Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash Long, flowing locks are one of the main beauty goals for most women. Of course, we all want thick, beautiful hair that grows endlessly. But for most of us, it seems like our hair tends to stop growing …
Photo by Stacey Gabrielle Koenitz Rozells on Unsplash We all experience a little sleepiness on your average Monday morning. However, severe and ongoing fatigue that’s accompanied by symptoms like muscle and joint pain, memory problems, and trouble concentrating may indicate a more serious problem – …
Sensitivity to noise, nausea, even fainting and blacking out are common symptoms for those who suffer from migraines. Migraines are is different from other headaches. Migraine headaches are a neurological disorder, like epilepsy. They come along with severe and debilitating pain that’s far worse than your average headache, generally manifesting as intense throbbing on one side of the head. Migraines occur more frequently in women and may run in families, but children are susceptible to them as well. Some migraine sufferers experience intense nausea, vomiting, severe sensitivity to light and sound, and extreme dizziness during an attack, which can last anywhere from four hours to three days.
The FDA has released a new device that’s said to prevent migraines all together. Wait … Prevent? It sounds too good to be true for migraine sufferers. The device is called Cefaly, and it works by stimulating the nerves beneath your forehead. The Cefaly is shaped like a tiara and sits across the head. This battery-powered device has an electrode that’s positioned just above the patients’ eyes. Electric currents are delivered through battery power, giving a tingling sensation to the person wearing it.
New Research: Study Shows Great Promise for Migraine Sufferers
A recent study published in the Journal of Neurology last month focused on a group of 67 people who suffer from chronic migraine attacks. The numbers showed that 38% of those studied saw a significant reduction of outbreaks when they wore the Cefaly – almost 50% fewer migraines than those who didn’t wear it!
Patients are cautioned to wear the device for no more than 20 minutes per day. In contrast to migraine medications, Cefaly has no known side effects and can be combined with other prescription and OTC drugs. The manufacturer of the device is STX-Med, a company based in Belgium. The Cefaly is already being sold in Canada, where it costs $250. So far, it hasn’t been released in the United States. However, when it does it store shelves in the US, the Cefaly is very likely to benefit many of the nearly 28 million people who suffer from migraines in the country.
*Update (March 2017) – Cefaly is availble at www.cegaly.us/en and has been approved by the FDA for use under prescription.
According to their website, patients satisfaction is 81%, migraine attacks in users is down 54%, medication intake is down 75%, and responders rate is 75%.
Source: CNN.com: Suffer from Migraines? Device Worn on the Head May Prevent Them
Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash Sugar addiction is a very real phenomenon these days. In fact for many people, sugar consumption can dictate their entire mood for the evening if they don’t get their afternoon sugar fix to keep them going! So is sugar …
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Having both a cold and flu is never fun. The aches, pains, cough, runny nose, fever and congestion are just a few of the symptoms that prevent us from feeling our best and keeping up with our daily routines. …
Maintaining your overall health is all about a balanced diet, staying fit, and eating the right foods that give your body the nutrients it needs to function. Every day, though, it seems that there’s a new article or blog published on exactly what we should and shouldn’t eat. Fad diets and trends have been around for decades, convincing people to try crazy things like eating nothing but cabbage soup until the next new craze comes up. This year brings along more fad diets that have both benefits and risks for your health. Here are some of the top Nutrition Trends of 2014.
Yes, the gluten-free bandwagon is still going strong, and more and more people are opting for gluten-free foods every day. With the trend still in high demand, there are even more gluten-free products on the store shelves. Everything from bread, cookies and flour are available in gluten-free form. Since gluten sensitivity has been linked to a variety of health problems, a gluten-free regimen may help increase energy, decrease bloating and improve digestion. A gluten-free diet can be very beneficial when it’s done right, but just remember, “gluten-free” doesn’t mean low fat! A gluten-free cookie is still a cookie, no matter what they call it. Those with a true gluten allergy – about 1% of the population – must stick to a strict gluten-free diet.
There are New regulations for Gluten-Free Food Labels!
One cup of cooked quinoa has 15% fewer carbohydrates and 60% more protein than a comparable amount of brown rice. It also has 25% more fiber, which can help lower blood cholesterol. Quinoa is one of the most sought-after superfoods and can have a variety of benefits for your health – it’s been linked to healthy weight loss, repair of damaged tissues, proper digestion and heart health. Add quinoa into your diet by using it as a salad ingredient or meal topper, and it’s also a good idea to use quinoa when a recipe suggests rice. Just practice moderation – eating only quinoa to lose weight will deplete your body of nutrients. In addition, beware of quinoa allergies and never consume it while pregnant or breastfeeding. Quinoa can also interact badly with medications that lower triglycerides.
Read Dr. Millie Lytle’s “Wheat, Grains, and A Gluten Free Diet” by clicking here!
This is probably the leafy green that you’ve hear about the most lately. Kale belongs to the Brassica family that includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. One cup of chopped kale contains only 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of Calcium, 206% of Vitamin A, 134% of Vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of Vitamin K. Adding some kale into your diet can help, but it also has some hidden risks. The extremely high amount of Vitamin K, which is the vitamin that causes your blood to clot properly, can interfere with blood thinners like Coumadin, Warfarin and the lesser-known Arixtra injections. If you’re taking blood thinners, make sure you avoid eating kale. And don’t go overboard with a kale-only diet to lose weight fast – this can wreak havoc on your digestive system!
A low-carb diet can definitely help you lose weight, but it’s important to understand which carbs to avoid and which ones to eat in moderation. Carbohydrates are divided into two categories, simple and complex. Simple carbs include junk foods like candy and soda, which are the ones to avoid. The body takes longer to break down complex carbs like pasta, oatmeal, bread and rice, so they provide you with energy for longer periods of time than simple carbs do. However, a totally carb-free diet can harbor a lot of health risks – it’s recommended to eat 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. Restricting this to 20 grams or less can result in extreme fatigue, dizziness, headaches, and weakness, because carbs are your body’s main source of energy.
Could your diet restrictions be causing a nutritional gap in your diet? Click here to find out!