A recent study in the UK suggests that people who drive while suffering from cold or flu symptoms may experience the same motoring tendencies that effect people who drive under the influence. According to this study, people who drive while ill see their ability to successfully operate a motor vehicle drop by fifty percent when compared to the same skill of healthy drivers.  Sick drivers suffer...

Remember how creeped out you felt when, as a child, your parents urged you to “sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite!”?  Probably not the most kosher way to ensure a child’s sleep, especially when you consider that bed bugs are tiny parasites that can infest your bed, furniture, clothing, or almost anywhere in your house with little bloodsuckers.  No wonder that happy little jingle...

These days it seems like everyone is on some kind of health kick.  If they’re not trying to lose weight, get fit, and reduce their cholesterol and blood pressure they’re eating organic, training for a marathon, or trying to quit smoking.  The truth is that there are plenty of health issues to contend with and people are starting to realize that the quick-fix mentality of diet pills and...

It seems like every other day some new study comes out linking cell phones to conditions as varied as carpal tunnel syndrome, rashes, and brain tumors.  Of course, this is totally aside from the very real threat posed by automobile accidents that occur because drivers are distracted from the task at hand by talking or texting on their cell phones.  But what if there were actually healthy...

Sex feels good.  Sex is fun.  Sex can be a healthy expression of love or emotion … so long as you engage in healthy practices, because, believe it or not, the world just isn’t a safe place anymore.  Gay or straight, married or playing the field, you’ll be doing yourself and your sexual partners a favor if you practice prevention to avoid sexually transmitted diseases … STDs.  If you...

Recent research to come out of Finland suggests a conclusive link between the intake of vitamin B12 and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. The study, published in the scientific journal Neurology, required researchers to analyze blood samples from 271 people between the ages of 65 and 79 and tested for blood markers of vitamin B12. The research subjects were also tested...

You live alone and you are coming home late from work on a dark, chilly, miserable night.  As you walk in the door you are greeted by the gentle purr of your beloved cat as she winds her warm body around your ankles.  Or you’ve suffered through a particularly long bout of the flu, and when you wake up your faithful, furry hound is at your side, smiling up at you with liquid eyes.  These are...

The centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s promise of change for America is his sweeping health care reform legislation which is slated to take effect in 2014. While right wing critics have assailed the Affordable Care Act as being financially unsustainable, the administration has to this point remained headstrong in its insistence that the act’s systemic reforms are necessary. This defense...

You know when something is wrong in your marriage.  The carefree feelings of love and trust aren’t quite so strong, you begin to doubt your significant other, and you find yourself entering into pointless arguments that seem to rehash the same old missteps over and over.  These are the signs of a marriage on the rocks.  Of course, there are also more extreme cases, in which cheating occurs,...

Have you opened your fridge lately only to find it full to the point of overflowing, and then realized that you have no idea what’s in there?  If you’re not clearing out old items on a regular basis, you could be doing damage to your health without even knowing.  For one thing, items that have begun to mold or go rancid can affect other foods, especially if containers aren’t properly...

It seems like everyone is trying to find quick ways to lose weight these days, whether they’re using fad diets, 60-day workout plans, or even medication.  But if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to create a routine that is sustainable, one that you can adopt for life.  And while ongoing exercise is never a bad idea for your health, you’ll find that controlling your diet...

If your elderly parents are having trouble living on their own it may be time to make the difficult decision between assisted living and home health care. Assisted living facilities are an invaluable resource for families who are searching for a dignified option when it comes to caring for their eldest members. Many assisted living facilities offer luxurious, state of the art accommodations along...

There seems to be a rift in opinions pertaining to the relative harm that video games can cause to children.  Of course, there is a long-standing debate about whether the level of violence has an effect on kids, but in a culture that endorses violence in other forms of media, this seems to be a fallacious argument at best.  However, it cannot be denied that kids who spend hours planted on the...

There is a long-standing debate about the ability of senior citizens to continue driving after a certain point.  While there is, as yet, no upper age limit for driving, we’ve all witnessed elderly drivers mismanaging their vehicles on the roadway (going too slow, forgetting to signal, or hitting the gas instead of the brake and mowing people down in the farmer’s market, for example). ...

Keeping your smile shining and as bright white as possible is sometimes a struggle due to the stresses of everyday life. We would all like to say we floss twice a day and brush before every meal, but the reality is that sometimes life simply gets in the way of proper dental care. Whitening toothpastes, mouthwashes and other products designed to enhance your smile are helpful, but many of these...

When it comes to finding easy ways to improve your health, there are none so good as saying goodbye to gas-spewing vehicles and opting to get from here to there via bicycle.  While you can certainly find other ways to work out, this one serves the dual purpose of providing transportation to and from the places you frequent, like your place of work, the grocery store, and anywhere else you might...

When you suffer from allergies, you know that a bad attack can not only ruin your day, it can also have dire effects (even death) if it goes untreated.  But sometimes the treatments are just as bad as the symptoms themselves!  For example, you may not be too keen to suffer through day after day of sneezing and congestion brought on by seasonal hay-fever, but antihistamines that make you drowsy...

We all have to put food on the table, but are we working ourselves to an early grave? More and more Americans complain of work related health issues, from repetitive stress injuries to nervous break downs, to a nasty case of the flu. Aside from quitting your job, there is a lot you can do to decrease your chances of a workplace health catastrophe. Take short breaks In a world of 80 hour weeks...

When it comes to tying the knot, most people are thinking about romance, finances, family, and just about anything besides their health.  And yet, there are actually a lot of health benefits to be garnered from settling down with the right person for the rest of your life.  You might think that after years of marriage, you’re likely to be at your partner’s throat, a situation that is...

When you first start to consider the impact that dating can have on your overall health, you might be scratching your head as you try to find the connection.  After all, the two subjects seem fairly unrelated.  Your health is affected by genetics, how you eat, the amount of sleep you get, whether or not you smoke and drink alcohol, and so on – it has nothing to do with dating, right?  Not...

You might not see how the state of your finances could be related to the state of your health, but there are actually several ways in which financial hardship can bring stress to your life, along with a series of other issues that can negatively impact your overall health.  Experts are finding more evidence each day to suggest that stress is to blame for all kinds of problems, from simple...

Hitting the road with the family or a group of friends can be a fun and exciting way to travel from here to there.  And with the economy in the can and airline prices high, it may be the best option for your budget.  Plus, who doesn’t love a road trip?  The wind is in your hair, the sun is shining down, and you’ve got hours of awesome tunes just waiting on your MP3 player, not to mention a...

Mahatma Gandhi showed the world, through the passive resistance of fasting, that it was possible to live without food for weeks at a time.  But no one can survive for very long without water, an essential substance that allows our bodies to function properly.  Because of this, it’s rather surprising to discover that the majority of adults suffer from at least mild dehydration on a daily...

When you see that pink stripe, every aspect of your life will change.  Suddenly, an act like sitting down for your favorite TV show with a bag of chips, which wouldn’t have elicited the barest notice before, will come under an incredible amount of scrutiny.  Is it okay to eat chips when you’re pregnant?  How many can you have?  And if you’re going to eat them, shouldn’t you at least...

You no doubt understand the health benefits of incorporating organic foods into your diet.  By including produce that is grown without chemical pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers you are not only keeping these harmful toxins out of your body (where they can get stored in fat cells to be released years down the road), but also out of the ground and water supply.  And animals...