Though it is often mentioned about how bad cholesterol is and how it affects heart health, cholesterol is actually a vital part of how a body functions. Cholesterol is a fat produced by the liver. The body does not require any helping creating cholesterol. Outside cholesterol is produced by the foods we eat, mainly meat and dairy products, along with shellfish. Plant based foods are for the most part, cholesterol free. The problem with health and fitness occurs when excess cholesterol accumulates within the body and causes a narrowing of the arteries. There are steps that can be taken to reduce bad cholesterol intake and up the good kind. Yes, there is actually good cholesterol.There is LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein carries the stigma of ‘bad’ cholesterol. High blood cholesterol is relatively symptom free, so most are unaware of the dangers lurking within their bodies. In high levels, cholesterol builds up in arteries making one susceptible to heart disease, as well as other maladies, affecting health and fitness. High-density lipoprotein is the ‘good’ cholesterol. It carries cholesterol to the liver. The liver then processes the cholesterol, removing it.Factors that raise LDL are often the same things that are advertised as bad for health in general. This includes smoking, eating foods containing saturated fats, inactivity, and weight gain. The reason smoking is dangerous is that it actually lowers the good cholesterol or HDL. Those that are not smokers, but are victims of secondhand smoke also end up with lowered HDL. Foods high in fat, especially saturated and trans fats, cause LDL levels to spike. Inactivity contributes to high blood cholesterol by not only raising the bad cholesterol, but also lowering the levels of good cholesterol. This is all detrimental to health and fitness.All that being said health and fitness can be improved with reducing LDL and raising HDL cholesterol levels. It is important therefore to select the best diet program to improve good cholesterol levels and reduce bad cholesterol. Medication can be used, but most can follow a simple plan to lower all but the most stubborn cholesterol levels. These steps include common sense behaviors such as eating the right foods, taking the time to exercise, and quitting smoking. Oatmeal has been used in studies to show its effect on high cholesterol. This fiber rich food acts as a broom, sweeping cholesterol away. Foods high in omega fatty acids, such as flax seed, walnuts, and olive oil are all known to enhance good cholesterol levels. Nuts and oil are high in fat, so moderation is key. Exercise raises endorphins, but it also raises HDL levels, while minimizing LDL levels and improving heart health. There are plenty of ways to ruin the body, but small changes can bring about great health. Selecting the best diet program to help bring about these small changes is paramount.

