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EverythingWomen

EverythingWomen

Wellness education and resources for women of all ages provided by specialized local wellness professionals.

Everything Women
Brevard County
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Women and Disease

Are you at Risk?


The rate of disease in women is growing incredibly fast.

Women are desperate to look and feel their best in order to compete in the marketplace. How much do these two subjects have in common? Is weight the main factor in preventing disease? Do women want to be healthy or is being thin the most important thing? Do most women think they are one in the same? Is it really helpful to lose weight at any cost? Could weight loss actually be a cause of disease? Most trendy diets actually could be increasing the rates of disease among women.

The five most common causes of death in women are more related to lifestyle choices then they are to hereditary factors. Women are actually increasing their own risk for these fatal diseases by the choices they are making, trying to keep up with the growing demands of their lives.Most women are juggling family as well as career, often times putting themselves at the bottom of the list of things to take care of.  This has to change.

Heart Disease

The number one killer of American women is heart disease. While obesity and smoking are risk factors for coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar are also huge risk factors. Small, simple everyday lifestyle choices can lead to huge outcomes regarding your heart health.   Women have to make the decision to take care of themselves by making small changes to their daily routine to keep disease from invading their bodies and their lives.

The American Heart Association lists risk factors for heart disease as:

  • Increasing age
  • Heredity (including race). People with family history of the disease have greater risk. So do African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and some Asian-Americans.
  • Smoking
  • High blood cholesterol
  • High blood pressure
  • Physical inactivity
  • Obesity and overweight
  • Diabetes

Cancer

One in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will have cancer in their lifetimes. Breast cancer is rampant in North American women and the rates are rising at astronomical rates. Although it is the most common form of cancer in women it is not the most lethal. Lung cancer claims the lives of more women than any other cancer.

The American Cancer Society lists the following as risk factors for breast cancer:

  • Increasing age
  • Genes. Nearly 5% to 10% of breast cancer is linked to mutations in certain genes (most commonly, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes).
  • Family history of the disease
  • Personal history of the disease
  • Race. White women have a slightly greater risk of getting breast cancer compared with African-American women. Yet African-Americans have a greater chance of dying from this disease.
  • Earlier abnormal breast biopsy
  • Earlier chest radiation
  • Early onset of menstruation (before age 12) or menopause after age 55
  • Not having children
  • Medication use, such as diethylstilbestrol (DES)
  • Too much alcohol
  • Obesity

Diabetes

Diabetes is also on the rise contributing to many diseases in American women. Diabetes is a condition that causes blood sugar levels to remain too high. High blood sugar causes many issues inside the body. It affects the kidneys, the eyes, the heart, nerves and can even lead to death.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type and can be managed by diet and lifestyle choices. Eating healthy, exercising are essential in managing blood sugar levels.

Sleep Disorders

Women are also suffering at a higher rate than men from lack of sleep and sleep disturbances. This could be due to many factors, however the one most agreed upon by the experts is hormone imbalance. Women are constantly fighting to keep their hormones in balance. Women are exposed to more toxins and hormone-altering chemicals than ever before. While most women find it highly annoying to have disturbed sleep, there is more to it than just inconvenience.

Women who have restless nights have higher C-reactive protein levels than men. This causes high blood pressure and heart disease (the number one killer of women). Women who are poor sleepers also have a harder time fighting the bulge. Harder time sleeping has been linked to increased appetite and extra pounds, contributing to female obesity. Sleep deprivation can cause higher insulin levels and effect glucose tolerance, raising blood sugar and contributing to type 2 diabetes.

The information on this website is not intended to be medical advice. Please consult your physician.