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Pop Quiz: Maintaining optimal optical health

| Understanding the causes of low vision and taking precautions as you age | EYESIGHT is a precious thing, and unfortunately there are many threats to optimal optical health. One common eye problem is low vision, and it affects seniors the most. Low vision, in its simplest terms, is any vision loss that interferes with…
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…

Ask a Nurse: Weight gain and genetics

We have all heard the phrase, “I will always be overweight; it’s in my genes!” Well, according to an article on the Mayo Clinic website in June of 2013, “Obesity can sometimes be traced to a medical cause, such as Prader-Willi syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome and other diseases and conditions.” However, with Prader-Willi syndrome’s prevalence…
Publisher’s Note: Inspiration for the present and encouragement for the New Year

With all the changes happening to the healthcare industry in 2014, Central Florida Health News magazine is a trusted resource for how these changes are affecting our local community. We’re starting this edition with a very relevant topic: obesity. The numbers don’t lie. In our region we have a significantly higher obesity rate than the…
Healthy Cook: Sticking to diets that work

Okay folks. The fun is over. It’s time to get back to the real world. That means tightening the belt you let out a couple of notches over the holidays. Controlling weight is a year-long process and, unless there is a medical reason, is a matter of math. Calories in versus calories out. If you…