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  • The truth about heels: It hurts

    Always choose fashion over comfort, right? Well, not always. Studies suggest that those sky-high heels that many women love to wear could be the cause of the aches and pains that plague the fashion forward.

  • A breast self-exam saved Carrie's life. Read her story.

    “I was at church talking to a friend whose son had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer,” Carrie, a 40-year-old mother of three, explains. "He had noticed a lump during a self-exam and contacted his doctor. I didn’t have a history of cancer in my family and I was healthy, so I always thought I had nothing to worry about.”

  • Are you at Risk of Developing Ovarian Cancer?

    In the United States, 1 of 68 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer by the age of 80. The common age of diagnosis is 60-65 years, and more women are at risk of death by ovarian cancer than the breast cancer population. Certain risk indicators and symptoms can help you determine if you will be most at risk for developing ovarian cancer.

    General Risk Indicators

    Certain general risk factors contribute raise chances of developing ovarian cancer. One specific risk is simply age. Other risk factors are having few or no children, early age at start of a woman's period, late age of menopause or stopping your period, and not using oral contraceptives for at least five consecutive years. This is based on the theory that as we ovulate or make an egg each month, and the surface of the ovary has to repair itself as the release of the egg causes a tiny tear in an ovarian follicle, at some point the repair mechanism breaks down and cancer cells develop.

    Genetic Risk Indicators

  • What Online Resources Can You Trust for Health and Nutrition Information? Here's a List of Our Favorites

    The amount of nutrition misinformation is unreal. Many times I find myself wondering if what I am looking at is right. It would be so nice to be able to identify one or two foods that cure cancer or a special supplement that makes weight loss a breeze while eating anything you want. Unfortunately, the truth is usually hidden somewhere between the lines. When I am faced with this situation at work or when I'm putting together a family meal, I want a credible resource to guide me in the right direction. I have compiled a list of websites that I have found to have accurate and credible nutrition information. My selection includes websites that base their information on current research and many of the sites are government sites that contain several nutrition resources.

    The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

    This is a resource I search regularly for updates on the latest nutrition news. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) is the supporting organization for Dietitians/Nutritionists and is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. As such, the site offers accurate, up to date nutrition information on timely topics. Some topics include childhood obesity, healthy weight loss, and nutrition for life and disease management/prevention.

    The Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionist (SCAN)

    The SCAN website is where I go for sports nutrition questions, as well as information for disease prevention. SCAN provides sound, evidence-based information for athletes, consumers, and health and fitness professionals. A sampling of topics include disordered eating in adolescent athletes, quitting smoking/how to fight cravings, and eating for teens.

    The National Institute of Health (NIH)

    The NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the nation’s medical research agency that provides leadership and direction to programs designed to improve the health of the Nation by conducting and supporting research. The NIH is designed to enhance health, lengthen life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. Topics include clinical trials, health/wellness, and health for child, teen, men, women and seniors.

    Medline Plus

    MedlinePlus is produced by the National Library of Medicine, offering information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues. The health information is reliable and up-to-date and covers the latest treatments and drugs or supplements. You can also find out about clinical trials on a disease or condition.

    The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

    The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is a government program providing research, training, and education programs to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood diseases. The site has a tab named “public” which takes you to a page that has “Health Information for the Public”. A menu of topics offer information onheart & vascular, lung, and blood diseases, as well as, sleep disorders.

    Choose My Plate

    The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans. The Department is responsible for Choose My Plate, which is a nutrition program based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The site has a “SuperTracker” for tracking daily food and exercise. It as has nutrition tips, sample menus, recipes and daily food plans.

    Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010

    The Dietary Guidelines are the federal government's evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity. The site contains the Dietary Guidelines Policy. The policy has very specific information on weight management, foods to include and reduce in the diet, eating patterns and healthy food choices.

    National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) 

    The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) conduct and support medical research and research training. They offer science-based information on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutritional disorders, and obesity; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases.

    Livestrong

    Livestrong was created as the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 by cyclist Lance Armstrong. Livestrong has content on overall health as well as nutrition issues. It is based on a premise that healthy living is essential to the prevention of cancer and other illnesses. Livestrong offers information on health and nutrition, however, at times purely facts are presented and the reader still has to decipher if it is a good choice.

    WebMD

    WebMD is a resource that uses health experts to answer timely health questions. A search of the database may be able to give insight into a health question.

    Mayo Clinic

    Mayo Clinic offers useful and up-to-date information and tools that reflect the expertise of the Mayo Clinic. Mayo health professionals offer insight into a variety of health issues. Mayo is a site that has sound nutrition principles offered by registered dietitians. So, next time you are uncertain if a nutrition fact is true, try searching for the answer from one of these more credible resources.

  • Hereditary Cancer: Are You at Risk?

    When a family member is diagnosed with cancer, it is understandable to have fears about whether you might also be at risk for that same cancer. The reality is that while a lot of cancers occur by chance, some cancers are indeed more common in certain families or groups of people.

  • Are you getting fooled by food labels? Learn what those percentages are telling you.

    The other day, I was talking to a gentleman about a food label. He was telling me that it was a low fat product because it was 18% fat. It was a large chocolate chip cookie, so I had to take a closer look. The At 250 calories and 12 grams of fat, the cookies was 44% fat. It dawned on me that he was looking at the % daily value for fat - and was misreading the label.

  • Emergency Contraception: What Every Parent of a Teenager Should Know

    In the United States, recent news about teenage sexuality is promising. Fewer teens are having sex, down 3% since 2001. Approximately 44% of girls have sex before they graduate high school according to the 2011 data from the Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey of high school students. Teen pregnancy rates are also falling; there has been a 48% decline in teen pregnancy rates since 1988, probably due to a combination of fewer teens having sex, better long-acting contraception options such as DepoProvera, and condom use by teens. In spite of this great news, the United States still has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy among developed countries. Nearly 80% of teen pregnancies are unplanned, a result of contraception failure or nonuse, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

  • Hypothyroidism is commonly mismanaged, learn the facts

    Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disorder. Hypothyroidism means you have too little thyroid hormone. Another term is an “underactive thyroid”. It occurs more often in women and people over age 60, and tends to run in families.

  • Our Dietitian Answers: "What's the best diet to follow?"

    When people find out I am a registered dietitian, the first words out of their mouth isusually, “What diet should I follow?” They are almost always surprised by my answer, “none”. Here’s why: whenever you go on a diet, there is the eventual going off that diet.  Many diet plans do work because there is a restriction in calories and people are genuinely able to lose weight. The problem is they never keep it off.

  • There is hope: Advancements in ovarian cancer treatment provides hope for patients

    When women are told they have a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, their first thought is usually fear. This is the cancer that we don’t always talk about. This is the cancer where we don’t see so many runs and walks and rallies and ribbons adorning the food we buy and the events we attend. It’s not pink. It’s teal. Is teal scarier? Well, breast cancer is no walk in the park, but what about teal?