Think Healthier: because you need to!

Alcohol is part of the fabric of America. It’s present at birthdays, wakes, intimate dinners, graduation gatherings and sporting events. As the one controlled substance that’s socially acceptable (marijuana may be legal in some states and cities but still has the taint of the forbidden), alcohol is the beverage of choice for celebrations, salutations and…

It’s a well-known axiom among alcoholics – one drink is too many, and 300 is not enough. It’s a reference to the inability to stop drinking once started, and a caution to those who suffer from the disease not to think that just one drink won’t hurt. Most people know that excessive drinking is bad…

When it comes to pain relief, not all products are created equal. That’s not to say that one product reigns supreme over its counterparts. But knowing which product is indicated and most effective for your type of pain – as well as which pain relievers will put you at risk for complications – is key…

Take a quick look into your medicine cabinet. What do you see? An array of pill bottles, deodorants, syrup bottles, expired meds and all the Band-Aid shapes you never use. Time to sort through those various containers and get your medicine cabinet up to snuff. Stock your cabinet with over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, readily available in…

When you visit your doctor for an annual checkup you probably want to discuss certain things – cancer risks, cholesterol, a new birth control pill you saw advertised. Being an adult, you probably don’t often ask about vaccinations. Once your parents finished the rounds of shots required during elementary school, and for some, the HPV…

Accentuate the positive. Look on the bright side. There is no shortage of cliches reminding you to see the bright side of things. But what about when things aren’t going so well? For smokers, you can’t get away from all the well-intentioned, logical reasoning for why you should quit smoking. And the numbers are down…

More than 65,000 herbal supplements are on the market today, and like many products, they range in quality and effectiveness. According to the New York Times, a 2015 DNA-testing study conducted by the New York Attorney General’s office found that, out of the hundreds of products tested, four out of five bottles of store-brand herbal…

Major depression is a serious epidemic, affecting nearly 15 million Americans, or about 6.7 percent of the population of the United States. Even more shocking, the rate of depression in women is twice that of their male counterparts. And depression is far more than just the blues: it is the root cause of as much…

Painkillers can make recovery from injuries and surgeries, and dealing with chronic illnesses more tolerable, but statistics show that these drugs may be part of a deadly trend. According to Consumer Reports, prescriptions for opioid medications, including OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin, have increased 300 percent over the past decade, and 46 people each day, or…

Being prepared can be a life-saver when it comes to a home pharmacy, both figuratively and literally. For treating minor aches and pains, there are a variety of over-the-counter (OTC) medications that can help ease symptoms and provide comfort. Meanwhile, emergency topical ointments can help provide relief from skin rashes, keep cuts clean and infection-free,…