For a long time, I avoided spending the night with relatives because I was worried about managing my diet and my symptoms away from home. I was also stressed out about potentially having my ostomy bag leak in someone’s bed. But I missed seeing family and fully celebrating the holidays, so I talked with other women with IBD and ostomies, experimented with taking overnight trips close to home, and found a system that works for me....

In September, scientists presented new meta-analyses at the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Annual Meeting in Chicago showing that vitamin D supplements were found to cut the risk of death from cancer, and omega-3 fatty acid supplements significantly reduced the odds of heart attack. The meta-analysis of 13 studies that examined the effects of omega-3 supplements on heart-related outcomes was published September 30 in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA)....

Sabita Roy, PhD, a microbiologist, and Maria Abreu, MD, a gastroenterologist, both at the University of Miami Health System, wanted to find out if opioids make IBD inflammation worse or if people with worse inflammation simply need more opioids to make it through their day. Drs. Roy and Abreu induced IBD in a group of mice and brought them to identical stages of symptom severity. Then they gave some of the mice doses of opioid painkillers and observed how their symptoms developed....

But how much obesity causes these conditions has been relatively unknown and unexplored. Now, a study published in October 2019 in PLoS Genetics is shining light on the toll of obesity, along with how extra weight may affect men and women differently. “We found that obesity is involved in two-thirds of the leading causes of death, meaning that we as a society need to become better at preventing obesity,” says Jenny Censin, MD, researcher at Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford in England, and first author of the study....

Age 34 Title and company Founder and CEO of Lora DiCarlo An orgasm changed Lora Haddock DiCarlo’s life. Yes. Really. In a word, it was a blended orgasm. Meaning it combined a clitoral and G-spot orgasm. “It was so intense that it knocked me off the bed,” says DiCarlo, 34, of Bend, Oregon. “The feeling was, ‘Holy shit, how do I do that again? And how can I do this by myself?...

But when and why did quinoa become so popular? What is it that makes this low-carb rice substitute so invaluable in the world of nutrition despite all the years that have passed? Its popularity today may have just been good timing. In 2014, the Wall Street Journal dubbed quinoa “the perfect collision of trends,” which Abbey Sharp, RD, a blogger at Abbey’s Kitchen, totally gets. (2) “I think quinoa saw its biggest spike in popularity in 2014....

“It’s complex, but the two are related almost in a circular or cyclical pattern,” says Bella Fradlis, MD, a rheumatologist at Garnet Health in Goshen, New York. “Increased stress levels can actually worsen symptoms of RA by increasing systemic inflammation.” A study published in June 2020 in the journal Rheumatology and Therapy found that depression is twice as common in people with RA than in the general population. According to researchers, chronic inflammation from RA impairs the body and mind’s responses to stress, including coping behaviors....

Symptoms of sepsis include high fever, high heart rate, and fast breathing rate. As the infection progresses, some people experience difficulty breathing, stomach pain, confusion, and dizziness. Sepsis can also lead to dangerously low blood pressure and organ failure (septic shock). (1) Due to the gravity of this illness, sepsis isn’t something you treat at home. It requires an emergency room visit followed by admission to the hospital with close monitoring and time-sensitive treatment....

Folliculitis: This inflammation of the hair follicles is sometimes caused by ingrown hairs. Infection from the bacteria Staphylococcus can develop in inflamed hair follicles on the face of someone with rosacea. Folliculitis is treated with both topical and oral antibiotics, or topical antifungals if a fungal infection is present. Men with rosacea who are prone to folliculitis may want to forego shaving, or use a new razor with every shave, to prevent a recurrence of folliculitis....

The latest data analysis from Newsweek showed that new reported infections in the majority of states have dropped by 60 percent or more since last month. On Monday, numbers released by the California Department of Public Health showed a plunge in the state of almost 65 percent from about three weeks before. This significant drop in infections prompted New Jersey governor Phil Murphy to lift the statewide mask requirement in schools starting March 7, calling the shift a major move “back to normalcy for our kids....

