Reflective Blog Posting

            During this semester I had the opportunity to develop a researched blog project that consisted of an introductory post, followed by five researched postings, and wrapped up with this final reflective posting. This has definitely been an emotional journey for me. Having the freedom to develop a writing project on a subject that was important to me has given me the opportunity to share with others about topics that have affected me and my family on a very personal level. Over the course of this project I have discovered that it is easy to acknowledge the fact that I need to eat healthy, but it is very hard to commit to a healthier lifestyle.

            This project has definitely been a new learning experience for me. I feel that by developing this project over time in separate steps, this allowed each posting to be fresh, unique and original from each of the other postings. I also feel that by this being a researched project this allowed me to share credible information with others. I notice when searching online that many blogs are made up of the author’s opinion are not fact based. I feel that my project is great reference material for someone looking to change their eating habits.

            I feel that participating in this type of online project has introduced me to a new aspect of learning for me. In the beginning I struggled to develop my blog in an acceptable format for this type of online project. I wanted to make each posting pick up where the last one left off. But now I can see that even though my postings are linked together to ultimately cover one main topic, each posting is also independent of the other and must therefore be introduced and concluded as such.

            

Obesity and Healthcare

            Unhealthy eating habits can be quite hard to break, even though we know that these unhealthy habits can negatively impact our lives in a major way. Many of us chose to ignore the warning signs of unhealthy eating habits. Most people don’t make the decision to adopt a healthy lifestyle until either them their selves or a close friend or family member suffers from a major health scare or even worse death occurs due to a chronic disease that was caused by unhealthy eating habits. It has already been established that eating healthy can be quite costly, but in the end it can save you thousands. People whom suffer from hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases spend millions of billions of dollars a year on health insurance premiums and co-pays. And for those who are uninsured or underinsured a major health event can cause them to lose their homes and life savings. Eating healthy now can save you from a lot of negative outcomes later.

            Recently in the last couple of years, employers have been researching ways to cut down on employee related health care costs. Many employers are now requiring pre-employment healthcare screenings for potential employees; these wellness screenings are being performed to weed out “unhealthy individuals” who could potentially costs employers a lot of money in paying employee related health premiums and costs. Employers are now looking into charging people who are considered to be obese higher premiums than those who are considered to be in a healthier weight range. A study done in 2010 reports, “an obese person incurs medical costs that are $2,741 higher than if they were not obese, nationwide that translates into $190.2 billion per year, or 20.6 percent of national health expenditures” (Finkelstein, 2009). Employers also have discovered that obese employees are more likely to suffer from work related injuries, and that obese people also have a higher call-in percentage than their thinner counterparts.

            Obesity is being seen as an epidemic that is taking over the United States. With the economy “failing” we as consumers all want more for our money and the one place we can definitely get it is in fast food and dining out. No one wants to go the restaurant that is known for giving small portions, when telling a friend about a new place to eat, one of the ways we convince them to try it is to say you get more than your money’s worth, but at what price? One of the early warning signs of unhealthy eating are the ever expanding waistline, which many of us dismiss as just getting older. But getting older does not necessarily mean getting wider. There are many people who are able to maintain their weight over the years. Another indicator that unhealthy eating habits are negatively impacting your health is aches and pains. Once again this is not a sign of aging. Most backaches, legs, and knee aches are a direct result of too much weight on the core of the body, which in turns puts the back and legs under more unnecessary strain which causes the aches and pains. Chronic fatigue is also a sign that your dietary habits may be doing you more harm than good. Many people who eat foods high in fats and sugars report that they often feel overly tired and fatigued and for no good reason. This is because these food let off toxins that build up in your system and this affects your immune system, leaving you feeling tired and never really feeling rested no matter how long you sleep or how many naps you take in a day.

            Healthy eating and exercise can do more for a person than just making them look physically good on the outside. These two go hand in hand in conditioning your heart to keep it healthy, and to keep your lungs healthy and well expanded. Your body must have oxygen to survive, healthy lungs brings in oxygen for a healthy heart to circulate oxygen rich blood and glucose to all of your cells, tissues, and organs keeping them healthy and working leading to a healthy you.

Works Cited

Finkelstein, E. (2009, August).  Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: Payer- and service-specific estimates. Health Affairs, 28(5). Retrieved April 16, 2012, from Academic Premier Database.

.

