Friday, July 31, 2009

Want to Go Out to Eat? Do Your Homework to Find Healthy Options

Last week I gave a lesson on eating out – or should I say it is more like filling up and filling out. America’s restaurants seem to be in competition to determine who can dish you up the best bang for your buck – that is, the quickest heart attack.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill has a shot to win in the Italian category with their spaghetti and meatballs topping 1,800 calories, 57 grams of bad fat (saturated), and 4,900 grams of sodium. It’s like asking for a side of high cholesterol, please.

Restaurants are continuing to dish out these meals and they are growing increasingly larger. We poke fun at it, but it’s the industry and bottom line that is clogging our arteries, raising our blood pressure and contributing to diabetes and obesity.

Why do we need to have all this fat? What makes a burger that delivers 141 grams of fat and 1,940 calories (Ruby Tuesday’s Colossal Burger) better than a regular old Quarter Pounder with Cheese (510 calories, 26 grams of fat)? I thought that was bad enough. And is this food even good? I hear my stomach calling and I hear pain.

To put this in perspective, most people shouldn’t eat more than 2,000 calories a day, 20 grams of bad fat and greater than 2,300 mgs of sodium. What’s scary is that most people don’t have a clue how much they’re eating. One study showed that consumers underestimated their meals by 632 calories. Now we add up those extra pounds and see where we went wrong.

New York City has led the way by requiring restaurants to post nutrition facts and more than 20 other cities are considering the same regulations. How do you think you would react to see that morning muffin snack sets you back 630 calories?

I hope this menu label law continues to spread because at least consumers can be in the know. But until this happens the key is to know before you go. Check out the company’s Web site or do a Google search. You can also find healthy options by checking out healthydiningfinder.com.

Eating out can be healthy if you do your homework.

--Beth St.Louis, MS, RD, LDN
Program Dietitian
Martin Memorial Center for Health and Healing

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Self-Management and Education are Critical in Learning to Control Diabetes

Diabetes self-management training should be considered for every patient diagnosed with the disease. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or have had diabetes for years, education is the key to being successful.

Diabetes educators specialize in helping people learn to self-manage their diabetes. They include nurses, dietitians, pharmacists and podiatrists among others. These health care professionals can help you resolve problems and develop coping strategies.

The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) has identified seven actions that are critical to diabetes self-management. They are called AADE7 Self-Care Behaviors and include:

· Healthy eating
· Being active
· Monitoring
· Taking medication
· Problem solving
· Reducing risks
· Healthy coping

What does this mean for you? It means that your diabetes educator will:

· Teach you how to work healthful eating and physical activity into your daily activities
· Teach you to check your blood sugar
· Help you understand how your medicines work
· Give you the ability to solve problems and adjust emotionally to diabetes.

Healthy Eating and Being Active: Making healthful food choices, understanding portion sizes and learning the best times to eat are important in managing diabetes. Obesity is often linked to amputations and other health problems because it decreases circulation (blood flow). With proper meal planning and enough physical activity, you can largely lower your risk for these problems.

Monitoring: It’s critical to check blood sugar every day. Diabetes educators can help you determine which blood-sugar meter best meets your needs, show you how to test your blood-sugar level and teach you to use the test results to adjust your self-management routine.

Taking Medicine: Your health care team will determine which medicines you are taking as well as explain to you where and how they work to keep your blood sugars in good range.

Problem Solving: Managing changes in blood-sugar levels is vital to managing diabetes. Diabetes educators can help you move from beginner to expert as you learn to recognize and respond to hypoglycemia (very low blood sugar), hyperglycemia (very high blood sugar) and sick days.

Reducing Risks: Because of your increased risk for many health problems, you need regular eye exams, foot and dental exams. You also need to learn how to do regular self-exams. In this case, the word ‘regular’ depends on the advice of your health care professional. For instance, daily foot exams are vital if you have lost some or all feeling in your feet.

Healthy Coping: A diabetes educator can help you identify problems you might face while treating your diabetes. They can provide support by encouraging you to talk about your concerns and fears. They can also help you learn what you can control and offer ways for you to cope with what you cannot control.

