I have become increasingly concern about the health of our young people. As we continue to see higher rates of typical adult health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and the like in children, it is appalling to know how much of this is the result of the grossly neglect attitude that we, as adults, have in respect to what we have allowed to be commonplace in their diets.

Have you ever gone late to work, so you can have breakfast with your child at school to see what they serve? How about remembering the last time you took your child to the supermarket to teach them how to shop for food? When was the last time you looked around a typical corner store, paying attention to what many of our children are eating everyday?

I recently came across a study that looked at the role of corner stores in our children’s lives. Needless to say, it was a sobering insight into just how poorly we have failed our children in providing guidance and protection as they learn the food habits and behaviors that will surely lead to them being unhealthy and unproductive adults.

The study by Temple University’s Center for Obesity Research and Education revealed that for a “little more than a dollar” city kids can walk into a typical corner store and fill up with unhealthy calories of low-nutrition junk, and for many, it has become a way of life and gateway to obesity. It found that the average Philadelphia student purchases more than 350 calories on each visit to the corner store – and 29 percent of them shop at corner stores twice a day, five days a week, consuming almost a pound worth of additional calories each week.

In fact, according to The Food Trust, in communities that lack supermarkets, entire families depend on corner stores for food purchases. The choices at these stores are often limited to packaged food and very little, if any, fresh produce. Corner stores are also frequent destinations for children, many of whom stop daily on the way to and from school for snacks.

In another national survey, fat comprised an averageof 35% of total caloric intake in youth aged 2 to 19 years,and almost two-thirds of these youth did not eat recommendedamounts of fruits and vegetables.

A 2009 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that 23.5 million people lack access to a supermarket within a mile of their home. A recent multistate study found that low income census tracts had half as many supermarkets as wealthy tracts. Another multistate study found that eight percent of African Americans live in a tract with a supermarket, compared to 31 percent of whites.  On the other hand, for every additional supermarket in a census tract, produce consumption increases 32 percent for African Americans. 

Studies have shown that a good breakfast boosts not just student nutrition, but also student achievement and health, and reduces absenteeism and visits to the school nurse. This under-nutrition can affect a child’s behavior, school performance and overall cognitive development. Even when a child misses one meal, behavior and academic performances are affected. A hungry child has difficulty learning.

For a school age child, the act of not eating breakfast can lead to fatigue and a diminished attention span. While the body adjusts to decreased blood sugar levels, the brain struggles to perform its function with a minimal supply of nutrients. Children up to the age of ten need to eat every four to six hours to maintain a blood sugar concentration high enough to support the activity of the brain and the nervous system. Most teachers can quickly identify those children who come to school without breakfast. Their heads are on their desks at 10:00 AM- the peak learning hours. This chronic poor nutrition may cause more serious learning deficits.

The effectiveness of school-based nutrition programs and services can be enhanced by outreach efforts in the surrounding community. At the very least, school personnel should be familiar with the health and nutrition resources available through local agencies. Contacts can be made with the health department, community nutrition programs, health centers, local food pantries and fitness programs. Once contacts are established, parents and schools can collaborate with other community agencies to positively influence the health and nutritional status of school-age children.

Junk food is everywhere and it is being consumed by our students in record quantities. “Junk food” is food which traditionally has no nutritional value. It deprives the body of necessary nutrients and its’ over consumption over time leads to obesity, medical problems, and behavioral problems. Some examples are: “Salted snack foods, candy, gum, most sweet desserts, fried fast food and carbonated beverages…”

Junk food consumption is associated with various physical ailments including obesity, Type II diabetes, heart attacks, and decreased life expectancy. Because of junk food, “our children’s life expectancy could be lower than our own.” Junk food is also a major cause in the 23 percent of American children who are overweight. Fast food and the increasingly available category of junk food are strongly correlated to the “300 percent increase in the rate of U.S. children who are either overweight or obese.”

      While there are no studies specifically linking meals eaten away from home to academic performance, we do know that poor nutrition during the school day can result in behavioral and learning problems. Chronically undernourished children score poorly on standardized tests, are more irritable and exhibit lower energy levels.

Junk food surrounds our children in a new “toxic food environment” which is made worse by a bombardment of advertisements through media directed at children. Junk foods are altering the structure and function of the human brain while increasing and decreasing insulin levels so quickly that junk food leaves students groggy in class. A child’s brain continues to develop through until adulthood; many of the foods that students eat affect the growth of critical areas of their brain. When growth is disrupted, in can cause negative behavior reactions in the classroom. Often times, doctors do not seek the root of the problem (food) but instead they mask the behavioral symptoms with drugs such as Ritalin or Prozac which have their own series of side effects, all while the brain development continues to be damaged.

There are many health benefits associated with good nutrition and physical activity. Eating smart and moving more help children and youth maintain a healthy weight, feel better and have more energy. These positive health benefits have the potential to translate into academic benefits at school. Good nutrition and physical activity nourish the brain and body, resulting in students who are present, on-time, attentive

in class, on-task and possibly earning better grades. As students work hard to achieve high academic standards, it is more important than ever that we provide opportunities for them to be active and eat healthy throughout the day.  

Families, schools, government and communities must share the responsibility of promoting and supporting children and youth to eat smart and move more.

We must save the children…

The only time FDA approved the added use of caffeine in a food or drink was in the 1950′s for colas. The current deluge of caffeine added to foods is beyond anything FDA envisioned.

Now, the FDA is investigating the safety of energy drinks and energy shots, prompted by consumer reports of illness and death.

