Managing Your Health

Inflammation is a key component of arthritis and other chronic joint diseases. Gout, a painful and potentially debilitating form of inflammatory arthritis, develops when tiny, needle-shaped crystals or uric acid (a biological waste product) accumulate in the joints. The presence of these uric acid crystals triggers the release of cytokines, and these inflammatory messengers attract neutrophils and other white blood cells to the scene. Gout usually affects one joint at a time, most often the big toe, but sometimes it occurs in a knee, ankle, wrist, foot, or finger. Early on, gout flare-ups tend to be intermittent. If gout persists for a long time, the joint pain can be ongoing and mimic other types of arthritis. After several years, uric acid crystals may collect in the joints or tendons. They can also collect under the skin, forming whitish deposits. They are called tophi, lumps of tissue that form under the skin of fingers, knuckles, and elsewhere. Most people with gout make t...

The awareness of the intersection between inflammation and chronic disease has spawned a plethora of diet plans, nutritional supplements, and lifestyle programs, many implying they offer new ways to improve your health by quelling inflammation. It's true that scientists are uncovering new complexities and expanding their knowledge of factors that may contribute to inflammation or help counter it. But much of the heavily hyped guidance for an anti-inflammation lifestyle boils down to the same no-nonsense health advice your grandmother might have given you. Make healthy food choices Our diets plan an important role in chronic inflammation because our digestive bacteria release chemicals that may spur or suppress inflammation. The types of bacteria that populate our gut and their chemical byproducts vary according to the foods we eat. Some foods encourage the growth of populations of bacteria that stimulate inflammation, while others promote the growth of bacteria that suppress ...

The next time you have a check-up, don't be surprised if your doctor hands you a prescription to walk. Yes, this simple activity that you've been doing since you were about a year old is now being touted as "the closest thing we have to a wonder drug," in the words of Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of course, you probably know that any physical activity, including walking, is a boon to your overall health. But walking in particular comes with a host of benefits. Here's a list of five that may surprise you. 1. It counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes. Harvard researchers looked at 32 obesity-promoting genes in over 12,000 people to determine how much these genes actually contribute to bod weight. They then discovered that, among the study participants who walked briskly for about an hour a day, the effects of those genes were cut in half. 2. It helps tame a sweet tooth. A pair of studies f...

People allude to addiction in everyday conversation, casually referring to themselves as "chocolate addicts" or "workaholics." But addiction is not term clinicians take lightly. Addiction is defined as a condition characterized by the loss of control over the use of psychoactive drug or the participation in an activity, such as gambling. People with an addiction also crave their activity and continue to pursue it even though they experience adverse consequences as result of doing so. There are a few key terms surrounding addiction that people tend to use interchangeably. The words tolerance, physical dependence, and withdrawal can sometime be confused with each other. These terms are related but not interchangeable. Tolerance means that, over time, a person who will need larger doses to get the same effect first experienced with smaller doses. Because tolerance to some side effects does not occur, people with tolerance often face worsening side effects as ...

Most people think less as they grow older. However, some maintain heavy drinking patterns throughout life, and some develop problems with alcohol for the first time during their later years. The many challenges that can arise at this stage of life -- reduced income, failing health, loneliness, and the loss of friends and loved ones - may cause some people to drink to escape their feelings. Several factors combine to make drinking - even at normal levels - an increasingly risky behavior as you age. Your ability to metabolize alcohol declines. After drinking the same amount of alcohol, older people have higher blood alcohol concentrations than younger people because of such changes as a lower volume of total body water and slower rates of elimination of alcohol from the body. That means the beer or two you could drink without consequence in your 30s or 40s has more impact in your 60s or 70s. Your body might also experience other age-related changes that increases the risks associ...