Diabetes mellitus (MEL-ih-tus), often referred to as diabetes, is characterized by high blood glucose (sugar) levels that result from the body’s inability to produce enough insulin and/or effectively utilize the insulin. Diabetes is a serious, life-long condition and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism (the body's way of digesting food and converting it into energy). There are three forms of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that accounts for five- to 10-percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes may account for 90- to 95-percent of all diagnosed cases. The third type of diabetes occurs in pregnancy and is referred to as gestational diabetes. Left untreated, gestational diabetes can cause health issues for pregnant women and their babies. People with diabetes can take preventive steps to control this disease and decrease the risk of further complications.

Diabetes

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Cynthia Vlasich

Sigma Nursing

Yes, please do. Breastfeeding provides excellent nutrition for your baby.&nbsp; If your baby has a respiratory flu with a stuffy nose, you&#39;ll want to ensure they are able to breathe well&nbsp;through their nose as they nurse.

Stacy Wiegman, PharmD

Breastfeeding   is one of the best things you can do for a sick baby. You will be sharing   your antibodies with him, which helps him fight infection. Breastfeeding will   also help your baby stay hydrated. That's important because when babies are   sick, they need more fluid than when they are well -- and breast milk is   better for a baby than any other fluid.

Can I breastfeed if my baby has the flu?

Karen L. Gorton, PhD, MS, RN

Avascular necrosis (or osteonecrosis) is defined as a lack of blood flow which causes tissue death. A-without, Vascular -- blood supply, necrosis -- tissue death.&nbsp; 
 
A blockage in the blood supply to tissue will cause the death of tissue or cells.&nbsp;

Diana Meeks

The cause of decreased blood flow to the bones is not always apparent. The most common causes are broken bones or dislocated joints that cause damage to nearby blood vessels. Other known causes include build-up of pressure in the bone, which can be caused by Gaucher's disease or other conditions. Clogged or narrowed blood vessels, some steroid medications, and heavy drinking are also known to cause osteonecrosis.

Francisco J. Borja, MD

Baptist Health South Florida

Avascular necrosis, also known as osteonecrosis, may affect just one bone or more than one. The blood flow to a section of bone can be interrupted if the bone is fractured or the joint becomes dislocated. Other causes include steroid use and excessive alcohol consumption. Because bones need a blood supply to sustain them, avascular necrosis results in bone tissues breaking down faster than the body can repair them.&nbsp;

Dr. Robin Miller, MD

Osteonecrosis occurs when the blood supply to the bone is cut off. The bone will eventually die and collapse. The femoral head of the hip joint is the most common bone involved. 
 
Risk factors for this condition include the long-term use of steroids such as prednisone, alcohol abuse, joint injuries such as hip fracture and certain diseases (such as sickle cell anemia, Gaucher&rsquo;s disease, diabetes and gout), and cancer. 
 
Osteonecrosis of the jaw has gotten a lot of press due to the increased risk that can occur with the use of bisphosphonates such as Fosamax for osteoporosis. This is a rare complication that primarily has occurred in some cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who also were being treated with intravenous bisphosphonates. 
 
In a few patients taking oral bisphosphonates osteonecrosis of the jaw has occurred. These were people who had active dental problems and/or who had a recent tooth extraction. 
 
Treatment of osteonecrosis is aimed at symptom control, and depending on the cause and which bone is involved the doctor may prescribe surgery. 
&nbsp;

What causes osteonecrosis (avascular necrosis)?

Cynthia Diefenbeck

Mental health and illness are influenced by a complex interplay of factors -- some that can be controlled or modified, and others that cannot. It is often helpful to think of mental health as being dually influenced by risk factors as well as protective factors. Risk factors may include family history of mental illness or adverse childhood events, while protective factors may include the presence of a nurturing parent/guardian and other positive social supports.&nbsp;

WFMH ADMIN

World Federation For Mental Health (WFMH)

Mental health is determined by socio-economic and environmental factors:
<ul>
	<li>Multiple and interacting social, psychological, and biological factors, just as health and illness in general.</li>
	<li>The clearest evidence is associated with indicators of poverty, including low levels of education, and in some studies with poor housing and poor income. Increasing and persisting socio-economic disadvantages for individuals and for communities are recognized risks to mental health.</li>
	<li>The greater vulnerability of disadvantaged people in each community to mental health disorders may be explained by such factors as the experience of insecurity and hopelessness, rapid social change, and the risks of violence and physical ill-health.</li>
	<li>A climate that respects and protects basic civil, political, socio-economic and cultural rights is also fundamental to mental health promotion. Without the security and freedom provided by these rights, it is very difficult to maintain a high level of mental health.</li>
</ul>

What are some factors that determine mental health?

Connie  Sobon Sensor, PhD, RN

Anxiety is expressed in different ways in different cultures, just as it is in different people. Some may communicate verbally. Others may use indirect communication because they avoid conflict and value harmonious relationships. Some may need folk healers, some use herbs or teas, some use amulets, some use medicine, some use doctors or nurses.

How anxiety is expressed varies in significant ways across cultures. For example, in Asian cultures, anxiety may be expressed predominantly through somatic symptoms such as stomach or other gastrointestinal complaints, while those from Western cultures more frequently express anxiety through cognitive avenues.

Is anxiety expressed differently in different cultures?

La'Sheah M. Stewart, FNP

A nurse practioner (NP)&nbsp;works autonomously and in collaboration with health care professionals and other individuals. NPs provide a full range of primary, acute and specialty health care services, including:
<ul>
	<li>Ordering, performing and interpreting diagnostic tests such as lab work and x-rays.</li>
	<li>Diagnosing and treating acute and chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, infections, and injuries.</li>
	<li>Prescribing medications and other treatments.</li>
	<li>Managing patients&#39; overall care.</li>
	<li>Counseling.</li>
	<li>Educating patients on disease prevention and positive health and lifestyle choices.</li>
</ul>
Physician assistants, also known as PAs,&nbsp;can&nbsp;do everything that a nurse practitioner can do, under the supervision of physicians and surgeons.

Betty Long, RN, MHA

Nurse practitioners are registered nurses who pursue advanced training, typically in the form of a masters' degree, and upon graduation, they will use the initials CRNP (certified registered nurse practitioner) after their RN initials in their name. You may also see them referred to as NP for 'nurse practitioner.' When practicing, CRNPs may focus on various specialties like primary care, cardiology, orthopedics, pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology.&nbsp;Physician assistants are usually not nurses when they get their PA degree. You may hear PA's&nbsp;referred to as "physician extenders" because they, like nurse practitioners, see patients in place of physicians. For instance, when patients have a total knee replacement by an orthopedic surgeon, when they go back for their post op visit, they may see the orthopedic surgeon's PA instead.&nbsp;As healthcare reform evolves, and more patients are entering the system, the roles that CRNPs and PAs play at assessing patients, creating&nbsp;treatment plans, and partnering with physicians&nbsp;will be very important.&nbsp;

RealAge Admin

RealAge

What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do! "Moms and dads need expert guidelines, especially when it comes to their kids' health. This book reveals the inside strategies I use myself-I'm a parent,...

