Live Well Blog

An estimated 18 percent of cancer cases and 16 percent of cancer deaths are attributable to the combined effects of excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and eating an unhealthy diet. The Mayo Clinic, the American Cancer Society and the CDC all offer advice that may help prevent cancer in women.

Opioids are great drugs when you’re in pain. They’re also highly addictive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says opioid dependency can begin within three days of taking the drugs.

Could you have prediabetes? Having prediabetes means that your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but they are not yet high enough to be considered Type 2 diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, 70 percent of people with prediabetes will progress to full-blown diabetes if it’s left untreated.

Men and women are different in many ways. But when it comes to health, everyone can benefit from prevention. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if everyone in the U.S. received the recommended clinical preventive care, more than 100,000 lives could be saved each year.

We all want to avoid eating, drinking or breathing in poisons, germs and other things that are bad for us. But did you know there are other dangers lurking in your mouth? Believe it or not, bacteria from your mouth can easily get into your bloodstream. When it does, it can cause infection and inflammation wherever it spreads, which sometimes leads to serious health problems. You can also transfer germs from unconsciously touching your face or mouth.

Poor adherence can have many negative consequences. It can interfere with treating diseases, leading to complications from the illness and a lower quality of life for patients. In addition, more than $300 billion of avoidable health care costs have been attributed to medication non-adherence in the U.S.

Managing your diabetes can feel like a challenge, even on the best day. During uncertain times, those challenges can begin to feel daunting.

Your back supports your body in every activity you do throughout the day and night. All those activities, even sleeping, pose risks to the health and alignment of your spine that can compromise the strength of both your back and your health overall.

When unexpected changes to our routine, work life and social life collide with concerns about our health, we are all vulnerable to stress and anxiety. As we focus on staying well, it might be easy to overlook our mental and emotional health.

Your heart keeps blood moving through your body, which is essential to keeping you alive. You can’t see it, so you may not think of it often. Perhaps it’s time you did.