Common Ailments Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-22-2023

Along with making some lifestyle changes and adding exercise, your diet has a lot to do with boosting your metabolism. Sometimes making the right choices about what to eat isn't so easy, and these decisions are often fraught with anxiety because of the conflicting messages we all receive about food and health in the media. It doesn't have to be so tough. With a little foreknowledge and preparation, you can eat foods that will boost your metabolism without being stressed out about it.

Step by Step / Updated 07-28-2022

Medicinal herbs really are nature’s gift. They work wonders at alleviating and preventing many ailments, and herbs are an effective, inexpensive, and convenient way to manage your health. Herbs can help many conditions. If you suspect vitamin or mineral deficiencies, lack proper rest, are under chronic stress, or get numerous colds or infections, you probably have a lowered immune system and medicinal herbs may help. If you’re considering herbs to boost your immune system, discuss your particular needs with a health practitioner who understands your individual situation. Some herbs for the immune system may enhance or interact with the action of synthetic medications and should be monitored by an herbalist or a doctor who understands how herbs interact with other treatments.

Article / Updated 11-25-2019

Digestion is the process of changing food into a form that the body can absorb and use as energy or as the raw materials to repair and build new tissue. Digesting food is a two-part process that's half mechanical, half chemical. Mechanical digestion begins in your mouth as your teeth tear and grind food into small bits and pieces you can swallow without choking. The muscular walls of your esophagus, stomach, and intestines continue mechanical digestion, pushing the food along, churning and breaking it into smaller particles. Chemical digestion occurs at every point in the digestive system, beginning when you see or smell food. These sensory events set off nerve impulses from your eyes and nose that trigger the release of enzymes and other substances that will eventually break down food to release the nutrients inside. The body then burns these nutrients for energy or uses them to build new tissues and body parts. How sight and smell relate to digestion At first glance — or sniff — the digestive link between your eyes, nose, and stomach sounds a tad weird. But think about it: How many times has the sight or scent of something yummy like a simmering stew or baking bread set your tummy rumbling? The sight of an appetizing dish or the aroma (actually scent molecules bouncing against the nasal tissues) sends signals to your brain: "Good stuff on the way." As a result, your brain — the quintessential message center — shoots out impulses that Make your mouth water. Make your stomach contract (hunger pangs). Make intestinal glands start leaking digestive chemicals. All that from a little look and sniff. Imagine what happens when you actually take a bite! Tasting and chewing in the digestion process You know that small bag of potato chips you have stashed way at the back of your desk drawer? Well, dig it out and take a chip. As the chip hits your tongue, your mouth acts as though someone had thrown the "on" switch in a fun house. Your teeth chew, breaking the chip into small manageable pieces. Your salivary glands release a watery liquid (saliva) to compact the chip into a mushy bundle (a bolus in digestive-geek speak) that can slide easily down your throat on a stream of saliva. Enzymes (which you can think of as digestive catalysts in this case) in the saliva begin to digest carbohydrates in the chip. Your tongue lifts to push the whole ball of wax . . . no, bolus, back toward the pharynx, the opening from your mouth to your esophagus, and then through a muscular valve called the upper esophageal sphincter, which opens to allow the food through. In other words, you're about to swallow. Swallowing food: The slide from esophagus to stomach If you think about it, the human digestive system is a wonder. As food enters the esophagus, your salivary glands release a rush of saliva to help food slide more easily down the tube. Then your esophageal muscles swing into action. Like the rest of your digestive tract, your esophagus is ringed with muscles that contract to produce wavelike motions — which you can refer to as peristalsis or (no surprise here) peristaltic contractions, if you're so inclined — pushing food down toward your stomach. At the bottom of the esophagus — an area known as the gastroesophageal junction — a muscular valve called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) opens to allow food through. Then the LES closes to prevent reflux, the flow of stomach contents back into the esophagus. A malfunctioning LES is public enemy No. 1 in the reflux world. Digesting food in the stomach Point to your stomach. Go ahead. Don't be shy. Odds are your finger is aimed somewhere around your belly button, an interesting site to be sure, but definitely not your stomach. Your stomach, a wide, pouchy part of the digestive tube, is located on the left side of your body above your waist and behind your ribs. Like the walls of your esophagus, the walls of your stomach are strong and muscular. They contract with enough force to break food into ever smaller pieces as glands in the stomach walls release stomach juices — a highly technical term for a highly acidic blend of enzymes, hydrochloric acid (HCl), and mucus. The stomach juices begin the digestion of proteins and fats into their respective bodily building blocks — amino acids and fatty acids. Churned by the stomach walls and degraded by the stomach juices, what started as food — apples, pears, potato chips, steak, cake, you name it — is now a thick, soupy mass called chyme (from chymos, the Greek word for juice). The stomach's wavelike contractions push this messy but still intact substance along to the small intestine where your body begins to pull out the nutrients it needs. Pulling out nutrients in the small intestine Here's an easy anatomy lesson to find your small intestine: Open your hand and put it flat slightly below your belly button, with your thumb pointing up and your pinky pointing down. Your hand is now covering most of the relatively small space into which your 20-foot-long small intestine is neatly coiled. Just like your esophagus and stomach, contracting muscles line your small intestines to push food along. But your small intestine is nobody's copycat. This part of your digestive system has its own set of digestive juices including Alkaline goop from the pancreas that powers special enzymes (called amylases) to digest carbs Bile from the liver and gallbladder that acts as an emulsifier (a compound that enables fats to mix with water) Pancreatic and intestinal enzymes that complete the separation of proteins into amino acids More contractions shove the chyme along the intestines while specialized cells in the intestinal walls grab onto sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, which are then sent off into your body for energy or as building blocks for new tissue. Then, after your small intestine has squeezed every last little bit of useful material (other than water) out of the food, the indigestible remainder (think dietary fiber) moves toward its inevitable end in your large intestine. The end of the digestive line: Poo-poo Your large intestine is also sometimes called the colon. Think of this area as a giant sponge and press whose only jobs are to absorb water from the mass you deliver to it and then squeeze the dry leftovers into compact bundles of waste — which you may know as feces and any 2-year-old as poo-poo (or poop, caca, whatever). After resident colonies of friendly bacteria digest any amino acids remaining in the waste and excrete smelly nitrogen — in a process scientists call passing gas — muscular contractions in the rectum push the feces out of your body, and digestion is finally done.

