The most pleasing thing about peas
April 14th 2008 22:18
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The Most Pleasing Thing About Peas
Like the princess and the pea, your body also notices the tiny green seeds. But in a good way. How? By getting stronger against strokes.
That's because peas are chock-full of folate, a mighty B vitamin known to lower blood levels of a stroke-promoting compound.
Heard About Homocysteine?
Both natural folate and the synthetic kind (folic acid) found in supplements and fortified foods help lower homocysteine levels in the blood. That's a fine thing, because researchers suspect that too much of the substance might encourage "bad" cholesterol to oxidize and contribute to artery-blocking (read heart attack- and stroke-causing) blood clots.
Time for a Supplement
Because the average diet falls far short of the RealAge-recommended amount of folate, you should take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms. That will help ensure you reach the RealAge Optimum dose of 700 micrograms per day. As for folate-rich foods, peas are a good start -- but you can also stock up on asparagus, artichokes, avocados, bananas, and fortified cereals.
Recognizing Stroke: A 90-Minute Window
Written by RealAge, Inc., peer-reviewed by Dr. Axel Goetz, May 2004
When a stroke occurs, quick action could mean the difference between life and death, consciousness and a long-term coma, mobility and permanent paralysis. Because the blood clot of hemorrhage that caused the stroke reduces blood flow to the brain, receiving prompt treatment is necessary to reduce permanent brain damage. The sooner the person suffering a stroke can get to the hospital (ideally within 90 minutes of the onset), the sooner he or she will have access to treatments that can prevent or reduce disability.
However, one of the biggest obstacles to stroke sufferers receiving emergency treatment is the fact that many people are not aware of stroke symptoms and are unable to identify when a stroke is occurring.
Could you recognize if you, or someone around you, was having a stroke? Take this quiz and find out.
1. Carol is a 36-year-old healthy woman. She wakes up one morning feeling groggy, with clammy hands. She feels a little dizzy and has pins and needles in her legs. A few hours pass and these symptoms go away. Are these symptoms early signals of a stroke?
Yes
No
I don't know
2. Julius, a 70-year-old man with a history of high cholesterol and smoking, has a pounding headache, begins having slurred speech, and his vision becomes blurred. What steps should Julius take?
Take some aspirin and rest
Make an appointment with his doctor
Call 911
I don't know
3. Sixty-five-year-old Claire suddenly starts shaking and convulsing in her office and her heart rate becomes extremely elevated. Is Claire having a stroke?
Yes
No
Maybe
4. Twelve-year-old Tim is outside playing an aggressive game of basketball. After a couple hard knocks, he tells his friends he cannot feel his arm and has no control over it. He goes home and tells his parents that his arm feels "heavy." What should Tim's parents do?
Make an appointment with Tim's doctor
Wait a few days to see if his symptoms go away
Call 911
I don't know
Your results: 0 out of 4
Oh no! You need to increase your awareness of stroke symptoms. Learning to recognize stroke warning signs could mean surviving a stroke and minimizing long-term disability.
Below is an explanation of each scenario.
1. Yes, Carol's feelings of dizziness and the tingling in her legs could be symptoms of a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Call 911. Although sometimes described as a "mini" or "light stroke," they should not be taken lightly. A TIA is a warning sign that you could have a more severe stroke in the near future. In fact, roughly one-third of all TIA cases have a full-blown stroke at some point down the road. Symptoms such as Carol's--in addition to sudden loss of vision, weakness on one side of the body, and difficulty speaking and/or walking--may last only minutes or a few hours and then pass, leaving you back to normal. The elderly are at highest risk of stroke. However, 28 percent of people who suffer a stroke in a given year are under age 65.
Among women under 45, stroke is more common than heart attack. Women have a one in five chance of dying of a stroke.
2. Call 911. Julius is displaying three stroke warning signs: headache, slurred speech, and blurred vision. And he has three factors that make him a more likely stroke candidate: his age, his smoking habit, and his cholesterol level. Stroke risk doubles every decade over age 55. High cholesterol can cause arteries to narrow and decrease blood flow to the brain, increasing the risk of stroke. Tobacco use causes blood vessels to narrow, which can increase blood pressure and, in turn, stroke risk. Although a stroke often comes without warning, there are certain people who are more at risk than others. Seventy-year-old Julius is one such person.
3. No, sudden body movement, shaking, and convulsing are not typical stroke symptoms. However, Claire may be having a seizure, so prompt medical attention is required. In addition, because Claire is over age 60, an unexplained seizure could mean she is at an increased risk for stroke. A recent study found that a first-time seizure after age 60 means an almost threefold higher risk of stroke.
4. Call 911. Although strokes are not common in children, it's important to realize that there are certain types of strokes that occur in kids and that younger patients may try to ignore or rationalize their symptoms. Tearing, or dissection, of an artery is the leading cause of stroke in young people. It can result from sudden twisting or trauma to the neck or head, which then closes off blood supply to parts of the brain.
Note: People of all ages, including children, have strokes. But the older you are, the greater your risk for stroke. Two-thirds of all strokes occur in people over 65.
Why prompt treatment is required
When a stroke occurs, the key is to clear the artery blockage before the affected part of the brain has been without blood for too long. Once a patient arrives at the hospital after a stroke, he or she is evaluated to determine if the stroke was caused by a blood clot--the most common cause--or by hemorrhaging. When a blood clot is the cause and no more than a few hours have passed since stroke onset, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) may be administered. This drug dissolves clots so that circulation is restored to the brain.
If the stroke is caused by hemorrhaging or bleeding in the brain, a drug such as tPA could not be used. These kinds of strokes, which are less common than strokes caused by clots, usually require more invasive treatments. However, therapies to treat the various stroke types are currently being researched and evaluated and many promising new treatments are emerging.
Why do the symptoms vary
Strokes affect people in different ways, depending on the type of stroke, the area of the brain affected, and the extent of the brain injury. Brain injury from a stroke can affect speech, motor activity, cognitive ability, behavior, memory, and emotions. Paralysis or weakness on one side of the body is common and in many cases, the person may fall down. However, a stroke does not have to produce severe physical symptoms to cause damage. In fact, a patient
The effects of stroke
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability. Depending on the location of the obstruction and how much brain tissue is affected, a stroke sufferer may:
• have some one-sided paralysis
• be unable to walk, eat, bathe, dress, etc. without some assistance
• have trouble speaking or understanding the speech of others
may experience only mild dizzy spells, loss of balance, and numbness, and actually discount the symptoms as something else.
Current statistics show that more than 20 percent of men die within one year of having an initial stroke. However, spotting stroke signs and seeking prompt treatment will help improve these odds and minimize long-term health risks.
Ask 3 simple questions
Although symptoms of a stroke are sometimes difficult to identify, this basic one-minute test will help you identify the facial weakness, arm weakness, or speech problems that typically occur after a stroke. Ask the person to do the following three tasks:
• smile
• raise both arms
• speak a simple sentence
If he or she has trouble with any of these, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms. If an individual can complete these tasks but displays other symptoms, they may still require emergency attention.
Know the signs and act fast
Stroke is a treatable condition, but the treatment window is small. Learn to recognize the warning signs, and if stroke is suspected, dial 911 immediately. Don't try to diagnose the problem yourself and don't wait to see if the symptoms go away. Time is crucial to saving brain cells and lives. RA
So, take care of your brain.
Taken from Real Age available free on the web.
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