Health Problems Caused By Smoking

There are four main health problems caused by smoking. The first health problem caused by smoking is lung disease. Did you know that non-smokers rarely get lung cancer and emphysema? Male smokers are 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer than male non-smokers! Lung cancer and emphysema are terrible ways to die.

The second health problem caused by smoking is heart disease. 30 percent of heart disease deaths are caused by smoking. Women who smoke are 60 percent more likely to die of heart disease than women who don't. Men who smoke are 30 percent more likely to die of heart disease than men who don't.

Smoking is very hard on the heart, It:

• Lowers Good Cholesterol (LDL)
• Raises Bad Cholesterol (HDL)
• Constricts the arteries
• Raises insulin resistance
• Increases blood pressure

All of these things are bad for your heart.

When the blood stops going to your heart, you have a heart attack. When it stops going to your brain, you have a stroke. A stroke is the next item on our list. Smokers with high blood pressure are especially prone to strokes.

There are two kinds of strokes: hemorrhagic and ischemic. The hemorrhagic stroke is the more dangerous of the two. Smoking damages the blood vessels of the brain which may already be weakened by high blood pressure. Weakened blood vessels can rupture and bleed, which increases the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

Finally, on our list of health problems caused by smoking, we need to consider all of the other cancers that smoking exacerbates. For instance, smokers have increased cancers of:

• bladder
• larynx
• mouth
• stomach
• pancreas
• cervix

Carcinogens in cigarettes hurt the body's ability to control the growth of cells. If your body is trying to fight cancer, this is bad news as cancer cells grow out of control.

Health Savings Account Contribution Limits Left Unchanged For 2011

Each year the US Internal Revenue Service issues a revision of the Health Savings Account Contribution Limits. This year under IRS Procedure 2010-22 these limits were left unchanged from 2010 due to the fact that cost of living increases remained in-check the previous year. This was most due to the severe economic downturn and credit crunch which caused dis-inflationary pressures to reverberate throughout the U.S. Economy.

Under the 2011 new federal guidelines the maximum contribution that can be made next year by a single individual remains at $3,050 and the limit for a family remains unchanged at $6,150. This means that a family can contribute a maximum of $512.50 per month to their HSA Account and it would be $254.16 for an individual.

Since an HSA account requires the participant to own a High Deductible Health Plan they also set the minimum required deductibles and maximum out of pocket expenses for these plans on an annual basis. The minimum deductible for a single person remains at $1,200 and $2,400 for the family deductible. The maximum out of pocket expenses that a single participant may incur remain at $5,950 and it also remains constant for a family at $11,900. This Maximum includes all deductibles as well as co-pays.

One change that is coming in 2011 is the elimination of Over-The-Counter drugs as an eligible expense item using your HSA. At a time when the government is actively moving to provide health care for everyone, it seems like an odd time to be taking away benefits from those who are being fiscally prudent and using Health Savings Accounts. As of January 2010, there were about 10 million Americans who had chosen a high deductible health plan -HDHP that must be used in conjunction with a Health Savings Account. This is up nearly 1/4 over the previous years numbers showing that citizens want more control over their health care costs.

As the U.S. economy recovers and the fed re-establishes a normal rate of inflation it is likely that we will return to the normal annual increases in as we have seen in the past. Hopefully the trend toward HSA Accounts will remain intact and we can stop the severe inflation that has been occurring in health insurance premiums.

How Traditional Chinese Health Beliefs And Chinese Culture Influence Health And Illness?

Traditional Chinese health beliefs adopt a holistic view emphasizing the importance of environmental factors in increasing risk of disease. According to Quah (1985), these factors influence the balance of body's harmony, yin and yang. These are two opposite but complementary forces and, together with qi (vital energy), they control the universe and explain the relationship between people and their surroundings. Imbalance in these two forces, or in the qi, results in illness.

In order to restore the balance, traditional remedial practices may be needed. For example, excess `hot' energy can be counterbalanced by cooling herbal teas, and vice versa. These beliefs are deeply ingrained among the Chinese, and have been found to be unchanged following migration to Singapore.

Lee, et. al. (2004), found that patients with specific chronic diseases, namely arthritis, musculoskeletal diseases and stroke, were more likely to use Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This was strongly determined by the 'chronic disease triad', perceived satisfaction with care and cultural health beliefs.

Hence the use of TCM is not associated with the quality of doctor-patient interaction. Astin (1998) also agreed that it was seen as being more compatible with the patients' values, spiritual and religious philosophy, or beliefs regarding the nature and meaning of health and illness.

In traditional Chinese culture, taking medication is thought to be aversive, hence medications tend to be taken only until symptoms are relieved and then discontinued; if symptoms are not obvious, medications will probably never be taken.

Apart from parental cultural beliefs, minor side effects of certain antibiotics such as stomach upset may contribute to the poor adherence of medication. The use of "leftover", "shared" antibiotics and over-the-counter purchase of antibiotics by parents are common situations in the community.

