Navigating Healthcare: A Guide to Modern Medicine and Wellness

Healthy Foods

Health Risks of Processed Foods

Risks of Processed FoodsEvery time you turn around the headlines are screaming about another food recall.  E-coli, listeria, e-coli and avian flu issues have us rethinking where we dine or what we put into our grocery carts and into our mouths.  The Chipotle e-coli issues leave us less likely to be craving Mexican food at that establishment, even though they are cleared of contamination issues and back in business again.  We may want to eat healthy by eating more produce, but then we worry about listeria-contaminated lettuce or consuming supposedly “pre-washed produce” like bagged coleslaw or lettuce, only to find a large manufacturer like Dole is sweeping them off the shelves in a massive recall.  Even a treat like ice cream was contaminated with listeria causing Blue Bell, a manufacturer established way back in 1907, to halt production of this frozen treat while they determined the source of contamination.  The avian flu has us scrambling to find organic eggs or just doing without eggs altogether.

Healthy Eating Habits for College Students

Healthy Eating for College StudentsCollege life is a dramatic change from the comfy convenience of living at home.  Even if you were involved in athletics or had a part-time job, chances are you had three nourishing meals, a clean bed and your laundry done on a regular basis.  You got your homework done before the weekend so you had free time.  Unless you continue to live at home while attending college, you are in for a rude awakening.

Big adjustments

The biggest adjustment might be living away from home for the first time, and, in general, dormitory life and sharing a room with strangers.  Even if you shared a room with a sibling, it’s just not the same.  Strangers coming and going all the time, and their friends as well, and so on.  Sometimes you need to get away from it all and the library may become your sanctuary – that’s a good place to go to catch up on your studies and chill out a bit.

Healthy Habits for Elementary School Kids

Healthy Habits for Elementary School KidsNothing saps your energy and keeps you from feeling your best like a head cold, no matter what the time of year.  Colds can come at any time, and flu season typically runs from October through May, peaking in February.  You must be proactive to help your kids understand how to develop healthy habits.

As soon as your child is old enough to understand that “germs are not our friend”, you should encourage your child to do the following:

How to Stay Healthy In Winter

Healthy In Winter
Whether he creeps in gradually via fluctuating climate patterns, or he gushes forth in a sudden snowy frenzy, Old Man Winter can sure wreak havoc on your health. Staying ‘in the pink’ during those frosty winter months can be extra tough, especially if you spend a significant amount of your time around children or in close quarters with coworkers. That’s why it’s almost more important to stay on top of your daily health habits in winter, since infectious illnesses such as colds and flues can get passed around more readily during harsher weather. Here are some daily health tips from healthcare professionals that will help you fight off all that winter has in store for you this year.

The Best and Worst Halloween Candy for Teeth

Best Halloween Candy for TeethHalloween can be pretty scary, and not just for its ghosts, witches, and goblins. Halloween has been known to frighten more than just a few parents for what all that gooey, sugary candy can do to their kids’ teeth. Thankfully, as a parent, you don’t have to make your kids opt out of all the Halloween fun just because you don’t want their teeth to end up looking like that candy corn they’ve been scarfing by the boatload. In fact, it likely will surprise you to learn that some of the candy they get for for trick or treat may even be good for their teeth. For instance, sugarless candies can actually benefit teeth. But what about the rest of them? Is one sugary candy just as bad as another? Or are all Halloween candies that contain sugar as ghastly as those costumes they picked out? Here are some dental health tips for parents at Halloween about the best and worst Halloween candy for teeth.

How to Survive Halloween without Cavities

Halloween without CavitiesImpossible, right? Actually, it’s very possible. As a parent, you probably cringe every year about this time thinking about all that candy your kids are going to get on their fun night of trick-or-treating. And all that sugar swishing around in their mouths, well, it’s on a mission to destroy your kid’s teeth and tooth structures. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are things you can do as a parent to help your kids get through Halloween and all its sugary ghoulishness without coming out on the other end with a mouth full of cavities. Here are some tips from dentists in Clearwater for parents of trick-or-treat-age kids on how to survive Halloween without cavities.

Health Benefits of Good Carbs

Health Benefits Of Good Carbs
You’ve likely been hearing it for decades… there are bad carbs and there are good carbs. But what does it mean? Are the bad carbs really that bad? And, perhaps even more important, are the good carbs really that good? The answers to both of these questions are, quite simply, yes. Bad carbs are pretty bad for you, and good carbs, well, they’re not just good… they’re great. In fact, when it comes to daily health tips, the differences between good carbs and bad carbs are clear. That’s why it’s important to learn some of the differences, and especially important to learn why good carbs are so important to your overall health. Here’s more information from health experts about why good carbs are so important to your health, and why it’s important to include them in your daily diet.

Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Health Benefits of Apple Cider VinegarEverybody’s looking for ways to get healthy. And most of us wouldn’t mind finding little shortcuts to that good health. In fact, daily health tips are among the most trending Internet subjects ever, and the reason is pretty obvious. People are too busy these days to spend hours every day at the gym or reading about staying healthy. They’d rather do it! And that’s why apple cider vinegar has gained so much popularity in the United States and throughout the world. But it’s not just a fleeting fad, like many other daily health tips you read about. The health benefits of apple cider vinegar have been known for centuries. It’s been used for a number of ailments for thousands of years. Thankfully, its use throughout history as a health booster has been recorded and is still known today. In fact, today apple cider vinegar’s effectiveness for aiding in the cure of many medical conditions is even more prevalent than ever. It’s also been known throughout history that apple cider vinegar has many cosmetic uses. Following is helpful information about some of the most beneficial uses for apple cider vinegar.

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
A famous writer once wrote, “Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands… and eat just one piece.” Pretty funny, huh? Want to know the funniest thing about that quote? You don’t have to eat just one piece anymore… now that medical science has proven eating chocolate is actually good for you. It’s true! Chocolate has a number of health benefits, some that you’ve probably already heard about, and others that might not be so obvious. You probably already know that chocolate can help to elevate your mood, but there are a number of other health benefits of chocolate you likely don’t know about chocolate. For instance, did you know eating chocolate may actually help you eat less? Bet that’s one you’ve never heard before… but it’s a fact! And what about eating chocolate to help you develop and maintain glowing skin? Or even breaking off a couple pieces of that chocolate bar for… are you ready for this?… A sunburn! It’s true. Chocolate can even help to reduce the effects of a sunburn.  When it comes to good health there are a number of daily health tips that you should live by and eating dark chocolate is a good daily health tip.

Health Benefits of Coffee

Health Benefits of Coffee
“On the eighth day, God created coffee… so that people like me could experience those seven other days.” Is this you? Are you somebody who just can’t start your day without your morning cup of coffee? If you are, then it probably won’t surprise you a bit to hear you’re not alone, especially in the United States. According to the website of the Statistic Brain Research Institute, more than half of all American adults are coffee drinkers; upwards of 100 million people in the United States love coffee; and more than 65 percent of those have their first cup in the morning. And why not? Coffee is the perfect way to kick off your day! It gets your juices flowing and your brain synapses sparking. But what else can coffee do? What would you say if someone told you that cup you enjoy every morning has the power to make you healthier? It’s true! Recent studies have shown that drinking coffee is one of those daily health tips everyone should know more about. Why? Because coffee has a number of health benefits, such as helping you burn fat, improving your physical performance, and even lowering your risk of such health conditions as depression and type 2 diabetes. Still not shocked? Then, what would you say if someone told you coffee can lower your risk of developing Alzheimer disease and even some types of cancer? Thought so!