By Dr. Wayne Andersen The practice of medicine is slowly evolving to address the role that habit and lifestyle play in patient health, but the status quo for modern medicine is still largely reactionary. A patient comes in the door with symptoms of a condition, and we try to provide relief for those symptoms through prescriptions or through invasive medical procedures and when we do not address the core cause of a patient’s disease—which is often lifestyle related to obesity rates continue to rise—the patient inevitably returns with the same (or worse) symptoms as before. This was the cycle I saw again and again as a critical care physician. Under this limited view of how we help people address their health problems, potentially reversible conditions become chronic, lifelong burdens. For many patients—those who are on prescriptions to treat high cholesterol, or chronic pain or even in some cases type II…

Our bodies are hardwired to install habits. By making repetitive behaviors automatic, we free-up processing power for our brains. Instead of having to consciously decide to take each step on the trail home after a hunt, our ancestors adapted so that they could direct their attention to more urgent matters, like watching for predators in the distance. Today, the power of habits can work for or against us, depending on whether we have Habits of Disease or Habits of Health installed. Something as simple as our posture comes down to habit. With a little bit of mindfulness, correcting your posture can actually ripple into other areas of your health, giving you an extra momentum for your workouts and even your emotional wellbeing. Here are just a few of the benefits of proper posture: Sitting up straight might reduce stress and increase confidence. The idea of “fake it till you…

Researchers in the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) study the ways in which the immune system and the nervous system communicate with each other and impact people’s mental and emotional health. Even though the field is relatively new, many studies have been designed to examine the influence of immune and nervous systems on the psychological consequences of stress. In literal terms, recent studies have related stress to be psychological. Many have apportioned the causes of stress to the happenings or events around them, often neglecting the invisible obvious fact that stress is relatively linked to mental health in two important ways: Stress can cause mental health problems, and make existing problems worse. People are more aware of the visible sources of stress in their life such as money, time, traffic jam, and daily job schedules but never aware of the weird stress triggers. Professor of sociology Scott Schieman, at the University…

By: Shaelynn-Miller It’s hard to know what to say or do when someone you love experiences a miscarriage – it’s a touchy subject people don’t like to bring up. But amongst the awkward tension of not knowing how to react, there are things left unsaid that shouldn’t be. Here are seven things about miscarriage no one talks about (but should): It’s a lot more common than you think Between 10 and 25 percent of recognized pregnancies, end in miscarriage. In fact, most healthy women have a 20 percent chance of miscarrying. Just because it’s common doesn’t make it any easier to handle From the time a woman sees those two pink lines on a pregnancy test, she begins to dream of the little bundle of joy growing inside her and what life will be like once the child arrives. Having that stripped away so suddenly is devastating. Many women experience depression…