PreDisease.com Blog

A new study shows that changing three behaviors that are common to many American families can reduce childhood obesity by 40%. What are these behaviors?

Ensuring an adequate night’s sleep- children in the study who got at least 10 ½ hours of sleep per night were less likely to be obese. The reason? Children who are well rested most likely are less tired during the day, and therefore more apt to engage in activities that are healthy.

Eating together as a family- the study found that children who enjoy meals with their family more than 5 times a week were less likely to become obese. They postulate that eating at the family dinner table, instead of in front of the television, teaches children good eating habits, such as regulation of food intake. These children may be less likely to eat mindlessly and may be more aware of what and how much they are eating.

Moderating the amount of television watched- children who watch less than 2 hours of television per day are less likely to be obese. The reasoning is obvious- these childen are more likely to be engaged in active play, rather than sitting still and watching television.

The effects of each of these three behaviors was independent, meaning that there was a cumulative effect with each behavior that was added. According to the study, only one in seven children who practiced all three behaviors were obese, in comparison to one in four children who did not practice any of the behaviors.

Source: How to fight childhood obesity in 3 steps

A new study released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health, has disclosed that many American adults have not been vaccinated against many of the vaccine-preventable diseases.

Reasons cited for lack of immunizations in adults include lack of access to primary care by the uninsured, the fact that many insurance plans don’t cover immunization, lack of trust in available vaccines and a healthcare system that does not put prevention first. Lack of emphasis on adult vaccination by physicians is another factor cited for the spotty immunization record of many adults.

Adults have a wide array of vaccines available to help fight preventable diseases. These include:

• Pneumococcal vaccine- protects against pneumonia
• Shingles vaccine- protects against shingles, which can cause a painful rash due to activation of the virus which causes chicken pox
• HPV vaccine- protects against the virus that causes human papilloma virus, which is associated with cervical cancer
• DTP vaccine- protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough)
• Influenza vaccines- protect against seasonal influenza and H1N1 influenza

The report calls for public funding to cover the cost of recommended vaccines, as well as increased public education regarding the need for vaccinations amongst the adult population.

Source: Make Adult Vaccinations as Widespread as Those for Children, Say Immunization Advocates

Pre-diabetes can be defined as the condition of having abnormally high blood glucose levels that are not high enough to warrant the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that 57 million people in the United States are pre-diabetic (NDIC, 2007). How can you tell if you are one of these people?

Some groups of people are at higher risk of developing diabetes. These groups include the elderly, African Americans, those of Asian descent, Native Americans and those of Latin descent. However, pre-diabetes and diabetes can occur in people of all ethnicities and ages. Other risk factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes include a sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, a family history of diabetes, being overweight and a history of having had diabetes during pregnancy.

Two common tests that can help determine whether you have an abnormal metabolism are the Fasting Glucose Test and the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test. Abnormal results on either of these tests signal that your body has an impaired ability to metabolize glucose.

A diagnosis of pre-diabetes does not necessarily mean that you are destined to become diabetic. Studies have shown that lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and weight loss, can prevent the development of diabetes. Knowing your risk factors for diabetes can help you to avoid developing the disease.

Source: National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/DM/PUBS/statistics/#pre-diabetes

Menopause is an inevitable part of every woman’s life. Some women sail through relatively unscathed, while others experience every symptom in the book. Menopause is an intensely personal experience for every woman. Perimenopause precedes menopause, although some of the symptoms can overlap, and can occur at varying ages.

When does perimenopause begin?

Symptoms perimenopause generally begin when a women is in her 40’s, although they may start sooner than this.

What triggers perimenopause?

Perimenopause is triggered by a gradual and slow reduction in the amount of estrogen produced by the ovaries.

How long does perimenopause last?

Perimenopause can last for many years, with the average being 4 years. For some women, this period may only last for months, while for others perimenopause will last for up to 10 years.

When does perimenopause end?

Just before menopause, the reduction in the amount of estrogen the ovaries produce accelerates. This is when women are more likely to experience menopausal symptoms. Perimenopause is officially over when a woman has not experienced a period for 12 months, at which point she is said to be in menopause. For women who no longer experience menstrual periods due to hysterectomy, levels of hormones can be measured by blood sampling.

What are the symptoms?

• Hot flashes
• Mood changes
• Vaginal dryness
• Fatigue
• Breast tenderness
• Menstrual period irregularities
• Sleep disturbances

Can I still become pregnant during perimenopause?