Major medical associations have warned that too much caffeine can be dangerous for children, who have less ability to process the stimulant than adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics says caffeine has been linked to harmful effects on young people’s developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems.

Let’s take an in-depth look at this drug called Caffeine… 

Around 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine every single day in one form or another. More than half of all American adults­ consume more than 300 milligrams (mg) of caffeine every day, making it America’s most popular drug by far.

Here are the most common sources of caffeine for Americans:

• Typical drip-brewed coffee contains about 100 mg per 8-ounce cup.
• Typical brewed black tea contains 50 mg per 8-ounce cup.
• Typical caffeinated sodas (Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, etc.) contain 40-50 mg per 12-ounce can.
• Super-caffeinated colas like Jolt contain 70 mg per 12-ounce can.
• Typical chocolate milk contains 6 mg per ounce.
• Maximum Strength Anacin contains 32 mg per tablet. NoDoz and Vivarin each contain 200 mg per tablet. Extra Strength Excedrin contains 65 mg per tablet.
• Energy drinks like Red Bull (8.3 oz-sized can) contain about 80 mg per can.

By looking at these numbers and by knowing how widespread coffee, chocolate, tea, cola and energy drinks are in our society, you can see why half of all American adults consume more than 300 mg of caffeine per day. Two mugs of coffee or a mug of coffee and a couple of Cokes during the day are all you need to get there.

Caffeine is a natural component of chocolate, coffee and tea, and is used as an added energy boost in most colas and energy drinks. It’s also found in diet pills and some over-the-counter pain relievers and medicines.

In its natural form, caffeine tastes very bitter, but most caffeinated drinks have gone through enough processing to camouflage the bitter taste. Most teens get the majority of their caffeine intake through soft drinks, which can also have added sugar and artificial flavors.

Caffeine has long been on the list of don’ts for people hoping to lead a healthy lifestyle. Doctors pointed to caffeine’s negative effects on the nervous system and how it can increase anxiety, stress and food cravings, in addition to inhibiting sleep. Recent studies, however, have shown that coffee and caffeine may actually have some significant medical benefits.

Caffeine is not a new ingredient.

Coffee originated in Africa around 575 A.D., where beans were used as money and consumed as food. Records show that eleventh century Arabs drank coffee regularly. Montezuma, the mighty Aztec ruler, served Spanish conquistadors first exploring what is now Mexico, coffee in 1519.

There have been more than 19,000 studies on caffeine and coffee in the past 30 years in an attempt to determine its exact effects on the human body. One of the most thorough and exhaustive studies was done by Harvard University, in which they examined 126,000 people over an 18-year period. The findings indicate that people who drink one to three cups of coffee a day are up to 9 percent less likely to contract diabetes. What’s interesting is what happened to those who drank six or more cups of coffee per day – men slashed their chances of contracting diabetes by 54 percent, and women by 30 percent! 

Other studies have shown similar results in many facets of human health:

• Regular coffee drinkers are 80 percent less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.
• Two cups a day gives you 20 percent less risk of colon cancer.
• Two cups a day causes an 80 percent drop in cirrhosis.
• Two cups a day prevents gallstone development by 50 percent.
• It has also shown to be beneficial in asthma, stopping headaches, boosting mood and even preventing cavities.

Some of these findings may have something to do with other healthful properties of the coffee bean, but most can be directly linked to caffeine. Researchers are even developing drugs for Parkinson’s disease containing caffeine derivatives.

In its natural form, caffeine tastes very bitter, but most caffeinated drinks have gone through enough processing to camouflage the bitter taste. Caffeine moves through the body within a few hours after it is consumed. It is not stored in the body, but you may feel its effects for up to 6 hours if you’re sensitive to it.

Long-term effects of a toxic nature do not appear evident when regular caffeine use is below about 650 mg a day – equivalent to about eight or nine average cups of coffee. Above this level, users may suffer from chronic insomnia, persistent anxiety and depression, and stomach ulcers.    Caffeine use appears to be associated with irregular heartbeat and may raise cholesterol levels, but there is no firm evidence that caffeine causes heart disease.

Regular use of upwards of 350 mg of caffeine a day causes physical dependence on the drug. This means that interruption of the regular use produces a characteristic withdrawal syndrome, the most conspicuous feature of which is an often-severe headache that can be relieved by taking caffeine. Absence of caffeine also makes regular users feel irritable and tired. Relief from these withdrawal effects is often given as a reason for using caffeine.

If you have normal blood pressure, caffeine can increase it noticeably, but the increase is temporary and only lasts a short time. The increase generally includes the systolic and diastolic pressure readings, increasing each by approximately 4 to 13 mm Hg, or millimeters of mercury, according to the Mayo Clinic website. That means if you have a normal blood pressure reading of 120 mm for your systolic pressure and 80 mm for your diastolic pressure, caffeine can increase it up to about 133 over 93.

No one is sure why caffeine can increase blood pressure, although the Mayo Clinic site reports a few theories. One is that caffeine may cause your arteries to constrict by blocking a hormone that usually keeps them wider. Another is that caffeine may boost your adrenal glands’ release of more adrenaline, with the greater amount of adrenaline leading to the increase. In either case, the increase is always temporary rather than resulting in long-term increase in pressure.

If you cut down on your caffeine intake suddenly, you may experience headaches, irritability, tiredness, depression, nausea, vomiting and stiff or painful muscles. These symptoms generally appear 12 to 24 hours after you decrease or abstain from caffeine. Symptoms of caffeine withdrawal are usually mild and typically go away after a few days.

