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That internal chatter and the tone you use when thinking or talking about your appearance (the positive and the negative) is all part of your body image. Here, learn about what it means to have a positive or negative body image, how body image affects your mental and physical health, and what you can do to improve yours. She adds: “Are we neutral, kind, or mean to ourselves? Do we find ourselves being critical or neutral about the observations we make about our body and appearance?...

What’s Apple Cider Vinegar, and Why Are People So Crazy About It? Apple cider vinegar (or ACV, as it’s sometimes called) has been around for millennia, but in recent years, it’s gained traction as one of the most popular diet fads on the market. You could even say it’s secured superfood status at this point, says Claire Martin, RD, a nutritionist and the cofounder of Being Healthfull in Oakland, California. Celebrities such as Katy Perry, Victoria Beckham, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kate Walsh, and Jennifer Aniston have spoken about their love of apple cider vinegar, which has helped generate buzz around the additive....

What Is Turmeric Good For? A member of the ginger family, turmeric is a flowering plant native to India, prized for its bright color, nutty flavor, and the medicinal qualities of its active ingredient, curcumin. When properly prepared, turmeric’s root stem (rhizome) imparts a golden hue to fabrics and foods and adds a savory tang to popular Indian and Asian dishes, from curries to kormas. But it’s turmeric’s purported curative powers that attract the most attention....

But migraine treatment is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, and even with the availability of newer, more targeted drugs, as many as 60 percent of people fail to find adequate or consistent relief, according to a report published by Neurology Today in 2020. No wonder interest in complementary herbal and plant-based therapies, including medical cannabis, is growing. Nancy Thompson, a 55-year-old Canadian citizen, is one of those people seeking alternatives. Thompson has had migraine attacks since she was a teenager, and once they became frequent (occurring six to seven times weekly), her general practitioner sent her to a neurologist, who prescribed a variety of treatment strategies....

“A supplier notified us they had unintentionally added an undeclared dairy allergen in the recipe for our Grilled Filets and Grilled Nuggets,” the company said in a statement on the Nutrition and Allergen section of its website. “We are actively working with the supplier so this doesn’t happen again and to ensure the allergen is removed.” The company said it also “took immediate steps to notify guests of this temporary issue....

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke. Yet new findings released on November 14, 2019, in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report show smoking among U.S. adults was at an all-time low of 13.7 percent in 2018. This represents a two-thirds decline in the more than 50 years since the first surgeon general’s report warned of the health consequences of smoking....

This guide can help you understand nonstimulants and when they might be worth considering for your child’s ADHD symptoms. It may seem strange to give your child something with a reputation for revving things up rather than calming things down, but stimulants are often paradoxically effective. That said, stimulants are controlled substances and carry a risk of addiction and abuse. This, along with other potential side effects, can be a deal breaker for some families....

Children 12 and older are eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech booster, while adults can also choose the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson booster. Public health officials are recommending that fully immunized people get boosted both to bolster vaccine effectiveness, which wanes over time, and to combat the new and extremely infectious omicron variant. In December 2021, the South African insurance company Discovery Health released data showing that people who were fully immunized with the Pfizer vaccine but not yet boosted had just 33 percent protection against COVID-19 infection during the omicron wave, with 70 percent protection against complications severe enough to require hospitalization....

Yet, there have also been many personal victories even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a nation, we learned just how resilient we can be. We learned how to adapt in ways we never had to before. We rediscovered the necessity of friendship and connection, and that simple gestures and steps go a really long way. Take, for instance: Denise Albert, 46, of New York City Albert, who is cofounder of The MOMS, a multiplatform brand focused on matters related to motherhood, learned how much she could tolerate when she spent almost six months of lockdown living with her ex-husband, his new wife, her ex, and their four kids....

The study showed that 13.1 percent of patients who were not prior opioid users became new persistent opioid users after surgery. Researchers found 6.6 percent of patients who were not prior sedative-hypnotic users became persistent users after surgery. “It’s striking how many patients this is an issue for. It’s more than maybe we would have thought prior to doing the study,” said the lead author, Jacob Cogan, MD, a fellow in hematology-oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City....

