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May FLOWERS With Health Awareness Themes May 2018

AlpineMeadow

Okay “MAY” you win so far this year for Awareness Days, Weeks, Partial-Weeks, Semi-Weeks, Only One DATE in the Month, Monthly Observances, Fixed Days in the Month regardless of any of those days falling on a weekend day, and must I go on? If you want more than one something on a day May is your Month.

There are some very serious awareness themes this month like the debilitating and deadly Huntington’s Disease with links to the disease, it’s progression research directions, and more. It is also
Hepatitis Awareness Month which has helped make curative break-throughs in the last several years possible.

Despite these sobering Awareness themes there are several this month that will make you smile when in context with other Health Awareness themes for May.

Keep up your part in being proactive when it comes to being aware of your own health and the health of others around you…No matter what their size or shape!

Food Allergy Action Month from Consumer Health Digest

Definition: Allergic food hypersensitivity is the adverse immunological reaction triggered when the body mistakenly identifies a food component as a hazardous substance and therefore attacks it. The food constituents that incite such adverse immunological reactions from the body are termed as allergens. Basically if it causes you to react in any way after ingesting something it could be something to stay away from in the future! Wink! Beware…You can instantly get an allergy to something even if it’s like the thousandth time you ate it.
It is estimated that approximately 4% of Americans live with a food allergy and it is also believed this number is low.
What about YOU? Some reactions to allergens will kill a person. What a great way to start out a MONTH for pete’s sake! In fact, the following is one of “those”…

National Celiac Disease Awareness Month from BeyondCeliac.Org

Celiac disease is serious and affects an estimated 3 million Americans, but many still don’t know about it. This month is the time to get educated.
This one SUCKS! We all could use a good understanding of how gluten-free food would greatly benefit the health of EVERYONE’S guts! And I mean EVERYONE! We are WHAT WE EAT! Oh EXCELLENT! The next awareness theme is ONE ANSWER! Just like that in the same month and ALL!

International Mediterranean Diet Month from Oldways.org

One thing you can do is take this Quiz on Mediterranean foods and see if you know a little or a lot on the subject! Then you can start making healthier food choices and give your health a boost!
It’s estimated that in the next 10 years our Primary Care Doc will be able to prescribe a diet that is perfect for, and unique to our own gut bacterium. It’s also predicted that such a diet would dramatically decrease inflammation and disease individually as a result. Sign me UP! By Knowing what I have allergies to, and by eating right I might manage to live longer! Whew!

Now if more teens observed the following month awareness ALL MONTH they’d have no time to worry about the theme following it…

Bike Month from the League of American Bicyclists

Get involved: “From the halls of Congress to the streets of your community, the League is working to make biking better for you. We are the voice of the nation’s 57 million bicyclists, promoting and protecting your right to ride.” Know your local rights and encourage more biking in your community! It not only increases healthier humans it greatly decreases noise and air pollution!
And with your butt in the seat, it can’t be somewhere else…If you know what I mean…Teenagers use bikes and other wheeled means of transportation, so this makes sense that more biking reduces teen pregnancy rates, right? Wink!

National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month from Child Welfare League of America CWLA

U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates declined over the past two decades and remain at historic lows. Since 1991, the teen birth rate declined by 61%. Teens often use condoms for birth control because they are accessible and inexpensive if not provided free at STI testing locations.
See if we keep them busy they can’t get “Jiggy With IT”! Wink Wink! OH, and the next awareness theme is great for adults and teens alike, especially those of us with teenagers still living under our roofs…!

Better Sleep Month from What Health.Com

Refreshing sleep is of huge importance when staying healthy. As with diet and exercise, sleep is crucial to our physical, emotional and mental health. Inadequate sleep can lead to an increase in blood pressure and stress hormone production; the body can become stressed when it does not get enough sleep. The consequences of poor sleep include reduced concentration, mood swings, irritability, stress, and a weakened immune system. The release of stress hormones can also make it harder to sleep, perpetuating an unhealthy sleep cycle.
See you are screwed if you don’t allow yourself enough sleep! If couldn’t be any simpler than that! You don’t need anything but willingness to get better sleep, either. Sleep has a direct impact on your health body-mind-spirit and is found in many of the other awareness themes highlighted this month. Along with getting Better Sleep, your Boss agrees with the next few awareness themes, too because a healthy employee is a productive employee! Imagine that!

