If you feel you’re having a “sleep attack,” it could be narcolepsy. It isn’t caused by anxiety or a mental illness; it’s a nervous system disorder that happens to 1 in 3,000 Americans. Narcolepsy is caused by lower brain levels of a protein called hypocretin. The cause is unknown, but it does tend to run …
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is not rare. According to the National Institutes of Health, it is the leading cause of vision loss for people over 60. The macula of the eye is the part that lets you see the central portion of what or who you are looking at. Imagine looking at someone and not …
A recent article in JAMA (2012;307(8):813-822) found that women are 30% less likely than men to have chest pain or discomfort during a heart attack, especially under the age of 45. Because of this, women are more likely to die in the hospital than men because the diagnosis takes longer to make. Between the ages …
I heard an excellent discussion today on WBUR/NPR regarding sugar and the affect it is having on our health. We are eating 30 times more sugar than our ancestors 100 years ago and 1/3 of our country is obese while another 1/3 is overweight. Is sugar the cause of chronic illness, heart disease, more cancer …
A new study in Nature Medicine further proved the initial work of Jonathan Tilly of Mass General Hospital that the initial number of eggs a woman is born with do not run out, but rather continue to be produced as the woman ages. The impact of this article is that as new research develops, it …
When I say, “Mammogram,” most women in menopause have had one. But when I say “Colonoscopy” many women in perimenopause or menopause have not. March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month and I’m hoping the answer to the colonoscopy question will change. Women in perimenopause and menopause are more likely to die of colon cancer than …
Below is a press release about a wonderful health educational series I had the priviledge of being part of – Lunch NYC. As host for one segment and provider/performer of HealthRock songs in 8 others, I’m proud to have been a part of this great series on NY television. Click below to see one of …
Is getting enough sleep keeping you up at night? If so, here are seven sleep tips the Sandman approved. Sometimes simple lifestyle strategies and relaxing music go a long way to improving minor sleep disturbances, especially for women as they enter perimenopause and transition into menopause: Light sleepers do best avoiding heavy meals and large …
Could heart disease in menopause and the thickening of the arteries that comes with it be due to a deficient chemical? New research suggests it is. A chemical cofactor called BH4 (tetrahydrobiopterin) could lead the way to reversing vascular health that occurs after menopause. This comes from a small study published January 13 in the …
One of the commonest complaints I hear is that “my memory is not as good as it was.” Does that sound like you? If so, you are definitely not alone. One of the biggest causes of poor memory is poor sleep that often comes with menopause. It’s one of the reasons women consider HRT. But …
