Health Briefs TV Relays Tips for Preventing a Stroke

Everyone knows by now there are certain behaviors that can stoke the chances for having a stroke. But there are also healthier behaviors which can prevent them, as Health Briefs TV relays.

Stroke prevention is easy enough to work on every day and night. But it takes diligence, patient and a steady daily routine. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind if you want to not have a stroke any time soon:

Get no more than 8 hours a sleep per night and no less than seven hours.

Engage in 30 minutes of vigorous exercise three to six times per week. This might be power walking, biking, or swimming. Adults who exercised and slept well (but not too long) reduced their chance of having a stroke by 25 percent, according to a recent research paper.

It also helps to eat healthy every day being sure to consume plenty of produce, lean meat, chicken and fish, whole grains and low-fat or fat-free dairy. The best advice is always to get exercise, even if it is a 30 minute walk after dinner. Not only does this de-stress the body and mind and prepare it for sleep, it also dilates arteries and keeps their linings healthy. A good walk also decreases cholesterol and blood pressure. Health Briefs TV believes if you pair exercise and a healthy meals and snacks with proper rest, your chances of having a stroke diminish greatly.

Strokes can be debilitating and disfiguring. A stroke can steal an active life. Take active steps today for a longer, healthier, more satisfying way to living.

Health Briefs TV Explores Mental Health

Mental health is making the news this week as the UK’s popular Duchess and the US’ First Lady publish online articles to raise awareness of the topic. Health Briefs TV explores some of the issues concerning mental health.

Even talking about mental health in a casual setting can invoke a negative stigma. No one wants to bring the topic up. Yet, millions of people manage every day live with depression, anxiety, nervousness, PTSD, and other afflictions of the brain and mind.  But no one is really talking about it.  Until now.

One in five Americans live with a diagnosable mental health illness today.

Many mental health problems can be treated with medication or therapy. Meditation and yoga are well-known to help calm an anxious mind, and come without the side effects of often prescribed drugs.  People from every background and age group live with depression and anxiety. Young and old, poor or wealthy, Veteran or civilian, executive or staff worker – anyone can battle through the symptoms silently, afraid of others finding out and thinking less of them.  The stigma can be almost as debilitating as the mental illness.

Health Briefs TV asks readers to learn and recognize the five signs of someone struggling through a mental health problem. If any of these signs are familiar, talk to the person privately about them. Learn more about it from changedirection.com.

1. Personality change
2. Agitation
3. Withdrawn from others
4. Change in personal care
5. Feeling hopeless

Every person in our lives matters. It’s easy to see when someone is feeling physically unwell. It is much more difficult to see when someone is feeling mentally not well.  Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone and ask them. It could save their life.

Health Briefs TV Spills the Good and Bad Effects of Caffeine

Caffeine can kill you or not. There are some definite positive benefits from caffeine and certainly negative effects too. Health Briefs TV spills them out.

Caffeine can be found in a multitude of products from a cup of coffee to face cream. It is a drug naturally found in the coffee bean, tea leaf, kola but and cacao pod, and is odorless. It has a very bitter taste if eaten. Once consumed, it enters the bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine and takes effect in around 15 minutes.

One of the positive benefits of caffeine is it can help awaken a sleepy person by blocking the brain chemical adenosine, which is aligned with sleep. Small doses of caffeine can have positive effects like happiness, increased energy, and alertness also. A regular 6 ounce cup of coffee has about 75-150 milligrams of caffeine. Instant coffee has less. The same amount of brewed tea has about 30 to 90 milligrams of caffeine. Twelve ounces of cola contains 30 to 60 mg, and some energy drinks have 80. The U.S. FDA recommends 400 mgs per day of caffeine per healthy adult, which equates to roughly four to five cups of coffee per day.

In addition, Health Briefs TV has seen some top brand name beauty products with caffeine listed as an ingredient. When added to face and body creams, caffeine can perk dull skin up. Caffeine can also ward off depression and might lower the chance of developing malignant melanoma.

On the downside, it can raise the blood pressure and heart rate of some people. If too much is consumed at one time, it can also cause anxiety, nausea and jittery nerves. It has been shown to increase the opportunity to develop osteoporosis for women.

