By Stephanie Pappas From the day children first step out onto the playground, friendships are a key part of life. According to Gallup polling data from 2004, 98 percent of Americans report having at least one close friend (the average number of friends is nine). But friendship...
By Sleep Better Across the United States, students in grades K through 12 are getting ready to go back to school. In fact, a few school systems have already started. One of the tougher things as a parent is getting your child off the “sleep as...
By Amy Morin, LCSM It’s never too early to talk to your kids about smoking. You might not think there’s a reason to have the discussion when your child is just 5 or 6 years old—after all, it’s unlikely that your first-grader is going to pick...
By March of Dimes As new data from the federal government shows that the health of pregnant women and babies is getting worse, the March of Dimes says now is not the time to cut maternity benefits. The National Center for Health Statistics today released provisional birth...
By Alexandra Sifferlin Artificial sweeteners might seem like a low- or no-calorie way to enjoy sweet food and not gain weight. But a new study links them to the opposite. In the report, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers analyzed 37 studies on artificial sweeteners to see...
By Catherine Pearson In the weeks leading up to the birth of her first baby three years ago, Kate* was excited and upbeat. She and her husband had been trying to have a child for eight years, and she hoped some of the pain of infertility...
By Mayo Clinic Women’s Health Many people think if they just stick to a diet and exercise, they’ll lose weight; unfortunately, many are not successful. They wonder why they can’t lose weight even after trying many different diets, work out programs and medications. According to Andres Acosta, M.D.,...
By Senator Bill Frist, M.D Earlier this month, my wife Tracy and I explored on horseback for three days the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area — a gem of the national park system in east Tennessee. As we rode the trails, experiencing the gently flowing...
By Dina Piersawl It was Christmas Eve, and I was visiting my parents in Kentucky when my mom noticed that my eyes looked “funny.” I had had a headache for several days leading up to the trip, and she could tell something was off. By the time...
By WebMD A healthy body temperature is maintained by the nervous system. As the body temperature increases, the body tries to maintain its normal temperature by transferring heat. Sweating and blood flow to the skin (thermoregulation) help us keep our bodies cool. A heat-related illness occurs when our bodies can no longer transfer enough heat...