Navigating Healthcare: A Guide to Modern Medicine and Wellness

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Good carbs vs. bad carbs

What Is a Healthy Diet?

Most Americans get very little nutrition in their daily diets. According to the President’s Council on Fitness, the typical American diet exceeds the recommended intake limits in four categories, including fats and added sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and refined grains. It also reports that most Americans eat less than the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, and 90% of all Americans eat more sodium than what is recommended for a healthy diet. However, perhaps what is most shocking is that the average calorie consumption has increased by 600 calories per day in the past four decades! If one of your goals this year is to eat a healthier diet, here are some tips for living a healthy life that will help you make better decisions every day from here on out so that you can look forward to a long and healthy future.

How Do Food Allergies Affect the Body?

Food AllergiesFood allergies are on the rise, both in the United States and around the world. In fact, researchers estimate that upwards of 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies among children increased by nearly 50% from the years 1997 to 2011. This swift rise in the number of people suffering from one or more food allergies is baffling to researchers, although many believe that modern chemical processes used to keep foods fresher longer play an important role. What’s most alarming is that this statistic is ever on the rise. If you’re one of the people who are suffering from a food allergy, you understand the significance this health condition can have on your lifestyle. Following is valuable information from top gastroenterologists in Queens that can help you better understand your food allergy and its affect on your body.  If you have a food allergy or think you may be allergic to something you’ve eaten you should contact a GI doctor in Queens today.

How Vitamins Work

How Do Vitamins Work?

Most of us are looking for daily health tips that will help us maintain good health. That’s why millions of Americans take vitamins on a regular or at least semi-regular basis. In fact, vitamin use is so prevalent in our society that vitamin sales top 12 billion dollars annually, with their numbers growing daily. Vitamin C, vitamin A, B complex, multivitamins, women’s vitamins, men’s vitamins … the list seems endless. But what benefits are we getting from our vitamins? Are there multiple benefits from each? And does age or gender really matter when it comes to the vitamins you take? Of questions, there are many. Following is a list of the most important vitamins and how each works in the body.

What Is an Intragastric Balloon?

ORBERA BalloonAn intragastric (or gastric) balloon is an inflatable medical device used to aid in weight loss. In a non-invasive medical procedure, the intragastric balloon is placed into the stomach on a temporary basis in selected obese or overweight patients when diet and exercise have failed. One such device is the ORBERA Intragastric Balloon, which is made of soft silicone. The ORBERA Intragastric Balloon can be beneficial to patients because it stays in the stomach temporarily, about six months, during which time it encourages a patient to eat a healthier diet. Following is more information from top gastroenterologists in Queens regarding the ORBERA Intragastric Balloon that may assist you in making an informed decision concerning this noninvasive weight loss surgery.  If you are interested in learning more about non invasive weight loss procedures contact a gastroenterologist near you.

The Best Way to Eat Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and VegetablesSit up straight and eat your vegetables!  How many times did Mom nag you with this line when you were growing up?  Well, now you’re all grown up, and, if you want to slump down at the kitchen table, or rest your head on your hand while downing your cornflakes… so be it.  But, when it comes to eating your veggies, take Mom’s advice to heart.

Produce packs a punch – it’s so easy to get the doctor-recommended two to seven servings of fruits and veggies daily, but to do so, what works best for you?  How do you get the most nutrients out of the produce you choose for your drinks, snacks and meals?

Cosmetic Dentistry for Teens whitening

Health Benefits of Smiling

Perhaps Louis Armstrong sang it best in the song “When You’re Smiling”

When you’re smilin’, when you’re smilin’,

The whole world smiles with you.

When you’re laughin’, when you’re laughin,’

The sun comes shinin’ through.

It’s hard not to smile back when a friend, or even a total stranger, flashes you a smile on the street.

That’s because smiling is infectious.

And today’s daily health tip is that smiling is good for your health!  Well fancy that.

healthy breakfast ideas

You Are What You Eat

There’s an old saying that “you are what you eat”, if that is true, you want to put the most healthful foods into your body to ensure that you stay in optimum health.  Your diet plan should be diverse, with a wide variety of nutrients and healthful substances, and, of course, you want your meals and snacks to be tasty as well.  That’s a tall order isn’t it?  But, if you follow the Government guidelines and select your meals from each of the major food groups, your reward will be good health the rest of your life.

How to Prevent Dry Skin

Prevent Dry SkinThere are many ways to prevent dry skin besides being smart about sun protection, like applying sunscreen, wearing clothing that blocks the sun’s harmful UV rays or donning a floppy hat.  Below are some helpful hints.  That way you can stop blaming ol’ Sol, or your parents, for your dry skin woes.  If you have dry skin and are looking for the best treatment options or if you want to keep your skin healthy as you age visit a top dermatologist in NJ today.  A New Jersey dermatologist can help treat existing skin conditions and will work with you to prevent outbreaks in the future and keep your skin looking young for a long time.

Natural Ways to Reduce Depression

The world is a scary place, with domestic and international terrorism events, mass shootings, unrest and volatility.  Many people have decided to stay close to home – no more venturing out for the activities they once enjoyed in such public venues like sports stadiums, or even fireworks shows.  Others have stopped crossing exotic locales off their bucket list, as they fear traveling to foreign countries.

While many of us can accept that this is the world in which we live now, still others have their own personal demons, so today’s current events only exacerbate an underlying condition like depression.  While some people strive to keep a disorder like depression to themselves, others elect to see a doctor for psychotherapy, and/or take medication to help them keep their life in balance.  Unfortunately, medication is not always the answer for one who has symptoms of depression, and, it is important that the medication be tailored specifically to them, and the medicine-taking regimen be strictly adhered to.  For example, going off the medication on a whim or under-dosing of the prescribed meds might cause emotional problems; on the other hand, overdosing is equally problematic.  We are all too aware of the statistics on drug-induced accidents, violence, or even suicide, as a result of prescription drug-taking gone horribly wrong.

Best Exercises to Reduce Back Pain

The news media is bursting at the seams with stories of the incidence of people addicted to pain medications.  Every year prescription painkillers cause more than 16,000 deaths and 475,000 emergency room visits.  Now admittedly, some of those people just take the meds for the “high”, but, the majority of folks began taking prescription painkillers to help alleviate chronic pain, and now cannot live without that medication.  While Grandpa might have rubbed liniment on his joints to help the pain subside a little, people today feel the need to be as pain-free as possible, even if it means popping pills on a regular basis.