There was a time when smoking was touted as a healthy endeavor. The marketing machine behind the tobacco industry took years to topple. Today, drinking soda—especially diet soda—can be viewed as good for you. It’s also a myth. Lots of healthy people drink soda on a daily basis. However, in clinical practice, I’ve seen a […]
The voters have spoken! Thousands of readers took the time to tell us what they find best about the North Shore and Chicago. This year, over 90,000 verified votes were cast in over 11 categories in our annual Best of 2014 awards, and we couldn’t be prouder you responded in such numbers. Here are our […]
Energy bars are everywhere: front and center at Jewel, Whole Foods, Target, Walgreens and in school cafeterias and vending machines. Viewed—often erroneously—as “healthy,” energy-bar consumption has risen dramatically in the past 10 years. The Packaged Facts reports a U.S. market for energy and cereal bars of $6 billion and growing. While energy bars aren’t usually […]
Souvenirs are great to bring home from a summer vacation—a skin infection? Not so much. Staph and MRSA infections are on the rise, and with it, the number of people who are actively carrying these illnesses out into the community. Staph bacteria is often present on the skin, and it’s increasingly resistant to antibiotics. With […]
Not many sugeons are on the front page of the Chicago Tribune with any regularity, but Dr. Richard Fessler is one of the few whose innovations and list of who’s who patients put him routinely in the spotlight. He is a neurosurgeon whose skill allows for thought and expression in a brain that has suffered […]
The summer before Jeff Freedman of Wilmette turned 50, he was working through a debilitating Achilles tendon rupture, feeling the loss of several longtime family friends, and worried he was peaking professionally. “You go to funerals, and you walk out saying ‘that puts it all in perspective.’ But then you leave and you don’t change […]
Do people tend to lose weight or gain weight when they are stressed? The truth is that both are possible, but most people gain weight when they are stressed. The best science at present suggests that it is intense, traumatic stress that make us lose weight, while the chronic stress we all face daily only […]
Is one eating pattern better than another? I was reading through a compilation of recently published nutrition articles and two, in particular, caught my eye. One was titled “Sticking to 3 Meals a Day May be Key to Weight Control” and the other was titled “Eating Small, Frequent Meals May Help Control Weight, Study Says”. […]
In recent decades, scientists have identified an increasing number of hormones, chemicals, and genes that play a role in weight control. This has tipped the balance away from behavior and towards biology as the major force impacting an individual’s body weight. The idea that something as fixed as your body’s genetic code or hormone responses […]
