Beyond Your Life by LASA Ezine

Beyond your life The Attack of the Flesh-Eating Bacteria Avoiding Obesity the heavy truth

Psychiatric problems on the rise What you need to know

The War on Diabetes

And what you can do to fight it

Building a Better Body With six easy exercises

Table of Contents 2

3 Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Letter 4 Staff Biographies 6 Attack of the Flesh Eating Bacteria 12 5 Worst Epidemics in History 14 Obesity 18 Building a Better Body 20 The War on Diabetes 26 Foods High in Sugar 28 Psychiatric Problems on the Rise 32 Top 10 Hospitals in America

Beyond Your Life

Editor’s Letter D

ear reader, it has been a long journey to create this magazine that could hopefully be of a benefit to you the reader. The main idea that I want you to get from reading this magazine is that living our lives is not just about entertainment and about what we’re going to do next. It’s also about how we choose to live our lives and the actions we perform to take care of our health and bodies. This magazine was created to do just that. The idea behind this magazine is how different factors such as too much sugar and overeating can drastically affect your overall performance, health and even your psychological state. I want you to know that we are not trying to force you to believe all the information presented in this magazine. However, it is important that you do understand the importance of adhering to the precautions that are announced by the medical field. Many of these announcements, such as the well-known fact that smoking leads to lung cancer, should not only be listened to but also obeyed. A majority of the people who die from diseases are people who failed to heed warnings and obey them. This brings me to the other ideal behind our magazine: don’t just accept that warnings are correct, instead follow the correct procedures to obey those warnings. Listening is not even close to obeying and they both have radically different outputs. It may be easy to use your ears to listen and it might take a lot of determination and will to obey. But after all, the end product is far worth the time spent in obeying since you saved yourself from potential illnesses and maybe even death. The last bit of advice that I would like to bestow upon you as the reader is that you take your health seriously since it does, after all, govern your future in a great way. Your tomorrow depends on what you change today and changing your lifestyle in terms of being healthy could and likely will be the difference between life and death in most cases. Even if you don’t listen to all this advice, I would still like to thank you for spending your time in reading this magazine and I hope you will leave with a better perspective of how your life should be maintained. Best regards,

ROBIN SAM

Winter 2016

Meet the Team Eli Wall Eli Wall is a freshman at lasa, and plays varsity lacrosse for MCallum. He plays the saxophone in his school band, and lives in Austin. He currently volunteers for the AuSTEM program, and works with elementary school kids as a tutor.

Julia Glenn Julia is a freshman at LASA High School. She wishes to become a novelist. She plays the double bass in her schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orchestra, and currently owns two dogs and three chickens. She has recently earned her Girl Scouts Silver Award.

Your Life Magazine

Ibraheem Moosa Ibraheem Moosa is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He enjoys working on electronic related projects in his free time and is a member of LASA Robotics. Ibraheem plays soccer for Lonestar Soccer Club, and enjoys playing cricket with his family. Ibraheem wants to become a doctor when he grows up, and was interested in why there are so many psychiatric related tragedies, and just how underfunded the field of psychiatry is. Ibraheemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mom and many of his family friends are also involved in the field of psychiatry, which led him to write his article on child psychiatry.

Robin Sam Robin Sam is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) high school located in Austin, Texas. His favorite subjects are math and science and he enjoys participating in math related events and competitions. During his free time, he spends time coding and also plays basketball for a team.

Winter 2016

Beyond Your Life

Attack of the Flesh-Eating Bacteria By Julia Glenn

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Infection Frequency

Legend

= high frequency = moderate frequency = low frequency = no known cases/no data

How a team of medical professionals can help you stay safe from a terrifying illness Front view of Dell Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medical Center

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t is a beautiful, sunny day in Galveston, Texas. Vacationers line the shores, enjoying the cool breeze and the wavy waters. Surfers are riding the waves. Children are building sandcastles and searching for seashells. One man from Buda is on vacation with his family when he realizes something is not right. He begins having a headache and a nasty rash on his foot, which had an open wound on it when he went wading in the water. Over the next few days, his condition worsens. When he is taken to the doctor, he is diagnosed with a horrifying infection that nearly leads to the amputation of his foot. It may sound like something from a cheesy 1950’s B-movie, but don’t be fooled; FleshEating Bacteria is very real, and can be life-threatening. It takes a team of medical professionals to put a stop to it, and each professional’s job is very different from one another. One of these professionals is Dr. Karla Lawson, an epidemiologist at Dell Sticky, cool-to-the-touch sensors placed on various points on the body to measure vitals on the above monitor

