While each state, country, and hospital has its own rules and regulations, there are certain core tenets that each person needs to think about as they age. Planning for different outcomes in aging requires medical, legal, and financial preparation. It also involves other family members in addition to doctors. It can be confusing, which is

When most people think of aging and health, they often think of the person whose health is declining. However, the caregiver is an often-overlooked person. Caregivers put their all into making sure that their loved ones are taken care of. Their own mental, emotional, and physical health may suffer for it. In order to plan

Introduction Osteoporosis is a very common condition in older women. However, many people do not realize the devastating consequences of untreated osteoporosis, falls, and broken bones. While certain risk factors for the condition are unavoidable for some women, there are actions that people can take to decrease their chances of developing the condition and its

Introduction Depression is a major medical condition that affects millions of people. Little focus is given to the risks older age presents. Depression can affect older adults and, unfortunately, older adults are often less equipped to handle it. Aging presents different challenges than early and middle life and therefore needs to be approached differently. Read

Intuitive eating is a program that re-teaches people how to eat. Instead of dieting, nutritionists Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch created a program that teaches people who to tap in to their body’s natural cues to re-learn how to eat as they originally did as toddlers. This means that they follow certain principles designed to

Eating and body image are emotional topics for many people. Millions of people have tried a variety of ways to lose weight and approach nutrition. One method that has recently gained more traction is intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is not a diet. It is a new way of approaching eating created by two nutritionists that

Cognitive impairment is a broad term that encompasses many conditions. Judging when and how to screen for these conditions can be ambiguous. Screening people who do not need to be screened may increase the amount of unnecessary testing. However, missing people who are experiencing impairment may cause unnecessary harm to them. In February 2020, the

Introduction Many people feel that they have difficulty digesting certain food groups. In particular, people feel bloated, have issues using the restroom, and may feel fatigued. While some seemingly food-related symptoms may be due to anxiety or other emotions, some are due to diseases. Certain tests will help determine the reason behind the symptoms. What

In the first part of this series, we discussed many of the more complicated laboratory values that reflected the function of the liver, kidneys, and other miscellaneous organ systems. This part will discuss more systems, including the blood, hormonal systems, and vitamins. Complete Blood Count (CBC) A complete blood count is often the most basic

When patients visit their doctors, they often have blood drawn to run their labs. Doctors are looking for a few key things when these labs are drawn. Below is an explanation of every marker drawn in comprehensive laboratory testing. Lipid Panel A lipid panel checks a patient’s cholesterol. Cholesterol is controlled both by genetics and