Nursing Assistant

I was outraged when I read this. Apparently millions of Americans are drinking and using tap water that is contaminated with traces of prescription drugs like sex hormones, mood stabilizers, and blood pressure regulators. It doesn't stop there. Other contaminants in tap water can be traced back to lawn fertilizers, weed killers, cleaning products, and more. Pretty much any products we use end up back in our water supply. The only way to avoid drinking water full of harmful chemicals is by using home water treatment systems.

In the early 1900s, the average American had a 1 in 50 chance of getting cancer but now that chance is 1 in 3. You might be wondering what that has anything to do with tap water. Well after the introduction of the chemicals mentioned above and the use of chlorine to treat tap water, we saw an increase in cancer. The different chemicals found in tap water can be up to 1,000 times more potent when they are combined with each other! Furthermore, ingesting chlorine long-term has been shown to lead to several types of cancer. So how can we protect ourselves? Home water treatment systems are the only answer.

When looking at the different types of water treatment products, you have to go past the hype and find out if they are effective as they say they are. Tap water is full of synthetic and organic chemicals. An effective water treatment system would address both of these issues.

Popular home water treatment systems like reverse osmosis and distillation are only effective up to a point. They do not remove most synthetic chemicals thus must be used in conjunction with a carbon filter. It seems silly to use either of these two systems if you can just use a carbon filter alone and get tap water that is free of both organic and synthetic chemicals.

While tap water is unhealthy for the most part, it does contain minerals that are vital to our health, like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Water treatment products like reverse osmosis and distillation remove these important minerals along with the contaminants. It might not sound like a big deal but if you continually drink demineralized water, you body will develop mineral deficiencies and produce more free radicals, which can lead to cancer!

Some people might not want to purchase home water treatment systems because they are initially more expensive and instead they may choose to drink bottled water. It is important to note that 25 percent of bottled water actually comes from the tap and not a fresh mountain spring as you might be led to believe. Some of the contaminants found in our tap water also make their way to bottled water. Then there is the fact that bottled water is expensive.

It might be disconcerting at first to think of spending on a water purification system but drinking and using tap water is simply dangerous because of the health poses it risks. So what are you waiting for? Start shopping around and comparing home water treatment systems. Your well-being and that of your family is too important to risk by consuming contaminated tap water on a daily basis.

Nursing Assistant

Nursing Assistant Background Checks

With such a fast pace of our life and so much to worry about, we often neglect our dietary habits. It has been long that we thought of what we are actually consuming, anything that comes handy; we gulp it down. That results in all the health issues. It's time that we plan our daily diet ahead of time.

To begin with, we need to learn what a healthy diet should consist of? How important is it for the proper functioning of our body? I'll tell you how.

All of us need a certain amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to survive. These basic things are available in our daily food, that's not the only source today with supplements being the order of the day. But what is better than naturals. Also you need to remember that your body needs all these essentials in exact proportions.

We have all heard of a "balanced diet", but what is it actually? From our school days you have been hearing this term, let us now understand that a balanced diet must consist of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, mineral salts and fiber, in exact proportions.

Your Diet Should Consist of:

Carbohydrates, the major source of energy: Complex carbs are best suited for the body; these are rich in fiber and slow-releasing. Whole grains, fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables and lentils are the prime sources of complex carbs. Include these in your daily diet. These are also rich in minerals and vitamins. The daily diet of an average grown-up should comprise of 6-7 ounces of every form of whole grains, including bread, crackers, cereal, pasta or brown rice. Carbohydrates can be categorized as sugar and starch. Sugar is a non-essential element, but starch is the best source of energy. Starchy food items contain lower levels of calorie but if combined with sugar can be adverse.

Fats: A little bit of fat is essential for or body, it provides energy. But an excess does cause severe effects. Fats are categorized as - a) Unsaturated fats (including polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats), helps in keeping the cholesterol levels low and maintains a healthy heart. Sources are oily fishes like salmon, mackerel, sardines and also other foods like corn or Soya, vegetable oils, olive oils etc. b) Saturated fats: these can deteriorate your heart conditions and increase the level of cholesterol. Sources include butter, cheese, cakes, chocolates, biscuits and pies. These should be avoided.

