Looking after yourself - Well person checks

There is often clinics available  in the UK where people can go and have an ‘MOT’ as they get older. Doctors surgeries here in Spain often do not offer this facility but there are things you can do to keep on top of your health and keep your body in tip top condition!

Diabetes
The exact cause of type 2 diabetes is not fully understood but there are many factors that can increase your chance of developing it. For example, you may be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes if you are:

• overweight or obese, and
• if you do not get enough regular exercise.

It may not be possible to prevent developing type 2 diabetes but by controlling the risk factors, you may be able to reduce your chances of getting the condition. For example, you should:

• Lose weight, if you are overweight or obese.
• Keep your waist size under 31.5 inches (80cm) if you are a woman, 35 inches (90cm) if you are an Asian man, and 37 inches (94cm) if you are a man who is white, or black.
• Get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.
• Do not smoke.
• Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels under control.
• Only drink alcohol in moderation.

This advice can help anyone to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but it is particularly important for those who have an increased risk of developing the condition.

Cancer awareness
If you know what's normal for your body you'll be more likely to spot any changes that might need to be looked at by a doctor. Here's what to be aware of in your breasts, testicles and skin.

Remember:

• Know what is normal for you.
• Know how your body looks and feels.
• Know what changes to look for.
• Report any changes to your doctor without delay.

Sometimes noticing a small change can make a big difference to your health. In many cases the problem may not be serious, but it’s important that you see your Doctor if you have any concerns, however trivial you think they are.

Although it's unlikely that changes in your body will be caused by something serious like cancer, they should be checked by your Doctor.

One in three people are diagnosed with cancer at some time in their lives. Cancer tends to affect older people, but it can occur at any age.

With most cancers, detecting them early means treatment is more likely to be successful. The first sign of cancer could be:

• a lump anywhere on your body,
• changes to a mole,
• a cough that won’t go away,
• abnormal bleeding,
• a change in bowel movements, or
• unexplained weight loss.

These symptoms are usually the sign of a less serious problem, but it’s always important to have them checked by a Doctor so that you can be treated, whatever the cause.

Prostate cancer

Symptoms on their own are of limited use in identifying prostate cancer, and there are usually no signs or symptoms in the early stages of prostate cancer, but the first signs (which are also symptoms of non-cancer prostate disease) are usually:

• Needing to urinate more frequently, often during the night.
• Needing to rush to the toilet.
• Difficulty in starting to urinate or pee (hesitancy).
• Straining or taking a long time while urinating.
• Weak flow.
• Feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully.  

Many men only realise something is wrong once the cancer starts to spread. These symptoms include:

• Blood in the urine (but this is rare).
• Bone and back pain.
• Pain when urinating or ejaculating.
• Pain in the testicles.

Breast cancer
Most lumps found in the breasts are harmless, but you do need to keep an eye on your breasts and see a doctor about any changes.

Your breasts may look and feel different at various times in your menstrual cycle. What is normal for one woman may not be normal for another. Familiarise yourself with the changes, and what is normal for you.

A good time is when you're in the shower. With a soapy hand, feel each breast and up under the arm, feeling for changes in the size, shape and feel of your breasts. Also look for puckering and dimpling of the skin on your breasts.

The milk-producing tissue in your breasts becomes more active in the days before your period. During this time, your breasts may feel more tender or lumpy, especially around the armpit area.
If you're over 50, attend breast screening. Around 80% of breast cancers occur in women of this age.

Testicular cancer
Cancer of the testicle is rare (1–2% of all cancers in men) but it is the most common cause of cancer-related death in men aged 15–35. If detected early it can be successfully treated.

Most testicular lumps are not cancer but it is always better to be safe. 

Check your testicles regularly for lumps or swelling. Try it after a warm bath or shower. Take your scrotum in the palms of your hands and use the fingers and thumb of both hands to examine your testicles. Gently feel each testicle individually.

You should feel a soft tube at the top and back of the testicle. This is the epididymis, which carries and stores sperm. It may feel slightly tender. This is normal. Feel the tube of the spermatic cord, which runs up from the epididymis.

Examine the testicle itself. It should be smooth with no lumps or swelling. It is unusual to develop cancer in both testicles at the same time. If you're worried that one testicle isn’t normal, compare it to the other.

A cancerous lump can be as small as a pea, or a lot larger. It is not usually painful but some men experience a dull ache or pain in their testicles or lower abdomen. If you do have a lump or pain, get it checked out.

Checking for skin cancer
You need to know what's normal for your skin, particularly if you're regularly exposed to the sun or use sunbeds. Using a sunbed is not a safe option; sunbeds can be harmful to skin and can cause changes that can lead to skin cancer.

If you notice any changes to a mole, such as changes in shape, size or colour, see your Doctor. Ask a friend or partner to check the areas you can't see, such as your back and shoulders. Skin cancers can appear as:

• a spot or sore that does not heal within four weeks,
• a spot or sore that continues to itch, hurt, scab, crust or bleed after four weeks, or
• areas where the skin has broken down or turns into an ulcer with no obvious cause and does not heal for four weeks.

If any area of your skin is damaged and it doesn't heal, you need to see your Doctor. Try not to worry, as there are a lot of conditions that can affect your skin which are not cancerous. It’s still important to get it checked.

Monitor your Blood Pressure

A healthy lifestyle can lower your blood pressure, if it's raised, and can help keep it at a healthy level.

There are lots of different ways you can have a significant impact on your blood pressure.Reducing your blood pressure can make a massive difference to your health.

