Managing Your Health

 Joint pain can rob you of life's simple pleasures - you may no longer look forward to walking your dog, gardening, or chasing a tennis ball across the court. Event the basics of getting through your day, like getting into the car or carrying laundry to the basement, can become sharp reminders of your limitations.  Common causes of joint pain include arthritis, previous injuries, the strain of repetitive movements, posture problems, aging, or inactivity. It is tempting to avoid the motions that cause you pain. But limiting your movements can weaken muscles and make compound joint trouble worse.  But the right exercises performed properly can be a long-lasting way to subdue ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder pain. For some people, the right exercise routine can even help delay or side step surgery. Your goal should be to pair gentle, targeted joint workouts with a simple walking routine. Your doctor should advise you before you begin a new exercise program, but these simple str...

  Diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors are known to affect your risk of heart disease. The major risk factors for heart disease, as well as the condition itself, are all closely linked to the risk of developing atrial fibrillation. Can a heart-healthy lifestyle prevent atrial fibrillation? Can it reduce symptoms?  There's preliminary evidence that managing the risk factors for heart and blood vessel disease may improve the long-term outlook for people with atrial fibrillation. On a practical level, that could mean fewer episodes of a-fib and improvements in symptoms - in short, a better quality of life for you.  Focus on heart health The ability of lifestyle change to reduce the burden of atrial fibrillation remains an active area of research. In the meantime, take steps to live a healthy and active lifestyle, in addition to medication and other standard a-fib treatments: If you smoke, quit. Control high blood pressure. Get treatment for sleep apnea if you have it....

Lasting, healthy weight loss demands that you transform your eating and exercise habits. But many other choices you make each day, such as how much time you spend sleeping or surfing the Internet, can also make a difference. Set small, specific, and realistic goals Perhaps you'd like to be the same size you were in high school or when you got married, but that would mean dropping more than 50 pounds. Don't go there - not yet, at least. Set a more realistic goal of losing 5% to 10% of your weight, and give yourself plenty of time and some flexibility to reach that goal, keeping in mind that most people take at least six months to achieve that degree of healthy weight loss. Also try to avoid generalized goals, such as "I should eat less at dinner and exercise more." Instead, set specific and short-term (that is, daily or weekly) goals, such as these: I will choose a few dinner recipes and shop for the ingredients on Sunday. I will bring a healthy lunch from home instead...

  When Peter Wayne, medical editor of introduction of Tai Chi, began conducting scientific studies on the health benefits of tai chi, he began noticing that tai chi works in a variety of ways, not just one. Whereas most drugs have a single active ingredient, he observed that tai chi was more like a multidrug combination that uses different components to produce a variety of effects.  Wayne formulated the idea of the "eight active ingredients" of tai chi, which he and his colleagues now use as a conceptual framework to help evaluate the clinical benefits of tai chi, explore the underlying mechanisms that produce these effects, and shape the way tai chi is taught to participants in clinical trials (and to teachers). While different styles of tai chi emphasize different ingredients, these therapeutic factors ae interwoven and synergistic. Here's a summary of one of the active ingredients of tai chi. Structural integration. Tai chi looks at the body as an interconnected syste...

Sit-ups once ruled as the way to tighter abs and a slimmer waistline, while "planks" were merely flooring. Now plank exercises, in which you assume a position and hold it, are the gold standard for working your core, while classic sit-ups and crunches have fallen out of favor. Why the shift? One reason is that sit-ups are hard on your back - they push your curved spine against the floor and work your hip flexors, the muscles that run from the thighs to the lumbar vertebrae in the lower back. When the hip flexors are too strong or too tight, they tug on the lower spine, which can create lower back discomfort. Second, plank exercises recruit a better balance of muscles on the front, sides, and back of the body during exercise than do sit-ups, which target just a few muscles. Finally, activities of daily living, as well as sports and recreational activities, call on your muscles to work together, not in isolation. Sit-ups or crunches strengthen just a few muscle groups. Through ...

Many health conditions are worsened by excess weight, and the stress of extra weight on joints can lead to painful conditions, particularly of the knees and feet. It makes sense, then, that losing weight often helps to relieve some kinds of pain. Finding an eating plan that is healthful and enjoyable will help you stick with your weight loss goals for the long term and maintain any weight loss you manage to achieve. To manage your weight, follow these simple rules to cut back on calories: Keep track of how much you eat. Keeping a food diary keeps you accountable and gives you valuable feedback on your eating trouble spots. Make small changes. Change your diet slowly to ensure you will be able to stick with it. Abruptly reducing the amount and type of foods you eat will likely backfire, causing you to go back to overeating. Use mindfulness techniques. Be mindful of when, where, and how much you're eating and when you begin to feel full. One tip is to take 20 minutes to finish a meal...

