How to Deal With 7 of the Most Common Birth Control Side Effects

How to Deal With 7 of the Most Common Birth Control Side Effects

Hormone-based birth control often comes with side effects that can range from slightly annoying to bad enough to make you switch. You may not know what you can tolerate until you’ve given a couple of them a try. But here are some solutions for the most common problems. Headache, dizziness, breast tenderness Be patient. “These side effects seem to go away after you’ve been taking the... 

Quit Once, Quit Again, Quit for Good

Quit Once, Quit Again, Quit for Good

Most people try to quit smoking a few times before they finally succeed. Therefore, failing is not failure—it’s practice. Nicotine loves the brain and the brain loves it right back; it even found its own little pleasure-inducing receptor there (the nicotinic receptor). What other satisfying thing do you do 200 times a day (the average number of puffs a pack-a-day smoker enjoys) and then abruptly... 

How to Quit Smoking Without Gaining (Much) Weight

How to Quit Smoking Without Gaining (Much) Weight

Will you gain weight if you quit smoking? Probably. Four out of five quitters gain some weight—4 pounds to 10 pounds each, on average. The good news, however, is that quitters usually do get back to a normal weight, especially when the focus is on stopping smoking first. Should you put off quitting in order to keep off unhealthy extra pounds? Nope. The science is unequivocal: “There’s no... 

25 Breast Cancer Myths and Misunderstandings (Nos. 6-10)

25 Breast Cancer Myths and Misunderstandings (Nos. 6-10)

6. Myth: All women have a 1-in-8 chance of getting breast cancer. Reality: Your risk increases as you get older. A woman’s chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer is about 1 in 233 when she’s in her 30s and rises to 1 in 8 by the time she’s reached 85. 7. Myth: Wearing antiperspirant increases your risk of getting breast cancer. Reality: The American Cancer Society pooh-poohs this rumor,... 

25 Breast Cancer Myths and Misunderstandings (Nos. 1-5)

25 Breast Cancer Myths and Misunderstandings (Nos. 1-5)

1. Myth: Only women with a family history of breast cancer are at risk. Reality: Roughly 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors for the disease. But the family-history risks are these: If a first-degree relative (a parent, sibling, or child) has had or has breast cancer, your risk of developing the disease approximately doubles. Having two first-degree relatives... 

How to Deal With 7 of the Most Common Birth Control Side Effects

How to Deal With 7 of the Most Common Birth Control Side Effects

Hormone-based birth control often comes with side effects that can range from slightly annoying to bad enough to make you switch. You may not know what you can tolerate until you’ve given a couple of them a try. But here are some solutions for the... 

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Visualize Your Way to Success

Visualize Your Way to Success

What do gold medalists Natalie Coughlin, Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh and Michael Phelps have in common with the rest of us? No matter how hard these champions have trained, no matter how genetically well-endowed they are (and they are!), without mental... 

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Saying No to a Second Serving: How to Handle Food Pushers

Saying No to a Second Serving: How to Handle Food Pushers

Jump-starting a healthy eating plan is hard enough, but factor in food-filled events with family and friends and you may feel like you’re setting yourself up for failure. With a marathon stretch of holidays looming large, you need to learn how to stick... 

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5 Surgeries to Avoid

5 Surgeries to Avoid

Maybe I’m the wrong ex-patient to be telling you this: Experimental surgery erased stage III colon cancer from my shell-shocked body six years ago. But even I’ve got to admit that all is not well in America’s operating rooms. Please don’t get... 

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Bodywork and Manual Therapy

What are bodywork and manual therapy? Bodywork and manual therapy are general terms that refer to body manipulation therapies used for relaxation and pain relief. Massage and chiropractic are well-known forms of manual therapy. The idea behind bodywork... 

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8 Things You Must Do to Prevent Hospital Overcharges

8 Things You Must Do to Prevent Hospital Overcharges

If you’ve ever spent time in a hospital, you’ve almost certainly been overcharged. “There is no way to avoid being overbilled. It is going to happen. In the last several years of looking at hundreds of bills, I’ve run across only one hospital... 

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