Yes! Although hormone levels are reduced and fertility declines, you may still become pregnant. You should continue to use birth control if you do not want to become pregnant until you have gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/perimenopause/DS00554

The rapidly increasing numbers of type 2 diabetics in the US are being blamed for the inflated price tag of $218 billion, which is the estimated cost of pre-diabetes and diabetes for 2007. An analysis spear-headed by the Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP) studied both the direct costs of medical care required for diabetics and the indirect causes, such as absenteeism and lost productivity.

The cost of type 2 diabetes was found to be $10,000.00 per person (annual), while the cost of pre-diabetes was only $443.00 annually. The message here is that it is important to prevent those with pre-diabetes from advancing to full-blown type 2 diabetes, with its attendant costs and complications. How can this be done? The answer is to focus on prevention, particularly weight loss and moderate exercise, which may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by almost 60%.

The cost of pre-diabetes and diabetes is borne by all citizens in the form of higher health care premiums. Furthermore, it is estimated that in the US, the diabetes population will double in the next 25 years, and that the cost of this increase will reach $336 billion by 2034 (American Diabetes Association). These figures make it that much more imperative that we all work together to develop programs to prevent diabetes.

Source: Diabetes And Pre-Diabetes Accounted For $218 Billion In Costs In 2007, Health Affairs Paper Demonstrates

Source: National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2007

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that increasing Medicare co-payments resulted in fewer doctor visits and more frequent and lengthy hospitalizations among seniors.

In tough economic times, insurance companies may see the benefit in raising co-payments to help defer rising costs, but this strategy is likely to backfire on them, as evidenced by this study. The study included almost 900,000 seniors enrolled in 36 different Medicare plans. The results? Those seniors who saw a raise in their co-pay rates saw a doctor less often and were hospitalized more often and for longer periods of time. Good medicine? This would not seem to be the case. The populations most affected by a rise in co-payments were those who could least afford it- those living in low-income neighborhoods and those who already had diagnosed health problems, such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

The study illustrated what many intuitively know: raising co-payments leads to less preventative care, which means sicker patients who need to be cared for at a higher cost, not to mention an increase in patient dissatisfaction.

Source: Increased Ambulatory Care Copayments and Hospitalizations among the Elderly

Women who are an unhealthy weight during pregnancy may be putting themselves and their unborn babies at risk. More than half of non-pregnant women of childbearing age are considered overweight or obese. Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can lead to complications for both mother and baby.

Complications for babies can include neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, heart defects and the risk of having more than one health problem at birth, or multiple anomalies. In addition, babies born to overweight mothers are more likely to be obese when they grow up.

For overweight pregnant mothers, health risks can run the gamut from high blood pressure to preeclampsia, increasing the risk of a cesarean birth, the necessity of inducing labor, and hemorrhage. In addition, being overweight or obese during pregnancy increases the risk of gestational diabetes. Having diabetes during pregnancy is one of the risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes later on.

There is a definite relationship between obesity in pregnancy and obesity in the offspring of overweight women. By entering pregnancy at a healthy weight, women can reduce the risk of their children becoming obese, lowering their future risk of diseases related to obesity, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Source: Overweight Pregnant Women May Be Putting Their Infants At Risk

One might think that being diagnosed with a debilitating and painful condition would be a hard pill to swallow. But if you’ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chances are your diagnosis came as a relief. That’s because finally, there was someone out there who believed your suffering was not “all in your head” and the pain you’ve been dealing with is real.

Naturally, your first priority is to find relief for the pain. But sooner or later you’ll have to learn how to manage dealing with the stress that’s part and parcel of the condition. You’re probably already familiar with some of these most common stressors:

1. Though more and more the medical community is recognizing fibromyalgia as a legitimate condition, there is still a lot of conflicting information out there. Chances are your friends, family, and coworkers will have a hard time understanding what you’re going through. After all, there doesn’t seem to be a readily identifiable cause you can put your finger on and say, “Okay, THIS one thing is making me hurt so all I have to do is find a way to fix it.”

2. The symptoms of fibromyalgia, especially the “fibromyalgia fog”, incredible fatigue, and constant pain make it difficult to do what others do so easily. The result can be a feeling of worthlessness and guilt which heaps even more stress on the situation.

3. Because your main focus is often on just getting through the day, you no longer have any interest in the things you once enjoyed. It’s not uncommon to feel isolated and alone with your condition and you may find yourself feeling depressed more often than not.

