Diabetes is a silent killer that threatens the lives of millions of Americans every year that can lead to many ailments and even death

Every year, over 1.5 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in the U.S., adding to the count of more than 30 million Americans who are currently living with this disease. In fact, according to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes ranks 7^th in the leading causes for death in Americans. Furthermore, given its higher incidence in Senior Citizens, diabetes is linked to poor eating habits during their youth—which makes it even more important to create healthy eating habits from an early age.

Diabetes affects people of all ages and ethnicities. It is also often the cause of complications that lead to death, as well as to amputations and blindness, among other equally damaging consequences. Amazingly enough, over one third of people do not know they have diabetes until they are screened for it as a result of unrelated symptoms or diseases. The most common form is Type 2 Diabetes, which can be controlled through medication and healthier living. However, Type 1 Diabetes requires for people to depend on insulin, making it a more complicated health management process.

For diabetes patients, dietary management is a necessity to ensure their glucose (sugar) levels are kept under control. Failing to control diabetes can lead to heart disease and other cardiovascular ailments, as well as kidney failure and foot complications. Overall, a healthy diet and regular checkups with your doctor can help you manage diabetes for decades. But failing to manage diabetes can lead to blindness and other ailments that will progress in severity over your lifetime—often beyond the point of repair or recovery.

MyMRI wants you to be aware of diabetes and encourages you to get tested for pre-diabetes or diabetes. Younger people can start with a diabetes checkup which, if negative, can simply be replaced by pre-diabetes monitoring every so many years. Always consult a healthcare professional or your family doctor on when you should monitor the chance of diabetes from developing. Being proactive can lead to a better life and to a decrease of the risk of having diabetes in later years of your life.

Spinal cord injuries are caused by sports and vehicular accidents that can often be prevented with awareness and training

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), there are over 17,000 cases of spinal cord injuries in the United States every year. Overall, the total number of people living with some level of spinal cord injury in the country surpass 285,000. Vehicular accidents are a major cause of spinal cord injuries, followed closely by falls and sports activities in a variety of recreational events.

Spinal injuries have multiple levels, ranging from mild and recoverable injuries to crippling levels where the injured can experience total paraplegia—that is, a complete paralysis of the lower body and legs. And in some cases, spinal injuries can also cause complete quadriplegia, which refers to paralysis from the neck and shoulders down, totally rendering the injured from movement of its body and extremities.

At MyMRI, we are well aware of the effects spinal injuries can have on not just the injured, but on their families and their lives. Paraplegic or quadriplegic individuals often are rendered unable to work or remain active in their careers, resulting in loss of wages and increased anxiety on their families, who must transition to the role of caretakers.

Recent trends in spinal cord injuries also confirm that occupational hazards are a major reason for these types of ailments. However, a decrease in sports-related spinal cord injuries is associated with better training, increased use of protective gear, and a general awareness for the need to react quickly to an injury to ensure proper and effective health care.

Awareness is the first step in preventing spinal cord injuries, but prevention is certainly the best way to ensure you avoid them in the first place. Become aware of the risks associated with certain sports activities and always wear padding or helmets. Even if you don’t think the risk is high, protect yourself and your loved ones to ensure you live a long and healthy life. And consider our MyMRI products to ensure fast and effective treatment by First Responders in the event of an accident or sports injury.

Summer is a time to be happy, enjoy the sun and above all, do it together as family—but we must be aware of the seasonal threats to our health and safety

What’s not to like about Summer? It’s warm weather, mostly sunny days and of course, a thousand reasons to spend time outside. However, there are three main threats to the health and safety of both adults and children and at MyMRI we want you to be aware of what they are and how to prevent them:

• Cold Threat: When the weather is warm or hot, public places tend to be freezing cold as businesses blast cold air-conditioned air to entice you to spend time indoors. However, most people think that the sudden change from hot-to-cold and cold-to-hot can cause us to get seasonal sniffles… Well, as much as you think that’s the case, the reality is that dirty air conditioning system filters can be the culprit, since bacteria trapped in them is now being blowing at full-force indoors. To avoid the “summer cold”, considering spending less time indoors at public places. And if you are a business owner, then be sure to change your air filters on or after Memorial Day—this will ensure that your AC unit is keeping everyone cool, rather than unhealthy.

• Drowning Threat: Summers are notorious for another big safety threat—that is, children drowning in pools and other bodies of water. Most of the times, the main reason children die from drowning is that adults fail to supervise them. In fact, quite often the news coverage of home drownings is followed by quotes like “I was only away for a few minutes…” If you are planning of going inside to prepare refreshments while watching children, get another adult to relieve you until you come back. And if no one is available to do so, ask the children to get out of the pool and “take a snack break” so they can follow you inside the house while you get them food and drinks.

• Burning Threat: Barbecues are synonymous with summer, as are burgers and hotdogs. However, this also means that the threat of getting burned increases—especially when you barbecue around children. Whether you are using coal, wood or gas to heat up the grill, you should establish a safe-zone and boundaries for children and adults around. Quite often a child gets burned by a cinder by simply standing a few feet away. Play it safe by asking adults and children to play away from a grill, especially when playing with football, soccer or other contact sports. Never forget that all it takes is seconds to go from safety to danger.

Remember, it’s the summer—get out and exercise so you can get some of that needed Vitamin D from the sun. But never forget that safety is paramount when getting together with friends and their children. And most importantly: never apologize for playing safe. Let them all know you value their lives and health, so that they can be on-board with your personal safety awareness program.

Physical activity is linked to good health and can add years of life, so get moving and walk, jog or run this month

The sedentary nature of today’s workplaces, where people spend countless hours in front of a computer or taking phone calls, has become a major reason for many ailments. Stress from long days at the workplace also add to damage done by the limited mobility of working adults.

While children and adolescents tend go get more exercise than the average adult, the fact is that even they are now threatened by a sedentary lifestyle with so many reasons to stay indoors—whether it is video games, smartphones or tablets.

For that and many more reasons, it is important to showcase the benefits of what physical activity and playing sports can do for our good health.

Here are some ways to promote physical activity and sportsmanship in your family:

• Get a gym or health club membership—and start exercising at least two to three times a week. And if you can get the whole family to attend, then go to the gym together.
• Sign up for a “walking club” or similar activity in your community. And if there isn’t one, consider starting one.
• Get your children involved in sports by making a commitment to attend their games and matches. They are often motivated by knowing you are there for them.
• If your child does not know what sport they like, don’t force your own preferences on them. Let them test out a few different sports.
• If sports are not of your children’s interest, consider having them sign up for a club, weekend camp or Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts. Every bit of physical activity helps.
• Go to a park with your family once a week and let the children roam and frolic—don’t try to monopolize their time. Let them find out what they like to do most.

Awareness starts the process, but action executes it—and at MyMRI, we encourage adults and children to be more active through physical activity, sports and even indoor activities where your body is actively in motion.

From cycling to football to golf, all physical activity can have a positive effect on people’s lives. How about getting off the couch and start moving? And don’t just limit physical activity to sports, you can also dance, do yoga or even meditate as it fortifies the body and mind.

Are you ready to start a new you? The choice is yours and today’s actions can have a positive (or negative) effect in your future.