HEALTH & WELLNESS

10 Great Benefits Of Pilates
HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR

10 Great Benefits Of Pilates

Have you been going to other exercise classes and want to try something different? Do you suffer from a bad back and need to find an answer? Read this article to find out about the 10 benefits of Pilates. Benefits of Pilates 1: Pilates Creates a Strong Core By careful training and precise control over the smaller muscles in the lower abdominal region and lower back region Pilates is able to improve your core stability. This can result in better control of the small spinal joints during movement of the spine and better control of the pelvis and hip regions. This can have many beneficial effects including improving pelvic stability, lower back pain reduction, better control of the bladder and stronger pelvic floor muscles. Benefits of Pilates 2: Pilates improves relaxation By slowing down ...
Will The New COVID-19 Variant BA.2, Cause Another Wave Of Infections In The US?
COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS, IN OTHER NEWS

Will The New COVID-19 Variant BA.2, Cause Another Wave Of Infections In The US?

A new omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19, BA.2, is quickly becoming the predominant source of infections amid rising cases around the world. Immunologists Prakash Nagarkatti and Mitzi Nagarkatti of the University of South Carolina explain what makes it different from previous variants, whether there will be another surge in the U.S. and how best to protect yourself. What is BA.2, and how is it related to omicron? BA.2 is the latest subvariant of omicron, the dominant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. While the origin of BA.2 is still unclear, it has quickly become the dominant strain in many countries, including India, Denmark and South Africa. It is continuing to spread in Europe, Asia and many parts of the world. The omicron variant, officially known...
Would You Consider Wellness Advice From Influencers
HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR

Would You Consider Wellness Advice From Influencers

The scandal that should force us to reconsider wellness advice from influencer. Former social media influencer and “wellness guru” Belle Gibson first caught public attention after claiming she cured herself of terminal cancer by rejecting conventional medicine in favour of a healthy diet and lifestyle. Her story was documented on a blog and social media, which became the basis for a successful book and app, featuring lifestyle advice and healthy recipes. In 2015, however, Gibson was exposed as a fraud. It was revealed that she never had cancer and failed to donate the proceeds from her app to charity, as promised. Now, she has been summoned to appear in Federal Court following her failure to pay a AUD410,000 penalty for misleading health claims. Beyond the psychological factors motivating...
Patients Setting In Abortion Clinic Waiting Rooms As Roe Fell Had To Be Turned Away
HEALTH & WELLNESS

Patients Setting In Abortion Clinic Waiting Rooms As Roe Fell Had To Be Turned Away

Patients were in the lobby, waiting, the moment it became a post-Roe America. The staff at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services Clinic in San Antonio had just received a call from their attorney: Abortion procedures in Texas would have to stop immediately. The dozen or so patients in the lobby Friday morning would have to be turned away. The clinic staff would have to be the ones to tell them. Andrea Gallegos, the clinic’s administrator, and the rest of the staff walked out and addressed the room: “The Supreme Court made this decision today and, unfortunately, your geographical location affects your bodily autonomy,” she said they told waiting patients. Gallegos watched each word land like a blow. People cried. They screamed. They begged for help, she said. It was “complete despair.” Ho...
Celebrities Have A Moral Responsibility To Help Promote Lifesaving Vaccines
HEALTH & WELLNESS

Celebrities Have A Moral Responsibility To Help Promote Lifesaving Vaccines

In the heated debate about vaccine mandates, celebrities have not hesitated to raise their voices. Most prominently, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has stated he would rather not participate in tennis tournaments than get the vaccine required to play. And Joe Rogan has used his highly popular podcast to spread vaccine misinformation, saying the vaccine could alter one’s genes. While some resistance is based on misinformation or distrust of the vaccines, some is rooted in concerns about bodily autonomy. In January 2022, actor Evangeline Lilly attended a rally protesting vaccine mandates in the name of bodily sovereignty, claiming she was “pro-choice” and stating, “I believe nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will.” Comedian Rob Schneider echo...
In Any Way Is Drinking Good For You? If Not, Why Is Alcohol Legal For Adults?
HEALTH & WELLNESS, Journalism

In Any Way Is Drinking Good For You? If Not, Why Is Alcohol Legal For Adults?

