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That means that what you feed your gut and the health of the microorganisms in it may play a crucial role in how you feel emotionally on a day-to-day basis. “The gut and brain are connected,” explains Uma Naidoo, MD, a nutritional psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a Harvard Medical School faculty member. Evidence shows that microorganisms in your gut actually produce neurotransmitters in the brain that get used to affect processes like memory, learning, attention, and emotional regulation....

RELATED: Does the Ketogenic Diet Work for Type 2 Diabetes? What Are the Possible Heart-Healthy Benefits of the Keto Diet? The heart’s scourge is inflammation, which injures arteries, says Audrey Fleck, RDN, an integrative and functional nutritionist and certified diabetes care and education specialist in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. “Many times, the cause of inflammation is elevated blood sugar,” she says. What’s more, a keto diet may help lower blood sugar and improve insulin function, and can be anti-inflammatory, she says....

But when it comes to long COVID, a medical condition in which symptoms of COVID-19 persist for weeks or even months after the acute infection clears, much remains unclear. Anecdotal reports that some so-called long haulers feel better after getting the COVID-19 vaccines have sparked a new line of research, as scientists explore whether immunization can treat — or even prevent — long COVID. Long COVID Can Be Debilitating As the highly infectious new omicron variant spreads, causing spikes in COVID-19 case counts, questions about long COVID are becoming more urgent....

Allergic or irritant contact is another common cause of chapped lips, where exposure to an external product causes a true allergic reaction or a direct irritation to the skin, says Zeichner. But most of the time, chapped lips are caused by dryness, and wind is a prime culprit, explains dermatologist Clay J. Cockerell, MD, founder and medical director of Cockerell Dermatopathology in Dallas. Angular cheilitis, or inflammation in the corners of the mouth, is another common condition that can cause dry or chapped lips....

Your partner must take an antibiotic, too, to keep them from reinfecting you, she says. “You have to have your partner treated, and if you have more than one partner, they should all be treated,” says Dr. Rabin, regardless of your partners’ genders. Even if you don’t have chlamydia now, it’s wise to learn how to protect yourself so you won’t develop this common infection in the first place. In women, chlamydia can create serious health problems, including infertility....

Cold water therapy is the use of water to promote health or manage disease, according to research. While it has a long history, it’s primarily used to speed healing after an injury, ease joint and muscle pain, and quicken recovery from exercise, among other possible health benefits. Research on the topic has generally focused on pain, muscular injury prevention and recovery, and mood, and cold water therapy is considered a complementary therapy given that it’s an evolving field....

But could there be something you’ve missed that could be sabotaging your success as you work to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease? Here are 8 things that may be working against your efforts to reduce cholesterol and some ideas for smart steps to get you back on track. Mistake 1: You’re not paying attention to the sugar and alcohol in your diet. When you get a high-cholesterol diagnosis, it’s understandable — and correct — that you’d focus on limiting the saturated and trans fats in your diet....

Before you ask your doctor about JAK inhibitors, do your homework! It’s important to be an active participant in your care, and a big part of that is educating yourself and working with your doctor to make decisions about your treatment options. We’re here to help. Here’s what’s happening in your body when you have RA: A healthy immune system protects the body by attacking foreign invaders, such as bacteria and viruses, but with RA, the immune system mistakenly attacks the joints....

But I have learned how to cope with the unimaginable, an event I thought I could not survive. I still have good days and bad days. The grief never ends. But I have learned how to smile again, and even laugh. The knowledge that I could learn to live again, after my daughter’s death, is no small thing. It is powerful. Because of this, I wanted to share what I’ve learned with people currently living with an unimaginable event that has affected the entire country — loss of loved ones, loss of life as we know it, loss of income — because of COVID-19....

