May 23, 2013

Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Gender and Health in Cuba

glenn ellis

“The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”       I have just recently returned from a week-long trip to Havana, [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Caffeine

glenn ellis

*With a growing number of foods boasting added caffeine for an energy boost, the Food and Drug Administration says it’s time to investigate their safety. Companies adding caffeine to their products have labeled them as for adult use only. Not much is known about the effects of caffeine on children’s health. The only time FDA [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Elderly and Overmedication

glenn ellis

*For many people care of elderly parents or relatives is more and more a reality in life. However, most are unaware of issues with overmedication issues for seniors and the elderly. Often overmedication in the elderly can happen for a number of reasons: Mixing prescription drugs with over-the-counter drugs, under the assumption that nothing one [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Beyond a Fear of ‘Tuskegee’

glenn ellis

*A disturbing email from a friend in an African country has moved me to address an issue that I written about: Black people; attitudes on mistrust; and the subsequent impact on benefiting from developments in medical treatment. Compounding the problem, diverse patients (especially Blacks) are historically underrepresented in clinical research. The shortage of minority participants [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Kidney Disease leads to Dialysis

glenn ellis

*In 2010, there were about 410,000 dialysis patients in the United States. But did you know African Americans are at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) leading to dialysis and transplant? Compared to other ethnic groups, the African American population has higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, which are the two leading [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Vision Health

glenn ellis

*“The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in the United States are age-related eye diseases: macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma.” This statement from the National Institutes of Health and U.S. National Library of Medicine speaks volumes! There is nothing to cure eye age. As we get older, so do our eyes. The eyes are an important, but often overlooked, [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: No One Gets Out Alive!

glenn ellis

*The older you get, the people dying will more and more be folks you know. It’s just that simple. What amazes me is how many of us are not willing to accept this very final event in life as a reminder to “get our affairs in order”. I don’t know about you, but it is [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Mild Winters & Sinus Infections

glenn ellis

*That constant sneezing you thought was a winter cold might just be the beginning of your spring allergies instead. The mild winter weather is also responsible for an increase in allergens. Trees usually start pollinating in early January, maybe even December, but now there are various grasses and flowers joining them. Since everything’s warmed up [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well – Being: High Blood Pressure

glenn ellis

There is a serious problem in this country that is an epidemic. The problem is hypertension. Approximately 35 percent of African-American men and 34 percent of African American women suffer from high blood pressure, or hypertension, which is the number one cause of preventable death among African Americans. Hypertension develops earlier in life in African [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: ABOUT SUGAR

glenn ellis

*Researchers have determined that refined sugar is more addictive than cocaine. In recent studies, rats that were addicted to cocaine were provided a choice between cocaine and sugar water – and 94% of them chose the sugar. There’s no doubt that Americans are addicted to sugar. We consume an average of 150 lbs. per person [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Are you Sick or just Aging?

glenn ellis

*Pharmaceutical companies in the United States spend a huge, huge amount of money annually on commercial advertising. Many drug companies have found that they can readily and easily increase their revenue streams by appealing directly to the consumer through American prescription drug commercials. Rather than rely solely on physicians recommending one med over another, these [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Safe Schools a Public Health Epidemic

glenn ellis

*The recent horrific attack inside a Connecticut elementary school has sent a wave of anxiety among parents across the country. Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut had a very good security system in place, and the teachers and staff there was well trained, but no system and no amount of training can create a [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: A Real Killer Additive in Our Food

glenn ellis

*From the mouths of babes, comes Truth. The old adage played out recently, when a your girl started a petition, that resulted in PepsiCo to remove a dangerous chemical form some of it’s beverage drinks. Sarah Kavanagh, the 15-year-old girl from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Kavanagh started a petition on Change.org, an online petition platform, to ask [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Genetically Modified Food

glenn ellis

*I hate to say I told you so but the truth of the matter is that our food supply is more dangerous today than ever before.  It isn’t that food poisoning events are being emphasized more frequently.  The news is more of us are at risk than ever before.  The globalization of our food supply, [...]




Glenn’s Strategies for Well-Being: Know Your Pancreas

glenn ellis

* Like many of you, more and more we are hearing about family, friends and loved ones facing a sudden issues with the Pancreas. Most people don’t know much about this organ, but in fact,  it is an important part of the human body.  It often goes unnoticed…until a problem occurs. The pancreas is a [...]