Diabetes and Cancer

Diabetes

            In a previous post I mentioned that my family history of Type 1 diabetes was a major motivator for me to get healthy. Many people think that because their grandmother had diabetes and their mother also had diabetes that eventually they will also end up with diabetes. But this is not necessarily true. Healthy eating and maintaining a healthy body weight can prevent you from a life time of finger sticks and injecting yourself with insulin. Diabetes is the number one diagnosed chronic disease in the United States, and is steadily on the rise especially in children and young adults. Living with diabetes is a major obstacle for many people as it restricts a person’s diet as well as their lifestyle because of having to follow a strict medication regimen. Having diabetes also predisposes a person to other major health complications such as kidney disease, eye problems such as glaucoma and cataracts, heart disease such as stroke and heart attack, and problems with their nerves such as diabetes neuropathy which causes pain and tingling in the extremities and sometimes dizziness. If there was something you could do to avoid going through all of this, wouldn’t you want to take action to prevent diabetes? Well, there is a lot a person can do to avoid having early onset diabetes and eating healthy is the key.
         The term diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that affects how the body uses blood glucose. Glucose is the main source of energy for the body’s cells, and it fuels your brain. Having diabetes mean that a person has too much glucose in the blood, more than the body can use. You obtain glucose from two sources; the food you eat provides glucose, but your liver also produces glucose. The glucose is mostly absorbed in your bloodstream and is used by the cells, but insulin from the pancreas must be present to help move the glucose into the cells. When too much glucose is in the bloodstream the pancreas is not able to make enough insulin and this causes high blood glucose levels. Also everyone’s pancreas can only make so much insulin over a lifetime and this is where diabetes begins. Constant unhealthy eating, leads to constantly high levels of glucose in the blood, as the pancreas works hard to manufacture and secrete enough insulin to move the glucose into the cells, the pancreas cells eventually begin to die because of over use and the pancreas can no longer secrete any insulin at all or either it can secrete only a very little bit of insulin.

            There are two types of chronic diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association “Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and happens when the body does not produce enough insulin, and in Type 2 diabetes either the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body’s cells ignore the insulin”. Type 1 diabetes is genetically linked, but only 5% of diagnosed diabetics have this type of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and is all the preventable form of diabetes. Preventing or delaying Type 2 diabetes involves eating healthy, exercising, and maintain a healthy body weight.

            Healthy eating to prevent diabetes involves eating fresh fruits and vegetables, and limiting your intake of unhealthy carbohydrates such as cookies, cakes, and candies. Also you should avoid consuming large of amount of sugary sodas to both prevent diabetes and kidney problems. Exercising to avoid diabetes can be simply taking a walk daily to help your body’s cell use the excess glucose in your blood stream. Maintaining a healthy body weight goes hand in hand with healthy eating and exercising.

Cancer

            There are many proven causes of cancer such as smoking, environmental hazards, and infections. But it is not widely known that poor dietary habits can also cause certain types of cancer. Poor nutrition high in calories, high in cholesterol and fats is a precursor for many types of cancer of the digestive system.

            Proper nutrition leads to the prevention of many major diseases including certain types of cancer. “Cancers of the bowels, stomach, pancreas, mouth, breast, and food pipe are directly related to diet, a diet high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables can greatly reduce a person’s risks of these types of cancer” (Nilsen, 2011). It is also advised to limit the amounts of red and processed meats eaten, as well as limiting sodium intake, and limiting the consumption of caffeine and alcohol to decrease the risk of obesity related cancer. Of course exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight is also an important prevention method.

            Overall proper nutrition, healthy eating, exercising, and maintaining a healthy body weight is the major prevention mechanism in many chronic diseases that are related to obesity and unhealthy eating. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, limiting your intake in sodium, caffeine, sugars, and alcohol can keep your body healthy and working properly. A healthy person is usually a more energetic person whose body has the ability to fight off infection and viruses. It has also been proven that a healthy person is able to think clearer and performs better academically and professionally. Many employers are trending toward charging what they deem as “unhealthy employees”, those that smoke, drink, or are overweight more money in insurance premiums. With all the problems that being unhealthy causes a person, wouldn’t you think it is better to just eat healthy to prevent problems later on in life?

Works Cited

               Diabetes basics (n.d). Retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://www.diabetes.org.

   Nilsen, R. (2011, June 27). Cancer statistics with healthy and unhealthy eating. LiveStrong Magazine, Vol.89. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from Academic Premier Database.

Unhealthy Eating Does What? …..Really?!?

I have many reasons for wanting to eat healthy. I want to look good and feel better. I want to have more energy and be able to keep up with my children. I also have a lot of motivation to eat healthy, like my family history of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke. But when I actually sat down and researched just how my unhealthy habits were affecting my body, my mind was made up that I need to make a change.