Fiber: Fiber usually helps in keeping our bowel system active. It is mostly found in whole meal, breakfast cereals, fruits, vegetables, whole grain, rice, potatoes, pasta and lentils.

Fresh fruits and veggies: Fruits or vegetables in any form are the best sources of essential vitamins, minerals and also fiber, besides these are low in calories and fats. 5 portions of vegetables and fruits are sufficient for an adult. You can also avail the frozen or canned vegetables and fruits.

Dairy foods: Milk and its related products are rich in calcium. They help in the development of your bones. 2 to 3 portions of milk products are sufficient to keep you going. But these products like yoghurt, cheese and butter are likely to increase your calories, go for fat free items.

Protein - non-vegetarian food like fish, meat and poultry: Oily fishes are very good for your eyesight; these should be made a part of your diet at least twice a week. Vitamin B12 and Iron content of red meat makes it an essential element of diet, but prefer to choose leaner cuts and try to get rid of the fat.

Water: 70% of the human body is composed of water. It is the most essential source of survival and allows proper functioning of every system of the body.

Nursing Assistant Background Checks

Nursing Assistant Colleges

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve water. I remember what it felt like to swim in a cool lake, fry up a fresh batch of fish that I had just caught with my Dad, and how refreshing the taste of ice cold lemonade felt after a hot day under the sun. And it saddens me to think that I can't recreate these same memories with my children and grandchildren because our waterways are so polluted. I walk down to the local river and see pop cans floating on top. We can still fish but can't we eat what we catch because of the high level of toxic chemicals that plague our water. Now, I read in the paper that despite our city's best efforts there may be drugs in drinking water.

My kids and I still have fun with water but it's different. We swim in a chlorinated pool, buy our fish at the supermarket and drink tap water that has been run through our home's carbon ion water filtration system.

With the carbon ion water filtration system, I feel safe even if I read stories about drugs found in drinking water. I know that the thick carbon block traps most pollutants that are found in tap water and the ion exchange renders most chemicals including drugs inert. Our water even tastes better than it use to.

But still I think that it is a shame to have to go to such lengths to protect my family from the pollution that we cause. It would be much easier if we and our government did more to prevent drugs in drinking water, and pollution in our lakes, rivers, reservoirs and ponds.

Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency has no regulations regarding the drugs found in drinking water in our country? There is no way they can enforce the regulations anyway. Drugs in drinking water are caused by the way we dispose of expired and unused pharmaceuticals. Think about it. What do you do when you have a medicine that you no longer need? Do you rinse it down the drain? Flush it down the toilet or throw it in the garbage? Where do you think they go?

If you flush them down the sink or rinse them down the toilet, they go down into the sewer. Then the raw sewage goes to a water treatment plant and is run through their system. The clean water ends up back in the river, lakes or reservoirs. We end up drinking some of this recycled water. And the filtration systems used by most cities don't effectively remove the drugs in drinking water.

It takes longer for drugs to reach our water supply if you dispose of them in your garbage can. But over time drugs found in drinking water can be attributed to this means of disposal as well.

I wish that I could feel safe about the water that we drink, get our food from and play in. But with continued headlines that read drugs in drinking water, I think that I will stick with the carbon ion water filtration system that I have in my home.

Nursing Assistant Colleges

Burnout As A Nursing Assistant

Children are generally discovered avoiding fruits and vegetables in diet. Fruits and vegetables are essential part of diet for children. Fruits contain vitamins, minerals and all the nutrients in proper amount. Almost all dietician recommends taking at least five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday.

Many mothers complain about their children not taking fruits and vegetables. It is a big question how do you get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, especially when they may only want to eat chicken nuggets and junk foods such as French fries and you don't want to force your child to eat vegetables and fruits. You have not despair at that time, as the following tips can prove valuable if you want to give your children fruit and vegetable diet.

First thing you can do is to take help of kids for making menus of food, in shopping and also in preparation of food. By this your kids get interested more and more in fruits also they will get the nutritional and other values of that fruit. You can also look for children's cookbooks, which have kid-friendly recipes and basic cooking lessons.