They think that their children suffer from the same illnesses judging by the similar symptoms, so they would give the "leftover" or "shared" antibiotics to their children and only bring them to their doctors if there is no improvement (Chang & Tang, 2006). This may cause their conditions to deteriorate and may necessitate aggressive treatments later which may have unnecessary side effects.

However, there are small groups of Chinese who also blamed ill-health or misfortunes on supernatural forces, or on divine retribution, or on the malevolence of a 'witch' or 'sorcerer' (Helman, 1994). Such groups will usually seek cures from their religions.

In Singapore, the Ministry of Health has drawn up the TCM Practitioners' Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines to prevent any unscrupulous practitioners from preying on their patients and taking advantage of their beliefs, for example, molesting ignorant patients.

The degree of acculturation has been evidenced in the following case. An old man was brought into our hospital with a week-long history of malaise, nausea and vomiting, and sudden jaundice. He was diagnosed to have an obstructive mass in the liver.

A biopsy revealed hepatocellular carcinoma. The serological test suggested chronic active hepatitis B. When the news broke to his son that his father had cancer, he requested not to disclose that to his father.

When we discussed end of life issues such as hospice care and "do-not-resuscitate" (DNR) orders, the son tried to divert the discussion to other issues such as when his father could go home.

Cultural Issues that may be involved in this case are:

The Chinese tend to protect the elderly from bad news.

Believing in karma - the older folk believe that discussing illnesses or death/dying is bad luck. They think that talking about something bad will cause it to come true.

There is an increased incidence of liver cancer resulting from Hepatitis B due to delayed treatment in the elderly, as it may take a long time for them to accept the initial diagnosis.

Reference:

Astin JA. (1998). Why patients use alternative medicine. J Am Med Assoc 1998; 279: 1548-1553.

Chan, G. C. & Tang, S. F. (2006) Parental knowledge, attitudes and antibiotic use for acute upper respiratory tract infection in children attending a primary healthcare clinic in Malaysia. Singapore Medical Journal, 47(4):266

Helman, C. G. (1990) Culture, Health and Illness. Wright, London.

Quah, S. R. (1985) The Health Belief Model and preventive health behaviour in Singapore. Social Science and Medicine, 21, 351-363.

Lee GBW, Charn TC, Chew ZH and Ng TP. (2004). Complementary and alternative medicine use in patients with chronic diseases in primary care is associated with perceived quality of care and cultural beliefs. Family Practice, 21(6): 654-660.

Health Risk Of Soy

Are you aware of the health risk of soy?

Do you honestly believe soy is a health food? After studying this document and performing some research on your own you will probably change your mind. Soy is literally an anti-nutrient. It may contain heavy metals such as aluminum and can do harm to your hormonal balance.

Soy may slow or accelerate Sexual Maturation, - Cause Damage to Newborns. - Soy contains Potent Enzyme Inhibitors. - May Promote Blood Clots.- Most Soy is Genetically Modified - .Feeding Soy to Children may be considered Child Abuse.- May widely contain: Nitrates, Isoflavones, Phytic-Acid (anti-nutrient). - Contribute to Breast Cancer. -Affect Brain Functions. - Weaken the Immune System. - Cause Kidney Stones. - Reduce Male Fertility. - Attribute to Malnutrition

Two glasses of soy milk a day can change women's menstrual cycle by mimicking female hormones.

Soy can block the intake of minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc. This is due to it's phytic acid content. There seems to be a relationship between consuming soy and brain aging! Does that sound healthy to you? Well then what about killing testicular cells? You may see now how soy may unnecessarily cause many health problems including Alzheimer's and affect brain functions. Soy is not the "perfect food" you were led to believe. Actually it is more of a health risk causing many health related problems.

Most soybeans are grown on farms using toxic pesticides adding insult to injury. The only soy products that should be consumed is organic fermented soy. Even then don't over do it.

Israel has issued a health warning that soy should be eaten in moderation and soy formula avoided altogether. Soy users may be deficient in B12 and Vitamin-D. Also Soy may contain MSG from processing. MSG is very bad for you and is another entire article in itself.

Soy is in many foods that we aren't aware of including many vegetarian products.

Seems to me that soy's many negative aspects outweighs any helpful ones. It's a disgrace that soy have been marketed as such a super health food just to serve someone's financial benefits with no care about the results to our population's health.

Remember that soy is in many products particularly in health food stores, so read the labels. Many animals that people eat are fed soy and grains that make these products unhealthy too. I often shop at our neighboring health food store and always read the labels before I purchase.

You have to be diligent. Read the labels. Stay informed by doing research and making smart decisions.

I strongly advise you to consider the health risk of soy and to investigate it further and make a forthcoming decision on your own. It is my responsibility to inform you about these matters so that you may choose.

You can search for "soy's health risk" on Google or other search engines to find many studies on soy. Visit Mercola.com and search for soy on his site also.

Wishing you the best of health now and into the years to come.

Copyright 2006 Think Healthy