Compounding the problem is the inability of many GERD sufferers to find fast and effective relief from their symptoms. We know that the condition is exacerbated by fatty, acidic foods; coffee; chocolate; and alcohol. But there is so much that we don’t know: Just how common is it? Is it getting worse, and is that linked to the nation’s obesity epidemic? Are some ethnic and demographic groups more likely to have it, and are some also more difficult to treat?...

Typically, your doctor will diagnose you with insulin resistance, prediabetes, or diabetes after seeing that your blood sugar levels are abnormal. Often, the test they’ll use is the hemoglobin A1C, or A1C test for short, says Gregory Dodell, MD, an assistant clinical professor of medicine, endocrinology, diabetes, and bone disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Under 5.7 percent: normal5.7 to 6.4 percent: prediabetesOver 6....

“If you’re insulin-resistant, your risk of developing major depressive disorder is double that of someone who’s not insulin-resistant, even if you’ve never experienced depression before,” says Natalie Rasgon, MD, PhD, a coauthor of the study and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. The study was published in September 2021 in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers examined data on 601 healthy adults who had tests for three proxies of insulin resistance: blood sugar levels, waist circumference, and levels of fats in the blood known as triglycerides that raise the risk of heart disease....

“Research findings suggest that there are many changes that occur in the body and brain in response to IF that can improve health and protect against chronic diseases,” says study coauthor Mark Mattson, PhD, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “[Benefits] include improved glucose regulation, reduced blood pressure and resting heart rate, reduced inflammation, and improved muscle health,” Dr. Mattson says. In the article, researchers examined results from studies in animals and humans that focused on how IF may impact health markers such as metabolism and how IF may slow or reverse aging and disease....

Although “high-functioning depression” is not an official clinical diagnosis, it is a term commonly used to describe people whose depression is so well hidden that it does not affect their day-to-day functioning, explains Jennie Marie Battistin, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Burbank, California. For example, they may be socializing often with friends, meeting expectations at work, and not expressing hopelessness, yet inside they are struggling. Why Is High-Functioning Depression So Hard to Recognize?...

“Based on our findings, we believe music therapy can help all patients after a heart attack, not only patients with early post-infarction angina,” says Predrag Mitrovic, MD, PhD, a professor of cardiology at the University of Belgrade School of Medicine in Serbia and the study’s lead author, in a press release. “It’s also very easy and inexpensive to implement.” Researchers at the University of Belgrade studied 350 participants diagnosed with heart attack and post–heart attack chest pain....

What Is Pilk? Although the commercial and social media buzz made it trendy, combining soda and dairy beverages is nothing new. After all, the first ice cream float is reported to have been invented in Philadelphia in 1876, according to a journal article, and drinks like the Black Cow (ice cream and root beer) have been documented in historic cookbooks as early as 1917, notes FoodTimeline.org. Those drinks could easily have evolved into a simple combination of Coke or Pepsi and milk, sometimes called “dirty soda....

The study included almost 37,000 healthy middle-aged adults in the United Kingdom who provided detailed genetic and medical information and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of their brains. Scientists examined the relationship between participants’ drinking habits and the size and structure of their brains. Researchers focused specifically how drinking might impact gray matter, the outer layer of brain tissue responsible for controlling emotions, movement, and memory; and white matter, the deeper layer of brain tissue that transmits messages essential for us to walk, talk, see, smell, and hear....

The drug, Kesimpta (ofatumumab), received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in these forms of MS and related conditions, on August 20, or roughly 10 weeks after its manufacturer, Novartis, announced that the agency would delay its evaluation. An IV infusion preparation of ofatumumab, sold as Arzerra, has been used for years to treat certain forms of leukemia. Novartis expects Kesimpta to be available in the United States by September....

Weight Loss Linked to Decreased Risk for Colon, Rectal Polyps What’s New Overweight or obese people who lose more than 5 pounds over five years during adulthood have as much as a 46 percent reduced risk for developing precancerous colon polyps — benign growths in the colon or rectum that can lead to colorectal cancer, according to study findings published February 1 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Research Details Researchers assessed the link between weight change and colon and rectal polyps in 18,588 men and women participating in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial from 1993 to 2001....