A monitor measuring heart rate (green), respiratory rate (pink), and blood pressure (magenta numbers)/oxygen levels (blue) Children’s Hospital in Austin. Lawson’s job as an epidemiologist is to analyze data and present it to the doctors and scientists at Dell Children’s Hospital. “I thought it was really, really interesting to look at public health data, and try to help people decide things like how to do a campaign to prevent these kind of issues, or how do you look at risk factors, and how do you use the data to figure out how we can stop the disease from spreading,” she says. Surprisingly enough, this is not the first case in Galveston. According to Lawson, there’s already been 28 cases of Flesh-Eating Bacteria. In fact, there’s approximately 5 to 10 cases a year in just one hospital in Galveston. Vibrio Vulnificus, the main cause of Flesh-Eating Bacteria, is in the encapsulated gammaproteobacteria (pronounced gah-ma-pro-tee-oh-bak-teer-ee-uh) family, making it related to two notorious foodborne illnesses: E. Coli and Salmonella. Encapsulation serves as the bacteria’s “armor,” and helps it stick to surfaces like sediment and shellfish. Vibrio lives in

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“If there’s something going to be very threatening and devastating to people, it’s going to be something that we probably don’t see.” -Amy Wilson, Microbiologist shellfish. Amy Engel, Microbiologist, explains that the main ways to avoid catching it is to make sure you don’t have any open wounds before swimming or wading near the shoreline because it stirs up sediment, and to not eat raw or undercooked shellfish, especially if you have an immune compromise. As an environmental microbiologist, Engel’s job is to study potential pathogens in the environment, and in water treatment facilities. “One of the reasons I got into it was because I felt that if there’s something going to be very threatening and devastating to people, it’s going to be something that we probably don’t see, like a virus or something on the scale of a virus, and bacterial outbreaks,” she says. “It’s scientifically puzzling. You’re always trying to figure out what’s going on, and trying to solve problems.” Flesh-Eating Bacteria is generally found around the southern beaches of the US, but this recent scare should not make A medical bed in the Dell Children’s Medical Center Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Winter 2016

A family library at Dell Children’s Medical Hospital

A sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff) used for small children and infants

vacationers stop going to the Gulf. Researchers are still studying the exact location of Vibrio. According to Keri Unberhagen, an ICU Nurse at Dell Children’s Hospital, it takes a while to take a specimen to the laboratory, where specialists were able to put it in petri dishes and grow it in order to figure out what the microorganism was, and to do some tests on it in order to determine just what the microorganism was. Nurse Unberhagen’s job is to recognize the the signs and symptoms of patients, and to report back to doctors to receive further instructions on what to do in order to help the patient recover. “I get to be at their side, and I get to be what I call their ‘sidekick’,” she says. “for however long it takes, we’re gonna do for them what they can’t do for themselves until they get better.” The symptoms of Flesh-Eating Bacteria vary depending on the type of Vibrio contracted. The foodborne type that comes from shellfish enters the gastric lining, and eventually goes into the bloodstream and causes sepsis, where the bacteria infects the bloodstream. It also causes liver damage. when it gets inside a wound, it’s a flesh-eating type (the type seen in the Galveston case), which can cause blisters, dermatitis, and necrosis, where the tissue dies. Nurse Unberhagen says that the most memorable/saddest cases she has worked on were the ones involving sepsis during relapses of cancer or immune compromises, due to the fact that the afflicted patient could not take care of themselves. Treating Flesh-Eating Bacteria involves antibiotics, and thoroughly cleaning out the area that’s infected periodically. “The surgeons have to take the patient to the operating room and debride it, which means that they take out the tis