For many adults, the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how much and how often they drink alcohol. Nearly 1 in 4 adults (23 percent) said that they increased their alcohol consumption during the pandemic, according to a 2021 report from the American Psychological Association. While there has been some past research showing that moderate drinking may have certain health benefits, those findings have been contradicted, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)....

You see, the philosophy of the paleo diet is a return to the eating habits of our Paleolithic ancestors, and a rejection of many of the foods Americans consider staples in their diets today. If you’re trying this eating approach, you’ll have to say goodbye not only to foods well known to be unhealthy — such as ice cream, potato chips, and soda — but also all grains (including whole grains), most dairy, legumes (beans), and starchy veggies, among other foods....

Standard EFT tapping is a noninvasive, inexpensive method that most people can learn on their own to relieve stress and anxiety, explains Alex Ortner, the Newton, Connecticut–based co-owner and chief marketing officer of The Tapping Solution, a company that provides EFT tapping resources. EFT tapping combines principles of traditional Chinese acupressure with modern psychology. Like the name suggests, it involves tapping specific sites known as acupuncture points, or acupoints, on the hands, face, and body with your fingertips, according to EFT International (PDF)....

Diagnosed with both EPI and cystic fibrosis (CF) as a toddler, Schaller has lived with both conditions for most of her life. But that hasn’t stopped her from running nine half-marathons and setting a goal to run one in every state. CF is a hereditary condition that affects the lungs and digestive system, causing thick mucus that can clog the lungs and the pancreas. Because CF affects these mucus secretions in the pancreas, most people with CF also develop EPI, a condition that blocks the production of enzymes needed to digest fat, protein, and carbohydrates in the stomach....

This means that even if you’re not overweight, your next physical should involve a tape measure around your waist in addition to a check of your height and weight, according to the AHA. That’s because a growing body of evidence suggests that extra belly fat is a sign that you may have too much so-called visceral adipose tissue, a type of fat that wraps around abdominal organs and is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease....

The study, published online in JAMA Neurology in February 2021, found that over five seasons, 72 percent of concussions and 67 percent of head impact exposure occurred in practice, not game play. Furthermore, nearly half of the concussions and two-thirds of the high-impact hits to the head that the researchers recorded took place during preseason training, which accounts for only one-fifth of the season. “It’s actually shocking that this is allowed to occur,” says Christopher Nowinski, PhD, CEO and cofounder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation in Boston, who was not involved in the study but coauthored a February 2020 editorial in JAMA Neurology that accompanied the study....

In short, a lot. Believe it or not, your body weight is about 60 percent water, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Your body uses water in all its cells, organs, and tissues to help regulate temperature and maintain other bodily functions. Because your body loses water through breathing, sweating, and digestion, it’s important to rehydrate by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. RELATED: 6 Unusual Signs of Dehydration You Should Know About The amount of water you need depends on a variety of factors, according to the Mayo Clinic: The climate you live in, how physically active you are, and whether you’re experiencing an illness or have any other health problems all affect recommended intake....

The liver makes bile acid from cholesterol through a complex process which involves about 17 enzymes and multiple steps. Interruptions in the process can lead to bile acid deficiencies and more. Research published in Gastroenterology in May 2013 pointed to genetics as a potential cause of these interruptions and alterations. Understanding Bile Acid Deficiency Bile acid deficiency can result from the body being genetically predisposed to produce faulty or impaired bile acid....

Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments Were Already Costly Prior to 2020, rheumatoid arthritis treatments were already expensive for many, even if their insurance covered the costs of pricey biologic drugs. For those in the Medicare Part D coverage gap or the uninsured, annual out-of-pocket costs ranged from severe to out-of-reach. For instance, annual out-of-pocket costs were $4,801 in 2019 for people on Medicare Part D who took biologics, including Cimzia (certolizumab), Enbrel (etanercept), Humira (adalimumab), and Simponi (golimumab), according to a study published in April 2020 in JAMA Network Open....

The new guideline was published online in Arthritis Care & Research on May 11, 2020. Why Update the Gout Care Guideline Now? According to the ACR, the guideline has been updated because new clinical research has become available since 2012 that will impact management and treatment. There’s More Scientific Evidence Supporting Earlier Recommendations “These guidelines provide a stronger level of evidence for many prior and familiar recommendations, including reinforcing a treat-to-target strategy to achieve optimal outcomes for patients with gout....