HealthyLife Articles

Category: Medical News

Simple Steps To Prevent Diabetes

MEDICAL NEWS

The good news is that many cases of type 2 diabetes, which account for between 90 and 95% of all adult cases of the disease, can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle, according to the CDC. So whether you’re flirting with pre-diabetes or just want to lower your risk, the American Diabetes Association suggests eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise.

Follow these tips on how to fit healthy eating and exercise into your busy day.

*Sneak some exercise into your day.Being physically fit can lower blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol by helping insulin work better. All of these factors help reduce your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Plus, being in shape helps you feel better both physically and mentally.

*Add exercise to your daily routine.If you don’t currently exercise on a regular basis, start with small amounts of physical activity. For instance, take a brisk 15-minute walk in the morning. Have a walking meeting with co-workers instead of meeting in a conference room.

*Make exercise fun.Any kind of physical activity is exercise. This includes doing yard work, dancing, or walking the dog. Choose a few activities you enjoy, and take steps to fit them into your schedule. Find a workout buddy to do a few laps around the neighborhood after dinner. Make bike riding or hiking regular family activities.

*Choose foods with a low glycemic index.The glycemic index is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. These foods include white pasta, cookies, and crackers. They are typically made with processed white flour. When we eat these foods, it causes a spike in blood sugar. Eating these foods also tends to result in weight gain since they are often high in calories. Plus, they are often high in sodium and not very nutritious. Most Americans eat foods with a high glycemic index.

*Cut back on your sugar intake.If you eat a lot of sugar in your diet, try to reduce sugary foods and beverages. For example, instead of soda and juice, try seltzer or water. When the craving for a cookie or piece of cake hits, try a piece of fruit instead. Some studies have shown that the natural sugar in fruit can help decrease sugar cravings.

*Incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet.Eating more fruits and vegetables keeps your blood pressure stable and gives you much-needed nutrients and fiber. Plus, most fruits and vegetables are low in fat and calories.

*Choose healthy snacks.Before having a high-sugar or high-fat snack, reach for a handful of nuts, some low-fat popcorn, or whole-wheat crackers. Keep healthy snacks on hand whether you are at home, at work or on the go.

*Remember these tips when eating out.Think of your plate as a pie chart. You should fill up half of your plate with vegetables, a fourth with protein, and a fourth with a starch or carbohydrate.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Ticked Off

MEDICAL NEWS

Act fast to lower your risk for problems related to Lyme disease caused by tick bites, urges Time for Lyme, Inc.

Have I been bitten? Lyme disease can only be transmitted from a bite by an infected deer tick, not from another person or animal, although pets commonly bring ticks into the home. All family members and pets should be inspected immediately and carefully after exposure to tick environments. You’ve been bitten if you find a tick attached to the skin. The longer it has been attached, the greater the risk of disease.

How should I remove the tick? The proper way to remove a tick is with a set of fine-point tweezers. Do not attempt to burn the tick or use your fingers or soap or any other substance on it, as these may irritate the tick and cause it to inject bodily fluids into the wound.

Using fine-point tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible, near the head of the tick. Pull backward gently but firmly, using an even, steady pressure. Do not jerk or twist. Do not squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick, as this may cause transmission of infection-causing organisms. If any mouth parts of the tick remain in the skin, leave them alone; they will come out naturally.

If the tick is found crawling, a good way to remove it is by using a piece of tape: stick the tape to the tick and then suffocate it by sealing it into the tape. Otherwise, you can dispose of it in alcohol or flush it down the toilet. After removing the tick, wash your skin and hands thoroughly with soap and water.

Monitor any bite site for redness that might mean a rash of Lyme disease. A bull’s-eye pattern might develop. Other typical symptoms that may develop within a few days of being bitten include headache, stiff neck, swollen glands, fatigue, dizziness, and pains that come and go.

See your doctor if you have symptoms or concerns. Early Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. For more information, go towww.LymeResearchAlliance.org.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Why Memories Change

MEDICAL NEWS

Memory is like the old telephone game, according to researchers at Northwestern University School of Medicine. You remember when kids took turns whispering a message into the ear of the next person in line? By the time the last person spoke it out loud, the message had radically changed. It’s been altered with each retelling.

Every time you remember an event from the past, your brain networks change in ways that can alter the later recall of the event. Thus, the next time you remember it, you might recall not the original event but what you remembered the previous time. The Northwestern study is the first to show this.

“A memory is not simply an image produced by time traveling back to the original event-it can be an image that is somewhat distorted because of the prior times you remembered it,” said Donna Bridge, lead author of the study published in the Journal of Neuroscience. “Your memory of an event can grow less precise even to the point of being totally false with each retrieval.”