Normally, nerves branch off the spinal cord through spaces between the vertebrae. If one of these exit spaces shrinks, it can squeeze the nerve root (the radicular nerve) and cause symptoms in the area served by the nerve. A number of problems can cause a pinched nerve, including a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or degenerative disc disease. Age-related degenerative changes in the spine account for 70% to 90% of all cases. The good news: there are multiple options for pinched nerve treatment. People with a pinched nerve can have a positive outlook for recovery. As a result, pinched nerve treatment almost always begins with conservative therapies. Your doctor will likely recommend an over-the-counter pain reliever. You will be advised to avoid activities that cause pain or discomfort and may be told to use a cervical collar for a brief period of time, as well as a cervical pillow while you sleep. Physical therapy, range-of-motion exercises, and strengthening exercises can help make yo...

Without knowing it, you may be encouraging neck pain by the way you perform everyday activities. How you carry yourself can invite neck pain or help keep it at bay. In general, try to keep your head balanced directly over your spine, so it is not leaning forward or cocked to one side. That's because your neck's principle job is to support your head, and your head weighs a lot - about 10 to 12 pounds. Here are some hints for achieving a healthy neck posture in common activities.  At the computer or desk When working at your computer or at a desk, keep your head balanced directly over your spine as much as possible. That means setting your chair height so both your feet can rest on the ground, and sitting with your buttocks far back in your chair, using a small pillow to support your lower back if needed. Properly adjusting the keyboard and monitor may be difficult or impossible with a laptop, notebook, or tablet computer. You can plug in a separate, full-size keyboard to help yo...

What's the healthiest way to eat? It depends on whom you ask. Many medical and nutrition experts claim to know the "perfect" way to eat for health, yet some of these dietary advocates disagree with each other in some fundamental ways. So, who's right...and who's wrong? The truth is that there is no single way to eat for good health. As a species, humans are quite similar on a genetic level, yet as individual specimens we can be amazingly diverse. That's why some people may feel great on a vegan die while others prefer a paleo diet - two dietary patterns that would appear to be polar opposites. The paleo diet includes meat but excludes grains and legumes, while the vegan diet includes grains and legumes that excludes meat and other animal products. How can both diets work? When planned well, each diet includes lots of vegetables and minimizes highly processed foods. Those are the common denominators of a healthy diet. From there, you can fill in the blanks to s...

Your diet clearly plays a role in determining your cholesterol levels, but if you're like most people, the most important factor isn't how much cholesterol-rich food you eat. Rather, it's what else you eat. Figuring this out has been a learning process.  Initially, the news that cholesterol in the bloodstream was linked to heart disease prompted an all-out war on cholesterol in food. From the 1960s on, people were advised to stay away from foods rich in cholesterol, like eggs, dairy foods, and some types of seafood. But today, the science suggests that, for most people, dietary cholesterol (the cholesterol in foods) has only a modest effect on the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream. In fact, the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans eliminated an earlier recommendation to limit dietary cholesterol to 300 milligrams (mg) per day - although they still suggest caution on overall intake. Notably, the guidelines did not change the recommendation on saturated fat, whic...

Are you concerned about your alcohol intake? Maybe you feel that you're drinking too much or too often. Perhaps it's a habit you'd like to better control.  It's always wise to check with your doctor - she should be able to help you decide whether it is best for you to cut back or to abstain. People who are dependent on alcohol, or have other medical or mental health problems, should stop drinking completely.  But many people may benefit simply by cutting back. If your doctor suggests that you curb your drinking, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) suggests that the following steps may be helpful: 1. Put it in writing. Making a list of the reasons to curtail your drinking -- such as feeling healthier, sleeping better, or improving your relationships - can motivate you.  2. Set a drinking goal. Set a limit on how much you will drink. You should keep your drinking below the recommended guidelines: no more than one standard drink per day for women...

Good balance is key to preventing potentially disabling falls. It takes active coordination of many systems in the body to achieve good balance, but beginning in your 50s, you may start noticing subtle changes that can lead to difficulties. It's important to identify factors - such as inner ear problems, illnesses, medications, changes to your gait, weight gain or loss, pain, or foot problems -- that might affect your balance, and look for solutions. How gait affects balance Gait encompasses the many distinct features that make up the way a person walks. Gait includes pacing, the length of the stride, the swing of the leg to put the foot forward, the shift of balance from one leg to the other, how the foot is planted (toe first, heel first), and how the weight is distributed through the step. Your gait is as distinctive as your voice and fingerprints, and even subtle changes to the way you walk can increase the risk of falls. Gait often changes with age. For example, healthy people...

By the time you reach maturity, the neural networks that govern cognitive control have been well honed. Years of learning and experience have conditioned your brain to discriminate between important information and distractions. In theory, your capacity for focus and concentration should be at its best.  But the variables of daily life will inevitably throw obstacles in your path. To stay at the top of your game, it's important to recognize and address the physical and emotional factors that interfere with your focus and concentration. Also remember that your brain is a flesh-and-blood organ. What's happening in your body -- from aging to diseases to lifestyle factors such as sleep and alcohol use - will play a key role in your ability to pay attention and focus. So will the neurochemical fluctuations that govern your mood. Let's take a closer look at one of the things that can cause you to lose focus.  Digital distractions Love it or hate it, we live in the digital age and...

