BETTERLIVING
HEALTH SECTION
HEALTH
CHALLENGES
AND DISEASES:
AMERICA'S
REALITY
By Charlene Brown, Staff Pharmacist
Taking better care of ourselves is something that we all should strive to do. In today’s society, our
lives can be very challenging. Our daytoday lives are now filled with more work, meetings, and
deadlines that overwhelm us and leave us deprived of health and wellness. Modern life can either
make you feel like “adrenaline junkies” or it can be very exhausting. We live in such a fastpaced
hectic world that “fastfood” has polarized our daily lives and robbed us of healthier alternatives.
We want it now and on the go, so oftentimes we are left making choices that are not as
nutritious. Such poor choices can wreak havoc on our bodies and lead to health challenges and
diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, stress, heart disease, and cancer.
High blood pressure (or hyper tension) is described as a condition in which the force and amount of
blood the heart pumps and the resistance to the blood flow in the arteries causes weakening and
narrowing of the arteries’ walls over a period of time. The condition of high blood pressure may
occur without warnings or signals and can be fatal if left untreated over an extensive amount of
time. About 75 million American adults (1 out of every 3 adults) have high blood pressure and only
about half of those diagnosed have their condition under control.
FAITH HEART MAGAZINE I 35