Tag Archives: cigarettes

Fun Health Myths

My six year old son was doing a research project. He wanted to find out more about poisonous ladybugs. How he decided ladybugs were poisonous is beyond me. When we looked it up, it turns out that they are. The catch is you’d have to eat several hundred of them to even feel sick. While we were researching ladybugs I ran across a piece of folk lore from France: If you are ill and a ladybug lands on you, when it flies away it will take the illness with it. Where’s a ladybug when you need one? This little tidbit … Continue reading →

Understanding Good and Bad Cholesterol

Most of us have heard that cholesterol is bad. Some of us have heard rumors that it can actually be good. Good and bad are nice labels for a complicated problem. Like most things in life, it’s not a matter of black and white. It’s all shades of gray. I’ll give you the basics and make it as simple as I can. From there it turns into a tricky balancing act. Here it is: LDL=Bad HDL=Good LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol is the kind that sticks to the arteries in your heart and brain. It builds up and forms nasty … Continue reading →

Tip of the Day- Do a Skin Assessment

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like to think about what I really look like without my clothes on. Naked assessments of my body are something I generally try to avoid. The only advice I have to offer is to concentrate on the skin, and not how much there is of it. Why am I even asking you to do this? Because, I want you to live a long and healthy life. Each year more than one million people will find out they have skin cancer. Ten thousand people will die from it. The sun and genetics … Continue reading →

Preventing Neck and Back Injuries

Did you know that 8 out of 10 people will see a physician for back pain some time in their life? As anyone who has had a problem with their back can tell you: it’s a problem, and it’s debilitating. Taking care of your back is serious business, but often we take it for granted. Often, a lot of our problems with our neck and back could be prevented if we were more aware of (and nicer to) our bodies. Let’s start with posture. Your mother, and your piano teacher, knew what they were talking about when they said “don’t … Continue reading →

The Norovirus is attacking!

Recently the nation has experienced a string of norovirus outbreaks. They have been identified in the Boston area, Washington and Virginia and the virus was also blamed for an outbreak of illnesses at an Indianapolis Olive Garden restaurant. So, what exactly is a norovirus and how worried should you be? Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause the “stomach flu,” or gastroenteritis. Norovirus is the official name for 5 viruses that act like the original “Norwalk virus,” which caused an outbreak of gastroenteritis in a school in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1968. Noroviruses are the cause of “stomach flu” (not … Continue reading →

Tip of the Day- Wear your seat belt

They’re uncomfortable, they wrinkle your blouse, they’re one more thing to remember, and they can save your life. Wear your seat belt today. Every time you get in the car, buckle that belt. I don’t care if you’re only going to the end of your driveway to get the mail. Whatever pulls you to get into a car today, make sure your seat belt is securely fastened before the car leaves park. Click your own and double check to make sure everyone else is secured as well. No one particularly likes wearing a seat belt and everyone has heard the … Continue reading →

Cancer Prevention—Five Foods You Want To Put In Your Shopping Cart

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear about a “new warning” regarding foods that could cause cancer. I’ve written a few blogs on the subject myself, mainly because my mother is a breast cancer survivor. Since her diagnosis I actively seek out information relating to cancer. So imagine my delight when I saw a recent health report citing foods that experts say could actually prevent cancer. According to leading dieticians, five foods that could help stave off cancer are: 1. Tofu or Soy. Dieticians say soy contains two compounds beneficial in the fight against breast and prostate cancers. … Continue reading →

10 Reasons to Be Thankful About Stopping Smoking

It’s been 32 hours since my last cigarette and I’m doing okay. I had the cravings yesterday, at least three times it seemed like I was going to go nuts if I couldn’t get a cigarette, but I did all right – I didn’t give in and I didn’t light one up. Thanks to everyone who sent such kind words of support yesterday. I feel better about it this morning than I did yesterday morning, but I’m also a lot more tired today than I was yesterday and I’m feeling the effects in my sinuses as I’m pretty congested today … Continue reading →

Overweight? You May Be At Risk For Diabetes!

Did you know that obesity is the leading factor for Type 2 Diabetes? It’s true. The greater your weight, the greater your resistance to insulin is, which means if you are clinically obese, like 30 percent of the population is estimated to be, your extra body mass may be preventing your body from effectively using insulin. To cut the risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes, experts say that even a moderate weight loss of 5-7% of your body weight can make a difference. For an adult weighing 200 pounds, that’s just 10-14 pounds. If you’ve already been diagnosed with Type … Continue reading →

Making Your Home A Bug-Free Zone

Winter has arrived early here in the Midwest. We’ve had a string of below normal days (we trick-or-treated with wind chills in the teens) and I’ve hated every minute of it. (No matter how many years I reside here, I don’t know that I will ever get used to living in these conditions.) In any event, if there is an upside to living in “the frozen tundra” it is the fact that Mother Nature’s freeze-fest has all but eliminated the insects in our home (save for a few hearty spiders). While it may seem that nature is “bug-proofing” our home, … Continue reading →