea on a daily basis. It’s popularity has continued to rise with more research showing that tea can help your body be healthier. Tea originated in China and has come such a long way from ancient times to now that there  are about 1,500 kinds of tea. There are so many that you are guarantee to find flavors suited to your taste.

So what are some benefits by drinking tea?

  • Fight against different types of cancer
  • Protect organs
  • Lower cholesterol
  • Be a weight losing supplement
  • Hydrate the body
  • Fight against cardiovascular diseases
  • Body degradation – skins, bones

Some recommended tea to try is:

  • Green tea
  • Black tea
  • Oolong Tea
  • White Tea
  • Jasmine Tea

Tea on its own is a either dried leaves or a blend of herbs/flowers/spices. There is a wide range of flavors and taste from bland to citrus to bitter. You can always make add other ingredients into your tea that will help you drink it.

 

Exercising Differently

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Exercising can be a difficult thing to do. Not everyone particularly enjoy it or can develop a habit of working out. It is hard because there may be not enough time, motivation, and everyone’s body is different, etc. But if you’re struggling to decide who you can be active, here are a few tips what to do.

1. Yoga

Yoga has been long known to be great for the body and mind. It can help relax the body in ways that releases stress, increases flexibility, and usage of different body muscles. The best part is that anyone from beginner to expert can learn, even together. Yoga ranges from different types such as hot to spiritual to healing and more.

2. Eating clean(er)

If you can’t work out first, then start being healthier by eating cleaner. Eating habits are challenging because we are so used to eating what we want. Not only this can help with self discipline, but improve your overall health. Recommended foods that should be cut or consume less is processed and fast food. Those are often filled with unhealthy fat, sugar, and oil. Try to eat fresh (better if also organic) produces or simply cook your own dishes. This way you can control how much you eat and know what you are putting in your body.

3. Tai Chi

Tai Chi is a type of Chinese martial art that has been practiced by many different kinds of people for a long period of time. In today’s world, it is still practice for its healthy benefits. It can help the body (and mind) meditate, condition, flexibility, and strength. Many believe that by practicing Tai Chi can help lengthen the life of people. This form of exercise is great for beginners to start out with something simple and easy to learn.

4. Become part of a group!

If you dislike being active alone, join a group/club that requires you to be active. Dance groups, outdoor cleaning programs, garden clubs, sport teams, and even participation in social events will allow you to be active with other people. You can become more encouraged and motivated to be active by being socially engaged. Just make sure to find the right one for you.

 

Trauma Information

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Trauma can be defined as a physical injury or a painful experience. It can be a factor that can cause serious damage to someone’s mental and physical health. Trauma comes in different types and forms so people experience them differently. It’s important to be informed about this issue because understanding how trauma can impact people will allow us to better understand how it changes them. Here are some factors that can cause trauma:

  • Violence that is found in a home, a relationship, and outsiders such as friends, bullies, etc.
  • Physical damage/abuse to someone’s body that have a lasting after effect such as rape, a car accident, etc.
  • Death of a loved one
  • Natural disasters that can destroy people’s home and as a result, people have to be relocated

Being able to recognized if someone is traumatized by their experience will help them solve/confront their problems. Of course, it doesn’t mean everyone is able to do that so easily or quickly. It often takes time, consultation, and maybe the help of others like medications, programs, and professional help. How you will know if someone is going through their emotional state and behavior act such as:

  • Mood swings, temper, denial, and responses to daily actives/conversations
  • Anxiety
  • Having a hard time concentrating
  • Sleep disorders such as excessive nightmares and loss of sleep
  • Eating less/more than usual

It is important to treat people with trauma to ensure that they will recover through the process sooner. It may take weeks to months to years for people to overcome their traumas. But we should always try to help others cope with their traumas so they can also return to their usual life.

Here is another great source to check out for more information about trauma.

Understanding Substance Abuse Challenges

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People who have gone through substance abuses are often misunderstood in many ways. Some may not understand why they do what they do or why can’t just stop. There are many different level of reasons why because everyone’s situation is different. Also, it requires other people in their lives to be understanding without being judgmental like families and friends. If you know somebody who may be going through substance abuse challenges or yourself is going through that, here are some tips that could help you out:

Identify the problem. You can only start helping yourself or someone else in need if you properly know what they’re struggling with. By helping others/yourself to acknowledge that there is a problem is not something to be ashamed or embarrassed about. Substance abuses can increase or be results of stress, anger, addiction(s), emotional distress, unhealthy treatments, or more. Problems could lead to bigger issues and early help can prevent more negative things from occurring.

Communicate with people. Talking things out well help sort out the emotions they’re facing and you understanding their situation more. With yourself, you can talk to families, friends, or seek professional consultation. Being able to have another person’s perspective on your struggles can help you understand the situation more.