Article / Updated 06-14-2019

Summer colds are just as inconvenient as they are annoying, particularly when they interfere with vacations, weekend getaways, and outdoor activities. When it’s a beautiful outside and you’re stuck inside with a summer cold, you want to conquer your sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, fever, and cough quickly so you can get back to what summer is really about: fun in the sun! When trying to treat your summer cold, keep a few considerations in mind, like how to tell the difference between a summer cold and a winter cold. Difference between summer and winter colds While summer and winter colds may feel different due to the time of year we contract them, the bottom line is both are caused by the same type of virus. And viruses, unfortunately, cannot be treated by antibiotics. Both types of colds are most often contracted by a person placing their infected hands to their eyes, nose, or mouth. The biggest difference between summer and winter colds is how we respond to them. In the winter, we’re naturally more accepting of staying under the covers and eating chicken soup in an effort to treat our colds. That’s easier said than done in the summer months when Little League games, pool parties, and backyard barbeques are in full swing. Getting over a summer cold The duration of a cold depends on your body’s immune system, which is dependent upon the foods we eat, the fluids we drink, and the activities we participate in. You can improve your chances of a speedier recovery by following some tried and true good advice — Mom really does know best! Wash your hands often. Germs are spread from a contagious person to a healthy person typically by hand, whether directly or indirectly. Your greatest defense is to wash your hands several times a day with warm, soapy water. Keep hand sanitizers handy. When washing your hands is not an option, hand sanitizers are the next best thing. They are especially convenient in places such as grocery stores, doctors’ offices, workplaces, and classrooms. Drink plenty of fluids. While you can’t flush a cold out of your system, drinking water and other liquids, like orange juice, will help prevent dehydration and maintain your body’s fluids. Rest. It’s easier said than done in the summertime, but in order for your body to recover from a virus, you must get plenty of rest. Spend some time outdoors (but limit strenuous activity). We are more likely to catch a cold in indoors rather than outdoors. Indoor, air conditioned environments and tight closed spaces, such as airplanes, pose many virus-sharing risks and ultimately increase the likelihood of catching a cold. That’s why a little time spent relaxing in the sun can be good for you. Why? Because the sun’s ultraviolet rays can kill cold viruses, just as ultraviolet light can kill surface germs. Treat the symptoms While there is no cure for the common cold, there are many over-the-counter treatment options available to help ease the symptoms, including cough suppressants, fever reducers, and nasal decongestants. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, most problems with cold medicines occur when more than the recommended amount is used, it is given too often, or more than one cough and cold medicine containing the same active ingredient are being used. Take advantage of the fruits of the season. Eating fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and nutrients will help boost your body’s immune system. In addition to being naturally good for you, they’re delicious — especially when in season!

