Posts

Where to Start The most important aspect of helping to change your loved one’s eating habits will be to limit their salt, or sodium, intake because salt contributes to hypertension. A low-sodium diet will go a long way toward helping to control blood pressure levels. But you won’t have to invent a new eating plan: You can adopt the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet to combat high blood pressure....

Black Americans are also more likely to be hospitalized due to the virus. An analysis published in May 2020 in the journal Health Affairs found that 52.5 percent of Black American patients with the disease were hospitalized, compared with 25.7 percent of patients identifying as non-Hispanic white Americans. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of 580 hospitalized COVID-19 patients found that one-third were Black, although they made up just 18 percent of the population examined, and comprise 13 percent of the U....

The medical consensus is clear: The benefits of vaccination far outweigh any potential risks, says pulmonologist Michael Sims, MD, clinical director of the COPD program at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. “The vaccine is quite protective, not just against contracting COVID-19 but against the complications of respiratory failure and death, and these become all that much more important for COPD patients,” says Dr. Sims. People with COPD, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, are considered to be at a higher risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)....

Dark spots in your mouth can be caused by a variety of things. They run from minor lesions, such as a stain from a dental filling that leaked into your gums (called an amalgam tattoo), to benign tumors of your blood vessels, such as a hemangioma. Some types of cancer can also show up as dark spots. Melanomas (skin cancers), for example, are famous for looking like dark spots. Even though most people associate melanomas only with sun-exposed areas such as your skin, in fact, they can occur in the mouth and even inside your nose and sinuses (areas that are not exposed to the sun)....

Organizations That Educate and Offer Help National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) NAMI is the largest grassroots organization devoted to improving the lives of those affected by mental illness. Through various programs, it aims to change public perception about mental illness, help its members manage mental illness, and build up family relationships. Reach the help line at 800-950-NAMI (800-950-6264) or text “NAMI” to 741741. Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) The ADAA works to improve the quality of life of those affected by anxiety and depression and related disorders....

Getting stung by a wasp is a completely different story. These winged insects are sometimes mistaken for bees, but wasps have a thinner waist and less body hair compared with bees. (1) Despite their differences, one thing they do have in common is their ability to inflict a painful punishment. The good news is that wasps aren’t always aggressive, and they typically only sting when they feel threatened. (2) If you stay out of their way, they’ll stay out of yours....

Energy drinks can be sold as full-size beverages, similar to soft drinks, or much smaller energy “shots,” and both types of products usually contain caffeine as a main ingredient, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Usually, the caffeine content of energy drinks far exceeds that of other caffeinated beverages such as coffee or soda. These drinks may also contain other stimulants, such as L-carnitine, guarana, and taurine, as well as added sugar, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)....

On the one hand, nuts are high in fat and calories and have a reputation for causing weight gain. Just a half cup of shelled pistachios with no salt added has 170 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 1.5 grams of saturated fat. At only four calories each, pistachios are a relatively low-calorie snack. Meanwhile, denser nuts such as walnuts can pack more than 350 calories and 30 grams of fat per half-cup....

The stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic may also be affecting your ability to manage diabetes. Not only are people with type 2 diabetes at a higher risk for complications associated with infection from the novel coronavirus, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has emphasized, but the risk of burnout from dealing with this crisis can also harm your mental well-being. As a study published in the September-October 2020 issue of Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome notes, the importance of balancing the management of your health while avoiding the mental health impacts of what researchers call “coronaphobia” are imperative to help prevent this type of burnout....

Investigators found that for current drinkers, drinking alcohol, most notably wine, with meals is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle, and Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2022. “The message from this study is that drinking moderate amounts of wine with meals may prevent type 2 diabetes if you do not have another health condition that may be negatively affected by moderate alcohol consumption and in consultation with your doctor,” said study author Hao Ma, MD, PhD, a biostatistical analyst at the Tulane University Obesity Research Center in New Orleans, in a release....