How to deal with the stress

The first step is education. Make it your business to learn everything you can about fibromyalgia so you’ll know what’s going on with your body and what you can expect. Educating your friends and family members is equally important. Once they understand more about what you’re dealing with they’ll be able to offer the help and support you need.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. They’ll be good days and bad days so set your expectations accordingly. Learn to recognize the factors that can trigger your symptoms and work around them.

How to deal with the pain

Fibromyalgia pain can be managed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, Advil, and Aleve to some degree. Some prescription drugs are also available but can have dangerous side effects. But perhaps the easiest and most effective way to treat fibromyalgia symptoms is with a natural, plant-based supplement.

PreArthros™ and PreArthros+™ – powerful natural supplements to treat fibromyalgia

PreArthros™ and PreArthros+™ is a 100% safe and natural plant based COX-2 inhibitor. It selectively inhibits COX-2 while preserving the stomach-lining protective function of COX-1. PreArthos also has cardiac and gastrointestinal protective properties. The natural ingredients found in PreArthos have no reported negative effects on the kidneys. That’s why PreArthos and PreArthos+ are the perfect solutions for effective and safe relief of from the pain you’re experiencing right now.

The cost is completely affordable. At $9 per week, you’ll safe up to 70% of the cost of most prescription drugs.

If you’re currently suffering with fibromyalgia, chances are great you want to take the best possible measure to alleviate the pain and suffering. You can find extremely valuable information about PreArthos right here.

Many people confuse the types of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, with osteoporosis. Although osteoporosis and osteoarthritis have very little in common – actually they are two very different medical conditions — because the name sounds so similar, it’s easy to get them mixed up.

Here is a summary of each condition as well as some similarities and differences among the three.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones lose density and so are more likely to fracture. This is a major health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, 68% of whom are women. In osteoporosis bone tissue is lost which can result in a loss of height, change in posture, bone fractures, and severe back pain. It can become severe enough so that a person’s ability to walk is impaired. In some cases it can also lead to prolong or even permanent disability.

Risk factors for developing osteoporosis:

• Family history
• Thinness or small frame
• Prolonged use of certain medications, such as those used in treating lupus, thyroid deficiencies, seizures, or asthma,
• Inactivity
• Being postmenopausal and particularly having had early menopause
• Excessive alcohol use
• Smoking

Osteoporosis is often referred to as a silent disease because it can remain undetected for many years without symptoms until there is a bone fracture. In order to diagnose osteoporosis, the patient needs to have a bone mineral density test, a totally safe and painless way to detect low bone density.

There is no cure for the disease but a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, a healthy lifestyle, and regular weight bearing exercises can prevent or lessen the effects.

Arthritis

When we speak of arthritis, we are speaking in general terms for conditions that affect the joints and surrounding tissues. Joints are places in the body were bones come together, such as the knees, wrists, fingers, toes, and hips. The two most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful, degenerative joint disease that often involves the hips, knees, neck, lower back, or small joints of the hands. Osteoarthritis usually develops in joints that are injured by repeated overuse, playing a sport, or carrying around excess body weight. Over time, this injury or repeated intact wears away the cartilage that cushions the ends of the bone and joint. When this happens, the bones wear together, causing a grating sensation. Join flexibility diminishes, the bone spurs develop, and the joint swells.

Usually the first symptom of OA is pain that worsens following exercise or immobility. Treatment usually includes analgesics, topical creams, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition, appropriate exercises or physical therapy, joint splinting, or joint replacement surgery for seriously damage larger joints such as the knee or hip may be necessary.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease. RA usually affects various joints in the fingers, thumbs, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, feet, and ankles. An autoimmune disease is one in which the body releases enzymes that attack its own healthy tissues. In RA, these enzymes destroy the lining of the joints. This leads to pain, swelling, stiffness, malformation, and reduced movement and function. People with RA also may have symptoms such as fatigue, fever, weight loss, eye inflammation, anemia, bumps under the skin, or pleurisy.

Osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are completely different conditions — they develop differently, have different symptoms, are diagnosed differently and are treated differently as well. Research has shown that people with OA or less likely than average to develop osteoporosis. However, people with RA may be more likely to develop osteoporosis. This is especially true when you consider that some medications used to treat RA can actually contribute to osteoporosis.