sue that’s necrotic, or dead, and wash it all out,” says Doctor Aldridge. Debridement (pronounced dee-breed-ment) is the surgical process of removing dead or contaminated tissue, or foreign objects from the infected area. Dr. Aldridge works in conjunction with Nurse Unberhagen. While taking care of a patient, Nurse Unberhagen goes to Dr. Aldridge and tells her what she sees, and then, Dr. Aldridge would say what they could do to help the patient recover or feel more comfortable as they recover. They work together to make it better for that patient, and they would give them what they need for however long it takes. However, there are some concerns over the overuse and abuse of antibiotics, which is a direct cause of drug-resistant diseases such as MRSA. Every year, whenever there’s a new outbreak of flu, scientists have to create a serum containing all if the new strains that have broken out and develop a vaccine out of it, all because of how virulent the flu is, and how fast it evolves. Wilson says that another thing that can make a disease more virulent is if it jumps from humans to animals. “Human flu that just turns into a worse human flu is usually pretty bad, but if it goes from pigs or birds to humans, it usually gets really bad, and that’s why the H1N1 outbreak was so horrible,” says Engel. “People think the microbiologists and the CDC cry wolf whenever one of them emerges, because they don’t devastate like the 1918 flu, but that could happen at any time, and I don’t think everybody’s prepared for it. We’re definitely not prepared everywhere to take care of a pandemic.” There’s also some speculation that FleshEating Bacteria will become more widespread further up the US coastlines due to global warming and climate change.

10 Beyond Your Life

The Healing Garden at Dell Children’s Medical Center Vibrio Vulnificus thrives in warm, brackish water, and if coastal waters further up the coasts of the US become warmer, the bacteria will follow. Engel says that keeping the algae blooms down could possibly help, due to the fact that algae blooms insulate the water, so it stays warmer. In order to raise awareness about Flesh-Eating Bacteria, several things can be done. Public Health Campaigns can be done through media campaigns, leaflets, and news stories. However, there is a fine line between raising awareness and raising fear. “Epidemiologists have to make sure that when they create an educational campaign, that they are doing so to give the facts, but also not raise alarm in people,” Dr. Lawson says. Just one case of Flesh-Eating Bacteria takes a whole team of medical professionals to accurately diagnose, treat, and prevent. Careers in health are very valuable because of this, and are some of the most rewarding as a result. Ψ

Winter 2016

The Five Deadliest Epidemics in History By Julia Glenn

1. 2.

1. A hospital ward filled with afflicted soldiers during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic 2. A traditional Plague Doctor costume worn during the Black Death 3. An engraving by Levasseur after JulesElie Delaunay depicting the angel of death striking a door during the 4. Plague of Justinian Antonine Plague 25 million deaths Plague

5. Antonine Plague 5 million deaths thought to be smallpox or measles This plague is famous for taking the life of a Roman emperor named Lucius Verus.

Beyond Your Life

This Roman plague was partially caused by the extreme weather events of 535-536 due to the disruption in ecology in populated areas.

3. Black Death est. 25-75 million deaths Plague This notorious outbreak killed 60% of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population, and led to an early version of the modern hazmat suit: the iconic Plague Doctor suit and mask.

There have been many epidemics throughout history. Each one had a different impact on humanity.

2. 1918 Spanish Flu est. 50-100 million deaths H1N1 Influenza This outbreak of flu was unusual, as it killed healthy, young adults rather than weaker patients, due to the virus sending the immune system into overdrive, causing the immune system to kill the body’s cells. This pandemic killed 5% of the world’s population.

1. Smallpox (over several outbreaks) 300 million deaths in 20th century alone Smallpox is a highly contagious and deadly virus that ravaged humanity for ages. The first case was estimated to have occured around 10,000 BC. However, in 1980, smallpox was officially eradicated worldwide. The last surviving smallpox viruses are now stored in labs at the CDC in Atlanta, and in a siberian lab called “Vector.”

All death statistics are estimates.

Winter 2016

Obesity

Currently in the world, roughly two thirds of all adults are obese in some way. It may not seem too serious, but when the other negative effects it can have on a person, such as joint damage, diabetes, and heart disease are taken into account, it’s easy to see just how horrible it can end up being. The world needs to become more aware of obesity, and the best way to raise awareness is for everyone to do their part.

