Unplug Yourself

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We live in a society where everything is always moving, changing and challenging us to maintain our sanity. We have to be up early and get ready for a day at work; there is getting the kids ready for school, making sure they get to baseball, football, volleyball, music lessons, dance lessons and the list goes on. You must make sure the laundry gets done, figure out the plan for dinner. The kids need to have their baths, and you need to get ready for tomorrow. Then on top of that, you have to have your phone continually dinging, playing games, ringing and of course don’t forget the computer time and maybe a little of the TV.

It is a constant barrage of stimuli from the outside bombarding you onto the next thing you must get done. The human body is a unique system that can maintain homeostasis under the most severe conditions. Your body will speak to you and tell you what you need to know to maintain health and wellness “if you listen.” The problem is that we don’t hear and usually find out there is a problem when our body rebels and manifests a problem.

We are much like an internet router. You have to unplug the router to clear all the junk that has built up to keep giving you optimal performance. We also need to unplug. We need to clear all of the junk out, quiet our spirits, mind, and soul and listen to what our divine has to say to us.

A perfect way to do this is through meditation. Meditation has been around for thousands of years. It requires no membership, no monthly auto draft from your bank, you will not need your credit card, and you will not have to work it into your monthly budget. Even 5 minutes of meditation can refresh your spirit and well-being. I would start out with 5 minutes and work your way up to a minimum of 30 minutes daily.

Physical, Emotional and Mental Benefits of Meditation
Stress reduction
Greater emotional balance
Increased creative thinking
Lower blood pressure
Immunity boost
Improved productivity
Pain relief
Increased happiness
Improved concentration
Improved heart health

Spiritual Benefits of Meditation

The primary benefit of meditation is that it helps to create the balance between our inner world (the quiet, interior experience) and our busy, noisy exterior world.

As a tool of balance, meditation also helps us access our subtler levels of consciousness. Most human beings only experience the denser dimensions of their physical bodies, emotions, and minds. However, all the great mystics, and now even our modern science, tell us that we are more than just our dense dimensions of body, mind, and emotions. In fact, beyond these three dense dimensions are the subtle dimensions where we experience progressively more truthful states of being.

Physical Benefits of Meditation
What does meditation do to the brain? Can we even prove something is going on when we meditate? With modern brain-imaging technologies, we can now see the different structures of the brain respond to meditation, and this further proves what the ancients have been teaching us all along.

Meditation can improve our length and quality of attention. According to The Journal of Neuroscience, studies have found that daily meditation for a few short months improved alertness and visual attention. Meditation is to our mind what exercising at the gym is to our bodies. It prepares us for our daily encounters and helps us in all areas of life from business to personal life. Yes, we all know that relaxation is good for us and that is exactly what yogis have been telling us about meditation for thousands of years. The daily practice of meditation is as essential to your health as the food you eat.

According to a recent study at Harvard Medical School, deep relaxation through meditation and yoga changes our body at a genetic and cellular level which means more genes for fighting disease and many other cellular benefits.
Meditation can be beneficial in reducing stress. New research from the Shamatha project at the University of California suggests meditation may help lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Anxiety and depression can be substantially reduced in a short period of time with the daily practice of meditation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown that people who meditate regularly have a thickening of the brain near the prefrontal cortex and this helps in limiting negative emotions that are generated by the limbic system. These are the results of a study at McGill University.

Find yourself a quiet room or place where you will not be disturbed. No phone, computer or other people unless also meditating allowed. Sit in a comfortable position or sit in a comfortable chair. Close your eyes to shut off the external stimuli. Focus on your breathing and notice your chest as it rises and falls with each breath. Slow your breathing down and inhale slowly and then exhale slowly. Make sure you expand your lungs when you inhale as much as possible and then exhale as much as possible. Continue to focus on the breathing. Be aware of your breathing and let your mind go. Do not attempt to control your mind. If you find it running away with you bring it back to your breathing awareness. Just let thoughts flow through your mind. Do not react to them but just be aware. Sit back and observe the thoughts. As you feel anxious or uncomfortable, go back to your breathing focus.

Meditation isn’t difficult or expensive–it just takes time. Your wellness and health are worth the 30 minutes a day. Please look forward to a meditation class at First Choice Primary Care soon and experience this for yourself.

