April is Stress Awareness Month. While I think most of us are pretty well aware of stress, I suspect many people might not know just how harmful it can be, especially when it’s chronic and ongoing. Although the medical community calls high blood pressure the “silent killer,” I think that term better applies to stress, since stress is something we ALL deal with. Let’s look at what stress really is, all the ways it...

  With nearly seventy percent of Americans currently being overweight or obese, I think it’s safe to say that there’s no shortage of belly fat around. But is all belly fat created equal?  And what’s driving this epidemic of spare tires and muffin tops?  Is it just that we’re eating too much? Or is there more to it than that? Let’s look at several factors that are behind our “blossoming bellies” and more importantly, how you...

  As much as I wish I could say otherwise, the inspiration for today’s blog comes from two people who are very dear to me. One who smoked for the better part of 50 years or more, and one who was successfully treated for breast cancer, only to learn that it had metastasized to her lungs. And watching both of them—one on oxygen 24/7 and the other undergoing lung cancer treatment—I have been starkly reminded...

  I think it’s safe to say that most women (yours truly included) have experienced at least some degree of menstrual cramps in their lives, which can range from mild discomfort to serious pain.     But one out of five women suffers from extremely severe pain to the point where it is debilitating, otherwise known as dysmenorrhea.  In addition to the pain, symptoms of dysmenorrhea can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, irritability, weakness and even fainting...

  Let’s play an “imagine game” for a moment. Let’s say you had been suffering from symptoms that included: fatigue, chills, hair loss, cold feet and hands, brain fog, depression, constipation, nervousness, mood swings, loss of appetite, anxiety attacks, weight gain, irregular heart rate, low energy, and high blood pressure. So you go to your doctor and after a complete workup including bloodwork, you’re told there’s nothing wrong.  Oh, and probably are given meds for...

  I recently saw that February is “National Self-Check Month,” so I decided to do some peeking and see exactly what the self-check experts thought that should entail. The objective of National Self-Check Month is to remind people to “take charge of their health.” They provided reminders such as quitting smoking, getting regular exercise, limiting alcohol consumption, losing weight, reducing stress, and doing breast self-exams, but I didn’t see a whole lot of “taking charge.”...