A hernia doesn’t always cause pain. In fact, often doctors only find a hernia during a physical exam of their patient. And surgery isn’t always necessary. We’re busting some myths about hernia this week and asking questions you may have been too scared to ask. Dr. Michael Rosen joins us this week on "Take Care" to discuss some common types of hernia, as well as treatment options. Rosen is a professor of surgery at Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic

Meal kits are all the rage right now. With many of us continually searching for healthy meals that are as convenient as possible, what could be better than having all the ingredients for a home-cooked meal delivered directly to your home? But shipping perishable foods in a way that keeps them safe and fresh can be a challenge. This week on “Take Care,” Don Schaffner , a food microbiologist at Rutgers University, discusses the safety precautions meal kit consumers should be aware of. Schaffner

Meal kits are one of the newest trends trying to offer a convenient way to get a healthy, home-cooked meal. But how can you be sure the perishable food shipped to your door is safe and healthy? This week on WRVO's health and wellness show “Take Care,” hosts Lorraine Rapp and Linda Lowen speak with Don Schaffner, a food microbiologist at Rutgers University, about the safety precautions meal delivery services need to consider. Schaffner was part of a team funded by the USDA to study the microbial

Many of us eat fish as part of a healthy diet. Full of healthy fat and nutrients, it’s a staple for people around the globe. But there’s another side of fish that’s less positive -- a possible link between mercury in fish and ALS. Joining us this week on “Take Care” are two researchers of a recent study that found that eating certain types of fish may increase the risk of developing ALS . The researchers are Dr. Elijah Stommel , a professor of Neurology at the Geisel School of Medicine at

Americans eat too much salt. And that causes high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Right? That’s been the message for the last several decades. But what if salt wasn’t really the culprit? This week’s guest on “Take Care” believes cutting salt intake causes more harm than good. Dr. James DiNicolantonio is the author of " The Salt Fix: Why the Experts Got It All Wrong, and Why Eating More Might Save Your Life. " DiNicolantonio is a leading cardiovascular research scientist and doctor of

Just a couple of decades ago, many of us would have been stunned to hear that companies were installing nap pods or allowing their employees to work from home to ensure they get ample family time. You may not have known about mindfulness or the benefits some find in meditation. And you likely would not have guessed that countries are paying as much attention to their citizens’ happiness as they are their economic standing. Happiness and health have become a focus of many, from corporate

Scientists and researchers have found many relationships between our health and our happiness -- it seems that the two are not mutually exclusive. Dr. Laura Kubzansky is a professor of social and behavioral sciences and co-director of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness , a new center at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her task, in the coming years, is to understand the relationship between psychological well-being and physical health.

The brain is not only the regulator of our entire body, but also the basis for the experiences we’re having, good or bad. We’re pretty dependent on our brain, according to Dr. Rick Hanson. He’s a psychologist and New York Times best-selling author of many books about the brain and happiness. “So, one of the key takeaways here is to realize that this phenomenal organ -- three pounds of tofu-like tissue inside the coconut between your ears -- is vulnerable and fragile,” Hanson says.

Researchers define happiness as consisting of two components: having a sense that your life is good and having relatively frequent happy experiences. But what if genetics determined how happy you feel on a day-to-day basis?

Stuttering affects over 3 million Americans. While it’s often easy to recognize that someone has the condition, there are many myths surrounding what causes stuttering. This week on “Take Care,” Jane Fraser , president of the Stuttering Foundation of America , helps clear up some of those misconceptions about stuttering. The foundation is the oldest and largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of stuttering. Fraser is the daughter of Stuttering Foundation founder