One thing is clear — despite the recent findings, most doctors still recommend moderation in regard to caffeine intake. While these recent studies give hope to those who are hooked on their morning cup, there is still a long way to go to determine the long- term effects of caffeine use.

As far as children and caffeine – the FDA will look at the potential impact these “new and easy sources” of caffeine will have on children’s health and will take action if necessary.

Epidemic: Spreading rapidly and extensively by infection and affecting many individuals in an area or a population at the same time.

     While bullies, gangs, weapons, and substance abuse all contribute to the fear experienced by many of today’s students, violence in America’s neighborhoods and communities cannot be overlooked.

More than ever before, today’s schools are serving children from dysfunctional homes, children living in poverty, children of teenage parents, and special education students. Unfortunately, resources to adequately serve the total range of needs presented by these students are becoming increasingly limited. Adequate parental supervision and control of these students has weakened, and many students have diminished respect for all forms of authority, including the authority of school personnel.

As a result, schools are confronted with problems of students possessing weapons, students involved with gang recruitment and rivalry, and students engaged in drug trafficking, both as sellers and buyers. Such problems lead to violent acts in and around schools. In order to create a safe environment that is conducive to learning, schools must implement safety plans and comprehensive prevention programs that address the root causes of violence.

Almost without exception, every major city in America is seeing record numbers of young people; mostly African American males die as a result of gun violence.

Although high-profile school student shootings has increased public concern for student safety, you may be surprised to know that school-associated violent deaths account for less than 1% of homicides among school-aged children and youth.

So you see, this is not a “school problem”.

At what point do we start to see this as a public health epidemic? A public health approach treats violence like we treat a disease, like we treat an epidemic.

We can start with the mental health component.

Mental and behavioral health is an essential component of young peoples’ overall health and wellbeing. It affects how young people think, feel, and act; their ability to learn and engage in relationships; their self-esteem and ability to evaluate situations, options and make choices. A person’s mental health influences their ability to handle stress, relate to other people, and make decisions.

Four million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, at school, and with peers. It is estimated that one in 10 children and adolescents suffer from mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment. However, in any given year, it is estimated that fewer than one in five of such children receives needed treatment.

Who’s calling for increases in mental health services available to these young people?

An alarming 65% of boys and 75% of girls in juvenile detention have at least one mental disorder. We are incarcerating youth with mental disorders, some as young as 8 years old, rather than identifying their disorders early and intervening with appropriate treatment.

Early and effective mental health treatment can prevent a significant proportion of delinquent and violent youth from future violence and crime.

The contribution of social factors to the health problems of young African American men deserves further attention than thus far received.

Young African American men die at a rate that is at least 1.5 times the rate of young white men, and almost three times the rate of young Asian men. While the death rate drops for men ages 25 to 29 for most groups, it continues to rise among African Americans.

Are we silly enough to believe that this is because Young African American men are at the bottom of the evolutionary chain? Have you heard of Health Disparities?

With any other cause of death where African Americans suffer disproportionately (heart disease, cancer, diabetes), it is universally accepted that education, access, social/economic factors are centrally responsible factors. Why are we ignoring not applying the same logic with the public health epidemic of youth violence?

Throughout history, “Epidemics” are commonly thought to involve outbreaks of acute infectious disease, such as measles, polio, or streptococcal sore throat. If this were a Flu epidemic, all sorts of vaccines and preventive measure would be put in place and implemented. Unfortunately, just like the Cholera in Haiti, it gets the headlines for a few days, then a return to business as usual.

We are so consumed and focused on “blaming’ Public School Superintendents and Police Commissioners across America for not doing enough, we can’t see the forest for the trees! We have conveniently put this issue in a neat little box called “youth violence”.

Education is one of the strongest predictors of health: the more schooling people have the better their health is likely to be. Although education is highly correlated with income and occupation, evidence suggests that education exerts the strongest influence on health. More formal education is consistently associated with lower death rates, while less education predicts earlier death. The less schooling people have, the higher their levels of risky health behaviors, such as smoking, being overweight, or having a low level of physical activity. High school completion is a useful measure of educational attainment because its influence on health is well studied, and it is widely recognized as the minimum entry requirement for higher education and well-paid employment. A public health approach focuses on risk factors and protective factors. It does not focus on a reactive response of criminal justice, which makes the threat of punishment a primary deterrent.

Seldom have health and education professionals been in a better position to work together to achieve common goals. Rarely has a single problem contributed to so many adverse social, economic, and health conditions. Our nation’s young people deserve no less than a concerted effort to give young people a gateway to lifetime health and success.

Interventions to reduce school dropout rates seek to change individuals, families, schools, school systems, or public policies related to poverty, welfare, or employment.

The problem of youth violence is complex and our response needs to draw on the best that all sectors and disciplines have to offer.

Youth violence and school safety is a public health problem. Let’s not be in denial.

It is undeniable that drugs do save lives, but few prescription medications are completely free of risks or side effects. Naturally, the more drugs that are taken at the same time, the greater the risk of adverse interactions and potentially devastating side effects.

People 65-years and older are the largest consumers of prescription and nonprescription medications in America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that although the 65-and-over age group makes up only 15% of the U.S. population, they account for nearly one-third of drug prescriptions. And drug use by the elderly is expensive. According to Medicare, each senior currently averages 28.5 new prescriptions and refills per year at a cost of $42.30 per drug.

