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Running with purpose

Participants in the City-to-City 5k and One Mile Fun Walk On your mark, get set, go! The runners were ready, the onlookers were excited, and the race was on. The Polk Training Center held its annual City-to-City 5K race and One Mile Fun Walk on Saturday, February 18. With check-in and registration starting at 7:15…
Eating wisely at work

Tips for increasing healthy food options Your work environment may be laden with temptation in the lunchroom and break room. Frequent office birthday parties, business lunches at swank restaurants, or staff meetings sweetened by coffee and donuts, can be peril for your waistline. But there are ways to eat wisely. “You’ve got to plan,” advises…
The holistic approach to weight loss

A method that gives hope Although most of us are aware that being overweight contributes to chronic diseases, we may also discover that diets do not work. Dieting can even exacerbate weight issues by slowing thyroid and metabolic function, leading to weight gain, or may make us prone to nutritional deficiencies that cause other unwanted…

Publisher’s Note: Update on Florida Health Choices

In early March, www.myfloridachoices.org became live. It is the website devoted to Florida Health Choices (the state’s health insurance marketplace, separate from the federal plans under the Affordable Care Act). The state’s health insurance marketplace offers a few options for discounted plans under dental, vision, telemedicine, and prescription coverage. It’s important to note that this…
Medical Advice: Awareness is key to stopping upward trend of STDs

Every year in April, we observe STD Awareness Month. This is an opportunity for individuals, doctors, and communities to address ways to prevent some of the nearly 20 million sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that occur in the United States each year. Half of all new infections occur among people between the ages of 15 to…
Ask a Nurse: Dental plaque & arterial plaque

Have you ever wondered what the dentist scrapes off of your teeth when you go in for your annual cleaning? Several studies over the past few years have found some surprising results. In 2010, Cornell University and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden collected samples from the mouth, gut, and arteries of 15 heart disease patients.…