disease

What is Alzheimer’s and How to Protect Ourselves

August 27, 2017 By Jemeuel Giray Leave a Comment

Alzheimer’s is a common form of dementia and is the term used in general for memory loss serious enough to interfere with our daily life. So what causes Alzheimer’s and how do we prevent it? As you read on, you’ll be able to understand and know what is known about Alzheimer’s and what can protect yourself from it

What we know so far

Alzheimer’s disease or AD is common in the U.S. and it has currently affected over 5 million people. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that the U.S. prevalence will exceed 16 million by the year 2050 unless a treatment is developed. The leading risk factor for being diagnosed with AD is still age. Those 65 and older are most at risk.

However, Alzheimer’s isn’t just a disease of the elderly. Approximately 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 have been diagnosed with AD this is also known as early-onset Alzheimer’s. Other risk factors include female sex, positive family history of AD, and presence of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele.

There are potential modifiable risk factors that should be targeted and prevented.

These are diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cerebrovascular disease, depression, psychological and physiologic stress, traumatic brain injury, sleep-disordered breathing, smoking, alcohol abuse, high blood pressure, renal disease, alcohol and tobacco use, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, sedentary life style, and diet. All of the listed are modifiable because we can prevent them from happening to our bodies or us. These are risk factors that account for more than 50% of Alzheimer’s risk.

How to protect ourselves against Alzheimer’s

Consume more Fruits and Vegetables

A study was conducted on older Japanese-Americans and found that consuming fruits and vegetable juices decreased incidence of Alzheimer’s over seven to nine years of study on the patients.

Increase omega-3 fatty acids, e.g. eat fish and nuts.

Eating fish such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna or walnuts that have high omega-3 fatty acids these acids also help decrease the risk of having Alzheimer’s. In the Framingham study, individuals who have consumed these measured at baseline had lower rates of Alzheimer’s.

Exercise

Like most treatments exercising is the best treatment for almost every illness. You’ll only need to exercise for 30 minutes a day to keep yourself healthy. This raises your heart rate and improves focus and muscle tone. Regular physical exercise for middle aged or elderly adults reduces the risks of developing dementia.

Exercise your brain

Aside from keeping your body active and in shape, you must also exercise your brain by reading, doing puzzles, crosswords, playing cards or learning something new. As long as you can keep your brain active and you’ll likely reduce your risk of AD even more.

Depending on the type of exercise and intensity, physical activity is the best in lowering the risk of AD up to 65%. So long as we keep up a healthy diet, have fun and have a great social life. You’ll be less likely to have AD because you’re mind and body are in good shape.

10 Ways Global Warming May Affect Your Finances

July 31, 2015 By Will Lipovsky 4 Comments

While some people who believe global warming isn’t a legitimate issue to be concerned about, most economic and geologic signs point towards global warming. Many people believe that global warming only impacts the weather, but it actually will impact the economy as well. In one way or another, much of this impact may end up having a negative effect on your personal finances. Here are a few things to watch out for:

1. Cost of Food

Global warming means a significant change in the weather patterns across the world which, in turn, will also have an affect on agriculture. As such, this means it will be harder and more expensive to produce food. This will cause the price of food to drastically rise and may have a fairly large impact on your weekly grocery bill.

2. Extreme Weather Disasters

We’ve seen a startling amount of natural disasters around the world in the last decade or two, and a lot of them have been attributed to global warming. If a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or other natural disaster has happened where you live, you already know how devastating it can be emotionally, physically, and financially. If more natural disasters continue to occur, it can seriously hinder the economy of those areas. In some cases this means a stoppage of goods productions which could drive up prices and accessibility.

3. Disease

Global warming can also cause a rise in the spread of diseases. Many of these infectious diseases are affected by climate change or the contamination of food, water, and air. An increased risk of disease means more medical bills and vaccinations.

4. Healthcare Costs

In addition to an increased risk of diseases caused by climate change, there are other associated healthcare costs which may hurt your finances as well. For instance, you may need to start paying more money for access to vaccinations and medications. Sudden climate changes can also cause issues with your immune system and make you more susceptible to getting sick.

5. Cost of Utilities

Just as global warming may impact agriculture and the cost of food, it may also have an impact on the coal, oil, and natural gas. Many of the areas where these resources are found are prone to natural disasters, which may end up making coal, oil, or natural gas scarce, thus increasing the price. If you’ve noticed your utility bills slowly increasing in price over the years, this may be one of the reasons why.

6. Insurance Costs

One of the biggest risks associated with global warming is how it will impact insurance costs for businesses, real estate, and home ownership. With the increased occurrence of natural disasters, home and real estate insurance has risen. Many areas that currently have flood or earthquake insurance may see an increase in insurance costs. In fact, some areas of the country have already seen insurance plans increase in cost.

7. Real Estate

With the possibility of coastal cities eroding or other areas being destroyed by natural disasters, the cost of real estate will most likely rise. Global warming is predicted to increase migration to more stable areas, and this will most likely cause a severe increase in price for houses or rental units as well as real estate tax and insurance.