Margie Skeer, Tufts University Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Is alcohol consumption of any benefit to humans? If not, why aren’t we thinking about banning it forever? – Lamiah S., Kerala, India Scientists have been trying to figure out whether alcoholic beverages can be good for your health for a long time, often reaching contradictory conclusions. What is clear is that wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages can be bad for you for many reasons. That’s especially true for people who frequently drink heavily. The effects of drinking alcohol, which is made by fermenting the sugars found in grapes, barley, potatoes and other plants, vary according to how much som...
Yearning For An Emotional Connection – Why We Missed Hugs
HEALTH & WELLNESS, Journalism

Yearning For An Emotional Connection – Why We Missed Hugs

HEALTH & WELLNESS Kory Floyd, University of Arizona Rose Gagnon could not hug her grandchildren for several months. Not being able to see and touch her loved ones every day because of COVID-19’s social distancing protocols was taking a toll on the mental health of the 85-year-old. Like many, she was feeling lonely and yearning for an emotional connection that had been hampered by the inability to embrace those most important to her. That’s when Gagnon’s granddaughter Carly Marinaro devised an innovative solution in the form of a “hug time” device. Inside a frame made of PVC piping, Marinaro fashioned a see-through plastic barrier with two arm attachments, so that grandmother and granddaughter could share a hug while minimizing the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Like Gagnon, ...
Most Of The COVID-19 Workforce Were Women Of Color – What Happens Now As Those Jobs End?
HEALTH & WELLNESS

Most Of The COVID-19 Workforce Were Women Of Color – What Happens Now As Those Jobs End?

Since 2020, thousands of workers have done the difficult work of meeting people where they are — their car doors, front doors, community centers — to test, vaccinate and contact trace. They often did this work to stop the spread of COVID-19 in their own communities, among their neighbors and families. They worked in the heat and humidity, under tents in the rain, in clinics and from their own homes, through an onslaught of questions, despair and, sometimes, outright nastiness. Some had a background in public health, some came out of retirement to help, others had never worked in health care at all. While data on who these workers were is still being collected, one clear pattern has emerged, experts say: It’s likely most of the COVID-19 workforce were women of color. Historically, the ma...
A Medical Toxicologist Explains: What Fentanyl Is And Why Is It Behind The Deadly Surge In US Drug Overdoses?
HEALTH & WELLNESS, IN OTHER NEWS

A Medical Toxicologist Explains: What Fentanyl Is And Why Is It Behind The Deadly Surge In US Drug Overdoses?

Buying drugs on the street is a game of Russian roulette. From Xanax to cocaine, drugs or counterfeit pills purchased in nonmedical settings may contain life-threatening amounts of fentanyl. Physicians like me have seen a rise in unintentional fentanyl use from people buying prescription opioids and other drugs laced, or adulterated, with fentanyl. Heroin users in my community in Massachusetts came to realize that fentanyl had entered the drug supply when overdose numbers exploded. In 2016, my colleagues and I found that patients who came to the emergency department reporting a heroin overdose often only had fentanyl present in their drug test results. As the Chief of Medical Toxicology at UMass Chan Medical School, I have studied fentanyl and its analogs for years. As fentanyl has becom...
What Exactly Is Toe Jam? From Harmless Gunk To A Feast For Bugs
HEALTH & WELLNESS, TOP FOUR

What Exactly Is Toe Jam? From Harmless Gunk To A Feast For Bugs

Toe jam can be a source of fascination, disgust or barely noticed. It can be a sign you need to wash your feet or rethink your choice of footwear. It can also lead to major health issues. Toe jam, the gunk and debris between your toes, has even made it to a Beatles song. But it was unlikely John Lennon was thinking about foot hygiene when he wrote the lyrics to the second verse of Come Together: He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football He got monkey finger, he shoot Coca-Cola He say, ‘I know you, you know me’ One thing I can tell you is you got to be free. Yes, The Beatles really mentioned toe jam in Come Together (YouTube). What is toe jam, actually? Toe jam isn’t a medical term. There is no formal medical term to describe the dead skin cells, sweat, sock lint and dirt that comb...