Regardless of the situation, diabetes educators can give you the tools and strategies you need to live your life to the fullest. If you feel as though you would benefit from coming to our diabetes self-management program, please call us…we’ll take care of the rest!

-- Maureen Daniello, RN, CDE
Program Coordinator for Diabetes Education

Friday, July 24, 2009

Looking to Amp Up Physical Therapy? Maybe You Are Ready for Wii-hab

Are you bored with your exercise program? Then perhaps you’re ready for some Wii-hab.

Many rehabilitation clinics across the country are starting to use more interactive forms of exercise to immerse their patients in an exciting form of treatment and to allow for a better, more functional recovery. Some of these interactive systems are available and intended for use at home, but have crossed over into rehab clinics to aide in patient recovery.

The Nintendo Wii video game system is a movement-based video game system that uses a video game console and wireless Bluetooth controllers to allow the player, or in this case a patient, to control their character in the game. There are several sensors in each remote that detect where the user’s hand is in space and how fast they are moving. This allows the user to control the character through his movements, and in return mimics the user.

The Wii system allows the user more exciting movements while in the rehab clinic. The system has many games and sports that are all interactive. For example: boxing, tennis, golf, baseball, skiing and even cooking! The Wii Fit game guides its users through 40 different activities including yoga, exercises to improve balance, aerobic activities and strength training all while standing on a balance board that senses the user’s weight and center of gravity.

Therapists at Martin Memorial are using the Wii system in some of our seven outpatient rehab clinics to promote more functional movements, along with more exciting alternatives to balance training and exercise. It’s used to retrain the body to use the weaker side after a stroke, or promote weight bearing on a new knee replacement and can even help with coordination. The system is constantly giving the patient visual feedback on the screen and showing how to perform the given task.

There are many benefits for using the Nintendo Wii system, but only a couple of precautions. People with seizure disorders should not use the system or be near the television screen. The unit is a form of exercise and people with cardiac conditions and balance disorders should only use the system with guidance from a medical professional for safety.

Keeping up with the technologically advancing population, we are continuing to apply these enhancements in our clinics to provide the best and most exciting care in the area.

--Victoria Strome
Physical Therapy Assistant

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

This Summer the Heat is On: Here Are Some Tips for Safe Exercising Outside

I have been a Florida resident since 1993 and I honestly cannot remember it being this hot. Since it is summer, this is a good opportunity to review some of the do’s and don’ts of exercising safely and effectively in the heat.

DO’s
  • Do drink plenty of water. Take it from me – I went for a walk/run last week and did bring a bottle of water but it was not enough. I was starting to feel the signs of dehydration. So please plan ahead. A person should drink at least 8 to 12 cups of water a day while working out in the heat.
  • Do exercise early in the morning or early evening. Try to avoid exercising between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
  • Do wear sunscreen and loose-fitting clothing, preferably made of cotton or sweat-wicking fabric.
  • Do try to find shade while biking, running and walking. Exercise at a moderate pace.
  • Do take your workout inside. Come join us at any of our five Martin Memorial Health and Fitness Centers.

DON’Ts

  • Don’t go “all out” while exercising in the heat. This is a time to use common sense.
  • Don’t continue to exercise if you are feeling dizzy, nauseous or faint. These are signs of heat exhaustion. This happens when the body is overstressed from the heat and is trying to regulate its temperature. It’s important to find shade and water immediately.
  • Don’t compete in events such as 5K races during the hottest part of the day.

Most of the above tips are reminders about the heat; we must not forget that we live in a place where lightening is also a concern. Please keep your eyes on the sky. If you choose to exercise in the early evening, it is highly possible to have one of our famous thunder storms hit suddenly. Please take a look at the sky from time to time but always keep your eyes on the road.

--Jane Reynolds
Health and Fitness Technician
Hospital South Health and Fitness

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Local Students Looking for Nursing Careers May Be Eligible for Scholarships

Nurses play a critical role in health care. That’s why Martin Memorial and the Sailfish Point Foundation have again teamed up to help provide the education and training necessary for students pursuing a nursing career.

