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18
HEALTHCARE GUIDE 2007
HEALTH / HYGIENE
Beating
Bad Breath
(MS) - Why do some people seem
to have chronic bad breath while
others don’t? And what can you do to
make your breath more pleasant? The
American Dental Association (ADA)
offers the following explanations and
tips to combat bad breath.
• Diet: What you eat plays a big role
in how your breath smells. Once food
is absorbed into the bloodstream, it is
then transferred to the lungs. That food
is then expelled through your breath
until that food is eliminated from the
body.
• Hygiene: Another way in which diet
can affect a person’s breath is through
bacteria. People who don’t brush or
floss regularly allow particles of food
to remain in the mouth and collect
bacteria, resulting in bad breath. Also,
when teeth aren’t brushed or flossed,
food that remains can rot and lead to
bad breath.
• Smoking: While yellow teeth are
the first thing people associate with
smoking, the same principles that apply
to diet apply to smoking as well. When
HEALTH
6001) VS. BAI)
What Makes Some Cholesterol OK?
(MS) - Most people know there is a
distinction between “good” and “bad”
cholesterol. But what makes some good
and some bad? And which foods are OK
to eat and which should be avoided?
GOOD
What is it? High-density lipoprotein
(HDL) is known as “good” cholesterol.
This is because HDL is believed to
remove cholesterol from the blood.
When HDL levels in the blood are high,
this is believed to reduce a person’s risk
of coronary heart disease. The adverse
effect occurs when HDL levels are low.
Good foods to eat: Because genetics
play a role in cholesterol levels, what’s
good for the goose isn’t always good for
the gander. However, these foods have
been known to reduce LDL levels:
• Foods with soluble fiber: foods
containing soluble fiber, which is known
to reduce the absorption of cholesterol
in your intestines, reduce levels of LDL.
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the lungs,
the lungs eventually need to expel
that smoke. Once expelled, the odor
isn’t pretty. Bad breath might not be
at the top of the list for reasons to quit
smoking, but it’s certainly on that list.
• Health: Bad breath isn’t always the
result of lifestyle choices such as diet or
smoking. Sometimes, bad breath can
be an indicator of something bigger.
Gastrointestinal problems and diabetes
can result in bad breath, as can chronic
sinusitis or postnasal drip. In addition,
sometimes liver or kidney ailments
result in bad breath. If you have chronic
bad breath but don’t eat anything
associated with bad breath and you
don’t smoke, consult a physician as to
the possible cause. Your bad breath
could be a warning sign of a much more
serious problem.
To learn more about dental care, visit
the ADA Web site at www.ada.org.
Oatmeal, oat bran, cereals containing
oats, kidney beans, apples, and prunes
are all high in soluble fiber.
• Fish and omega-3 fatty acids: omega
-3 fatty acids help reduce blood pressure
and the risk of blood clots. Fish that
boast high levels of omega-3 fatty acids
include mackerel, lake trout, salmon and
albacore tuna.
• Walnuts/almonds: walnuts are
known to significantly reduce blood
cholesterol, and walnuts and almonds
can both do wonders in as little as four
weeks. However, be careful, as nuts are
high in calories, which can lead to weight
gain. Eating a handful per day will still
help reduce cholesterol while keeping
weight off as well.
BAD
What is it? Low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) is what’s known as “bad”
cholesterol. Buildup of LDL in the
See CHOLESTEROL, pg. 19
ONCOLOGY
Learn the Facts About
(MS) - Each year, roughly 30,000 new cases of leukemia are diagnosed in the
United States. Approximately 4,000 new cases are diagnosed in Canada. A puzzling
disease with no concrete cause, leukemia takes an average of 22,000 American lives
every year.
Understandably, with no known cause, leukemia instills fear and uneasiness in
those affected by the disease, be it existing leukemia patients, their relatives or
even those with a family history of the disease. After all, it can be tough to prevent
something if you don’t know what causes it in the first place. In the case of leukemia,
a better understanding of the cancer can help quell the fears and uneasiness that
accompanies it.
WHAT IS LEUKEMIA?
Leukemia is a form of cancer that affects the blood cells. Bone marrow is the soft
tissue found in the middle of most bones that’s responsible for making these blood
cells. When a person has leukemia, their bone marrow starts making too many
white blood cells, which protect the body against infection. On the surface, common
sense might suggest that you can’t have too many cells to protect the body against
infection. However, when a body has too many white blood cells, these cells fail to
work properly, often growing too big and crowding out other types of blood cells, such
as red blood cells and platelets. That’s unsafe, as both red blood cells and platelets
are important for survival. Red blood cells are responsible for ensuring the body has
enough oxygen, while platelets prevent excessive bleeding. A deficiency in either,
which can be caused by a high white blood cell count, can be very dangerous.
IS LEUKEMIA A BLANKET TERM?
Leukemia is a blanket term, as there
are actually four types of the disease.
Those four types are:
■ Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(ALL): ALL is the type of leukemia
most commonly found in children,
though it can be found in adults as well.
Children with ALL are usually diagnosed
between the ages of 2 and 5, but it’s
also the most successfully treated form
of childhood leukemia. Also known as
acute lymphocytic leukemia, symptoms
of ALL include fever, bone pain, frequent
infections, and loss of appetite.
• Acute myelogenous leukemia
(AML): Unlike ALL, AML is more
common among adults, and incidences
of AML increase with age. Like all forms
of leukemia, there is no concrete cause,
though cases have been linked to high doses of radiation, tobacco use, exposure to
benzene, and chemotherapy used to treat other forms of cancer. Because of platelet
depletion, easily bleeding or bruising is symptomatic of AML, as is loss of appetite,
general fatigue, weight loss, and fever.
• Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML): Most common in men in their 50s,
CML is rarely found in children and can be diagnosed in three distinct phases. Most
patients with CML will be diagnosed in the chronic phase, where the bone marrow
begins to fill with white blood cells. In the accelerated phase, treatment might not be
as effective, as the abnormal levels of white blood cells have begun pushing out other
cells. The third phase is known as the blast crisis phase, wherein CML has actually
transformed into a more severe form of leukemia. Similar symptoms arise with CML
as with other forms of leukemia, including fatigue, weight loss and fever. But CML
patients can also experience pain in their spleen, which might also be swollen.
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): Another form of leukemia rarely
found in children, CLL is mostly found in adults in their 60s, and the excess white
blood cells produced are mature cells. As most CLL patients are older; infection is
more likely thanks to a weaker immune system. Symptoms are identical to those
of other forms of leukemia and though treatment rarely cures CLL entirely, several
See LEUKEMIA, pg. 20
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