Posts

“The positive about Whole30 is that you eat real foods, not prepackaged meals and snacks, and you learn how to meal-plan and prep,” says Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN, the Chicago-based author of Total Body Diet for Dummies. While the makers of Whole30 designed it to last just 30 days — as the program’s name implies — proponents say that the benefits can last in the long term. “For many, Whole30 is a gateway to learning to cook, cooking more at home, or incorporating more nutrient-dense foods like fruits and vegetables into their diet,” says Jessica Beacom, RDN, of Boulder, Colorado, and Stacie Hassing, RDN, of Easton, Minnesota, the cofounders of The Real Food Dietitians....

If so, that’s not necessarily a bad thing: Dessert — in moderation and occasionally — can be a part of a healthy self-care routine. But when it comes to this particular treat, registered dietitians would agree it’s not an everyday thing, and anyone who likes cinnamon buns needs to be clear-eyed about the nutritional cost involved. Specifically, one Original Cinnamon Bun from Cinnabon will set you back a whopping:...

Drugs like the blockbuster biologic Humira (adalimumab), an injectable first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002 to treat rheumatoid arthritis and now widely prescribed for plaque psoriasis and a wide range of other autoimmune disorders, have transformed modern medicine. But for physicians who treat severe allergies, asthma, and other immunologic conditions — a category that includes atopic dermatitis (eczema), chronic idiopathic urticaria (hives), and hereditary angioedema (HAE) — biologics are a relatively new treatment trend that is generating enormous excitement....

For the study, researchers examined data pooled from 89 previously published studies of Lyme disease prevalence that, combined, included more than 158,000 participants worldwide. These studies looked at data from blood tests to see how often people got infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Blood tests show antibodies to Bb infection when people currently have Lyme disease or have had it in the past. Overall, 14....

A dear friend who practices the old ways says of this time of the year that it’s not about fearing the darkness, but rather about turning our thoughts toward the coming light. We embrace the cold black as well as fight against it by lighting candles and trees for the holiday season. It’s how I’m trying to look at my multiple sclerosis (MS) experience right now as well. A Dark Season of MS Symptoms I’m currently in hospital enlisting expert medical staff to combat a virulent urinary tract infection....

Affirmative therapy does not assume where you are in your journey. While the preservation and support of your gender and sexual identity are integrated into the therapeutic process, it will only be as much of a focus as you want it to be. Affirmative therapists provide you with a safe space to work through any mental health challenges you have or discuss things like problems at work. We evaluated a variety of online therapy platforms on their inclusivity, paying close attention to their medical terminology, how they asked patients to prove their identity, ease of accessing affirmative therapists, and whether their technology assumed all users were heterosexual, cisgender, and monogamous....

“Ultimately the wrong cleanser can make eczema worse, contributing to dryness, irritation, and inflammation,” says Joshua Zeichner, MD, the director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology and an associate professor at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. While the wrong cleanser can do more harm than good, “the right cleanser can actually leave the skin hydrated,” he adds. Read on to find out the best cleansing method for atopic dermatitis so you can feel your best even if you’re experiencing a flare-up....

“This is an extremely serious infection that’s very difficult to treat,” says Robert Cyril Bollinger Jr., MD, MPH, the Raj and Kamla Gupta Professor of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. “In people with confirmed cases, the infection causes death more than 50 percent of the time,” he says. RELATED: Coronavirus Alert: The Latest News, Data, and Expert Insights on the COVID-19 Pandemic In India, Black Fungus Cases Surge as COVID-19 Numbers Fall As of June 7, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 350,000 people in India, and the estimated number of confirmed cases in the country is approaching 30 million, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)....

But one type of blood thinning pill is significantly more effective than an injection in preventing post-op blood clots in people who underwent minor orthopedic procedures, according to new research presented at the American College of Cardiology conference March 28 to 30. The discovery could make it easier for patients to care for themselves after they leave the hospital. “For convenience sake, most patients would prefer to take a pill rather than give themselves a shot,” says Elliott Antman, MD, a senior physician specializing in cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who was not involved with the study....

Though diarrhea is caused by the same bodily changes that cause period cramping, many women find it can be managed and prevented with medication. RELATED: 3 Ways to Treat Diarrhea Why Diarrhea Happens During Your Period The exact reasons why diarrhea occurs during your period aren’t fully understood, but it is quite common and often tied to menstrual cramps. Believed to be at the root of the cause are prostaglandins, chemicals released during your period that allow the uterus, and thus the intestines, to contract....

