Balance is a skill you don’t think about until you really need it — like when you lose your footing and have to perform an exotic improv dance to keep from hitting the ground. But don’t wait until your sense of balance fails before you give it proper attention. As …
Can probiotics help calm inflammatory bowel disease?
Approximately three million Americans have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is an umbrella term for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, illnesses marked by chronic or repeated bouts of inflammation in the digestive tract. Both types of IBD represent a complex interplay of genes, environment, and immune factors. Current therapies for …
Prostate cancer: Short-course radiation as effective as longer-term treatments
It used to be that radiation therapy for prostate cancer involved weeks or months of repeat visits to a clinic for treatment. Today that’s not necessarily true. Instead of giving small doses (called fractions) per session until the full plan is completed, radiation delivery is moving toward high-dose fractions that …
Wildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health
As wildfires become more frequent due to climate change and drier conditions, more of us and more of our communities are at risk for harm. Here is information to help you prepare and protect yourself and your family. How does wildfire smoke affect air quality? Wildfire smoke contributes greatly to …
Medication side effects: What are your options?
Medications can provide a host of health benefits. They may prevent or eliminate a disease. They might improve your quality of life and even help you live longer. But the medicines we take also have potential side effects. While listed side effects don’t always occur, it’s always possible. And though …
Does drinking water before meals really help you lose weight?
If you’ve ever tried to lose excess weight, you’ve probably gotten this advice: drink more water. Or perhaps it was more specific: drink a full glass of water before each meal. The second suggestion seems like a reasonable idea, right? If you fill your stomach with water before eating, you’ll …
Gratitude enhances health, brings happiness — and may even lengthen lives
Several evenings a week, as Tyler VanderWeele gathers around the dinner table with his wife and two young kids, the family deliberately pauses during the meal to do something simple but profound. Each member shares several things for which they’re grateful — an act that VanderWeele, co-director of the Initiative …
Concussion in children: What to know and do
Concussion is one of the most common injuries to the brain, affecting about two million children and teens every year. It is a particular kind of injury that happens when a blow to the head or somewhere else on the body makes the brain move back and forth within the …