8/25/1945 – 1/27/2023
This is my first video blog, as the title states. This is an introduction to this series. The next video should be coming soon with a more specific topic.
Comments may be left by clicking on the video above and leaving them on the Youtube website. Thanks!
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Dear Dr. B: The mosquito season is going to be here soon. How can I control mosquitoes around my home and how can I protect myself?
Answer: At this time of the year, it is quite appropriate to worry about mosquitoes. Mosquitoes carry many diseases worldwide. In North America, the real concern is the role of mosquitoes in spreading the West Nile disease. West Nile virus is carried by birds. Mosquitoes get infected by feeding on the blood of these birds. Infected mosquitoes then transmit the virus to humans when they bite us.
All mosquitoes need water to develop from their immature stages to adulthood. The life cycle takes less than 10 days to complete if the surrounding temperature is favorable. Once the adult mosquito is ready to fly then it looks for something to eat.
Nectar from flowers provides energy to both male and female mosquitoes. While male mosquitoes feed exclusively on nectar, the female mosquito needs blood to produce her eggs. The source of blood can be animals (including people) and birds.
According to Health Canada website, the female mosquito may live for as long as three weeks during the summer, and any female that lives long enough to feed on blood more than once has the potential to transmit blood-borne diseases from one animal or person to another. Although most mosquito species breed in clean water in the wild, many of the species that breed near your home tolerate polluted water. Most of the 75 mosquito species found in Canada survive the winter as dormant fertilized eggs.
The Health Canada website has many helpful suggestions on how to protect your home and yourself from mosquitoes. I will summarize that information here.
Certain species of mosquitoes breed around the home in containers like bird baths and eavestroughs. It is important to control the breeding sites around your home by preventing stagnation of water (flower pots, gardening cans, wheelbarrows, puddles, tire swings) even in small quantities. Boats and gardening containers can be stored upside down.
Cover any garbage, recycling or composting containers, to prevent water from accumulating in them. Empty your rain barrel if the water is more than a week old. Keep your swimming pool aerated, cleaned and chlorinated, even if it is not being used. Dump any water that collects on your swimming pool cover. For more ideas visit http://www.pmra-arla.gc.ca/english/consum/mosquitos-e.html
How to protect yourself?
During mosquito season (May to September for most of Canada), you should limit your outdoor activities between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are the most active. Minimize exposure of your skin by wearing long pants, long sleeves, socks and shoes when outdoors. Loose clothings will keep mosquitoes away from the skin. Use personal insect repellents. Very useful information on this subject is available in Health Canada’s fact sheet, Safety Tips on Using Personal Insect Repellents found at www.westnilevirus.gc.ca.
DEET-based repellents (considered to be most effective) at various concentrations offer different protection times. For example: 30 per cent concentration will provide six hours of protection compared to five per cent concentration which provides only two hours of protection from mosquito bite. Read the directions carefully before using DEET-based repellents especially in children and infants.
Enjoy your summer but dont forget the sun screen and insect repellent.
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Dear Dr. B: I am a young body builder and eat ten to twelve eggs each week as a source of protein and vitamins. My cholesterol level is normal but I have a bad family history of heart problems. Should I be eating eggs? Do eggs cause heart disease?
Answer: Let us get one thing straight there are many reasons why a person gets heart disease. Heart disease cannot be blamed on eating eggs only. I surfed various websites to see if there was a clear cut answer to your question.
First step in the prevention of heart disease is to identify your risk factors. Second step is to take measures to control these factors.
Here is the bad news. Heart disease is a number one killer and is going to affect 70 per cent of our population. It is unfortunate that you have a family history of heart disease. This doubles your risk of getting heart problems as you get older. Since you cannot change your genes you have to change other risk factors starting early in your life. Remember the risk of heart disease and stroke increases after the age of 45.
Your ethnicity counts. It has been found that black people, Aboriginal Peoples, and South Asians from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Do you belong to any one of these groups?
Do you drink alcohol? Studies have shown drinking too much alcohol particularly binge drinking can increase your blood pressure and contribute to the development of high blood pressure , heart disease and stroke. No drinking or drinking in moderation is important for good health.
The best news you have is that your cholesterol level is normal while you are young. You should take steps to keep this under control with proper diet and exercise. Why? Because high blood cholesterol is responsible for heart attacks, stroke, clogging of the arteries and high blood pressure.
