Survive and Thrive Blogfest!!

It’s time for a special kind of blog-hop. It’s called the Survive and Thrive Blogfest and it’s being thrown by the four wonderful people listed below.  Of course how did I know that the Ninja Captain would have his hands in this too?

Stephen Tremp, Michael Di Gesu, Diane Wolfe, and Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

The blogfest is meant to bring awareness of disease prevention and early detection regarding medical conditions that may be averted or treated if caught in the early stages. Our desire is to motivate people to go in for early screening, and if a condition is caught early and treated, then our world just became a little better place to live.

Considering I’m a brain hemorrhage and stroke survivor, it would make sense for me to write my post on stroke prevention, but I’m going to be a bit more generic. My specific case is extremely complicated, but for the purpose of this blogfest, I’m going to K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple Silly.

At the end of this post, I will include an infographic courtesy of Jeffersonregional.com on how to spot the possible signs of a person experiencing a stroke.

What I’m listing below is not only for stroke prevention. It’s for healthy living that will help reduce your risk for hypertension (high blood pressure), increased cholesterol levels, heart disease, and a variety of other medical conditions.

• Eat a healthy diet
  • Veggies, fruit, fish, whole grains, low sodium, limit or eliminate processed foods entirely.
  • If you eat food that’s low in saturated fat, trans fat, and high in fiber, you can greatly reduce your risk of having high cholesterol.
  • If you eat food that is low in sodium, you will also reduce your risk of hypertension.
• Maintain a healthy weight
  • Being overweight or obese also puts you at risk for diabetes, heart disease and numerous other medical conditions. Have your doctor check your BMI (body mass index) the next time you go in.
• Get enough exercise
  • Exercise not only helps maintain a healthy body weight, but it also helps reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure. Your body releases endorphins when you exercise, so it also helps when you’re depressed because it gives you a positive feeling.
• Don’t Smoke
  • This one is obviously a given. Smoking not only increases your chances for stroke, but also for lung disease. I stopped for nine months after my bleed; stress caused me to start again. I’m not proud, but am on a mission to stop completely by year end, now that I am no longer in a stress provoking environment.
• Limit alcohol use
  • This one is also a given. Too much alcohol consumption can not only raise your blood pressure, but can cause alcoholism, liver problems, and countless other medical problems.

There you have it. My little addition to the Survive and Thrive Blogfest; along with my confession. I know my Fellowship family is going to be butt kicking me all over the blogosphere for that one!!

Here is the infographic I promised of how to spot the signs of a possible stroke. If you’re present, Heaven forbid, when this happens to someone you care about, waste no time and call 911 ASAP.

But truth be told, I want you stroke free, heart healthy, with normal cholesterol levels and a blood pressure within your normal limits. It’s one of the reasons why I started this second blog. If I can be part of other blogfests that will bring awareness, then bring them on, I’m in.

Thanks for stopping by.