Take the step to seek for help. There are so many resources out there in the U.S. to help people face/solve their issues. In today’s world, established centers will definitely help anyone out if people reach out to them. Sometimes, it’s really up to those people or yourself to help themselves. Remember that people are willing to help you or someone you know who needs help.

Here’s a link to another credible source for extra information.

Today’s Health Topic: Diarrhea

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According to www.mayoclinic.com, diarrhea is a “loose, watery stools that occur more frequently than usual”. In the old days, diarrhea was known to be able to cause death of people due to dehydration. But nowadays, it is a common health issue that is less threatening under normal conditions. Diarrhea could result because of many reasonings such as :

  • Expired food/food poisoning that may require your body to force out impurities and waste
  • Diet that could cause a imbalance in your digestive system
  • Medications/surgery/bacteria/virus/sickness/parasites that may cause you to have diarrhea as a side effect

Here are the symptoms of diarrhea:

  • Experience of multiple of watery loose stools (little waste to water)
  • Stomach bloating/pain/cramps
  • Dehydration
  • Sweating
  • Fever usually can accompany it or/and cause it to occur more

At this point, diarrhea would eventually go away in a day. If the symptoms worsen and last to the second day such as:

  • Vomiting
  • Severe sweating
  • Blood in stool
  • Fever with high body temperature of 102 F (39 C)

Make sure to contact for emergency help because it could be serious concern. Afterwards, remember to monitor what you eat after experiencing diarrhea so that it doesn’t reoccur. If you had mild diarrhea, drink water/sports water (contain salt and sugar, which your body flushed out) and snack or have smaller meals. If you had mild to severe diarrhea, make sure to drink water little by little and stick to a bland diet that contains no dairy, alcohol, high food saturated, artificial flavors/food dye, non-processed, non-organic, and hard to digest food.

 

 

Today’s Health Topic: Coronary Artery Disease

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The most common type of heart disease in the U.S. is coronary artery disease where cholesterol leaves deposit of plaque and it contributes to plaque build up over a period of time. Most people don’t know that they may have this disease unless there is a heart attack or possible early signs.

atherosclerosis_2011

www.nhlbi.nih.gov

Being aware of the symptoms can give people more information on how to identify if they may have this heart disease:

  • Chest pain that could frequently occur in your upper body and back
  • Short breaths where your body is leaving lacking oxygen due to the slow or very little blood flow from your heart
  • Heart attack which means that your arteries are blocked and cause your body to be deprived of oxygen

Call for emergency help if you think that you may be experiencing some of these symptoms. So what can cause this heart disease or add more stress to the heart:

  • Lifestyle/diet is a huge factor that affects your body. If people are not active enough or/and have a bad diet, they are more likely to develop heart diseases.
  • Smoking/drugs that could another stress to the heart and affect other organs besides your heart like the lungs, stomach, liver, and more.
  • Diabetes or insulin resistance
  • High blood pressure that may be genetics, kidney problems, thyroid problems

Resource: www.mayoclinic.org

 

Push for No More Tobacco

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tobacco-figure1

From http://www.hhs.gov./

Source: Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2014). Monitoring the Future national survey results on adolescent drug use, 1975-2013: Volume I, Secondary school students. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan.

Over the last 40 years, the use of tobacco has steadily decreased due to many enforcement of laws, regulations, government and local support, and established health awareness programs. But the concern is now focused on teens and adults who are still buying and using tobacco in different forms. Once someone has used tobacco, they could eventually or become immediately addicted to nicotine.

So what are the trends of using tobacco besides smoking tobacco:

  • Oral tobacco products that dissolves in the user’s mouth; they still contain tobacco properties that puts the user’s health at risk and they can come in different forms and flavors.
  • Hookah is a mouth piece smoking pipe that is commonly popular among teens and is used among groups where they pass it on to each other. Not only is it not sanitary of bodily fluids, it is technically like smoking a cigarette where the toxins are released and inhaled into the body.
  • Smokeless tobacco is in the form where tobacco can be sniffed and chewed. “For smokeless tobacco use, the highest rates of initiation are in the seventh through 11th grades. Although approximately equal proportions of male and female adolescents smoke cigarettes, users of smokeless tobacco products are nearly all males.” – http://www.hhs.gov/
  • E-cigarette is a cigarette that can be used electronically to vaporized a liquid that gives off the feeling that one is smoking tobacco. Although e-cigarettes has no tobacco, they still contain nicotine.

Sometimes, people don’t understand the consequences of using tobacco. The fact that tobacco was scientifically proven to lead to other cancer diseases and cause the user to have other health related problems is already a concern. We can’t stop the production of tobacco, but at least try to educate the public what tobacco can do to the body.