You have to try a different vegetable every day and prepare it in different ways. All the vegetables can be served, raw, baked, steamed, grilled, in salad, in juice form, stir-fried and broiled. Try a wide variety and in different ways until you find the vegetables that your child will like and in the style they will like to eat them in.

You can find that food items that your child like and also that can be added with nutritional fruits and vegetables. Children like to play and sometimes mother's complain that there child has lost so much in games that they even forget to eat. At that time, you can play with fruit and vegetables and also get children to use to handling them. Try to provide realistic fruit and vegetables for them to play with in the home corner, with pots, pans and plates so they can create their own meals or chop up the real things, dip it in paint and experiment with design.

Burnout As A Nursing Assistant

Become A Nurse Assistant

Let me give you a little info about bottled water brands and bottled water delivery programs. I think you'll be surprised at what you'll learn.

First, let's talk about the bottles. Most of them are made of plastic, either PET or polycarbonate. PET is primarily used in the half liter and liter bottles. Polycarbonate is used in the 5 gallon jugs used for bottled water delivery programs.

PET leaks the toxin ethylene glycol into the liquid. Polycarbonate leaks BPA. In the human body, BPA acts like estrogen and disrupts the production of the body's natural hormones. It causes changes in tissues that predispose the cells to cancer, so it is a suspected carcinogen.

Almost all of the bottled water brands are stored in plastic. In grocery stores and warehouses, they are stored alongside toxic chemicals, such as weed killer and bug spray. Those chemicals can seep out of their containers and seep into the waters.

Now, let's talk about the purification methods used by some of the bottled water brands. It's not really important, because the bottles themselves are sources of contamination, but just for the record.

Dasani is made by the Coca-cola bottling company. They use local tap-water and then run it through a reverse osmosis filter. Reverse osmosis systems remove cysts, lead and minerals, but not chemical contaminants, like chlorine, THM, benzene, pesticides, herbicides, etc.

Not long ago, Dasani waters were recalled in the United Kingdom because of bromate contamination. Bromate is a disinfection by-product, a THM. It's a suspected carcinogen. What else might be in that bottle?

Deer Park, Poland Springs, Perrier and a number of the other popular bottled water brands are owned by Nestle foods. They also offer bottled water delivery. They are supposed to use some of the most advanced purification methods available and their testing is supposed to be scrupulous.

But, Perrier was recalled in the United States, a few years ago, for benzene contamination. How many people drank it before the recall took effect? There's no way to tell. It wasn't even the company that found the contamination. For a while, they denied its existence.

Benzene is used as an industrial solvent and its presence in our freshwater is a growing problem. If it doesn't kill you quickly, which it can, it kills you slowly. It is known to cause cancer.

Nestle has one of the most popular bottled water delivery programs. I've seen 5 gallon jugs of Deer Park sitting on neighbor's doorsteps. I'm trying to get the word out, because a survey conducted by Consumer Reports found that 80% of those bottles contained liquid that was contaminated with BPA.

If you still want to try bottled water delivery, think about the damage that the companies are doing to the environment. Those plastic bottles are filling up our landfills. The companies aren't at all concerned about conservation.

The industry uses more of our freshwater than all of the other industries combined. They use more of it to make the bottles than what is stored inside. Please stop looking for bottled water brands and look for a home purification system, instead. It's just the right thing to do.

Become A Nurse Assistant

Nursing Licensing Requirements

Who can resist that mouth-watering surprise when you sink your teeth into a slice of watermelon? Or that satisfying crunch of an apple? But could too much of this good thing... be a bad thing?

Considering the amount of vitamins and minerals in fruit, more is better, of course. On the contrary, eating more than the recommended three servings a day could have you consuming the amount of sugar equivalent in a candy bar. And knowing that, you could've just eaten the candy bar! Just kidding.

So, to keep you enjoying the yummy treat without spoiling your nutrition plan, here is my list of the seven healthiest fruits that will satisfy your sweet-tooth. This is based on sugar content, calories and macronutrients (carbohydrates and protein) alone.

#7- Mango
65 calories/14g carbs/.5g protein/12g sugar
You may burn more calories peeling the darn thing before actually eating it! Per half, this exotic fruit doesn't tip the scales on sugar too bad, and certainly doesn't compromise taste.

