How to Stay Healthy

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Staying healthy and practicing a good healthy lifestyle is very important for a person who wants to pursue longevity and a quality life. A healthy lifestyle incorporates a lot of components that factor into making health a bigger picture than what is readily viewable. Health is more than what a person eats or drinks, but is also a mindset and a healthy, positive attitude about life.

Staying healthy is a lifelong pursuit and requires a focused mindset to ensure that it happens. Here a few tips and general guidelines for those who wish to find healthier ways to live and incorporate them into their long-term daily living:

1.) Take vitamins and supplements daily. Many times the foods we eat do not have the sufficient vitamins and nutrients that the body needs for sustained health. For that reason, taking vitamins becomes a necessity, especially if a person doesn’t have access to fresh fruits, vegetables and clean water. Although they are a supplement, they are not to be used in the place of good eating, but only to help the body.

2.) Drink water frequently. Toxins and fatty acids are carried away from the body through our urine and drinking sufficient water helps the body to achieve that goal. Water is filtered by the kidneys and passes through the elimination system in the body. Drinking water also helps the skin to stay soft and supple and keeps you from dehydrating.

3.) Eat two to four servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Eating these things as a complement to your meal or even as a main meal gives the body more sustained energy and stamina than other quick fix foods like dense sugar foods, high calorie sodas and fast foods. Also, cooking food from homemade is another way to ensure that your body gets all of the vitamins and nutrients that it needs from food.

4.) Exercise frequently. The average adult should exercise for twenty to forty minutes at least three to four times a week as a way to maintain a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle. Cardiovascular exercises (walking, running and swimming) as well as strength training and weight-lifting all enhance a person’s physique as well as promote muscle growth and gives them the sustained energy they need to perform basic to moderate jobs on a daily basis.

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On Watch: Spotting Signs of Abuse

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Perhaps you have a friend in need but don’t even know it!  Domestic violence is more common that you think.  Know the signs:
• Is your friend or family member around anymore?  Perhaps she was around all the time; however, now you see her maybe once or twice a month since she has been seeing her new boyfriend.  While the throes of passion may be at work, it could also been unhealthy.  When you see your friend, does she seem to be elated or controlled?  Make sure to speak with her about this new friend and monitor how she refers to him and especially his moods.
• Is your friend or family member trying to hide something?   Does she often wear inappropriate clothing, such as sunglasses indoors or sweaters in the summertime?  She may be trying to cover up bruises or gashes caused by domestic violence.  Do not confront about this issue directly however.  Try to take a gentler approach by asking about the garment itself.  For example, if she is wearing a scarf in the summer time, ask “Aren’t you hot with that scarf on?”  Sometimes, the victim is looking for any sort of opening in order to talk about the abuse.
• Is your friend or family member at a loss for words?  As a result of their fear of confrontation, abuse victims are often unable to communicate as well or express emotion naturally.  If these people are often even the simplest choice, such as eating indoors or outdoors, they will freeze up.  After all, the abuse victim has been made to believe that the wrong choice will end in severe pain.  Be gentle with this person and make gestures and actions that will imply that she will not suffer any consequences by her choices.  Practice patience with these reactions as well, as the victim’s hesitance will continue for quite some time.
If there is abuse, be sure to get your friend professional help fast.  With these signs, she may be on the road to recovery sooner than later, and she will have you to thank.
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Proper Medication Dosage

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Medication is used in most any situation of illness, and given in correct dosages ensure that the person returns to a healthy state quicker and stronger. Giving incorrect medicine dosages can be potentially harmful for a person, especially if the medication is meant for a particular illness and is used outside of its intended reason.

Correct medication dosage depends on a variety of circumstances and several factors should be considered first:

Weight

A person’s weight is a key factor in determining correct dosages. Medicine passes through each person’s body at a different pace, and their body weight has a lot to do with how quickly it goes through this process. For example, a heavier person who weighs a lot more than a normal weight individual will require more medication. Since their body mass is heavier, the medicine will take a longer time to travel through their system, therefore giving them the correct amount and enough of it will ensure that they get what they need.

Likewise a lighter-weight person needs less medicine than a heavier person, and having too much medicine in their system can be potentially harmful than better. Always refer to the instructions that accompany the medication to determine the dosage amount, or be sure to refer to the doctor’s written instructions on prescribed medicines to be safe.

Age

A four-year old child’s brain is significantly more underdeveloped than an adult’s brain and also cannot process ingesting too much medication; therefore the medicine dosages will also be different for them. Medication bottles will most often list the appropriate dosages for different ages, and also for those ages that coincide with an estimated weight.

Illness

The determining dosage will depend on the illness that the medication is treating. Although there are some medications that are dual-purpose (they can treat two illnesses), more often, one medication type corresponds to one type of illness. It is unwise to mix medications or to use another medicine for its other intended use to treat an illness that it was not meant for.

Always follow the doctor’s instructions when administering medicine for best results. If it is any over-the-counter medication, follow the instructions carefully and you can avoid under-doses or over-doses and any associated problems.

