Author: St. Elizabeth Healthcare

Are you inclined to choose an independent restaurant over a chain, assuming it’s a healthier option? Well, a study conducted in 2016 across Boston, San Francisco, and Little Rock challenges that belief. The research, encompassing diverse demographics and obesity rates in these cities, examined various cuisines, from burgers to Italian. Surprisingly, the calorie content in meals from both independent and chain restaurants exceeded the recommended 570 calories for women during lunch and dinner. Independent restaurant dinners averaged around 1,200 calories, comparable to their chain counterparts. So, why do we often perceive independent, local restaurants as better for our health? Some…

In the wake of actor Alan Rickman’s death from pancreatic cancer in January 2016, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network launched an awareness campaign to shed light on the disease, which ranks as the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. With over 53,000 Americans projected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and nearly 42,000 expected to succumb to it, organizations like the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research are advocating for increased awareness and funding. Four symptoms of pancreatic cancer are: Abdominal pain that won’t go away and radiates to your back from your stomach. Unintentional weight…

More than half of Asian Americans and almost half of Hispanic Americans with diabetes are undiagnosed, according to federal health researchers. The findings from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were published in September in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers also found that the overall prevalence of diabetes increased from nearly 10 percent of all American adults to slightly more than 12 percent between 1988 and 2012. Diabetes rose across all ethnic, age, gender, and socioeconomic lines, the researchers reported. Researchers used data from the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to break down diabetes prevalence. For…

When the temperature in the Tri-State dropped to single digits last week and schools called off classes due to the wintry weather, you may have been wondering whether it was safe to be out and about. After all, if it’s too cold to send a child to school, is it too cold to send him or her outside to play? We wanted to help you answer tough questions like this, so, with a little help from our neighbors to the north, we developed the handy infographic below. When you’re considering whether you should head outdoors, keep in mind that the…

Regardless of which team you are rooting for on Feb. 7, 2016, we are pretty positive you will be rooting for a great game day dip. If you need a delicious, shareable, and healthy treat for Super Bowl L, try this simple spinach dip from the American Heart Association. It is sure to please even the pickiest at the party. (You may just want to redirect the conversation when they ask what that green stuff is!) The recipe below serves six, so you may want to double or triple it for a larger crowd. Serve with pita slices (in the…

Did you know that every four and a half minutes a baby is born with a birth defect in United States? Birth defects range from minor to life-threatening and can even be fatal in some cases. They are the leading cause of infant mortality in Kentucky and can lead to long-term disabilities and significant costs over a lifetime. January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month and local authorities are teaming up with the National Birth Defects Prevention Network and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to raise awareness. Many birth defects are avoidable if women make the PACT.…

People who will go on to develop dementia may lose awareness of their memory lapses two to three years before dementia sets in, new research suggests. The study, published Aug. 26 in the online edition of Neurology, also found that several dementia-related changes in the brain are associated with the decline in memory awareness. “Our findings suggest that unawareness of one’s memory problems is an inevitable feature of late-life dementia, driven by a buildup of dementia-related changes in the brain,” study author Robert S. Wilson said in a news release from the American Academy of Neurology. Wilson is a neuroscientist…

Nobody enjoys the dreaded call to the boss, explaining they’re sick and can’t be at work today. On the other hand, nobody enjoys sitting next to a sniffling, sneezing, coughing coworker who might have the flu or may spread their evil germs to the rest of the office. What’s a good employee to do? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that if you have flu symptoms, you should stay home at least 24 hours after your fever is gone. And that’s without using Tylenol or other fever-reducing medicines to artificially knock down the fever. If you have the…

You know foods like fresh vegetables, yogurt, and grilled chicken are good for you. You know foods like salty chips, soda, and fudge brownies aren’t as great. But do you know which foods are only good in small quantities? We tend to take something and run with it – once we hear food is good, we eat as much of it as we want. While these foods usually do have (at least some of) the nutritional benefits you’ve heard/read about, too much of them can cause the same (or similar) health problems as the “unhealthy” ones do, according to Greatist.…

Short, intermittent bouts of high-intensity exercise could improve heart structure and blood sugar control in adults with Type 2 diabetes, new research shows. People with Type 2 diabetes are about twice as likely as those without it to develop heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death and complications in people with diabetes. As the disease progresses, it damages the structure and function of the left ventricle of the heart ” the organ’s main pumping chamber. The damage is visible early on in the disease process and starts before patients experience any symptoms of heart disease. In the…