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The Effects of Boxing to Youngster’s Health

With Pacman’s unconquerable career in boxing, many amateur boxers of today are trying to follow his footstep. Sadly, boxing is not an appropriate sport for young children or those who are under 19 years of age. This is what the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society is telling to the public, particularly to concerned parents. These two organizations of pediatricians do believe that boxing could compromise the health of the youngsters.

image obtained from Blitzsport

Based on their recent studies, the number of amateur boxers who developed serious facial and brain injuries are found to be higher these days compared to the cases of boxing injuries recorded by US and Canadian healthcare officials in the past decades.  Aside from facial and brain injuries, one thing more that this concerned medical doctors worry about children and youth who are into boxing is that this sport could lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy – a brain disorder brought by recurring blows to the head. A person with chronic traumatic encephalopathy may experience dementia-like symptoms in the later life.

We all know that a boxer is being rewarded for dedicated and deliberate blows to the opponent’s head. And even if amateur boxers are equipped with the same protect safety gear being used by professional boxers, the group of medical doctors (who often come with a pediatric littman steth hanging on their neck) highly stressed that these safety gears particularly the head guard provides no evidence that it can actually reduce the incidence of concussions and lacerations. 

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Obesity in America: Why it has Grown Worse?

image source:obesity.net
Obesity in America is now a growing problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed in their research that for the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and prevalence estimates remain high. Based on the statistics of CDC for obesity in US, 33.8 percent of the adults’ populations are diagnosed to be obese and 17% of children and adolescents (ages 2-19) populations are suffering from obesity.

Despite the different weight loss formulas that most Americans follow, it is still so alarming to learn that the prevalence of obesity on the said country continues to increase. And why it is so alarming? Simply because carrying extra pounds is highly associated to increasing the risk of individuals to develop serious diseases such as stroke, diabetes, hypertension, heart and cardiovascular disorders, etc.

One of the common reasons why people become overweight and obese is over consumption particularly of foods and drinks that are high in calories. Let us admit it that our busy work schedule and lack of time to cook healthy meals forced us to be reliant on fast foods or prepared meals. Although these types of meals are usually cheaper and easy to access, what the consumers do not know much is these fast foods and beverages from drive-thru restaurants contain large amount of fats, salt, and sugar hence; they are considered as high calorie foods that provide little nutrition.

It is not too late to conquer obesity in US. If each of us will only be aware of our calorie intake and avoid sedentary lifestyle, for sure the number of obese individuals will be reduced in the coming years.

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Tips to Naturally Lower Your Blood Pressure

One of the common reasons why people become obese and at risk for high blood pressure is because of their unhealthy lifestyle. Unhealthy lifestyle simply means the person is smoking, drinking, has poor diet, and lack of physical activity. According to survey, these people with unhealthy lifestyle are three times more likely to die from diseases especially heart-related disorders and cancer. Hypertension is also another prevalent disorder that a person with poor lifestyle may experience.

Today, hypertension or high blood problem is becoming the number one health problem not just of Americans but of all individuals around the world. With more and more children below 18 years old who are becoming obese these days, hypertension is also getting more and more common as obesity is among the risk factors for high blood pressure.

So if you are one of those people with poor lifestyle choices, better think now. If you want to shorten your life span or put an end to it right away, then continue with your poor lifestyle. However, if you still want to live longer and witness your future generation, then start practicing a healthy behavior.

Here in our nursing home facility, many of our clients are hypertensive. We don’t always give them beta-blockers unless the BP level is very high. And on this post, I will share to you our secrets to naturally lower one’s blood pressure or keep it stable at normal level (120.80 mmHg). If you are one those hypertensive people who still want to extend their life span, these tips are for surely beneficial for you.

Have a healthy eating plan
Anything that is too much is bad to your health. Therefore, consume only healthy portions of basic food groups each day. For hypertensive person or has already reached the pre-hypertension stage, having a healthy eating guide is very beneficial. You may consult to a reliable dietitian regarding the recommended number of serving food you need every day. Take note that the recommended daily allowance vary according to the person’s age, gender, as well as if he/she has a disorder. Hypertensive people usually follow a no-cholesterol, low-salt diet.


Be physically active

Avoiding sedentary lifestyle by doing some exercises regularly helps a lot bring your blood pressure down to a safer level. There are so plenty of exercises you can do that are effective to burn the calories you consumed. For hypertensive people, moderate-intensity exercises like brisk walking, biking, and other activities that moderately raise the heart rate are said to be effective in lowering one’s blood pressure.


Drink alcohol moderately and avoid tobacco

The body requires a certain percentage of alcohol for metabolism. However, excessive consumption of could bring a significant effect to the body and one of them is to raise your blood pressure. Meanwhile, hypertensive people should avoid smoking because it does not directly cause high blood pressure; the nicotine content in tobacco injures blood vessel walls and speeds up the process of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).


Regularly monitor your blood pressure

Nothing is better than monitoring your blood pressure regularly. You can now find in the market user-friendly medical instruments for BP testing, which are designed both for home and hospital use. So make sure you have one of these home medical equipment so you can always track your BP level at the same time immediately take preventative measures whenever required.

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