Health Tips

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) is a consumer-advocacy group whose stated mission is to “support parents’ efforts to raise healthy families by limiting commercial access to children and ending the exploitive practice of child-targeted marketing.” Each year, they announce their worst toy of the year, which has the…

Illness from influenza has already been confirmed in 48 states. This is the earliest that the nation has recorded this much activity in a decade. Unusually intense flu activity has been reported in a number of southern states including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. The type of flu being…

Many medicines intended for skin application are packaged both as creams and ointments. Examples of these topical medications include corticosteroids and antibiotics. Many moisturizers also come in both a cream and ointment form. Is there a difference in a medication that comes in a cream as compared to an ointment?…

Many medicines intended for skin application are packaged both as creams and ointments. Examples of these topical medications include corticosteroids and antibiotics. Many moisturizers also come in both a cream and ointment form. Is there a difference in a medication that comes in a cream as compared to an ointment?…

Of course being hungry is not a disease, but overeating and excessive weight is clearly a risk to health. Controlling one’s appetite and managing food intake seems to be particularly difficult during the holiday season. According to the National Institutes of Health, Americans gain an average of one pound during…

In medicine, there is a saying that “common things are common”, meaning that most conditions seen by doctors are not obscure, nor is the manner in which they present themselves. On occasion, however, illnesses present in unusual ways and it is up to the doctor (with the help of informed…

Hip and knee joint replacement is a procedure that has been performed on millions of Americans since it was introduced around 40 years ago. In most cases, joint replacement is performed because of arthritis. The common feature of the various types of arthritis is that cartilage on the joint surfaces…

A while back, the Occupy Movement voiced its concern for the 99% of Americans who were not among the top 1% of income earners. There is another 99% (or 98.8% to be exact), however, who may be in a considerably worse position. This is the group of Americans who fail…

The role of inflammation in the genesis of cancer is a complex and seemingly paradoxical issue. As mentioned in last week’s health tip, inflammation is part of a process that helps the body remove damaged cells, irritants or germs following injury, exposure or infection. Cancer cells generally fall into the…

Recently, I ran across a method of classifying foods based on their potential to cause inflammation in the body. The significance of this is that inflammation is thought to be the underlying cause for a number of illnesses including diabetes, coronary artery disease, as well as several types of cancer….