Caffeine is in many things we use and consume. How much you consume is up to you. There are good and bad benefits in it.

 

Coffee and tea:both contain caffeine

The Health Briefs TV Show Wants You to Get Some Rest

Are you tired? Not getting enough sleep? Does your mind keep you awake running thoughts through it a breakneck speed? The Health Briefs TV show wants you to get some rest.

We know how hard it can be to fall asleep and stay asleep sometimes. It is equally hard to function at your best when you are tired. Here’s what you need to know to get some needed sleep:

• A healthy meal of high protein and high fiber foods helps people get to sleep and stay asleep better than a meal with high saturated fats and less fiber. Avoid fatty foods at dinner time. Enjoy some peas, black beans, lentils, broccoli, raspberries, blueberries, avocado and other food like it. Skip caffeinated drinks several hours before bedtime.
• Avoid getting into an argument or heated discussion with someone – both in the physical sense and online.
• Take a walk after dinner to relieve stress and relax and loosen muscles and joints.
• Lower the blinds and the room temperature for a comfortable sleep.
• Get in bed, turn the TV and lights off and get comfortable.
• Think of something happy or positive. Close your eyes and relax thinking of the happy or positive thing. Replay in your mind what made it happy.
• Take conscious breaths. As you breathe slowly, imagine your breath as it enters your nose and mouth, makes its way through your body and goes back out. Focus on each breath and each step. This helps block and stop negative or repetitive thoughts which can keep you awake.
• Health Briefs TV suggests sticking to a regular schedule of when you go to bed and get up every day, even on weekends and vacations.

We admit we do not get enough sleep ourselves. 

Health Briefs TV Reviews Zika Virus Prevention Steps

The mosquito-borne Zika virus is making news headlines around the world. People most affected by it are from South and Latin America. Brazil has been hit most hard. In the United States, a few cases have been reported. Health Briefs TV reviews steps Americans can take to prevent mosquito bites and possibly Zika infection.

The US Centers for Disease Control reports the Zika virus is transmitted through mosquito bites. Most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes). Symptoms are usually mild and can last a few days to a week. Left untreated, it can be more severe.

One of the easiest way to prevent mosquito bites is to be well-prepared when and where they bite most often. Below are some preventative steps people can take:

Empty all outdoor objects that hold standing water. Mosquitoes breed in them.

Wear light-colored long-sleeved shirts and long pants with shoes and socks when outdoors when mosquitoes are most prevalent. Buy a bug repellent which contains a good amount of DEET or picardin. For a list of the top brands which carry these ingredients, Consumer Reports, usually a members-only organization, released their list of the best bugrepellents. Some are more organic than others. Whichever one of these people choose, the Health Briefs TV show encourages readers to protect themselves from bites. Mosquito populations are most active at dawn and dusk for several hours.  Avoid swampy areas. Avoid traveling to countries where the virus is widespread.

Prevention is the key to not becoming infected with the Zika virus. 

(image:healthline.com)

Health Briefs TV on Teen Health News

Teens. We all used to be one. Some of us still are. The one thing we all have in common is the need to pay attention to our health.

Health Briefs TV takes note of some of the cool health-related news for teens.

New studies found that the more fruits and vegetables teens consume, the better chance they have of not developing cancer when older. Also, reducing the amount of soda teens drink lessens the chance of developing kidney stones and diabetes.

There are some easy ways to pack more fiber into everyday eating habits: take an apple to school to snack on, choose whole wheat bread instead of white, ask the family cook to replace white pasta and white rice with whole grains varieties. Add broccoli to it to kick up the amount of fiber in the meal. Drink water with every meal, and add a few more glasses or bottles of it during the day and right before bed.

Teens, male and female, might find that even though eating healthful foods may not be cool, it does lower the chance of getting breast cancer and other cancers, reduces the development of obesity and high blood pressure. The Health Briefs TV show producers suggest packing some whole fruit in school backpacks. If getting lunch from the school is part of the plan, choose the fresher options instead of popular ones.

There is nothing cool about being sick, and especially not with a terminal illness. It is not fashionable to test blood sugar once a day at school. It is hard to participate in activities when even a few steps can wind you. Teen health is important. Step up your health game.