The Smart Parent's Guide: Getting Your Kids Through Checkups, Illnesses, and Accidents

A nurse practitioner has a master&rsquo;s degree in nursing and received special training in performing physical exams, taking medical histories, and making basic diagnoses. If nurse practitioners encounter a complicated medical problem, they&rsquo;re trained to consult with the doctor.Growing in numbers, physician assistants are licensed to practice medicine under the direct, or in some cases indirect, supervision of a physician. Most physician assistants receive a master&rsquo;s degree in either physician assistant studies (MPAS), health science (MHS), or medical science (MMSc), which requires two to three years of training after receiving a bachelor&rsquo;s degree.From The Smart Parent&#39;s Guide: Getting Your Kids Through Checkups, Illnesses, and Accidents by Jennifer Trachtenberg.

What do nurse practitioners and physician assistants do?

Mental health conditions can and do impact physical health for many people. Someone who suffers from depression may lack the energy and motivation to exercise or eat healthy, for example. Studies have also shown that poorly managed chronic depression is associated with brain atrophy (shrinking).&nbsp;

Michael B. Finkelstein, MD

Your emotional (mind) health can affect your physical (body) health. Different things influence what&#39;s on your mind. Some are:
<ul>
	<li>where you are</li>
	<li>what you are eating</li>
	<li>how your body is feeling</li>
	<li>how someone is speaking to you</li>
</ul>
You have varying degrees of control over each of these things. In each moment, your reality and your overall health is ultimately experienced inside your body. That means you have more power and options than you might think. 
 
The more your mind plays back sights and sounds of fear, anger, powerlessness or despair, the more your body enters into or stays in a fight-or-flight mode. This is the body&#39;s natural alarm system that turns on when you&#39;re faced with what the mind thinks is a life-threatening situation.&nbsp; 
 
However, this system can&#39;t tell the difference between feeling distress about being stuck in bed versus the need to escape a pack of lions. In both situations, the body releases a burst of adrenaline. (That&#39;s a chemical, or hormone, that prepares your body for fight-or-flight.) If your mind has a lot of anxious thoughts for a long time, the fight-or-flight mode can get locked in the &ldquo;on&rdquo; position. This can use up all your body&#39;s energy. It also causes a chain reaction of health problems that can make any pre-existing illnesses worse. 
 
On the contrary, the more your mind engages in thinking that activates feelings of love, gratitude, harmony and joy, the more your body relaxes. It switches on the parasympathetic nervous system. That&rsquo;s the system that helps the body heals and repairs itself. For example, it triggers skin to grow back over a cut. 
 
This content originally appeared on http://slowmedicinedoctor.com/mind-matters/ 
&nbsp;

Drew Ramsey, MD

How does our emotional health impact our physical health? 

Our emotional health and our physical health are completely linked; each affects the other, the impacts can go in both directions. In this video, psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, MD, explains how our emotions play a large role in our physical health.&nbsp;

John Douillard, DC

From an Ayurvedic perspective, our emotional health is directly linked with our physical well-being. For instance, research shows that laughter increases a positive mood and boosts the body&rsquo;s immune system. Science also shows that living life with a sattvic (or positive) attitude has a profound effect on our health by activating the parasympathetic (resting and digesting) nervous system, supporting us to heal and thrive. Conversely, stress and negative emotions activate the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system. Too much stress can make it challenging for the healthy microbes in our gut to survive, which can affect our ability to deal with stressors and our digestion. 
 
Increased happiness levels have been shown to dramatically reduce hospital readmission rates related to patients with heart-related hospital stays. Similarly, optimists have been shown to have better recovery rates after surgeries, and in a study involving male war veterans, optimists showed healthier pulmonary function and reduced risk of cardiovascular issues than pessimists. Interestingly, longevity has also been shown to be linked with sharing your emotions. Other studies showed that writing a love letter significantly reduced total cholesterol levels in its authors, while expressing gratitude also boots our health and well-being.&nbsp;

Andrew Weil

Dr. Andrew Weil - emotions affect body

The thoughts you have definitely impact the way you feel physically. In this video, Dr. Weil explains how your mindset influences how you feel physically.

Baptist Health Admin

Our emotional health can have a serious effect on our physical health, accordig to vast scientific literature. Being angry all the time, as well as feeling constantly anxious, can make us susceptible to a variety of illnesses, including stroke, heart disease and even diabetes. 
 
But negative emotions are only one-half of the equation. In a 2007 study that followed more than 6,000 men and women, ages 25 to 74, for 20 years, researchers found that emotional vitality -- a sense of enthusiasm, of hopefulness, of engagement in life and the ability to face life&rsquo;s stresses with emotional balance -- appears to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The protective effect was distinct and measurable, even when taking into account such wholesome behaviors as not smoking and regular exercise.

How does our emotional health affect our physical health?

Julia Vicente, MSN

That depends on the situation, but the ICU would be the place to treat hypertensive emergencies because ICU&#39;s are equipped with the nurses to deal with high blood pressure in an emergency. Untreated high blood pressure that can lead to strokes and even death. In the ICU, nurses administer and titrate (adjust) medications to lower blood pressure. Patients with IV medications must be monitored closely and carefully with a heart monitor in the critical care setting.

Shana  Duthie 

MDLIVE

Usually yes since they need very close monitoring of their pulse and blood pressure. In addition, they often initially need continuous IV medications to slowly bring their blood pressure down. The immediate danger to very high blood pressure is heart attack and the type of stroke that results in bleeding in the brain. As the blood pressure is lowered slowly, the neurological function needs to be monitored since a too rapid decrease can result in a stroke caused by lack of adequate blood pressure (the brain may become accustomed to a high blood pressure and hasn&#39;t adjusted fast enough).

 Dr. Cathy Provins-Churbock, PhD

In some cases, yes high blood pressure is treated in the ICU. Hypertensive urgency and hypertensive crises are terms used to describe life threatening blood pressure levels. These patients require intravenous medications that are best managed under the supervision of specially trained staff in the ICU.

Are people with severe hypertension admitted to the ICU?

An orthotic may help you with walking and your RA if you have mechanical or structural foot/ankle problems. Mechanical problems are those that come from you using your foot and ankle. Structural problems are those that come from the bones in your foot and ankle.&nbsp; 
 
To determine if orthotics would be of benefit to you, seek out the services of a certified&nbsp;Pedorthist.&nbsp;

Can orthotic devices improve the way I live with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)?

