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Turns out, the bioactive compounds in the seeds of the flax plant may aid in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, stabilizing blood sugar, promoting weight loss, reducing skin roughness and dryness, and possibly staving off breast cancer, according to a research review published in the May 2019 issue of the journal Nutrients. Flaxseed’s powerful nutrients, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), include: Fiber Flaxseed contains both soluble and insoluble fiber, which helps fill you up and keeps food moving smoothly through the digestive tract....

In her first book, Volumetrics: Feel Full on Fewer Calories, Dr. Rolls, who is director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, described ways to avoid high energy-density (high-calorie) foods, learn to spot “calorie traps” (foods that seem healthy but contain hidden calories), and discover foods that will make you feel satisfied with fewer calories. In that book, she notes that reducing calorie intake by between 500 and 1,000 calories per day may lead to 1 to 2 pounds (lbs) of weight loss per week....

Walking in the water has a number of benefits, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Here are some reasons you may want to consider water walking: Water’s buoyancy supports your body and lessens the impact on joints.Water offers more resistance than air, which means your muscles have to work harder to move through it.Working out in a heated pool can help soothe stiff, painful joints. To take the pressure off your joints, walk in water that’s about chest level but isn’t so deep that it’s difficult to move without floating....

Regardless of the severity of your ulcerative colitis, it is possible to take some control over your abdominal pain and other symptoms, such as diarrhea and weight loss. Taking medication, eating a healthy diet, and minimizing stress can all help reduce the chances of a flare, says Sunanda V. Kane, MD, MSPH, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Here are some ways to manage pain from ulcerative colitis....

As the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the personal development website DailyOM, Taylor’s inspirational words land in millions of Americans’ inboxes every day. Challenge comes easily to Taylor, 56, a mother to an 11-year-old son. Taylor has been an entrepreneur pretty much her entire adult life. In the 1990s, she and husband Scott Blum started Seattle-based music streaming company iMusic. “Almost every night, we’d broadcast a live show with bands that were coming through town,” she says....

Deaths from the mosquito-borne illness have been growing recently. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says as of September 21 that the virus has killed 21 people in 12 states this year. Nebraska registered its first death for the year on September 13; and on Friday, Los Angeles County in California reported its first West Nile virus fatality of 2021. RELATED: What Bit Me? Spot These 13 Bug Bites “West Nile virus can be a serious health threat to people who get infected,” warned Los Angeles County Health Officer Muntu Davis, MD, in a statement....

It’s estimated that anywhere from 20 to 42 million people in the United States, commonly children, have had a pinworm infection. While irritating, and perhaps embarrassing, a pinworm infection is generally considered harmless, according to the Merck Manual. (3) Worms Present in Feces This is common, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. (4)Difficulty Sleeping Pinworms move to the area around the anus at night in order to lay eggs, which can induce itching that disturbs sleep....

With the Beijing Olympic Games kicking off this month, all eyes are on this year’s batch of top athletes, including Shaun White, Madison Chock, Mia Manganello, and Chloe Kim. Curious how those must-watch personalities as well as previous stars like Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Naomi Osaka, and Caeleb Dressel nourish their bodies to go for gold? We are, too! What Do Olympians Eat? Here’s a glimpse at what some of the world’s best athletes reportedly nosh on to perform (and feel!...

Among of the environmental factors that have been studied at some length are certain kinds of infection, particularly infection by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is part of the human herpesvirus family of infectious diseases. Indeed, multiple studies suggest that EBV, the most common cause of mononucleosis, or “mono” (often called “the kissing disease” because it’s transmitted via saliva or mucus), may play a role in the development of MS....

There are numerous diets available. In fact, if you type the word “diet” into a Google search engine you will retrieve 130,000,000 results. There are so many diets that they can now be ranked. Recently, this was done in the US News and World Report journal (http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-overall-diets). Diets were ranked on the following criteria: nutritious, safe, effective for weight loss, and effective for disease prevention against diabetes and heart disease....