Thanks to a generous donation from the Sailfish Point Foundation, Martin Memorial is able to provide five $1,000 scholarships to nursing students this fall.

To be eligible for a nursing scholarship, students must be accepted to an accredited nursing school for Fall 2009 and must be a Martin County resident.

Scholarship applications are available online at mmhs.com. The application deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. For more information, please e-mail Rachel Raos at rraos@mmhs-fla.org.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Hey Teenagers, Want to Get a Taste of Health Care? Become a Teen Volunteer

Opportunities are available at Martin Memorial for teenagers interested in future medical careers and want to see health care first hand, or for teens looking for a chance to volunteer. The health system offers a teen volunteer program for the 2009-2010 school year that provides qualified teenagers with an opportunity to volunteer in a hospital setting.

Student volunteers support clinical staff in patient care. That includes clerical work, such as assisting with discharge medication orders and helping unit secretaries; working with staff members to ensure patient needs are met; assisting patients during the discharge process and more.

In order to ensure Martin Memorial maintains its high quality of service to the community, our teen volunteers are selected on a competitive basis and we do not accept volunteers who are required to volunteer as a condition of a court-ordered sentence. To meet requirements for this program, participants must:

· Be between the ages of 15 and 18
· Be in a minimum grade level of ninth grade
· Have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average (as verified by a guidance counselor) on a standard diploma course of study
· Have reliable transportation
· Have a teacher recommendation
· Have parental consent
· Interview with the teenage volunteer coordinator
· Receive a TB screening test
· Have the ability to perform a minimum of four volunteer service hours per week

The application deadline for the 2009-2010 teen volunteer program is Aug. 1. Other applicants may be considered throughout the year if additional openings become available.

To apply, visit mmhs.com/content/teenvolunteers.htm. For additional information or questions, contact Rachel Raos at rraos@mmhs-fla.org.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Clinical Trial Studying Melanoma, But Avoiding Skin Cancer is Critical

Summer officially started June 21, so to kick off the season I’ll tell you a little bit about our new melanoma clinical trial.

This study, called DERMA, uses a vaccine, recMAGE-A3 + AS15 to attack cancer cells that express a certain protein. This protein, MAGE-A3, is expressed on over 50 percent of melanoma cells. To be eligible for enrollment patients must have stage III melanoma and express the MAGE-A3 protein on their tumor. Patients are randomized (assigned randomly) to receive either the actual vaccine or a placebo.

While we’re on the subject, prevention of melanoma is the first step. The sun is almost unavoidable in Florida. So if you’re going to partake in the Sunshine State’s most abundant resource, remember these safety measures:

¨ Remember to apply sunscreen daily and reapply after swimming or every two hours
¨ Avoid the sun at peak times, such as midday
¨ Wear protective clothing and a wide-brim hat to protect your face
¨ Don’t forget to apply sunscreen to your ears, the backs of your hands and tops of your feet, and your scalp
¨ Avoid tanning beds; many people believe they’re safer than the sun, but they’re actually more dangerous
¨ Have your skin checked regularly (at least once a year) by a dermatologist to look for any abnormalities and to watch existing abnormalities for changes

If you have already had a melanoma, or have a strong family history, it may be hereditary. Genetic testing for hereditary melanoma is available at the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center. If you have any of the following, please contact us:

¨ Two or more melanomas
¨ Two or more individuals in the same family with melanoma
¨ Melanoma and pancreatic cancer in the same individual or family

For further information on the DERMA trial, sun safety, or melanoma genetic testing, please contact me at (772) 223-5945, ext. 1669.

You can also watch the June 2009 edition of MDoc TV to learn tips from a pediatrician on ways to prevent kids from getting too much sun exposure by visiting www.mmhs.com/content/mdoctv.htm.

-- Lindsay Mattino, RN, BA
Clinical Research Coordinator
Genetics Nurse Educator