Changing Your Bad Dieting Habits

For the working adult, it only takes a single trip to the family practice doctor to find out you have a problem with obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, diabetes, or another manageable health condition. You know it is time to eat better.

It is important to eat better. You need to follow the exact diet specifications that your doctor recommends for making meals healthier. You also need to keep up with the prescription for regular exercise.  Just as important, follow the specifications for prescribed medications and maintaining follow up appointments.

What are some general things that people can do to make a diet better? Let us say you have just been diagnosed with high blood pressure. General advice is to eat less sodium in your diet. Salt is everywhere! You must limit intake of canned foods and most frozen foods because they contain lots of sodium for prolonging their shelf life. Stop eating French fries and popcorn when you go out. Stop adding salt to food during cooking or eating or both.

Plan weekly menus to avoid foods with added salt. A good example is your trip to the deli. You can buy fresh versions of many meats and cheeses with low sodium content. These will be products without salts or other preservatives.  These foods, such as, fresh vegetables, are generally meant to be consumed in a few days.

Although your doctor requires you to change your diet, think of these diet changes in a positive way. These changes are better for you, and you probably should have done them a long time ago!

Hemorrhoids & Piles

Hemorrhoids, no one likes to talk about them and yet they are a common problem. Hemorrhoids, my grandmother referred to them as piles, are swollen veins and tissue in the lower rectum and anus. The anus is at the end of the rectum and is the opening through which bowel movements pass from your body. Hemorrhoids may be around the anus or inside the rectum. Hemorrhoids around the anus can be seen or felt easily around the anal opening. When the swollen veins are scratched or broken by straining, rubbing, or wiping, they sometimes bleed. Hemorrhoids in the rectum are often painless but they sometimes cause a lot of bleeding and may fall through the anus to the outside of the body.  Irritated hemorrhoids inside the rectum and outside the anus can be painful and cause bleeding.

Causes

Veins in the rectum and around the anus tend to swell under pressure. Hemorrhoids can result from too much pressure on these veins. You may put pressure on these veins by:

·      Straining to have a bowel movement

·      Constipation

·      Sitting for a long time on the toilet

·      Diarrhea

·      Obesity

·      Anal intercourse

·      Some liver diseases

*Pregnant women should try to avoid becoming constipated because they are more likely to have hemorrhoids during pregnancy. In the last trimester of pregnancy, the enlarged uterus may press on blood vessels and cause hemorrhoids. In addition, the strain of childbirth sometimes causes hemorrhoids after the birth.

Symptoms

·      itching

·      mild burning

·      bleeding around the anus

·      swelling and tenderness around the anus

·      pain with bowel movements

·      painful lumps around the anus

Treatments

·      High-fiber diet

·      Stool Softners (psyllium, Metamucil or Citrucel, mineral oil, Dulcolax, Colace)

·      Fluids - Drink plenty of water.

·      Sitz baths and cold packs

·      Ointments and Suppositories (Preparation H)

If you think you may have hemorrhoids, see your health care provider.  Severe hemorrhoids may require procedures and surgeries. Always tell your healthcare provider when you have rectal bleeding. Serious illnesses, such as colon cancer, can also cause rectal bleeding.