Dr. Stephen Pont is a hard working activist when it comes to childhood obesity. he works tirelessly to save kids futures, and sometimes their lives. He works with an organization called SHAC or School Health Advisory Council; they work to keep our schools healthy. He also works at the Center for childhood obesity, and his main objective is to help his community and save the futures of our youth. Dr. Pont thinks that parents have a huge role in keeping their kids healthy. He said,

“Kid’s parents can try to make small changes that stick” ,

more of a lifestyle change not a crash diet, the second one it making changes as a family and the third one is keeping positive, making changes is tough so positive reinforcement is extremely valuable, so over time that helps kids and adults stay healthy. However overweight kids and adults are more likely to be teased, and as a result have depression, so we want to make as welcoming of an environment as possible.”

Beyond Your Life

By Eli Wall

The heavy truth Pont also believes that it is necessary for the principals of a school to make the difference, not just the SHAC. He said,“Schools can make the changes for themselves at a campus level, i think that if principals thought that it was unhealthy they could make a change if necessary My thoughts are that we want the students to be as successful as possible, and that can be achieved by giving better nutrition and making sure that they can be health.” Pont also works to get the SHAC to increase funding for poorer communities for things such as safer parks. “I think that the biggest challenge is that being healthy isn’t easy for a lot of people to do due to our busy lives and especially for people who live in communities that challenged, there might not grocery stores that they can buy healthy food at, crime risks are higher in those communities so parents might not be comfortable taking their kids to. So it’s hard to eat healthy and be active and its hard to live healthy.” Another activist at SHAC is Alex Manchevski, a student who wants to help his hispanic community. He said,“There are several committees that focus on nutrition, P.E., health education, Substance Abuse, Mental Illness and others. SHAC pushed for two years to have Epi-Pens at every AISD school, and the suggestion was implemented in August 2015.” Alex provides a unique student view to the committee. He said,“Five years ago I was a volunteer robotics coach at a Title I middle school when I met a kid who suffered from Type II diabetes. At that time, my grandpa was suffering from the same disease and it was shocking that a middle school student was suffering

from this preventable disease. I volunteered at this school because I wanted to help kids learn science through robotics, to improve their lives through STEM education. However, I learned that health is the priority since Type II Diabetes affects the quality of life, even at an early age.” He can be a great source for SHAC when dealing with minorities. He said,

“I try to be approachable and show my interest in the Hispanic community” providing them information that Hispanic families would find useful.” Alex Garcia is a nurse working at the Dell Medical Center, and teaching nursing at The University of Texas, she works with obese patients, and other types of people She said, “I believe about two thirds of our adult population is obese, and that has only been rising. That’s dangerous because it also relates to diabetes and heart diseases and cancer, and bad knees and all kinds of stuff, all of that is caused by obesity.” As an option to improve our health care, She said, “it’s important to design care that can be good for more overweight people Such as using larger examination tables and beds.” she said. But She always tries to stay optimistic, she thinks that obesity is always fightable, and we need to focus more on prevention,

Winter 2016 15 Winter 2016, 16

She said,“There is a program called tava that is working on stuff like that in south Austin, opening farmers markets, playgrounds, and just engage kids especially so that they can prevent obesity and being overweight in children.”

As she works with 40 to 65 year olds, she has extensive of experience breaking through barriers, both mentally and physically. She said,“I would say that there is nobody too heavy to exercise, its just a matter of what that exercise looks like, moving arms or walking is a great workout. Even a slow walk is a good workout, but I would recommend swimming because that makes it easier to work out by taking stress off of joints” In the end, experts agree that the main barrier to getting healthy isn’t in your wallet, or your body, but in your mind.Ψ

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Beyond Your

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Winter 2016

By Eli Wall

Building a Better Body with 6 easy exercises

2 Squats

Squats can be a great way to exercise your legs, and lower core. Start with feet hip-width apart, arms either at your sides or holding weights. Keeping your weight in your heels, begin lowering your legs and raising your arms in front of you. Keeping your back straight, lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Remember to keep your knees in line with your toes the entire time. Maintain an even pace and rise back to a! standing position. Repeat 3 sets of 15

Beyond Your Life

1 Double Jump

A notch up from traditional quats, they push Lower into a deep squat and rise up as if you're jumping, but land in a lunge position with your right leg back to burn maximum fat. Use momentum to jump from this lunge position back to a squat. Continue for 45 seconds, alternating legs. Do two sets total.

