December 15-21, 2013 - Original Health Articles

Sticking with a controlled diet to manage your blood sugar is important; however, you may be tempted from time to time to "cheat" a little and wonder if it is safe. According to Kendra Blanchette, RD, CDE, of the Diabetes and Hormone Center of the Pacific, there is no such thing as a single diabetes diet.

Eating raw foods—including whole fruit and vegetables—nourish the body, provide necessary fiber, and stabilize your blood sugar in ways that some experts believe are better than pouring yourself a glass of juice. Unlike a blender, which mixes the ingredients together and makes a thick drink, juicers extract the liquid—the juice and nothing but the juice—from the whole foods, leaving behind the pulp.

Menopause is defined as the point in a woman's life when she has stopped menstruating for at least one year (the period of time leading up to this point is called perimenopause). There are a number of factors that affect a woman's age at menopause, but one carries more weight than any other: the age your mother was when she went through it.

If you have diabetes and are plagued by fatigue, you are not alone. Many factors can contribute to your lethargy including: physical factors such as swings in glucose levels and being overweight; psychological factors like depression caused by the intensity of managing this chronic disease; and lifestyle choices like being too sedentary.

Could a glass of wine really help with depression? Yes, according to one study that found depression improved when study participants imbibed in "moderate alcohol." Wine, according to the study in BioMed Central (BMC) Medicine, seemed particularly effective, with researchers reporting "wine consumption in the range of two to seven drinks/week was significantly associated with lower rates of depression.

A bad case of diarrhea can make you feel pretty stressed. But could stress also be at the root of your symptoms? It can be difficult for people to tell which comes first—stress or diarrhea—since the two problems often co-exist. The Scope of the Problem Diarrhea is a common problem that leads to approximately 450,000 hospital admissions each year, according to Alberto Barroso, MD, a gastroenterologist at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Having a cold is never fun, but people who suffer from asthma know a cold can be more than an uncomfortable nuisance—it can worsen asthma symptoms and actually trigger an attack. In fact, experts say that having a cold or other respiratory virus is a prime reason that asthma gets worse in those with the condition.

You may feel lightheaded, slightly nauseous, and simply unwell. Your thoughts may be racing, yet you aren't having a panic attack or difficulty breathing. If these symptoms sound like how you occasionally feel, "mild anxiety" may be your problem. "Many, many people have the condition," says Lisa Rene Reynolds, PhD, author of Parenting Through Divorce: Helping Your Kids Thrive During and After the Split.

Some states have a legislative mandate for schools to weigh and measure students' body mass index (BMI). The results are then mailed to parents, like report cards, though they don't provide much guidance about how to understand the results. These letters, which have been commonly referred to as "Fat Letters," have experts quite worried.

When you exchanged wedding vows with your spouse, you promised to love, honor, and cherish each other in sickness and health. But if you became ill, would your husband stand by these promises? While you may take this fact for granted, for some women grappling with cancer, their diagnosis has led to the end of their marriage.