Category: Wellness

Too Much Stress Can Cause Serious Health Effects

StressEveryone feels stressed from time to time. Not all stress is bad. All animals have a stress response, and it can be life-saving. But chronic stress can cause both physical and mental harm.

There are at least three different types of stress:

  • Routine stress related to the pressures of work, family, and other daily responsibilities
  • Stress brought about by a sudden negative change, such as losing a job, divorce, or illness
  • Traumatic stress, which happens when you are in danger of being seriously hurt or killed. Examples include a major accident, war, assault, or a natural disaster. This type of stress can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Different people may feel stress in different ways. Some people experience digestive symptoms. Others may have headaches, sleeplessness, depressed mood, anger, and irritability. People under chronic stress get more frequent and severe viral infections, such as the flu or common cold. Vaccines, such as the flu shot, are less effective for them.

Some people cope with stress more effectively than others. It’s important to know your limits when it comes to stress, so you can avoid more serious health effects.

via Stress: MedlinePlus.

Losing Weight Without Thinking

Mindless-EatingStudies by Dr Brian Wansink, PhD., showed that people lost up to two pounds a month after making several simple changes in their environment, including:

  • eating off salad plates instead of large dinner plates.
  • keeping unhealthy foods out of immediate line of sight and moving healthier foods to eye-level in the cupboard and refrigerator.
  • eating in the kitchen or dining room, not in front of the television.

“These simple strategies are far more likely to succeed than willpower alone. It’s easier to change your environment than to change your mind” Wansink said.

via Mindless Eating: Losing Weight Without Thinking.

What is Prediabetes?

DM_StoplightPeople with prediabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. This condition raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Prediabetes is also called impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), depending on the test used to diagnose it. Some people have both IFG and IGT.

IFG is a condition in which the blood glucose level is high—100 to 125 mg/dL—after an overnight fast, but is not high enough to be classified as diabetes. The former definition of IFG was 110 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL.

IGT is a condition in which the blood glucose level is high—140 to 199 mg/dL—after a 2-hour OGTT, but is not high enough to be classified as diabetes.

Prediabetes is becoming more common in the United States. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that at least 57 million U.S. adults ages 20 or older had prediabetes in 2007. Those with prediabetes are likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, unless they take steps to prevent or delay diabetes.

The good news is that people with prediabetes can do a lot to prevent or delay diabetes. Studies have clearly shown that people can lower their risk of developing diabetes by losing 5 to 7 percent of their body weight through diet and increased physical activity. A major study of more than 3,000 people with IGT found that diet and exercise resulting in a 5 to 7 percent weight loss—about 10 to 14 pounds in a person who weighs 200 pounds—lowered the incidence of type 2 diabetes by nearly 60 percent. Study participants lost weight by cutting fat and calories in their diet and by exercising—most chose walking—at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

via Diabetes Overview – National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.

What are the elements of a safety and health culture?

Safe-at-work

  • All individuals within the organization believe they have a right to a safe and healthy workplace.
  • Each person accepts personal responsibility for ensuring his or her own safety and health.
  • Everyone believes he or she has a duty to protect the safety and health of others.

via Safety and Health Management Systems eTool | Module 2 – Safety & Health Culture.

How To Lose Weight Fast and Safely

89c8afd1e5b2433d_weight-lossIf you burn 500 more calories than you eat every day for a week, you should lose about 1-2 pounds.

If you want to lose weight faster, you’ll need to eat less and exercise more.

For instance, if you take in 1,050 to 1,200 calories a day, and exercise for one hour per day, you could lose 3-5 pounds in the first week, or more if you weigh more than 250 pounds. It’s very important not to cut calories any further — that’s dangerous.

Limiting salt and starches may also mean losing more weight at first — but that’s mostly fluids, not fat.

“When you reduce sodium and cut starches, you reduce fluids and fluid retention, which can result in up to 5 pounds of fluid loss when you get started,” says Michael Dansinger, MD, of NBC’s The Biggest Loser show.

via How To Lose Weight Fast and Safely – WebMD – Exercise, Counting Calories, and More.

Control Health Care Costs

bigstock_workers_4569205Workplace health programs can impact health care costs

An investment in employee health may lower health care costs and insurance claims. In fact, employees with more risk factors, including being overweight, smoking and having diabetes, cost more to insure and pay more for health care than people with fewer risk factors.

A workplace health program has the potential to both keep healthy employees in the “low-risk” category by promoting health maintenance, while also targeting those unhealthy employees in the higher-risk categories, therefore lowering overall health insurance costs. A systematic review of 56 published studies of worksite health programs showed that well-implemented workplace health programs can lead to 25% savings each on absenteeism, health care costs, and workers’ compensation and disability management claims costs.

