We all know that fertility decreases as a woman gets older, but did you know that by age 42, 90% of a woman’s eggs have chromosomal abnormalities? That is downright crazy! Not that I plan on having another child that late in life, but wow. Another tid bit; fertility dramatically reduces by age 35. So if you are planning kids and you are almost there, get crackin’! 35 puts you at high risk for all kinds of bad business. Now, I’m not saying that you will have a jacked up kid and that you won’t be able to conceive at this age, it just gets harder and risks go up.

For men, there is a ton of stuff that can affect their little swimmers. One thing I didn’t realize had an impact, you guessed it, smoking!! I am convinced that smoking will ruin every single cell in your body!! Good gravy!!

Oh and don’t be a silly sally when it comes to safety, STIs can also lead to fertility issues.

The joys of learning!!

Seriously, STOP SMOKING right now!! Do you have any idea how many disorders it can cause. I think if you did, you would have stopped a long time ago.

As you know, I’m a nursing student at UW-Milwaukee. That is sort of beside the point. I just want to share with you that EVERY single day (pretty much) we learn about some disorder, disease, etc. that is exacerbated by smoking! Not even kidding. I know I am shocked and I don’t smoke.

Just trying to watch out for you guys. Here are a few things that you may not know about, but smoking contributes to all of them and a million more!

*aneurysms and atherosclerosis

*Buerger’s disease (you can lose limbs because your peripheral arteries become occluded and the limb dies) Primary cause….you guessed it smoking

* hypertension

* and of course ALL kinds of cancers

Okay. Now, lemme tell you a little of the why. Of course you have heard that smoking is a carcinogen (cancer causing agent), but the smoke contains free radicals. These free radicals are what screw all your shit UP! They damage cells and cause mutations in DNA. Uh huh.

That is my health tip for the day. STOP SMOKING!!
Visit these sites if you want more information on quitting or other disorders:
NIH
Smoking Cessation
AHA
Web MD

I get that you have to want to quit before any of this will matter, but at least you will be well informed about what you are doing to your body. And if this doesn’t at least make you think about quitting, I don’t think anything will.

Take care of yourselves, yo!

Just so ya’ll know, eating fish is not as good for you as once thought. All that mercury is BAD, BAD, BAD for you!! Tuna fish is actually one of the fish with the highest mercury content!! Kind of scary if you ask me. There is a website: NRDC.org where you can see how much fish you should eat based on weight etc. It’s pretty sweet and I’m trying to help all you fish lovers stay alive. Mercury is a neurotoxin and can cause symptoms similar to MS. Our guest lecturer said a lady started exhibiting symptoms of MS after eating two cans of tuna, a day, for approximately two weeks. I know that’s a lot of tuna, but some fish is higher than others. Anyhow. Google your fish n’ stuff before you eat it!!

Stay Healthy, ya’ll!!