#6- Nectarine
63 calories/15g carbs/1.5g protein/11g sugar
One medium size of this fruit comes with the works: crunchy outside, juicy inside, and enough sweet to satisfy your afternoon muchies.

#5- Watermelon
48 calories/11.5g carbs/1g protein/ 9.5g sugar
Another calorie-burner on prep, one cup of watermelon can be just as refreshing as a cup of ice cream, am I right? Plus, it's very water-dense, so it fills you up!

#4- Kiwi
50 calories/12g carbs/1g protein/8g sugar
You can't go wrong with the perfect mix of kiwi's sweet and tart taste. Maybe even toss it in with your cup of watermelon, and you have the perfect snack under 100 calories and under 20g of sugar.

#3- Plum
30 calories/8g carbs/.5g protein/7g sugar
I know, plums are tiny so they're bound to have little of anything in them! But talk about an explosion for your taste buds if you eat a plum at the right ripeness. That's what I'm talkin' about!

#2- Cantaloupe
54 calorie/14 g carbs/1g protein/3g sugar
One cup of this melon contains less sugar than a single peppermint hard candy! And it's much more filling, wouldn't you say?

#1- Strawberries
46 calories/11g carbs/1g protein/7g sugar
Now, this is what I call having my cake and eating it, too - fruit-style! A whole cup of these berries is not only one of the healthiest fruits when it comes to antioxidants, but it's very generous in allowing you to maybe have another cup without the major sugar rush.

Nursing Licensing Requirements

Certified Nursing Assistant Training

The big FAT lie is that all fats are bad for you. Contrary to popular opinion healthy fats are essential to optimal health and do not make you fat. Fat provides structure for our cell membranes. Our cell membranes are constructed of a combination of fatty acids and proteins but mostly fatty acids. Not all fats are created equal either. There are basically three types of fat: unsaturated, saturated and trans fats

The good fats are the unsaturated fats which includes polyunsaturated and mono unsaturated.

These fats help your body turn them into fuel, muscle and energy not fat. Avocado, nuts and olives are high in mono unsaturated fats Good fats include olive oil, borage seed oil, Omega 3 fatty acids found in cold water fish and Alpha Linolenic Acid from flax seed oil.

These Omega 3 fatty acids control many of the most basic functions of our cells are essential for normal nervous system function and deficiency might be linked to lowered attention, memory loss, bipolar disorder.

For an example: Omega-3 and omega-6 play an important role in the prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease, hypertension, arthritis, cancer, and other autoimmune disorders. Omega- 3 fatty acid also benefits the body by allowing more nutrients to reach the cells.

Saturated fats are mainly animal fats found in meat and dairy products. Animal fats tend to worsen cholesterol levels. It is like eating someone else's cholesterol.

Included in the line of medium chain saturated fats are coconut and coconut oil. These plant based oils have been shown to provide extraordinary health benefits.

Trans fats are the ugly fats These fats are produced by heating vegetable oil in the presence of hydrogen. Partial hydrogenated oils in foods keep baked goods on the shelf longer and act as a food preservative. However, partially hydrogenated oil causes trouble in your body. Our bodies can not easily break down these fats They compromise the integrity and jam the function of the cell membrane so that it cannot function optimally. Trans fats can often lead to blocked arteries, heart disease, increase insulin sensitivity and severe inflammation which can lead to degenerative disease. Trans fats may also promote cancer and may increase the level of bad cholesterol and decrease the good cholesterol.

Trans fats are found in foods such as French Fries, onion rings, shortening, margarine, donuts, dressing, potato chips, tortilla chips, puffed cheese chips, burgers, ice cream, candy, cookies and cakes.

Recently, the FDA required food industry to list the amount of trans fats on food labels. To qualify as "trans fat-free," a food product must contain .5 gram or less of trans fat per serving.

Natural Health tip: Read your labels. Beware of trans fats Trans fats may also be called "hydrogenated oil'" or "partially hydrogenated oil" or "partially hardened fats " You may be surprised to find these terms on four out of five items in your grocery store.

Certified Nursing Assistant Training