Health Resources
We believe good information is powerful medicine. That’s why we offer the following guidance on preventive care and health maintenance. You’ll see how making smart decisions each day can add up to a lifetime of good health.
Over 30 million Americans have diabetes, but 7 million of those people are not yet diagnosed!* Are you one of them? Getting tested is a smart step for your long-term health.
Diabetes is a life-altering disease, and it’s important to catch it early. The earlier you detect diabetes, the better your chances of avoiding future health problems, including heart attack, kidney disease, limb amputation and blindness.
With diabetes, there is too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. This occurs when a person’s body is unable to produce or use insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels in our bodies. There are two types of diabetes:
If left untreated, either form of diabetes can increase the risk of serious health complications.
Learn Your Risk Factors and Get Screened
Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include a family history of diabetes, age 45+, being overweight, infrequent/irregular physical activity and certain races/ethnicities (including Pacific Islander, Asian-American, Mexican-American and African-American). Also, women who had diabetes during pregnancy are at higher risk.
If you have one or more risk factors for diabetes or notice any of the above symptoms, talk with your doctor about being screened as soon as possible. If you receive a diabetes diagnosis, you are not alone. Ask your doctor about diabetes education and nutrition support.Think of Exercise as Diabetes “Medicine”
It’s important to make physical activity a part of your life. If you don’t have diabetes, regular exercise can help prevent the disease. If you do have diabetes and you exercise regularly, it can lower your blood pressure and blood sugars—and can even prevent the need for diabetes medication for a long period of time.
You don’t need to run a marathon to reap the benefits of exercise! Walking between 6,000 and 10,000 steps daily is an attainable goal for most people. Use a step counter—or simply count your steps for 5 minutes and do some math. If you have mobility problems, water aerobics is a great alternative. Whatever you do, aim for 150 minutes of exercise per week, or 20-30 minutes every day.
If you are looking for a primary care provider, we invite you to meet the PacMed Primary Care team. If you are already living with diabetes or have recently been diagnosed, the PacMed Diabetes Management Program offers comprehensive medical care, health education and support.
*Statistics as reported in the 2017 National Diabetes Statistics Report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Does it seem like you always get sick at this time of year? There are powerful things you can do to help you and your family avoid colds and flus. Your best bet is to avoid getting sick in the first place! Try this two-pronged approach.
Eat Smart to Boost Immunity!
The immune system is your body’s defense against infectious organisms and other invaders. Many nutrients from food specifically “feed” the immune system, thus strengthening your body’s protective response.
Take Preventive Steps!
You can do a lot of things to help prevent you and your family from catching a cold or flu this season.
Eat well, sleep well and be well this winter!
Are you looking for a primary care provider? PacMed offers preventive, primary care through our Family Medicine and Internal Medicine teams. Therapists in our Behavioral Medicine department are also available for counseling.
With forethought and a few tricks, you can stick to your health goals this holiday season! Try these six tools this year.
Sticking with these suggestions can help you to alleviate stress and enjoy a healthy holiday season with family and friends. Don’t beat yourself up over the occasional splurge. Just keep your focus and continue to set goals that keep you on track.
For most of us, our lives are already busy, and with the holidays come additional burdens and stressors, from social obligations and cooking, to juggling out-of-town guests and kids on vacation. Stress drains us physically and mentally, making it that much harder to get enough sleep and maintain our exercise routines. Overeating is also common, especially when stress is combined with the many temptations of special foods and beverages. By thinking through your personal approach to stress, you can call on internal and external resources to help you enjoy the winter holiday season.
Your Personal Stress Response
When you feel stressed, your body undergoes a physiological change—your “fight or flight” response has been activated. Your heart rate increases, your muscles feel tense, you feel on alert. In essence, your body is giving you extra energy so you can deal with a perceived challenge.
Take a minute to consider how you personally tend to respond to stress. If you have a sweet tooth, think ahead about how you can limit your access to sweets. If you tend to stop moving and become sedentary, can you find an exercise buddy and schedule weekly walks? Even short bursts of activity, like walking around the block or taking the stairs, can make a difference. If your weak spot is not getting enough sleep, try setting a go-to-sleep alarm on your smart phone. When it goes off, begin to ready your brain for sleep by turning from brain-busy activities to calmer ones.
Setting Expectations and Limits
Our outlook and expectations also can play a central role in how we manage the holidays. Picture this: Your neighbors are throwing a party, and they’ve asked you to bring all the appetizers. But you have gifts to wrap and want to spend time with your family baking. While you feel extremely overwhelmed and prefer to relax at home with your family, you feel a sense of obligation to please others.
In this and other stressful holiday situations, try these stress-busters:
For some people and situations, stress levels can be too high to manage alone. If you are experiencing insomnia, chronic anxiety, panic attacks, or two weeks or more of low mood or lack of interest in activities you previously enjoyed, talk with your primary care. They can refer you to a specialist to help manage your stress.
Remember, the holidays are short, as is life. Make the most of them!
This recipe from Serious Eats is my new holiday tradition. The stuffing stays moist, provides grand flavor and best of all, keeps your vegetarian guests happy! To get the most out of this recipe, I highly recommend using the homemade stock available in the link below. It takes a bit of time but can be made in advance and adds so much to this recipe.
Serves 10-14 Total Time: 2 hours (active time: 45 minutes)
Ingredients
Directions
Adjust two oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Preheat oven to 275 F, spread bread evenly in two rimmed baking sheets. Stagger trays on oven racks and bake until bread is completely dried, about 50 minutes total, rotating trays and stirring bread cubes several times during baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Increase oven to 350 F.
In two batches, pulse mushrooms in food processor until roughly chopped, about 8 short pulses. Transfer to a large bowl. Place pecan halves in food processor (do not wipe out bowl) and process until roughly chopped, about 12 short pulses. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until all moisture has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add half of sage and continue to cook, stirring, until mushrooms are well browned, about 5 minutes longer. Add onion, leek, celery, garlic, and remaining sage and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add stock, half of parsley and chopped pecans and bring to a boil. Add bread cubes and gently fold in until evenly mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer mixture to a greased 9x13-inch rectangular baking dish (or 10x14-inch oval dish), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until hot throughout, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden brown and crisp on top, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.
Note
This recipe includes a Hearty Vegetable Stock, which you must prepare beforehand. I strongly recommend using the stock recipe instead of store-bought vegetable stock, which I feel is universally inferior stuff. When making your own stock, add any extra vegetable or mushroom trimmings for extra flavor. If keeping the dish vegan is not of concern to you, feel free to substitute SeriousEats.com.