Dr. Bonnie Lynn Wright, PhD

Theft and fraud top the list of financial abuses for those over 65 years of age. Financial abuse can happen even though the senior is comparatively competent and living in their own home. Con men don't exist because people are stupid. They exist because they are very good at fooling people.The classic example is the doting very elderly man with the sweet young thing who's after his money. She is not defined as an abuser. He doesn't feel abused - maybe. But the children certainly are quick to point out that their own - oops! - their father's financial interests are being abused. We have laughed at this old joke for decades. It&rsquo;s funny as long as it isn't real. Maybe with the advent of 'cougars' the joke will have to switch genders!On a day-to-day basis in real life, it's the bullying or manipulating grandchild who talks the elder into giving them money or family treasures for some fabricated reason. Or, it could be the "I really&nbsp;don't want to look for a job any more" adult child who moves in and&nbsp;lives off Mom or Dad on a pension. Potentially, it could be a flim-flam house repair artist at the front door.&nbsp;Whatever the circumstance that leads the senior to lose monetary viability, it should be investigated and rectified as soon as and as much as possible. Seniors are no longer in a position to re-make the money they have spent a life time accumulating.&nbsp;

Dr. Oluwatoyin Thomas, MD

Financial elder abuse occurs when scam artists or others take advantage of seniors. Financial abuse is especially concerning in people with memory issues. When families aren&rsquo;t involved in helping to oversee them, people can be taken advantage of. For example, a case in which a woman had $30,000 in her bank account and when it was discovered she was a victim of financial abuse, $20,000 was already gone. Financial abuse doesn&rsquo;t just come from scam artists. It can come from family members involved in caregiving who are not acting in the elder&rsquo;s best interest.

DSCVRY ADMN

Discovery Health

Follow the money. That is very good advice for a lot of situations. But it is especially good when it comes to looking for signs of potential elder abuse.

Any unexplainable big changes in a senior citizen&#39;s financial outlook may be an indication of elder abuse. Many times, financial elder abuse can be tied to a caregiver who has access to the senior&#39;s bank accounts and other sources of wealth. In some cases, the caregiver will simply steal the money from the senior citizen, figuring he or she won&#39;t notice the missing funds and, if they do, won&#39;t report the situation to authorities. Other times, the caregiver will bully or manipulate the senior citizen into coughing up wads of cash or ripping up an old will and writing a new one, benefiting the caregiver. Even more insidious, however, is when the senior citizen&#39;s funds are taken over completely.

Some senior citizens are more than able to handle their own finances, but many are not. That&#39;s where trouble can start, especially if the senior citizen gives the caregiver access to his or her bank account. If you have an elder that you love, keep an eye out for signs of financial abuse.

<ul>
	<li>Are there unpaid bills?</li>
	<li>Can they no longer afford things they used to be able to afford?</li>
	<li>Do they constantly try to change the subject when you ask about finances?</li>
</ul>

If you suspect foul play, best to raise the issue with someone you trust before seeking a confrontation or calling the authorities. Finances are a tangled web, sometimes even more so when they belong to senior citizens.

What is financial elder abuse?

Bonnie Lynn Wright, PhD

All aspects of health are interrelated. Your sexual health will probably be impacted in some way by a medical condition. Be alert to changes in your sexual function and discuss them with your partner and your health care provider. 
 
&quot;Good in Bed&quot; gave an excellent answer from the medical condition side. You could also assess this from the sexual health side. Are you having any issues sexually? What are they? Did they happen before the medical condition occurred?&nbsp; Talk to your partner to see if the issues you identify are mutual. Talk to your health care provider openly to identify the cause(s) and a solution. Sometimes medical conditions do impact sexual health. For example, high blood pressure medications can be responsible for erectile dysfunction. This requires discussion with your prescribing provider. On the other hand, fear may be diminishing your libido. If you have had a heart attack once and are afraid of having a second, you may&nbsp;be afraid of sexual exertion even though you are doing all the right things to rehabilitate your heart. This requires professional help and your partner&#39;s help as well.&nbsp;

Ian Kerner, PhD

Good In Bed

Recognizing that your physical health plays a role in your sexual health, ask yourself the following questions to help assess just what effect your medical condition may be having on your sex life:
<ul>
	<li>Do you have a temporary, recurring, or long-term medical condition that directly impacts your general sense of well-being? Have you had one in the past?</li>
	<li>Have you found that during acute periods of affliction your sex life has been affected either by the condition itself or by the medication(s) you take for it?</li>
	<li>How much of this impact is caused by negative emotions surrounding the health condition?</li>
	<li>Are you currently taking any medication? If so, are you aware of any possible sexual side effects?</li>
	<li>Have you talked to your doctor about how to manage them, or asked if other alternatives are available?</li>
	<li>Have you talked to your partner and explained how your condition or treatment is making you feel?</li>
</ul>

Erik T. Goluboff, MD

Can sexual health issues, such as erectile dysfunction, signal other medical conditions?

Problems with sexual function, such as erectile dysfunction, can be a marker of heart disease. In this video, Erik Goluboff, MD, a urologist at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, explains the connection.

Can sexual health issues signal other medical conditions?

Shakira Henderson

Some challenges to breastfeeding in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) stem from environmental barriers such as mother-baby separation, lack of privacy and lack of pumping space. Other barriers stem from infant factors, such as developmental immaturity and medical complications. Maternal factors such as stress from the infant admitted to the NICU, an inadequate maternal support system, poor maternal health, and fear of being a breast-feeding failure are also barriers.

Dr. Darria Long Gillespie, MD

While I wouldn&rsquo;t really call them &ldquo;complications,&rdquo; breastfeeding can have some challenges.&nbsp;Each of these has solutions, however, so I like sharing them so moms can be aware, catch them early -- and get treated!
<ul>
	<li>Soreness. It&rsquo;s not uncommon for breastfeeding to be uncomfortable for the first couple of days, but it should not significantly HURT. If it does, you should first check with your doctor or a lactation consultant to get help with baby&rsquo;s latch, and to check his or her mouth and tongue or any issues. Also, check for any cuts on your own skin, which can really make breastfeeding sting -- and you can avoid those further with lotions such as lanolin and making sure the latch is not making that worse.</li>
	<li>Sometimes, especially if you haven&rsquo;t nursed in a few hours, women can get engorged, which is very uncomfortable. Warm compresses and nursing will relieve this discomfort.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Plugged ducts often happen at some point. It occurs when a duct doesn&rsquo;t drain properly and becomes inflamed. If this happens, breastfeed often on the affected side -- as frequently as every 2 hrs. Massage the area of the plug to get it to free up, use a warm compress and make sure that you&rsquo;re not wearing a bra that&rsquo;s too tight, as that can worsen the problem and constrict ducts.</li>
	<li>Lastly, some women may develop an infection, known as mastitis. This happens when the area of the breast becomes red, swollen, painful and very tender. There may even be discharge from the nipple. If this happens, you can keep breastfeeding, but you should also see your doctor, as you may need antibiotics for the infection. While I wouldn&rsquo;t really call them &ldquo;complications,&rdquo; breastfeeding can have some challenges.&nbsp;Each of these has solutions, however, so I like sharing them so moms can be aware, catch them early -- and get treated!</li>
</ul>

What are complications of breastfeeding/lactation?