8. Increased Cost of Transportation

Anyone who has experienced a natural disaster or onslaught of bad weather knows that transportation infrastructure is often one of the first things impacted. With so much climate change and potential for natural disasters or disturbances, there’s a chance that many cities’ infrastructure will crumble or be badly in need of repairs. On a broader level, this may mean an increase of taxes in order to fix roads or transit systems, but on a smaller, more personal level, this may mean having to buy new tires for your car that much more often or having your vehicle undergo significant repairs.

9. Home Repair and Upkeep

Global warming may also cause you to spend more repairing your home. If your city or town experiences significant weather changes, you may have to update your house accordingly. This may mean ensuring that your house is weatherproof or making sure that you have the right type equipment to deal with severe summer or winter weather.

10. Economic Issues

The impact global warming has on the overall economy is a big issue many people are worried about. Global warming may mean a decrease in production of certain goods or industries, which could mean job loss and even more economic hardship. This results in shifting market prices for goods and services, and those prices will more than likely be increased instead of decreased. On a local economic level, any natural disaster or huge shift in the economy will probably affect your personal spending.

Scared Broke

November 15, 2010 By Jennifer Derrick 3 Comments

Your toilet is full of germs! Your tooth enamel is eroding!

Your soap dispenser can give you a disease!

Criminals are waiting to break into your home the second you turn your back!

You could have a disease and not even know it!

The germs on your countertop could wipe out your whole family!

These are all advertising claims (paraphrased) that I saw in one brief television watching session. All of these claims are designed to terrify me into spending money on their products. I’m supposed to be so terrified that my tooth enamel is coming off that I’ll run to Target and drop an extra five dollars on premium toothpaste. I’m supposed to be so worried that I might pick up a germ from my soap dispenser that I’ll go pay twenty dollars for a hands-free pump. (Really? I thought you generally touched the pump before washing your hands and you would thus wash off any germs when you washed your hands. It shouldn’t mater if there are germs on the pump because you don’t touch it with clean hands. Maybe my problem is deeper than needing a germ free pump. Maybe I’ve been washing my hands incorrectly all these years.) The goal of today’s advertising it to terrify you into spending money on things you don’t really need.

If you want to keep more of your money in your wallet, you have to realize that most of these are manufactured fears, not realistic concerns. Many fear based ads center on our (irrational) fear of germs. But germs have been around since the Earth began. We actually need to be exposed to germs so we can build a healthy immune system. Living in a highly sanitized environment can lead to more colds, flus and allergies because your body never builds up resistance through exposure. To hear the advertisers tell it, though, one germ could wipe out your entire family. Not likely. Yes, there are some scary germs out there but your odds of contracting a killer aren’t that great. If you’re really worried, you can kill plenty of germs with a homemade vinegar solution at a fraction of the cost of pricey commercial products (and it’s safer for you, too). You really don’t have to fear the germs on your soap dispenser, countertop or in your toilet. (Are you putting your hands in the toilet? Drinking out of it? If not, the fact that there are some germs in your toilet shouldn’t really freak you out.)

If it’s not germs, it’s diseases/conditions. Plenty of commercials want you to believe that you have some disease that you might not even know about. The idea is to get you to ask your doctor for some prescription drugs (that will give you some more conditions and diseases in the form of “side effects”) or to send you running to the pharmacy for OTC meds. Chances are that if you had some dread disease or condition, you would know about it and go to the doctor. You wouldn’t need an ad to tell you that you might be sick. And if you did have the disease, I’m sure your doctor would have you on a good treatment program. If you don’t feel well, go to the doctor and get checked out. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

Then there are the ads telling you that you have germs in your mouth or that your tooth enamel is eroding. Well, it’s all true. But is it dire? Not likely. Tooth enamel erodes as you age and it’s been that way since humans had teeth. If your mouth is otherwise healthy and you see a dentist for checkups regularly, it’s generally not a problem. Neither is having germs in your mouth. Germs are everywhere in your body, including your mouth. As long as you brush and floss regularly and see your dentist, it’s not a problem. Sure, if you never brush your teeth, those germs are going to become a problem, but you don’t need to buy the ten dollar toothpaste. The regular paste will do.

It goes on and on. There are plenty of ads to make you afraid of crime so you’ll buy their security products. There are ads that make a few gray hairs or wrinkles seem like death is on your doorstep. And don’t forget the ads that try to terrify you into buying a certain car because it will keep you safer than any other. Every time you turn on the TV, someone wants to scare you into buying a product. It’s no longer enough to simply tout the benefits of a product, they must induce fear. The more scared you are, the more you spend.

I don’t watch too much TV to begin with, and this is one of the reasons why. I have enough going on in my life that’s scary; I don’t need to be terrified by advertising. Before you spend out of fear, apply a little logic to the situation. If you really believe you may have some condition or that germs are trying to kill you, talk to a doctor before you go out and buy products. If you’re afraid of crime, do a little research about your area and see what the crime rates really are before you load up on security systems and guns. If you’re afraid that your car may not be safe enough, research it. Think things through before you just blindly consume out of fear. Chances are you’ll discover that most of these ads are just trying to terrify you into buying products.