Thursday, February 5, 2015

Healthy Breakfast For Your Life

The researchers noted how blood glucose levels differed between the groups, and found that those who had breakfast showed a much lower spike in blood glucose after lunch, compared to those who didn't have breakfast. Clearly, eating healthy meals in moderate portions and at scheduled times is the best way to manage diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends having a similar amount of carbohydrates for breakfast every day. Consistent carbohydrate intake for each meal helps keep your blood sugar levels within range.
A healthy breakfast, especially during the colder months, is hot cereal. You can prepare a healthy diabetes breakfast by adding fruit and a half-cup of milk to a cup of any hot cereal. A staple in diabetic breakfast ideas is a cup of cooked hot oatmeal, two tablespoons of raisins and a half-cup of skim milk. To prepare a healthy breakfast with 45 to 60g of carbohydrate, add three-quarters of a cup of whole-grain cold cereal to a cup of skim milk. Add one slice of whole-wheat toast with one tablespoon of margarine and you will have a great breakfast to start the day.

Just having breakfast is not enough; one has to ensure that breakfast is nutrient-rich, and not a platter full of sugary, fatty food. By helping your child develop the habit of eating breakfast at home, you can make better choice of food that follows the dietary guidelines. Since there are a specified quantity of people that a bed and breakfast will be able to accommodate chances are that you simply might run into fellow guests as well during the day or at breakfast.

Consider the activities you may like to view throughout holiday and check if this meshes with the type of environment where you would look for a bed and breakfast. All the rooms probably a name associated with it such as the white family room and the room's décor may reflect it. This sort of overnight accommodation makes a terrific weekend trip for couples that are looking for a calm room to escape their everyday lives.

Why can’t patients receive blood results via text or use Skype for appointments?

Mobile phone in hands

In 2011, I became the 11th person in the world to undergo an intestinal transplant which took place at the Churchill hospital in Oxford. I knew a key post-operative requirement would be the constant monitoring of my condition. What I didn’t appreciate was the time and effort it would take. On the third anniversary of my surgery I was diagnosed with high-grade B cell lymphoma.
Like so many I constantly use my mobile phone and technology as part of my everyday life. I want to manage my health journey in the same way. Why can’t I receive blood results via text or use Skype calls for routine follow-ups?
The truth is, I can. Information governance is no excuse, and privacy and security challenges can be overcome. The technology is also not to blame, and some companies are already helping NHS organisations to safely and securely unlock the value of their information with models that can be integrated within their IT systems.

In my case it took bravery – the bravery of a surgeon who said: “If that is how you want to interact, then let’s do it.” How much simpler is it to text routine blood results? It saves clinical and patient time and improves efficiency. Why wouldn’t you use this in everyday messaging of routine results? It takes a cultural change for the system to go from “no we can’t” to “yes and this is how we can”.
Being a long-term patient with multiple complex chronic conditions means two things to me. Firstly it’s imperative that I am an active participant in every aspect of my care. I want to know everything that is happening to me and be part of every decision. Secondly, I am aware that I am one of the biggest drains on healthcare resources.
When I asked my surgeon if I could Skype him instead of travelling for 90 minutes for a routine appointment he agreed and emailed me to confirm I had given my consent. As he was about to dial in, the four nurses in the room walked out from fear of interacting with a patient in this way. Here a patient was consenting to using a freely available and perfectly capable service but, because it was a health discussion they didn’t want to engage. The surgeon went home and we did the call from his house.
Eighteen months on at the same hospital, Skype clinics have become the norm. They are being adopted in other departments in the trust, and the email consent is now a three-line letter. It saves time, money and improves efficiency and patient satisfaction. When I come to the clinic, the medical team are up to date with what issues need managing and tests have been prearranged.
I recognise technology is not for everyone but the Pew Institute has some interesting health facts – 86% of people go online to look up health matters, 71% do it from home via their mobile and 25% of patients benefit from online communities. The biggest demographic of online patient users are those over 55, according to HIMSS. We are ready for this technological change but the cultural shift that is needed in the NHS is not there yet; there aren’t enough brave chief executives or clinicians.
Patients understand the benefits, and data protection issues can be overcome. Years ago, the idea of getting money by walking up to a cashpoint where anyone could see you typing in a pin number would have been laughed at. Now we can bank on our mobiles, we can shop and manage virtually every aspect of our lives through technology. I want to manage my healthcare in the same way.
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