Wade Smith MSN, APRN, FNP- C

1st Choice Primary Care, Owner

Monkey See, Monkey Do

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I recently posted an article dealing with obesity and being overweight in Florida.  I know that almost everyone is familiar with this subject.  I have yet to find a person that did not know about weight, food, healthy choices of food compared to poor choices in food.
Everyone knows that exercise and eating nutritious food is critical.  We are bombarded with marketing campaigns on the latest diets and how they are better than all the others.  One suggests you eat all meat, one suggests you eat no fat, one suggests you eat no carbs, one suggests you eat all of it.  I suggest you forget it all and approach this with some basic research and common sense.
Everyone seems to know what to do.   Most make a choice to take the more natural path of doing nothing and continuing with current lifestyle choices.  Your current health care practitioner can help direct you on this journey to healthier choices and making a difference in your health and life.
I recently worked at an expo at the local mall where we provided the opportunity to have your BMI calculated.  Of all the people who responded a small percentage were in the normal weight range, and a majority fell into the overweight if not obese weight range.  Some refused even to do it because they knew where they were on the scale.  Everyone I spoke with had the answers to weight reduction and better nutrition.  What I find is that people are not willing to discipline themselves to make the changes.  Everyone wants to eat what they want, drink what they want and take a pill that will make them the perfect weight and keep them healthy.  Guess what?  “IT AINT A WORKIN.”
If you have parents, who are overweight most likely the children are overweight.  This is NOT due to genetics.  This is due to LEARNED behavior.  This gives credence to an old saying, ”monkey see, monkey do.” Our children today will bring new challenges to the healthcare system tomorrow.  We see children now with obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol.  Why is this so?  They become what they eat.  What are they eating?  French fries, sugary drinks, cakes, candy, cookies, potato chips, fast food hamburgers, sandwiches that are loaded with calories and poor nutrition.  Next time you go to the grocery store pay attention to what people put in their grocery cart.  The next time you stop at a convenience store notice what the parents are buying their children.  You will be amazed.
Due to our fast-paced lifestyles and both parents are working we have turned to quick and easy to prepare for dinner.  It is easy to fix a hot dog, buy a pizza, and open a box of macaroni and cheese.  We pack our lunch with sweets, potato chips which over the long term creates more calories than are necessary and not healthy calories at that.
I recommend you look at health.gov/dietaryguidelines to better understand what nutrition is all about.  I would also refer you to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations on media use, nutritional support.  Children and adults are not meant to spend hours a day with their face stuck in front of a computer or phone screen.  There should be stringent limits on this and especially if your child deals with any Attention Deficits.
Please remember to work with your Primary care provider regarding these issues so many health problems can be prevented rather than endured.
Wade Smith MSN, ARNP, FNP –C 

Protect Yourself From Mosquitos

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It is the season for grilling outdoors and sitting outside in the evenings reflecting on the day events. It is a time to enjoy the outdoors when the sun has gone down and the heat has dissipated.   However, this brings about feeding time for a pesky insect called a mosquito who loves to bite and feed on human blood.  We all have endured the swelling and itching of a mosquito bite.  We usually do not realize we have been dinner for a mosquito until we notice the itching on our skin.  

There are 80 different types of mosquitos in the state of Florida which is more than any other state.  Of these 33 can cause problems for man and or animals.  13 are capable of carrying pathogens that cause disease in man and in animals.  Some of these diseases can potentially be fatal or cause permanent damage to humans and animals.  The following is just a “short list” of diseases that can be transmitted to humans and animals. 

Zika Virus – Symptoms are usually mild, but severe complications including serious birth defects and various neurological and autoimmune complications can result from infection with the virus. Currently, there are no vaccines or medications available to prevent infection.

Dengue -It is the most important arboviral disease of humans, affecting 50-100 million persons annually. The word dengue is a Spanish attempt at the Swahili phrase ki denga pepo which describes a cramp-like seizure. 

Chikungunya – In India, it is known as Aakyda, meaning “stiff man” and Maakyda meaning “monkey-like”. These words refer to the arthritic condition that occurs in some patients which gives rise to a stooped posture.

West Nile Virus – West Nile (WN) virus is carried by mosquitoes and if transmitted to humans, it can cause severe encephalitis. It is closely related to St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) virus which is sometimes a problem in Florida.

St. Louis encephalitis – St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus is a flavivirus that is transmitted to humans and other vertebrates primarily by mosquitoes of the genus Culex.  The clinical spectrum of human SLE infection includes an apparent infection, mild illness (febrile with a headache), aseptic meningitis, and encephalitis which can progress to coma and death. In apparent infection is most common in the young, whereas encephalitis, especially that progressing to coma and death, is more common in the elderly.

Eastern Equine Encephalitis –Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a viral disease transmitted to horses and humans by mosquitoes. Birds are the source of infection for mosquitoes. The virus is found along the east coast from New England to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and some Midwestern areas.  Symptoms develop from four to ten days after infection. In horses, they include unsteadiness, erratic behavior and a marked loss of coordination. There is no effective treatment and seizures resulting in death usually occur within 48-72 hours. Most people that are infected with the virus have no symptoms; others get only a mild flu-like illness with fever, headache, and sore throat. When serious infection of the central nervous system occurs, a sudden fever and severe headache can be followed quickly by seizures and coma which often result in death or permanent brain damage.

