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Pop Quiz: Crash Course on Caffeine

Caffeine plays a big role in the lives of many Americans, with coffee, tea, caffeinated soda, energy drinks, and energy shots being some people’s daily go-to drinks. However, few actually stop to consider how much caffeine they are consuming every day or how that caffeine can affect their health. Test your knowledge with our pop…
Touched by Type 1

Health Advocate Fulfilling Dream of Helping Youth With Type 1 Diabetes by TERESA SCHIFFER It can be overwhelming for both the parents and the child when a child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Careful monitoring of the diet and signs of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) become a primary daily concern, and the child is…
Let Food Be Thy Medicine

A Dietician’s Guidance Can Help You Make the Best of Your Health by PAMELA PALONGUE “Let food be thy medicine…” It’s funny how the wise words of the ancient physician Hippocrates still ring true today, some 2,500 years later. Beyond the DNA we’re born with, the three great influencers of overall health are sleep, exercise…

Editor’s Dose: A thank-you letter to nurses

FROM MID-FEBRUARY to about mid-April, my family was at the doctor’s office a lot. The late-spreading flu season (although none of us in our household ever actually caught the flu — thank goodness) must have carried with it many other viruses, because we’ve certainly experienced our fair share. In fact, a few nurses on staff…
Healthy Skin: May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month

“C’MON, DOC. What’s a little sunburn?” is a question I frequently hear from the public. The answer is, if you’re lucky, that’s all it is. But a little sunburn is one of the easiest skin cancer risk factors to avoid. If left untreated, skin cancer, or melanoma, can progress to the point that it’s disfiguring…
Cautions for two of your favorite summer activities

SPRING IS THE TIME OF YEAR in Florida when temperatures begin to warm and the weather is perfect outside. With the sun shining and a gentle breeze blowing, this beautiful weather also marks the beginning of swimming season for Polk’s residents. Swimming and boating are two of the most popular summer activities for people living…