Dr. Curtis McElroy

Author: docmac

  • Heart Disease

    Should You Be Concerned About Heart Disease

    Under the broad term of heart disease, the condition is broken down into different categories for causes of the disease.heartdisease

     

     

     

     

    The top causes of heart disease for men are:

    Coronary artery disease

    Congenital heart disease

    Arrhythmias

    Diseases affecting the valves

    Cardiomyopathy

    Hardening of the arteries

    Heart disease ranks as the number one reason why men die and heart disease can affect men in the prime of life as well as in the senior years.

    Having heart disease puts men at greater risk of premature death from a heart attack or stroke regardless of age.strokeheartattack

    The causes of the various types of heart diseases can stem from diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, family history, to habits such as smoking, sedentary life style and obesity.

     

    To catch heart disease before it causes serious or fatal consequences, there are some steps men can take to improve the health of the heart.

    You’ll need to get a complete physical and undergo testing for your doctor to accurately determine your risk or to diagnose your type of heart disease.

    You may need to have an electrocardiogram.electrocardiogram

    If your doctor suspects narrowing of the arteries, he may want you to have an outpatient cardiac catheterization test done.

     

    The treatment for heart disease depends on the type of diagnosis you receive after seeing the doctor.

    First, if you don’t exercise, for the sake of having a healthy heart, begin an exercise program.

    jumpingropeforexercise

    Carrying excess weight raises your chance of getting heart disease – especially if you have that extra weight around your abdomen.

    Lose weight if you don’t have a normal BMI reading.

    If you smoke, break the habit. Smoking damages your blood vessels and contributes to the hardening of the arteries.smokingandheartdisease

    By quitting smoking and exercising, you can lower your bad cholesterol and your blood pressure, both of which can contribute to the risk of heart disease.

     

    Though the types of heart diseases are different, all types have some universal symptoms in common.

    If you have any of the following symptoms, you should be evaluated by your doctor as soon as possible:

    Sudden occurrence of irregular heartbeats, dizziness that may come and go, chest pressure, feeling short of breath especially when exerting yourself, fatigue that you can’t seem to shake and fainting.

    Some of the symptoms may not occur on a regular basis so remember that if you do notice any unusual symptoms, it could be a sign that your heart is trying to tell you something.

  • Is Junk Food Really Food

    Is Junk Food Really Food

    Marketing can be a powerful tool. How so? Well, just think about it. Because of marketing, the masses can be fooled into believing things are good for you that are really not, setting the stage for pharmaceutical companies to come in.

    This is how the processed/ junk food industry operates. By using persuasive marketing strategies, they can convince millions to purchase their goods, which are far from being good for you.

    At their core, they are anti-nature- being so highly processed that the ingredients they originally come from are no more.

    The fact is, Junk food is NOT FOOD, it is just junk.

    Here are more reasons why junk and processed foods should be considered anti-nature:

    They Are Loaded With Sodium

    Much of the sodium we consume on a daily basis does not come from real whole food, but rather the processed foods that we consume every day. There are so many foods that contain excessive sodium that you are unlikely to realize it. For example, maybe you don’t have a natural taste liking for such “salty foods”, but love sweet. That soda you are consuming is also loaded with a sodium derivative, even though you can’t taste it. Such are the hidden dangers of processed food.

    They Are Made Heavily Of Simple Sugars

    If you rely on processed foods for “nourishment”, you aren’t really getting that. You may notice that while using junk for sustenance, you are more frequently constipated, which is due to lack of complex carbs and fiber. Simple carbohydrates just enter the blood stream and are speedily absorbed, disrupting blood sugar levels in the process. Natural foods consist of more complex, low GI carbs, and have fiber to help promote digestive health and regularity.

    Processed Foods Contain Artificial Fats

    If you think all fats are bad, you are dead wrong. In fact, natural fats are ALL good for us, and even essential. The ones that have given all the bad rap are mainly Trans fats, a modified variety of an oil that allows it to remain solid at room temperature. Oils are usually liquid at room temperature. This kind of fat is highly pro-inflammatory, meaning that is promotes scenarios leading to increased inflammatory processes once consumed.