As we get older, our use of medicines will often increase as we treat ailments that often occur as a result of aging.

Medicines are taken to ease, control or cure ailments. They are effective and safe if used correctly.

However, elderly people can be at increased risk from medicines for various reasons:

• Four out of five people aged over 75 years take at least one medicine.
• 36 per cent of this age group takes four medicines or more.
• The ageing body can be more susceptible to the side effects of medicines.
• Elderly people with multiple diseases can often end up taking multiple medicines at the same time. With multiple medicines, there is an increased chance of side effects, interactions between different medicines and problems taking them correctly.
• The physical effects of ageing, such as arthritis and failing eyesight and memory, can also cause issues in taking medicines the way your doctor intended.
• As we age, our livers become less efficient at breaking down medicines, our kidneys less efficient at excreting them.
• This means that normal adult doses of certain medicines may be more likely to cause side effects.

As a result of these natural changes associated with aging, prescription medications can affect the elderly in some very specific ways:

Brain and nervous system

• The brain and nervous system become more sensitive to certain medicines as we get older.
• For example, elderly people are particularly susceptible to the side effects of opioid painkillers such as morphine and sleeping tablets such as diazepam.
• Your doctor may prescribe lower doses of these types of medicines and for short periods only.
• As we age we can also become more forgetful and may have trouble remembering what medicines are for, or whether we have taken them that day.
• There are various strategies to help, including medicine reminder charts and pill boxes that can be filled with all the daily or weekly pills needed. A pharmacist or health visitor can help you arrange this.

Eyesight

• Failing eyesight can cause problems with reading small print labels and information leaflets supplied with medicines. If this is a problem, ask your pharmacist for large print labels and leaflets.

Bones and joints

• Arthritis is a common problem affecting elderly people, and it can cause particular problems with getting medicines out of childproof containers and administering medicines such as eye drops and inhalers.
• Since medicines are of no use if you can’t get into them, your pharmacist can supply your medicines in non-click lock containers on request. He or she can also provide devices to make using medicines such as eye drops and inhalers easier.
• But you will need to remember to keep medicines that are in non-click lock containers well out of the reach of children.

Mobility

• If you have difficulty getting to the doctor’s to collect prescriptions or to the pharmacy to get them dispensed, tell your doctor or pharmacist. Home visits and delivery arrangements can be made.

Swallowing

• Many elderly people have trouble swallowing tablets and capsules. You should always take tablets and capsules with plenty of water.
• Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have difficulty swallowing them, because many medicines also come in liquid or soluble forms that are easier to swallow.

Here is some information on some specific categories of medications commonly prescribed for seniors:

Diuretics (sometimes called water tablets)

       Diuretics are used most commonly to treat high blood pressure. They are also used to treat conditions such as heart failure and cirrhosis of the liver, in which they remove excess fluid that has been retained in the body.

Diuretics are designed to draw water out of the body, which means you may need to go to the toilet more frequently. For this reason, try to make sure you can easily get to a toilet quickly.

It is usually best to take diuretics in the morning to avoid disturbing your sleep with trips to the toilet at night.

Another possible side effect of diuretic medication is it can cause a drop in your blood pressure when you get up from lying down or sitting. This may make you feel dizzy or light-headed.

If you find this is a problem, get up slowly. If you do start to feel light-headed, sit or lie down until the symptoms pass.

Because the aim of diuretic medication is to remove fluid from the body, you should try not to counter its effect by drinking too much. Just drink enough to satisfy your thirst.

Some forms of diuretic medicine also remove salts (potassium and sodium) from the body. For this reason, your doctor may want to monitor your levels of these salts using a blood test.

Painkillers

      Pain and stiffness in the back and joints is common in old age. Many stronger painkillers such as morphine cause constipation as a side effect, so a laxative may also be needed.

Aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen and others can cause bleeding from the stomach or bowel.

Elderly people are at particular risk from this side effect, particularly those with heart and kidney problems.

More than one NSAID should not be taken at the same time. If you’ve been prescribed an NSAID by your doctor, you should not buy aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen over the counter to take as a painkiller as well. Ask your pharmacist for advice when buying painkillers.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if painkillers do not provide effective relief.

Older people often take a handful of pills every day. Some are prescribed to treat side effects from other medications. Far too many senior citizens may be overmedicated. In some cases this can lead to depression, confusion or a false diagnosis of dementia.

If you think you, your parent, or other elderly loved one, is overmedicated, you have every reason to be concerned. But the last thing you should consider doing is stopping the medication!

Only a doctor can tell you whether you or your older relative is suffering from medication side effects or from an actual disease.

I still have so many years ahead of me and I should continue to invest in my health and also those around me, it is tough to be a black man. Because irrespective of where you grow up you will always struggle to make a living due to systems created by those experts in the field of oppressions.”

