June 22-30, 2012 - Original Health Articles

Casey Abrams is interested in more than just singing in his signature smooth and bluesy style. This favorite former American Idol contestant created a unique music video to uplift all those living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD, as a part of his continued effort to create awareness about Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Melatonin is regarded by many as a sleep aid, something to take on nights when insomnia is keeping them from getting a good night's rest. But did you know the hormone also plays a key role in your body? "Melatonin is important in regulating your body's clock," says Ronald Goldberg, MD, of the Diabetes Research Institute in Hollywood, Florida.

If you struggle with your weight, you may have been told that eating more slowly will help you shed the extra pounds. This is because it takes a certain amount of time for your brain to receive the message from your stomach that you're getting full, and if you're a speed eater you may pass the point of fullness before your brain registers that fact.

Certain habits can cause stress, strain, and even permanent damage to your eyes. Are you guilty of any of these? 1. You wear old glasses/contacts. If your lens prescription is outdated, you could be making your eyes work overtime. While wearing the wrong prescription won't actually damage your eyes, it could cause eyestrain, sore eyes, and headaches.

When a migraine hits you like a ton of bricks, the last thing you might consider as a remedy is exercise. In fact, many sufferers steer clear of the gym because they worry that if they exert themselves too much, a bad migraine could get worse, according to an article in The New York Times.

Summer is the easiest season of all to be a cook. Ripe, fresh produce is abundant, meat and fish can be grilled to juicy perfection with a minimum amount of fat, and salads provide an excuse to use healthful olive oil and herbs in a light dressing. ...

Do you have a favorite time of day to shower, or do you grab the opportunity whenever it arises? Lots of people feel they don't come to full alertness until after a morning shower, but if you have trouble falling asleep at night, you may want to put off your daily cleansing ritual until evening.

Once upon a time, the sun went down and people went to sleep; the sun came up and people started their day. Even if your great grandparents did wake up in the middle of the night, they didn't have television or the internet to entice them to stay awake.

You may spend lots of time looking for the most flavorful, nutritious foods to feed your family, but have you given any thought to the type of cookware you're preparing them? Get acquainted with what professional chefs use and learn the benefits as well as the risks that come with these tools.

The word retreat means "withdraw," and sometimes that's exactly what you need to do to in order to regroup your thoughts and view your life from a different perspective. A retreat center is a sanctuary, a place where you can go to engage in therapeutic activities of all kinds.

The news headlines are clear: "Sitting All Day Is Killing You," "Couch Potatoes Double Risk for Heart Disease," and "Move it to Live." Perhaps you can't blame the media for sensationalized stories when there's such solid evidence linking cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) disease to a life spent sitting--at work, during commutes, while watching television, and now, thanks to social media, even interacting (virtually) with friends.

Nearly one third of those with diabetes will develop a skin condition linked to diabetes, explains Kellie Rodriguez, MSN, CDE, of the Diabetes Research Institute in Hollywood, Florida. And sometimes, one of these conditions is an early indicator of diabetes itself.

If you've heard anything about raw milk and other kinds of raw dairy products, you may be tempted to try them. Raw milk is milk in its most natural state, straight from the cow or any mammal that produces milk for its young. It does not go through pasteurization, the process of heating food to a particular temperature for a certain length of time to get rid of disease-causing microbes, and it can be used to make cheese, butter, and other dairy foods.

At the end of a long work day, it's understandable that you may need a pick-me-up prior to heading to the gym or hitting the pavement for a jog. You may feel inclined to grab a quick cup of coffee or down an energy drink before you leave the office in order to give yourself the kick you need to make it through your workout.

So you have a cramp in your leg. It's just part of getting older, right? Well, maybe not. Recurrent pain in the legs is one symptom of peripheral arterial disease, or PAD. Up to 12 million people in the United States are living with this circulatory disorder.

Exercising in the morning is proven to be the most effective for helping you develop a fitness habit, making sure it's part of your busy schedule, and for creating maximum physiologic effects. But how do you keep yourself motivated when it's oh-so-easy to stay in bed? Mike Ceja, ACE certified personal trainer at Lloyd Athletic Club in Portland, OR says, "I train clients all day, but all my biggest fitness buffs train in the morning.

Actinic Keratosis (ak-TIN-ik ker-uh-TOE-sis), also known as AK or solar keratoses, is a precancerous skin condition that begins in the top layer of the skin. Extended exposure to the sun's ultraviolet radiation rays causes AK, so you generally see it in areas regularly exposed to the sun.

Surprisingly, despite the strong link, only a fraction of smokers will ever develop lung cancer in their lifetimes. There are several possible explanations why some smokers avoid this deadly disease while others are not so fortunate. Cigarette Chemicals Cause Cancer According to the National Cancer Institute, tobacco smoke has more than 7,000 chemicals.

If you're experiencing chronic or acute back, neck or shoulder pain, your problem might be due to muscle weakness. Even when the pain feels like it's in your bones or joints, the root cause might be located in your muscles. What Causes Muscle Weakness? Most of the time, muscle weakness is caused by lack of exercise.

The incidence of breast cancer is rising, and the drumbeat advocating early detection is growing louder. However, important facts about certain types of breast cancer are getting lost in all the noise. Approximately one-quarter of all new breast cancer diagnoses are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

For some people, the most difficult part of living with lupus isn't the fatigue, pain, or other physical symptoms associated with this chronic autoimmune disorder. The most difficult part is lupus fog and the way it skews their ability to think, focus, concentrate, work, study, and sometimes remember even basic information.