by Barbara Phillips, NP on February 6, 2010
One of the questions I still hear in my practice is, “Why do I need to be concerned with my heart? Women don’t get heart disease like men”. So, let’s talk about that for a moment.
The truth is heart disease is the #1 cause of death in women over the age of 50. About one in four women dies of heart disease. And the older we get, the more likely we will suffer from heart disease. While both men and women can suffer from heart attacks, we as women are more likely to die from them.
The good news is, most heart disease (and Type II Diabetes) is preventable and that’s what I try to focus on with my patients. This is good news as more and more people are interested in how to prevent disease so they can live long healthy lives (not to mention, reduce their health care expenditures!).
Here are some steps you can take to reduce your risk of heart disease. [click to continue…]
by Barbara Phillips, NP on January 23, 2010
You’ve heard this all your life…”you are what you eat”. But often, we get confused about what we should be eating. While there is a lot of information available to us about healthy nutrition, it’s good to start with a few sound principals.
As a rule, people of all ages, who wish to be healthy may want to look at the portions of food we eat. You’ve heard of supersizing no doubt? You don’t have to supersize in order to be eating too much…you can do that just by having portions that are a bit larger than they should be.
Most people have “portion distortion”. Get a good reference book on the subject of portions (any diet or nutritional book) and start measuring your portions.
Yes, get out the measuring cup, the tablespoons and the scale. Do this until you relearn the proper amounts of food to eat. Check yourself periodically to make sure you are staying on target. You’ll be amazed with the results.
Eat organically as much as possible. Food today is loaded with hormones, pesticides, anti-bruise chemicals and the like. Simply washing your fruit may not get rid of the pesticides, and you certainly cannot get the hormones and antibiotics out of your meat. If you cannot grow it yourself (and know it’s clean) then consider purchasing foods that are certified as organic.
We, as whole human being, like to stay in balance as much as possible. I believe that much of our stress, much of our illness, and indeed a large part of aging is due to being out of balance. This principal holds true for our eating habits as well.
We need all components of nutrition. We need the fats (healthy fats), carbohydrates (complex carbohydrates) and the protein. Stay away from dietary recommendations that tell you to avoid “all fats” or “all carbohydrates”. You need all three. Balance.
Excerpt from Aging with Success, page 21-2.; (C) Barbara C. Phillips, NP
by Barbara Phillips, NP on January 3, 2010
You know how if you look up in a grocery store, they will have signs that direct you to where the coffee, flour and cereal are? Well, in a store about an hour from me, I found the most amazing signs….”Nutritional Food”, “Natural Cereal” and “Nutritional Drink”. This is a chain supermarket (and I’ll leave them un-named).
While, I don’t have to tell you that not all food is healthy, the fact that the grocer is now advertising this is telling. Truly…it’s time for the consumer to beware. If you are looking for foods that are nutritional, make sure you are in the correct aisles.
Seriously thought, learn to read the labels and check them for any products you buy. [click to continue…]
by Barbara Phillips, NP on December 14, 2009
When a new patient comes to my clinic, I ask them to list all their medications, including any over-the-counter medications, herbal and vitamin supplements they may be taking. Often times, they don’t know.
While I understand that it’s sometimes difficult to remember everything, I cannot tell you how important it is to your health and safety for you to know what you are taking and communicate that list to your own provider, the hospital or emergency personnel.
Let’s say you suddenly show up in the ER and are unconscious. Medical personal are not going to know what kind of medication you take or what your health problems are. This could be dangerous as they will be treating you somewhat blinded. As we all know, various medications should not be combined. But how will anyone know?
In our clinic, I have cards I give out to all my patients and encourage them to write down everything, each and every medication, and carry it with them at all times.
Here is a medication list I designed for you. It has your information, your providers information, allergies and a place for you to list all your medications, why you are taking them, and how often. Feel free to download it, fill it out and carry it in your wallet or purse at all times. Keep it updated with new medications, or remove medications you are no longer taking.
Let me know how it works for you.
One of the questions I still hear in my practice is, “Why do I need to be concerned with my heart? Women don’t get heart disease like men”. So, let’s talk about that for a moment.