Ken Kidd knew he was gay from a young age, and even then, he recognized that made him different. He felt like he needed a place to fit in, and that meant leaving Virginia. So in the late 1970s, when he was in his early twenties, Kidd moved to New York City — the one place where people were out, and loudly fighting for the right to be themselves. By that time, almost a decade after the Stonewall riots of 1969, the modern LGBTQ+ movement was in full force....

The fact that the pop star described the medication as “strong” and said it made her feel “drunk,” has raised many questions about lithium among the public — including what lithium treatment is and what risks it can pose. So, what’s the truth about lithium? Here are eight things you should know about this medication. Fact 1: Lithium Is Most Commonly Used to Treat Bipolar Disorder Lithium is considered a mood stabilizer — a group of medications used to treat the highs (mania) and lows (depression) of bipolar disorder....

RELATED: 5 Things We Know About Meghan Markle’s Beauty Routine Here, we take a look at how the Duchess of Sussex’s habits may change now that she’s postpartum: 1. Markle May Need to Keep Diversifying Her Diet The former Suits actress has famously talked about eating a vegan diet — at least during the week, and loosening up on the weekend. But an article published October 15, 2018, in RadarOnline....

RELATED: Boxed In: COVID-19 and Your Mental Health Switch to Online Learning Is Taking a Toll on Many Parents What’s New Nearly half of parents of children under age 18 say that trying to manage their kids’ online learning has become as significant a source of stress during the global COVID-19 outbreak as worrying about meeting basic needs (access to food and housing) and access to healthcare, according to the Stress in America 2020 survey published in May 2020 and conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA)....

“There times when a patient experiences an event, and it’s not immediately apparent if they’ve had a seizure or a migraine,” says Lauren Doyle Strauss, DO, a headache specialist and an assistant professor at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston Salem, North Carolina. “That’s because there can be an overlap in some of the ways that people describe both of those problems,” Dr. Strauss explains. There is evidence that the two disorders are associated with each other: The prevalence of migraine in children with epilepsy — which causes seizures — is estimated at 8 to 24 percent, which is approximately double the risk found in the general population, according to a paper published in the Journal of Headache and Pain....

Among them are how often you have migraine attacks, the severity of your headache pain, and any other symptoms you have in addition to headache. Your health history, including any drugs you already take and any other chronic conditions you may have, such as high blood pressure or depression, will also be taken into account before your doctor prescribes medication for migraine. But no matter how carefully you choose your regimen, sometimes a migraine therapy — or multiple migraine therapies — don’t effectively shorten your migraine attacks, lead to pain relief, or reduce your number of headache days....

All that is to say that, we, like all cancer-touched families, were devastated. A week later, his cancer was confirmed. Grief quickly turned to relief, however, when, after testing, he was given “good” news: He had a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (“PNET” for short), a rarer form of pancreatic cancer that accounts for just 7 percent of total pancreatic cancers, according to PanCAN. The five-year survival rate for PNETs is remarkably more optimistic: If localized — meaning it has not spread — it’s as high as 93 percent, according to the American Cancer Society....

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), complementary therapies involve using nontraditional practices in combination with traditional medicine, whereas alternative treatments are used instead of traditional medicine. “Natural remedies” can fall into one or both these categories. As of 2012, more than 30 percent of American adults turned to complementary therapies or alternative medicine, per the NCCIH. So, clearly, they’re popular — but when it comes to asthma, are they safe to use?...

The mind and the gut often work together, says Stephen E. Lupe, PsyD, a gastrointestinal psychologist and director of behavioral medicine in the department of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition at Cleveland Clinic. “If someone’s experiencing a lot of symptoms…[it] causes a stress reaction, which then makes the symptoms worse,” he explains. The gut sends out messages that the brain interprets — but sometimes, the nervous system starts to overinterpret those signals, according to Lupe....

The third edition of the Atlas of MS gives far more information than just how many people have the disease in the world (estimated to be 2.8 million), country by country. The Atlas of MS describes itself as “the most extensive worldwide study of the epidemiology of MS and the global availability and accessibility of resources for people with multiple sclerosis.” How the MS Atlas Is Compiled To find the most recent data, the MSIF reached out to each country in the world — specifically, to their health ministries or departments of health, as well as to patient advocacy organizations — in addition to reviewing current open-source data....