Researchers Found Something They Were Not Looking For The main focus of study was to observe the relationship between canakinumab (Ilaris) and heart disease. Analysis of data from the CANTOS (Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes Study), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, has already produced some startling numbers: Ten thousand patients with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels and a history of myocardial infarction received the drug canakinumab, an interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) inhibitor, or placebo via injections every three months for almost five years to determine the cardiovascular effects....

David Sack, MD:Withdrawal generally lasts three to five days, though the length and severity depend on the particular drug or drugs of abuse. More severe problems and addictions to certain drugs, such as alcohol and benzodiazepines, may require one or two weeks of supervised detoxification. John Mak, MD: Persons addicted to a medication can suffer from withdrawal symptoms if that medication is abruptly discontinued. The body and the brain will reactadversely....

“Ear seeding is the process of placing tiny metallic beads [or actual seeds, ceramic beads, or magnetic beads] attached to a small piece of adhesive material, like tape, in strategic locations on the surface of the ear,” says Sue Kim, MD, a medical acupuncturist at Stanford Health Care in Palo Alto, California. Since January 2021, the hashtag #earseeding has garnered 200,000 views and counting on TikTok, while the channel “ear seeds” has racked up 81....

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is in the herpes family of viruses, and is one of the most common human viruses in the world. By age 35, almost everyone has antibodies to EBV, indicating they’ve been infected with the virus at some point in their life — whether or not they’ve ever had symptoms. Epstein-Barr Virus and Mononucleosis EBV is the most common cause of infectious mononucleosis, also known as glandular fever, “the kissing disease” or simply “mono....

Our mission is to inspire and empower people to live their healthiest lives, every day. At Everyday Health, we bridge the gap between lifestyle and medical sites, delivering trusted health information as well as fun-to-read tips and insights that make life a little easier. We are committed to providing our audience with trusted, evidence-based health and medical information from the nation’s leading healthcare providers and patient advocates at the center of clinical care....

No matter your fitness levels, exercise history, or at-home equipment set-up, home workouts can help you meet specific exercise goals (like improving strength or boosting cardiovascular fitness) and can improve boost overall health. Plus, they’re infinitely customizable. Here are some tips on how to create an effective home workout schedule, what equipment you might need, and how to get started. Injuries happen when you don’t use proper form or you overstress any one muscle group (or overdo it with any one type of exercise), which can contribute to muscle imbalances and overuse injuries, says Prentiss Rhodes, a master instructor and manager of live events with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), who is based in Scottsdale, Arizona....

“You need a good relationship with your doctor so you have someone who supports you when you’re well as well as when you’re ill,” says Sashidhar Sagi, MD, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist with Indiana University Health in Indianapolis, who specializes in treating digestive disorders like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, among others. Whether you’re looking for a doctor because you’re newly diagnosed or if you’re looking to switch change doctors because your insurance is changing, you’re moving to a new area, you’re having an issue with your current doctor, or you’ve decided to switch from your primary care doctor to a specialist, it’s important to find a doctor who will be the right fit for you....

“Surveys show that people who are part of a couple may no longer feel pressure to look their best. They may eat out more frequently or order more takeout, and adopt more sedentary habits,” says Angel Planells, RDN, a Seattle-based registered dietitian nutritionist and national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. He points to an Australian study published in February 2018 in PLOS One that found that while couples were more likely to have healthy habits (like not smoking and limiting fast-food intake), they were still less likely to be a normal weight when compared with singles....

I’ve been thinking about bereavement and the impact it has on families my whole life. My middle brother, Amir, died of a rare childhood cancer at age 8. I was very, very young, but I knew there was something different about us. My mother kept my brother’s room locked. It was a weird, constant reminder that something had happened, this taboo topic that we really didn’t talk about. I wish I could have lessened the burden for my mother....

“This kind of viral outbreak [from herpes], and other viruses, like a cold, is usually related to stress and your immunity,” says Lucy Gade, MD, MPH, a gynecologist in Roslyn, New York. As a result, an integrative medicine and lifestyle approach to herpes treatment involves making smart choices to foster your general wellness. In doing so, you bolster your immune system’s ability to fight the two viruses that cause herpes, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2)....