Health tips of the month
Our basic advice on your diet and other small gestures that can help you ease your recovery
Menopause is not a disease in itself, but it is accompanied by bothersome and embarrassing symptoms for many women. Menopause is triggered by the significant decrease in the body’s natural production of estrogen. The main symptom remains hot flashes, a sudden sensation of heat initiating from the chest and going up towards the face.
December is here! It’s time to prepare ourselves for the final sprint before the end of the year. We want to be ready for the holidays, but must finish some important projects at work. We have to think about a million things at a time, but don’t have enough time to achieve everything.
Being overweight is associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease and its complications. At this stage, the body mass index (BMI) varies between 25 and 29.9. Obesity defines the more advanced stage where complications can be more severe. The BMI is then above 30. In both cases, a weight loss to regain a healthy body weight is desirable to remain healthy in the long term.
Insomnia is a lack of sleep due to either difficulty getting asleep or difficulty remaining asleep. Insomnia is often a symptom of another health condition, such as anxiety, depression, restless legs syndrome, snoring, etc. If in general a few sleepless nights are not a major problem, when this becomes chronic, daytime fatigue, irritability and sensitivity to minor annoyances set in and decrease the quality of life.
Water retention means that water accumulates in the body, which causes a swelling of some body parts, such as the belly, the ankles or the feet. Water retention can be caused by or can cause high blood pressure. A lack of fluid intake in the diet can lead to water retention by the body, in an attempt to avoid dehydration.
Osteoporosis describes a loss of bone mass, especially of calcium, which solidifies the bone structure. When bones have sufficiently deteriorated, we speak of osteoporosis. Fragile bones are more prone to fractures. The loss of bone mass occurs gradually without any apparent symptom.
Alzheimer’s disease is a loss of memory observed mainly in older people. The disease has a progressive nature and will begin with small distractions, forgetting small things and disorientation (one forgets how to get home, for example).
A poor blood circulation may have a variety of symptoms depending on the location where blood cannot flow normally. At the level of the brain, a poor blood circulation may lead to memory problems, while at the level of the legs, swelling and a sensation of heaviness can be felt. Raynaud’s disease, characterized by a poor blood circulation in the extremities (hands and feet), translates into cold and blue limbs.
Chronic venous insufficiency defines incapacity of the veins to return their blood to the heart due tot a lack of tonus. In most cases, venous insufficiency occurs in the legs because these veins must work against gravity to return the blood upward towards the heart.
Muscle stiffness can occur when the muscle has been uncommonly used, more intensely than usual. This stiffness and pain, called soreness, vanish with time, at the same pace as muscles recover from the effort.
Celiac disease is the intolerance to gluten, a small protein found in many cereals. The immune system abnormally overreacts to gluten, which causes an inflammation of the intestinal wall. Once inflamed, the intestine’s nutrient absorption capacity is affected, which can lead to malnutrition despite a proper diet.
Hypertension describes a constant, elevated pressure of the blood within the blood vessels. Often, there are no overt symptoms and hypertension is detected during blood pressure checks. Very high blood pressure episodes can result in headaches, palpitations, nosebleeds and an illusion of a buzzing sound in the ear.
Anxiety may be a normal temporary reaction to some life situations. However, a chronic anxiety that persists and worsens is a real disease that may interfere with daily life activities. This type of anxiety makes one feel tense, nervous, frightened for no apparent reason and may be accompanied by headaches, insomnia and heart palpitations.