Ms. Kathryne A. LeMieux

An allergist will pinpoint the cause of allergy and treat it specifically. For instance, perhaps an allergy to ragweed in the Northeast region of DC, and northern Virginia needs treatment in August alone. This eliminates unnecessary medications and anxiety. If the allergy is epoxy or nickel, a quick patch test and simply eliminating these items from jewelry or the environment will stop the problem. A few quick visits to the allergist for testing will answer your questions, give you peace of mind, and give you hours/days/months/years of healthy, worry-free time doing the things you love and enjoy.&nbsp;

Paul M. Ehrlich, MD

Asthma and allergies are at epidemic proportions.  It doesn't have to be that way.  Two experienced pediatric allergists tell everything a conscientious parent needs to know about these conditions,...

Asthma Allergies Children: A Parent's Guide

There's a good reason to go to a pediatric allergist for your child's allergies, not just a regular adult allergist. Apart from the differences in the way the allergic diseases present themselves at different ages, and the way they should be treated, there's the matter of what we might call "crib-side manner." That is, we try to relate to the child as close to his own terms as we can. This gives us a chance to become children again if just for a moment. We have to love doing this or it will show. Because of our training and because of our frequent collaboration with pediatricians we have tricks up our sleeves to gain the confidence of both parents and children that make difficult, annoying treatment go more smoothly. An important "trick" we have in the office is doing whatever has to be done to Mom, Dad, or even ourselves first. Shot? We have the parents roll up their sleeves and give them a shot of saline. Or a dummy scratch test. We might use our stethoscope on Dad's chest or Mom's back to put the child at ease, or allow the child to listen to ours.

Reshma Shah, MD

The world of allergies can certainly be a confusing one!&nbsp;The first thing to consider is whether you are dealing with environmental allergies (such as to pollen, cat, dog, etc.) versus food allergies (peanuts, shellfish, etc.).In the case of environmental allergies that are easily identifiable (such as with the change of seasons or with pet exposure), your pediatrician can easily diagnose the problem and recommend a treatment plan. If symptoms fail to improve or worsen, it is reasonable to see a pediatric allergist to obtain further testing to confirm the allergen and to optimize management. This is critical because significant allergy symptoms that are left untreated can really affect a child's quality of life.In the case of food allergies, it's a completely different story!&nbsp;As soon as a food allergy is suspected, you should consult your pediatrician. With a careful history and physical exam your pediatrician should be able to determine if further testing is needed. If your pediatrician suspects a food allergy she should refer you to a pediatric allergist to confirm the diagnosis and identify the allergens. A pediatric allergist is able to perform skin-prick and blood testing in the office. The results of these tests in combination with the child's history should provide a more definitive answer. Additionally, pediatric allergists are specially trained to manage food allergies and are knowledgeable about the latest research and treatment protocols.It is critical to identify and treat food allergies immediately, because unlike environmental allergies, food allergies can be life threatening. While it is essential to see a pediatric allergist, you should always remember never to leave your pediatrician's office without proper instructions and a prescription for epinephrine!

Why should I take my child with allergies to a pediatric allergist?

In the United States, psychiatric nurses can be prepared at both generalist and specialist levels. Psychiatric nurses functioning at the generalist level are registered nurses who have completed their education in a bachelors, associates, or diploma nursing program. Psychiatric nurses functioning at the specialist level have advanced education specifically in psychiatric/mental health nursing.

John C. Norcross, PhD

Psychiatric nurses are registered nurses (R.N., B.S.N.) who earned a master&rsquo;s of science degree in nursing (M.S.N.). Some go on to earn the Nurse Practitioner (NP) designation and then can, in collaboration with a physician, prescribe medication. Some psychiatric nurses also offer psychotherapy.

What kind of training does a psychiatric nurse have?

Aila Accad

34 Instant Stress-Busters, Quick tips to de-stress fast with no extra time or money

When your body is under stress, breathing becomes shallow. You might even notice that you hold your breath. Taking a deep breath can release tension instantly. Oxygen immediately starts to flow to the cells. Energy is free to move throughout your body again. 
 
As you take a deep breath, take it all the way into every cell of your body. Feel your belly expand. When you let it out, let it out with a sound -- Ahhhhh. Allow your shoulders to drop and feel relaxation move through your body. Smile. 
 
Test this for yourself: Notice how you are breathing when you are in a meeting, confronted with a challenge or nervously anticipating something. Immediately take a deep breath, let it out and notice how you feel again. You will feel not only more relaxed but also more energized. Your brain gets more oxygen to think clearly and energy flows instead of being constricted or stuck.

Dawn Marcus

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The Woman's Fibromyalgia Toolkit: Manage Your Symptoms and Take Control of Your Life

Deep, diaphragmatic breathing is a type of breathing that involves becoming consciously aware that you are taking slow, deep breaths. The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle at the base of the lungs that helps expand the lungs and pull in oxygen when you breathe in and push air out when you breathe out. The technique involves shifting from the rapid, shallow, and anxious breathing that occurs when you're feeling stressed to deep breathing that uses the diaphragm more effectively. To breathe effectively in this way: <ul><li>Place one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen.</li><li> Pay attention to which hand is moving as you take each breath. When you take stressful, shallow breaths, your chest will move more as you breathe. With deep, relaxing breaths, your abdomen will move more.</li><li> Therefore, you should breathe slowly and evenly, so that the hand over your abdomen moves more than the one over your chest.</li><li> Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, attempting to move the hand on your abdomen as if you were inflating a balloon. Your chest should only move slightly, and only when your abdomen also moves.</li><li> After you inhale, count to four. Then, gently exhale through your mouth, making a soft whooshing sound as you breathe out.</li><li> Allow your mouth, tongue, and jaw to feel loose and relaxed.</li><li> Continue to take long, slow, deep breaths that raise and lower your abdomen. If your attention begins to wander, try counting while you breathe or repeat the word "calm" with each breath.</li></ul>

Debra Fulghum Bruce PhD

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Unofficial Guide to Impotence

Many people breathe from their chest, taking shallow, rapid breaths, but this type of breathing only hinders relaxation. Taking slow, deep &quot;abdominal&quot; breaths not only oxygenates the brain, it helps to end the stress cycle and enables your heart rate and blood pressure to return to normal. 
 
The brain makes its own morphine-like pain relievers, called endorphins and enkephalins, that are associated with a happy, positive feeling. These hormones can help relay &ldquo;stop-pain&rdquo; messages. During deep abdominal breathing, you will add oxygen to the blood and cause your body to release endorphins, while decreasing the release of stress hormones.

HW Admin

HealthyWomen

Deep abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing brings more oxygen into your blood and muscles, relieving the effects of stress and lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. 
 
Like many adults, you may have &quot;forgotten&quot; the right way to breathe. You pull in air through your chest, instead of through your stomach. When you chest breathe, you become tense, develop muscle fatigue, shortness of breath and may even increase feelings of anxiety. 
 
