Staying Healthy Archive

Gut bacteria may influence our emotions and cognitive capabilities. For example, some bacteria make oxytocin, a hormone the body produces that encourages increased social behavior. Other bacteria make substances that cause symptoms of depression and anxiety. Still others make substances that help people to be calmer under stress. Gut bacteria also have been shown to influence people's vulnerability to certain brain diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and autism. For example, a substance found in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease (synuclein) is made by gut bacteria and can travel via nerves from the gut to the brain.

Prescription deliveries have the potential for several problems. They might be delayed, damaged, delivered to the wrong address, lost, or stolen. People can miss a delivery if it requires a signature and they aren't home or they can't get to the door before the delivery person leaves. And packages are sometimes left in an unusual spot and overlooked. If medications don't arrive when expected, a recipient should first see if the package was left somewhere on the property, and then contact the delivery service or pharmacy to locate the package.

The fear of falling can lead to a heightened sense of caution and less physical activity—which can actually increase the risk of falling. To reduce the fear of falling, a person must address underlying conditions, such as poor eyesight or joint problems. It also helps to work with a physical therapist to improve balance, gait (walking pattern), muscle strength, flexibility, and range of motion. When physical therapy ends, one must continue doing strength, stretching, and balance exercises at home in order to keep fear at bay and reduce fall risk.

Urine is often pale yellow, but different colors can indicate dehydration, injury, or conditions like kidney stones or liver disease. In some cases, different colors are caused by certain foods or medications.

Scary or misleading claims about things that may cause cancer are so plentiful that it's hard to know which ones to take seriously. A new website developed by experts aims to provide reliable information about whether a particular cancer claim is true.

It can be helpful to think of health as a spectrum, with illness at one end and wellness at the other. Someone who is in the neutral (middle) position can move to the wellness side by adopting and sustaining healthy lifestyle habits — and that has little to do with a person's shape or size.

A persistent cough that lasts longer than a few weeks can be worrisome, but for nonsmokers, the most common causes include asthma, bronchitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and medication for high blood pressure.