            Since starting this blog in January, I have lost 23 pounds. I have struggled to stay on track and to get in the gym to exercise 3 days a week. Losing weight is not an easy task. Sure all you have to do is consume fewer calories than your body expends during the day, but that is easier said than done. Just like alcohol and drug use, eating is an addiction. And just like alcohol and drugs, when abused eating can be potentially dangerous to your health. As children most of us are raised to associate eating with happy times in life, we eat big meals at family gatherings, and we also learn to eat during times of stress. Eating is comforting, and eating our favorite foods makes us feel oh so good. But if anyone would have stopped to explain to us at a young age that all of this eating was destroying our body, I’m sure we would have re-evaluated all the comfort eating we have done over the years.

Cardiovascular Disease      

            What exactly is cardiovascular disease? Well according to the American Heart Association (AHA), “Heart and blood vessel disease — cardiovascular disease also called heart disease — includes numerous problems, many of which are related to a process called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition that develops when a substance called plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries. This buildup narrows the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through. If a blood clot forms, it can stop the blood flow. This can cause a heart attack or stroke”.  Many cardiovascular problems fall under this umbrella such as, heart attack, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, hypertension, heart failure, heart valve problems, and cardiac arrhythmias. All of these problems are a result of clogged blood vessels due to unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyle. Most cardiovascular disease can be prevented by maintaining a healthy body weight and engaging in moderate exercise.

            Heart attack is one of the most predominantly seen negative effects of unhealthy eating. A heart attack occurs when the flow of oxygen rich blood to a section of heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked. If blood flow isn’t quickly restored, the section of the heart muscle begins to die. Heart attacks most often occur as a result of coronary artery disease (CAD), which is when fatty waxy plaque caused by unhealthy eating blocks the coronary vessels. Heart attacks can be so mild that there are minimal effects from it, or it can be fatal. Often heart attacks lead to heart failure or cardiac arrhythmias. Heart failure is when the heart becomes so weak or damaged that it can’t pump blood out to the body properly. Cardiac arrhythmias can lead to lethal heart rhythms that cannot sustain life. Some people with permanent extensive heart damage have to follow a life time regimen of medications, healthy eating, and refraining from sedentary lifestyles. According to the American Heart Association, “You can avoid heart problems in the future by adopting a healthy lifestyle today. These five simple steps can get you started; don’t smoke or use tobacco, exercise for at least 30 minutes most days of the week, eat a heart healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, and get regular health screening.” Most heart attacks and heart disease complication are totally preventable.

            Stroke is the next leading complication that results from unhealthy eating and obesity. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of your brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and food. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. The result of this could be loss of body movement, memory, or speech. The effects or loss of body functions depends on what area of the brain is affected. Strokes can me mild an can cause loss of body function for a small time, or a massive stroke can cause paralysis on one side of the body with the inability to speech. A stroke is a medical emergency, and if prompt medical help is not received a stroke can be fatal. The National Stroke Association states, “Stroke risk can be controlled easier than one might think. With the help of a doctor, many diseases that increase risk can be treated, while lifestyle risk factors such an unhealthy eating and smoking can be changed”.

            The heart is the vital organ of life; it pumps blood and oxygen throughout the body. When the heart is not working properly life cannot be sustained. Eating unhealthy causes many preventable complications that affect the heart negatively. Much research has been done that proves with healthy eating and moderate exercise many people can prevent diseases of the heart. Knowing this information has largely impacted my reason for wanting to eat right. I have also learned that the occasional cheeseburger or slice of chocolate is within reason for any healthy person, so with that in mind I continue on my journey of healthy eating.

Works Cited

Am I at Risk for Stroke? (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2012 from

       http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=risk.org

What is Heart Disease? (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2012 from            http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Conditions_UCM_001087_SubHomePage.jsp.

Discovering the Negative Effects of Unhealthy Eating

(Sizer & Whitney, 2007, p. 56).

Last year, 2011 bought about for me, many reasons that made me realize that it was time for me to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The first event that leads to my decision was my mother being diagnosed with hypertension. And then exactly one week later, not even giving me a chance to fully accept my mother’s diagnosis of hypertension, she was then diagnosed with diabetes. At that very moment I knew it was time for me to become more proactive in helping my family to change their unhealthy eating habits.

I sat my mother down and explained to her how imperative it was that she changed her eating habits in order to get her hypertension and diabetes under control and to prevent further complications known to be caused by these two chronic diseases being uncontrolled. Since I am the one who does the food shopping in my house, I opted for more fresh fruits and vegetables and left the cookie and chips in the store on the shelf. Also, instead of buying cases of soda, I brought cases of water and low-sugar juices to drink. I dusted off the George Foreman grill and brought meats that would be more suitable for baking and grilling instead of frying.

