5 numbers linked to ideal heart health
How well are you protecting yourself against heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death? A check of five important numbers can give you a good idea: blood pressure, blood sugar, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and waist circumference. Those values provide a picture of a person’s overall health and, more specifically, what factors they […]
Pouring from an empty cup? Three ways to refill emotionally
It’s hard to care about anything when you feel exhausted, burned out, or ragged around the edges. Your once-fiery enthusiasm may seem more like charred rubble due to overwhelming family responsibilities, a job that drains you, or financial struggles. Or maybe an illness, the uncertainty and disruptions of the age we live in, or a […]
Edibles and children: Poison center calls rise
If a 3-year-old finds a cookie on the table, chances are they are going to eat it. Even if it is made with marijuana or THC, CBD, or other components of cannabis. As more states have legalized the use of marijuana and an ever-widening range of derivative products, it’s not surprising that more children are […]
New pediatric guidelines on obesity in children and teens
Obesity is a complex health issue that affects a staggering percentage of US children and teens. Hovering around 5% in 1963 to 1965, rates of obesity had more than tripled to 19% by 2017 to 2019. Early data suggest childhood obesity rates continued climbing during the pandemic. If these trends continue, 57% of children currently […]
Low-carb diet helps cut blood sugar levels in people with prediabetes
Several health measures — including blood glucose levels and weight — improved. For most people, there’s no single healthy way to eat, though there are healthy foods and eating patterns. Yet for people with prediabetes, a low-carb diet could quickly bring elevated A1C levels back to a healthier range, a trial published in JAMA Network […]
Time for a diabetes tune-up
5 takeaways from the 2023 diabetes guidelines. At nearly 300 pages long, the recently released 2023 American Diabetes Association Standards of Medical Care are quite comprehensive. And given the strong link between obesity and diabetes, one major theme is weight loss. For the estimated 37 million Americans currently living with diabetes, what other changes are […]
Thinking of trying Dry January? Steps for success
Let’s file this under unsurprising news: many American adults report drinking more since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to a survey on alcohol use in the time of COVID-19. If you’re among them, you might want to start the new year on a healthy note by joining the millions who abstain from alcohol […]
Do we feel pain more at night?
Chronic pain often fluctuates during the day and for some it worsens at night — but why? As many as one in five adults in the US — 50.2 million — experience chronic pain, according to a recent survey. These people usually encounter fluctuations in pain during the day: sometimes it’s better in the morning […]
Motorcycle rallies and organ donation: A curious connection
A study finds that accidents at large motorcycle rallies lead to increased organ donations. It’s an old and morbid joke, particularly apt in hospital emergency rooms: What do you call someone on a motorcycle speeding past you on the freeway? An organ donor. It’s not funny, of course. But that sad, dark humor appears to […]
The popularity of microdosing of psychedelics: What does the science say?
There is no definitive evidence yet that microdosing with psychedelics is either effective or safe. Psychedelic drugs have been capturing the attention of doctors and patients alike, for their increasingly proven potential to effect long-lasting improvements in the mental health of people who are suffering from conditions such as treatment-resistant depression. Microdosing of psychedelic substances […]