Posts

At times, though, managing diabetes can seem overwhelming, which is why it can be helpful to set smaller, targeted goals to help yourself lose weight, eat a healthy diet, or exercise more. Remember: Type 2 diabetes is progressive, so you may need to make changes to your management and treatment plan over time to maintain control of the condition. Having defined goals can make necessary adjustments easier. SMART Goals for Diabetes Management If you’ve been struggling to meet your blood sugar or A1C goals (a measurement of your average blood sugar over the past three months) or have been told to make changes to your type 2 diabetes management plan, it may be time to set new goals....

In fact, about 25 percent of people who use insulin store it improperly, according to research published in the September 2016 issue of the journal Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome. The study also found that fewer than half of the participants properly mixed their insulin before taking it, and more than 90 percent improperly disposed of their syringes. Are you storing and taking your insulin correctly? Learn more about these and other common insulin mistakes, and ways to avoid them....

While it may seem far-fetched that anything from your spice rack could potentially be unsafe for your health — after all, this stuff is made for consumption — experts had a lot to say about the potential dangers of using cinnamon in unintended amounts or ways. Can You Eat Too Much Cinnamon? In a September post that has been viewed over 1.6 million times, the TikTok user Briddy Garb revealed that she became, in her own words, “obsessed with cinnamon” in 2015, putting what she describes as “insane amounts” of the spice in everything she ate: oatmeal, pasta, rice, and even eggs....

Chances are, if you’ve had a bad bout of diarrhea or vomiting due to a virus, parasite, or bacteria, you’ve experienced gastroenteritis. Doctors usually diagnose the condition based on your symptoms or the results of a stool test. That said, gastroenteritis can look like other medical conditions, and other illnesses may be mistaken for gastroenteritis. (2) Gastroenteritis typically isn’t misdiagnosed as the flu by doctors, but people often label it incorrectly and get the two confused....

However, some thyroid disorders, including thyroid cancer, may be stealthy. In fact, more than half of the estimated 20 million Americans with some form of thyroid disease are unaware of their condition. A good way to protect your health is to learn more about thyroid conditions, like hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer, so you can assess your risk and address any concerns you have with your doctor. Know the Signs of Thyroid Conditions If your thyroid gland doesn’t produce the right amount of hormones your body needs, you develop thyroid disease....

“My fear keeps me from seeing a counselor about things like my anxiety and depression. I don’t know how they might react [to my LGBTQ+ identity], so I’d rather go online or talk to my other queer friends about it.” “I wait until I get home to use the bathroom, even when I’m at school for 10-plus hours.” These are some of the comments in the 2018 LGBTQ+ Youth Report, the largest ever survey of LGBTQ+ teens in the United States....

Still, you don’t have to let a prior stroke stop you. The trick is to be prepared so you can enjoy the journey. These tips will help you get to your destination on time so you can celebrate the holidays with peace of mind. 1. Get Cleared by a Doctor for Travel Before traveling by plane or car, get your doctor’s okay. Flying at 30,000 feet or driving won’t cause another stroke, but timing matters....

The progression of Lyme disease is typically divided into three stages: (2) Stage 1 Localized Lyme disease, in which the infection is focused in one area of the body.Stage 2 Early disseminated Lyme disease, in which the bacteria has begun to spread.Stage 3 Late disseminated Lyme disease, in which the bacteria has spread throughout the body. Erythema migrans is the earliest sign of the disease in about 70 percent of Lyme disease cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)....

Which symptoms you experience — and how severe they are — will depend on which drugs are included in your regimen and how your body reacts to them, says Keith Eaton, MD, PhD, an oncologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. (And, in fact, not all chemo drugs cause side effects.) Fortunately, as the science of cancer has progressed, so, too, has the science of managing and mitigating the unwanted effects of chemotherapy....

Lowering triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol starts with making diet and lifestyle improvements, if needed. Lifestyle changes can include quitting smoking if you’re a smoker, increasing your physical activity if you’re inactive, and losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight. Diet changes may include limiting saturated fats (like butter, lard, and other animal fats), substituting heart-healthy plant fats (like olive oil), and adding healthier calories from vegetables, fruits, and foods rich in cholesterol-lowering fiber....

For one thing, the reality of living with the pain and disability that migraine causes may contribute to depression. Likewise, the fear and anticipation of a future migraine attack can cause anxiety in many people. But is there more to the connection? Learn what the experts say about the link between migraine, anxiety and depression, as well as what treatment options can help you manage these conditions. Can Migraine Cause Depression?...

These are among the key findings of the My Migraine Voice study, published on May 5, 2020, in the journal Headache; the international study surveyed people in 31 countries across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The results published recently focus on respondents from the United States, while the global findings were published in the November 2018 issue of the Journal of Headache and Pain....

The paper, published in the November 2020 issue of Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, found that 11.2 percent experienced physical abuse and 8.3 percent experienced sexual abuse; many of the participants experienced more than one form of abuse. This is the first published report of a nationwide survey estimating the incidence and prevalence of caregiver mistreatment of U.S. adults living with MS, according to the authors. “I think our most important finding is the number of people with advanced MS who reported abuse and neglect....

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening with low-dose CT in adults ages 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history, which equals at least a pack a day for 20 years, and who currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. But less than 6 percent of people eligible for lung cancer screening get it, according to the American Lung Association....

The study authors, from South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), discovered that the variant is associated with increased transmissibility and “reduced neutralization sensitivity,” meaning it may not respond as well as other variants to existing vaccines. This version of the virus is especially troubling because it has produced a “concerning constellation of mutations,” the researchers wrote. Investigators have found that C....

A family history of some other types of cancer, such as colorectal and breast cancer, is also linked to an increased risk of ovarian cancer. This is because these cancers can be caused by an inherited mutation (change) in certain genes that cause a family cancer syndrome. Having a family cancer syndrome increases your risk of ovarian cancer; up to 25 percent of ovarian cancers are part of family cancer syndromes that result from inherited mutations in certain genes....

Here are steps you can take to prevent EPI flares and be ready to respond if they happen while you’re out and about — plus what to carry with you when you’re on the go. 1. PERT Medication If you’ve been diagnosed with EPI, your doctor has most likely prescribed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). This medication helps your pancreas function well and controls your EPI symptoms. Even if you take your PERT just before heading out the door, you should carry some with you in case you’re out longer than expected, says Elissa M....

Popular forms of cold therapy include cold water therapy, like ice baths and chilled plunges, and whole-body cryotherapy (WBC), which uses air, as opposed to water, to achieve potentially therapeutic results. WBC involves brief bouts in a small chamber (also known as a cryochamber) that’s been cooled to temperatures between minus 200 and minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Proponents claim these chilly therapies can relieve chronic pain, speed up muscle recovery, promote weight loss, ease depression, and more....

But for people living with primary-progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), there are no relapses or remissions. Typically, symptoms that are present from the initial onset of disease gradually — or sometimes rapidly — get worse over time. PPMS affects about 15 percent of people with MS, and it can be harder to diagnose than relapsing-remitting MS since its symptoms do not appear as suddenly. If you have PPMS, symptoms like numbness, vision issues, depression or mood changes, and difficulty with strength, walking, and balance, can throw a monkey wrench in your day-to-day routine....

RELATED: Does the Autoimmune Protocol Diet Help Rheumatoid Arthritis? What’s the hype, and what’s real? And can probiotics help with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA)? Here’s a little background. Understanding the Gut Microbiome’s Function The gut microbiome, which consists of trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other tiny creatures known as microbiota, performs many critical functions, such as digesting certain types of carbohydrates, helping the immune system, and fighting off pathogens (disease-causing microbes)....