Health Assessment
Uploaded by CHESCAL@TMAIL.COM on Jul 30, 2007
Health Assessment
Americans always looking for the easy way out are now relying on diet pills to do the work for them. Many folks start taking these pills hoping for the weight to come off with no work needed, and don’t consider the side effects. The most popular drug being touted as the “wonder pills” is called ephedrine. “Ephedrine is an herb that contains a potent substance called ephedrine. It is a thermogenic agent, decongestant,”(Mitchell and Dodson 65). A combination of ephedrine, green tea, and kola nut, are used to increase the metabolic rate thus helping with the weight loss process. Mitchell writes that, “At least forty people have died and more than 800 have become ill after taking diet products that contain ephedrine, including the sudden death of a college student in 1997”(68). Dodson adds that the amount of the drug that is taken also plays a major role in side effects, and in December of 2000 scientist noted, that on the bottles containing the drug ephedrine the amount on the labels were not accurate. They said that the active ingredient varied from the stated amount by twenty percent of more, depending on the brand (69). This over-the-counter drug has many side effects including, insomnia; dry mouth; headache and dizziness; an increase in blood pressure; metabolic rate, perspiration rate, and urine output. In some severe cases they have found it can cause paranoid psychoses, coronary spasm, convulsions, respiratory depression, comma, and death (Mitchell and Dodson 69).
After assessing my diet through the process of recording my intake of food over the course of two days and analyzing its nutritional value, relative to my gender, weight, height, activity level and age, I have successfully reached several conclusions about my current dietary habits. Prior to this analysis of my diet, I was unsuspecting of some of my bad habits which were unbeknownst to me at the time and as a result, I was fairly shocked to see the results.
Since my assessment in early February, I have maintained a constant focus on everything that goes into my body. In addition to my annual tradition of starting up a more frequent exercise routine around this time of year, I have been exercising portion control with each passing meal. One major aspect of this is that I have been cutting down on my consumption of cheeses. Prior to analyzing my diet, I was unaware that cheeses...