You can practice deep abdominal breathing throughout the day, while sitting up straight, standing or lying down. Repeat this cycle three or four times, several times a day, to make it a habit:
<ul>
	<li>Place your hands on your stomach. This will let you know if you&#39;re breathing correctly.</li>
	<li>Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, letting your stomach expand as much as possible. Hold for five to 10 seconds.</li>
	<li>Your chest, rib cage and shoulders should not move at all.</li>
	<li>Exhale slowly, through pursed lips. Feel your stomach deflate.</li>
	<li>When you&#39;ve exhaled fully, begin the cycle again.</li>
</ul>

What is a deep breathing exercise I can do to get rid of stress?

Tamla Wells

Yes, a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a very serious, life threatening emergency. Call 911 immediately if you or a loved one, experience symptoms of a SAH. Symptoms include: &quot;worst headache of one&#39;s life&quot;, &quot;thunderclap headache&quot;, severe nausea/vomiting, droopy eyelid, weakness or paralysis one side of the body. SAH, which is bleeding in the brain, can lead to death, if untreated. Even with treatment, SAH can lead to disability. Time wasted is brain wasted, so call 911 immediately for any symptoms of a SAH. &nbsp;

How dangerous is a subarachnoid hemorrhage?

Heidi Fantasia

The generic name for&nbsp;the medication in Plan B One-Step&nbsp;is levonorgestrel.

What is the generic name for Plan B One-Step?

Plan B One-Step is used for the prevention of pregnancy and therefore not indicated if you are already pregnant. It will not terminate an existing pregnancy.

If I am pregnant, is it safe to use Plan B One-Step?

Plan B One-Step consists of one tablet that should be taken as a one-time dose as soon as possible after unprotected intercourse. The table contains 1.5 mg of levonorgestrel, which is a type of progestin. 
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What is the dosage for Plan B One-Step?

Child abuse is harm, injury&nbsp;or neglect towards&nbsp;a child&nbsp;caused by&nbsp;another person. Physical and mental abuse includes harm or injury by slapping, punching, kicking,&nbsp;demeaning, yelling or threatening. Sexual abuse includes any sexual activity from touching to rape. Financial abuse includes not providing the funds necessary for the child to live a 'normal' life, i.e. no clothes, no school fees, no bus money, etc. Neglect includes withholding the necessities of life; food, water, sanitary and safe housing, etc.The important caveat to child abuse is the inability of the child to consent or confront. They do not have legal standing or the life experience to know what they may be saying 'yes' to. They also do not have the personal or social power to confront or stand up to their abuser.Child abuse refers to the age of the one being abused, not the age of the abuser. It can be another child, an older child, an adult, a stranger or more than likely someone they know and trust such as a parent or extended family member. &nbsp;They are also unable to support or care for themselves. As such, there is a requirement for a guardian for each child&nbsp;and for them to be nurtured and protected. Health professionals who witness or suspect child abuse are required to report this to the authorities. Precise requirements to report will depend on the jurisdiction.

What is child abuse?

Anyone who can answer that question probably has a book published, a diet program marketed, etc. Or maybe not!!&nbsp; As humans we often develop habits unconsciously. We don't realize we are performing a particular behavior until someone points it out or we catch ourselves doing it. By then it is already a habit. Eating inappropriately is one of those habits you don't notice until the scale tells you. So avoiding food abuse might not be possible.However, when the scale rats you out to yourself and you decide to do something about the weight, the first thing you should do is write down honestly every day what goes into your mouth. That's when you may identify patterns of eating that demonstrate addiction to or abuse of food. When you try to cut those foods or times of eating out of your daily life, you are so anxious or&nbsp;angry that you&nbsp;fail. The eating or food is so satisfying that you cannot go through the pain of giving it up.There are several books you can browse in your local library or bookstore that speak to the psychological motives for eating rather than the biological ones. In fact enough that I cannot recommend one over the other so it would be best to consult the librarian or a dietician or your health care provider to get their direction. There is also a group called Overeater's Anonymous. It is available in many countries around the world. It functions on the same principles as Alcoholics Anonymous. Don't be put off by that. An addiction is an addiction; smoking, food, OTC drugs, etc. You can Google the name and their website will direct you to the closest meeting place and describe the program. If nothing else has helped, this group might be able to.

Karen R Koenig

From a therapist and expert in emotional eating, the first book to explore the link between weight gain and women who do too much, complete with proven techniques for dropping pounds. Many women put...

Nice Girls Finish Fat: Put Yourself First and Change Your Eating Forever

Nice girls seem to swing in one of two directions. Either you&rsquo;re always making plans, living in the future, and missing out on today, or you&rsquo;re floating through life on automatic pilot doing what you&rsquo;re told, following what you learned in childhood, and spending your life trying to live up to unrealistic ideals and expectations - that half the time aren&rsquo;t even yours! Why bother getting up every day and busting your butt if you have no idea why you&rsquo;re doing what you&rsquo;re doing . . . and aren&rsquo;t even enjoying it? Are you a robot? If not, then you need to find your own purpose, passion, and meaning in life.You may drift toward food because it&rsquo;s the most fun thing in your day. Do you get psyched about dining out because it&rsquo;s the most interesting and exciting part of your week? Adventures in food land do not a happy life make. Living purposely means setting realistic goals and then making conscious choices that move you toward them. And not living exclusively in or for the future. It&rsquo;s a tricky business staying in the moment while keeping aware of what lies ahead. When you&rsquo;re engaged in the moment and caught up in the positive momentum of life (called flow), you&rsquo;re too busy and happy to eat.Generally, it&rsquo;s not the thinking about life that gets you, it&rsquo;s the emotions that knock you senseless. You agonize about what you should be doing, if you need to do better, if you ought to be doing something else. You worry and feel guilty and conflicted and don&rsquo;t get to enjoy every precious second. The truth is that staying connected to your feelings is exactly what helps you live a purposeful life because it tells you what makes you happy and what doesn&rsquo;t. If you tend toward anxiety and living in the future, you need to work on gently pushing it away and developing faith in your gut reactions. If you incline toward impulsivity and drifting mindlessly toward unforeseen consequences and vague life goals, you&rsquo;ll have to sit down and engage in a little heart-to-heart with yourself about the meaning of life in general and the meaning of yours in particular.

How can I avoid abusing food?

The most common form of diabetes, type 2 diabetes may account for up to 90- to 95-per cent of all diagnosed cases. Family history, ageing, obesity, ethnicity and a previous history of gestational diabetes are the biggest risk factors.

Diabetes Type 2

English

All amongst diseases, obviously, this concerns me the most because it has a direct relationship, and the second thing that concerns me the most is addictive behavior. Between those two we can say 95% of the illness. Addictive behavior because addictive behavior leads to drug use, it leads to promiscuous sex, it leads to, you know, other kinds of behaviors that predispose and why is some saw such a deep desperate addictive society, you know, we're addicted not only to drugs, we're addicted to melodrama, we're addicted to cynical mistrust, we are addicted to food, we are addicted to census gratification in all its avenues because we have a void. 

