As part of Colon Cancer Awareness Month, it is time to have the talk with your doctor. You may feel awkward talking with someone about your bowel movements, but in some cases this conversation could save your life.
You need to talk to your doctor about your stool if:
1) Your stool is black or bloody. Black stool may indicate blood in your intestines. If your stool is very dark or appears to have blood in it, you need to make an appointment with your doctor sooner rather than later. Blood may be an indication of a serious condition such as colon cancer.
2) You can’t go or stop going. If you are constipated or have diarrhea, you should see your physician. These can lead to serious complications such as dehydration.
3) Your stool changes. For most people, all bowel movements will be similar looking. However, if your stool changes color, becomes softer or harder than normal, has a different odor or appears greasy, you may need to see your doctor. These changes could indicate an illness or condition affecting your digestive health. For instance, white or gray stools could indicate a problem with your liver while narrow, thin stools could indicate an obstruction in your bowel.
4) It hurts to go to the bathroom. If you experience pain when passing stool, this could indicate a wide range of conditions including hemorrhoids. Your doctor can diagnose the cause of this pain and help you find relief.
Did you know colon cancer is the second leading cause of overall cancer deaths in the United States? But it doesn’t have to stay this way. Early detection through screening can dramatically reduce your risk. This means having your colon checked regularly starting at age 50, or sooner if you are at higher risk. Don’t forget, screening saves lives!
Your behaviors can have a major impact on your sleep and can contribute to sleeplessness. Your actions during the day, and especially before bedtime, can make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep or get restful sleep.
Your daily routines – what you eat and drink, the medications you take, how you schedule your days and how you choose to spend your evenings – can significantly impact your quality of sleep. Even a few slight adjustments can, in some cases, mean the difference between sound sleep and a restless night.
The term “sleep hygiene” refers to a series of habits and rituals that can improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Board-certified sleep physicians recommend following a series of commonsense, healthy sleep habits to promote better sleep. These healthy sleep habits are a cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy, the most effective long-term treatment for patients with insomnia. CBT-I can help you address the detrimental thoughts and behaviors that are preventing you from sleeping. It also includes techniques for stress reduction, relaxation and sleep schedule management.
Sleep specialists recommend that you follow the healthy sleep habits that are highlighted in this article. If you have difficulty sleeping or want to improve your sleep, try following these sleep hygiene tips. If your sleep problem persists, the AASM recommends that you seek help from the sleep team at an AASM-accredited sleep center.
Quick Sleep Tips
Follow these tips to establish healthy sleep habits:
Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations.
Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least seven hours of sleep.
Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed.
Establish relaxing bedtime rituals.
Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
Limit exposure to light in the evenings.
Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.
Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
Avoid consuming caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.
Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.
Do you have a sleep disorder? Take a free sleep disorder risk assessment.
Learn about the treatment options available at Bon Secours Sleep Disorder Centers. Our sleep specialists and experts on the treatment and care of sleep disorders help patients suffering from many sleep disorders, including snoring problems, apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy.
In February we celebrate the heart. The staff of the Bon Secours Heart & Vascular Institute wants to share the top seven ways you can show your own heart some love.
# 7: Physical Activity– This is one of those things that would be more valued if we needed a prescription in order to access it. The benefits are amazing! The risks of heart disease and many types of cancer are decreased. It can improve mood as much as some antidepressants. Are you having a hard time getting a good night’s sleep? You guessed it – another benefit of exercise. Recent research has also shown that it decreases our risk for cognitive decline. And it doesn’t have “nausea, vomiting” and all those other things listed as potential side effects.
So, how do we fit this into an already busy schedule? Many of us want to do it right or not do it at all. We have our ideal goal of 60 minutes of exercise every day. We think that should include some cardio and resistance training. The recommended amount of exercise to get all the benefits discussed above is only 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days. We usually interpret that to mean at least five days per week. The good news is walking counts. The even better news is you can break this exercise up into three 10-minute periods. So, 10 minutes before work, 10 minutes at lunch and 10 minutes in the evening and you’re done! Feel your risks decrease and your ability to focus increase!
# 6: Pick Quality Fuel– Your body works better when you eat quality foods. That means limiting processed foods. If highly processed foods are currently a big part of your diet, cut out the one that will make the biggest impact – the one you eat the most. Add in more simple foods – grapes instead of chips, carrots instead of fries, or a spinach salad, with touch of vinaigrette dressing, instead of a heavy creamed soup.
