Health and Wellness

If you’re looking to keep your brain healthy as you age, you may want to lay off the packaged pastries for breakfast, frozen pizza for lunch and ice cream in the evening. Accumulating research suggests that a diet chock-full of highly processed foods could contribute to worsening brain health. A study published May 22 in…

People rarely talk about bladder health, but everyone is affected by it. Located in the lower abdomen, the bladder is a hollow organ, much like a balloon, that stores urine. Urine contains waste and extra fluid left over after the body takes what it needs from what we eat and drink. Each day, adults pass…

Sugar is sneaky. Just when you think you’ve got its whereabouts figured out, you begin taking a closer look at nutrition labels, only to discover the sweet stuff is hiding out in any number of foods and beverages not on the cookie, candy and soda aisles. The unsavory truth: Sugar is used by all kinds…

You may be driving under the influence and not even realize it. We aren’t talking about alcohol or illegal drugs; we’re talking about common medicationstaken for everything from the common cold and seasonal allergies to anxiety to temporary aches and chronic pain. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some over-the-counter and prescription meds…

Everyone needs boundaries in work and life, but in the world of family caregiving, the ability to make and understand your own line in the sand can be the difference between thriving or just surviving. Twenty years ago, when I was caring for my husband as he recovered from a traumatic brain injury, I was a frenzied,…

With every step, your feet take a pounding equivalent to up to 2.5 times your body weight. After decades of wear and tear, it’s no wonder foot woes start to crop up in your 50s. “Age plus weight plus inappropriate footwear plus genetics equals foot trouble,” says Eric Stamps, dean of the California School of…

Figuring out how much to eat while achieving or maintaining a healthy weight can be difficult. Getting the proper nutrients and eating the right amount for your weight and activity level can contribute to healthy aging. This article provides suggestions for how older adults can get the nutrients they need within a recommended daily number of calories.…

What’s the best over-the-counter pain medication? It depends on what hurts — and why.  “If you can target the pain with a medication that treats the underlying cause, the pain relief will be better,” says Sunny Linnebur, a professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Aurora. …

If the idea of gauging your organ age seems far out, impossible or irrelevant to assess health, consider that you’re probably already doing it without knowing. Think about that last time you met someone new, took a fresh look at your partner when you awoke in the morning or caught your reflection in the mirror.…

Cutting is critical when you’re trying to lose weight. You cut calories. You cut fat. Basically, anything that’s crammed with carbs, sweetened with sugar or dipped in a deep fryer is suddenly off-limits. But dieting doesn’t have to require deprivation. Many delicious (and healthy) foods can still be part of your dining repertoire. Some members of…