When you eat something is, one is you're hungry, the other is, there's some other hunger that's not being addressed, we don't look at that other hunger. The spiritual hunger, the emotional hunger, the hunger of living in a society where you feel disconnected because it's not the tradition of family structure as it used to be, a high divorce rate, you know, people with multiple families, multiple brothers and sisters, half brothers, half sisters, a country that is at war all the time for the last 100 years. 

This country we've been at war, so I think the big pictures actually has to look at everything from sustainability, to social justice, to economics, to violence in our cities. 

 It's actually a holistic picture. 


That's a holistic picture. 

So, let me ask you. 

Peaceful, justice, sustainable, healthy, happy society is a holistic goal to have.

Most medical experts agree that obesity is the single biggest health problem in our country today. In this video, Dr. Chopra reveals another critical health issue that, in combination with obesity, accounts for 95 percent of illness.

What Is the Most Critical Medical Issue Americans Face?

A lot of folks throw their hands up in the air, and they say, we've got a system designed for what we have in America right now, an obese population. We've got folks who have very effectively marketed products that might not be good for our health. We've got US government is subsidizing agricultural production of products that we don't have to have in higher quantities. 

For that reason, we actually have to pay more for healthy products like a bottle of water in a school than for the chocolate milk in the school, which is free by the way. Or it's much easier for you to get $1 especially at fast food restaurant than it is to buy a piece of fruit. So I understand those pin points, but I don't look to Washington to fix that issue. 

I've tried, I've lobbied, negotiated, testified, they can't even bounce the budget in Washington, so I'm not looking for solutions coming out of our nation's capital, but I'm happy and optimistic, because I know that we actually control our health destiny. Because we vote with our pocket [xx] three times a day at least. 

We have an incredible amount of power but only if we do it together. If I'm the only who put my hand up making it stink about this, I will get shot but if we all do it, we can't all get shot at once ,and that's how movements get started, that's how we begin to create a conversation which is what my show is about more than anything else, is getting people to sit up in their chair and say, what a minute, I got to take notice of what's happening here, that I didn't realize it, are you kidding me, is that right? And all of a sudden you shake people up enough that they want to challenge their basic assumptions about what's happening in the world around them, which is what doctors historically have always done. I have always been a bit embarrassed that physicians have retracted a little bit from the civic discussion. 

More than 10% of the folks who signed the Declaration For Independence were doctors. They were curious people. About 5% of the people who served at federal government the first 100 year of our nation were doctors. They were curious people, but for the last 100, there are less than a half percent of doctors are people in elected offices have been positions as a high level. 

What happened to us? And I think as a physician I have a civic responsibility as we all do, because we are professional to speak, but what does a professional do? You have a body of knowledge you always protect because you are curious about it, you always take care of your client or patient, in my case is number one, you police each other, we don't do that so well but we are supposed to, and we have a civic responsibility to speak up and talk to people people what going on, especially when the ship of society is tittering in troubled waters, offshore. 

And so I think we have an opportunity and responsibility to go out there and change the world, but we are at the change in ourselves as well, and I think folks recognize that they're not going to win this battle in someone else's playground, they are going to win it by making decisions today, by becoming activists. And we are seeing that more and more as people begin to pull together and just say, OK, we're going to change the quality of that food, we're going to open a farmer's market, we're going to take care of this food desert, we're going to insist that you are a bit more thoughtful about what you might be doing to our water supply. 

All that begins to add up over time so you have this massive tidal wave of emotion appreciating the importance of food because we have forgotten fundamentally that when you walk into a grocery store, you're walking into a pharmacy. There's a sacredness to that food that's irreplaceable, and when you lose food supply, and we are in this country, it is hard to get it back. 

Forget about the subtleties of monoculture versus multi-culture foods or whether we had the right number of GMO crops, forget about all that stuff, the fundamental reality is, that the amount of nutrients in the food that we eat, whether it's from the soil or how they're grown, is diminished dramatically over the last 50 years, and what we're eating has changed over the last several generations, and that is a perfect storm for a nutritionally depleted population. 

And that in part leads to obesity because the brain is not looking for calories, it's looking for nutrients. And so if you're feeding it calories, you'll keep looking for more food because you're looking for nutrients, and eventually you'll just have to eat a lot more food to get nutrients you wanted. 

So guess what? Not surprising, you gain weight.

The obesity problem in America is due to many factors. In this video, Dr. Oz shares his thoughts about what it will take to tackle the issue of obesity in the U.S.

How Can the Obesity Problem In America Be Solved?

Obesity dominates my concerns over the health of the country but it's not alone. I'm very concern about the sexual famine in America, and by that I mean, the fact folks aren't being in to know each other which is a way of course that we [xx] our engines that we appear vital and act young towards each other, it has reached a is that they're drastic proportions, now if you do surveys of the folks even in their 40s, you'll realize how few people have been intimate with each other and of course there's longevity benefit if you're having more sex. 

Probably, everytime you increase from once a week to twice a week, once a week being the average in American hour, you'll increase your longevity in about three years and that's an association which we've seen in numerous studies. It might not be positive but I certainly like to have the odds at my favor. 

Third among the things I worry about are dimentia and dimentia is tied back to your weight and life style habits, but there's also genetic elements to it, and we have not been as successful as I'd hoped, bringing new therapies for Alzheimer's and other cause of dementia into the foray but I see that changing and I believe in the next decade we are going to be clinical trials with drugs that have meaningful impact really can change the natural history dementia in this country. 

The fourth big challenge we face are the big cancers, the lung cancers in particular is the number one cancer, but I put breast and colon in that group as well, and I think these cancers are increasing in part because we've got hormonal changes in our body driven by obesity that makes it easier for some of this cancers to grow, but we're also exposed to toxins, and I don't think we appreciate the impact of all those toxins from our environment, in our bodies and they add up. 

Subtle things like arsenic found in the food supply or [xx] from our basement, so a change in natural order of how food is brought to us including genetically modified foods which I can't say are dangerous but I can't say they're not either, and there's all this big question marks around those that gets in the resume. 

And the fifth item is the one that will probably shock most people, but I believe that the biggest challenge of all that we face if we really want to be able to as a population move into our 10th decade of life with vitality, to become sentinerious[sp?] with a joyful lust for life that you should have. 

The only way to get there is to be firm enough, to be sturdy enough and the number five problem we face prevents that, it's frailty. Too many folks are not physically active enough to maintain muscle mash, remember, your bones don't rebuild themselves just because you want them to, they rebuild themselves every seven years based on what loads they bear. 

So if you aren't exercising, the muscles get weak around the bones, the bones get weak themselves, you begin to sort of lean forward, become typhlotic and then when you get an illness, a cancer or a heart disease, it cuts you from the population, because you're to frail to weather the storm. 