3 Mountain Climbers

No matter if you use resistance bands or not, mountain climbers are an excellent way to burn calories. The quick leg motion targets obliques, butt, and hamstrings. Loop center of band around a stable post like a couch leg. Start on floor in plank position facing away from post, feet placed in handles like stirrups. Alternately bring right and left knee in toward chest, not allowing toes of bent leg to touch floor. Repeat for 1 minute and rest 20 seconds. Do 3 sets.

4 Tabata Drill

Begin with dumbbells up to your shoulders and feet together. The dumbbells jack straight up, until arms are fully extended. At the same time jump your feet outward. Continue with all-out effort for 20 seconds. After 10 seconds of rest, place feet shoulder-width apart, dumbbells at your chest. Begin jabbing the dumbbells across the body. Switching sides, continue with all-out effort for 20 seconds. After 10 seconds of rest, repeat both exercises for 8 rounds.

6 Jump Rope

4 Body-Weight Exercises

Body-weight exercises get your heart pumping and your muscles activated. Increasing your muscle mass means more calorieses burned, even when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not working out. Start with arms at the your side and feet together. Jump feet apart raise hands into a jumping jack. From there, place hands on the ground, jump feet

Jump roping is a great exercise, not just for young kids. Check the length of your jump rope by holding it in your hands and ensuring the handles line up with your shoulders. Start with feet together, hands holding ends of the jump rope, elbows in toward your ribs. Swing the jump rope and hop over with feet together. Do not jump in

Winter 2016

The War on Diabetes The killer that’s becoming famous. by Robin Sam

n the year 1980, 5.8 million cases of diabetes in the U.S. alone were reported. In 2012, that number had risen to 29.1 million. Why did this happen? The explanation is simple: people are not taking care of their diet and do not discipline themselves. This whole world is now suffering from a disease that refuses to let go of its grasp on the world. If it is not met with the correct response from the people, it will wreck havoc for future generations. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. It has always been skimmed over in the news but has all the reasons to not be neglected any longer. Diabetes, within the past decade, has been rising as a prominent disease not only among adults but juveniles alike. If not treated at the correct time or not left undiagnosed, this spreading epidemic could very well stand alongside cancer, ebola and other well known worldwide diseases. The world, including this nation, need to be given the sufficient prevention protocols for diabetes. “When Katrina hit, I remember helping out at the shelter here in Houston and there were several, several diabetic people. You know you’re diabetic and you still haven’t lowered your intake of sugar even after knowing you’re diabetic,” says Doctor Reni Abraham a diabetic patient living in Houston. People know very little about the risks related to diabetes and really what diabetes is all about. They also underestimate the intensity at which diabetes strikes at the human body. If not controlled, it could easily kill. “I think it’s part of my life,” says Abraham. The daily routine for many diabetic people is wake up early in the morning, eat three meals with a controlled diet, and also take their daily dosage of insulin. Diabetic people also need to exercise daily for at least 30 minutes a day. “I would like for people to be more aware. I would like this to be a subject that people talk about more often,” says Abraham. Invisible to the everyday observer, diabetic patients undergo a lot in order to live a long life. They are

Beyond Your Life

constantly at high risk of heart attack and other very dan gerous diseases. Of the diabetic population in the United States alone, 8% are undiagnosed. “It’s like a silent killer. A very silent disease and frankly that’s probably why it’s not in the news,” says Reni Abraham. People with diabetes tend to have have increased hunger, tiredness and urination. Diabetic patients also have issues concerning the health of their kidneys and also suffer the chance of going blind.

“Some people win their battle with diabetes and some don’t,” says Prakash Eapen, a doctor at a local hospital in Austin.

“Some people win their battle with diabetes and some don’t,” says Prakash Eapen, a doctor at a local hospital in Austin. Diseases that are linked with diabetes include heart attack, stroke, and other heart problems. Out of the 29.1 million diabetic patients in the U.S., 21 million of them are diagnosed and are taking care of their disease as

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desired by doctors. “Yes, of course, it is maybe one of the most dangerous disease if you don’t keep it in check,” says Reji Mathews a diabetic patient living in Houston. Although people have heard about diabetes, statistics show that eight million diabetic patients either do not know the full effects of diabetes on the body or do not about the filtration and functioning of the kidney. The kidney is a vital organ key to cleaning the bloodstream and if it decays or is inhibited by a disease, the body could die within hours if not treated immediately.

