Brenda Robinson: What Seemed Hopeless

TESTIMONY

By Christine Wilson

The 700 Club

CBN.com – It began with a small headache. Then 24-year-old Brenda Robinson dismissed the pain, blaming it on fatigue.  The last thing she remembers was sitting down for dinner at her sister’s.

“When I came to, I said, ‘What’s going on? Did we eat dinner?’  And she said, ‘It’s been two weeks since that dinner. You’ve had probably about 100 seizures, gran mal epileptic seizures in two weeks.’ I started to move, and I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed. She said, ‘Your speech has even been paralyzed. You’ve been trying to talk to us for two weeks, and you couldn’t.’”

Two weeks, including several visits to the hospital, had vanished from her memory. She was diagnosed with gran mal epilepsy, which brought on violent, debilitating seizures.  The seizures were difficult for her whole family, including her husband Dan.

Study: Sugary drink each day ups men's heart disease risk by 20 percent

By

Ryan Jaslow

(CBS News) Bad news for blokes who love soda. A new study has found drinking one glass of a sugary beverage each day might cause heart disease.

Soda a day may lead to heart attacks in men
Swapping sugary drinks for diet soda, water leads to weight loss

For the study, Harvard researchers looked at almost 43,000 men between 40 and 75 who were involved in an earlier study that started in 1986 and ended in 2008. Every two years, the men would answer questions about their diet habits, and each man got a blood test halfway through the 22-year study.

PICTURES: Sugary drink shockers: What recent report says

After controlling for other risk factors for heart disease such as smoking, lack of physical activity, alcohol use and family history of heart disease, the researchers still found that men who drank a 12-ounce sugary beverage each day were 20 percent more likely to develop heart disease. These men also had higher levels of heart disease markers triglycerides and C-reactive protein compared with non-drinkers, and lower levels of "good" HDL cholesterol. The study is published in the March 12 issue of Circulation.

"This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health," study author Dr. Frank B. Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said in a written statement.

Drinking something sugary less frequently - like twice per week or twice per month - did not increase risk, nor did drinking diet beverages.

Study co-author Dr. Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health, told CBS News medical correspondent Dr. John LaPook that a typical 12-ounce soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, but lots of soda drinkers opt for a 20-ounce bottle, which contains up to 18 teaspoons of sugar in one sitting.

"Continually subjecting our bodies to high amounts of glucose, to high blood sugar levels that trigger large secretions of insulin results in stresses that in the long run show up as high risk of heart disease and diabetes," Willett told CBS News medical correspondent Dr. John LaPook.

The study looked only at men but previous research suggests women aren't off the hook. A study last November showed women who regularly drank sugary beverages were nearly four times more likely to have higher levels of triglycerides and sugar in their blood, compared with women who didn't drink soda.  

Heart disease kills more Americans than any other disease, almost 600,000 deaths each year.

That's not all. Recent studies have tied drinking sugary beverages to more risk for diabetes,obesity, strokes, COPD, insomnia, bone loss and headaches.

Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, told Dr. LaPook that it's quite possible other factors contribute to these findings in soda drinkers.

"It's very likely people who choose to drink sugared soft drinks actually have a variety of health habits that are not heart healthy, and it may well be those health habits that are responsible for the increase in risk," he said. The American Beverage Association takes that same position.

The American Heart Association recommends that adult men consumer no more than 150 calories per day from added sugars, and 100 calories for American women.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57397299-10391704/study-sugary-drink-each-day-ups-mens-heart-disease-risk-by-20-percent/

WOMEN CAN PREVENT HEART DISEASE

FDA.gov - A lot of people think that women do not get heart disease. More women die from heart disease than from anything else. Any woman can get heart disease.

When you think about heart disease, you probably think about chest pain. Women might not have chest pain. If they do, they might call it an achy, tight or "heavy" feeling instead of pain. The pain might even be in the back between the shoulder blades, instead of the chest.

Women might think these signs are no big deal because they don't "sound" like a heart attack. Don't ignore these signs. Go to your doctor of clinic right away.

What are the signs of heart disease in women? 
The most important sign is feeling really tired--even if after enough sleep. Other signs of heart disease in women are:

Trouble breathing
Trouble sleeping
Feeling sick to the stomach
Feeling scared or nervous
New or worse headaches
An ache in the chest
Feeling "heavy" or "tight" in the chest
A burning feeling in the chest
Pain in the back, between the shoulders
Pain or tightness in the chest that spreads to the jaw, neck, shoulders, ear, or the inside of the arms
Pain in the belly, above the belly button
There is good news: You can take steps to keep your heart healthy.

Don't wait to get help!
Go to your doctor or clinic if you have any warning signs.

Lower Your Risk of Heart DiseaseFind out if heart disease runs in your family.
Visit your doctor or clinic often. Find out if you are at risk.
Don't smoke. Stay away from other people who are smoking.
Get your blood pressure checked often. You might need medicine to keep it at the right level.
Control your diabetes.
Get your cholesterol checked often.
Stay active. Walking every day can lower your chances of a heart attack.
Eat right and keep a healthy weight.
Eat less salt.
If you take birth control pills, don't smoke.
Hormones for menopause should not be used to prevent heart attacks.
Being stressed, angry or sad a lot may add to your risk of heart attack.
If you've had a heart attack, talk to your doctor about medicine. Some medicines can help cut down the risk of having another heart attack.

High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure adds to the chance of having heart disease.
High blood pressure is called the "silent killer". Most people who have it do not feel sick and don't know that they have it.
Have your blood pressure checked each time you go to the doctor or clinic.

To learn more:FDA's Office of Women's Health website:
www.fda.gov/womens/ 

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Information Office
Phone: 301-496-5751
Web site: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/

National High Blood Pressure Education Program c/o NHLBI Information Center
Phone: 301-592-8573

http://www.bennyhinn.org/yourlife/healthy-living/your-health-today/6692/women-can-prevent-heart-disease