What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like, waxy substance found in the bloodstream and in all your body’s cells. It’s normal to have cholesterol. It’s an important part of a healthy body because it’s used for producing cell membranes and some hormones, and serves other needed bodily functions. But too high a level of cholesterol (called Hyperlipidemia) in the blood is a major risk for coronary heart disease, which leads to atherosclerosis (hardening and narrowing of the arteries) in which fatty deposits (plaque) build up in the arteries, restricting and disrupting bloodflow leading to heart attack and stroke.

Good and Bad Cholesterol

Cholesterol has many components but the three most important are:  (more…)

People look at food labels for different reasons. But whatever the reason, many consumers would like to know how to use this information more effectively and easily. The following label-building skills are intended to make it easier for you to use nutrition labels to make quick, informed food choices that contribute to a healthy diet.

An Overview

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What is an Advance Directive?
As a competent adult, you have the right to decide to accept or refuse any medical treatment. As long as you are competent, you are the only person who can decide what medical treatment you want and do not want to receive. A situation may arise in future when you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself due to some illness, how can one know as what treatment you want and do not want then. In such cases, an advance directive comes into play.

An Advance Directive is a document that directs your doctor what kind of care you would like to have if you become unable to make medical decisions for yourself. A good advance directive describes the kind of treatment you would want depending on how sick you are. For example, the directives would describe what kind of care you want if you have an illness that you are unlikely to recover from, or if you are permanently unconscious. Advance directives usually tell your doctor that you do not want certain kinds of treatment. However, they can also say that you want a certain treatment no matter how ill you are. (more…)

Living Wills and Their Variations: A Simple Introduction
 
E.L. Erde, Ph. D., Professor, UMDNJ-SOM, Department of Family Medicine
Stratford, NJ 08084
erdeel@umdnj.edu

People use Living Wills or Advance Directives to direct their medical care when they become unable to do it for themselves. The purpose is to avoid conflicts, confusion, and lack of information about the patient’s preferences when a crisis arises. The Living Will can (1) guide the care, (2) name someone to substitute for you in decision making or (3) both.  The substitute decision maker is called “a proxy decision maker.” (more…)