If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, don’t go it alone! Support from like-minded people can go a long way in helping you meet your fitness and nutrition goals.

If you would like to be part of a fun group of people who want to stay active and well, join Health to You (H2U) at Edward White Hospital.

As a member of H2U, you will have access to a wide variety of benefits and resources that support your well-being. You can enjoy local events while also utilizing national information.

Individuals can join for just $20 a year, and couples can join for $35 a year. For that small fee, you will experience these and other benefits:

· A national health magazine that is produced quarterly and delivered to your home

· Discounts on dental and vision plans, as well prescription drugs

· The use of a confidential online personal health assessment and wellness report

· Current health information from leading publications that is customized and emailed to you

· A health reminder system tailored just for you, helping you stay on track with preventive screenings and periodic exams

· The use of an extensive library of medical content, including videos and a medical research

· Invitations to hospital-sponsored activities

To learn more about H2U, visit the national website or learn more from Edward White Hospital. Serving St. Petersburg and all of Tampa Bay, we want to help keep you healthy.

Sources:

Health to You

Edward White Hospital

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These days, your doctor can offer a number of medications to help keep your blood pressure in check. But if you’d like to approach this issue more proactively, there are many ways to you can manage high blood pressure with natural means.

Consider these options.

Try the DASH diet. While many struggle to change their diets, the DASH diet, short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, emphasizes reducing the intake of salt and fat, and eating plenty of whole grains, nonfat dairy, and fruits and vegetables.

Get some cardio. Getting 30 minutes of cardio most days of the week will substantially improve the heart’s ability to use oxygen.

Pump the iron. Weight training increases blood flow, stretching the walls of our blood vessels and leading to the release of a compound that makes our arteries more elastic.

Savor your sweet tooth. While the DASH diet does call for foods low in fat, the flavanols in dark chocolate lowers blood pressure by dilating your arteries. Enjoy half an ounce each day, guilt free!

Breathe … very … slowly. Slow breathing and meditation reduce stress that raises blood pressure. Soothing music has also been shown to have similar affects in reducing stress and lowering blood pressure.

Watch your drinking. While excess drinking can be extremely detrimental, moderate drinking can be beneficial for your heart. For women this means no more than one drink per day; for men, two drinks a day.

Enjoy tea time. Drink tea with hibiscus, since it contains phytochemicals that lower blood pressure substantially. Some studies show results on par with patients who were taking prescription medication.

To learn more about high blood pressure and its risks, contact Edward White Hospital. Visit us online or call Consult-A-Nurse® at 1-888-243-3627. Serving St. Petersburg and all of Tampa Bay, we’re here to answer your questions.

Sources:

High Blood Pressure (Edward White Hospital)

12 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally (Prevention)

Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally (Good Housekeeping)

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By Wayne Guerra, MD, MBA at iTriage

Recently the rapid death of a 23 yr old woman in Fort Collins, CO from sepsis which the media originally reported as bacterial meningitis has sparked lots of confusion between the two conditions. Yesterday we posted the signs and symptoms of sepsis in our continuing Countdown to Flu 2010 blog series. Today we would like to specifically target the differences between meningitis and sepsis. Here is some of the information available for meningitis on iTriage (available as an iPhone, Android and Palm application, or on any web-enabled device at http://www.iTriageHealth.com).

Want to keep reading? Visit itriagehealth.com!

Spinal fusion surgery is a procedure that stops the motion between painful vertebral segments in order to decrease back pain. While there are several different approaches to performing this surgery, the process for all of them involves adding bone graft to the spine to create a biological response that will cause bone graft to grow and fuse the two elements that make up that segment. This creates a fusion and stops any movement by that joint. Here are some of the different approaches to the surgery.

The procedure, as mentioned, is performed by taking bone graft and using it to fuse the vertebrae together. There are a few options for getting that graft:

• Bone taken your own body, such as the pelvic bone
• Bone purchased from a bone bank
• A synthetic substitute for bone

You can anticipate that the entire surgery will take between three and four hours. Also keep in mind that an anesthesiologist will administer general anesthesia, do you don’t have to worry about being awake during the procedure. During surgery, your surgeon will have multiple choices as to where the incision will be made. Some places he can begin cutting include:

• The neck or back over the spine, with you lying face-down
• On one side of your belly, using retractors to hold apart the tissues and blood vessels
• On the front of the neck, toward the side

The surgeon will fuse the bones in your vertebrae together using graft, although there are several different ways this can be performed, including:

• Graft material being placed between the vertebrae
• Graft material being placed over the back part of the spine
• Cages of graft material being placed between vertebrae

Finally, the surgeon will hold the graft in place using screws, plates, or cages, ensuring that the new bone will stay in place until it has fully healed.

If you suffer from spine issues, the Edward White Orthopedic Center offers comprehensive assessment and treatment. Visit us online or call Consult-A-Nurse® at If you suffer from back issues and require medical assistance, the Edward White Orthopedic Center offers comprehensive assessment and treatment. To learn more, visit us online or call Consult-A-Nurse® at 1-888-243-3627 for a physician referral throughout St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay. for a physician referral.

Sources:

Lumbar Spinal Fusion Surgery (Spine Health)

Spinal Fusion (The New York Times)

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DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. DASH is a diet that was developed through a study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for the purpose of lowering and controlling high blood pressure.

The DASH diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables, as well as food low in sodium, saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat. In addition, whole grains, fish, poultry, nuts, and low-fat or fat free dairy products are part of the DASH diet. It includes foods rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium. The NHLBI study found that patients on the diet were able to reduce their blood pressure within two weeks.

Here are some tips on how you can get started on the DASH diet:

· Add a serving of fruits or vegetables to every meal.

· Replace a salty snack with a serving of fruit, yogurt, unsalted nuts, graham crackers, or popcorn without butter and salt.

· Use low-fat /no-fat condiments or cut any serving of butter, salad dressing, or margarine in half.

· Use only low-fat/no-fat dairy products.

· Replace a meaty meal with a vegetarian option a couple times a week, and when you do eat meat, limit the portion size to 3 ounces.

· Eat more rice, pasta (think whole grain), and dried beans.

· Keep an eye on food labels, and when it comes to sodium, try not to consume more than 1,500 mg a day.

Caloric need differs from person to person, particularly in men and women. The DASH diet includes plans based on intakes of 1,600, 2,000, 2,600, and 3,100 calories.

The NHLBI recommends the following guidelines for a 2,000-calorie DASH diet:

· 6-8 daily servings of grain

· 4-5 daily servings of vegetables

· 4-5 daily servings of fruit

· 2-3 daily servings of dairy (remember low-fat or no-fat)

· 6 or less daily servings of lean meat such as poultry or fish

· 4-5 serving a week of nuts, seeds, and legumes

· 2-3 daily servings of oils and fats

· 5 or less servings a week of sweets

Knowing what a serving size looks like can be tricky. In the case of fruits and vegetables, a serving is about a half-cup to a cup. With grains, a serving is about a half-cup of cooked rice, pasta, or cereal. A slice of whole grain bread also counts as one serving. For dairy, a serving is also about a cup. A half-cup of cooked beans equals one serving under the category of legumes, nuts, and seeds, as does 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or a third of a cup of nuts. For oils and fats, try not to exceed a tablespoon per serving. That also goes for jam and other added sugars. However, with sweets such as Jell-o or sorbet, a half-cup is fine.

As with all diets, the DASH diet works most effectively when combined with exercise.

If you have questions about the best diet for you, contact Edward White Hospital. Visit us online or call Consult-A-Nurse® at 1-888-243-3627 with any questions you have. We can also offer physician referrals in St. Petersburg and throughout Tampa Bay.

Sources:

What Is the DASH Eating Plan? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Following the DASH Eating Plan (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

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By Suzy Buglewicz, at www.itriagehealth.com

Keeping kids healthy and safe is a priority for parents, but the inevitable bumps, bruises and sore throats are part of growing up. Fortunately, parents can make an unpleasant experience a little easier to bear with a few time-tested tricks. Below are tips for treating some of the most common and non-life threatening childhood ailments.

Want to keep reading? Visit iTriage!