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Celebrating Black History Month with a look at local African-Americans in medicine

ALEX ALEXANDER Registered Nurse Bartow Regional Medical Center As a black registered nurse from North Carolina, 56-year-old Alex Alexander has had his run-ins with prejudice. But he’s learned to remember who he is, treat others like his brothers and sisters, forgive, and … not believe everything he hears. “You earn things by your merit and…
Heart disease warnings for women

| Don’t believe you’re not at risk; do believe you can improve your odds | WOMEN HAVE A MEASURE of built-in protection against heart disease — as long as their ovaries are producing estrogen. Although estrogen may delay the onset of heart disease until the sixties or seventies, women’s risk eventually is the same as…
Pop Quiz: Are you feeding your feelings?

| Stop the snacking and learn to recognize when it’s emotional or physical hunger | EMOTIONAL HUNGER is an issue that many of us deal with, much to the chagrin of our waistlines! It’s especially prevalent during the holidays, as both stress and food are available in large helpings. However, we all have to eat,…

Staying positive amidst the great balancing act of life

High gas and food prices, a struggling economy, real estate woes -– it’s pretty easy to get all revved up on stress in today’s unstable world, only to feel like you’re just spinning your wheels. Sure, anxiety and skepticism are an understandable response, but they don’t do much to remedy the situation. Instead, staying…
Is there a polite way to avoid someone who’s sick?

Only a few weeks before Christmas, my family and I had been battling the seasonal cold that spread like wildfire around the community. Out of nowhere it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood had the same virus. There’s no doubt that with this season comes the inevitability of catching a cold or two, but…
Get Healthy, STAT! Fifteen to life

15 The minutes of daily exercise that could reduce risk of death in inactive people by 14 percent. Source: Study of 400,000 people, National Research Institutes of Taiwan “Physical activity and exercise has shown to prevent occurrences of cardiac events, strokes, and many chronic diseases. It is never too late to become active as…