According to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, creeping fat occurs when mesenteric fat, the kind that naturally develops in the abdominal area, wraps around the bowel wall, causing it to thicken. Creeping fat can cover as much as half the intestine. “Under normal conditions fat sits right next to the intestine rather than wrapping around it as we see in patients with Crohn’s disease,” says Charalabos Pothoulakis, MD, PhD, the director of basic research at the UCLA Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in Los Angeles....

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Asthma For some people, complementary treatment options can boost the effectiveness of conventional treatments and help keep symptoms under control. Two such complementary options include acupressure and acupuncture. Acupressure is a form of massage (also known as bodywork) that’s been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years as a treatment for illness and pain, according to the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine....

Regardless of the cause of the disease, any intervention that disrupts these processes — from taking prescribed medications to exercising to dietary changes — may reduce the burden of inflammatory health conditions. And so many people with AS are looking for lifestyle changes that may have this effect. One dietary supplement that has gotten wide attention in recent years for all forms of inflammatory arthritis is turmeric. While the risks of trying turmeric for your AS are relatively low, it’s important to be aware of what your options are and what to expect from different forms of the supplement....

You are definitely on to something, Nancy. Anxiety disorders (especially obsessive-compulsive disorder) are much more common in people with all kinds of eating disorders, including bulimia. It is more often the case that anxiety disorders begin in childhood before the onset of an eating disorder, supporting the idea that anxiety may create vulnerability for the eating disorder to develop. Given your daughter’s history, the most likely connection between her bulimia, alcohol abuse, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications is that all of these are attempts to cope with intense negative thoughts and emotions that are extremely painful....

— Diane, South Carolina Depression is associated with fatigue and low energy, but not actual weakness. Some people with anxiety have fluctuating feelings of numbness or weakness in their limbs, especially during intense anxiety or panic attacks. The history of such complaints, coupled with the findings of a physical examination, can help separate these kinds of physical symptoms from those associated with other conditions that cause weakness, such as multiple sclerosis....

Like other forms of amyloidosis, this newly discovered type involves the improper folding of protein molecules. This improper folding leads to the harmful buildup of amyloid, which is the name for the fibrous clumps of protein molecules that then accumulate in the body. There’s some evidence that the LECT2 protein is involved with cell growth and repair, but further research is required to understand its specific function in the cell....

When the cancer has spread, or metastasized, beyond the prostate gland, it’s considered “advanced,” according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). When it spreads, it’s common for cancer cells to reach the bones first. Nine out of 10 men with advanced prostate cancer also have it in their bones. At this advanced stage, the cancer can’t be cured, says Scott T. Tagawa, MD, a medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City....

So just how much fiber do you need? The national fiber recommendations are 30 to 38 grams a day for men and 25 grams a day for women between 18 and 50 years old, and 21 grams a day if a woman is 51 and older. Another general guideline is to get 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories in your diet. Achieving these goals is beneficial to your overall health, and fiber helps you feel fuller longer....

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed data from 14 studies involving 1,323 subjects to determine the effects of fish oil supplements on diabetes risk factors. In total, 682 subjects had taken fish oil supplements. The researchers found that fish oil was associated with an increase in the level of the hormone adiponectin – which effects glucose regulation and inflammation. Their findings confirmed previous animal studies that also found fish oil can raise the level of adiponectin in the bloodstream....

“I knew Crohn’s was an intense disease, but I did not realize what it takes to really, truly fight for your life and what it takes to get your life back after so many surgeries and flare-ups,” she says. She developed a fistula, an abnormal opening that forms in the wall of the intestine and connects to other tissues or organs in the body. Fistulas are a common complication of Crohn’s that can occur between the vagina and the rectum or anywhere between the intestine and the skin....

Glucosamine Sulfate Study Looked at Supplement Plus Therapy vs. Therapy Alone However, there may be some good news in the future: A study published in August 2019 in the journal Aging Clinical and Experimental Research showed that taking the dietary supplement glucosamine sulfate in addition to conventional therapy — acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), or COX-2 inhibitors, coupled with physical exercises — may reduce pain and restore function better than conventional therapy alone....