Good for your teeth, bad for your bones?
Regular brushing and flossing are the cornerstones of good oral health. But what if you learned that your toothpaste was good for your teeth, but bad for your bones? That possibility has been raised by a recent study. The cause of this unprecedented finding may be triclosan — an antibacterial agent added to toothpaste to reduce gum infections and improve oral health. However, it may... READ MORE
Advice for making healthier fish choices
We know fish is important for health — it’s high in protein; low in saturated fat; a good source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids; rich in vitamins, such as vitamins D and B2, and minerals, including iron, iodine, magnesium and potassium. Research shows that eating fish once or twice a week may reduce risk of several chronic conditions, including stroke, depression, Alzheimer’s ... READ MORE
Staying healthy at home via telemedicine
Every morning, 92-year-old Sidney Kramer wraps a blood pressure cuff around his arm and steps on a scale, and readings of his heart health beam to a team of nurses — and to his daughter’s smartphone — miles from his Maryland home. Red flags? A nurse immediately calls, a form of telemedicine that is helping Kramer live independently by keeping his congestive heart failure under... READ MORE
Can probiotics treat depression and anxiety?
There is a lot of interest right now in the human microbiome (the populations of bacteria that live in various parts of the body, including the intestine, skin and lungs). We now know that there are approximately 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells in the body. The vast majority of these bacterial cells are in the intestinal tract, and they serve many purposes, including... READ MORE
To be or not to beâ¦
As we approach the New Year, our thoughts are generally forward-looking: We think about New Year’s resolutions, wonder what changes the coming year will bring, and think about what we have to look forward to.On the other hand, we also are likely to see the popular image of Old Father Time passing on the baton to the newborn New Year. The image suggests, as does much of our culture,... READ MORE
A town hall meeting to promote health reform
The White House convened a “town hall” meeting on June 11 to answer questions about how the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as healthcare reform, is helping seniors.A panel of experts, including Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary for Aging in the Health and Human Services Dept. and Jonathan Blum, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services... READ MORE
Maximizing a maxim
One of the aphorisms I’ve been partial to since childhood says a person should “live each day as if it were your last.”Though I’ve liked and remembered the maxim, I only recently found myself wondering what it really means. Perhaps getting older (and attending more funerals) has started to make the concept more thought provoking to me.On first blush, it sounds... READ MORE
How ill are we really?
Having good mental health is probably as important as having good physical health, if not more so. But when our mental health is “not so good,” would most of us call ourselves ill, as in “mentally ill?”Suppose you find it difficult to sleep or lose your appetite for a couple of weeks because you’ve been diagnosed with a serious physical illness or suffered the... READ MORE
Of rats and men
Scientists have long experimented on mice and rats to test new drugs and treatments for human illnesses.I’ve always imagined that there must be many similarities between our species — at least on a cellular level or in organ systems — for that to make sense. But I haven’t been much bothered by the fact that these physical similarities exist because I subscribe to the ... READ MORE
Get out and play
More grandparents than ever are either raising their grandkids or significantly contributing to their upbringing, according to the latest U.S. Census figures. In all, there are 62.8 million grandparents in the U.S., the most ever. They are projected to make up roughly 1 in 3 adults by 2020. Look for more details about this trend in an upcoming issue of the Beacon.Fall brings myriad... READ MORE
