President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared February as National Heart Month back in 1964. Despite all awareness efforts, heart disease remains the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 80 percent of these deaths can be prevented through lifestyle changes and proper medical management. Which leads us to prevention, prevention, prevention. Perhaps the three most important
How many of you have ever felt stuck in life or a certain area of it? It’s a horrible feeling. When I’ve been in times like that I’ve felt heavy, unclear, hopeless, unsure of where or whom to turn, desperate, frustrated, full of despair, and usually very alone. My hope is that as the year
Whether the tradition of making a new year’s resolution was started by the Babylonians or by the Romans, who made promises to the god Janus, humans have been making and breaking resolutions for a long time. Many of us look to the new year as a time to make changes and improvements in our lives, so it
As I’m writing your hopefully helpful article for the first month of 2023, a snowstorm, cold temperatures and gusty winds swirl around my mom’s house in Illinois. Our Christmas road trip to Minnesota to spend time with family has been postponed, and we’ve been busy kitchen bees this morning whipping up chicken wild rice soup
December’s theme was inspired by my puppy’s beginner training class. He’s already graduated kindergarten, but as I’m a first-time dog mom, the training continues. We were practicing heel around the training room with other dogs of various ages. My trainer noticed that I had the leash slightly taut while also telling my dog, “good boy.”
It seems that talk of sleep deprivation and its ill effects is rampant. As Mick Jagger sings, “Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind.” Not to mention your health. For some, the cause of interrupted, poor-quality sleep may be a treatable condition known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). OSA occurs when the soft tissue in the throat collapses into
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the concept of acknowledgment, and how it makes us feel when we’ve been acknowledged by others and when we acknowledge ourselves. The meaning I’ll be using here is, “The action of showing that one has noticed someone or something.” I’m also not talking about the acknowledgment in, for
Now what was I writing about? Short-term memory loss is one of the earliest signs of dementia. We all experience forgetting someone’s name or searching for a particular word, but when forgetfulness begins to interfere with common everyday tasks, it may be time to talk to your doctor. Dementia is a blanket term for
If you follow me on social media or receive my coaching monthly email, you may have seen that I presented a challenge to my audience at the end of September. The challenge itself is seemingly simple, switch one word of your inner dialog from negative to positive for 30 days. It’s a challenge because we
Ladies, here’s the good: We must be doing something right. We outlive men by over five years on average in the U.S., and 75 percent of centenarians are women (National Center for Health Statistics, 2021). But what accounts for this longevity? We are good about keeping our annual checkups, completing preventative screenings and getting age-recommended
E-bikes and scooters are widely seen as a mode of personal transportation with many benefits, a way to reduce urban traffic that is more affordable and “greener” for the environment. But with the growing popularity, we’re seeing an increase in the number of accidental fires across the country. Under certain conditions, the rechargeable and lithium-ion
Recently I attended a family reunion on my dad’s side, the first since the pandemic began and since his passing. I was more anxious than hopeful as my mom and I boarded the plane to Vermont. My dad was idolized by many of his 50-some cousins who didn’t want to acknowledge the darker sides of
Just as we see updated, less restrictive guidance on COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control regarding isolation, testing and social distancing, we now have another infectious disease spreading throughout the world. In July, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency, and in early August, the U.S. followed suit. WHO is tracking
An estimated 360,000 residential house fires occur in the U.S. every year, claiming the lives of nearly 40,000 beloved pets. And 1,000 of those fires are unintentionally started by the pets themselves. Prevention is an important part of fire safety, and so is having an escape plan to keep your family and your pet(s) safe
As a community hospital, Lutheran Medical Center supports growing families in the Wheat Ridge area. The Lactation Department at Lutheran helps families thrive by following the 10 Steps for Successful Breastfeeding, as defined by the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, launched by UNICEF and the World Health Organization. This includes supporting breastfeeding through education during pregnancy and
I recently realized that I experience the world in more detail than others. That was a long forty years to figure that out. My inner world is more rich, and all of my senses are heightened. I see color in more granulation, speckling lights often catch my eye. I read the energy in rooms immediately.
On the site where Clancy’s pub stood for years and adjacent to Sprouts Market, you will find Morning Star Assisted Living & Memory Care. It opened about five years ago and, according to Executive Director Chad McGlothlin, it has become a “community within a community” Chad came onboard two years ago, the week before the
Summer is here and temperatures are soaring. According to the National Weather Service, July is Denver’s hottest month. Temperatures will likely hit triple digits. In medicine, the three most important factors are prevention, prevention and prevention! Don’t let the comfort of living in a dry climate result in a heat-related illness. There are ways to
On my journey to be the best me and empower my clients to do the same, I am constantly absorbing and learning all I can on psychology, the subconscious, leadership, habits and any new amazing learnings that can support us on our path. Recently, I stumbled upon a statistic that is still leaving me a
The good news is that deaths from cancer in the U.S. continue to decline. And there will be no bad news to follow that statement. The continued drop in death rates is due to improved treatments and people’s better lifestyle choices and habits. As we recognize National Cancer Survivors Day on June 5 and Cancer
More children are suffering from depression than ever before. Suicide rates have skyrocketed and suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among children 10 to 18 years old. There are several theories about why depression is on the rise in kids, starting with social media. Kids are constantly connected, especially teens, and they compare
Today on my run I thought about a lesson my high school cross-country coach taught me. It was on the power of vision. I remember it clearly, it was hot, and I did not want to finish running up the hill that our practice ended on. She sprinted up to me, reminded me I was
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the gift of intuition. What is it? How do we hone it? Why don’t they teach us this language in school? How do we meld it with logic, intention and action? Psychology Today describes it as, “…a process that gives us the ability to know something directly without
While the ’80s brought us alternative music, traditional Chinese medicine brought us alternative medicine, now known as complementary medicine, in the form of acupuncture. Acupuncture has been practiced in China for thousands of years. It was reintroduced to the U.S. after then-President Nixon visited China in the early ’70s. His personal physician wrote an article