“Skin lumps” can be divided into three different categories, says Dr. Seminario-Vidal: Benign: Noncancerous and may require no treatmentInflammatory or infectious: Requires treatment but is not life-threateningMalignant: These are cancerous and would require treatment in the short-term (rather than a wait-and-see approach) A lump that feels soft, mushy, or squishyA lump that feels mobileA lump that’s fixedA lump that’s firmA lump that feels hardA lump that’s red and inflamedA lump that’s painfulA lump that has a central poreA lump that looks well-defined under the skinA lump that has an irregular contourA lump that is growing...

The sweet potato plant is native to the tropical regions of the Americas, and its cultivation likely dates back to prehistoric times. These days, it’s grown across the globe, with China, Nigeria, and Tanzania being top producers, reports World Atlas. Within the United States, North Carolina grows the most sweet potatoes of any state, according to 2019–2021 data (PDF) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). California and Mississippi are among other top producers in the United States....

“Bingeing” means you eat a large amount of food in a short period of time. “Purging” is an unhealthy way of ridding your body of those extra calories, per the Mayo Clinic. People with bulimia sometimes make themselves vomit to eliminate the calories they consume. But that isn’t the only way to purge. Some may also follow a strict diet, fast, exercise excessively, or use laxatives, pills, or enemas. The harmful cycle of bingeing and purging can affect both physical and mental health, according to HelpGuide....

An infected person cannot directly transmit the virus to another person. The disease is spread when a mosquito feeds on a person with the virus circulating in their blood. The mosquito can pick up the virus and spread it to another person through its bite. Chikungunya virus is most often spread to people by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. These are the same mosquitoes that transmit dengue virus. Proximity of mosquito breeding sites to human habitation is a significant risk factor for chikungunya....

Your doctor may also use these names for GERD: Acid indigestionAcid refluxAcid regurgitationHeartburnReflux GERD can interfere with daily living, but most people can get relief from it through lifestyle changes, home remedies, and medical treatment. (1) Still, there are some typical telltale signs of GERD. The most common symptom of GERD is frequent heartburn, felt by a painful, burning sensation in the middle of your chest. “Usually, if the heartburn is mild and less than two times a week, it is considered mild GERD,” says Saleem Chowdhry, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic....

Pulmonary hypertension makes your heart work harder to pump blood through your lungs. This can trigger a number of disruptive symptoms and, eventually, can cause the right side of your heart to become enlarged and unable to adequately pump blood. Damage to your heart from pulmonary hypertension can lead to serious and even life-threatening complications. (1,2) Pulmonary hypertension may cause these symptoms: Shortness of breath (at first with physical activity but then at other times as the disease progresses)Fatigue or weaknessReduced appetiteCough (may be dry or produce blood)Light-headedness, dizziness, or faintingChest pain or pressureSwelling in the ankles, legs, or abdomenRacing heartbeat or heart palpitationsNausea, abdominal pain, or vomitingHoarseness or wheezingBluish color to the skin or lips (3)...

One researcher, Valter Longo, PhD, a professor of gerontology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the director of the USC Longevity Institute, has worked on solving this very riddle. He combed through the research on how diet can influence life span (find the papers on his website), and came up with the longevity diet, a research-informed way of eating that, when followed for your whole life, may give you some extra years....

A surface wound such as a scratch can generally be treated at home by rinsing the area with water and applying an antibiotic ointment like Neosporin. But any puncture wound should be seen by a doctor. Cat bites are less frequent than dog bites, but cat teeth are sharper and carry a higher risk of infection. Puncture wounds are difficult to clean completely, and bacteria can become sealed inside as the wound heals, leading to infection....

Hemorrhoids are quite common, affecting about 1 in 20 Americans, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Approximately half of adults over age 50 in the United States have hemorrhoids. While they can be unpleasant, hemorrhoids are rarely dangerous. A number of effective treatment options exist that can alleviate symptoms. Symptoms of Hemorrhoids There are two types of hemorrhoids: internal and external. Internal hemorrhoids occur inside the rectum and are typically not visible to the naked eye....

This type of cancer lacks certain hormone receptors that contribute to cancer growth. These receptors attach the cell to certain substances in the blood, like hormones. Both healthy breast cells and breast cancer cells need estrogen and progesterone to grow and have receptors that attach to those hormones specifically. But sometimes, a breast cancer cell does not have receptors for estrogen, progesterone, or human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2). These cells are called triple negative....