For the last few years, hospital workers have generally had only one respiratory illness to focus on – COVID. Patients hospitalized due to respiratory Illness like flu, RSV and pneumonia (unrelated to COVID) were actually kind of rare.
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 seeks to cure acute illnesses and heals injuries. This is the kind of care you receive throughout your life.
As an internal medicine physician for 36 years, I was never fond of New Year’s resolutions. They always seemed artificial and destined to fail. And if you’ve ever made one, you probably know what I’m talking about.
In fact, about 45 percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions each year, but by February, 80 percent of them have failed. Only eight percent of people who make resolutions maintain them through the end of the year. But every year we still set “temporal” goals tied to some event — the flip of a calendar or the start of a semester.
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.
Let me fill you in on a little secret: There are many things that will help you live a longer, healthier life. You can eat a better diet (and you should), which will help you manage your weight, lower your blood sugar and keep your cholesterol in check.
You can manage stress, which will take a load off your heart and your mind. You can find good, lifelong friends and spend time with them, and you can focus on your mental health.
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.
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.