The Importance of Good Health Practices

The importance of good health practices during childhood years? It could prevent many chronic and disabling diseases on their adulthood. Parents, you are the best people who can train your children on preventive measures from acquiring chronic and disabling diseases such as acquired diabetes mellitus.

One of my friends is currently taking a fat burner aside from taking time for exercise because she want to look fit and young for her to become a good example for her kids. She said she had read a book about good health practices and she learned that by keeping weight down; avoiding alcohol, cigarettes and other vices that could harm the body; and reducing level of stress in life could also decrease the chance of acquiring coronary heart disease or hypertension.

She makes sure that their family exercise is interesting for her kids to participate and prepare healthy foods for her family too. No wonder why her kids loves to eat vegetables and fruits instead of processed foods. Hope all parents realize the importance of good health practices and train their kids to practice it as early as possible.

The Easiest Way to Weaken Your Immune System

It is so easy to weaken an immune system if you really want to. Exposing yourself to harmful chemicals like tobacco smoke, let the stress of life engulf you, or expose yourself to pollution are some of the ways to weaken your immune system. But, did you know that the easiest way to weaken your immune system is in a sweet way? Lots of people did not know that they are doing it and ask themselves why it is so easy for them to acquire an infection.

From yesterday’s post on How Your Lymphocytes Protects Your Body from Harmful Invaders, we tackled how important are the functions of the white blood cells or WBCs in our body. Neutrophils are part of the WBC team or the white blood cells team that defends our body from harmful invaders. They are responsible when there is a bacterial invasion or bacterial infection. They multiply themselves, attacks, and engulf the bacteria. Thus, if someone is suffering from bacterial infection their total white blood cells count are high compared to the normal white blood cells count or WBC count, so as the neutrophils count (from differential counting of white blood cells).

So, what is the connection between neutrophils activity and the “sweets”? Study showed that 10 teaspoons of white sugar could lessen the neutrophil activity by 50 percent for about 5 hours. And, consuming 30 teaspoons of white sugar or an equivalent sweets could completely stop and loss neutrophils’ activity to engulf bacteria. A can of soft drink is equivalent to 10 teaspoons of sugar. How many cans of soft drinks and, or other sweetened drinks you usually take everyday? How about other sweets like cake, chocolate bars, candies and other sweet desserts?

Better lessen sweet food and drinks if you really love your health not just to strengthen your immune system but  to keep yourself away from diabetes mellitus as well.

Relationship Between Exercise and Wellness

Make exercise your habit if you want to attain wellness or a higher level of physical functioning.
Exercising daily promotes weight loss, better posture, probable prevention from osteoporosis, lowers blood pressure, prevention against acquired diabetes mellitus, increased coronary efficiency, increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol. It is also a great stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue reduction technique. It improves your psychological well-being too. It surely improves your body awareness and self-esteem.

Exercise and other strenuous activities promotes a desirable weight maintenance thus controlling obesity. Overweight people are high risk from acquiring heart diseases such as hypertension, strokes and arteriosclerosis. Exercise increases your basal metabolic rate and burns more calories thus, promoting weight loss. But, if your target is to lose weight, you need to incorporate diet to your daily exercise. Healthy foods plus caloric restriction incorporated to your exercise activities promotes weight loss.

Know More About Cholesterol

structure of cholesterol

Cholesterol is an unsaturated steroid alcohol. It is formed of four fused rings and a side chain. It is a fatty wax-like substance occuring naturally in all body cells. In moderate amounts, cholesterol is essential for good health. It is the principal body sterol, present in all cells as an important structural component of cell membranes. It stabilizes the body against temperature changes, it lines our nerves and makes up much of our brain tissue. Cholesterol is a precursor for the biosynthesis of bile acids, steroid hormones and vitamin D. It aids in digestion, it is required in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K.

The site of cholesterol degredation as well as its major site of synthesis is in the liver. Most of the cholesterol in the body is synthesized from acetyl Coenzyme A (acetyl CoA plays a central role in intermediary metabolism between carbohydrate metabolism and fat metabolism – in synthesis, catabolism, or use of nutrients for energy production and growth), but cholesterol also comes from animal foods. We can find unwanted cholesterol in meats, dairy products, cheese and eggs and other food rich in saturated and trans fats. Plants have closely related sterols but do not contain cholesterol.

Levels of cholesterol in the blood at any given time are determined both by diet and by body chemistry but what influences most in our cholesterol  level is  what we ingest. Our body needs only about 25 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of LDL daily. But, most people have far more cholesterol circulating in the blood than their bodies need.

At body temperature, pure cholesterol is solid. Though not soluble in water, both cholesterol and triglycerides are normal constituents of plasma. Two thirds of the plasma cholesterol are esterified with long chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and one third exist as unesterified alcohol. In plasma, cholesterol is suspended in solution by a shell proteins and phospholipids known as lipoprotein particles. In humans, 60 to 70 percent of cholesterol is transported by low density lipoproteins (LDL), 20 to 35 percent by high density lipoproteins (HDL), and 5 to 12 percent by very low density lipoproteins (VLDL).

Low density lipoproteins (LDL) transports cholesterol to tissues. High concentration of LDL in the blood causes it  to build-up and line the walls of the arteries and narrowing them, thus, making it hard for blood to circulate,that is why it was commonly called the “bad cholesterol”. While high density lipoproteins (HDL) is responsible for the transport of cholesterol from tissues to the liver. All plasma lipoproteins join temporarily to HDL for esterification. HDLs removes potentially damaging excess cholesterol from the arteries and transport it to the liver for disposal. Because of its function, HDL has been known as the “good cholesterol”. VLDL is made up of small amount of cholesterol and protein and a larger amount of different type of fat, triglyceride, which clogs the arteries and causes a sluggish immune system.

Usually, no signs or symptoms can be noticed that you have high blood cholesterol, but it can be detected through laboratory examination of the blood, that is why it is advisable to undergo annual general check up  especially  people on their 40s and above. Long time elevated cholesterol concentration has been associated as one of several risk factors leading to coronary artery disease (CAD); making the measurement of serum total cholesterol a common laboratory procedure.  Increase in total cholesterol concentration is also seen in uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, extrahepatic obstruction of bile ducts and various types of lipedemias. During late pregnancy, cholesterol rises but it usually return to its normal concentration within a month after delivery.

Here is a general acceptable normal values for adults:
LDL Cholesterol
Optimal: Less than 100 mg/dL (2.59 mmol/L)
Near/above optimal: 100-129 mg/dL (2.59-3.34 mmol/L)
Borderline high: 130-159 mg/dL (3.37-4.12 mmol/L)
High: 160-189 mg/dL (4.15-4.90 mmol/L)
Severe high: over 190 mg/dL (4.90 mmol/L)

Total Cholesterol
Desirable: Less than 200 mg/dL (5.18 mmol/L)
Borderline high: 200-239 mg/dL (5.18 to 6.18 mmol/L)
High: 240 mg/dL (6.22 mmol/L) or higher
Severe high: over 300mg/dL

HDL Cholesterol
Low risk: Less than 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L) for men and less than 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L) for women
Average risk: 40-50 mg/dL (1.0-1.3 mmol/L) for men and between 50-59 mg/dl (1.3-1.5 mmol/L) for women
Less than average risk: 60 mg/dL (1.55 mmol/L) or higher for both men and women

Note: Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories.

High cholesterol does not just affect adults. Some Health Agencies agreed that all children who have risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) and those with a family history of high blood cholesterol should be screened soon after age 2. By screening these high-risk children, high percentage of children with high cholesterols are identified. Children has different normal values of total cholesterol, HDL cholsterol and LDL cholesterol from adults, ask your health provider about it.