Category: harvardhealth_news_UNDEFINED

Acne after menopause can occur when male hormones, such as testosterone, become more dominant as levels of female hormones drop.

Fainting spells are usually no reason for concern, but should be brought to the attention of a doctor to rule out more serious causes.

Your core muscles, which are those in your torso and pelvis, help you maintain your balance, and allow you to bend, twist and reach. Strengthening them is essential, especially after age 30 when you may start to lose muscle mass. The average 50-year-old who hasn’t done strength-building exercises may have already lost as much as 10% of her muscle mass.

High cholesterol can become a problem for some women after menopause. Managing the condition by making lifestyle changes and in some cases by taking medications can help prevent heart attack and stroke in many instances. Even small changes, such as losing a small amount of weight and adding a few 15-minute exercise intervals each day can help make a big difference in your health over time.

It can be difficult for the consumer to know whether research findings are preliminary or should cause one to change one’s life. Asking the right questions about the results can help consumers tell the difference. Some tips to spot noteworthy studies include looking at how big the study was, how much the results improved measures of health, and whether a well-respected professional organization issued recommendations in response to the study.

Breastfeeding may reduce diabetes risk in women who experienced gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

Child prescription medication poisonings often occur when parents or grandparents remove pills from childproof packaging.

A small study finds that cocoa may help ease walking pain related to peripheral artery disease.

Federal guidelines recommend two to three servings of low-fat or nonfat milk, cheese, or yogurt per day. However, some experts suggest limiting dairy to a single serving per day. Although fat from dairy products does not seem to increase heart disease risk, substituting fat from vegetables or vegetable oil for some dairy fat may lower a person’s risk. As more people move toward plant-based diets, popular alternatives for milk include almond and oat milk.

In about half of all cases of heart failure, the heart’s muscles are thin and weak, so the heart can’t pump very well. In the other cases, the muscles are thick and stiff, which prevents the heart from relaxing normally to fill with blood.