Lyme Disease

Here is some news that makes us uneasy. According to the CDC the ticks that cause Lyme disease are now found in half of all U.S. counties across 43 states. This is a 45 percent increase in the distribution of the ticks since the last survey done in 1998.

Lyme disease is the most common illness spread by ticks and there are about 30,000 new cases a year. The onset is characterized by a red rash around the site of the tick bite. The disease can be chronic and the symptoms can be debilitating.

Be cautious when walking through the woods or through fields of deep grass.

Aspirin The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Aspirin is a medication that can do you a world of good and sometimes a world of bad.
There is some interesting and important news about aspirin. Most of us know that low dose aspirin has been recommended for adults who are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact one study found that there was a 22% decrease in heart attacks in patients at risk who took a daily low dose pill.

Of equal importance is that another study found that those who took a daily low dose aspirin pill for ten years had a  40% lower risk of colon cancer.

The flip side of the coin is that aspirin increases your risk of having a severe hemorrhage.In rare instances the bleeding can be fatal.

This presents a dilemma that should be discussed with your doctor. A decision needs to be made whether in your particular case the benefit of taking a daily low dose aspirin pill outweighs the risks.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Have A Love Affair With A Peanut

Do you enjoy eating peanuts? We do..That is why we were delighted to find a very simple but highly relevant study about peanuts. In addition to being interesting
this study is great because it derives the most information from the least complicated analysis.

 The study was published in JAMA Journal of Internal medicine. It showed that consuming peanuts may help prevent heart attacks and death from cardiovascular disease. The authors simply looked at nut consumption among large groups of people. They found that participants who ate the most nuts and peanuts were about 20% less likely to die during the five year study. This was not a perfect study  and it certainly could be improved, but it contains more than a grain of useful information.

We have often wondered whether snacking on nuts was simply another example of unhealthy impulse eating or whether there might be hidden benefits. The take away message from this study is that you might actually improve your health while you are satisfying your craving. What could be better?

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Heart Disease In Women

You may have thought that heart disease is the same in men and women. While it is true that men and women have some of the same risk factors, there are differences in the way that the disease affects each gender's body.

Women tend to develop heart disease about 10 years later than men. They also have a greater chance of dying from a heart attack. In fact heart disease is the number one killer of women.

Another important difference is that women don't usually have extreme chest pain with a heart attack. In fact 64% of women who die suddenly of coronary artery disease had no previous symptoms. When women do have symptoms they are more likely to experience back or jaw pain,, dizziness, lightheadedness, shortness of breath or nausea and vomiting.

With this in mind it is essential that mature women who experience any unusual physical symptoms consult urgently with their physician or go to the nearest emergency room.

Another Cause Of Knee Arthritis

If you are overweight you increase your risk of knee arthritis. How do we know this? The answer is simple. A large study of 353 overweight women reported that those who lost even 5 percent of their weight over 2 and a half years were less likely to develop knee arthritis than those who did not lose weight.

It was also noted that those who had lost the weight had fewer ongoing symptoms than those who remained obese.

This is another reason to take off those excess pounds.

Sleep Apnea Is Very Dangerous For Women

Many women frequently complain that their male companions snore loudly during the night. A concern, of course, is that he might have sleep apnea, a very serious condition. This has long been regarded as a man"s problem, but it seems that women also have high rates of sleep apnea a condition that has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and increased mortality.

Of great concern is that a large study of 1500 initially healthy people it was found that only in women was the condition independently associated with a marker for serious cardiovascular complications.

This study highlights the importance of screening women as well as men for sleep apnea. Gals take care of yourselves as well as your men.

Being Lonely Can Be A Health Risk

Are You Lonely Tonight?

In 2013 a survey revealed that 40% of Americans acknowledged feeling lonely. Do  you at times think that your are part of that group?

If you are lonely it may feel as if your heart is breaking. That is truly emotional distress. Many of us have been there, but did you know that this feeling of isolation can affect your health? Well it can.

A new study shows that social isolation can take a toll on your health. Researchers followed 141 older people who were lonely. They found that loneliness was associated with greater inflammation and an altered immune response. As a result of the emotional distress the subjects in this study had a 45% increased risk of premature death compared to others who were not lonely.

The author concluded that the longer one is lonely the greater the negative effects. This is a sobering thought especially for the holidays. Our advice to anyone who is feeling especially lonely is to make an extra effort to participate and to be with others.