“If I slack off in my diet, then I will end up with complications that I never wanted,” says Abraham.

“If I slack off in my diet, then I will end up with complications that I never wanted,” says Abraham. Over 60% of the amputations conducted in the U.S. are due to diabetes. This is because too little insulin and too high sugar in the bloodstream can affect the nervous system which in turn affects the sensory in limbs. While diabetes primarily affects the nervous system in the legs and arms, it could also affect other parts of the body. “If it was something more sudden, there would have been more attention given to it. So diabetes is not sudden enough for that cause,” says Abraham. Cancer, ebola, HIV, AIDS; these are just a few names of the diseases that often make world headlines. Diabetes, however, does not appear in the news as often because it is a much slower disease than other epidemics. “If someone has a risk factor of diabetes that’s running in your family, that’s a strong indication that ‘hey, you’ve got to make sure you get checked for diabetes’,” says Eapen. If people do not get checked for diabetes, and if their family has a history of diabetes, they could be at serious risk of not being able to fix their life soon enough if they are not diagnosed early enough. Even if people may think they are healthy, they can never be sure that they do not have hereditary (genetically passed) diabetes. “Know if you’re at risk and know if you’re taking care of your diet. Know that if you are overweight and if you’re not watching your diet, just start changing your

Beyond Your Life

diet at an earlier age since it gets harder as you get older,” says Eapen. As Dr. Eapen mentioned, many parents are either very careless or do not have sufficient knowledge over diabetes in order to restrict their kids from living a life that could potentially lead to juvenile diabetes. Juvenile diabetes has become popular over the last decade: in 2002, 6% of the juvenile population had diabetes and in 2016, around 15% of the juvenile population had diabetes. “I try to encourage them to do good because they can really change a lot of their lives by themselves but it’s just a hard mindset to change,” says Eapen. Having a stubborn mindset is not suggested when tackling diabetes. It is preferred by doctors that people become willing to change their diet and other bad habits in order to assimilate into the correct lifestyle that could help slow down the process of diabetes as a whole. “Mostly I hope that there is a huge benefit with people who watch their diet and control their weight,” says Eapen. If people control their diabetes, they can easily live long without high risks of other linked diseases. Controlling diabetes is often seen as a huge milestone of accomplishment for people diagnosed with diabetes. “This generation wants quick remedy: If I’m thirsty, I want soda. I feel tired, I want to have a Monster drink or another energy drink. Changing their behavior is very hard for them. There is no way to control that. And that’s the problem. It’s kind of culturally accepted here now,” says Abraham. As described by Doctor Eapen, people in the U.S. are “couch potatoes who mainly sit on their couch watching TV and not even getting out of their house besides for work”. This kind of culture is the perfect breeding ground for diabetes to construct a foothold onto. “We should really restrict people from being a surplus or above necessary amount of foods that are dangerous to their health and could also compromise their well-being,” says Abraham. Americans, and other people living in economically stable countries, eat rich foods that are high fat for a majority of their lifetime: Americans consume approximately 150 - 170 pounds of fat every year. They never even think about the consequences of unhealthy eating. Having this mindset could become the worst enemy for any diabetic person. “I would say exercise regularly and watch what foods you eat. In other words: be active,” says Mathews. As mentioned by doctors, exercising 30 minutes daily at medium intensity (or anything that does not push the person beyond their capacity) could in and of itself help prevent a majority of the effects of diabetes on the body since it helps get rid of some of the excess sugar by burning it. “It’s really not that hard. I was very disciplined. I would eat six meals a day and as my doctor had recommended I ate small portions everyday and I would also exercise,” says Abraham.

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much inhibition. Discipline is key to becoming victorious over diabetes. “But I also see a lot of patients who are not like that and don’t want to change or don’t want to do the things you tell them. They find it very hard to change their diet because it’s too expensive for them,” says Eapen. In the U.S., $145 billion are spent on health care and other complications from diabetes. People pay a lot for treatment but are not taking the right precautions in order to allow medicine to really affect them in a significant way.

“If someone could really find the cause for diabetes, it would be nice. Then insulin wouldn’t be abused as much,” says Abraham.

