For people who love to read, curling up with a good book feels utterly indulgent, especially when paired with a cozy chair and a steaming cup of tea. But here’s some news that’s worth putting your book down for: Reading is actually good for you (in more ways than one)!Benefits of ReadingIt’s like exercise for your brain We all know physical exercise is good for our bodies, so it makes sense that an activity like reading, which exercises your brain, is beneficial to neurological health. The type of reading you do (e.g. lightly skimming a page versus focusing closely on the text, … [Read more...]

Abdominal pain can come in a wide variety of forms. This stands to reason: The abdomen houses many of our internal organs (not to mention muscles and connective tissue). While it’s unreasonable to expect everyone to have a full understanding of what every type of abdominal pain could mean, a skilled clinician is likely able to discern the problem plaguing her patient based on the patient’s history. And that means that having a basic knowledge of your abdominal anatomy—as well as an understanding of some of the common ways physicians characterize pain and the types of questions they may ask—can … [Read more...]

Nausea: It’s one of those universal human experiences we can all commiserate with. In fact, it’s estimated that each year half of the adult population experiences at least one bout of nausea, which may or may not lead to vomiting. That makes sense because there are many reasons people feel nauseous.What to Eat and Drink When You Feel Nauseous If you feel sick to your stomach, eating or drinking may be the last thing on your mind. And if your symptoms only last for a short time, abstaining could be the right thing to do.However, if your symptoms persist for more than a couple of … [Read more...]

When you picture a healthy diet, what do you see? Lots of salads, maybe some smoothies, a little steamed broccoli? It’s easy to guess what you’re not envisioning, though, and that’s sugar. Cookies, cakes, and ice cream are sweetly seductive, but what about naturally sweet eats? Sugar occurs naturally in many foods, including fruit. In fact, because fruit is naturally higher in sugar than, say, vegetables, some popular eating plans (such as Atkins, Paleo, and Keto) strictly limit fruit intake, at least for a period of time.However, fruit is packed with good stuff that many of us don’t get … [Read more...]

It seems that everywhere we turn, we’re encouraged to drink more water. That makes sense since adults in America are, on average, chronically dehydrated. So, it comes as little surprise that more and more options for more palatable drinks have bubbled up all over.There are sparkling waters, seltzers and tonic waters, for starters. And then there are soft drinks (both regular and diet), beer, champagne and other sparkling wines. But when it comes to your health how do these bubbly beverages compare to good old still, unflavored water? Is a can of LaCroix seltzer the equivalent of a glass of … [Read more...]