by Kristi Jain | Sep 28, 2022 | Uncategorized
As I type this week’s blog, beside me is my usual 24-ounce water bottle. While researching and typing, I will unconsciously reach for my bottle and sip until it is empty. Eventually I will get up and refill it. I am killing two birds with one stone. I’m able to churn out the weekly blog and get hydrated at the same time.
FAT VS LEAN
Studies show that the average adult body is 50-60% water. Apparently infants are more like 75%. Obviously body composition varies according to gender and fitness level. I read that fatty tissue contains less water than lean tissue. Who knew?
GANDHI
The human body can’t survive on love alone. It must have food and water. It can go a lot longer without food than it can without water. Mahatma Gandhi survived 21 days of complete starvation. The average human would only last 3-4 days without water. Every living cell in the body needs water to keep it functioning. Water acts as a lubricant for our joints, regulates our body temperature through respiration and sweating and helps flush waste from our system.
I’M NOT THIRSTY
Our bodies are constantly losing water. If the lost water is not replaced, you can run the risk of becoming dehydrated. No, I’m not talking about a glass per day. That is not nearly enough to replenish what you lose. What if you aren’t thirsty? Drink water anyway. Thirst isn’t always a reliable indicator of the body’s need for water. Some people don’t feel thirsty until they are already dehydrated!
HOW DO I KNOW
I don’t love drinking water. If I don’t make a conscious effort, I will forget. That is until I’m thirsty. The question is, “How will I know if I’m dehydrated?” Your first clue is thirst. You might notice less frequent urination, dark colored urine, fatigue, dizziness and confusion. Dehydration is serious. Get medical help if you have diarrhea for more than 24 hours, are irritable or disoriented, are sleepy, are less active than usual or have bloody or black stool.
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
Believe it or not, water intoxication is a real thing. It is called hyponatremia. Too much water can cause the level of sodium in your blood to drop too low and can be fatal! Don’t get crazy. Get reasonable. Although you will hear different opinions about how much to drink, health authorities recommend eight 8-ounce glasses per day.
ULTRASOUND AND WATER
If you have ever had an abdominal ultrasound, you’ll remember, you were asked to drink oceans of water prior to your exam and do not empty your bladder. Although highly uncomfortable, a full bladder actually helps the sonographer view the pelvic organs. The intention is not to cause you grief and discomfort. It is to get the clearest most accurate ultrasound study possible, which is our goal at HDD. If we can assist with any of your diagnostic ultrasound needs, call us at 505-350-3397.
by Kristi Jain | Sep 20, 2022 | Uncategorized
I’d like to share a little information regarding health and nutrition. In my youth, my friends and I were pretty concerned about fancy cars, designer handbags, pricy shoes and vacation destinations. Health and nutrition weren’t something we thought much about. We all took good health for granted, like it was our birthright.
MY HOW THINGS CHANGE
As the years ticked by, the conversations morphed. They no longer center around what money can buy. We now compare our coronary calcium score, blood pressure meds, where we purchased our compression socks, the acuteness of our gout attacks and the weekly status of our good or poor health. My how things change!
BLOOD TEST REVEAL
A blood test recently revealed that my blood sugar was a bit high which was a surprise to me. The more I thought about it, my morning routine just may have been part of the culprit, when in reality, I thought I was doing my body good. Do we really know what is in the foods we eat?
SUGAR OVERLOAD
Typically, the morning meal consisted of a smoothie made from protein powder, raw oats, natural honey, chia seeds, hemp heart, peanut butter powder, almond milk, fresh fruit and Greek yogurt. It doesn’t get much healthier than that, does it? A blood test revealed my blood sugar was high. My nurse practitioner warned me that I might be pre-diabatic! It was suggested I change my breakfast smoothie to protein-based meal instead. Contrary to popular belief a few years ago, eggs are our friend. My next blood test revealed it indeed helped and suggested watching other things that might be high in sugar that we may not pay attention to.