Unlike most Americans, Africans in the Diaspora are aware of the man-made theory of AIDS, and the possibility that the WHO’s extensive vaccine programs in Africa in the 1970s are connected to the severe outbreak of AIDS in the early 1980s.
Internationally, in parts of Asia and Africa, mistrust of vaccines is often tied to “Western plot” theories, which suggest that vaccines are ploys to sterilize or infect non-Western communities. Suspicion has existed for different infections and vaccines over the past 20 years. For example, in Cameroon in 1990, rumors and fears that public health officials were administering a range of childhood vaccines to sterilize women thwarted the country’s immunization efforts. Similarly, in Tanzania in the mid 1990s, a missionary raised concerns about tetanus immunizations, sparking sterilization rumors and halting the campaign. And in 2005, measles vaccine suspicions led to decreased vaccination rates and increased infections in Nigeria.
One of the most striking instances of vaccine suspicion in Africa has concerned the polio vaccine. In 1999, British journalist Edward Hooper wrote The River: A Journey to the Source of HIV/AIDS. He speculated that the virus that causes AIDS transitioned from monkeys to humans via a polio vaccine. He argued that the polio vaccine was made from the cells of chimpanzees infected with the primate form of HIV (Simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV), which adapted in humans and caused disease; and that there were coincidences in the sites where the polio vaccine was first administered and where the first cases of HIV originated. Although scientists and medical scholars have provided plentiful evidence to discount Hooper’s ideas, media attention has sparked conspiracy theories and concerns globally.
Nowhere has this “spark” created a more raging fire, than in Black communities across the globe.
Here in the United States, nothing evokes a mistrust of vaccines, and clinical research more than the “ghost of the Tuskegee experiment”. For several generations, the atrocities of the horrible Syphilis Experiment, carried out by the United States Public Health Service has created a universal disdain and mistrust by Blacks, causing them to be disproportionately underrepresented in clinical research, and in vaccine adherence.
With increasing numbers of Clinical Trials for a Vaccine to prevent and/or treat HIV, the potential for Blacks, worldwide, to once again suffer disproportionately from lack of treatment looms on the horizon.

One of the most recent insights into the potential problem for future issues with HIV Vaccines and Blacks is seen with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine knowledge, and HPV vaccine acceptability. Studies have shown a disparity in parental acceptance of the HPV vaccine with parents of Black adolescent girls being less likely to accept and comply with HPV immunization schedules than Whites.

According to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, African-American females between the ages of 12 and 17 were 35 percent less likely to receive a healthcare provider recommendation for the HPV vaccine, a disparity that researchers are keeping an eye on in helping to curb the 6 million new HPV infections each year.
African Americans have the most severe burden of HIV of all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Compared with other races and ethnicities, African Americans account for a higher proportion of HIV infections at all stages of disease—from new infections to deaths. African Americans accounted for an estimated 44% of all new HIV infections among adults and adolescents (aged 13 years or older) in 2010, despite representing only 12% to14% of the US population. In 2010, black gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represented an estimated 72% (10,600) of new infections among all black men and 36% of an estimated 29,800 new HIV infections among all MSM. The estimated rate of new HIV infections for black women (38.1/100,000 population) was 20 times as high as the rate for white women, and almost five times as high as that of Latinas.
There is no clinical study that suggests blacks are more likely to develop influenza because of personal health status or geographical location. Yet, African Americans are not getting the flu vaccine for several reasons. Side effect concerns outweigh the benefits. Many are not educated about the benefits of the vaccine or risk factors associated with developing seasonal influenza. The fact that millions of people get the shot safely each year is still not enough persuasion for the majority of African Americans. The actual benefits, unfortunately, are not translating into increased vaccination use among the elderly, particularly elderly African Americans.

Many minorities still don’t feel welcome and respected within the health-care system. Those who do come in have already crossed a threshold of trust, at least with their individual doctor. Those who don’t come in, of course, will typically, never have the opportunity to be asked to enroll in a clinical trial. Instead, the reason it would be inappropriate to focus on changing patient attitudes is because these attitudes of mistrust are based on a history of untrustworthy behavior by the health professions, which must be acknowledged and rectified. In other words, the medical profession should not focus on making minorities become more trusting; it should focus on ensuring that it is becoming trustworthy.
Minority populations have historically and consistently been underrepresented in clinical trials. As a result, important information about how medicines work in minority populations is not always available.

The future of clinical trials on vaccines is to guarantee inclusion with sufficient representation to allow for analysis by sex, ethnicity and other demographics. This will only be achieved when clinical trials are appropriately and carefully designed to address the barriers that exist toward recruitment and retention of women and minorities.
This issue is particularly critical because patients’ responses to medicines can vary by ethnicity, lifestyle, and genetic background. For example, African Americans and Hispanics are 2.2 times and 1.6 times more likely, respectively, to die from diabetes than non-Hispanic whites, yet combined they have historically represented only 15 percent of diabetes clinical trial participants.
Minority populations have historically and consistently been underrepresented in clinical trials. As a result, important information about how medicines work in minority populations is not always available.
More diverse representation in clinical trials is needed to gain insights that will make medicines most effective for all people who use them.

