January 15-21, 2009 - Original Health Articles

Although exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing when you're down in the dumps, research shows that it can definitely help. Exactly how exercise boosts your spirits isn't fully known, but there's evidence showing it increases neurotransmitters in the brain that regulate mood.

Osteoporosis, or bone fragility, is of particular concern as we age. It affects millions of Americans, most of them women in midlife and older, causing fractures and loss of height. But this disease is not an inevitable part of aging-what you eat can make a huge difference in keeping your bones strong and able to support you throughout your life.

Maybe you're so overloaded that you work late into the night and rise before dawn. Or you manage to get to bed early but toss and turn for hours. Whatever the reason, you're not getting enough sleep. And you're not alone. According to the World Sleep Foundation, almost half of all Americans are sleep deprived, many chronically.

Living well doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposition-and it shouldn't be. The little things you do every day, like topping your bread with olive oil instead of butter or taking five minutes to stretch, are what add up to a healthy lifestyle in the long run.

We all have them at times-days when life really tests us. Your car gets a flat on the way to work, you flub an important report, you can't help your child with his math homework, and to top it all off, you burn dinner. Your mood? Lower than this week's stock market, and understandably so.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, some 6 million Americans have been diagnosed with panic disorder, a condition in which one is frequently besieged by an inexplicable, intense bout of fear that manifests itself through a range of physical ailments and lasts anywhere from 15 seconds to an hour.

If you've got a "grumpy old man or lady" in your life, he or she may be depressed. According to the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation (GMHF), depression affects 15 percent of Americans seniors. Depression is a serious illness characterized by a combination of symptoms that disrupt normal living.

If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, type 1 diabetes, or type 2 diabetes, you may be thinking to yourself, "I can never eat sugar again." But that's usually not the case. The pleasure of something sweet can be yours by using moderation and creativity.

An emergency for a person with diabetes can be as simple as a hypoglycemic episode or as complicated as a natural disaster in which the person has no access to his or her supplies. Whatever the case, it's important to be ready for any and all eventualities.

Sharing meals is at the heart of most social activities with family and friends. If you have Crohn's disease, you know firsthand that dining out can be difficult. However, there's no reason your social life should take a back seat. The key to dining out successfully is to plan carefully and be mindful of what you eat.

Wouldn't it be nice to toss the testing strips and stop pricking your finger? Help is on the way in the form of several new technologies being put through the necessary trials for Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval. While the FDA presently does not recommend abandoning the traditional methods for testing blood glucose all together, they have approved some interesting new technologies for monitoring and testing blood sugar.

A difficult truth to cope with is the fact that friendships fade. Distance takes its toll, disagreements happens, priorities shift and change. Life adjusts course. As we grow, friendships are gained and lost, and although it may seem easy, maintaining healthy, lasting friendships take a lot of commitment and energy.

How did I get diabetes? Why did I get it? If I have diabetes, what are the chances that my children will get it, too? If you've been recently diagnosed with diabetes, these questions are probably cascading through your mind, and the fear of the unknown might be setting in.

It makes sense that we think of heartburn as a pain that results from food. After all, the first step to treating the pain is to identify and reduce your consumption of "trigger foods." These are foods that bring on heartburn symptoms; they include chocolate, citrus, dairy, and anything high in fat.

If you think you're the only person with diabetes in your workplace, odds are you're mistaken. The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) shows that diabetes now affects nearly 24 million people, or 8 percent of the population, in the United States.

If you're feeling down, it can be an effort just to get through the day. While major depression generally isn't something you can alleviate on your own, and you should speak to your doctor about any symptoms you're having, some simple lifestyle changes may be enough to banish a mild case of the blues: Exercise.

We can trace the belief in a mind-body wellness connection all the way back to ancient Greece. Today, the medical literature is mixed when it comes to the relationship between stress and illness. We know for sure that the underlying cause of Crohn's disease is biological-it's an inflammation of the digestive tract.

In the wake of popular protein-heavy diets such as South Beach and Atkins, some people still consider carbohydrates to be the enemy. But it's important to remember that there actually are two types of carbs: complex carbs and simple carbs, otherwise known as good carbs and bad carbs.

If you've been under a lot of stress lately, you may feel your asthma symptoms kicking in with increased frequency. The fact is that challenges at work and home can be difficult to manage even without any health conditions to complicate things, but when you suffer from asthma, you can find yourself feeling even more overwhelmed and leaving you out of breath more easily.

If you are eager add to a dog to your family but you suffer from asthma and allergies, you may be interested in checking out some of the "hypoallergenic" breeds. The only problem, according to allergists, is that there actually may be no such thing. Low-Allergy Pets? Today, as many as 15 to 30 percent of people who suffer from allergies find their symptoms triggered by cats and dogs, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

When you cough, you probably assume you're sick. But did you know that coughing, instead of hurting your body, actually helps it heal and protect itself? This is because coughing is a reflex that keeps your throat and airways clear. In other words, it's working to prevent sickness.

Whether you're leaving on a jet plane or just taking a road trip for the weekend, it's important to remember that wherever you go, your diabetes goes with you. The good news is that, if you're diligent about managing your disease, you can go almost anywhere and do almost anything.

One way to minimize heartburn is to alter your diet. Unsurprisingly, this means healthier eating. Sugars, chocolates, and citrus products are bad for heartburn, and as a rule, fatty foods, by stimulating the over-production of stomach acid, are more likely to lead to heartburn.

If you suffer from heartburn, one of the first things to determine is how you wish to treat it. When it comes to treatment, there are three over the counter medications available: antacids, H2-receptor antagonists, and proton pump inhibitors. While each is effective in controlling heartburn, each treats the condition differently.

For some arthritis patients-not all-surgery may become necessary. It can be critical in the early stages of the disease to prevent or delay joint damage and improve movement. In the later stages it can mean the difference between living a full, active life with reduced pain, swelling stiffness and further joint deterioration.

For some people, a diagnosis of arthritis can seem like a life sentence of pain, inactivity, and frustration, but this doesn't have to be the case. And because there's currently no cure for arthritis, it's very important that you find ways to not just survive, but thrive.

By 2030 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that over 67 million Americans will suffer from arthritis. With so many people currently suffering from arthritis and millions more who will be affected in the future, treatment innovation and progress is critical.

Because the phrase "sleeping together" is usually used as a euphemism for having sex, we rarely talk about actually sleeping next to a loved one. However, sharing a bed with someone special can be one of the most reassuring and comforting aspects of your day.

For any couple, compromise is vital to maintaining a healthy relationship. Individuals who are committed to each other give and take in a way that is balanced and fair. Compromising becomes difficult, however, when it seems to infringe on who the individual is.