Article / Updated 04-03-2018

Ah, spring. The trees bud, the flowers bloom and the grasses flourish. But for 60 million Americans, our beautiful, burgeoning landscape brings a host of misery, including sneezing, sore throat, and watery eyes. There are a wealth of both over-the-counter and prescription medications available to ease allergy misery. However, these medications may not succeed in getting rid of all your symptoms. Here are ten lifestyle tips to help ensure a clear-eyed and sneeze-free spring is yours to enjoy. Wash and change your clothes: Pollen likes to hang onto our bodies and our clothing. You’ll suffer fewer sniffles if you shower and change into clean clothes at the end of the day or after a long stretch of outdoor activity. Cover up when you work outside: If you’re doing yard work, wear a NIOSH-approved mask (to prevent inhalation of pollen and other allergens that might be floating around. NIOSH stands for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. These masks, which filter at least 95 percent of airborn particles, can be purchased at most larger home improvement stores. For extra protection, wear garden gloves and long pants and sleeves to protect your skin from allergens. Embrace cloudy skies, still winds: Pollen counts are higher on sunny, breezy days. Scheduling your outdoor time during calm winds and cloud cover can help minimize your pollen exposure. Use a neti pot: Neti pots have been around for centuries. They are a safe and effective way to flush harmful irritants out of your sinuses. A neti pot looks like a small tea pot but it has a longer, more slender spout. Fill the pot with warm salt water. Tilt your head to one side. Put the neti pot spout just inside the opposite nostril and pour. Out comes the pollen, dust, and other microbes that make you sniffle and sneeze. Ask someone else to cut your grass: Ask a friend who doesn’t have allergies to mow in exchange for a meal, or hire a neighborhood kid or lawn service. Whoever ends up cutting your grass, be sure to leave your doors and windows closed for a few hours afterwards to give kicked-up allergens a chance to settle down. Landscape with anti-allergy plants: Plants have different ways of going forth and multiplying. Some plants spread their seeds via air. Others depend on insects to carry their pollen. You want to fill your garden with the latter and avoid the former. This means landscaping with plants such as St. Augustine grass, azaleas, hibiscus, begonias, impatiens, hostas, red maples, dogwoods, and cherry trees. Install HEPA filters: High-efficiency particulate air filters trap very tiny particles, including pollen, so they don’t fly through the air in your home and aggravate your allergies. HEPA filters are available for furnaces, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners and room air filters. Use them in every appliance you can to reduce the allergens you breathe. Keep pets off the furniture: Pollen gets trapped in pet hair. So when your pets lay around the house, they can transfer pollen onto your couch, bed, chairs, etc. Confine them to the floor and and bathe them frequently. Forgo the clothesline: Drying your clothes outside can save lots of money on the electric bill, but . . . Unfortunately, line drying outdoors can also bring lots of pollen into your life. Dry clothes indoors if you want to keep springtime allergy symptoms at bay. Monitor pollen levels daily: Most meteorologists include pollen counts as part of their daily forecasts throughout the spring and summer. When pollen levels are high, keep your windows closed and limit your outdoor activity as much as possible. If you have to go outside for extended periods, wear a mask.

Step by Step / Updated 04-04-2017

Protein builds you up. Growth and repair are protein’s major roles: Your body uses the protein you take in as food to build cells, synthesize new proteins, and keep your tissues healthy. Eating adequate protein supports your physique and satisfies your appetite. Protein is a nutritional powerhouse in that it provides important immune-boosting nutrients — essential fatty acids (good fats), vitamins, and minerals. Among these minerals is zinc, which helps in the production of infection-fighting white blood cells. Even a mild deficiency in zinc can open the door to many diseases and infections. So sufficient amounts of protein are wonderful in supporting a healthy immune system.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Knowing the common signs of GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) is your first step to recognizing if you may have a problem. To prevent heartburn and reflux, keep away from certain seasonings, foods, and other risk factors that trigger reflux. Learn key terms related to heartburn and reflux, and maintain a healthy weight and BMI to further reduce your risk.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Besides a side-splitting headache, a variety of symptoms can occur when you have a migraine. Identifying common migraine signs will help: determine triggers (causes), create a plan to prevent migraines, and recognize warning signals that require medical attention. Steer clear of migraine myths so they don't hinder your diagnosis and treatment

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Your immune system is something you can manage: When you begin to eat the right foods and live in a way that boosts your immunity, you look and feel better. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder or just want to take control of your health and increase your energy level, you can take simple steps in the areas of nutrition and detoxification to keep your immune system healthy and happy.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Back pain is such a common condition that many doctors consider it a normal part of life — but you don't have to suffer. To start, know when to see a doctor for your pain, learn how to choose the right doctor to treat it, and ask smart questions about the tests and treatments your doctor suggests. Managing back pain requires home care, too; so develop a plan for managing your back pain at home.