Common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include:
• Impaired memory and thinking. The person has difficulty remembering things or learning new information. In the later stages of the disease, long-term memory loss occurs, which means that the person can’t remember personal information, such as his or her place of birth or occupation, or names of close family members.
• Disorientation and confusion. People with Alzheimer’s disease may get lost when out on their own and may not be able to remember where they are or how they got there. They may not recognize previously familiar places and situations. They also may not recognize familiar faces or know what time of the day it is, or even what year it is.
• Misplacing things. The person forgets where he or she put things used every day, such as glasses, a hearing aid, keys, etc. The person may also put things in strange places, such as leaving their glasses in the refrigerator. (This includes even the forgetful act of wearing mismatched shoes or socks!!!)
• Abstract thinking. People with Alzheimer’s disease may find certain tasks — such as balancing a checkbook — more difficult than usual. For example, they might forget what the numbers mean and what needs to be done with them. Trouble performing familiar tasks. The person begins to have difficulty performing daily tasks, such as eating, dressing, and grooming. Planning for normal day-to-day tasks is also impaired.
• Changes in personality and behavior. The person becomes unusually angry, irritable, restless, or quiet. At times, people with Alzheimer’s disease can become confused, paranoid, or fearful.
• Poor or decreased judgment. People with Alzheimer’s disease may leave the house on a cold day without a coat or shoes, or could go to the store wearing their pajamas.
• Inability to follow directions. The person has difficulty understanding simple commands or directions. The person may get lost easily and begin to wander.
• Problems with language and communication. The person can’t recall words, name objects (even ones that are very familiar to them — like a pen), or understand the meaning of common words.
• Loss of normal sleep patterns. The person may sleep during the day and be wide-awake at night.
Dementia is caused by many conditions. Some conditions that cause dementia can be reversed, and others cannot. Further, many different medical conditions may cause symptoms that looks like Alzheimer’s disease. Some of these medical conditions may be treatable. Reversible conditions can be caused by a high fever, dehydration, vitamin deficiency and poor nutrition, bad reactions to medicines, problems with the thyroid gland, or a minor head injury. Medical conditions like these can be serious and should be treated by a doctor as soon as possible.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, irreversible brain disorder with no known cause or cure. It attacks and slowly steals the minds of its victims. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, personality changes, disorientation, and loss of language skills. Always fatal, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of irreversible dementia.
Sometimes older people have emotional problems that can be mistaken for dementia. Feeling sad, lonely, worried, or bored may be more common for older people facing retirement or coping with the death of a spouse, relative, or friend. Adapting to these changes leaves some people feeling confused or forgetful. Emotional problems can be eased by supportive friends and family, or by professional help from a doctor or counselor. While some factors, such as your genes, are out of your control, many powerful lifestyle factors are within your sphere of influence.
The health of your brain, like the health of your body, depends on many factors. The six pillars of a brain-healthy lifestyle are:
1. Regular exercise
2. Healthy diet
3. Mental stimulation
4. Quality sleep
5. Stress management
6. An active social life
The more you strengthen each of the six pillars in your daily life, the healthier and hardier your brain will be.
One last bit of information for those whose “Anal retentive” tendencies cause them to be dealing with more stress than others. The term is used to describe a person who pays such attention to detail that the obsession becomes an annoyance to others, potentially to the detriment of the anal-retentive person, as first espoused by Freud. Freud theorized that some people might develop “anal” personality traits, namely those associated with orderliness, stubbornness, a compulsion for control.
Chronic behavior in this manner is thought to have a possible link to early onset of Alzheimer’s.
Balancing stress is a vital part of an Alzheimer’s prevention strategy. There is a very high correlation between high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high cortisol, and Alzheimer’s disease. Stress can be a key factor in all of these. Research has shown that the benefits of a regular stress-relaxation practice can improve your health, and especially improve focus, attention, and optimal mental performance. When you lead a brain-healthy lifestyle, your brain will stay working stronger…longer.

Your kidneys play a key role in keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range, and blood pressure, in turn, can affect the health of your kidneys.
High blood pressure makes your heart work harder and, over time, can damage blood vessels throughout your body. If the blood vessels in your kidneys are damaged, they may stop removing wastes and extra fluid from your body. The extra fluid in your blood vessels may then raise blood pressure even more. It’s a dangerous cycle.

About 30 percent of people with diabetes will go on to develop kidney failure, while even more may be at risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease. Eighty to ninety percent of patients with type 2 diabetes also have hypertension, a major risk factor for diabetic kidney disease.

The kidneys are responsible for filtering waste products from the blood. Dialysis is a procedure that is a substitute for many of the normal duties of the kidneys. Another major duty of the kidney is to remove the waste products that the body produces throughout the day. As the body functions, the cells use energy. The operation of the cells produces waste products that must be removed from the body. When these waste products are not removed adequately, they build up in the body. An elevation of waste products, as measured in the blood, is called “azotemia.” When waste products accumulate they can cause a sick feeling throughout the body called “uremia.”
Once the kidney function drops to a certain level, dialysis becomes necessary. In the United States, there are over 200,000 people who use dialysis techniques on an ongoing basis. Dialysis helps the body by performing the functions of failed kidneys. The kidney has many roles. An essential job of the kidney is to regulate the body’s fluid balance. It does this by adjusting the amount of urine that is excreted on a daily basis. On hot days, the body sweats more. Thus, less water needs to be excreted through the kidneys. On cold days, the body sweats less. Thus, urine output needs to be greater in order to maintain the proper balance within the body. It is the kidney’s job to regulate fluid balance by adjusting urine output.
Diseases that increase your chance of developing kidney failure are diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, obesity, and long-term kidney disease (chronic renal insufficiency). If you have any of these conditions, take extra precautions when starting new medicines. Commonly used medicines, such as aspirin and ibuprofen (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), can make kidney function worse in people who already have impaired kidney function, diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart failure.

Do what you can to reduce the chances of kidney failure. Some basic tips are:

Maintain your weight at a level close to normal. Choose fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy foods.
Limit your daily sodium (salt) intake to 2,000 milligrams or lower if you already have high blood pressure. Read nutrition labels on packaged foods to learn how much sodium is in one serving. Keep a sodium diary.
Get plenty of exercise, which means at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as walking, most days of the week.
Avoid consuming too much alcohol. Men should limit consumption to two drinks (two 12-ounce servings of beer or two 5-ounce servings of wine or two 1.5-ounce servings of “hard” liquor) a day. Women should have no more than a single serving on a given day because metabolic differences make women more susceptible to the effects of alcohol.
Limit your caffeine intake. This includes sodas, chocolate, as well as coffees and teas.
If you have kidney damage, you should keep your blood pressure below 130/80.

