Author: St. Elizabeth Healthcare

You’re casually walking through the grocery store, then you hear something calling to you from the soda section. As you’re lured down the aisle, the colorful soda packaging sucks you in, and before you know it, a bottle is in your hand – and in your cart. Okay, maybe it doesn’t work quite like that, but we do know products are packaged to catch your attention and entice you into purchasing them. New York Magazine suggests this subliminal messaging goes deeper than colorful labels and bright signs. In fact, the way an item is packaged may encourage you to purchase…

Snacking is probably one of the most common fixes for your mid-afternoon, post-lunch coma. But, if you load up on soda, coffee or sweets, you aren’t helping yourself stay alert. Sugary snacks and caffeine give you an instant buzz, but beware of the crash coming later. Instead, Buzzfeed has a few healthier suggestions to keep you feeling full without causing a late-afternoon slump. Pack your salad in a mason jar so you can shake it up. They’re also great for portability! Wrap a sliced apple in a rubber band to keep it fresh and transport it with ease. Microwave scrambled…

Do you feel like you’re chained to your desk? If so, it could have an impact on how much you drink. A new study found people  who work longer hours (48 hours each week or more) are more likely to engage in risky drinking. For the purposes of this study, “risky drinking” was defined as woman consuming more than  seven  drinks in one week, and men consuming more than 14 drinks in the same time period. Employees who work longer hours were almost 13 percent more likely to drink in excess than those who work only 35-40 hours each week.…

Whether you’re in your 20s or your 40s, you likely remember a Disney movie that was a must-watch for you and your friends. Yet, even as I think of the many Disney films released in my childhood, I can’t remember one that maintained its popularity ““ or reached such a frenzy ““ as Frozen. According to the Washington Post, no one expected Frozen to be more popular than other Disney princess films. But as of the beginning of 2015, Frozen is still playing in theaters around the world and has become the only animated film from the princess genre to…

Older adults who commit minor crimes ““ petty theft or minor trespassing, for example ““ could be showing warning signs of a type of dementia, new research shows. A study in the Jan. 5 edition of JAMA Neurology says that the behavior is usually seen in adults with a subtype of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Frontotemporal dementia affects the regions of the brain located behind the forehead and behind the ears, and it accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all dementia cases, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Older adults with Alzheimer’s disease were less likely to demonstrate “criminal” behavior, the…

People with diabetes are three times more likely to be hospitalized for flu and related complications, such as pneumonia, than people who don’t have the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As the U.S. struggles through a particularly nasty flu season, public health authorities remind people with diabetes, whether it’s Type 1 or Type 2 that they need to take special precautions to protect themselves from the flu. For the latest state-by-state flu case numbers and other flu-related information, visit www.flu.gov. In December, 4 percent of Americans reported being sick with the flu or a…

It is hardly surprising that eating fast food can contribute to the development of Type 2 Diabetes. But Dr. Rajeev Kurapati offers some other interesting tidbits in his list of “10 causes of diabetes you just can’t ignore,” written for the new Northern Kentucky Tribune website. Kurapati is a St. Elizabeth Family Physician and author of the award-winning book “Unbound Intelligence.” He is also a columnist for the Tribune. As a parent of three younger children, two items on this list caught my attention: One soda a day can increase the risk of becoming diabetic. Given all the sugar in…

Throw it in the crock pot and forget it. Crock pots make it simple to work smarter not harder (which is a mantra here at Healthy Headlines), and make eating  healthy a quick task  rather than another chore. Now is a great time to pull out the new slow cooker you got for Christmas and put it to the test. We found some recipes on MyFitnessPal.com that are above and beyond the traditional pot roast. Each outlines the nutrition per serving including calorie count, fat, sodium and carbohydrates. Here are a few we’re trying this week: Chicken Verde: If you’re…

When starting a new exercise regimen, folks often jump in with both feet or they cautiously test the water to  decide if it’s warm enough to stick around for a while. Either way, they dive in and once they’ve been in the water long enough for their fingers and toes to get all pruney, many people get out. It’s all part of an endless cycle. For many, exercise becomes necessary only when they notice a few extra pounds. They then sign up for a spinning class and, once they’re satisfied with the number on the scale once more, they quit.…

If truth be told, I don’t think about cleaning my microwave unless guests are going to be in the kitchen when I’m cooking, or my mother is coming to visit. Ideally, we should wipe out the microwave every time we use it.   This, of course, keeps the microwave free from accumulated food explosions and prevents need for a hammer and chisel when cleaning finally does occur. If you, like most people, have a dirty microwave, here’s an easy and quick way to clean it without lots of elbow grease or chemicals. Fill a glass bowl ¾ full with tap…