Stores are swapping the shelves full of cookie-making supplies with displays for weight-loss products. It reflects our state of mind…regretting the holiday indulgences, we want to quickly get back on the right track for the new year. The lure of fad dieting is particularly strong as we turn the first page of our new calendars. However, the American Academy of Family Physicians warns these diets typically don't result in long-term weight loss and they are usually not very healthy. Sometimes,

Watching the ball drop in Times Square, singing “Old Lang Syne” and toasting with champagne are traditional ways of celebrating the new year. However, for some, the holiday provides what seems like a socially acceptable reason to overindulge in alcohol. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States notes that a quarter of the $49-billion-a-year industry’s profits come from the month between Thanksgiving and the New Year. According to SafeAuto.com, compared to an average night on the weekend

Jokes about arthritis abound. “Who needs a weather report when you have arthritis?” Arthritis is very common, but not very well understood. According to the Arthritis Foundation, it isn’t even one disease, but an informal way of referring to joint pain. There are actually 100 different types of arthritis and related conditions. While typically thought of as a part of growing older, people of all ages can and do have arthritis. More than 50 million adults and 300,000 children have some type of

Last month, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an E. coli outbreak affecting romaine lettuce and grocery stores pulled this green from their shelves, some people joked that the CDC had basically said pie was safer to eat than salad. Happy Thanksgiving America! Of course, we knew we could eat lots of other leafy greens, that weren’t affected by the recall and that E. coli isn’t a laughing matter, but how many of us knew what it really was? According to the U.S. Department

Did you know that on average, Americans gain a little over a pound in the week following Christmas? Would it make you feel better if I told you so do Germans and the Japanese? Misery loves company. And fudge. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in September that found Americans aren’t the only ones who put on weight during celebratory times. But, a report in Nutrition Review suggests that pounds Americans gain can have long lasting effects: weight gain during the holiday season

Often times we think of the havoc our pets wreak on our holiday decorations. However, we also need to consider the health risks decking the halls can cause for our pets. We hear about poinsettias being poisonous, but mistletoe and holly are even more toxic for pets. They can cause gastrointestinal illness, as well as cardiovascular problems, according to the ASPCA. If you have a live tree, make sure your pet can’t access the water, as it is a breeding ground for bacteria. If you have a cat, don

In his 1963 Thanksgiving proclamation, President John F. Kennedy said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” Research shows that gratitude should be something we cultivate all year long rather than a quality we only celebrate on the fourth Thursday of November. Two psychologists, Dr. Emmons and Dr. McCullough, did a study on gratitude in which one group of participants wrote about things they were grateful

A March 2017 study by the Association of American Medical Colleges estimated there could be a shortage of over 43,000 primary care physicians by 2030. This is why, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the health partner of choice for millions of Americans is quickly becoming a Nurse Practitioner. This is National Nurse Practitioner Week. All Nurse Practitioners must complete a master's or doctoral degree program, and have advanced clinical training beyond their initial

How common is the common cold? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the course of a year, people in the U.S. suffer 1 billion colds. But, when you’re coughing, sneezing, and miserable do you need a doctor? Sometimes people are unsure if they have the flu, bronchitis, pneumonia...or just the common cold. To avoid an unnecessary trip to your healthcare provider and to prevent the overprescription of antibiotics, it helps to understand the difference between these

There are three types of diabetes: Type 1, in which the pancreas stops producing insulin; Type 2 in which the body becomes insulin resistant and the pancreas can’t keep up with the increased demand and Gestational Diabetes, when hormonal changes can make a pregnant woman’s body insulin resistant. While all three can be managed, only Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. People who are at high risk for Type 2 diabetes can lower their risk by more than half if they make healthy changes. November is