Young people’s transition from high school to college often forces them to quickly adjust to a life very different than the one they had at home, an adjustment that commonly leads to depression. But when social life centers on drinking alcohol, a depressant that only worsens the situation, it’s sometimes difficult for students to effectively break away from the sadness. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve long known that my stress level is reflected in my skin. Oftentimes, after I start wondering whether some new pimples on my face are being caused by a hormonal glitch or maybe some new cosmetic, I’ll remember to pause and consider how my life’s been going. That’s when I realize that - thanks to a maddening combination of fatigue and insomnia that makes working and parenting extra challenging - stress is what is really causing my pimples. I doubt that I’m the only one who tunes into the physical signs that stress is upsetting my body. Read the rest of this entry »

Exercise has long been touted as the panacea for everything that ails you. For better health, simply walk for 20 or 30 minutes a day, boosters say — and you don’t even have to do it all at once. Count a few minutes here and a few there, and just add them up. Or wear a pedometer and keep track of your steps. However you manage it, you will lose weight, get your blood pressure under control and reduce your risk of osteoporosis. Read the rest of this entry »

A newly designed program of strengthening exercises may help guard against a knee injury that sidelines many girls and young women who play sports, a study says. The program, which is described in a recent article in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, is intended to reduce injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament, which often require surgery and months of rehabilitation. The lead author is Dr. Julie Gilchrist of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you’re a man who shaves his face every morning or a woman who likes to have smooth legs, hair removal can start to make us all feel like Sisyphus: The second we finish, it seems like it’s time to start over! At the very least, though, choosing the right hair-removal method can make things easier, so let’s consider all the options: Read the rest of this entry »

Mimi Winsberg never knew that the energy bars and pasta that sustained her during endurance training were also making her ill. She had completed dozens of triathlons and marathons, but four years ago, when she was in her late 30s, her health and athletic performances rapidly and inexplicably spiraled downward. Read the rest of this entry »

Years ago, a friend and co-worker of mine with ovarian cancer lost all of her blonde hair during treatment. She donned a red wig and declared, “I’m going to do cancer as a redhead!” Her upbeat nature made it easier on the rest of us to accept her illness, so it was that much more shocking the day I walked into the newsroom to see a pink wreath on her desk. Read the rest of this entry »

Several studies have shown a link between exercise and lower cancer risk. However, the message often isn’t well received by patients who think it blames the victim by suggesting they wouldn’t have cancer had they just been more active. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether a woman receives radiation treatment after breast cancer surgery may be influenced by the gender of her surgeon, according to a new report from The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study, from researchers at Columbia University, set out to determine why breast cancer treatment still varies among similar patients. Read the rest of this entry »

Caffeine may make it tougher for people with diabetes to control their blood sugar, a new study shows. The finding, published in February’s Diabetes Care, adds to the confusion about the role coffee plays in diabetes risk. Although caffeine has consistently been shown to affect blood sugar levels, several studies have shown that coffee drinkers are at lower risk for diabetes. Read the rest of this entry »