“If someone could really find the cause for diabetes, it would be nice. Then insulin wouldn’t be abused as much,” says Abraham. While the war on diabetes is still being fought, each and everyone can do their part in preventing diabetes. No longer is the adult population solely at risk, juveniles also need to pay attention to their eating lifestyle. People must, as mentioned, be very careful, control their diet and live active lives. Ψ

Beyond Your Life

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Winter 2016

by Robin Sam

all illustrations, except for the soup can, were created by Robin Sam

Canned Soup

We all love to eat foods that are close to our heart but we rarely pay attention to the amount of sugar present in each serving. There are many foods that are very high in sugar but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t catch our attention because we are drawn in to indulge ourselves.

has 15 grams of sugar per can.

Barbecue Sauce

has 7 grams of sugar per serving.

Energy Drinks

have 32 grams of sugar per bottle.

Beyond Your Life

This image was used through creative commons.

Foods High in Sugar

Dried Fruits

have about 29 grams of sugar

Flavored Coffee has about 100 grams of sugar per serving.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how to maintain a healthy diet: 1. Eat natural foods with little to no added sugar and reduce the intake of processed foods. This way you can make sure you are eating only natural sugar and no preservatives or added chemicals. 2. Compare products to see which one has lower sugar. This is a great way to confirm that you are consuming the product with the least amount of sugar to prevent excess sugar from entering your body. 3. Reduce your intake of sugar at a gradual pace and try not eat healthy foods high in sugar, energy bars and cereals. The only way to reduce your sugar intake is to go slow because being patient is key to changing long-term habits. Î¨

Winter 2016

Psychiatric Problems on the Rise A look inside the everyday life of the mentally ill By Ibraheem Moosa

n December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza killed his mother. He later drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where he shot and killed six staff members, 20 children, and finally himself. The entire country was in shock This was the second deadliest school shooting in the history of the nation. No one was able to find a motive for the shooting, there was only one factor which set 20-year-old Adam Lanza apart from the average person; he was mentally ill, and was not receiving proper care. Today psychiatry is not receiving sufficient funding to provide for those who are mentally ill. This statement is most true among the youth, currently only about 20% of juveniles who need psychiatric help receive it. The very same people who will lead the next generation are not receiving the care they need to

Beyond Your Life

prosper. Another problem is that many psychiatrists (such as the one that was treating Adam Lanza) have not properly treated their patients. The people of this country also are partially to blame for this increasing problem, a growing number of politicians are advocating for reduced spending on mental health facilities, and there are many people who support such policies. However with reduced amounts of mental health facilities, psychiatric patients are forced into jail, as that is their only other option. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe in notion of :It all starts with brain, So for sure someone going on a shooting rampage must be suffering from serious psychopathology and we need to do more to provide easy access to mental health treatment. We need more screening for mental illness. Just like Regular Physical exam there should be mental health screening for everyone,â&#x20AC;? says Dr. Khan, a psychiatrist at the Austin Travis County Integral Care

According to www.dosomething.org, suicide is the tenth largest cause of death in the U.S Photo by Ibraheem Moosa

Today many people require mental health care, who are not receiving it. Society needs to help make such facilities available to whoever needs them in order to prevent the loss of innocent lives and mass shootings such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. The reason many people are not interested in such things is because they have never experience it first hand. “Usually we pay attention to things that become pertinent to us. Anyone who starts working in the field of mental health has usually had a chance to see mental illness up close. My life journey is the same,” says Dr. Javed, a psychiatrist at Integrative Psychiatry-Austin. People do not see the importance in psychiatry because it has never impacted them or someone they know. This lack of knowledge and interest of mental health is what is partially responsible for tragic events which continue to shock us. Of course society can never

guarantee that it will never have such tragedies, but it can definitely reduce their impact or severity if society was more educated on mental health. “Educate yourself and others around you about mental health illness. Everyone should be taught how to recognize someone in distress and how to direct them to help,” says Dr. Javed More people need to be educated about such issues, so that in the future more people are aware of what to do, and how to interact with someone who has a mental illness. Whenever people receive such advice and they do not receive some sort of incentive they automatically feel inclined not to help.It is very unlikely that they will have to deal with a psychiatric patient during a critical or dangerous situation. This is the kind of mentality that increases the amount of psychiatry-related shootings and tragic events.

