As Benjamin Franklin famously noted: nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes.
But when death comes sooner than expected to a loved one, or even when we’re prepared for the possibility, the ensuing grief can be debilitating, impacting many aspects of our life and our ability to focus and function when it comes to basic living skills.
The elements of grieving are both personal and unpredictable. The extent of bereavement, how we handle loss, and the direct impact on our health varies greatly person to person. Research shows that it’s normal to experience an undercurrent of emotional, mental and physiological health issues punctuated by emotional spikes triggered by known or unknown causes.
The best way through traumatic grief is to lean on family, friends and your healthcare providers. They can help you develop coping strategies and practice self-care to minimize grief’s potential to hurt your health.
For most people, the thought of having cancer provokes feelings of fear and dread. It can be a cruel, grueling disease that affects millions of Americans. Just last year there were 1.9 million new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. And statistics suggest that one in two American men and one in three American women will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime.
High blood pressure is major cause of premature death. It’s a primary risk factor for heart disease, the leading cause of death globally and the reason for about one-third of heart-related emergency department visits. High blood pressure can be very problematic because it usually doesn’t trigger symptoms. There aren’t any warning signs to alert you that something is wrong. This is why it’s commonly referred to as “the silent killer.”
You’re probably already familiar with the concept of lifespan, which refers to how many years a person is alive. Your health span is a newer concept for many people referring to the number of healthy, disease-free years of life you experience.
Intermittent fasting (IF), which is also called time-restricted eating, occurs when you limit eating to a short window of time and then eat nothing and fast for another set duration before eating again. Research shows that this approach, like other methods of calorie-restricted dieting, can work if you’re overweight and trying to lose weight.
While it isn’t a magic cure for losing weight, research increasingly shows that intermittent fasting, which is known in the weight-loss world as time-restricted eating plans, has promise and may be a smart strategy for some people trying to lose weight.
But what’s really interesting about fasting are all the other health-related benefits researchers think it might have. Better chronic condition management. Disease prevention. Increased lifespan.
When you enter the waiting room of MDVIP affiliate Dr. Greg in Baton Rouge, you might think you actually walked into an art gallery. The warm and welcoming waiting room boasts a one-of-a-kind, original artwork made by a local artist. Created by a longtime MDVIP patient and titled “Doc’s Curbside Service,” the drawing features Dr. Ferrara caring for a patient in the tumultuous early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ticks are known for causing a wide range of illnesses, with the most common being Lyme disease - a bacterial illness that affects hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are about 475,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year in the U.S.; however, only about 36,000 cases are reported to the CDC.
It’s common for people to experience the flu differently. In some people, the flu triggers strong cold-like symptoms, while other people develop life-threatening issues.
Influenza is a virus responsible for about 9 million illnesses, 4 million medical visits, 10,000 hospitalizations and 35,000 deaths each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.