Prevention, of course, is the best cure.  Make sure you don’t have standing water of any kind that they love to breed in.  Wear long sleeves and proper clothing.  Of course many like to go with no shirt, tank tops, and shorts. You need to apply a good insect repellant to your clothing or bare skin.  Sitting in a screened or netted porch is good.  If you should become the dinner meal for mosquitos and notice fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, neck pain or cramping in a few days to two weeks see your Primary Care Provider immediately.  (Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, 2018)

Wade  Smith, RN, MSN FNP-C

 

References

Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory. (2018, May 25). Retrieved from University of Florida Extension: http://mosquito.ifas.ufl.edu/Mosquito_borne_Diseases.htm

Today is the day!

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You ask today is the day for what?  Well, it is the day for you to be honest with yourself and have a serious conversation.  I would like you to ask yourself two questions.  1.  Do I have a big buttock?  2. Do I have a big belly?  If you answered yes to either or both questions it is time for serious consideration to making some lifestyle changes.  The only reason you would make these lifestyle changes is for your own personal health. 

First, determine your BMI.  You can google a calculator online and just plug in your height and weight.  A normal BMI is 18.5-24.9.  65% of the Florida population is overweight.  This is painfully obvious when you visit the shopping malls, restaurants, public gathering places.  Why do you suppose this is?  As a healthcare provider, I have heard, I have a slow metabolism, I have thyroid problems, I am big boned, I don’t eat that much, I only eat once a day.  

The issues that arrive due to being overweight are diabetes, cardiac issues, hypertension, chronic back and joint pain.  Do not mistake thinking these are only issues for adults because they are not.  Children are included in that 65% overweight category and can develop diabetes, hypertension, and the other problems just as well as adults. 

The logic is very simple.  Calories in and calories out.  If you take in more calories than you put out, it becomes stored as adipose tissue.  This usually occurs in the buttocks and the belly.  The causes are multifactorial.  Lack of physical exercise both for adults and children.  The computer, phones, television have replaced getting up and being active.  Driving through your favorite restaurant for a quick meal.  Have you checked the calories of a soda, hamburger and French fries, your favorite slice of pizza?  Have you checked out the portions of food on a plate when you sit down at your favorite restaurant?  The number of calories ranges from 1000 to 1500 just for the one meal.  This is almost the total caloric intake needed for the day. 

I am reminded of a friend who started a new job. They started complaining of hip pain and back pain which interfered with their job.  I was asked what they could do for the pain as far as medication. While medication might offer temporary relief, there was a bigger issue.  It is the 150 extra pounds that were putting pressure on the joints, hips and pulling on the back.  Change needs to take place at the core of the problem not covered up with a medication.  

I have watched my nieces and nephews in action.  Most of their meals come from fast food, they do not like most home-cooked meals prepared for them, there is a constant checking the refrigerator for something to eat or drink.  I have seen them eat 4 or 5 times in just a few hours due to boredom and lack of activity.  They do not see an issue with this lifestyle however they will be my future patients with several health issues.  

This topic is extensive and I have a lot more to say about this subject.  Please look forward to the next article continuing with this important topic.  

Wade Smith RN, FNP-C 

Summer Sunshine

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We all love sunshine that enables us to enjoy many outdoor activities.  It is necessary for us to have sun exposure to obtain Vitamin D.  The amount of sunshine you are exposed to can even affect your mood. Studies have shown that in the North West where it rains much of the time people suffer from depression and vitamin D deficiency more than others who live in areas with greater sunshine exposure.

While there are health benefits to sunshine exposure there can also be health risks.  Prolonged exposure to UVR can and does damage your skin.  The American Cancer Society recommends a skin screening every 3 years for people aged 20 to 40 and annually for those over 40.  Researchers estimate that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer at least once in their lifetime.

90% of skin cancers are caused by the sun.  Acute sunburns place the patient at higher risk for skin cancer.  Second degree burns before age 18 can double your risk for skin cancer.  While the basal cell is most common skin cancer, metastatic melanoma is the most deadly.  So UVR which damages the DNA in your skin cells comes from several sources.  There is the sun, but there is also tanning beds.  People think that because their skin is nice and brown they look better and are healthier.  This is delusional.  The reason your skin turns brown from sun or tanning beds is that it is damaged.  So while you might think you look better and you’re sporting a tan, you have skin damage.  UVR can penetrate some clothing, so you need to wear a good sunscreen.  I personally recommend something with an SPF of 30 or greater.

I was raised in southern California in the desert.  I had multiple sunburns.  I used to lay out and tan by the pool, beach and go to the tanning booth to make myself the brown color that I thought made me look good.  In the last 15 years, I have had multiple surgeries on my face to remove basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma.  I have to have my screening every three months due to the number of cancers I have had.

The moral of this story is limit your sun exposure, wear sunscreen, stay out tanning booths, and avoid laying out in the sun.  If you have any areas of your skin that are new, discolored,  bleeding or changing see your Primary Provider for evaluation.

Wade Smith, RN/Owner