It can prevent you from having a stroke or heart attack and can lessen your chance of ending up in an old people's home with lack of memory, which can be caused by small mini-strokes. There are so many benefits to making sure your blood pressure stays at a reasonable level.If you have chronic kidney disease, controlling your blood pressure can slow its progression.

The following steps towards a healthier lifestyle will help to lower your blood pressure and keep it at a healthy level.

Exercise
Do 30 minutes of activity five times a week, such as walking, dancing, cycling or swimming. If you're not used to exercise, don't start too suddenly. Talk to your doctor about the level of exercise that will suit you, and build up slowly.

Healthy eating
A healthy, balanced diet will help reduce your blood pressure. This includes:

• eating less salt,
• eating less saturated fat, and
• eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Aim for six grams or less of salt a day. Don't add salt to food, and read food labels when you're shopping as many foods, including breakfast cereal and soup, contain added salt.
Saturated fat is contained in butter, ghee, lard, meat pies, fatty meat, sausages, cakes, biscuits and food containing coconut oil or palm oil.
Many people know to avoid butter because it's saturated fat, but if you have three biscuits with your morning coffee, you're still getting saturated fat.
Fruit and vegetables are good for health, whether they're fresh, tinned, frozen, dried or juice. 

Lose weight
Exercising and eating healthily will help you lose weight. Obesity increases your risk of hypertension, so it's important to be a healthy weight for your height.

You can find out your healthy weight with the body mass index scale.

Limit your alcohol intake
The recommended healthy limits for alcohol are no more than three to four units a day for men, and no more than two to three units a day for women. Regularly drinking more than this puts you at risk of high blood pressure.
One unit of alcohol is roughly half a pint of regular strength lager or one 125ml glass of wine. 

Smoking
Although smoking doesn't cause high blood pressure, it raises the risk of heart disease. Stopping smoking reduces this risk and is especially important if you have hypertension.

Medication
Some people with hypertension need to take medication to lower their blood pressure, in addition to adopting the healthy lifestyle changes above. 

Check your Cholesterol
Eating a lot of the wrong type of cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Good for cholesterol:

Olive oil | Rapeseed oil | Avocado | Almonds | Cashews | Peanuts | Pistachios | Herring | Mackerel | Pilchard | Sardines | Salmon | Fresh tuna | Porridge | Beans | Lentils | Fruit Vegetables

Not all cholesterol is bad. Cholesterol, a waxy substance produced by the liver from fatty foods, is vital for the normal functioning of the body.

Cholesterol travels around the body encased in proteins. There are two types:

• high density lipoprotein (HDL) is the so-called good cholesterol, and
• low density lipoprotein (LDL), known as bad cholesterol.

Cholesterol is deposited in the arteries where it is needed and the good cholesterol takes the excess bad cholesterol back to the liver, where it is either broken down or flushed out of the body.

Too much bad cholesterol can lead to gradual build-up of fat in the arteries. Over time, this can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as coronary heart disease, as well as diabetes and stroke.

Cholesterol has recommended level of 5mmol/l. Men have an average Cholesterol level of 5.5mmol/l and women have a level of 5.6mmol/l.

To ensure you have a healthy heart and arteries, your body needs a low level of bad cholesterol and a high level of good cholesterol.

Bad for cholesterol:

Butter | Hard cheese | Fatty meat | Meat products | Biscuits | Cakes | Cream | Lard | Dripping | Suet | Ghee | Coconut oil | Palm oil

A healthy diet can significantly help reduce your cholesterol level.

Fat in food is made up of a combination of saturated fats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.

Saturated fats can increase the level of bad cholesterol in the blood and increase the risk of narrowed arteries.

Foods high in saturated fat include: butter, hard cheese, fatty meat, biscuits, cakes, cream, lard, suet, ghee, coconut oil and palm oil.

Monounsaturated fats can lower bad cholesterol, while maintaining good cholesterol. Polyunsaturated fats reduce total cholesterol.

Foods high in unsaturated fats include: olive oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, nuts and seeds (walnuts, pine nuts sesame seeds), some margarines and spreads.

Olive oil burns at high temperatures and becomes unhealthy.Use olive oil in salad dressing, mashed potatoes or to add flavour to dishes.

Omega-3 fat is a particular type of polyunsaturated fat that can help to reduce fatty deposits in the blood, prevent blood clots and regulate the heartbeat.

Tips to reduce your cholesterol level:

• Cut down on saturated fats and replace them with small amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
• Avoid fatty foods such as pastries, crisps, cakes and biscuits and replace them with healthier options such as fruit or vegetables.
• Eat oily fish at least once a week. Oily fish such as herring, sardines, salmon, trout and fresh tuna, are the richest source of omega-3 fats.
• Foods high in soluble fibre such as porridge, beans, pulses, lentils, nuts, fruits and vegetables can help lower cholesterol.
• The cholesterol in eggs, liver and kidneys and some types of seafood, such as prawns, don’t have a great effect on cholesterol levels. It’s the saturated fat content that can cause problems.

Substances called plant sterols and stanols, added to certain foods including margarines, yoghurts and milk drinks, can also reduce the level of bad cholesterol.

Get moving
An active lifestyle can help to improve healthy cholesterol levels. Activities can range from low-impact brisk walks and cycling to more vigorous exercise such as running and dancing.

Thirty minutes of physical activity at least five days a week can help to improve your cholesterol levels.

At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on five or more days a week is all it takes for you to feel the health benefits.

Here’s to a Healthy 2010!

Nicki Wakeman - Almeria Angels