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A Strong Health Team Can Help Detect, Mitigate Birth Defects

by TERESA SCHIFFER Sponsored by Central Florida Health Care January is National Birth Defects Awareness Month, a time for discussions about how different birth defects can affect individuals over the course of their lifespan, and what can be done to minimize the risk of these occurrences. It’s important to understand that the term “birth defect”…
Pop Quiz: Trust Your Gut

How Much Do You Know About Microbiomes and Your Digestive Health? Did you know that some kinds of bacteria are actually beneficial to have in your digestive tract? While it may sound counterintuitive, certain strains of bacteria — like lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, which make up your gut microbiome — offer a host of benefits for…
Funding the Future of Nursing

AdventHealth to Provide $1.7 Million for Polk State Program story and photos by PAUL CATALA Since 1965, Polk State College has instructed, encouraged, and placed about 21,500 students into successful nursing careers. On average, 430 nurses graduate from the school’s nursing college each year. Now that program will have even more to offer thanks to…

Editor’s Dose: More than just comfort food

Reading this article on food “made with love” for the sick really brought back some memories. As a young teenager, my mother had to undergo open heart surgery twice within four years. She has a blood disorder that causes her body to produce too many of the clot-forming platelets. Adding to that complications of…
Body, mind & spirit

Taking Care of the Caregiver: Managing Stress that can Lead to Health Issues Caregivers or patient advocates usually spend many hours in doctor’s offices, hospitals or clinics. But beset by stress for a loved one, they may go from crisis to crisis without stopping to consider their own health. “They’re not there to just…
Healthy Cook: Made with love

Classic ‘go-to’ nutrition for the sick “I don’t feel good. I don’t want t-h-a-a-t. Don’t we have something e-l-s-e?” “Wid a cod in de node I can’t taste anyding, anyway.” “My tummy feels funny.” We were told to feed a cold and starve a fever. Or is it starve a cold and feed a fever?…