Take Charge of Your Numbers
Your blood contains secrets about your overall health. It can indicate whether you’re at risk for heart disease, show that your kidneys aren’t functioning correctly, or reveal that you are developing diabetes. That’s why annual exams typically include a blood draw. In fact, blood work ranks among the most common diagnostic methods. Looking at lab […]
Why young girls are at risk for anemia
Adolescent females are at greater risk for anemia than adolescent boys. This may be due to several reasons, including the fact that adolescent girls lose blood each month during their menstrual cycles and many teenage girls eat less red meat than adolescent boys. While some adolescents with anemia (low hemoglobin and hematocrit) complain of headaches, […]
Hemophilia: The Royal Disease
www.awellnessupdate.com Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder in which the blood doesn’t clot normally. It is often called the “Royal Disease” because Queen Victoria of England (1837-1901) was a carrier of the hemophilia gene and passed the disease on to several royal families. Victoria’s eighth child, Leopold, had hemophilia and suffered from frequent hemorrhages, which […]
A healthy diet is key to getting the iron you need
Harvard Health Blog A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) focuses on what happens to iron stores in the body after donating blood. As many as one-third of regular blood donors have too little iron in their bloodstreams. According to the article, it can take up to six months to […]
Your blood work, on the edge of normal
Harvard Health Letters As a smart medical consumer, you know it’s important to look over the results of your routine blood work, even when the numbers are all within the normal range. But what if you notice that some results are at the high or low end of that range? Should you be concerned about […]
What To Do When Blood Test Results are Not Quite ‘Normal’
By Heidi Godman Harvard Health Blog Picture this: You’re reading the results of your recent bloodwork, and you notice some numbers are teetering on the edge of the normal range. Should you be concerned? “It’s tricky, because in some tests, a borderline result makes no difference. In others, it might indicate an important change in […]
EatingWell: Changes in diet can help lower your blood pressure
By Karen Ansel, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., EatingWell.com What you eat can help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range. And it’s not just about shaving sodium from your plate. The following tricks can help bring your numbers down naturally. PILE ON THE PRODUCE Foods like potatoes, beans and bananas are full of potassium, a […]
The FDA’s Problem with Blood
Despite evidence contrary to its reasons, the FDA still discriminates against gay blood By Alex LubischerI was 17 the first time I donated blood. I did well. The nurse said I had good veins and I think I puffed out my chest just little. She pressed a cotton ball onto my antecubital, secured a band […]
Sickle Cell Awareness Month: Are You Aware?
Our writer admits ignorance and investigates to learn more What do you know about sickle cell disease? Or, what don’t you know? It could be a lot because there are many misconceptions and vagaries surrounding this disease. I certainly didn’t know much when I started researching it. One commonly made assumption (I made it) is […]
The Waiting Game
Facing down an incurable cancer with optimism and research In late November of 2006, the pain in Bill Herlihy’s back had become unbearable. At 56, he knew he was at an age when a lot of men suffer regular back problems, but the pain he’d begun experiencing months before had escalated beyond what could be […]
