Eat More Fruits and Vegetables to Protect Your Health

Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that may help protect you from chronic diseases. Compared with people who consume a diet with only small amounts of fruits and vegetables, those who eat more generous amounts as part of a healthful diet are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases, including stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers.

 Add fruits and veggies to your diet with these tips:

• Add strawberries, blueberries, or bananas to your waffles, pancakes, cereal, oatmeal, or toast.
• Include vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms or tomatoes in your egg or egg white omelet.
• Ask for more vegetable toppings (like mushrooms, peppers, and onions) and less cheese on your pizza.
• Choose beans, corn on the cob, or a side salad with low-calorie salad dressing instead of French fries.
• Drink a fruit smoothie made with whole fruit, ice cubes, and low-fat or fat-free yogurt.

Source: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/

Your Doctor’s Office Checklist

Because time is limited during medical appointments, preparing your questions for the doctor beforehand will help make the most of your time with your doctor and healthcare team. During your appointment, start by asking the questions that are most important to you. The questions below can get you started:

•  What is my diagnosis?
• What are my treatment options? What are the benefits of each option? What are the side effects?
• What is the test for? What will the results tell me? When will I get the results?
• Why do I need this treatment?
• Are there any alternatives?
• What are the possible complications?
• What will the medicine you are prescribing do? How do I take it? Are there any side effects?
• How do you spell the name of the drug?
• Will this medicine interact with medicines that I’m already taking?
• Why do I need surgery? Are there other ways to treat my condition? How often and how many times have you performed this surgery?
• Which hospital is best for my needs?
• Do I need to change my daily routine?

Take notes or bring someone to your appointment to help you understand and remember what you heard. If you don’t understand or are confused, ask your doctor to explain the answer again.

Finally, find out what you are to do next. Ask for written instructions, brochures, videos or websites that may help you better understand your prognosis and treatment options.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

How to Check for a Thyroid Problem

Making sure your thyroid gland is healthy is important to your body’s overall well-being. Because many symptoms of thyroid imbalance may be hard to recognize and may be mistaken for symptoms caused by other conditions, the best way to know for sure about your thyroid health by getting a TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) test, a simple blood test that measures whether your thyroid gland is functioning normally.

Who Is at Risk

If you have a family member with thyroid disease, are over the age of 35, or have any symptoms or risk factors associated with thyroid disease, you should talk to your doctor about getting a TSH test.

For more information, visit www.aace.com.

Source: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and ThyroidAwarenessMonth.com

What is the Thyroid?

Every time you look in the mirror, a key to your well-being is staring back at you: your thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located in the lower front of the neck, above the collarbones, and below the voice box (larynx). Your thyroid gland makes hormones that help control the function of many of your body’s organs, including your heart, brain, liver, kidneys and skin.

Signs and Symptoms of thyroid problems

Generally, if the thyroid produces too little thyroid hormone, the body’s metabolism slows, causing listlessness and other symptoms. An overproduction of thyroid hormone results in feelings of nervousness and a faster heart rate.

Other key signs and symptoms of thyroid disease include:

• Low body temperature
• Unusually low or high blood pressure
• A lump in the neck; hoarse, husky, or gravelly voice
•  Extreme thirst or hunger
• Insomnia
• Noticeable change in weight (gain or loss) despite no change in diet and exercise
• Feeling warm or hot when others are cold, or cold when others are warm
• Heart palpitations, flutters, skipped beats, strange patterns or rhythms

January is Thyroid Awareness Month

Did you know that more Americans suffer from thyroid disease than all types of cancers combined? Show your support for Thyroid Awareness Month in January by wearing a blue paisley ribbon. The blue paisley ribbon design was selected because it resembles the cross section of thyroid follicles, which are tiny spheres that make up the thyroid gland.

Thyroid Top Ten Facts

1. About 30 million Americans are affected by thyroid disorders. Half of those affected by thyroid disorders remain undiagnosed.
2. It is more common for women to have thyroid disorders than men.
3. Thyroid disorders usually run in families.
4. Those with an under or overactive thyroid conditions have the same common complaint that they suffer from fatigue.
5. TSH testing is the most useful test for thyroid screening.
6. Regular check-ups are necessary to successfully manage a malfunctioning thyroid gland.
7. Changing formulations and dosage of medications that affect thyroid hormone levels should be followed by retesting.
8. Do not change your dose of thyroid medication without guidance from your physician.
9. Thyroid conditions in pregnancy warrant close attention.
10. Thyroid cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers in America and one of the most curable.

Source: http://www.empoweryourhealth.org/thyroid-top-ten