The older you get, the people dying will more and more be folks you know. It’s just that simple.
What amazes me is how many of us are not willing to accept this very final event in life as a reminder to “get our affairs in order”. I don’t know about you, but it is increasingly difficult for me to see the anguish and suffering for both patients and their families, as a result of not preparing. As though they don’t think they will ever die.
Come on people, nobody gets out alive!
In the continuing spirit of providing useful information on health issues, I decided to revisit a the topic of preparing for the end-of-life.
More than any subject, avoiding talking about death ranks at the top of the list. Death of a loved one is also the one thing that causes the most damage to the survivors, when it had not been discussed fully in preparation for the end.
How many of us have made clear to our family and friends, who understand all too well what we liked in living, how we wish to die?
Our families and friends know our favorite foods, vacation spots, the music and movies we love, even the cars and clothes we like best. But, nine times out of ten, those same people aren’t prepared to make decisions about what circumstances we should die under.
You see, we are all a car accident, a fire, or a heart attack away from being in a situation where someone else will determine how we will die. Many times there is no sudden tragedy, but simply the final chapter of a terminal illness, or just the closing of a long and wonderful life.
People need to openly discuss their end-of-life care beliefs and choices with their families and doctors.
One needs to consider what he or she personally values in life and communicate that to people you love through conversation and even better, also in writing.
Patients who are seriously ill and their family members need to ask questions of doctors and other health-care providers to get all the information needed to make appropriate decisions.
It’s important to ask your doctor ‘what if’ questions. For example, ‘What if the surgery is unsuccessful? What is my option then?’ People sometimes have difficulty discussing such issues because it is hard for them to consider that the treatment might not work. They may worry that a failure to remain positive could actually have an adverse effect on their outcome.
People should hope for the best while planning for the worst.
It doesn’t mean that you are giving up; it just means you are considering all of your options so that you can make the best decision regardless of what you find.
In general, it is much easier to make this decision when you feel relatively healthy and are able to openly express your wishes to a family member or friend.
Advance directives can include the ability to refuse treatment in specific situations. There are three main types of advance directives that have evolved since approval of the PSDA:
• Do not resuscitate orders (DNRs)
• Living wills
• Durable power of attorney documents (DPAs)
Do not resuscitate orders (DNRs). DNRs typically request that no extraordinary measures be used to save your life. Extraordinary measures typically include measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the use of an electrical shock to stop a fatal abnormal heart rhythm (defibrillation), intubation (placement of a breathing tube down your throat), or the use of lifesaving medicines. People with DNR orders can be given drugs that make them more comfortable. You may request that you be identified as a DNR if you wish to avoid expensive medical care that probably will not improve your long-term prognosis.
Living wills. Living wills are written documents that contain specific instructions about the type of treatment you wish to receive at the end of your life. Unlike a DNR order, which applies to a specific moment when you require resuscitation, living wills apply to more general situations.
You must meet one of two broad conditions for your living will to be triggered:
• You have slipped into a permanent coma.
• You are not able to make decisions on the type of care you wish to receive.
Once two doctors agree that the condition has been met, your doctor will deliver care based on the directions in your living will. Usually, living wills instruct doctors not to prescribe any treatment that would unnecessarily lengthen the process of dying.
Durable power of attorney (DPA). A durable power of attorney for health care document appoints a specific person (surrogate) to make decisions about your care if you are not able to make those decisions. Unlike DNRs or living wills, DPAs allow an independent observer of your choice to assess your current health condition and to speak to your doctor before any decision about your care is made. DNRs and living wills do not allow for this type of dialogue, because your treatment is based on choices you made without knowing the exact nature of your condition.

Although family members may make good surrogates because they are most familiar with your wishes, they also may be under a lot of emotional pressure. And please, let the person you designate as your surrogate in your DPA know up front, and make sure that he or she is comfortable with this role. It is not good for someone to be surprised to learn that you named them your surrogate.
Being chosen to make decisions about the type and amount of treatment delivered to another person is an enormous responsibility. If you feel that you do not have the strength to undertake this task, you should tell the person who selected you to select another person
DNR orders, living wills, and DPA documents all are rather simple to change. You only need to verbally tell your wishes to a witness, your doctor, or any other health professional. To make sure that your wishes will be followed, make sure that a note is made in your medical file that you have changed your end-of-life care instructions.

Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!

Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended, nor implied, to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!

From the mouths of babes, comes Truth.
The old adage played out recently, when a your girl started a petition, that resulted in PepsiCo to remove a dangerous chemical form some of it’s beverage drinks.
Sarah Kavanagh, the 15-year-old girl from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Kavanagh started a petition on Change.org, an online petition platform, to ask PepsiCo to remove BVO from Gatorade. It received more than 200,000 signatures, and on Friday, the teenager declared victory.
Seems that while Mayors and Governors around the country were fighting to tax soda because of the sugar, an even more deadly and sinister threat to our children’s health was “fizzing” beneath the surface.
The ingredient, brominated vegetable oil (BVO), is a chemical containing bromine, which is found in fire retardants. Small quantities of BVO are used legally in some citrus-flavored drinks in the United States to keep the flavor evenly distributed.

