Noise Pollution: Society in More Stress

Three hundred years ago, actual noise as we know it was confined to natural events over which humans had no control. America sounded like wilderness – wolves howled, trees toppled, and water rushed over waterfalls and ran down mountain streams.

Today, surrounded by sounds difficult to escape – jetliners, motorcycles, snowmobiles, lawn mowers, chain saws, tractors, traffic, sirens, jack hammers, – we step inside our homes to be bombarded further by televisions, radios, electric razors, hair blowers, air conditioners, and even phones, At the office, it may mean another eight-plus hours of uninterrupted din. In our society, we move from one deafening environment to another.

We’re so accustomed to the clamor that we don’t even hear it, not really. People exposed to the same noises each day, especially loud ones, adapt so well that after an adjustment period, they don’t consciously “hear” it anymore.

Unfortunately, our “desensitizing” of noises doesn’t make them any less harmful. Even when we’re not aware of them, sounds – especially sudden ones – evoke a rapid, increased blood flow, raising the heart-rate and, ultimately, elevating blood pressure. This is the body’s method of responding to stress in what is called a stress reaction.

Researchers Dr. Ernest A. Peterson and Dr. Jeffrey S. Augenstein experimented with the effects of the noise. Two rhesus monkeys were selected for the test because their hearts and circulatory systems were “the closest [they] could get to humans.” The doctors subjected the monkeys to the same kinds of noises heard daily by the typical blue collar worker in America. At the end of three weeks, the animals’ blood pressure had jumped 43 percent.

What is a safe noise level? Although researchers aren’t yet sure, it is obvious that what many of us consider “normal” is not safe. Even people who believe they’re handling stress and the everyday pressures of life well aren’t as tension-free as they think they are.

Can you remember the “good old days” when the still, small voice within us used to be called “conscience” instead of “transistor radio”? Pursuing the sounds of silence will enhance your health.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/mental-health/how-noise-affects-your-stress-level

Severe Overweight: Deadly Health Complications

Cardiovascular

Overweight increases risk for heart attacks and heart failure. This can occur on the left side of the heart from having to pump blood through so much tissue or on the right side from an inability to lift the chest wall because of weight. Obese people don’t oxygenate well because the blood vessels in the lungs squeeze down and the right side of the heart has trouble pumping. This also leads to strokes from high blood pressure.

Cancer

Obesity increases cancer risk, especially of the colon, breast, or uterus. This is primarily because of the increased estrogen production from fat tissue.

Lipid Problems

Increased triglycerides lead to pancreas and heart diseases. Increased cholesterol levels lead to heart disease and gall bladder problems.

Type 2 Diabetes

Eighty percent of those who suffer from adult-onset diabetes are overweight. The great majority of the sufferers of this disease could cure themselves by getting down to their ideal body weight, watching their diet, and exercising properly.

Joint, Tendon, and Back Problems

Such problems are far common in heavy people. Knees, ankles, and back are especially vulnerable.

Pregnancy Complications

Overweight mothers are more prone to having large, difficult-to-deliver babies, gestational diabetes, blood pressure problems, and convulsions. Obesity presents a risk for both mother and child.

Surgical Risks

Obese patients are poor surgical candidates. They don’t heal well, they are prone to infections, they are anesthetic risks, and they are more at risk from blood clots.

Aging

Because of these stresses on the body, overweight people do not age well.

A diet is a lifestyle change, and any lifestyle change – even a healthy one – will put stress on the body. Therefore, it’s important that your doctor give you a physical examination before you begin dieting.

Risk factors to watch for including heart attack or stroke history, blood clotting history, liver or kidney disease, cancer not in remission, acute psychiatric disorder, type 1 diabetes. Being overweight puts patients with these disorders at a much higher risk than losing the weight would, but these patients should be monitored very closely.