Where does cholesterol come from? There are two sources: our body makes cholesterol and there is cholesterol in the animal food we eat such as eggs, regular milk products, meat and poultry. High fat foods containing saturated and trans fat are lethal because they are high in cholesterol
What about eggs?
Egg is considered to be a complete food. It is low in calories (79 calories) and is loaded with protein (six grams of protein per egg), important vitamins and minerals. Egg is low in fat but the yolk is high in cholesterol. Yolk is also high in calories (egg white 16 vs. yolk 63 calories per egg).
The average large egg yolk contains 212 mg. of cholesterol. This is considered to be high and it is rivaled only by single servings of liver, shrimp, and duck meat. Compare this to other foods: one cup of whole milk has 35 mg. of cholesterol, one cup of skim milk has four gm. of cholesterol, one ounce of cheese has 20-30 mg. of cholesterol and 3.5 ounce of beef or chicken has 70-100 mg. of cholesterol. Shrimp (3.5 oz.) and cod have 25 and 65 mg. of cholesterol respectively.
For healthy individuals, the American Heart Association recommends 300 mg or less of dietary cholesterol a day. If you have one of the risk factors for heart disease then 200 mg or less of dietary cholesterol is recommended. There are many other risk factors which you can control such as obesity, diabetes, smoking and high blood pressure.
An individuals capacity to handle dietary cholesterol also varies. A cardiologist in New York City treated over 8,000 patients with a diet high in meat, milk, and eggs and he lowered the serum cholesterol markedly in 63 percent of his patients. The cardiologist, Dr. Itchiness, believes that 95 percent of all heart trouble is associated with high serum triglycerides and attributes this to the staggering increase in sugar consumption – up from 7 pounds per person in 1840 to over 100 pounds today.
Important thing is to use common sense, exercise regularly and eat a sensible diet in moderation. Relax, be happy and laugh a lot.
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The economic boom in Alberta and rest of Canada is probably giving you a headache. But what is it doing to your blood pressure? In the last one year how many times have you checked your bank balance and compare that to when was the last time you had your blood pressure checked?
We know that anxiety does not cause permanent high blood pressure but it can cause dramatic temporary spikes of high blood pressure which can cause damage to our blood vessels and vital organs like heart and kidneys. It can damage the brain and retina. Persistent or recurrent anxiety can make us prone to picking up bad habits like smoking, drinking or eating too much unhealthy food. Combination of these factors can increase our risk of high blood pressure.
The booming economy brings with it a significant amount of stress as well. Most of the time anxiety and stress go hand in hand. To some it may mean one and the same thing. However you look at it anxiety and stress is bad for your blood pressure.
World Health Organization says that hypertension (high blood pressure) causes seven million premature deaths worldwide each year. Hypertension affects 22 percent of Canadians. It is estimated that 25 percent of the 42 million people with high blood pressure in the United States are unaware that they have hypertension. These patients probably have no symptoms. That is dangerous. That is why it is called a silent killer.
The incidence of hypertension increases with age. Most elderly Canadians have high blood pressure probably due to thickening of blood vessels. No cause is identified in 80 to 95 percent of people with hypertension. This is known as idiopathic or essential hypertension. Others have hypertension due to primary disease of kidneys or due to certain hormonal disorders
We eat too much and we do not exercise enough. Our blood vessels become harder and less compliant with age. When the blood is pumped out of the heart into less compliant blood vessels, the blood pressure goes up. So the heart has to work harder and eventually it becomes tired, weak and fails. It silently causes damage to our vital organs and eventually results in heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and blindness.
Normally, systolic blood pressure should be less than 140 mm Hg (mercury) and diastolic pressure of less than 90 mm Hg. It is written as – systolic over diastolic (for example 120/80 mm Hg). Blood pressure is lowest in the early morning, rises as the day progresses, and then dips down during the night and earliest hours of the morning.
Blood pressure also varies from minute to minute, depending on levels of stress and physical activity. White-coat hypertension means a persons blood pressure is up in the doctors office but not elsewhere.
Hypertension can be prevented and treated with lifestyle changes – with or without medication. Eat a healthy diet, lose weight if you are overweight, do not smoke, limit alcohol intake, eat a low salt diet, minimize sugar intake, do regular exercise, relax and learn to manage stress with laughter and meditation.
If your doctor wants you take pills to control your blood pressure then make sure you take it regularly. Research has shown that 50 per cent of the patients with high blood pressure discontinue their antihypertensive medications by the first year. This is no good.
So, when was the last time you had your blood pressure checked?
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