The reason for the distortion, Bridge said, is the fact that human memories are always adapting. Take note, lawyers and eyewitnesses.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
A Curve You Don’T Want

MEDICAL NEWS

Curvature of the spine (or scoliosis) may sound like a scary diagnosis, but proper treatment enables children with the condition to lead normal, active lives.

Small curves are a normal part of the spine and not cause for concern, according to Dr. Daniel Green, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. But when the curve exceeds a certain range, children require medical help.

Scoliosis tends to run in families, but most often the cause is not known. However, studies show that scoliosis is not caused by poor posture, the use of backpacks, or any type of exercise. It affects girls 10 times more often than boys.

Scoliosis is often first detected during a routine visit to the child’s doctor or during a school screening. The development of scoliosis is usually gradual and painless. A curve can develop without a parent or child knowing it, until it becomes more obvious.

Signs of scoliosis

* One shoulder appears higher than the other.

* The waist appears uneven.

* One hip looks higher than the other.

* The ribs appear to stick out on one side.

* The child seems to be leaning to one side when standing.

Early diagnosis and treatment lead to a better outcome. The diagnosis is based on a physical exam and x-rays. A curve of greater than 10 degrees on an x-ray is considered to be scoliosis.

For patients with smaller curves, the doctor may recommend just watching the condition. For bigger curves, the best treatment may be a brace to correct the condition. Sometimes surgery may be needed.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Crowd Control

MEDICAL NEWS

Wherever there are crowds, such as at football games, conventions, or music concerts, there are germs. Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert Dr. Gregory Poland tells how you can avoid illness when you’re in a large throng of people, even in subways and on airplanes.

Whenever you’re in a venue with hundreds or thousands of people gathering, you automatically run increased risk for getting “something.” The people around you may not have the same immunization programs or the same standards of personal cleanliness or food safety, he said, especially if you’re in an international group.

Besides illnesses such as whooping cough, measles, mumps, colds and flu, other heightened dangers in places with large numbers of people passing through include respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis; vermin such as head lice and bedbugs; food-borne sickness such as E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis A and traveler’s diarrhea; and skin conditions including athlete’s foot and staph infections.

Dr. Poland offers these tips for sidestepping illness:

* Keep your vaccines up to date: The most important ones include the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella; the seasonal flu shot; and a relatively new vaccine called Tdap, for tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough.

* Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

* Dine carefully: If it’s not cooked well, boiled or peeled, forget it. Make sure food that is supposed to be hot is served hot and food that is supposed to be cold is served cold, and make sure dishes and utensils are clean.

* Wear shower/pool shoes when using the shower or pool in public places.

* Avoid swimming pools, hot tubs, or whirlpools unless you are certain they are properly maintained, and it’s hard to tell.

* Don’t smoke: It raises the odds you’ll get Legionnaires’ disease if you’re exposed to the legionella bacteria and can also make you more susceptible to respiratory illnesses in general.

* Don’t try on hats in stores to minimize the risk of getting head lice. If you buy a hat, seal it in a plastic bag to carry it home, then freeze it for several days or launder it before wearing.

* Scout for bedbugs in a hotel room, and once in a room, only place your luggage on wooden surfaces or in the bathtub, not on the floor, bed, chair or couch until you determine whether bedbugs are present.

* Be an advocate for your health: If someone near you is obviously ill, move away if you can, or ask to be reseated.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
I Cannot Tell Afib

MEDICAL NEWS

Atrial fibrillation or AFib is the most common heart arrhythmia or irregularity in the U.S. It affects up to 4 million people.

AFib needs to be taken seriously. It increases the risk of stroke by as much as 5 times and can contribute to heart failure and other heart conditions.

When someone develops AFib, the upper chambers of the heart, the atria, beat rapidly and irregularly. “The atria quiver instead of squeezing normally. This causes slow blood flow, which leads to clots and stroke,” said Dr. Eric Rashba, Director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Stony Brook University Heart Institute.

People with AFib often feel a fluttering in their chest, an unexplained racing of the heart, or that their heart is skipping beats. Other symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, and lack of energy. Up to 10% of AFib patients have no symptoms at all.

AFib can be related to high blood pressure, an overactive thyroid, congestive heart failure, or diseased heart valves. It is important to be diagnosed and treated early.

The longer you wait for diagnosis and treatment, the more AFib progresses and becomes increasingly difficult to treat. Your doctor can refer you to a heart specialist. Initial treatment is medication. New procedures are also available.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Minutes Count With A Stroke

MEDICAL NEWS

If someone were having a stroke, would you recognize the signs? Would you know what to do?

These are important questions to consider. During a stroke, brain cells are damaged due to a blood clot or rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. This can lead to serious disability and death.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 795,000 strokes occur every year. It is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. But with fast action, you might save someone from permanent brain damage.

