Author: St. Elizabeth Healthcare

Avocados are all the rage right now. Restaurants are adding them to salads, toast, sandwiches, burritos, even turning them into pudding and desserts. They are also the staple in one of our favorite foods – guacamole. But why are they so popular? Are they really that good for you? Karah Stanley, RD, LD, with the St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center, explains why avocados are considered a “good fat” and some other avocado benefits. Also, avocado-lovers know how tasty they are, but even the most devout aren’t always sure how to pick one out at the grocery store. After watching…

You’re trained for weeks, months, maybe even years for this day. You know exactly what time you’re aiming for and which times you need to reach at each mile marker to get there. You’ve planned your race day  breakfast, bathroom breaks, water station stops and post-race celebration. But what about your immediate race recovery? Many runners assume they can stretch the same way they would after completing a long run during training and they don’t think much about which snack to grab. “Expect to be sore for some of the week,” said Stacey McConnell,  a physical therapist with St. Elizabeth’s…

Please excuse us – we are about to have a “Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn!” moment. Are we the only ones who feel like kids today are far more likely to play indoors with electronics and technology than outside with nature and, dare we say it, their imaginations? As children, we didn’t realize all of the benefits we received from playing outside, which include improved concentration, better motor coordination and improved overall cognitive functioning. We simply  didn’t have all of the options available to kids today so we headed outside until the streetlights came on. If you miss…

Skip the ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce – you will add many more cancer-fighting antioxidants, not to mention flavor, to your diet with dried spices. Whether you enjoy Italian, Indian or Mexican cuisine, Eric Davenport, RD, LD, with the St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center, explains some of the benefits, not to mention bold flavor, in your favorite spices.

We all love our grandmothers. Many times they are sweet, wonderful women who can cook our favorite meals or bake  the best  cookies. Some even have interesting hobbies they’ve passed on such as gardening or collecting memorabilia. Not many are world-famous gymnasts. Johanna Quaas, an 86-year-old gymnast (at the time of filming), had won the German Senior Citizen Championships 11 times and is currently the Guinness World Record holder for oldest gymnast. The video is a couple years old, so in case you want to send Johanna a card for her 91st birthday this year (!!), she was born on…

Type 2 Diabetes may be linked to the buildup of protein tangles or tau in the brain independently of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. The study appears in the Sept. 2 online edition of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Evidence shows that people with type 2 diabetes have double the risk of developing dementia,” study author Velandai Srikanth, MD, PhD, from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said in a press release from the American Academy of Neurology. “This interesting development further defines how the diseases may be connected.” Tangles and plaques formed by abnormal proteins…

The one downside to this warmer summer weather? Mosquitoes  that could transfer the Zika virus are going to begin populating the Tri-State soon. What’s the problem, again? Zika virus is considered an inconvenience for most healthy adults: fever, rash, joint pain, etc. However, it has also been linked to a serious birth defect, which has pregnant women around the world on high alert, and infections of the brain and spinal cord in some adults. Contrary to what health officials originally believed, Zika is not only transmittable by mosquito (though they certainly aggravate  the problem). Out of the  346 confirmed…

In the video below, we follow Alex, a young boy with autism, through a crowded shopping center. As the noise, colors and other stimulants continue to build, we see Alex’s meltdown, and, perhaps more importantly, we see the reactions of passers-by to the whole situation. According to the video’s creators, the National Autistic Society, the video “is about everyday people in shops, supermarkets, shopping centers, train stations, understanding that if they see someone maybe having a meltdown or behaving a little bit differently, don’t judge them, think maybe it’s autism.” This description comes from a separate behind-the-scenes video, which you…

If you’re pregnant and can’t remember if it’s Tylenol or ibuprofen you’re allowed to take for your headache, you’re not alone. “Ibuprofen is the one a lot of people think is OK to take,” said Dr. Amanda Von Hoene, an OB-GYN with St. Elizabeth’s Cold Spring office. But ibuprofen ““ sold under the common brand names of Motrin and Advil ““ could cause problems for your baby. (So, stick with the Tylenol.) Another risky behavior pregnant women commonly adopt is to stop taking their medications altogether once they find out they’re pregnant, Von Hoene said, but that could cause problems…

Simple strategies like maintaining a regular schedule and cutting caffeine can help ease sleep and behavioral problems that plague people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. As many as 1 in 5 people with Alzheimer’s experience a disrupted sleep cycle or become increasingly confused, anxious or agitated late in the day and in the evening. These problem behaviors are called “sundowning,” which can be exhausting for both the person with Alzheimer’s and his or her caregiver. Scientists don’t know why “sundowning” and sleep disruptions happen. They have several theories, including physical and mental exhaustion at the end of the day; an…