Everyone has the occasional "senior moment." Maybe you've gone into the kitchen and can't remember why, or can't recall a familiar name during a conversation. Memory lapses can occur at any age, but aging alone is generally not a cause of cognitive decline. When significant memory loss occurs among older people, it is generally not due to aging but to organic disorders, brain injury, or neurological illness. Studies have shown that you can help prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia with some basic good health habits: staying physically active getting enough sleep not smoking limiting alcohol to no more than one drink a day eating a Mediterranean style diet. Memory and other cognitive changes can be frustrating, but the good news is that, thanks to decades of research, you can learn how to get your mind active. There are various strategies we can use to help maintain cognitive fitness. Here are several you might try.  1. Keep learning A higher l...

When something causes us stress - whether it's running late for work, a disagreement with a spouse, or a near-accident on a bike - the effects on our bodies are the same. We go into 'fight or flight' mode and a hormonal cascade is triggered from the brain to everywhere in the body to get the nutrients and energy ready when needed. We don't even realize it's happening, but we may feel an increased heart and respiratory rate, our blood pressure goes up, and our muscles feel tense. In short, we are getting ready to move. That's why being physically active is a great way to deal with stress. Our body is primed for movement and being active can help return things to what's called homeostasis, or our normal levels. Why it is important to Deal with the Effects of Stress Five Steps to Breathing for Your Health Breathing is a relatively simple exercise that can help your body when it's under stress. When we're under constant, or chronic stress - like in our j...

If the news about the COVID-19 situation has you feeling stressed out, you are not alone. But there are steps you can take to lower your stress, reduce anxiety and help you stay healthy in these uncertain times. "We have to cultivate resilience," says Dr. Shilagh Mirgain. "We survived as a species because our brains are primed to focus on potential threats, ruminate on them and prepare to deal with them. This is helpful in the short-term, but in a case like the coronavirus where there are more unknowns than answers, it leaves us vulnerable in a heightened state of anxiety, fear and stress. But we can adapt and create a new normal and be the calm in the storm." Tips for Creating a Sense of Calm During Times of Anxiety How do we do that? Dr. Mirgain offers this advice: Calm Your Body and Mind When you notice that you are getting on edge and overwhelmed, try deep breathing. Focus your attention on a longer timescale - think about the future, when a vacc...

Just as there is no magic pill to prevent cognitive decline, no single almighty brain as you age. Nutritionists emphasize that the most important strategy is to follow a healthy dietary pattern that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Try to get protein from plant sources and fish and choose healthy fats, such as olive oil or canola, rather than saturated fats. That said, certain foods in this overall scheme are particularly rich in healthful components like omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and antioxidants, which are known to support brain health and often referred to as foods. Incorporating many of these foods into a healthy diet on a regular basis can improve the health of your brain, which could translate into better mental function. Research shows that the best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels, including the following: Green, leafy vegetables. Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli ar...

What are the facts about the glycemic load of foods? If you have diabetes, you probably know you need to monitor your carbohydrate intake. But different carbohydrate-containing foods affect blood sugar differently, and these effects can be quantified by measures known as the glycemic index and glycemic load. You might even have been advised to use these numbers to help plan your diet. But what do these numbers really mean---and just how useful are they? Glycemic index vs. glycemic load The glycemic index (GI) assigns a numeric score to a food based on how drastically it makes your blood sugar rise. Foods are ranked on a scale of 10 to 100. The lower of a food's glycemic index, the slower blood sugar rises after eating that food. In general, the more processed a food is, the higher its GI, and the more fiber or fat in a food, the lower it's GI. But the glycemic index tells just part of the story. What it doesn't tell you is how high your blood sugar could go when you ...

If you have diabetes, a healthy eating plan for you is not that different from a healthy eating plan for people without diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) echoes the dietary guidelines recommended for the general public - that is, a diet centered on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (peas and beans), and low-fat dairy products. However, you'll want to pay special attention to your carbohydrate intake. Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains provide nutrition per calorie than refined carbohydrates and tend to be rich in fiber. Your body digests high-fiber foods more slowly - which means a more moderate rise in blood sugar. For most people with diabetes carbohydrates should account for about 45% to 55% of the total calories you eat each day. Choose your carbohydrates wisely - ideally, from vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. Avoid highly refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and rice, as well as candy, sugary soft drinks, and sweets. Refined ...

Take a moment to think about how you treat yourself when you make a mistake or fail to reach a goal. If you tend to beat yourself up when things go wrong, you, like most people, can use a little more self-compassion in your life. Forgiving and nurturing yourself seem to have benefits in their own right. Strong self-compassion can even set the stage for better health, relationships, and general well-being. So far, research has revealed a number of benefits of self-compassion. Lower levels of anxiety and depression have been observed in people with higher self-compassion. Self-compassion people recognize when they are suffering and are kind to themselves at these times, thereby lowering their own levels of related anxiety and depression. Learn to have self-compassion Some people come by self-compassion naturally, but not everyone does. Luckily, it is a learnable skill. Several methods have been proposed, and training programs are being developed. to help people discover and cultiv...