I taught my mother how to read food labels, so she could ensure not to consume excessive amounts of sodium, fats, and carbohydrates. I also helped her to understand her medication regimen and the importance of taking her medication on time and taking them daily, and to be sure not to run out of medication. Once my mother’s doctor was able to get her on the proper medication for her hypertension, her blood pressure has been in an acceptable range. Even though her blood sugars fluctuate up and down, they have not gone over 190 in the last few months, with them being close to the normal range in the last two weeks. I have learned that eating healthy is a hard habit to learn the older you are, whether it is learning to eat healthy in the event of a diagnosis of a chronic disease or in hopes of preventing a chronic disease, it can be difficult to do. But I have noticed that once many people learn how unhealthy eating really affects your body, and that many chronic diseases are preventable it is easier for them to get into the habit of healthy eating.

            Unhealthy eating habits have a lot of negative effects on the human body. These include, but are not limited to, obesity, chronic disease and accelerated aging. Most people are aware of the fact that unhealthy eating has negative effects. But many people are unaware of exactly what these negative effects are doing to their body.

Obesity 

The most obvious, visible, and common result of unhealthy eating is obesity. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, “about 65 percent of North Americans are overweight” (McGregor, 2005, p.70). Even though the effects of obesity are most visibly seen on the outside, the most damaging effects are happening on the inside of the body. “When you eat excess amounts of high-glycemic carbohydrates (such as fried foods, cookies, chips, and breads), your body begins to produce excess amounts of insulin,” (Sizer & Whitney, 2007, p. 918). This excess insulin production causes the body to store fat, speeds up the aging process and is the precursor to insulin resistance in the body. The excess insulin also inhibits the release of stored fat back into the body to be used for energy.

Chronic Disease

            As a result of unhealthy eating, habits, the body develops silent inflammation. Unlike inflammation, which causes aches and pains, silent inflammation goes unnoticed in the body until it develops into chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer (McGregor, 2005, p.84).

Accelerating Aging    

           Food can decrease or accelerate the aging process. There are four main contributions when it comes to aging: free radicals, blood sugar, cortisol, and insulin levels, all of which are affected by food. Hormones and cells need to be able to communicate with one another effectively to maintain equilibrium in your body. The right balance of hormones slows the aging process, while the wrong balance accelerates it. Unhealthy eating habits, as you can guess, raise your free radical, blood sugar, and insulin levels, accelerating the aging process. Thus, unhealthy eating can make you look years older than you really are.

            So as you can see, unhealthy habits can do more than just ruin your outward appearance. It takes a toll on your body and causes you to have serious health problems that you may have to live with for the rest of your life. It is important to remember that indulging in an unhealthy treat occasionally is acceptable, but constantly eating fried food and sweets can lead to a lifelong medication regimen and numerous trips back and forth to the doctors. In the next posting I will take an in-depth look into the most commonly seen chronic disease: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. I believe to fully understand the importance of healthy eating, it is important to know exactly what it is doing to your body.

Works Cited

McGregor, T. (2005). Exactly how is unhealthy eating affecting you? Journal of the American Medical Association, 150(6), 69-72, 84. Retrieved January 30, 2012, from EBSCO Host database.

Sizer, F., Whitney, E., (2007). Nutrition Concepts and Controversies. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, pp. 56, 103, 918.

Healthy Eating: How To Get Started

Two years ago I lost 30 pounds. I had decided to lose weight because I was tired of being heavy and wanted to feel comfortable in my clothes. Once I lost the weight I realized how much more energy I had, I realized that I was able to think clearer and my self-esteem sky rocketed. I quickly gained it back in less than 6 months, this was very devastating to my ego and at that time instead of getting back into the healthy habits that had allowed me to look and feel so good, I continued to eat fast foods, drink sodas, and not exercise. I realize now, that my problem was that I dieted to lose the weight and once I was happy with my appearance, I went back to my old unhealthy habits and that had cost me to lose something I had worked so hard to achieve. So this time around I have decided that I must commit to changing my lifestyle to include more healthy habits. I also realize that there is nothing wrong with relapsing, as long as that in the end I achieve my goal. There is nothing wrong with eating out and having the occasional high calorie high fat, high sugar content meal, but it should only be done occasionally. If along the way, I wind up eating more calories than I am allotted, I now know that I must be willing to exercise to burn those extra calories. I have decided to take my life back and I am looking forward to enjoying the way I felt when I had got the extra weight off. When I first decided to start this healthy journey again I realized that I needed to research exactly what healthy eating is, so with that being said, here is some of the information that helped me to realize where I had been going wrong with eating.