Just recently, a California study found that people are exposed to toxic flame retardants every day. These hazardous chemicals are in the air we breathe, the dust we touch and the couches we sit on. Many flame retardants raise health concerns, including cancer, hormone disruption, and harmful effects on brain development. It is troubling to see that a majority of homes have at least one flame retardant at levels beyond what the federal government says is safe. Infants and toddlers who spend much time on the floor are at higher risk for exposure.
This brings to mind consideration of the myriad of chemicals that are allowed, legally, to be used in our food supply, and yet pose deadly harm to us all.

Over the past century humans have introduced a large number of chemical substances into the environment. Some are the waste from industrial and agricultural processes. Some have been designed as structural materials and others have been designed to perform various functions such as healing the sick or killing pests and weeds. Obviously some chemicals are useful but many are toxic and their harm to the environment and our health far outweighs their benefit to society.
Cancer is caused by changes in a cell’s DNA – its genetic “blueprint.” Some of these changes may be inherited from our parents, while others may be caused by outside exposures, which are often referred to as environmental factors. Environmental factors can include a wide range of exposures, such as:
• Lifestyle factors (nutrition, tobacco use, physical activity, etc.)
• Naturally occurring exposures (ultraviolet light, radon gas, infectious agents, etc.)
• Medical treatments (chemotherapy, radiation, immune system-suppressing drugs, etc.)
• Workplace exposures
• Household exposures
• Pollution
Substances and exposures that can lead to cancer are called carcinogens. Some carcinogens do not affect DNA directly, but lead to cancer in other ways. For example, they may cause cells to divide at a faster than normal rate, which could increase the chances that DNA changes will occur.
Carcinogens do not cause cancer in every case, all the time. Substances labeled as carcinogens may have different levels of cancer-causing potential. Some may cause cancer only after prolonged, high levels of exposure. And for any particular person, the risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including how they are exposed to a carcinogen, the length and intensity of the exposure, and the person’s genetic makeup.
The alarming truth is that this phenomenon impacts our society in disproportionate ways.
It’s a statistical fact: people who live, work and play in America’s most polluted environments are commonly people of color and the poor. Environmental justice advocates have shown that this is no accident. Communities of color, which are often poor, are routinely targeted to host facilities that have negative environmental impacts — say, a landfill, dirty industrial plant or truck depot. The statistics provide clear evidence of what the movement rightly calls “environmental racism.”
Toxic chemicals in our environment, such as mercury, lead, and certain manmade chemicals, have been linked to cancer, birth defects and brain impairments. Reducing or eliminating the load of these dangerous chemicals in the products we buy, the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink can help reduce the toll of human disease and suffering.
Reports show that as many as 80,000 different chemicals are bombarding us in one way or another, every single day.
For my money, one of the most treacherous of them all is Dioxin, the name given to a group of persistent, very toxic chemicals.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed its first health assessment of dioxin in 1985. The agency’s estimate in this report of the cancer risk to humans from dioxin exposure was by far the highest defined for any chemical by any government agency anywhere in the world at the time.

In 1985, “We are the World” won song of the year; The Color Purple and Rocky lit up the silver screen; The Cosby Show, Dallas, and 227 were must-see TV; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would assess the health risks of dioxins.
“We are the World” hasn’t been heard on the airwaves in years, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a young person today who is familiar with any of those 1980s movies or TV shows. Yet 27 years later, Americans are still waiting for the EPA to fulfill its promise on examining dioxins.
Meanwhile, the evidence highlighting the chemicals’ impacts continues to pile up. Studies link them to health maladies like endometriosis, fertility problems, birth defects, learning disabilities, immune system deficiencies, and diabetes, just to name a few. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers dioxins to be a human carcinogen. The chemicals served as a toxic contaminant in Agent Orange, a substance used during the Vietnam War as part of the U.S. military’s herbicidal warfare program.
The really scary part is that dioxins are also everywhere, particularly in the food supply. The noxious chemicals are an unintended byproduct of industrial processes that burn chlorine, especially chemical factories and garbage and medical waste incinerators. Dioxins get spewed into the air, where they eventually settle into soil, water, and plants. Animals ingest dioxins as they graze, and the chemicals build up in the creatures’ fatty tissues.
That’s bad news for animals—and for the people that eat them. People regularly consume a helping of dioxins whenever they eat eggs, fish, meat, and dairy products. According to the EPA, a whopping 96 percent of human exposure to dioxins occurs through the food supply. A person eating one fast-food hamburger per week has a 12 chance per million risk of developing a Dioxin-induced cancer.
Studies even suggest that virtually every single American contains measurable levels of dioxins the body—including babies, who are oftentimes born pre-polluted.
The major sources of dioxin are in our diet. Since dioxin is fat-soluble, it “bio accumulates”, climbing up the food chain. A North American eating a typical North American diet will receive 93% of their dioxin exposure from meat and dairy products (23% is from milk and dairy alone; the other large sources of exposure are beef, fish, pork, poultry and eggs). In fish, these toxins bioaccumulate up the food chain so that dioxin levels in fish are 100,000 times that of the surrounding environment. The best way to avoid dioxin exposure is to reduce or eliminate your consumption of meat and dairy products by adopting a vegan diet.

According to the US EPA draft report on dioxin’s health effects, the levels of dioxin-like compounds found in the general population may cause a lifetime cancer risk as high as one in 1,000. This is 1,000 times higher than the generally “acceptable” risk level for cancer of one in a million.

Environmental justice continues to be an important part of the struggle to improve and maintain a clean and healthful environment, especially for those who have traditionally lived, worked and played closest to the sources of pollution.