Pre-planning will help to ensure success. When you go shopping, make sure you have enough healthy snacks in the house. If they require pre-washing or chopping, you may choose to do this at the beginning of your week to make it easier to choose these snacks throughout the week.
# 5: Drink More Water– It’s not something that seems amazing or unexpected. It is, however, something many of us need encouragement to include in our diets. You may have used any one of the following excuses. “I don’t like the taste of water.” “I forget about it.” “I don’t feel thirsty.” “I’ll have to go to the bathroom all the time.” Our job is not to convince you of all the benefits of drinking at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. You have probably heard that before. You may also know that by the time you feel thirsty, you are already experiencing dehydration. You probably also already know that your metabolic rate improves when you are not dehydrated. (Why do you think all those Weight Watchers’ people walk around with a big bottle of water?) What we want to do is give you some hints that have worked for others to make it easier to do.
First, get a container to drink from that is something you enjoy looking at and is generously sized. If you only have to fill your container two or three times each day in order to know you’ve had enough water, you are much more likely to be successful. Some people have found water bottles that have a counter at the neck. Each time you fill it you can click it over one. No need to keep any numbers in your head! If you don’t enjoy the taste of the water, the simplest thing is to cut some fresh fruit, such as lemons, into a pitcher of water to improve the flavor. You can also buy flavored waters. Just be sure to keep an eye out for other, unexpected, additions to the water such as sugar.
# 4: Get Enough Sleep– Yes, sleep. We didn’t say it was rocket science. What we do know is this is one of the most basic needs our bodies have and one we frequently ignore. For a while it appears we are getting away with it but, eventually, the effects will become evident. The bottom line is, currently, the tipping point for sleep appears to be six hours. However, a physician at one of our Sleep Disorders Centers told me it probably will move toward seven very soon.
It’s not just about how many hours you spend in bed. It’s also about the quality of sleep you enjoy. You can visit the Bon Secours Sleep Disorders Centers to find out about the STOP BANG sleep assessment tool. It’s a simple eight-question assessment tool that will let you know if you should talk with your health care provider about having a sleep study. Good news! The sleep center staff also shared that there is now a sleep test you can do in the comfort of your own home. It can help determine whether or not you would benefit from a full study in the sleep center.
# 3: Know Your Numbers– Your blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, blood glucose and body mass index are numbers you should know. High blood pressure, cholesterol issues and diabetes may go undetected without proper testing. Knowing your numbers gives you the power to make appropriate lifestyle changes before permanent damage is done to your body. This will decrease your risk for developing heart disease.
# 2: If You Smoke, Stop– Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor for sudden cardiac death. Smokers have two to four times the risk of nonsmokers. Cigarette smoke puts added strain on the heart because it causes blood vessels to clamp down or constrict. Smokers who have a heart attack are more likely than nonsmokers to die suddenly.
#1: Choose One Thing– You may have heard the saying, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Often we want to do it all at once. We start off with good intentions but give up after becoming overwhelmed with so many changes. So, pick the one area that will benefit you the most. If you smoke, focus on smoking cessation. If you haven’t seen your primary care doctor in a number of years, make an appointment to have those numbers checked. If you know that sleep is an issue for you, give the Bon Secours Sleep Disorders Centers a call. Choose one thing. Focus there before moving on.
Whichever step you choose can decrease your risk – and show your heart some love this Valentine’s Day.
Eating a heart-healthy diet is the key to reducing your risk for heart attack, stroke, heart disease and diabetes. By choosing the right foods at each meal, you can add years on to your life and even improve how you feel on a day-to-day basis.
Food fuels your body. The best fuel is the proper balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals that help each part of the body perform at its best. When you feed your body nutritious food, you will find you have more energy, lose weight, lower your blood pressure and much more. Eating heart healthy is not a diet, which can be temporary. It’s a lifestyle that is focused on treating yourself well.
You can’t control many risk factors of heart disease, such as age, gender and family history. However, you can reduce your risk by choosing a heart-healthy diet that follows these guidelines:
Cut down on higher fat meats.
Eliminate simple carbohydrates like enriched white flour and sugars.
Eat healthier unsaturated fats.
Lower your sodium intake.
Rediscover fruits and vegetables.
A new, free cookbook from Bon Secours Heart & Vascular Institute aims to help people make heart-healthy diet choices. The Good for Your Heart cookbook contains over 100 recipes for salads, soups, sides, breakfasts, main courses and desserts that were reviewed for healthiness by registered dietitians. Each recipe includes ingredients, instructions and nutrition facts so they are simple to make and easy to record for people watching what they eat.
