Bringing wholesome healthy tips
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder where a person stops breathing repeatedly throughout the night. More than just an annoyance causing sleep interruptions (and jabs from your partner for snoring), OSA has the potential to do serious harm to your health. It can raise the odds of several cardiovascular complications including metabolic syndrome (METs), heart attack and stroke — just to name a few. As if these risks…
Despite decades of mounting evidence that we need more vitamin D, the medical community has held fast to the meager recommended daily allowance (RDA) set by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). And many people don’t know this secret: Due to a serious calculation error, the current RDA is 10 times lower than what was intended. Is it any wonder then that nearly a quarter of all Americans are vitamin D…
You may have heard the news that in February, the World Health Organization estimated that by 2050 there will be more than 35 million new cancer cases, a whopping 77 percent increase from the 20 million new cases they predicted in 2022. Now, the news has gotten even more dismal — at least for men. That’s because according to research published in the journal Cancer, by the same date, cancer…
Mood can be a tricky thing. Sometimes a temporary situation in the workplace or our personal life can cause anxiety, stress or depression, and once that situation is resolved, those feelings recede. But often, these issues are caused by something physical within our bodies. For instance, raised levels of the hormone cortisol can lead to anxiety, stress and/or depression. Then there are other physical conditions that on the surface may…
My husband went through a long period where he was having trouble sleeping. I was worried he might have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition where a person repeatedly stops breathing throughout the night. But more than poor sleep, OSA increases seven cardiovascular complications that can skyrocket your risks for heart trouble and type 2 diabetes. Getting an accurate diagnosis, however, is not easy. It usually requires a visit to…
I still remember having chickenpox at age six. I missed the better part of first grade. That was decades ago. So why am I thinking about this now? Because it makes me susceptible to a painful condition that affects about ten percent of people who have had chickenpox — and you’ve probably guessed that I’m referring to shingles. That may not sound like a big risk. But some research I’ve…
During the last years of her life, my grandmother had to take blood thinners because she was at high risk for stroke. At the time, this meant taking her in regularly to have her levels checked via blood work. And it required closely watching her diet so that she didn’t eat too many vegetables rich in vitamin K, like asparagus and broccoli. She also had to avoid drinking cranberry juice…
In 2008, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that doctors stop routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer due to its high rate of false positives. But while the recommendation was meant to save men the stress, pain and potential long-term effects of an unnecessary biopsy, like urinary incontinence, the fallout has been a rise in metastatic prostate cancer. Unfortunately, it’s left men with few other options for…
I don’t know about you, but it seems like every time I turn around, I hear about another risk factor that could be putting my heart at risk. And it’s not just the usual health and lifestyle suspects anymore, like lack of exercise and carrying around too much weight we have to worry about. Instead, weird factors like air pollution and traffic noise are being shown to dramatically increase our…
Depression in older adults is common, but contrary to what many people think, it is not a normal part of aging. Illness, medications, loneliness and physical changes that limit mobility are some of the things that can cause depression. But one of the biggest contributors is poor nutrition. Surprised? We already know that the antioxidants found in certain fruits can protect the brain from age-related changes linked to Alzheimer’s and…