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“Parents and caregivers should consider building a positive food environment centered on healthy eating habits, rather than focusing on rigid rules,” says Alexis Wood, PhD, an assistant professor in pediatrics and nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the lead author of the AHA scientific statement published in May 2020 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. This doesn’t mean abandoning broccoli altogether. But it does mean many parents may need to change their approach to meals, offer broccoli as one of several healthy options kids can choose, and avoid any mention of the clean plate club....

In a review published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers reviewed more than 18,000 scientific studies looking at the relationship between meditation and depression and anxiety. (1) Forty-seven trials with data on 3,515 patients met their criteria for well-designed research. The results showed that mindful meditation programs over an eight-week period had moderate evidence in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Another study, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, found that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder who participated in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program had a greater reduction in stress markers than a control group....

But even if you’ve gotten the results you want, it may be time to transition off of this diet. While some people have success staying on keto for an extended period of time, “the long-term research is limited,” says Jill Gulotta, RDN, who’s based in White Plains, New York. Gulotta recommends staying on keto for six months max before reintroducing more carbs to your diet. And Scott Keatley, RDN, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy in New York City, agrees: “The science hasn’t gotten to the point where I would be comfortable recommending it as a forever diet,” he says....

It was also a great opportunity to meet people from the online MS community whom I had followed for years: the likes of Dave, from Active MSers, and another Dave, from MS Fitness Challenge, along with a number of other chronic illness writers and “personalities” from the online patient world. It was a wonderful experience! I recently got a survey via email from the organization asking me to vote for a theme for this year’s conference (which will be held in person as well as online)....

I found that preparing in advance for surgery and setting up my home as best as I could was comforting, allowing me to return from the hospital with everything I needed already or mostly in place. If you want your post-op experience to be less stressful, here are some tips on how to set up every area of your home for a smooth recovery. Change Your Sleeping Habits Create a comfortable sleep setup When you come home from surgery, you won’t be able to sleep in your bed like you normally do — at least for a short while....

Today, you can purchase a home blood pressure kit, also known as a sphygmomanometer, at your local pharmacy or discount store. A home blood pressure kit includes an arm cuff, a system that registers pressure, and in some types of monitors, a stethoscope. There are various types of blood pressure monitoring devices, and they all have pros and cons. All types work well only if you are using a cuff of the correct size, so start by asking your doctor what size you should purchase....

A series of studies from Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, starting in 2011 have supported this notion, including a new report published online August 2 in the journal Cell Metabolism. This current investigation examined reasons why substantial weight loss in some patients produces type 2 diabetes remission, which is a state in which most or all signs and symptoms of diabetes disappear. Using detailed metabolic tests and specially developed MRI scans, Dr....

Investigators found that for patients with melanoma who have a mutation in the BRAF gene, specifically a BRAF V600 mutation, immunotherapy is the better initial approach than drugs that specifically target this mutated pathway. Advances in Treating Metastatic Melanoma Have Been ‘Nothing Short of Remarkable’ Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the United States, and it develops in about 1 in 38 white people, 1 in 1,000 Black people, and 1 in 167 Hispanic people, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS)....

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involves chronic or recurring inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. One form, Crohn’s disease, can create inflammation throughout the digestive tract but most often affects the portion of the small intestine before the colon. With the other form, ulcerative colitis, only the large intestine and rectum become inflamed. For the study, researchers looked at health costs for approximately 12 to 14 million patients nationwide with either private medical insurance or coverage through Medicare, including almost 53,000 people diagnosed with IBD....

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder affecting up to one in five people worldwide, researchers reported in April 2019 in the journal Gut. Abdominal pain, bloating, and unpredictable bowel function can negatively impact quality of life, work performance, and enjoyment of leisure activities. Face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can ease symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life by helping them overcome worry and negative emotions about the illness and develop coping behaviors, the study team writes....

Then in December 2019, Godfrey received an additional diagnosis: borderline personality disorder (BPD). According to People, Godfrey felt relieved to finally have an answer for symptoms — such as relationship instability, feelings of worthlessness or emptiness, and issues with controlling impulsiveness and temper — which persisted despite the treatment she was receiving at the time. Godfrey told People that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medication, and a strong personal support system have helped her become “happy and healthy....

