Katherine B. Chauncey - Low-Carb Diet For Dummies

What kinds of diseases or health problems are in your family? Did Grandma have diabetes? Did Uncle Joe have a heart attack in his forties? Is Uncle Joe Grandma’s brother? And, how about Mom and Dad? Are they in good health? If you’re like most people, you probably go through life not really thinking about how your family members’ health affects you — but I’m here to tell you it does.

Your family’s health is part of your own personal health history. That’s why your healthcare provider asks you to fill out pages and pages of questions about others in your family (and you thought it was just to keep you occupied while you were waiting to finally get in to see the doctor). Your own health destiny rests, at least in part, in your genes. The sooner you know what you face, the better.

Just because you have a family member who had diabetes or died of a heart attack or cancer doesn’t necessarily mean you’re destined to have diabetes or heart disease or cancer. But knowing your family’s health history does let you know if you’re at risk for developing those diseases — and it empowers you to do whatever you can to prevent that from happening.

Start by collecting information from your first-degree relatives. A first-degree relative is your brother, your sister, your parents, or your children. Record each disease, illness, or surgery each person has had. Especially ask about chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity. If one of your first-degree relatives has died, record the person’s age at death and what they died of and as much information as you can about any diseases, illnesses, or surgeries they had. Especially make note of any disease such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes that occurred at an unusually early age.

After you’ve collected all the information you can find on your first-degree relatives, move on to your extended family . Your extended family includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. If possible, trace your family history back at least three or four generations.

The American Medical Association (AMA) can get you started with their online Adult Family History Form ( www.ama-assn.org ) and type “Family History Form” into the search. You can fill out the form online and then print it for your records. You can also email it to family members for their input.

However you gather the information, keep it up to date and share it with your healthcare provider and family. After gathering information on your family’s health, share it with your provider. Especially tell them if you discover two first-degree relatives with the same cancer or one first-degree relative younger than the age of 50 with an illness usually associated with older people, such as cancer or heart disease.

If you’re adopted or have no contact with a biological family, then start keeping a record of what you know about yourself for your current or future offspring.

When it comes to your health, you have control over many, many factors. But one factor you can’t control is your age. And as you age, you face increased risk of developing certain diseases. So read on to determine what role your age is playing in your health.

If you get a group of 25-year-olds together, chances are you’ll have a very healthy group of people. If you get that same group together 35 years later when they’re 60 years old, you’ll have a very diverse group in terms of their health status. As people age, they reap the benefits or destruction of their lifestyle, genetics, and exposure. Everyone wants to live long, healthy lives. But that doesn’t start at 60 — it starts when you’re young. If you’re older than 25, don’t worry: A healthy lifestyle can start today.

If you’re a smoker, quitting smoking is the most important step you can take to improve your health. Smoking increases your risk of lung cancer, throat cancer, emphysema, heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, gum disease, and other conditions. Smoking can cause coughing, poor athletic ability, and sore throats. It can also cause face wrinkles, stained teeth, and dull skin.

Remember: It’s never too late to quit smoking. Save your money, prolong your life, and quit today. Some people fear the weight gain that sometimes comes with quitting smoking, but it’s usually no more than 5 pounds and is easily remedied. The smoking is far worse than the weight gain. Your healthcare provider can help you decide which smoking cessation method will work best for you.

You fall into this age bracket if you’re a man between the ages of 20 and 35 or a woman between the ages of 20 and 45.

Heart disease is rare in this age bracket except in those individuals with severe risk factors, such as a genetic tendency for high cholesterol or high triglycerides, high blood pressure, or diabetes. Heavy smoking (more than a pack a day) can also be a significant risk factor (see the nearby sidebar for more on smoking’s impact on your health). Even though heart disease is rare in young adults, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is in its early stages in this age bracket and may progress rapidly. Long-term studies show that high blood cholesterol in young adulthood predicts a higher rate of premature heart disease in middle age.

You fall into this age bracket if you’re a man between the ages of 35 and 65 or a woman between the ages of 45 and 75.

Men generally have a higher risk for heart disease than women. Middle-aged men especially have a tendency to gain weight around the waistline (referred to as abdominal obesity ), which increases their tendency to become resistant to their own insulin (or suffer from a condition called insulin resistance ). Insulin resistance can impair your ability to handle blood sugar properly, increase your triglycerides, and lower your HDL (“good”) cholesterol. (Check out the section, “ Recognizing the silent syndrome,” later in this chapter for more details about insulin resistance.) These conditions lead to a dramatically increased risk of heart disease. A sizable portion of all heart disease in men occurs in middle age. Exercise and even a moderate weight loss can dramatically improve the condition.

Heart disease is generally delayed in women by 10 to 15 years compared with men. Therefore, most heart disease in women occurs after the age of 65. Yet, at this later age, heart disease accounts for a third of all deaths in women. Three million women die from stroke each year. These deaths are more than the deaths from all types of cancer. Heart disease can occur in women younger than 65 if they’re heavy smokers, have high blood pressure, have insulin resistance, have diabetes, or if they have a family history of early heart disease. The good news is women can be proactive in their health education in preventive lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise.