When I was in school growing up in New York, hardly anybody had food allergies. Nobody sat alone at an allergy table, and peanut butter was practically cuisine du jour. A lot has changed.

Today, food allergies affect a growing number of American adults – about 2 percent. They cause 30,000 emergency room visits and 2,000 hospitalizations each year, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Do you see your dentist regularly? If you do, good for you. Unfortunately, only about two-thirds of Americans have seen their dentists in the last 12 months. That’s bad for their teeth, and it may also be bad for their heart.

That’s because there’s a link between what’s going on in your mouth and what’s going on with your heart. We’ve known for a while that if you have periodontal disease, a common infection that leads to swollen, red and tender gums, you are 49 percent more likely to have a heart attack.

Do you like sleeping in on the weekends? Many of us look forward to staying under the covers on our Saturdays and Sundays, especially after a late night or a long week. The extra shuteye helps us recover from missed sleep during the week.

Or so we think. Unfortunately, this kind of inconsistent sleep pattern has consequences for our health – from our relationships to our diet, and, perhaps most importantly, our heart. And trying to catch up on the weekends doesn’t seem to help.

If you’ve ever cared for a loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer or leukemia or experienced an event that’s life-threatening, you may heard their physicians use terms like curative care, palliative care and hospice care. They’re common terms applied to the care approach we use in latter stages of our lives.

But what do they mean and how are they applied?

Curative Care (also known as Therapeutic Care)

Curative care seeks to cure acute illnesses and heals injuries. This is the kind of care you receive throughout your life.

Is your doctor on your case to go to the gym? If yes, it’s because strength training helps prolong your life. In fact, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published a review 16 studies of that found just 30 to 60 minutes a week of resistance training increased life expectancy by 10 to 17 percent.  

The loss of a loved one is an inevitable part of life. Bereavement is a tough and personal journey that can be overwhelming at times, whether the loss is a spouse, child, parent, relative, friend or pet.

Hair care is important to Americans. In 2022, haircare industry revenue was $13 billion. While hair care products are important if you want hair that looks healthy, it begins with nutrition, not shampoo and conditioner.
Studies have found that eating lean proteins, Omega-3 fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K and E), B-complex vitamins and iron are essential for healthy hair. 

Our gastrointestinal tract needs probiotics and prebiotics to create an environment where communities of beneficial bacteria can flourish. And while you may be tempted to use daily over-the-counter probiotic and prebiotic supplements, your diet is the best source of both.

Probiotics

Probiotic foods add healthy bacteria into our gut microbiome. The probiotics feed off fiber in the digestive tract to multiply, grow and thrive, maintaining a healthy gut environment. 

Many things you can do to improve your general overall health and wellbeing are also proven to positively impact gut health. These include lifestyle efforts like getting regular exercise, eating less sugar, reducing stress and quitting smoking. 

But there are additional specific things you can do for improved gut health. 

Here are six tactics you can take for a healthier gut.

What are we referring to when we talk about a healthy gut or digestive system? It’s a combination of several factors such as: