Bringing wholesome healthy tips
Brene Brown, well-known emotions researcher and TED talk presenter, has launched a new podcast. In a recent episode, she describes her family’s “gap plan.” It’s what they do when they realize that they are all exhausted, physically and emotionally, and need to hunker down and take care of themselves. Sound familiar? They sleep more, eat better, and exercise. And, they tell more knock-knock jokes. No kidding. That is part of…
Use it or lose it. It’s brain health advice you hear often. In fact, I think I’ve doled it out a time or two. But is it right? Yes and no. There are plenty of studies that show “mind exercises” like computer games and crosswords can improve memory, reasoning and processing speed to some degree or another. But one of the more recent studies on the subject shows we shouldn’t…
On February 27, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Dr. Arturo Casadevall, an immunologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “I knew if I could get this into a newspaper, people would react, whereas if I put it into a science journal, I might not get the same reaction,” said Dr. Casadevall. Dr. Casadevall’s article moved about 100 researchers nationwide to begin research that would spur the notoriously…
Sunscreen is so important for protecting yourself from skin cancer and skin aging. There’s no denying that. Heck, I wear sunscreen on my face and neck every day (even in the winter when the likelihood of me getting any sun is pretty slim) for those very reasons. But sunscreen is far from perfect… Conventional sunscreens are filled with chemicals. Based on what the FDA and the American Academy of Dermatology…
Although top health experts in our government say that social distancing appears to be slowing the spread of coronavirus in the U.S., the measure, which at first seemed extreme to most, has still not managed to stop it. With these grim tidings, many people are wondering what the difference is between our current social distancing guidelines, including shelter-in-place, and self-quarantine. That’s why we’re breaking down the ins and outs of…
More than 15 million people in the U.S. alone now take proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to control stomach acid, heartburn, and the symptoms of acid reflux or GERD. You may even be one of them and you may know them better under names like Nexium, Prevacid, and Prilosec. In fact, not only are these drugs common in the general population, they are even given to patients undergoing cancer treatment to…
A dry cough, fever, and trouble breathing are the major symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. But there are other telltale signs that we’ve talked about here, like suddenly losing your sense of taste or smell, or developing red eyes. Either way, you need to know that being symptom-free does not necessarily mean that the virus has left your body, or that you’re not capable of transmitting it to others, through…
We’ve reached a point where the COVID-19 epidemic has become very serious in the United States. The U.S. currently has the most confirmed cases out of any country in the world. And New York has been particularly hard hit. New York City hospitals are being flooded with very sick people, and they’re having a hard time keeping up. Unfortunately, that means more people are dying. Of course, New York medical…
A lot of things have changed in the era of COVID-19… Our ability to spend time with our friends and family has changed. The availability of toilet paper has changed. Our ability to eat at our favorite restaurant has changed. And for most of us, the skin on our hands has changed. Washing your hands frequently and using hand sanitizer when you aren’t near a sink are the best actions…
Twelve days ago, I developed fever, a dry cough, extreme fatigue, and horrible pain between my shoulder blades that kept me up all night, night after night. When I met with my doctor via video chat, she was worried. While my symptoms could easily have meant I had anything from the flu to a bacterial infection or a different type of upper respiratory virus, she was concerned that they could…