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Emotional Abuse: One Tool in an Abuser’s Toolbox

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The question has been asked a million times:  ”If it was so bad, then why didn’t she just leave?”
When talking about domestic violence, people who aren’t familiar with it think it’s a case of the old saying,”Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
In reality, emotional abuse can be far more devastating in some ways than physical abuse.  Emotional abuse is the systematic tearing down of another human being through verbal and emotional means in order to gain power or control over the victim. Abusers often use emotional abuse alongside other forms, like physical violence.
It is dangerous for three main reasons. One is because it involves a slow, regular stream of name-calling, belittling, and humiliation that eventually results in brainwashing.  Even the strongest, most confident of women can fall prey to severe emotional abuse.  That’s because it can occur as slow as erosion, and has the same corrosive effect that a continual drop of water can have on a solid rock.
The second reason is because emotional abuse is often hard for the victim to recognize or identify. In most abusive relationships, the victim has been told so many times that she is the one who is the problem, she eventually comes to believe she is the failure in the relationship.  She keeps trying harder to fix the relationship, all the while not realizing she’s allowing her mind to be controlled by a manipulative abuser.
Lastly, emotional abuse is dangerous because its effects are so long-lasting. Often, it is the scars that are invisible which are the hardest to heal.    If a victim does not receive counseling for the scars from an emotionally abusive relationship, she is likely to carry the same low-self esteem she had in the abusive relationship, and end up with yet another abuser.
Society has long taught its citizens to recognize abusive behavior as that which leaves a black eye or a scar.  But emotional abuse is used to incredible effect on almost all victims of domestic violence.  It’s time Americans recognized it as the danger it is.
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Corporate Workplace Safety Measures

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Corporate America is not the first place that you would think of when trying to implement regulations that help to hazardous situations. Many small situations occur in the office work environment that get taken for granted. Minor burns, cuts, scrapes and accidents can occur quickly and without warning in many cases because people may not know what to watch out for and help to avoid.

Safety in the workplace is usually a concept that doesn’t get much attention, unless there are hazardous work conditions, like a construction or a chemical environment. For these situations, there are boundless rules and regulations that apply to keep the employee safe and avoid accidents. Unfortunately in the corporate setting or in an office environment, there are very few rules that are in place that cover the gamut of things that should be cautioned and watched for. However, workplace safety should be observed in all situations in order to keep the employees safe and working conditions optimal in the corporate sector. Here are a few corporate workplace safety measures to observe that can make things better in the corporate world:

1.) Avoid physical things like mouth burns and irritations by not drinking hot beverages too suddenly. Coffee makers have different levels of temperature gauges in all offices so it’s best to take extra precaution when indulging in the office refreshments so as to avoid minor burns.

2.) Wipe up floor spills right away from the breakroom floor so as to avoid accidents with people slipping and falling, causing even more problems. This includes water spills, coffee spills and even in situations where the floor has been mopped. For situations that cannot be remedied right away, place a sign near the spill so that people will know to avoid that area until the problem is cleaned away.

3.) Encourage employees who are at their computers for long periods of time to take frequent computer breaks. Doing so will help them to avoid neck problems and eye strains and help them stay as productive as possible. Many cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, eye strain, and neck strain and wrist problems occur very frequently with office workers and are also something that is taken lightly. Frequent cases of these problems can land employees in their doctor’s office as well as multiple missed days of work.

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Avoiding Heatstroke Illnesses

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During the blazing heat of summer months in most areas of the country, it’s very common to be faced with varying temperatures anywhere from the mid-80′s to temperatures that hover in the low 100′s. Because of this, there are many heat-related illnesses that are a result of these high numbers. Implementing a few precautionary rules during periods of high heat can help a person avoid heatstroke and other accompanying illnesses. They include:

1.) Avoiding any activities that are done in the heat of the day or at high noon. This is when the sun is at the hottest that it will be during the course of the day. This is also the most common time when dehydration can occur, so it is wise to avoid fluid-depleting activities and outdoor sports, if possible.

2.) Drink plenty of fluids. Like mentioned in the prior tip, dehydration can occur at anytime and can happen rather quickly. To help avoid this, keep your body constantly hydrated by drinking adequate fluids, including water and sports drinks that contain sufficient sodium that will keep your body adequately supplied with the fluids that are lost during sweating.

3) Avoid diuretics. A diuretic is any drink that causes the body to retain salts and dries out the body. This includes beverages like coffees, teas, alcoholic beverages, sodas and even some milk-based products like coffee blended beverages.

4.) Wear protective clothing. This applies to anyone who is outside for any reason and they are going to be out in the sun for any period of time. Protective clothing includes hats, sunglasses with ultraviolet ray protection, light, cool-colored clothing and protective sunscreen for the body.

In cases of heatstroke, it is advisable to seek emergency care at a medical facility and to quickly begin re-hydrating the body through fluid intake as soon as possible. Heat-related illnesses don’t have to happen and using these few general tips can help ensure that they won’t.

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