    Inflammation speeds up aging, and contributes to many of our chronic disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.

    Many Processed Foods Contain Anti-Nutrients

    Did you know that white potato is considered an anti-nutrient? Yes, white potato is known as an anti-nutrient, in the sense that it prevents absorption of other nutrients, bringing down the nutritional value of the entire meal. And guess what? White potatoes are a favorite inclusion in processed food. White potato is cheap, and arguably tastier than sweet potatoes, making them perfect for to increase profits of big brand junk food companies.

    Preservatives And Additives Found In Junk/ Fast Food Is Killing You

    No food is meant to be kept for months without spoilage, or rancidity occurring, so why can processed foods be kept? You can thank additives and preservatives, which are basically chemicals that artificially extend the life of foods. Are they helpful? Sometimes, definitely. But more often than not, they are a hazard to your health.

    Even though many are “safe” in very, very low concentrations and approved for human consumption by the FDA, they are frequently used in amounts far exceeding their safe limit, and consumed much more often than occasionally.

    Therefore, while we can’t fully blame the FDA for approving these chemicals, they should use common sense and realize people do not consume these processed foods once in a while.

    Conclusion

    Processed foods are the furthest thing from natural- regardless of what they claim. Let’s not forget many are GMO produced, which raise another set of ethical questions when it comes to consumption. The verdict is clear- eat whole foods, closest to its original source.

     

  • Keeping Your Brain Sharp And Young As You Age

    How to Keep Your Brain Sharp and Young as You Age

    There are many not-so-fun side effects of getting older and many reasons not to look forward to the inevitable march of time. While many of the down sides we tend to focus on though are to do with our bodies failing us, perhaps even worse is when our mind starts to give in and we find ourselves becoming more forgetful and much slower in our thinking.

    Even if we don’t necessarily suffer from any specific condition such as dementia, we can still find ourselves getting slower in our thoughts and struggling to keep up with everyone else which can be immensely upsetting and isolating.

    It doesn’t have to be that way though and if you are willing to put in the time and the effort, your brain can be strengthened and kept young just like a muscle.

    Here we will look at how you can keep your brain sharper and prevent some of that age related cognitive decline.

    Exercise

    Exercising is an important way to keep your body strong and healthy as you get older but it has other benefits besides the obvious. One of the most useful of these is the way it can help to strengthen your brain – and if you’ve ever struggled with short-term memory loss as you’ve gotten older, it may interest you to know that memory improvement is one of the main effects of starting a new exercise regime and particularly one involving lots of cardio.

    Use

    The saying ‘use it or lose it’ is definitely one that applies here and using our brain regularly in creative ways is one of the very best ways you can avoid letting it start to deteriorate. The best uses are ones that involve forward planning and holding numbers, so if games like chess or even computer games are ideal. These work the ‘fluid intelligence’ by training working memory. Learning new tasks is also important, as this helps to encourage ‘brain plasticity’ to keep the brain limber and ensure you can teach old dogs new tricks. That said though, anything will help – even just reading occasionally.

    Diet

    The right diet can do wonders for looking after your brain and helping to prevent the onset of various neurological diseases or general deterioration. Particularly useful are fatty acids such as omega 3 which you can get from fish and supplements, vitamins such as B9 (also known as folic acid) which can be found in fruits and veg and amino acids (proteins) which you can get from meat or from supplementation.

    Lifestyle

    Similarly, your lifestyle can also have an impact on your mental health. Things like your sleep regime and fresh air can affect your brain, while alcohol consumption can also have a big impact. Live in a manner that is conducive to good brain health and you will get more benefit from the better diet and other changes.

    Staying Active

    Old age shouldn’t look like a training program filled with brain tasks, gym sessions and supplements though, better is to just lead a lifestyle that will keep you active and engaged. For instance you can benefit from staying at work or from starting new hobbies. As long as you keep challenging yourself and pushing yourself, your brain won’t start to go to waste.

Copyright @ 2017 DrCurtisMcElroy