Equally distressing, even when their ages and general health were similar, her Black patients were far likelier than her white patients to die from the disease, which had a dismal five-year survival rate of 18 percent to begin with. It was a revelation and a life-changer. Dr. Guerra retooled her career to address the problem. Today, armed with a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology alongside her other medical credentials, she battles health disparities at a lung cancer ground zero: a West Philadelphia community where it’s often the environments in which people live, work, and otherwise function (also known as the social determinants of health) that threaten their health and well-being....

One possible reason for chest pain is psoriatic arthritis (PsA), inflammatory arthritis that affects some people with psoriasis — a condition that causes an abnormal buildup of skin cells. The Problem Could Be Musculoskeletal For people with psoriatic arthritis, “perhaps the most common type of chest pain is costochondritis," says Adam Kreitenberg, MD, a rheumatologist in Los Angeles. Costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage connecting the ribs to the breastbone (sternum)....

TikTok user @happyandhealthyolivia shared the health hack as part of her popular series “TikTok Health Trends That Actually Work.” The brief video has been viewed over 12.4 million times since June 28 and includes a demonstration on how to make the purported weight loss beverage. “Just combine 1 tablespoon [tbsp] of chia seeds with a glass of water (optional: add lime) and drink 30 minutes before meals,” she says, in addition to explaining they increase feelings of fullness....

How do secondary infections happen? “It could be the immune system gets tired and another infection is able to come in,” says David Weitzman, MD, an urgent care physician in South Carolina and a board member of the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine. “Or you’re exposed to a second type of virus or bacteria and get sick again.” RELATED: The Flu: Self-Treat, See a Doctor, or Go to the ER?...

Along with medication, EoE sometimes is managed with an elimination diet, which involves removing common food allergens — typically, dairy, eggs, soy, and wheat — from the diet and then adding them back in one at a time to determine which, if any, trigger symptoms and should be avoided. “We have years of experience [treating eosinophilic esophagitis] with those therapies, and we know they can work,” says Cash. “Just because [dupilumab] is the only FDA-approved therapy doesn’t mean that it moves straight to the top of the line....

While it is true that specific foods do not cause ulcers, they can make symptoms worse, says Carrie Folse, MD, a gastroenterologist at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Ala. However, “the exacerbation of foods is quite subjective,” she says. It’s hard to tell which food will aggravate symptoms in any one person. So instead of past “one diet fits all” recommendations, doctors now offer more general guidelines. If your loved one notices a particular food causes a problem, just avoid that food and let the doctor know....

As I write this, I am an ovarian cancer survivor of five and a half years. I only have two fur babies, and countless nieces, nephews, cousins and godchildren that I love to the ends of the earth. I have decided that has been exactly what I needed. I married my husband, Dan, in June 2011. We both knew we had a desire to have children, and almost immediately I went off birth control....

Another risk factor is pancreatic surgery: According to a review published in April 2020 in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology, EPI is a common complication following pancreatic surgery and is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. People who have a history of alcohol abuse are also at higher risk of EPI. Doctors likely don’t think of EPI as often as they should, according to Dr. Gillon. Because the symptoms of EPI can be the same as some other digestive conditions, it can be tricky to diagnose....

Each day the emergency room doctors at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, treat an average of 5 to 15 patients who have overdosed on opioids. While some die, more recover and quickly leave, most in search of their next high, a pattern seen by many if not most hospitals in the United States. Ending that cycle is the holy grail for addiction specialists. About a year and a half ago, doctors at Cooper who were frustrated by patients’ stories of months-long waits for addiction treatment opened their own outpatient addiction treatment center....

Although staying at home and keeping our distance from others has helped flatten the curve, it has come with its own set of problems and stressors. This stress has become the center of many of my conversations with family, friends, and clients. These conversations are especially important as we approach October 10th, World Mental Health Day, which was created to bring attention to mental health issues. “The pandemic will no doubt leave its mark on our collective psyches, but by marshaling the right resources toward the populations’ needs, we can weather what emerges,” says psychiatrist Patrice Harris, MD, MA, who was recently named medical editor in chief of Everyday Health....