Employee Health and Fitness Month from National Association for Health and Fitness

The goal of GEHFM is to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to employers and their employees through worksite health promotion activities and environments.
’Nuff said. Wait a minute, don’t you wish you had a boss who had fresh juice squeezed every morning, and nutritious catered in food for lunch and snacks throughout the day? A boss who builds a gym on the premises, so everyone could get adequate exercise every day? Dare to dream bosses think of employee’s health but it just might be the “game-changer” for the future generations of workers. This would also decrease the need for the following health awareness theme…Tell that to a Boss and keep your head down and an open path directly to a door when you do, though…They don’t want to believe they cause stroke and heart-attack directly!

National Stroke Month and High Blood Pressure Education Month from the American Heart Association

80% of strokes are preventable! High blood pressure is the most important controllable risk factor. Controlling one directly impacts the possibility of getting the other. Neither of these are anything to mess around with either. Most don’t die of stroke but live disabled for the remainder of their lives. Why would anyone choose it? YOU don’t it comes on one slowly…And then you must live out the consequences.
Stress is controllable and knowing how to reduce it especially in the workplace is within our reach. Is your stressful job going to kill you, might not be a question your boss wants you to answer, but YOU should decide when and if it’s getting to you-Impacting your health in some way-Big ways or small they all count! Do the math for yourself and prevent STROKE! Quit if it will greatly prolong your lifespan! Wink! Oh, and don’t let your boss say that sitting dutifully at your desk will decrease your chances of skin cancer either but read on for how to protect yourself from skin cancers once your de-stress and check your blood pressure!

Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month from SkinCancer.Org

If you can SPOT it you can STOP it! With over 5 million cases diagnosed in the United States each year, skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. Fortunately, skin cancer is also one of the most preventable forms of cancer. About 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers and 85 percent of melanoma cases are associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. By raising awareness of the dangers of unprotected exposure and encouraging sun-safe habits, we can change behaviors and save lives.
So don’t be afraid of taking a walk when you get stressed or feel your blood pressure starting to rise, just remember to sun-protect. Walking does NOT cause skin cancer and is low-impact, reduces blood pressure and anxiety, and you can do it solo or in a group. Noticing that something on your skin has changed is a signal to head off to the Dermatologist for a good overall skin check-up, though. With a high rate of cure, this cancer is nothing to mess around with-The sooner the better! It’s another thing it’s nice to have a partner around for too…They see all of us even the parts we’d rather they wouldn’t! Pick a day each month and carefully cancer screen every inch of the largest organ you have, your SKIN! It should only take about 10 minutes or so once you get the hang of it and is PRICELESS when it comes to prolonging your LIFE!

These last few awareness themes for May fit together nicely too. Paying attention to our physical and spiritual health are important to our overall health, but everything affects us mentally more than we realize, so having this awareness theme to keep in mind is crucial to the success of whatever we set out to do for ourselves this year, and into the next.

Good mental health “commands the ship” so keep yours on the right course and help other “ships find port” when need be! Friends notice what’s going on with us sometimes more than family. A sure sign of needing to let someone in is when you’ve done a fantastic job of keeping everyone away! …Just say’in…!

Mental Health Month from NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

For 2018, NAMI will promote the theme of “Cure Stigma” throughout all awareness events, including the dedicated Mental Health Month each May.
This cause is especially important because “One in 5 Americans is affected by mental health conditions. Stigma is toxic to their mental health because it creates an environment of shame, fear and silence that prevents many people from seeking help and treatment. The perception of mental illness won’t change unless we act to change it.”
Nothing but the truth here and knowing 1 in 5 is impacted with mental illness means STIGMA must STOP! It is killing US, our kids and people around the world just looking for answers in a time of need. Reach out and touch someone today.

The Lighter Side…

Chip Your Pets Month from The Humane Society of the United States.
It’s worth it when Lulu gets out and ends up in the next county! Far, far away from home, alone, without food or friend…Need I go on? Save yourself the grief and just DO IT!

Lyme disease Prevention Month from LymeDisease.Org
This is a chance for Lyme patients, activists and educators to spread information on how to prevent Lyme and tick-borne diseases, and how to know where and when Lyme disease carrying insects are most prevalent. This is for Humans and their furry pets, alike!

And don’t forget on…
May 17 it’s Pack-Rat Day. That is if you can seriously find your favorite pack-rat. Look carefully under that pile over there…Watch out it’s an avalanche!
May 21 it’s Talk Like Yoda Day. Yes, for the entire day! 24 hours, from dawn to dusk one must, “Talk like Yoda you do!”
May 30: it’s International Hug Your Cat Day. If you don’t have a cat of your own, and no, that fuzzy Miss Kitty looking stuffed pet thingy won’t do here…Find a Friend’s cat to borrow and squeeze on or visit your local Humane Society. A cat “petter” will never be denied, I don’t believe…! Never tried it though since I’m not big on cats myself. Hug one for me while you’re at it, K?