health
Keeping your mind and body in check - popular topics in health and medicine to maintain a long and healthy life.
Out of the Ordinary
It was in the middle of summer right before I started my freshman year of high school and I was about to turn 15 years old. I can still remember when I heard the term “autism” when my parents received the news from special educational diagnosticians at Scottish Rite Hospital. At the time, neither my parents nor I really understood what Asperger’s Syndrome (high-functioning autism), or autism was or what it meant. My parents had heard of it before but never really gave it much thought. They seemed a little puzzled and devastated due to the fact that I didn’t have traditional autistic traits. I remember my parents sitting me down along with my two younger brothers, who were getting very emotional to discuss it. I kind of dozed off, cutting off reality, puzzled, and not fully understanding to what was happening.
Victoria LeakePublished 6 years ago in LongevityBecoming Vegan
So I have made the decision to become a vegan... Now I know people will judge me, and you know what? Who cares?! It’s not about what others think, it’s about what I think and what I want to do with my life.
Fitness With a Chronic Illness
Hi... I'm Ant. Thanks for having a read of my first story. The picture above shows me in hospital having various transfusions of drugs to combat my ulcerative colitis.
IBD FitnessPublished 6 years ago in LongevityBeating Breast Cancer
My husband was the one who discovered the lump in my breast. I didn't think much of it, I was 28 years old, full of life, and breastfeeding my two-year daughter old led me to believe it was just a clogged milk duct. I went to the doctor to get it checked and to my surprise, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. How could this be, I young and healthy, how could this ever happen to me, I thought. My whole world turned upside down, I was terrified and I automatically assumed I was going to die. I didn't know anything about cancer except becoming bald and weak was the norm for some. I was scared of the possibility of doing any treatment, with the fear of it not working. I was a nervous wreck, I prayed, I cried and reached out for any support I could find. Thankfully I was able to find a support group that helped young women like myself with resources to pay for treatment and living expenses.
Candy WilliamsPublished 6 years ago in LongevityPossible Cures for Diabetes and the Causes of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is not as common as Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes requires insulin substitution shots to replace the hormone that a person with diabetes’ body no longer makes. Islet cells in the pancreas are what normally produce insulin and they also are made up of cells called beta cells, which analyze blood sugar levels that in full-blown diabetics are measured with a glucometer. The immune system turns traitor on islet cells when somebody becomes a diabetic. Beta cells cannot release insulin anymore when diabetes actually manifests itself. Alpha cells produce glucose. In diabetes, only the alpha cells function with glucose. Islet cells are attacked by the body’s immune system, and this makes type 1 diabetes an autoimmune problem.
Iria Vasquez-PaezPublished 6 years ago in LongevityWhich Is Stronger: Muscle or Mentality?
How much can you bench bro? What's your max squat? How about your deadlift PR? We tend to measure strength only by how much we can lift over our heads. I'll admit, it takes a strong individual to be able to go into a gym and lift two to three times their body weight. It takes a even stronger individual to lift themselves up after being knocked down time and time again. It does not matter how many muscles you build or hours you spend at the gym, a strong body can still be weak if it possess a fragile or poor mentality.
Cory GarnerPublished 6 years ago in LongevityDiagnosed with Arthritis at Age 16
I was 15 years old at the time and on a mini vacation in Lake Katrine, NY with my family when I experienced my first flare up. I sat on the couch to watch tv with my grandmother. I remember having my legs crossed for about an hour. When I got up to use the bathroom, my right hip locked up and started to hurt as I took a step with that leg. I limped, but I thought it was probably from having my legs crosses for so long. About a month later, the pain went to my wrists, and then to my right hip a couple weeks later. The pain only increased as the weeks went by. That happened to be the last flare up I had before I was taken to the hospital. My mom was scared and hurt to see me in such excruciating pain. I couldn't even walk to the bathroom by myself.
Tiffany Ortega-AntonPublished 6 years ago in LongevityLiving With Chronic Illness
Living with chronic illness is a constant fear. You don’t know what your body is going to do next, or even what your body is doing now. You don’t understand why it feels like a million time bombs are ticking and you’re just waiting for them to go off.
Sabrina BaileyPublished 6 years ago in LongevityAm I Going to Die?
Where It All Began... October 27, 2001. That's the day that changed my life forever. When I was five years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a life-threatening autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin - a hormone essential to the ability to get energy from food. It affects both children and adults suddenly and changes life as they know it forever. It cannot be prevented and there is no cure.
Jen McBridePublished 6 years ago in LongevitySo… There’s Something I Need to Tell You
One of the most violent elements within our society is ignorance. It has the capacity to shape generations, to stir cultural prejudice, and to create fear and discrimination at the expense of those without a voice. The rise of HIV and AIDS in the 1970s, at a time when little was understood about this forthcoming pandemic, gave birth to fear and recriminations against the homosexual communities and drug users. These sub-groups were the perfect target into which society could pour their fears and distrust. These communities were seen to be the corrupting influence of acceptable social norms and became the reason for this associated disease, and so stigma towards sufferers began to take root.
Chris O'HanlonPublished 6 years ago in LongevityMy Life With Autism
Let's get the big question out of the way first: what is autism? For those who don't know, autism is an epidemic that’s been sweeping across the world at a frightening rate, and it’s caused by vaccines. It’s also objectively worse than measles.
Riley OdellPublished 6 years ago in LongevityCan Kombucha Cure Hangovers?
When it comes to tea, people pick green tea, peppermint, cinnamon, ginger and lemon, lavender tea—but what about kombucha? If you're first hearing this, kombucha is a mixture of tea, sugar... and bacteria. Yes, believe it or not, you can drink tea that's infused with bacteria—but the good kind. It's a popular beverage that's dated back to ancient China about 2,000 years ago. It's chock-full of great health benefits for the body and it's also used for home remedies like helping acne, constipation, fatigue, and more.