Recent Blog Posts

  Lumps and Bumps to Watch Out For: Detecting Cancer & Other Health Issues   Cancer experts recommend regularly checking your body for lumps or bumps that appear out of the ordinary. Should you discover something that may be, in fact, cancer finding it early will give you the best chance to overcome it. You have the best knowledge of what looks or feels unusual about your body, so trust your instincts and see a doctor if something is out of the ordinary. Here's a breakdown of what to keep an eye out for. Breast Lumps Experts recommend that women do a breast self-exam once a month to check for anything out of the ordinary. Feel for distinct lumps along with areas of "thickness," skin redness, distension, dimpling or pitting, asymmetry, pain, nipple inversion or unusual nipple discharge. While most breast lumps are noncancerous, you should see a doctor right away if: The lump is new or unusual The area feels different from surrounding tissue in that breast or your other breast The lump has changed (gotten bigger, firmer or [...]

  Sea Vegetables: Why You Should Eat More of This Delicious Asian Superfood Sea vegetables, better known as seaweed, are the leafy greens of the sea. Though not technically a vegetable (they're actually classified as algae), seaweed is loaded with nutrition and has a unique, slightly salty flavor that’s been a staple in Japanese cuisine for more than 10,000 years! In the U.S. seaweed is most widely known for its roll as a sushi wrapper, but it has many other culinary uses as well. In ancient China, meanwhile, sea vegetables were a delicacy reserved for honored guests and royalty. In fact, numerous cultures that live near their coasts have been enjoying sea vegetables for quite some time. This includes not only parts of Asia but also Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, coastal South America, Scotland, Ireland, and the Pacific Islands. Seaweed is grown and harvested in the United States as well, and here you can find sea vegetables in health food stores, Asian markets and many local grocery stores, in a variety of ocean and freshwater varieties such as kelp, wakame, [...]

  How to Destress While Improving Your IQ & PQ ... Become Healthier, Think Better and Quicker with Improved Physical Brainpower   If you’ve been stalling on renewing your gym membership or are just having trouble finding motivation to get up off the couch after a long day at work, here’s some fodder for you to chew on: along with boosting your physical stamina, staying fit can boost your brainpower. Exercise increases oxygen flow to your brain and boosts growth factors that help new nerve cells survive, both of which can help to give your brainpower a boost. For starters, exercise produces beneficial changes in your brain, that include: Encouraging the growth of new cells by increasing oxygen flow to your brain Boosting growth factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which helps new nerve cells to survive Increasing neurotransmitters in your brain that play a role in cognition Further, according to the Franklin Institute, “Movement and exercise increase breathing and heart rate so that more blood flows to the brain, enhancing energy production and waste removal. Studies show that in [...]

Heartburn? Acid Reflux? You Could be Struggling With GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) impacts one in 10 Americans about once a week, and virtually everyone has experienced it from time to time. This chronic digestive disease occurs when stomach acid or bile flows back into your esophagus, irritating its lining and leading to other symptoms including heartburn -- the most common symptom of GERD. The most common symptom of GERD is heartburn, but you may also experience belching, a sour taste in your mouth or a chronic sore throat, among other symptoms. If you experience the following symptoms more than twice a week, or they interfere with your daily life, you could have GERD: A burning sensation in your chest (heartburn) A sour taste in your mouth or bad breath Chest pain Difficulty or pain when swallowing Dry cough Chronic sore throat Regurgitation of food or sour liquid (acid reflux) or a sudden excess of saliva Sensation of a lump in the throat Excess belching GERD can also lead to inflammation of your gums and erosion of tooth enamel if [...]

Male Pattern Baldness: Aging or Androgenetic? How to Prevent Hair Loss and What to Do After It Happens In North America, millions of men suffer from the effects of baldness, or androgenetic alopecia, on a daily basis. The condition can be emotionally and physically hard to come to terms with, as a full head of hair is often a large part of what defines a man’s identity. When male pattern baldness occurs, the emotional side effects can be just as devastating as the physical ones, often causing those affected to develop self-esteem issues or, in serious cases, depression. Male Pattern Balding Can Be Very Emotionally Damaging Yet It's Easily Treated So Why Do Only 7% Seek Professional Treatment? The American Hair Loss Association for Men states it estimates the following: "Androgenetic alopecia or common male pattern baldness (MPB) accounts for more than 95% of hair loss in men. By the age of 35 two-thirds of American men will experience some degree of appreciable hair loss, and by the age of fifty approximately 85% of men have significantly thinning hair. Approximately [...]

Candida: How to Recognize and Overcome Yeast Overgrowth (a Surprisingly Common Chronic Illness) Candida Albicans is a single-cell fungi that lives, often harmlessly, on your skin and in your intestines (and, women, in your vagina). However, as part of the family of yeasts, candida cells can multiply rapidly and if your system is out of balance it can easily grow out of control. As many as 80 million Americans may suffer from yeast-related problems, and about 70% of these are women. According to the National Candida Centers, “The bacteria to yeast ratio in a healthy person is about 10:1, so in a normal bowel everything lives in a nice ecological balance. The problem comes when your “inner ecology” gets off balance through a variety of causes … The bowel becomes vulnerable to other opportunistic microorganisms seeking a new home. With no healthy probiotics [good bacteria] to keep it under control, the growth of yeast takes off, multiplies and causes Candida Overgrowth yeast infection resulting in a multitude of symptoms.” It’s estimated that as many as 80 million Americans may suffer [...]