Primary Health Tips

From: mass general Hospital

Here is a list of useful tips to help keep you healthy. It's our way of saying thanks for visiting our site.

Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that people who received effective CPR within 4-6 minutes of cardiac arrest were more than 3 times as likely to live as those who didn't.

Research shows that you should apply a generous amount of sunscreen 15 to 20 minutes before heading outside. This gives it time to be absorbed into your skin and become effective against sunburn.

Walking briskly for about 30 minutes will not only burn calories, but will increase your circulation, helping you to metabolize stress hormones more rapidly.

Fish is good for your heart. Just 6 ounces of tuna or 3 ounces of salmon once a week have enough Omega-3 fatty acids to reduce the risk of cardiac arrest.

You don't need to sweat it out at the gym to get a great work out. Pushing a lawn mower in your own backyard burns almost 450 calories per hour - about the same as tennis, downhill skiing, or low-impact aerobics.

Big day tomorrow? Try going to sleep one hour earlier than usual. It can help you feel much more alert and energetic the next day.

Exercising while on a weight-loss diet may not only help you lose weight and lift your mood, it may also help you stick to that diet.

You can avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of water before you exercise, move around in hot weather, or travel in an airplane.

You can help detect skin cancer early on by checking your body regularly for suspicious-looking moles, including ones that change color, shape, or size.

A recent study of older adults (average age 89) who report their health as fair to excellent, attribute feeling good to maintaining strong relationships with family and friends.

Keep hunger away by filling up on fruits and vegetables like watermelon, celery, and grapefruit. All have a high water and fiber content but with few calories.

Getting enough fiber? You may not know that there's a type of fiber called pectin that can reduce cholesterol and help ward off cancerous tumors. Foods high in pectin include: grapefruits, oranges, strawberries, potatoes, carrots, and beets.

To help your child develop a healthy attitude about food and nutrition, don't reward or console them with treats such as cakes or cookies. Instead try giving them a small toy, a hug, or just spending some special time together.

Quit smoking today. Even though it's the biggest cause of heart disease and can lead to lung cancer and strokes, you can reverse the effects.

Feeling anxious or depressed? Having trouble sleeping? Research suggests that a warm bath can help both men and women feel better, relax, and get some sleep.

Stuttering is fairly common in 2 to 5-year-olds. However, you may want to see your doctor when it is accompanied by signs of frustration such as fist clenching, or the stuttering lasts for more than 3 months, or there is a strong family history of stuttering.

Use your microwave to retain the maximum amount of nutrients in your fresh vegetables. Boiling or steaming them causes many of the important vitamins to leak into the water.

Always put your baby to sleep on his back to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). It's the leading cause of death for infants who are one month to one year old.

Always protect children and adolescents from overexposure to UV rays. The majority of most people's sun exposure occurs before age 20, and studies strongly suggest a link between early exposure and adult skin cancer.

You don't have to waste money on fancy sports bars when ordinary raisins, fig bars, and low-fat granola bars can give you the same energy-boosting carbohydrates.

Two million kids suffer from dog bites each year. The Humane Society of the United States recommends teaching kids never to approach a strange dog, and when approached to stand very still with their hands at their sides, instead of screaming and running away.

Monthly breast self-examinations are a good habit to get into. The best time to do one is 3 to 4 days after the end of your menstrual period. Your physician can provide "how to" instructions.

Although heart disease is the number one killer of women, regular cardiovascular exercise combined with a low-fat diet can help reduce your risk. And the best news is, it's never too late to start.

Eat fruit for breakfast. One of the National Cancer Institute's top recommendations is to eat 5 servings of fruits or vegetables daily. Slicing a banana into your cereal or eating an apple while commuting will get one serving under your belt first thing.

Children under 5 are especially susceptible to food poisoning because their immune systems aren't fully developed. Protect them by purchasing pasteurized fruit juices, refrigerating perishables as soon as you return from the store, and cooking meats and poultry until they are no longer pink inside.

There's no need to worry about giving generic antibiotics to kids. Generics are just as good as brand-name products, have no more side effects, and cost less.