One in Five U.S. Adults Still Smoke

The other day, I called my best friend. She had just learned her holiday weekend trip home to Illinois would be moved up a day but not for a good reason. Her octogenarian father was having open heart surgery. She called her mom to tell her she was leaving to make the seven hour drive, but first warned her that she was smoking again, after trying to quit recently. As a supportive friend, I told her not to worry about that right now. I know she needs to quit, I’ve talked to her about it, but a stressful time like … Continue reading →

Ways to Protect Your Family From Lyme Disease

As if parents don’t have enough to worry about with kids out on summer vacation. In addition to the potential for severe sunburns, scrapes and bruises from sibling sprinkler wars, and getting plowed over by overzealous kids wanting to be the first to jump into the pool, summertime also brings with it an increased risk of contracting Lyme disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported in the United States last year. So what does that mean if you are planning a summer camping trip or if your teen … Continue reading →

Lyme Disease and Your Family

Summer is officially here and that means your family will likely be spending a lot of time in the great outdoors during the next three months. That’s good news for parents who want their kids to take advantage of the fresh air. However, the bad news is that being outdoors increases your children’s chance of coming into contact with ticks infected with Lyme disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Lyme disease is an infection caused by harmful bacteria typically found in animals such as mice and deer. Ixodes ticks can pick up the bacteria when they bite an … Continue reading →

Obesity Affecting Our Police Force

Obesity has become such a problem in America that it’s even affecting our police force. I recently read a story about police officers who are failing their physicals, having to retake them. To be honest, considering what we expect from police officers I was very surprised. Their physical is not that difficult, in light of what we expect them to do for our cities and towns, in protecting us. These fitness exams consisted of push-ups, one and a half mile run, obstacle course and a flexibility test. For someone who is going out to serve and protect, this really doesn’t … Continue reading →

Natural Sweeteners, Artificial Sweeteners, or None At All?

There’s always been a war going on when it comes to sweeteners. Some experts feel that corn syrup is bad while white sugar is okay—in moderation, of course. Some think honey is best and all forms of processed anything should be avoided. Then we come to artificial sweeteners. Saccharine was fine in the 70’s then was purported to cause cancer in rats. Now some experts say it’s fine and their data was off. I read that the amount of saccharine they had to give rats equaled about 300+ diet sodas per day for humans. I don’t have that many in … Continue reading →

Eat Soup And Lose Weight – Cabbage Soup Diet

Most of us tend to think of soup as something to sip on when we’re ill, are low on grocery money, or for a light lunch. While all of these things are true, soup can also speed up your weight loss efforts. I’ve read before that by just having a bowl of soup before lunch and dinner, it can help you drop the weight without feeling deprived. For just a few calories you can feel full and satiated so that when you dig into your meal you don’t eat as much. Anyone who’s had a bowl of soup and sandwich … Continue reading →

Stocks, Weather, and Heart Attacks

Is there a link between the stock market and heart health? Researchers from Duke University think there might be. Researchers studied heart attack treatment data from Duke University’s hospital. They started with December 2007 — the beginning of the current recession — and stopped with the signs of economic recovery in July 2009. As Nasdaq stock market numbers sank, the number of heart attacks treated tended to rise. During the period studied, close to one thousand people suffered heart attacks and were treated at Duke University. Researchers found that when the stock market recovered, the number of heart attacks went … Continue reading →

RSI Flare-Up!

Repetitive motion can do a number on your joints. This is part of why ergonomics are so important: the right alignment for your body and workspace, stretching, and taking breaks can help prevent repetitive strain injury. If you have a problem area — a joint that tends to suffer from repetitive strain issues — it’s not unheard of to have a flare-up from time to time. Maybe it’s been so long since you experienced symptoms that you overdid it. Maybe a new task is aggravating an old injury. When an old injury comes back to life, there are a few … Continue reading →

Preventing Incontinence

Incontinence is no laughing matter — especially if laughing, sneezing, or coughing makes you leak urine! That’s known as stress incontinence, and is one of several types of incontinence. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who really wants to have trouble controlling their bladder! Here are some tips to help prevent the problem before it starts. Maintain a healthy weight for your height and frame. Extra pounds can put extra pressure on the bladder. Exercise regularly — all over. Exercise can help prevent weight from becoming a problem… and it can help keep your muscles toned. Muscle weakness is … Continue reading →

Incontinence

It’s an embarrassing thing to talk about, but if you have occasional or ongoing trouble controlling your bladder, you’re not alone. There are different types of incontinence, including: Stress incontinence: when pressure on the bladder — like from a sneeze, or laughing — makes you leak a little. This type is common in women, especially those who have had children. Urge incontinence: when spasms in the bladder create the urge to piddle. Overflow incontinence: when the bladder fills up without signaling a need to use the bathroom. Mixed incontinence: when a combination of factors are at play. So what causes … Continue reading →