So here is a list of areas to focus on to improve or maintain one’s health status:

1). Annual physical examination

2.) Regular dental examinations

3.) Eye examination

4.) Maintain immunizations up to date

5.) Regularly reconcile medication list

Bear in mind, this list is not all inclusive, but it is a great start to a healthier year. Now, I will work on my focus areas to maintain the Hispanic Latino Health blog.

Happy New Year!

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 6 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 23 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 4mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was March 25th with 132 views. The most popular post that day was Disclaimer.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were twitter.com, WordPress Dashboard, blogadera.com, minoritynurse.com, and hon.ch.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for hispanic latino health, latino health blog, rosita rodriguez, hispaniclatinohealth.com, and hispanic health.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Disclaimer March 2010

About March 2010

Contact March 2010

Links to Health Websites March 2010

Greetings and Salutations March 2010

Let’s talk about two key words used to describe body weight.  These terms are overweight and obesity.  In addition, let’s discuss how the terms are defined.

First, we will talk about the term overweight.  Overweight is a state in which a person weighs too much.  It is important to note that this state includes weight from fat, muscle, bone, and body water (MedlinePlus, 2009).  In adults, overweight can be further defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 to 29.9 (CDC, 2010).

The second word to explore is obesity.  Obesity is a condition defined as having too much body fat (MedlinePlus, 2009).  This definition does not take into consideration other factors that may increase weight. In adults, obesity can be further defined as having a BMI of 30 or higher (CDC, 2010).

An important point to be aware of is, BMI does not measure body fat directly (CDC, 2010).

Weight Management Resources on the Web:

The Obesity Society:  http://www.obesity.org/

Weight Control Information Network: http://win.niddk.nih.gov/index.htm

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  (2010).  Defining overweight and obesity.  Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/defining.html

MedlinePlus.  (2009). Obesity.  Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/obesity.html

Let’s talk about the highs and lows of blood glucose or sugar.  There are two important words to know which are associated with diabetes.  These terms are hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.

First, we will explore hyperglycemia.  This term is used to describe an abnormally high blood glucose level.  This can further be divided into fasting and postprandial high blood glucose.  For instance, fasting hyperglycemia occurs when there is a high blood glucose level although a person has not had any food for about eight hours.  Postprandial hyperglycemia occurs when a person has a high blood sugar level after an hour or two of eating a meal (National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse [NDIC], 2009).

Now, we can take a look at hypoglycemia.  This term is used to describe an abnormally low blood glucose or sugar level (NDIC, 2009).

So is there a term that describes the just right blood glucose level? The answer is yes! Euglycemia means a normal blood sugar level (NDIC, 2009).

References

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.  (2009).  Diabetes dictionary.  Retrieved from http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/dictionary/index.htm

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease.  It may also be referred to as simply diabetes.  Some people may call this condition, “sugar diabetes” or “high blood sugar.” This condition primarily shows itself as hyperglycemia or high blood glucose level.  The usual cause of diabetes is an abnormal regulation of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps to manage glucose in the blood (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010a).

Diabetes may be classified in several ways.  These classifications mainly include Type I or 1 diabetes, Type II or 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.  In addition diabetes may be classified by a specific condition that has caused a high blood glucose state.  However, Type 2 diabetes is the most common (CDC, 2010). Check out the video below about diabetes (CDC, 2010b).

Here are some sites to visit for more information on the Web about diabetes:

American Diabetes Association (ADA): http://www.diabetes.org/
National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP): http://ndep.nih.gov/
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC): http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/

References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010a). Basics about diabetes. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/consumer/learn.htm

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010b, June 11). Blood sugar and fears [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_G7MkEPQkE

A call for your input on what you think about Hispanic Latino Health’s opening phrase, “A place where health matters.” Please join us on our mission to excellence.

Sincerely,

Rosita

There are many important reasons for keeping track of your health. This may potentially save you money and time. It may save you money by not having to repeat routine laboratory tests. Moreover, you are not wasting your valuable time to repeat an unnecessary exam. Most importantly, you will have a more flexible access to your health history (myPHR, 2009). In addition, your personal record may provide a new health provider with an overview of your medical background.

There are a few ways to keep track of your health information. A very simple method is to write down on a sheet of paper a list of you medical conditions, surgeries, allergies, and current medications. If you have an allergy make sure to note what is the allergic reaction. Additionally, you can also keep any other information related to your health in a personal file. Some people keep a list of medications in their wallet. Another way to keep track of your health is to create a Google Health record on the internet. Check out the video below about Google Health.

References

Google. (2009). Google health: Product overview [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNe6-p4G7Ik

myPHR. (2009). What is a PHR? Retrieved from http://www.myphr.com/index.php/start_a_phr/what_is_a_phr/

MedlinePlus. (2010). Personal medical records. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/personalmedicalrecords.html

Let’s talk about health.

A Place Where Health Matters

This is my new WordPress Blog. I will  continue to strive for excellence by adding improvements to the site.  As you may have read in the About page, I am a health professional. I really like to talk about health related topics. So, I invite you to join me on Hispanic Latino Health, a place where health matters!

Sincerely,

Rosita