Health News

Features

Turning your home into a gym

How to get active without spending big dollars Filled with good intentions about losing weight or improving your health, you may rush to the store and pick up a $1,200 rowing machine or $2,000 treadmill. But if you don’t want it being used as a clothes rack in your closet, take your time. Learn about how to…
A healthier mouth means a healthier life

Why one patient has a lot to smile about “Dr. Hewett is the best dentist I’ve ever had!” Mrs. Dorothy went to Dr. Steven Hewett because her lower denture did not fit properly with her upper denture. She couldn’t eat and was losing weight, only able to manage soups and noodles. She had seen his…
Skip 5 common back-to-school sicknesses

Teach your child early to avoid spreading germs Educating – and immunizing – your children now can help them stay healthy when they return to school. One of the most basic common sense remedies is hand washing, but it’s got to be done right. “They should sing in their head the happy birthday song. As…

Editor’s Dose: Tips for minimizing back-to-school stress

IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, then come early July you were already thinking about preparations for the new school year. Parents and children in the community this year are getting ready extra early because Polk County public schools moved up their calendar by one week — day one of school is August 15.
Making the choice to breastfeed

THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH in Polk County (DOH-Polk) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) recognize August as Breastfeeding Awareness Month. This is a wonderful time of year to promote breastfeeding as a vital health activity and discuss the health benefits breastfeeding provides. Although every woman has their own…
Editor’s Dose: Keeping kids’ bodies and minds active this summer

WHEN I FIRST had the twins, my mom would say, “Have a schedule for them, or they’ll have a schedule for you.” Basically, she was cautioning that I’d better keep those little minds and bodies active, or chaos would inevitably ensue. Being a mother of eight children, I think she was speaking from personal experience.…