Hypertension: Follow These 10 Commandments

• I am your physician, your health care partner; you shall not fail to see me as scheduled.
• You shall not fail to check your blood pressure regularly.
• Honor yourself by keeping stress under control.
• You shall achieve and maintain ideal body weight through regular exercise.
• You shall not smoke.
• You shall not drink more than two alcoholic drinks per day (1 ounce of alcohol).
• You shall not drink more than two cups of coffee each day.
• You shall not over-eat, especially salty and fatty food.
• You shall not stop taking medication without your physician’s consent.
• You shall spread the news and help stop the silent killer high blood pressure.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/mental-health/ten-commandments-for-hypertensive/

Healthy and Temperate Lifestyle

Health is wealth. One of my favorite poem states this truthful beautiful lines:

You use your health in search for wealth

But when you have found wealth 

You use your wealth in search for health

But you finally found the grave.

If this is true, then we have to have a check and balance scheme, in order to know if the lifestyle we have is really what it meant to be healthy.

Hereunder are few basic suggestions for better health:

• The Food You Eat: It would be well to do less cooking and eat more fruit raw. Never eat fruit or vegetables that are decayed because it will ferment in the stomach and poison the blood. The dried fruits are very helpful in the diet. Apples are one of the best standby storage fruits that you can find. It is best that five hours elapse between meals. Two meals a day are better than three especially for those who obtain relatively little exercise. Late suppers just before bedtime are particularly harmful. If eaten at all, the third meal should be light and taken several hours before bedtime. Good examples: Grains, nuts, vegetables, lentils, beans, fruits. Whole wheat bread is far better than white bread. Sugar clogs the system and is far worse than eating meat.

• The Air we Breathe: In order to have good blood we must breathe well. Lack of fresh air can cause sickness, how important it is that fresh air be supplied to those ill so that they become well. Develop a habit of deep breathing. After eating of before retiring take 18 to 20 deep breaths and take up your arms. When waking up in the morning take deep breathes as much and as many as you can. From time to time repeat it throughout the day to practice expanding our lungs. An insufficient supply of oxygen makes blood move slow. The waster poisonous matter which should be thrown off in the exhalations from the lungs is retained and the blood becomes impure. The stomach liver and brain are affected. The skin becomes irritated, digestion is retarded, the heart depressed, the brain clouded, the thoughts are confused; the whole system becomes in active and is susceptible to disease. 

• The sunlight on your Body: Sunlight reduces the danger of open air transmission of diseases. Sunlight lowers blood cholesterol and changes the cholesterol just under the skin to Vitamin D. Exposure to sunshine has an insulin effect in the body, it lowers blood sugar. Sunlight on the body both calms the nerves and increases adrenalin. Sunbath can lower the blood pressure by an average of eight percent. After two hours of sunbath; an average of thirteen percent reduction of human blood cholesterol occurs. 

• The Power of Moderation: To obtain excellent health, we must be temperate in all things; self control must be exercised in our communication, in our daily diet, in our work habits, in our recreation, in our travels, in our sleep and in our study. Moderation in the use of even good food is essential. 

• The Exercise you Obtain: Exercise provides a powerful increase of oxygen to the body. Ordinarily, a human inhales about 500 cubic inch of air per minute. By walking about 4 to 6 kilometers per hour, draws in about 2500 cubic inch per minute or five times more than that absorbed when sitting down. Rapid walking for 30 minutes, three to four times a week can provide ten years of rejuvenation. 

• The Water we Drink: The external application of water is the easiest and most satisfactory way of regulating the circulation of the blood. Warm and neutral baths soothe the nerves and equalize the circulation. It is generally recommended that we must drink 10 to 12 glasses of water a day. The very best times for water drinking are first thing upon arising in the morning and then 30 minutes or so before each meal. One or two glasses of water about half hour before breakfast will help cleanse the stomach and sharpen the appetite. 

• The Rest we need: During the rest period, the circulating blood nourishes our body with nutrients and oxygen. Our heart is pumping 100,000 times in 24 hours and lifting 7,000 liters of blood. How long would it last without rest? 

The tiny filters in our kidneys operate in shifts: one third work, one third rest, and one third prepare to work. The cells of our liver and pancreas have cycles of work and rest. The fibers in our muscles work and rest in shifts, except when strenuously exercise. Every cell in our body follows this cycle of rest and work, and mostly without our conscious control.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/health/health-alert/