December 22-31, 2011 - Original Health Articles

Consider exercise an investment in yourself. Aerobic exercise has great benefits like raising your heart rate and working your muscles. Strength training helps build strong bones and muscles. Stretching exercises not only help keep your joints flexible, but reduce your chances of injury as you work out.

Getting older can take a toll on your sexual appetite. And if you're in a relationship where you and your partner have different sexual needs, frustration and tension can result. Often, it's the woman who experiences a diminished sexual appetite, experts say.

If you live with chronic pain may rely on painkilling medications like ibuprofen, aspirin or acetaminophen to help you make it through the day-to-day grind. However, if you rely too heavily on over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications, you may run the risk of developing long term and potentially deadly health risks.

Want to live a longer, healthier life? Start today by adding a half cup of blueberries to a serving of yogurt while having breakfast with your spouse after a full night's rest. Of course, that might be easy to manage once, but what you really need to do is replace a lifetime of bad behaviors with the heart-healthy choices embodied in that seemingly simple breakfast.

Anyone who lives with chronic pain knows that the aches don't just occur on your knee, your shoulders, or the area you were injured. Chronic pain affects your whole life. It impacts your ability to work, enjoy yourself, interact with people, and engage in your normal daily activities.

Depression is a highly treatable mental health disorder. While there are numerous ways to treat depression, the most frequently used are psychotherapy, antidepressant medications, or both. If you've recently been diagnosed with depression, you may be wondering how to know if your treatment is working.

What's one thing you never want to leave home without? A first-aid kit. When scrapes, stings, bumps, and boo-boos happen, make sure you have what you need to treat the injury right away. The American Red Cross offers a complete line of kits you can slip in your pocket, pack in your purse, or stow in the trunk of your car.

People have a million excuses for why they slack off on fitness: I don't have time, It's too much work It's boring I'd rather be with my friends But what if exercise was fun? What if you enjoyed it so much you made the time, looked forward to putting...

When you have diabetes, taking proper care of your feet is extremely important.  Diabetics are more prone to cuts, ulcers, and sores on the skin, which can sometimes lead to serious infections. An article published in the Health Science Journal noted that foot problems remain a major cause of hospitalization amongst patients with diabetes.

Being "old" just got younger, according to a new study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise—that is if you hit the gym regularly. After administering fitness tests to 4,500 volunteers ages 20 to 90, scientists reported that the fitness levels/indicators of active middle-aged participants were nearly identical to that of inactive 20-year-olds.

Have you ever wondered why some people end up with asthma while others don't? Could it be chance or is it something more? Scientists have been puzzling over that question in recent years. The Asthma Epidemic With asthma rates increasing in leaps and bounds over the past few decades, many people are experiencing serious symptoms and the medical community has been hard-pressed to find some answers to explain this disturbing trend.

If you're one of the 40 million Americans who suffer from some form of arthritis, you know the devastating effect it can have on your day-to-day life. Arthritis not only affects your health; it can greatly diminish the overall quality of your life if pain and stiffness prevent you from participating in normal activities.

Don't be fooled by their lack of color—white fruits and vegetables contain as many essential nutrients and other health-promoting substances as do red, yellow, and green foods.  And some of these substances may be especially important for aging adults.