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Lifestyle changes, such as adding fiber to the diet and increasing water intake, can help minimize symptoms caused by a specific type of pelvic organ prolapse called rectocele, where the rectum bulges into the vagina.
Hormone therapy is a highly successful breast cancer treatment for women, but it can elevate cardiovascular risk. Women can reduce those risks by being vigilant about their heart health and working closely with their doctors. Women who have taken or are taking these medications as part of breast cancer treatment should focus on adopting a healthy lifestyle, exercising regularly, and keeping close tabs on their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels.
Researchers found that being active increases one’s sense of purpose in life, and that the opposite was also true—having a strong purpose in life makes it more likely a person will stay active.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found insufficient evidence for using most vitamin and mineral supplements to prevent heart disease and cancer in most healthy adults.
A majority of people over 60 have diverticulosis, a condition in which tiny bulges (called diverticula) appear in weak areas of your colon’s inner wall. The bulges themselves don’t cause symptoms, but they can lead to bleeding or diverticulitis, which occurs when a diverticulum becomes inflamed or infected. People can reduce their risk by eating more fiber and staying physically active.
You are more likely to achieve and maintain your fitness goal if it revolves around a specific purpose or cause in one’s life. This helps you define the structure and direction to adopt the right exercise program to help fulfill it. The SMART approach—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely—helps you define your fitness goal and create a realistic path to achieve it.
The traditional measures to gauge heart disease risk don’t always tell the whole story. Sometimes more medical information is needed. An increasingly used test to predict a person’s risk for heart attack or stroke is a coronary artery calcium scan. It measures the amount of calcified plaque in the heart’s arteries, high levels of which suggest higher overall plaque buildup. The number can determine if people should begin statin therapy and make additional lifestyle changes.
Bags and dark circles under the eyes are caused not by lack of sleep, but by a variety of factors. Treatment options are limited, but some home remedies might help.
Eating high amounts of nitrate-rich green leafy vegetables may improve leg muscle strength and increase walking speed and reduce fatigue.
The brain can continue to produce new neurons as people age, even late into life, through a process called neurogenesis. Right now, scientists are looking at why neurogenesis especially happens in the hippocampus, the region responsible for learning information and storing memories. Animal studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise is associated with an increased production of neurons in the hippocampus. If the same is true in humans, it may be the reason for the observed link between physical activity and maintaining cognitive fitness, and perhaps a lower risk of dementia.