And when we looked around a population to people who live a long time, physical activity is an absolutely essential predictor a whole.

America's healthcare system faces numerous challenges. In this video, Dr. Oz shares his picks, some of the surprising, for the five biggest challenges facing our healthcare system.

What Are Some of the Biggest Challenges In Healthcare Today?

The elements that concern me in America today, start with obesity, which is not only the number one problem facing the nation, in terms of our health but it's also our number one financial challenge, in the health field. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, it drives a gigantic amount of the health care budget, depending on how you calculate it, it could be half of all the money we spend, because it drives so many other ailments, like cancer, which mostly we don't know, and drives of course, heart disease, and because it changes not just your blood pressure, but your cholesterol levels. 

It also drives early dementia, it drives orthopedic problems, it drive kidney failure, and I can go on and on with the list of things it causes. But the reality is that obesity which is increasingly growing as a problem for this nation especially among the young is going to strip our nation of its vitality, and we are mortgaging our country's future on the back of the obesity epidermic that's raging among the younger kids in this country. 

So as I look at obesity, I look at solutions I see them, but they're system solutions, they're not just one person eating a little less pepperoni pizza. It's a broader appreciation that if we don't make it easier to do the right thing, then we're not going to be able to move in the right direction. 

That includes changing the way we think about our cultural policy, it means changing how we envisioned the treating of our young, which is how we train them to eat. It also means being pretty clear about the addictive nature of salt and sugar in the American diet and appreciating the important roles that we all have in our homes in winning this battle.

Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. In this video, Dr. Oz discusses the devastating and far-reaching impact that obesity has on our nation's health.

It's a condition which makes us disease prone. That's the way I will define it. But its unlike some diseases, we weary. We look at somebody and we assume that their obesity is because is their fault, that they've done something wrong. But maybe that they don't have the right environment, they have it. 

Some of us are more prone to obesity because of our genetic makeup, it maybe genes, part of it, but we need to intervene at all those levels, but we do tend to stereotype or stigmatize obese, very heavy people on our society is lazy, unable or unwilling to help themselves, and it makes people depressed, and when you are depressed many lose hope to eat more.

Obesity is most definitely a disease, but it's unique, says Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine. In this video she talks about what sets obesity apart from other diseases.

Is Obesity a Disease?

I think there are a lot of things that we can do. We can think about starting when kids are young, when they develop a taste for sugar and salt, we can think about how we're advertising to young kids, who can't distinguish between commercials and a cartoon, and think about the messages that are going out there so that when the kid who sees the characters jumping off cereal boxes, he or she is in the supermarket with parent they are going to want that character or the toy inside or all these kinds of things. 

So we put the wrong incentives out there.

Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine, believes the key to solving the obesity problem in the U.S. is to focus on making changes when children are young. For details, watch this video.

What Can Our Society Do to Solve the Obesity Crisis?

The analogies that I gave in my talk this morning were cigarette smoking and seat belt use. It takes a long time, and it takes interventions at many levels. It may take thinking about tax on sugar sweetening beverages, it may take some changes in advertising policy, it may take more education or different kind of education in schools, we have to teach our docs, we don't teach them about obesity as an illness. 

We teach them how to treat the diabetes, or the hypertension, or the fatty liver that they get as a result of the obesity.

Solving the obesity epidemic will require a variety of interventions, says Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine. Watch the video to learn more.

In America we spend a little over 70% maybe 75% of our total medical expense is on chronic disease, and it is basically six of them that is, it is heart disease and its sequelae, it is obesity and its sequelae, including Type-2 diabetes. It is the chronicity of cancer not the acute cancers, but the chronicity of cancer, it is asthma and low back pain and arthritis, and so those are the ones, because those are the biggest. 

If we can get to find ways of preventing or reversing those, and those are ready. We save this enormous amount of money that we can do other things for us in our society to make it a better society. And Ken we have because four factors, maybe five, but clearly four factors control the 70% of those chronic diseases. 

Physical activity, food choices and portion size, managing stress, avoiding tobacco, and the fifth is probably sleep but we don't give enough, because most of us get an approximate amount of sleep and we don't give it enough credit. But we could do those five things because each of us control it, and wipe out 1.6 trillion of expenses every year, change the curve to downward, better compete for jobs in America but more, and as importantly, keep our freedoms so that we don't have to do rationing, we don't have to ruin the social structure that are so key to our enjoying life.

Nearly three-quarters of all medical expenses go to treating six chronic conditions. In this video, Dr. Michael Roizen reveals how changing five lifestyle factors could wipe out $1.6 trillion of those expenses every year.

What Are the Biggest Health Problems In the U.S. Today?

Well I think it's the culture, it's not one thing, it's many things in some neighborhoods, poor neighborhoods usually there's a lack of access to food, or the food is cheaper to go to McDonald's and feed your family than it is to go and create a healthy meal, it's our time crunch, it's the fact that we spend kids too many times like this with whatever remote or controller that they are playing with and not enough time getting physical exercise. 

The average kid in the US spends seven point five hours a day screen time and that includes texting, it includes a lot of different things, but that's a heck of a lot of time to be sitting on your butt if you're a ten year old.

Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine, says a variety of factors are causing the rising rates of obesity in the U.S. Find out what they are by watching this video.

What's Causing America's Obesity Problem?

They both have a role, government, locals, state, federal, and, or, industry has a responsibility to not do some of the things that they're doing, and to create healthy alternatives, not alternatives that just look healthy, and I think that the role of government is, we're all worried about the nanny state, but kids particularly are vulnerable, and we have an obligation to protect vulnerable populations in our society, and I think very few people would argue with that, and it's an education for parents and families, it's a family thing.

Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine, says the government's role in the obesity problem is to protect those who are most vulnerable. Learn more by watching the video.

What Should the Government Do to Solve the Obesity Problem?

Well, two thirds of American adults are fat, that means overweight or obese by BMI measurement and when you look at kids up until their teen years, it's one third of our kids, and we're looking at a generation of kids in particular, who are developing diabetes, hypertension, all the diseases that were things that occurred when people gained weight in their 40s and 50s are happening to 10, 12, 15-year olds. 

And it's very serious because the sequel of those diseases are significant so we're threatened now with having a generation of kids, who are sicker and may live shorter lives than their parents for the first time in our history.

One of the most disturbing aspects of America's obesity problem is the toll it's taking on children, says Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine. Find out more about kids and obesity by watching the video.

How Bad Is America's Obesity Problem?

We certainly don't take population health as seriously as we could or should, and where a lot these interventions can come from. We have a lot of issues around environmental health around health policies like, what do we invest in with NIH dollars? How do we get the most return on our investment? Peggy Amber discussed all the issues related about food safety and drug safety, enormous problems and the context of many of these problems are that they are global health problems. 

We don't have borders. Disease doesn't have borders now. Remember SARS, a few years back, was people getting off planes was spreading it. And so we have to start thinking about and training people to care for patients in a different way with more global, broader perspective. So social determinants of health, it's for global aspects and we just do a very poor job of that right now.