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“ Psychiatry is much broader than any other branch of medicine is. I call it Medicine plus Humanity,” says Dr. Khan, a psychiatrist at the Austin Travis County Integral Care (ATCIC). “Psychiatry is much broader than any other branch of medicine is. I call it “ Medicine plus Humanity”. So I wanted to do more than just medicine,” says Dr. Khan There is a special quality which is shared by many of those who help out psychiatric patients. Whether it be a doctor or an ordinary citizen who is doing their best to educated themselves, they are all not doing it for fun or money. They are doing it to help society and for the rights of those who are mentally disabled. People with mental issues also suffer, what most people do not realize is how they suffer. Of course there are the symptoms of their illness, but there is also the fact that they are discriminated in society, which is another factor which leads to psychiatry-related shootings and tragic events. For example when someone with a mental illness is applying for a job he or she is often rejected because of the common misconception

Beyond Your Life

that people who have psychiatric problems are incapable to perform at the same level as normal people. In fact the contrapositive is often true, those with psychiatric problems are sometimes able to surpass their colleagues. is because of lack of awareness of what mental health illness is,” says Dr. Javed “Just by choosing to identify them[psychiatric patients] as having mental health problems labels them. The community is still learning about mental health illness and currently most of the prejudice that occurs In fact such stereotypes add on to the list of problems that are faced by psychiatric patients. “I think there is quite a bit of discrimination, definitely, that’s the thing that most of our patients, when they apply for a job, it is kind of tricky deciding should I write down that I have a mental illness or should I not, because there might be a discrimination,” says Ms. Zubaidi, a psychiatric counselor at Austin State Hospital (ASH). Today, too many people do not understand what a psychiatric illness is. Many people believe that it has something to do with the person, however psychiatric problems are like any other disease. Many people with psychiatric problems do not receive psychological support that other people with diseases receive. “I think that the general public needs to be educated about mental illness, it’s like any other illness, like cancer etc., people still need help, care and systems,” says Ms.Zubaidi When the topic of psychiatry has been raised, there have always been two recurring ideas that are stated: Psychiatric patients do not receive the care they need or cannot access the facilities they need. The second being that people are not educated about the truth about those who are affected by psychiatric problems. Both the factors described above often lead to discrimination towards those with psychiatric problems which leads to increased depression, which in some cases can lead to fatal and tragic events, which supports the common misconception of people with psychiatric problems, which leads to more discrimination. As you can see, this problem is an endless cycle, the only way society can end it is by educating the nation about the truth of psychiatry, and until then everyone will continue to suffer. However there is still hope, people need to continue to educate themselves, and support funding for psychiatric patients. If continue to complete these things, society will reduce the number of tragedies that everyone has to face, while at the same time improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Ψ

According to www.dosomething.org untreated or mistreated de3pression is the leading cause of suidide in the United States. Photo by Ibraheem Moosa

According to www.dosomething.org, 1 in every 65,000 children between ages 10-14 commit suicide every year. Photo by Ibraheem Moosa

According to www.dosomething.org, about 20 million people suffer from depression in the United States each year. Photo by Ibraheem Moosa

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Top 10 Hospitals in the United States of America by Ibraheem Moosa

1: Mayo Clinic (Rochester Minnesota) 2: Cleveland Clinic 3: Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) 4: Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) 5: UCLA Medical Center 6: Presbyterian University (New York) 7: UCSF Medical Center 8: Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago) 9: University of Pennsylvania Hosptial (Philadelphia) 10: NYU Langone Medical Center Sources : http://www.usnews.com/info/blogs/pressroom/articles/2016-08-02/us-news-announces-the-201617-best-hospitals http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings

Beyond Your Life

This map is designed to inform readers about some of the best health care centers and hospitals in America. This map is very usefull to those who are impacted or know someone who is impacted by medical problems. Hospitals are an essential part of the medical field, and knowing which one is best to treat you in a specific situation. It is also helpful to know such information, when you have to decide which hospital to go to in a critical situation, where each second matters. Finally those who find interest in this magazine and health in general, are provided with a place where they can get reliable information on the topic of health.

Winter 2016

Beyond Your Life

Thank You from the Team!

Winter 2016