UNPOPULAR
This next paragraph might contain a list of things you may not want to hear. I feel the need to share some sugar bombs that you may not even realize are loaded. They include bread, salad dressing, yogurt, condiments, juice, peanut butter, crackers, energy drinks, breakfast cereals including granola, granola bars, smoothies, dried fruit, lunch meat (really, who knew?) tomato sauce, barbeque sauce, Chinese takeout, body building supplements, soda and alcoholic beverages. If you find yourself with high blood sugar and you are sporting a few extra pounds, look realistically at your diet and see if the answer is right in front of you.
HEALTHFOOD STORE
Wait! Maybe you aren’t guilty as charged. What if you use sugar substitute like Agave? Your argument might be, “It has to be healthy, I got it at the health food store.” That doesn’t change the fact that agave is just dressed up sugar. It is 85% fructose and I actually read it is arguably even more damaging than cane sugar.
IN SUMMARY
Today’s blog shed a little light on some nutrition facts that we all probably already know but conveniently forgot. I imagine we can all stand to tweak our diets a little bit and focus on improving our health. If that shift to better health includes diagnostic ultrasound, don’t hesitate to call High Desert Doppler at 505-350-3397
by Kristi Jain | Sep 14, 2022 | Uncategorized
I hope today’s blog might interest you and make you smile. I enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts and ideas with you. If you could see me now, you would see that I love doing this kind of work. It makes me smile. I wonder what kind of expression you are wearing on your face right now. The blog du jour deals with the idea of expressions. See what you think.
WHAT PEOPLE FIND ATTRACTIVE
Although there is something to be said for a pretty face, it is definitely not the first thing I notice upon introduction. What makes them attractive is a genuine smile. Not a fake perfunctory smile, but a genuine smile that originates in the soul and shines through the face. Beautiful eyes, good hair or great teeth certainly don’t hurt, but a beautiful smile is always a winner.
RBF
I didn’t know what the acronym “RBF” stood for until one of my kids enlightened me. Warning… it stands for “resting bitch face.” I know, I know, a little crass but we all wear one at one time or another. Have you seen someone wearing a RBF? They look mean, grumpy or unapproachable. It may communicate absolutely nothing however, it may communicate some basic emotions.
THE BIG 6
There are six emotions that are easily identified on the face. They are anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. A facial expression is motion or position of the muscles underneath the skin of the face that form non-verbal communication. They convey the expresser’s emotional state. When the emotion comes from inside you, your outward expression will be a natural one. What does yours say about you?
FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT
We aren’t always feeling happy and well. Smiling my not always come easy. If you are down, try to fake it till you make it. If it isn’t genuine just yet, see if this helps. Take a deep breath, lift your eyebrows and smile. No matter how grim your outlook may look at the moment, remember, there is always something or someone to be grateful for. Count your blessings. That ought to elicit at least a half grin, right?
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Dr. Albert Mehrabian, author of “Silent Messages”, conducted several studies on non-verbal communication. He found that 7% of any message is conveyed through words, 38% through certain vocal elements and 55% through non-verbal elements like facial expressions, gestures and posture.
All this to say, be careful what you say and how you say it and be aware of that pesky “RBF!”
VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Suffice it to say, you must have clear verbal communication with your healthcare provider. They need to hear exactly what you are saying and vice versa. There is no amount of facial expression, gesture or posture that will communicate your medical concerns. We invite you to communicate with us. If we can help with any of your diagnostic ultrasound needs, call us at 505-350-3397.
by Kristi Jain | Sep 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
Hello! I’m so happy you dropped by. Today’s blog will touch on the subject of patience. Because this is a blog comes to you from a diagnostic medical ultrasound company, you might think I made a typo. Did I mean to say patients? No, I indeed want to discuss patience.
ABUNDANCE OR SHORT SUPPLY?
If you are a soul who possesses an abundance of patience, my sincere congratulations! I aspire to be more like you. Then there are the rest of us who sometimes suffer with short supply. They say patience is a virtue. I can only hope one day I will be a tad more virtuous.
HICCUP?
We are not born with it. It is something we learn and must be practiced on a daily basis. It is like any other discipline. Patience takes practice and practice makes perfect…better. Life will occasionally throw us a hiccup. Patience is one of the ways we can learn how to handle these hiccups. I will attempt to synopsize an article I read in entrepreneur.com which discusses a few ways to help with the elusive quality.
- When it comes to decision making, patience is key. When we practice patience, we are able to be in the moment and with that comes the ability to make smarter choices that encompass both the big and small picture.
- It is the successful people who set themselves apart from the rest by mastering the skill set which leads to success. Be patient with your progress, no matter how fast or slow it goes.
- Patience puts us in control of ourselves which gives us time to choose how we will respond to a situation rather than getting emotionally hijacked by our emotions. A lack of success or progress is almost always attributed to a lack of patience.
- Patience increases our threshold of tolerance giving us the foresight to deal with obstacles and the means to deal with them diplomatically. The sooner we learn to deal with the quirks of other people the less stress we experience.
- Patience helps develop excellence but is definitely not easy to come by. It takes time and a conscious effort to master but impatience can lead to our demise.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
-Thomas Edison
PATIENCE/PATIENTS
Life requires us to be patient. This is also something we in the medical field need to remember as well. We need to be patient with patients and patients need to be patient with us. Suffice it to say, stuff happens. Occasionally we run late with our schedule or have a hiccup due to circumstances beyond our control. Trust each and every patient is priority and we strive to give plenty of time and excellent patient care to each and every soul who comes through our door. HDD is grateful for our patients. If we can help with diagnostic ultrasound, call us at 505-350-3397.
by Kristi Jain | Aug 31, 2022 | Uncategorized
Today’s blog asks a question. Are you like many people who periodically jumps on the “healthy eating, quit drinking, I’m gonna get in better shape” bandwagon? You know the drill. We get enthused, have good intentions and many actually execute. We do it until…we don’t.
EBB AND FLOW
As you’ve probably already experienced, enthusiasm ebbs and flows. Last week I read an article that asked an interesting question. “Are you gaining weight eating too much healthy food?” If you are chillin’ on the couch scarfing a bag of chips right now, the answer is clear.
IT’s POSSIBLE…
It is possible to gain weight by eating too much healthy food. Tons of fiber, oceans of water, lean protein, fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, healthy fats are what we understand leads to better health and weight loss. Right? Not so fast. Too much of a good thing is not always a good thing. You don’t have to be meticulous about counting calories but remember, calories do count.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
The fact is many healthy foods are loaded with calories so be mindful on your health journey. An article I read on Betterme.com helps break down some facts for us. To synopsize, if you are not losing weight or getting your desired result, there could be various reasons behind the problem. One of them being you simply eat too much healthy food.
BALANCE
Balance is critical. In order for your body to function correctly, your diet should provide you with vitamins, macro nutrients and minerals. A healthy diet is the corner stone for weight loss. A balanced diet can reduce obesity as well as decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.
ARE YOU NUTS?
I am one of those folks who eats nuts every day. Nuts are beneficial to your health unless you have a nut allergy. They are fairly high in calories. For example, one cup of macadamia nuts can have as much as 950 calories. Note to self, weight loss is not achieved by scarfing too many nuts!
BE CAREFUL
Thirty years ago, on one of my many weight loss excursions, the trend was low or no fat. For me it was highly successful however I now understand it was the fact the I drastically reduced calories and dedicated myself to consistent workouts, hence the success. Yes the pounds seemed to melt off but it little or nothing to do with the low fat craze. Keep in mind that products that lack fat are often loaded with sugar so it doesn’t taste like a cardboard box.
OVEREATING
It is difficult to overeat non-starchy vegetables because they contain lots of fiber and water. Potatoes and corn are a different story. Remember there is a difference between lean protein and a slab of prime rib. It all comes down to choices. The truth is we don’t have to suffer to lose weight.
HDD
If your journey to better health includes diagnostic ultrasound, call us at 505-350-3397.
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