Commonalities between osteoporosis and arthritis

These two conditions do share some of the same coping strategies. With both conditions, exercise programs go a long way to ease the symptoms. These exercises should emphasize stretching, strengthening, posture, and range of motion. For example, low impact aerobics, low stress yoga, and swimming are appropriate for both conditions.

Managing the pain

In most cases people arthritis will have to use some type of pain management at some time. This isn’t necessarily true for people suffering from osteoporosis. Usually people with osteoporosis only need pain relief when they are recovering from a fractured.

But if you are currently suffering from arthritis pain, why continue when there is a new 100% natural alternative available to you right now? PreArthros™ and PreArthros+ ™ are natural botanical formulations that work together to reduce inflammatory joint pain caused by arthritis. These natural substances contain plant-based components that not only relieve arthritis pain, they also serve to protect the cardiovascular system, they are easy on the stomach, and will not harm the kidneys.

Hundreds of doctors have used PreArthros™ and PreArthros +™ to treat thousands of patients for over two years. The results have been remarkable — these two supplements have been shown to lower pain and inflammation on an average of 80%.

PreArthros™ is completely affordable at only $9 per week. You can find out more about PreArthros™ and PreArthros +™ right here. There IS help for your arthritis joint pain. Take control of your life today and don’t spend another minute worrying about how you’re going to manage her pain.

It’s been said that diabetes is one of the most serious diseases a person can have. When you consider the fact that this potentially life-threatening disease can wreak havoc on practically all body systems – it’s easy to understand why.

In addition to contributing to heart disease and stroke, diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. More than 24 million people in the United States have diabetes and more than 180,000 people are living with kidney failure as a result.

Diabetic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease that develops from diabetes takes many years to develop. During the first years, people will have a blood protein called albumin present in their urine. The kidneys are still able to function normally during this time. But as the disease progresses, more and more albumin leaks into the urine. At this time that the kidney’s filtering function begins to fail. As a result, the body holds on to various toxins and waste. As more damage occurs, blood pressure often increases.

For the most part, chronic kidney disease rarely occurs within the first 10 years of diabetes. It’s not uncommon for 15 to 25 years passed before kidney failure occurs. For people who have lived with diabetes 25 years or more without any symptoms of kidney failure, the likelihood of developing chronic kidney disease decreases.

Kidney disease and blood pressure

In people with diabetes high blood pressure is a major factor in the development of kidney problems. A family history of high blood pressure or hypertension,as well as high blood pressure in the diabetic, increases the chance of the onset of kidney disease.

Not only can high blood pressure cause kidney disease, but kidney disease can also cause high blood pressure. It’s a dangerous circle involving rising blood pressure coupled with factors that cause the blood pressure to rise. That’s why people with diabetes must take care to manage even mild hypertension.

Preventing kidney disease in people with diabetes

In addition to medication to control blood pressure and moderate protein diets, intensive management of blood glucose has shown to be especially helpful to diabetics who are in the early stages of chronic kidney disease.

Researchers have found a 50% decrease in both the development and progression of early diabetic kidney disease in people who followed an intensive regimen of monitoring and controlling glucose. Other studies showed that any program which sustains a lower glucose level will be helpful to diabetic patients in the early stages of chronic kidney disease.

Preventing the onset of diabetes

As the number of people with diabetes continues to spiral upwards, so does the number of people with resulting kidney failure continue to grow. Some experts predict that diabetes will soon be the cause of up to half the cases of kidney failure. In light of the increasing numbers of serious illness and deaths related to diabetes and resulting kidney failure, it’s absolutely crucial to delay or prevent the onset of diabetes — even in people who exhibit common risk factors for the disease.

PreCrea™ is a completely natural supplement specially formulated for people who currently have pre-diabetes or higher than normal glucose levels. Designed by PreEmptive Meds, a predisease therapeutic company, its formulation is based on the philosophy that fighting disease in its early stages (or prediease stage) is critical to prevent the development of full-blown disease. PreCrea™ gets to the root of the problem before diabetes has a chance to develop fully.

Clinical studies show that using PreCrea™ to treat pre-diabetes actually lowers blood glucose levels 20-30 points. As an added bonus, a weight loss of 15-20 pounds is entirely possible – which also contributes to getting the predisease state under control.

Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease can be life threatening conditions. Don’t gamble with your health – or your life. If you are pre-diabetic right now, or you are at risk for developing prediabetes, you can find knowledgeable information about PreCrea™ here.