When it comes to treating secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a more advanced stage of the disease, little research has focused on autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT), which use healthy blood stem cells from a person’s own body (autologous) to replace diseased cells. New research published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, has found that people with active SPMS — meaning they continue to experience MS relapses or develop new lesions, as seen on their MRIs — who received stem-cell transplantation were slower in accumulating disability than those taking anti-inflammatory disease-modifying therapies (DMT)....

And that was that — until Stephen Porges, PhD, the Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University in Bloomington, introduced a third option: freeze or faint. His widely-cited polyvagal theory contends that living creatures facing or sensing mortal danger will immobilize, even “play dead,” as a last resort. This strategy occurs instinctively — without conscious thought and at the behest of a nervous system quickly deciding whether the environment is dangerous or safe....

According to a study published September 16, 2019, in the journal Nature Microbiology, researchers at Stanford University and the University of California in San Francisco found that temporarily disabling a single, noncritical protein in cells (called methyltransferase SETD3) could halt the duplication of viruses, including the rhinovirus that causes most common colds. Switching off the protein in human cells and in mice also stopped replication of viruses linked to asthma, encephalitis, and polio....

Gallstones and alcohol are the two main causes of acute pancreatitis. With chronic pancreatitis, it’s been estimated that up to 55 percent of cases in the United States are due to heavy drinking or alcoholism. (1) Where Is the Pain of Pancreatitis Felt? The most common symptom of both acute and chronic pancreatitis is pain in the upper abdominal area, usually under the ribs. This pain: May be mild at first and get worse after eating or drinkingMay become constant, severe, and last for several daysTends to worsen while lying down on the back and lessen while leaning forward in a sitting positionOften radiates throughout the backIs not aggravated by movementIs not dull or located in the lower abdominal area...

But not many consumers are aware of these issues. A December 2018 Nielsen survey found that while 46 percent of people surveyed believed it was important to buy local foods, only 16 percent knew about the effect livestock has on climate change. One study found the use of animals for food, as well as livestock feed, accounts for 57 percent of total food production emissions. There’s one group that seems committed to having a positive impact on the environment: young people....

Earlier in the pandemic, COVID-19 safety measures like mask mandates and stay-at-home orders also worked to reduce influenza rates to historical lows. But now that these restrictions have largely been lifted, the United States may be in for a challenging flu season ahead. Getting a flu vaccine can reduce the risk you and those around you face. Here’s everything you need to know about how well immunization works, who should (and should not) get the shot, and whether it’s okay to get a flu shot and a COVID-19 vaccine or booster at the same time....

But there are multiple theories about how diabetes and insulin resistance in general affect gallbladder health. For one, people with type 2 diabetes tend to be overweight or obese, one of the main risk factors of gallbladder disease. Obesity increases cholesterol secretion into the bile, which can accumulate in the gallbladder and eventually lead to the formation of gallstones. People with diabetes also have higher levels of triglycerides, a type of fat that may encourage gallstone formation, according to the Penn State Health Milton S....

Gallstones are formed when bile, which aids in the digestion of fat, contains too much cholesterol or bilirubin and not enough bile acids or lecithin (substances that allow water- and oil-based liquids to mix). Cholesterol gallstones are the most prevalent type, but stones made from bilirubin (called “pigment gallstones”) are also common. Obesity can lead to gallstones because it “alters the balance of cholesterol versus lecithin versus bile acids in the gallbladder,” says William Silverman, MD, professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City....

Then there are phantom symptoms, where we “feel” the sensation of such things as bugs crawling or water dripping on our skin, when in fact there’s nothing there. I’ve recently had a go with a phantom sensation that had a real effect. Pruritis, Otherwise Known as ‘Itching’ Some members of our Life with MS blog community have mentioned pruritis — also known as the MS Itch — as a symptom of their MS....

But with the majority of people in the United States under stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic, it can be harder than usual for older people to stay connected. Making things worse is the fact that older people tend to be more susceptible to severe illness from the coronavirus, which means that ordinary tasks, like going to the grocery store, can be fraught with danger, particularly in areas of the country where the virus has hit hard....