The book also provides tips from cardiologists on how to live a heart healthy life, instructions on how to substitute healthier ingredients into favorite recipes and guidance on what it means to eat heart healthy.
Heart-healthy eating should not be confusing, but filled with simple choices. The meals should not be bland or repetitive, but packed with a variety of flavors. You should enjoy the taste of the food you eat while your body enjoys the nutrients it receives. You can try a wide variety of dishes from the cookbook, from vegetarian pasta to barbecue chicken, to spice up your home cooking. Even party appetizers and desserts can have a place in a heart-healthy diet when eaten in moderation.
To take the first step toward a delicious heart-healthy lifestyle, you can download the free e-cookbook. The cookbook can be viewed on tablets, phones and computers with e-reader apps. It can also be used on some e-reading devices, including the Nook. A PDF of the cookbook is also available for download.
Heart health. Do you ever get that glazed-over look when your provider rambles on and on about its benefits? If so, let me throw out some facts to grab your attention. The CDC states that 1 in 3 adults in the United States have high blood pressure (hypertension), and of these only about half (47%) have their blood pressure under control. Elevated blood pressures lead to two of the top killers for our country – heart disease and stroke. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Many people have no idea that their pressure is high and many more choose to do nothing about it because they don’t “feel sick.” It isn’t called the silent killer for nothing, but the more you know about it the better equipped you are to fight it.
So where do you start? The idea of “lifestyle modification,” a phrase us medical people throw around, is incredibly effective if done correctly, but can seem overwhelming. So rather than change everything, some patients get lost in the multitude of tips and tricks and ultimately choose to change nothing. The doing nothing means worsening heart health and eventually leads to relying on those little pills, that you need to take every single day, to fix your problem. While some of those pills are inevitable in the long run, there are many things you can do to stave off your love/hate relationship with them and improve this vague notion of “heart health”.
One great place to start is to take steps. I mean this both literally and figuratively. Get out there and move! The more you move, the more your body will thank you for it. You get one body, for life. There are no trade-ins or newer models for you to move into so take care of it. Some people take better care of their cars than they do their bodies. You want to be a healthy weight and you want to be physically active. I’m not asking you to get out there and run a marathon but you can start walking. Walk around the block, take the stairs, park in the spot farthest away and WALK. Ideally you will be getting 150 minutes of exercise a week, five days of 30 minutes, but anything is better than nothing. When you commit to “taking steps,” you will get that much closer to the goal line and that much closer to the weight that you want. Walking can lead to jogging and then maybe to running. Who said anything about a marathon?
Shake the salt OUT of your diet. Diet plays an enormous part in your health. “Diet and exercise. Diet and exercise.” We say these things over and over, often on repeat, because yes, they matter immensely! Low fat, low sodium, lots of vegetables and fruits – you’ve heard it all before. Salt makes your body retain fluid and it makes your heart work harder to push all the fluid around. Instead of adding salt to make food taste better, add some spice! A variety of spices in your food can greatly improve the taste while keeping your hand off the saltshaker. Also, if you have to microwave it to make it edible, it is probably loaded with sodium and not helping out your heart. Another step in the right direction is to brown bag your lunch. Make it and pack it yourself so you know what you are consuming. If you can’t pronounce half of the ingredients on a label then don’t eat it!
You know what is coming next. All of you smokers and heavy drinkers, I am talking to you! No matter how you spin it there, just isn’t room in the health conversation that allows for smoking. Have that conversation with your doctor and get the information you need to quit. Today. Please! The alcohol discussion is a little murkier. The maximum consumption should be two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women (not the minimum for anyone reading between the lines). I didn’t make the rules and no, this does not mean you can save them all up for the weekend. Drinking four drinks at any given time is called binge drinking and is never recommended.
So, is this article stressing you out? Stress is another major contributor to elevated blood pressure because your heart beats harder and faster. One way to combat this is finding a healthy stress outlet, which is very important in this high-paced, caffeine-driven society. Exercise (are you getting tired of that word?) is an excellent way to reduce stress levels.
I challenge everyone reading this to make one change. Just one. One step. Start with one and when that gets easy, add another. The more you do, the better you will feel. Start anywhere that is realistic, and move forward from there. I have never met anyone who can honestly say there isn’t anything he or she can do to improve his or her overall health. The challenge isn’t the actual change; it is finding the mental motivators to commit. Once the change happens you will see, and hopefully feel, the benefit. From there, “heart health” will be something you live rather than something you read about.