Individual employees can also save money by improving their health. For example, a smoker who spends $5 per pack of cigarettes per day can save $1825 a year by giving up smoking and many companies provide lower insurance premiums for non-smokers creating additional savings.

Other insurance premiums such as life insurance are also lower when an individual has lower health risks. And by practicing a healthy lifestyle and getting recommended clinical preventive services, an individual employee may reduce the number of trips needed to go see the doctor because of an illness and the co-payments which come with those office visits, such as getting an influenza vaccine to avoid getting influenza.

via CDC – Workplace Health – Business Case – Benefits of Health Program – Control Costs.

The Cost of Chronic Disease and the Need for Prevention

1392134302Chronic diseases – such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes – are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths among Americans each year.  Treatment for people with chronic conditions account for more than 75 percent of the more than $2.5 trillion spent on annual U.S. medical care costs.  Obesity is a significant health care cost driver – in 2008, about $147 billion of medical bills were weight-related.  With disease risk often related to economic, social, and physical factors, too many people engage in behaviors – such as tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity, and alcohol abuse – that lead to poor health and contribute to chronic disease.

The indirect costs of poor health—including absenteeism, disability, and reduced work output—may be several times higher than direct medical costs.  Productivity losses related to personal and family health problems cost U.S. employers $1,685 per employee per year, or $225.8 billion annually.

Implementing and expanding evidence-based workplace health promotion programs will offer our nation the opportunity to not only improve the health of Americans, but also control health care spending.  Evidence shows that workplace health programs have the potential to influence social norms; establish health policies; promote healthy behaviors; improve employees’ health knowledge and skills; help employees get necessary health screenings, immunizations, and follow-up care; and reduce their on-the-job exposure to substances and hazards that can cause diseases and injury. When done well, using evidence-based and best practices, comprehensive worksite health programs can yield on average a $3 return on every dollar spent, over a 2-5 year period.

via CDC – Comprehensive Workplace Health Programs – Workplace Health Promotion.

What is Heart Failure?

heartfailureHeart failure is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened after it is injured, most commonly from heart attack or high blood pressure, and gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body’s needs. Many people are not aware they have heart failure because the symptoms are often mistaken for signs of getting older. Heart failure affects 4.6 to 4.8 million individuals in the United States. Demographic and clinical evidence strongly suggests that the prevalence of heart failure will increase throughout the next decade. Ten to 15 years ago heart failure was considered a “death sentence;” however, recent advances in treatment have shown that early diagnosis and proper care in early stages of the condition are key to slowing, stopping or in some cases reversing progression, improving quality of life, and extending life expectancy.

via 14th Annual National Heart Failure Awareness Week: February 9-14, 2014 — WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ —.

Managing Stress

stressed-simpsonFirst, it’s important to recognize the source(s) of your stress. Events such as the death of a loved one, starting a new job or moving house are certainly stressful.

However, much of our stress comes from within us. How we interpret things – a conversation, a performance review, even a look – determines whether something becomes a stressor. Negative self-talk, where we focus on self-criticism and pessimistic over-analysis, can turn an innocent remark into a major source of stress.

Understanding where your stress originates can help you decide on a course of action. External stressors, like bereavement or career changes, can be managed over time and with the support of family and friends. Internal stressors, caused by our own negative interpretation, require changes in attitude and behaviour.

The goal of managing stress is to cue the “relaxation response”. This is the physiological and psychological calming process our body goes through when we perceive that the danger, or stressful event, has passed.

Here are some tips for triggering the relaxation response:

  • Learn relaxation techniques – Practicing meditation or breathing awareness every day can relieve chronic stress and realign your outlook in a more positive way. Good breathing habits alone can improve both your psychological and physical well-being.
  • Set realistic goals – Learning to say no is essential for some people. Assess your schedule and identify tasks or activities that you can or should let go. Don’t automatically volunteer to do something until you’ve considered whether it is feasible and healthy for you to do so.
  • Exercise – You don’t have to train for a marathon, but regular, moderate exercise helps ease tension, improves sleep and self-esteem. Making exercise a habit is key.
  • Enjoy yourself – Taking the time for a favourite hobby is a great way of connecting with and nurturing your creative self.
  • Visualization – Athletes achieve results by picturing themselves crossing the finish line first. Use the same technique to practice “seeing” yourself succeed in whatever situation is uppermost in your mind.
  • Maintain a healthy lifestyle – A good diet is often the first thing to go when we’re feeling stressed. Making a meal instead of buying one ready-made may seem like a challenge, but it will be probably cheaper and certainly better for you and the simple action of doing something good for yourself can soothe stressful feelings.
  • Talk about it – Sharing your troubles with a friend may help you to put things in perspective and to feel that you’re not alone. You may also learn some other ways to manage stress effectively.

via Benefits of Good Mental Health | Canadian Mental Health Association.