Whether you’ve felt depressed or unmotivated latelyWhether you’ve been overwhelmed with stress or anxietyWhether you’re experiencing extreme sadnessWhether you’re struggling with eating difficulties Calmerry will also ask whether you want to indicate any traumatic experiences or events that are negatively impacting your life. You will also be asked to describe your current situation and what you want help with in at least one sentence. While completing your questionnaire, you can also request a Calmerry therapist with experience managing specific conditions or issues, including:...

Clearly, people are willing to pay a premium for organic fruits and vegetables. When researchers from University of Wisconsin in Parkside surveyed 770 consumers in the Midwest about their reasons for doing so, they found a range of motivations. The responses, which were published in September 2021 in the journal PLoS One, included wanting to avoid pesticides, concerns about environmental stewardship, and the perceived increased nutritional value and improved taste of organic compared with conventional produce....

Yogurt Nutrition Facts Yogurt has carbohydrates because it contains lactose, a type of sugar found in milk, as research notes. One look at the dairy case and you’ll see that there are many varieties of yogurt (such as traditional, Greek, Skyr), made with different milks (cow, nondairy), fat content (whole, 2 percent, nonfat), and flavors (plain, fruit, dessert). The amount of lactose varies by yogurt type as well. Macronutrients in Yogurt The following is the nutrition for a 6-ounce container of plain, whole-milk yogurt, according to the U....

Everyday Health spoke with Lawson about this crisis in healthcare coverage. EH: You’ve written a lot about your struggles to get covered by your health insurance. What toll did that take on you emotionally and physically? JL: It’s so hard to fight for your care when you are sick. It can be even harder when you’re dealing with mental illness, because you are exhausted from the lies that depression is telling you: that it’s all in your head, that it will never get better, that you’re not worth the time and effort and money it will take to get treatment....

Mental Illness May Raise COVID-19 Death Risk What’s new The findings of a review article published July 27 in JAMA Psychiatry show that people with mental health disorders like major depressive disorder or an anxiety disorder have an increased risk of dying from COVID-19. Research details The review included data from 16 studies of nearly 19,100 people living in seven countries, including the United States. In addition to major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, mental health disorders included in the review were schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, and substance abuse, among others....

According to Steven Gundry, MD, a heart surgeon based in California who is credited with the development of the lectin-free diet, lectins disrupt cell communication and increase inflammation, causing poor gut health that leads to a host of ills, including digestive problems (bloating, gas, diarrhea), and weight gain, per Dr. Gundry’s website. (1) Yet many nutrition experts do not agree that you should actively avoid foods that contain lectins. Gundry has written several books on the lectin-free approach, and The Plant Paradox, published in 2017, was a New York Times bestseller....

Created by researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, the low-FODMAP diet is a science-backed way for people with gastrointestinal conditions like IBS to figure out which foods trigger their symptoms so they can limit or eliminate them from their diet. FODMAPs (the acronym stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are short-chain carbohydrates, or sugars, found in foods like apples, asparagus, and dairy products, that people with IBS and other gastrointestinal disorders sometimes have difficulty digesting properly — leading to abdominal pain and other common IBS symptoms....

Avocado: A portion that is 1/8 a single fruit is low-FODMAP.Sweet potato: A ½ cup portion is low-FODMAP.Broccoli: A ¾ cup serving of florets is low-FODMAP.Cabbage: A ¾ cup serving is low-FODMAP.Canned pumpkin: A 1/3 cup serving is low-FODMAP. Lunch Salad with grilled chicken, strawberries, and feta Snack Small berry smoothie Dinner Homemade pork fried rice Dessert Lactose-free frozen yogurt Day 2 Breakfast Omelet with spinach and feta Lunch Gluten-free margherita pizza Snack Crunchy chickpeas (¼ cup) Dinner Salmon-avocado sushi Dessert Raspberry sorbet...

Dr. Dougherty was one of 32 migraine experts featured at the sixth annual Migraine World Summit, held March 17 through 25, 2021. Her presentation on the latest strategies for chronic migraine control offered insights into treating the disease, as well as tips on how to improve overall quality of life while living with chronic migraine. Dougherty finds that people tend to underreport migraine days to their doctors and often ignore headache days if the headaches don’t cause disability....