  • Increases the risk of almost every organ disease such as the mouth, bladder, stomach, lung, heart, kidney, and more.
  • Worsen asthma symptoms
  • Nicotine is scientifically proven to be a addictive stimulant and can cause people to rely on it for temporarily relaxation
  • Affects the body’s sexual, thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal hormones
  • Affects the production and sensitivity of insulin that could lead to type 2 diabetes and other potential health issues
  • Trying to quit smoking tobacco can cause physical reactions such as strong cravings for the substance, an increased appetite, insomnia and sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal problems and mood-related complaints including anxiety, anger and frustration, depression, irritability and restlessness. –  [source: MayoClinic]” – http://science.howstuffworks.com

So before using tobacco in any way of any form, think about how it could affect you, your body, and your health in the long term.

 

What causes obesity?

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What causes obesity?

According to www.cdc.gov, obesity and/or overweight are labels for ranges of weight that are greater than what is generally considered healthy for a given height.

So what exactly can contribute to obesity within people? Here is the quick guide about what factors that may be lead to obesity.

  1. Lifestyle

The way we live affects our body’s health and it can sometimes show through our weight, skin, eyes, hair, and more. If we tend to have little physical activities it will or may become a habit. Or it could be the choices of foods or our eating habit. It could cause a problem with our body because there is an unbalance between intake of calories and output of energy. So balance is the very key to keeping our body healthy so that our body doesn’t take in more calories than needed for our daily activities.

  1. Genes

Genetics can be a reason why some people have more difficult time maintaining their weight or was born and struggled with being over-weighted. Having a family history in obesity can be concern and often times, it could lead to other health related problems; therefore, one should consult with their doctor for any weight concerns and questions.

  1. Outside factors

Sometimes, there are things that we take in or do that may affect our body. For example, a taking a type of drug or medicine could increase or decrease your weight. If you are on a form of birth control or using a drug for something, it is required to consult with your doctor because no one knows entirely how it may affect your body.

  1. Environment

Depending on where we live, our surrounding environment is one of the main factors that affects our physical activities. For example, one person may live in a neighborhood that does not have proper walking conditions and no walking or bicycling trails nearby. It could be a possibly reason why they would avoid going outside or not being as motivated to be more active in their environment. So our environment does an impact on how we chose to be more active and interact with out surroundings.

 

 

Holiday Eating

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It is that time of the year again! We all will stuff ourselves on Thanksgiving and Christmas because we all love food. But there are some ways to avoid becoming stuffed turkeys ourselves. Becoming unhealthy after holidays is not the best outcome. It’s all about that balance between your eating habits and your life style choices.

So here are some things to remember when you are enjoying the holiday:

1. Eat a little bit of everything. Although there will be very great food provided, it is best to sample everything you like. Instead of eating a lot of some food, try to enjoy bits and bits from here to there. It’ll give you more chances to try varieties of delicious dishes.

2. Eat a bit now, a bit later; the point is to enjoy the foods. Along with the first tip, enjoy a dish now, enjoy another later. The food won’t run away so take your time. It’ll make you appreciate their flavors and tastes more.

3. Balance out your diet. We all have our guilty pleasure foods such as sweets or friend foods. We can enjoy those of course and no one will blame us. But it doesn’t hurt to eat some fruits and vegetables too. It does help a little to ease your cravings.

4. Drink lots of water! Try to avoid sugary and calories filled drinks because that’s where most of your calories will come from. So let’s not waste them on pop and sugary drinks, but instead yummy foods!

5. Dress comfortably. You may want to have more space to expand your tummy and relax. So dress in clothes that will allow you to stretch because the last thing we want to struggle with is fussing with our tight clothes.

All in all, enjoy your holidays and eat well! Happy holidays!

Bicultural Healthy Living Poster

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Living biculturally is about having balancing in your life, family, diet, health, and friends. There are many great things one can incorporate in their daily lives that compasses more than one culture. Here is a fun poster on possibly things to do:

PPO3_BiculturalHealthyLiv_Poster_MidSection

Here are other tips to outreach in other ethnic cultural groups/communities:

1. Meet international students!

If you’re a student or is housing a international student or know someone from another country, take the time to get to know them better. You will better understand their background, the culture, and the world they live in. Not only will it allow you to hear from a person’s firsthand experience, you’ll get better information than reading and finding them on your own.

2. Be part of different communities!

Participate in festivals, holidays, and other activities in different ethnic communities. It will provide you opportunities to expand your network and let you enjoy the different kinds of celebrations/activities a culture can offer.

3. Learn about your own culture!

You may not know much about your own culture and there may be many things you didn’t know before. So before expanding out to other cultures or if you don’t know where to start, think about your own culture(s). Try to get involved in your culture(s) through families and friends. Eventually, you’ll find something about your background that you’ll enjoy.