Recent Blog Posts

I use Robitussin PE every time my kids or I get sick. It is an expectorant and decongestant, and I find it really helps with nighttime coughing. Expectorants are very important for clearing congestion in the lungs. If you are coughing and take a cough suppressant you are not allowing your body to clear itself of the phlegm dripping into your lungs. Robitussin PE on the other hand makes your cough more productive by thinning the mucus and allowing it to come up with your cough, meaning you will end up coughing less because you will have cleared the congestion.  read more »

My husband just bought a Disney branded Chapstick for my daughter and I noticed that it had saccharin in the ingredients. I believe saccharin is considered an animal carcinogen. I was surprised to see it in a kids chapstick, so just a heads up to you to make sure you check your ingredients.

I've recently experienced some pretty strange, strong allergic reactions to bug bites. I don't know what kind of bug this was, since I was bitten at night while I was sleeping.

From one bite, I developed a big, splotchy, bright red skin condition that was extremely itchy (weird!!). It lasted a week, gradually turning black and blue and then slowly fading away. The second time this happened to me, I visited a dermatologist, who confirmed that it was just a strong allergic reaction to a bug bite. Cortizone cream helped ease the itching, which faded as the color faded.  read more »

I gring my teeth while asleep every night, resulting in tension headaches, soreness in jaw, sensitive teeth and a grumpy wife in the morning! I've tried the nightuard from my dentst, but find it too uncomfortable to wear every night.

Anyone have any ideas on how to stop teeth grinding?

I recently read an article talking about ways to keep your brain fresh -- we all know about the latest Sudoku craze, but this article mentioned little things such as using your non-dominant hand for normal every-day actions! Interesting, huh?

I am a vegetarian and I always come across the many varieties of soy ( soymilk, tofu, TVP, meatless burgers etc.).
My question is that does anyone worry about the amount of hormones soy foods can have???
It is already hard enough to get enough protein in a vegetarian's diet- so I do not want to avoid soy completely. Perhaps eating soy in moderation is ok. Any insights?

The Three Minute Rule: A dermatologist once told me this, and I find it true... the best time to apply cream is within 3 minutes of showering...pat the skin dry and immediately put lotion on. this will lock in the moisture much better then applying on dry skin!

I recently was married and learned that my wife can be quite forgetful. So to assist in decreasing her stress level in the morning I created a checklist (keys, phone, ID, etc) and taped it to the front door. That way she is always reminded to take everything with her when she leaves and not make many "repeated" trips back to our place from the garage or even worse: work!

The intake of essential fatty acids - like omega-3 fatty acids, has been associated with benefits to the cardiovascular system and immune system. Part of a healthy diet is sufficient intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

You can get omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil.

If you're a vegetarian or don't want to have fish oil for other reasons, another alternative is flax seeds.

Flax seeds are easily incorporated into your diet. You can get it in seed form, as grounded seed or as oil.  read more »

I have heard that one key for successful weighloss is to NOT eat anything after 7pm, or three hours before you go to bed. Apparently if you eat the same amount of calories as always, but make it earlier in the day, you will lose weight. I have been trying to do that this past week, but find it very difficult.

I often get pretty bad headaches - sometimes it feels like an overall throbbing sensation, and other times it feels like a short, sharp, shooting pain on one side. I've been told they are migraines or tension headaches related to stress. I never thought I was stressed out about anything, but every so often I do try to just sit, relax, and clear my mind of any thoughts and it does help.

I've read some fruits absorb more pesticides than others, and of all fruit apparently strawberries are the most important ones to buy organic. Conventional strawberry fields are fumigated with methyl bromide, which is an environmental and health hazard.

I am trying to lose 12 pounds by June, and I was really happy to see this morning that I have lost 2 pounds so far. I started changing my habits in the beginning of March. My main goals are to drink 8 glasses of water a day and exercise 5 times a week. I am also trying to eat an early and light dinner. In order to do this I eat lunch at noon and then a pretty substantial snack around 3, and then dinner around 6.  read more »

In the bathrooms at my office, I notice how many people don't actually wash their hands properly. Most people use soap, but almost immediately rinse it off. Their whole hand-washing process takes about 3 seconds. I believe that it's really important to wash your hands properly and often - isn't that what most healthcare professionals say is the most important thing for avoiding colds?? Take some time to make sure you've scrubbed each area at least!!  read more »

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.

--Will Rogers

Does anyone know of any health hazards related to tonsil removal at an older age (30+)?

I just read the news article posted about rethinking pregnancy weight gain guidelines.  read more »

Having read this fascinating study and having a 49 year old sibling who just lost 20 lbs.  read more »

I have found lately that drinking herbal tea has really helped me curb my cravings. I usually add a small amount of honey to it and I feel really full!  read more »

I just posted a news story about a new Yale University study that found no links between gene mutations and hear  read more »

An article I recently read in the Washington Post talked about how to prepare certain foods to really get the most out of their nutritional value.  Unfortunately, I don't have the article with  read more »

Hi everyone, I was at the mall this evening and stopped in at starbucks to get hot chocolate for my daughter.   They were out of soy, and I was disappointed because I don't like to give m  read more »

I started to eat raw carrots on a daily basis.  Its very healthy and it takes a while to chew raw carrots properly!  And I found by the time I've peeled and eaten one large carrot&nb  read more »

I noticed that after eating a certain amount of popcorn, i always get bad headaches.  I am trying to look into what ingredients could cause this....

I've recently come accross Naked Fruit Juice Smoothies.  They are delicious!  read more »

Has anyone tried Quinoa? It's really great! It's a "pseudocereal" that can be substituted for rice, wheat, and such based products (quinoa pastas taste really good).   read more »

There have been many scientific studies that have shown coffee, tea (black or herbal), milk and cocoa are potent iron absorption inhibitors (see  read more »

The other day my left hand was shaking quite noticeably.  I didn't feel nervous or anxious about anything, so I'm not sure if it was just adrenaline that made my hand shake.  Another poss  read more »

They now sell organic milk (chocolate or plain) and squeezable organic yogurt at Panera Bread!

I love to travel, and was recently advised that a good way to reduce jet lag is to drink a lot of water.  Apparently the air in the plane's cabin is very dry and most passengers get very dehyd  read more »