Health Benefits of Tart Cherry Juice

It is one of the best-kept secrets in medicine. The role of tart cherry juice and overall health. Now, you might be surprised about advantages. According to the latest research, animals who received powdered tart cherries in their diet had lower total cholesterol, lower blood sugar and less fat storage in the liver. Now, these are all good things. Why the benefits? Researchers believe that cherries have high concentrations of antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins. So, if your kids are thinking about a juice to drink, try cherry juice.

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Pros and Cons of Pain Clinics

Pain clinics can be good and bad. Clearly, if you are suffering from chronic pain and you go to the right place to have the pain handled, they can make a big difference. They can make life a lot better for you. However, sometimes people go to pain clinics for the medication and before they know it, they get, more or less, hooked on the medications that were given with the best intentions. I see a lot of patients like that. They come into the family practice office and what they need is pain medicine. You have to get off those medicines. They are a crutch but they’re not something that should be used long-term.

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Choosing the Right Allergy Drugs

You know, it always seems to be allergy season. Many people rush out to the drugstore to purchase something to help them deal with those sniffles and sneezes, but my first advice is to make certain that the drug you choose is right for you, and that you can tolerate it. You might want to talk to your doctor or pharmacist first. Pharmacists are available to talk about both prescription and nonprescription drugs. There are several classes of allergy drugs. Antihistamines, which help relieve sneezing, itchy eyes and hives, decongestants help relieve congestion, and steroids reduce inflammation and swelling.

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Without References People Walk in Circles

Without a guide, people really do walk in circles.  This report came out of Germany in the journal Current Biology.  Stories about people who end up walking in circles when lost may actually be true.  Without absolute references like the sun or the moon, people attempting to walk in a straight line in unfamiliar territory will instead walk in circles.  Researchers had people attempt to walk straight in one direction for several hours through a flat forest or the Sahara desert.  Some walkers had the sun or moon to guide them, while others walked when the clouds obscured their reference point.  When the sun or moon was visible, subjects walked a perfectly straight line, but whenever this reference was absent, subjects invariably walked in circles, often crossing over their own paths several times each.

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Getting Treatment for Anxiety

Anxiety is very difficult to deal with.  We, as physicians, often turn to medications and medications are a good option, but you have to look at the underlying issues surrounding the anxiety.  Are there problems that need greater treatment?  I believe that counseling is a critical part of any psychiatric issue.  One of the problems with anxiety is people are afraid to see the doctor.  They don't want to admit they have a weakness.  They're afraid it will somehow follow them throughout their life.  Believe me, when it comes to anxiety, I believe you have to look at all these issues, but don't be afraid of treatment.

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Properly Fitting Bike Helmets

In life there are some people who can fix anything and follow complicated directions for building toys to making models. Then there are those who are all thumbs. In many cases, those of us who are all thumbs like it that way. It keeps us out of the firing line for fix up jobs. If the truth be told, many things can be done properly if we put in the time. This is particularly important when it comes to family safety. A good example? Bike helmets. The Bike Helmet Safety Institute says it needs to be properly fitted. Take time. Adjust the padding inside the helmet. Make sure it fits snuggly.

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Dealing With The Pain Of Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are very interesting. They’re difficult to treat because in many cases it’s tough to tell if someone has a migraine. The thing about migraine headache that’s important to realize is there’s often some sort of aura, some sort of sense that something is not right. Perhaps there’s a strange smell. The smell of coffee when there is none, or a zigzagging of lights, that sort of thing. Migraine headaches can be treated with medication, especially if they’re treated what we call prophylactically, before the headache occurs because you sense it’s coming on. It’s a very good way to approach it.

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Foot Pain and Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a big word for an inflammation on the bottom of the foot. We all have this lining that runs from the front of our foot to the back, and this lining can actually get very tight and terse. When that gets tight, pain actually can radiate through that. That pain, that plantar fasciitis, usually reveals itself on the first step of the day when you get out of bed. It can be made a lot better by wearing more comfortable shoes. Shoes that provide more support and that are actually better for the feet.

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Eating More Chocolate Is Associated with Higher Depression Scores

Chocolate and Depression  Eating more chocolate is associated with higher depression scores.  Researchers assessed the mood of 931 participants who were not taking antidepressants using a standard depression scale.  They then correlated the results from those with a food survey.  Those who scored very highly, reflecting probable major depression, reported consuming more than twice as much chocolate as those who were negative for depression.  The findings were similar between women and men.  The researchers speculate that depression may stimulate cravings for chocolate as a form of self-medication.  Animal studies suggest that chocolate may have positive mood benefits, however, they cannot rule out the possibility that chocolate actually contributes to the depressed mood, or that both cravings and depressed mood are caused by a third, underlying factor.  The report is in the Archives of Internal Medicine. 

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Stretch to Avoid Neck Pain

Neck pain is far more common now even than than it used to be. Part of the problem is people spend so much time in front of computers. They use the computers for all sorts of things and the typing and bending at the neck can cause pain. Computers are very helpful as tools and one of the things you can do to avoid the neck pain is to make sure you take the time to stretch, to move around, and to try to do what you can to keep the area actually free. If you can do that and actually stretch out, you’re going to make a big difference and have less pain.

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Anorexia Is Rooted in Body-Image Issues

Anorexia is a serious health problem; one which has a strong psychological component.  I think  one of the things that we really need to talk about is the fact that when someone has weight loss that is of a type that makes you think of anorexia, you have to think of what their body self-image is, how they feel about themselves, because correcting that sometimes is the best way to correct the weight issues.  Believe me, it is not easy, but it's important to try.  

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Depressed Adults Are Likely to Also Be Smokers

Depression and Smokers  More than 40% of U.S. adults who have depression are also smokers, meaning people need help with both if they want to quit.  According to a U.S. Government survey published, it says that more than half of middle-aged men with depression were also smokers, while half of women under 40 who were depressed also smoked.  About 7% of U.S. adults had depression in the years 2005 through 2008.  Globally, tobacco kills about 5 million people a year and according to the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's a big deal.  On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than non-smokers.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cigarette smoking is responsible for about one in five deaths annually, or about 440,000 deaths per year.