Some of the most pressing health concerns in the U.S. are actually global health concerns, says Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine. To find out what she means, watch this video.

What Are the Biggest Health Problems In the US Today?

A few estimates around the lowest one is 147 billion with a B dollars a year, and health care costs associated with obesity. That doesn't count lost productivity, absenteeism, and all kinds of other costs to society that are more difficult to calculate. So, the cost are enormous, and we can save money by making people healthier.

Estimates of the cost of the obesity epidemic are likely too low. Watch the video to learn what Dr. Judy Salerno, executive officer of the Institute of Medicine, feels is one way society can save money on obesity-related costs.

What Are the Healthcare Costs of Obesity?

Well we desperately need one to realize that obesity, bad nutrition and lack of physical activity is a huge problem in the United States. We need to view it as a pediatric and adult public health problem, once we start realizing it's a problem, realizing it is a public health issue we need to start educating people, educating communities to change things. 

The built environment actually decreases our exercise. Suburban communities without side walks, people who used to walk to the grocery store to get there food now drive several miles to get their food so we get less exercise. In the inter city it's crime that keeps people indoor that they don't get exercise. 

Then when we look at food we're getting high calorie very dead fluids that have very little nutrient value. The fast food industry didn't exist in the 1960s and it's a big industry today. When we look at sugar, sweetened beverages, large number of calories consumed in sugar sweetened beverages, no nutritive value whatsoever, we've got to change all those things, we got to focus on five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables every day. 

Average in the United States is about two and a half, some states like Mississippi, the average vegetable, fruit and vegetable consumption is less than one serving per day, that's got to change.

Poor nutrition and lack of exercise are leading public health issues today, says Dr. Otis Webb Brawley.  In this HealthMakers video, Brawley says improving Americans' nutrition is key to reversing the obesity crisis.

How Can We Solve the Obesity Epidemic in the U.S.?

One thing that's really surprising is how long it takes to get solutions to some of these problems. Cancer is a tough problem. I don't see any cure for that coming in the very near future. Let's take a simple one, diabetes. To me, that's something we should have cured 20 years ago. How difficult could it be to make a machine that measures and treats the blood sugar levels? I mean that should be very simple. 

We put pace makers in a heart that regulates the heart rhythm. Why can't we put a pancreas pace maker in there? And that really surprises me that we haven't come up with that kind of a solution. I think the other surprise is how focused everything is become on medications. So many people now are, and even kids are taking medications. 

They are medicated for behavior issues, for learning disabilities, for all kinds of things that maybe others are better than medications. So the focus unfolds to me is surprising. And especially when there are so many other ways to address, many of the things that we deal with develop having a pills for example. 

So I may ask another thing has surprised me, that there is so much hope is on the medications.

In this video, HealthMaker and integrative medicine specialist Mark Liponis, MD reflects on problems with our current healthcare system including a cure for diabetes and the overuse of medication.

Could We Be Further Along in Managing Diabetes?

It is broken beyond repair. I think in essence we don't have a health care system, we have a disease management system and it's very dysfunctional. And what's sad is that the great majority of that disease is preventable because it's related to lifestyle choices of how people live. 

And unless we can shift that vast enterprise of disease management and direction of health promotion and prevention and figure out how to make that pay I don't see what we can do I think we are going down the management of disease is way too expensive, we can't contain these expenses the other problem is that we've become dependent on technology for all of our fixes. 

So pharmaceutical drugs being a prime example, and one of the questions I'd like to ask physicians and as well as lay audiences is how did we ever get in the habit of thinking that drugs are the only legitimate ways to treat disease? If you told the average physician to manage a case without giving me a drug here she wouldn't know what to. 

If you told the average patient that a medical encounter wasn't going to result in the prescription, he or she would be angry, frustrated and go to another practitioner to obtain another prescription.

Undoubtedly, the U.S. healthcare system is majorly flawed and needs reform, but how? In this video, Dr. Weil explains why he thinks our nation's healthcare system in its current state is broken beyond repair.

Why Is It Taking So Long to Reform the U.S. Healthcare System?

In absence for me, what is wrong with the American diet is that we are no longer consuming food as it's found in nature, and we're consuming a lot of things from a chemistry lab which could be cool or interesting but I often give the motto just because we can doesn't mean we should, and there is a lot that is happening in the body that the body doesn't recognize, so the body's efficiency has gone down when it's given a lot of input that it doesn't recognize. 

So I think that's the real challenge it's very simple to change that and make it what's right about the American diet as we do actually have all the food that we need available to us, if we look at food in it's simplest form.

What concerns top dietitian Ashley Koff, RD, about the American diet? In this HealthMakers video, she contends we consume too much adulterated food formulated in a lab and not enough food as it's found in nature.

What's Wrong with the American Diet?

Quality nutrients to me is when we take food, and we don't try to rip it apart looking for IUs of vitamin A or how many grams of carbohydrates or anything. We look at food as it's grown in nature, and that means trying to prevent the chemistry set even at the harvesting time, so hopefully having cleaner water available if we're talking about farms, trying to avoid genetically modified organisms, not having combinations of a sugar and a fat or two sugars at a high temperature brought together in creating something where that chemical bond is something that the body doesn't have an enzyme to break down. 

So quality is really about eating the apple from the tree, and there are a variety of different apples and if you want to make that into apple sauce, or apple juice, I'm comfortable with it. The starting ground has to be the apple, or it's drinking milk from a cow that hasn't been amped up with some sort of chemistry involvement to produce milk 365 days of the year.

Healthy food is grown and cultivated with care to maximize its nutrients, says Ashley Koff, RD. In this HealthMakers video, she shares her definition of food quality, including the importance of avoiding GMOs.

How Do You Define Quality Food?

I don't know if I really like the term balanced anymore, I think like natural and some of the other ones, it's just really gotten overused, overmarketed and the reality is when we think about the body and we think about health, health is dynamic it's not static, and we don't really ever get to achieve balance so in your diet, you really don't ever get to achieve balance. 

In my head, if I was asked to think about, and I'm being asked to think about what is balance means, it means always making sure that you're catching up with yourself, for example if I want to have chocolate, or coffee, then I need to know that those are stimulants. So if I'm having stimulants, I want to make sure that I've a plan for recovery in my diet, I want to make sure I've magnesium rich foods, or if I'm consuming say I want to have a small latte, then maybe I want to make sure I have it with almonds or something else. 

So if I'm getting the stimulant and also the carbohydrate, the quick energy from may be milk or soy milk that I'm getting the protein and the healthy fats from the nuts so that I don't go up and down like this. I go up and I kind of go like this. So, balance to me, to give you a visual is rolling hills, you're always going to have some highs and lows, but let's try to keep it from being like a high mountain down to a fiord in that way.

The concept of a "balanced diet" is an overused term and a bit of a myth, according to Ashley Koff, RD. In this HealthMakers video, she shares her concept of a healthy diet.

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