Most of us know that the biggest benefits of healthy eating are that we will stay physically fit, feel better, and will have fewer illnesses. Eating healthy lowers our risk of illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. These are facts that many of us are well aware of, but the concept that many of us struggle with, is figuring out exactly what is considered healthy eating?

Physical fitness is a major concern of the United States government. It is a well-known fact that we are one of the unhealthiest nations in the world, and the government has been aggressively campaigning to correct this growing problem. By promoting healthier lifestyles for its people the government helps to ensure that we will live longer and healthier lives that healthcare costs will not sky rocket, because eating healthier helps to reduce the risk of developing a so called “preventable” disease, and in the long run it will save both the taxpayers and the government money. Diet and exercise is a “hot” topic in the media these days, and with that being said there are many companies waiting to capitalize off of the lack of knowledge that we the consumers have about how to really become healthy. “There are many gimmicks out there promising overnight weight loss success and there are just as many fad diets as gimmicks promising to make you look like a movie star, there is no wonder the average consumer doesn’t know where to begin to start living healthier”, (Sizer & Whitney, 2007. P. 734).

One of the first steps to eating healthy is learning how to read a food label. Food labels list the nutritional facts about packaged foods, and can be found on the back, side, or bottom of the packaging. When reading the food label it is very important to first establish exactly what is considered a serving of a certain food. Servings are measured in different ways; some companies go by ounces, cups, pieces, and etc. Knowing what is considered a serving is very important in keep track of your intake of calories, and other vitamins and minerals in food. Not only does knowing the serving size of food help to make sure you don’t consume too many calories, it also helps to ensure that you don’t consume more than the allotted amount of sodium, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that best fits your nutritional needs. Vitamins and minerals are also listed on food labels, as well as the daily suggested allowances each person should consume of these vitamins and minerals, this helps to make sure your diet is not only healthy but well balanced.

(Sizer & Whitney, 2007. p. 513) 

Now that we know how to read the food labels we can now keep track of our daily caloric intake. Consuming fewer calories than the body actually uses is the key to shedding those extra pounds. There are many calorie calculator tools available online, the one I use is on the website MyFoodDiary and I have found this calorie calculator to be pretty reliable and to include a lot of fast food restaurants, which really helps when I have to eat on the go. Not only can you track your daily caloric intake by using this tool you can also calculate the amount of calories you should consume each day while trying to lose weight and it also helps you figure out how many calories to consume to maintain your weight, once you reach your goal weight.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) suggests that you drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily (64 ounces total), instead of consuming sugary drinks, which waste your daily allotment of calories. Not only does drinking plenty of water help you stay fit and trim, and helps you to have clearer skin, drinking water most importantly it helps to keep your kidneys functioning and healthy. It is also suggested that when fixing food at home, that each meal should consist of at least half the plate being fruits and vegetable (orange, red, and dark green leafy vegetables). When choosing meats, it is suggested to look at leaner and lower caloric options; such as poultry, fish, and other seafood. Try to stay away from fried and breaded foods, and beef and pork because they are high in calories and have been recently been the topic of being linked to other health issues. When choosing dairy products, opt for skim milk or 1% milk, with these two options you will get the same amount of calcium and vitamin D that is in whole milk, but you won’t get all the fat and calories.

Now that we have looked at some ways to cut down on calories, to start on our healthy journey off right, try to incorporate exercise into the equation and you will be well on your way to a healthier and fitter you.

                                                          (Sizer & Whitney, 2007. p. 514)

Works Cited:

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E., (2007). Nutrition Concepts and Controversies. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, pp. 513-514, 734

Healthy Eating: Are There Long-Term Benefits?

Throughout this semester long project, I will seek out the benefits of healthy eating. Being a recent graduate of nursing school, I have put on the sum of 50+ pounds. Not only has the added weight affected my appearance and self-confidence, the extra pounds have also affected my social life in a negative way; I no longer feel comfortable going out to social events because I am dissatisfied with my appearance in my clothes, and I no longer enjoy clothes shopping because I don't like the clothes available to plus size women. So with that being said, it's time for me take my life back and get healthy!

                                                                                

I hope to bring forth the importance of losing weight. Yes, I will be satisfied with my appearance again and will be able to once again enjoy going out with friends and family and will be able to enjoy shopping trips with my girlfriends. But I also want to point out the real reason I want to be fit and healthy, and that is I want to live a long, healthy life. Throughout nursing school, I have had the benefit of learning about risk factors that predispose people to certain health conditions, and I have also learned that lifestyle and behavior modification can prevent many people from suffering through these health conditions. So as I get healthy and learn new behaviors, I also want to share with others opportunities to help them reach their goals to be fit and healthy for this New Year!