VANCOUVER – Recipients of the 12th annual BC Health Care Awards were announced today at a gala luncheon in Vancouver. Twelve Gold Apple and six Award of Merit recipients were honoured.Presented by the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC), the awards recognize British Columbians who are providing outstanding care and support. Awards are given in 11 categories to projects improving delivery through innovative and collaborative approaches and to people making a positive impact and inspiring those around them.”BC’s medical professionals – including support staff – genuinely care about delivering quality care to British Columbians,” said Michael McMillan, HEABC’s President and CEO. “The BCHC Awards are an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the individual and team contributions made by these individuals.”New this year – Dianna Mah-Jones Award of Excellence in Person-Centred CareNamed in honour of Dianna Mah-Jones, this award is for a team or project that makes use of leading practices to improve care for patients, residents or clients by focusing on the needs of the person rather than the needs of the system or service. Dianna Mah-Jones, an occupational therapist at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, was tragically killed, along with her husband Richard Jones, just three months after being named Provincial HC Hero at the 2017 awards. Our hope is that this ward will help to keep her memory and legacy alive by recognizing others who strive to deliver care that is respectful of the needs, values and preferences of individuals.2018 Gold Apple winners Provincial HC Hero & HC Hero – Provincial Health Services Authority Glenn Braithwaite – District Supervisor, Emergency Coordinator, BCEHSGlenn Jay Braithwaite is a Paramedic and District Supervisor at BC Ambulance Service, recognized for providing exceptional emergency response and for his clinical leadership abilities. He’s received several professional accolades for his heroic actions, and his outstanding commitment to patients, colleagues and the broader community.Provincial HC Hero & HC Hero – Island Health Dr. Ramm Hering – Physician Lead, Primary Care Substance Use, Island HealthBy passionately and effectively advocating for improved services for patients dealing with substance use and addiction, Dr. Hering has inspired his colleagues to work together to develop new programs and create an efficient, client-centred system of addiction services.HC Hero – Affiliate Dr. David Agulnik- Emergency Physician, St. Paul’s HospitalHC Hero – Fraser Health Mits Miyata – Pharmacy Manager, Lower Mainland Pharmacy ServicesHC Hero – Interior Health Lynda Martyn – Registered Speech-Language Pathologist, Coordinator Kelowna Cleft Lip/Palate ClinicHC Hero – Northern Health Debbie Strang – Health Services Administrator, QuesnelHC Hero – Provincial Health Services Authority Dr. Faisal Khosa – Associate Professor, Radiology, Vancouver General HospitalDianna Mah-Jones Award of Excellence in Person-Centred Care International Seating Symposium – Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, Provincial Health Services AuthorityThe International Seating Symposium has created an international forum that fosters an exchange of ideas and a network of consumers, rehabilitation therapists, physicians, designers, and manufacturers of positioning and mobility equipment. This has inspired improvements in rehabilitation equipment and technology that have improved mobility, comfort and quality of life for people with disabilities.Dianna Mah-Jones Award of Excellence in Person-Centred Care Residential Care for Me: Megamorphosis – Seniors Care and Palliative Services, ProvidenceThe goal of Residential Care for Me: Megamorphosis is to change the residential care culture from an institutional to a social model of care, and improve quality of life for residents by rapidly testing and implementing changes that focus on emotional connections, allow residents to direct each moment, and create the feeling of home.Top Innovation SNIFF: C. Difficile Canine Scent Detection Program – Vancouver Coastal HealthAn innovative and dedicated team of people and a growing roster of pups known as the C. Difficile Scent Detection Program is pioneering a cost-effective method to improve and enhance C. Difficile surveillance and improve infection control and prevention practices.Workplace Health Innovation VGH Emergency Department Healthy Workplace Initiative – Vancouver Coastal HealthVancouver General Hospital’s emergency department formed a multi-disciplinary team with the goal of working together to improve workplace health and safety, leading to an improved working climate where staff report feeling engaged and better able to provide the type of quality care that emergency patients deserve.Collaborative Solutions Improving Indigenous Cancer Journeys: A Road Map – BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, BC Cancer (Provincial Health Services Authority), First Nations Health Authority, Métis Nation BCThe Indigenous Cancer Strategy is a collaborative strategy that will improve indigenous cancer outcomes by addressing all steps of the cancer journey, from prevention and treatment, through to survivorship and end-of-life care.This year’s Awards of Merit recipients are:Dianna Mah-Jones Award of Excellence in Person-Centred Care • Resources and Needs Review – Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Island HealthTop Innovation • Symphony QuickCall – Workforce Management Solutions, Provincial Health Services Authority• Fall-unteers: A Volunteer-Based Falls Prevention Strategy in Residential Care – Holy Family Hospital Residential Care, ProvidenceWorkplace Health Innovation • Reducing Workplace Injuries through Leading Practices – Menno PlaceCollaborative Solutions • Regional Strategy for Reducing Ambulance Turnaround Times – BC Emergency Health Services, Provincial Health Services Authority, Fraser Health• Vancouver Shared Care Team – Doctors of BC, Providence, Vancouver Coastal HealthSince the awards launched in 2007, more than 200 Gold Apples and Awards of Merit have been awarded to health employees who are improving BC’s healthcare system and patient care.The 2018 BCHC Awards are generously supported by Great-West Life, Healthcare Benefit Trust, and Pacific Blue Cross.Visit BCHealthCareAwards.ca,to learn more about the 2018 awards winners.The Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) is the accredited bargaining agent for most publicly funded health employers in the province, representing denominational, proprietary and affiliate health employers, as well as the province’s six health authorities. HEABC coordinates the labour relations interests of 250 publicly funded healthcare employers and negotiates five major provincial agreements covering more than 120,000 unionized employees. Media contactRoy Thorpe-DorwardHEABC Communications604.767.2307 or [email protected]

Charcot’s foot is one of the many problems which might occur in those with diabetes mellitus. The higher blood sugar levels that stem from all forms of diabetes have an affect on numerous body systems including the eyesight, renal system as well as nerves. In long standing cases, particularly if there has been an unsatisfactory control of the blood sugar levels, you can find problems with the nerves supplying the feet. This will make the feet in danger of issues as if something fails, you don’t know it has gone wrong as you can not really feel it due to the harm to the nerves. This might be something as simple as standing on a rusty nail and that getting contaminated and you are not aware that you’ve stood on the nail. Should it be a blister or ingrown toenail which gets infected and you do not know that it is present on the foot unless you have a look. This is why foot care can be so necessary for those with diabetes and why it will be provided a great deal of emphasis. A Charcot foot is the destruction occurring to the bones and joints if you have an injury and you do not know that the injury has happened.

A way of looking at it could be to consider this way: pretend that you sprain your ankle horribly and you also are not aware that you have simply because you do not experience the pain from it. You then carry on and walk around on it. Picture all of the additional harm which you do by walking about on it. The earliest you may possibly discover that there may be something wrong happens when you take a seat and look at the feet and you observe that one is a great deal more swollen compared to the other foot. This is exactly what occurs in individuals with diabetes who develop a Charcot’s foot. There may be some destruction, such as a sprained ankle or maybe a progressive failure of the arch of the foot and as no pain is sensed they carry on and walk around on it. It should be apparent simply how much more injury that gets done to the original injury prior to the problem is finally observed because of the swelling. At times there is not much swelling, but the Charcot’s foot is picked up from the difference in temperature between the two feet as a result of inflammation related process in the damaged foot that generates more warmth.

The development of a Charcot foot really needs to be dealt with as a bit of an urgent situation since the further it advances the much more serious it’s going to be and the more challenging it can be to handle. The individual definitely needs to quit all weightbearing without delay or at least obtain a walking support so that the damage is protected. For the not too major instances and those conditions which were serious and have improved a really supportive orthotic in the footwear is required to support the feet and the injuries. Sometimes surgical procedures are required to straighten the subluxed and dislocated bones. By far the most critical situations can end up with the foot and/or leg required to be amputated as the trauma has been doing an excessive amount of impairment.