Preventing stroke

Health problems like atrial fibrillation (an irregular beating of the heart), high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes increase your risk. Take medicines to control risk factors and follow a heart-healthy lifestyle. Eat right, exercise, limit alcohol and don’t smoke. See your doctor as recommended for health exams and screenings.

Aspirin may help reduce the risk of stroke due to a blood clot in women ages 55-79 years, but you should discuss the use of aspirin with your doctor before taking it.

Know the signs of stroke

The five most common signs and symptoms of stroke:

*SUDDENnumbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg

*SUDDENconfusion, trouble speaking or understanding others

*SUDDENtrouble seeing in one or both eyes

*SUDDENdizziness, trouble walking or loss of balance or coordination

*SUDDENsevere headache with no known cause

What to do

Call 9-1-1 immediately. Hospital emergency rooms have medication that can dissolve blood clots and restore blood flow to the brain. The window of opportunity is three hours, but in order to receive treatment in time, patients must get to the hospital within 60 minutes. Don’t wait – if you see signs of stroke, seek emergency medical care!

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Sleep, But How?

MEDICAL NEWS

“We know that how much you sleep and the quality of your sleep can have a tremendous impact on your overall health,” said Dr. David J. Earnest, professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, who studies circadian rhythms-the human body’s master clock.

“We’re starting to recognize that sleep deprivation and disorders are more prevalent than any other health disorder that affects Americans,” he said.

If you feel like there’s a deeper cause to your sleep woes, you may be like 1 in 10 Americans who suffer from insomnia or other sleep disorders, including these:

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD)-a tendency to go to bed later (around 2 or 4 in the morning) and to sleep until the early afternoon. This kind of disorder can interfere with a normal work or school schedule.

Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder (ASPD)-the tendency to go to bed earlier (6 or 8 in the evening) and to wake earlier than most people (around 3 or 5 in the morning). While this kind of disorder doesn’t typically interfere with a normal work or school schedule, it can pose a challenge for social activities or events that occur later in the evening.

Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Syndrome-a circadian rhythm that is 25 hours or longer, which leads to sleep and wake times becoming gradually later.

Jet Lag-one of the most common and usually occasional sleep disorders that occurs when your internal clock is out of synch with a new time zone. After traveling to a new time zone, you may find it difficult to fall and stay asleep during suitable times.

Shift Work-with constantly changing shifts, it can be difficult for workers to adjust to their new sleep schedules. Shift work has been linked with a higher risk of developing metabolic or cardiovascular diseases.

Sleep Apnea-breathing temporarily stops due to a blockage of the upper airways during sleep. Most people with sleep apnea do not know that they have it. Symptoms include daytime sleepiness, irritability, depression, and fatigue the next day, because their sleep lacks quality.

Narcolepsy-extreme sleepiness during the day, usually resulting in suddenly falling asleep. It’s caused by a dysfunction in the brain mechanism that controls sleeping and waking.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)-itching, tingling, or burning in the lower legs, that makes it difficult to get comfortable and fall asleep.

If you think you might have a sleep disorder, discuss your symptoms with your doctor or a sleep specialist.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Top Ten Recommendations For Cancer Prevention

MEDICAL NEWS

1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.

2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.

3. Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods.

4. Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans.

5. Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.

6. If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day.

7. Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium).

8. Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer.

9. It is best for mothers to breastfeed only for up to 6 months and then add other liquids and foods.

10. After treatment, cancer survivors should follow these recommendations for cancer prevention.

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Wine Confusion: Healthy Or Not?

MEDICAL NEWS

Wine has been making the headlines in recent months as a “healthy” choice. Some studies suggest the compounds and antioxidants in wine can reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, and more.

This can be confusing if you’ve been told that alcohol isn’t good for you. Should you drink wine to get healthier, or skip it?

There is no perfect answer for everyone. It’s important to note that these studies are promising, but they’re not enough to say that wine is a healthy choice. Many of these studies were done in labs, on mice, or were done with supplements instead of real wine. And for some, the possible benefits of wine wouldn’t be worth the risk. Wine is also high in calories and sugar. This can add to obesity and affect blood sugar, especially in diabetics. In addition, wine and alcohol can interact with certain medicines.

Many people can enjoy alcohol in small amounts without problems. But if you have a history of alcoholism or your doctor has told you not to drink, you should not drink wine or any alcoholic beverage.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that drinking too much alcohol, even wine, can harm your health. So if you decide to drink, be sure you do it in moderation.

So what is “moderation”? According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderation is up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men-and only by adults of legal drinking age.

The bottom line:

If you already have a drink once in a while, switching to red wine may be healthier than other choices such as beer or spirits. But the health benefits of red wine are not fully understood. So, experts do not recommend it as a daily drink for everyone.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026