What are your plans for retirement? Are you saving for your financial future with an IRA or a work retirement account? Are you watching your fat and cholesterol intake to keep your heart healthy? Are you taking steps to prevent osteoporosis and ensure…

Osteoporosis is the most common type of bone disorder, affecting an estimated 10 million Americans. It is a chronic condition characterized by reduced bone strength, low bone mass, and a higher risk of bone fracture, especially at the hip, spine, and wrist. If you are over the age of 50, there is a 55% chance that you are at increased risk for osteoporosis or have it already. The risk of osteoporosis increases with age; it is not, however, limited to older individuals…

The phrase “feeling comfortable in your own skin” is usually used figuratively to describe a level of self-confidence or self-acceptance. But when your skin itches, hurts, flakes, breaks out, changes color, or just doesn’t look or feel the way you’d like it to, the phrase can take on a new, very literal meaning…

When the subject of emergency preparedness comes up in our home state of California, the focus is almost always on earthquakes and, more recently, wildfires. The discussion is not about if one will happen, but when…

Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleeve of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.

—William Shakespeare, Macbeth

You don’t need…

People with diabetes, particularly those with Type 1 diabetes, have been at least vaguely aware of the word ketones for a long time. With the recent resurgence of popular interest in low-carbohydrate diets, however, just about everyone seems to be…

“I can tell you one thing—growing old ain’t for wimps!”—gray-haired gentleman at Sterling Center YMCA in Beverly, Massachusetts
It used to be said that having diabetes aged people an additional 20 years. Today, thanks to better tools for…

As a person with diabetes, you are in charge of your diabetes management. Your doctor, diabetes educator, dietitian, and other members of your team are there to give input on your plan, but between checkups, your diabetes care is your…

Planning ahead makes good sense for anyone with diabetes, but for someone who lives alone, it takes on added importance. When you live alone, for example, you can’t take for granted that someone will be with you—or even come home…

To many people holidays are not voyages of discovery, but a ritual of reassurance.

—Philip Andrew Adams

What does the holiday season mean to you? Is it a special time for family gatherings, gift-shopping, and spiritual renewal…

Are you frustrated by forgetfulness? If so, you are not alone. People of all ages complain about the memory lapses that get in their way, such as forgetting their keys, scheduling two appointments for the same time, losing a train of thought, not recalling what they wanted to get from the kitchen, and — worst of all! — forgetting names. As people grow older, these slips seem to become more frequent and can even be frightening. It’s all too easy to worry that each little memory lapse is actually the early sign of a slow decline to dementia…

You’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes and you want to take proper care of yourself. After all, you know that if you control your blood glucose levels, you’ll feel better and lessen your chances of developing complications. But there are…

Glacier-capped mountains peered down on pine forests. The scent of the trees mingled with the briny smell of the ocean as the ship cut a swath through mirror-smooth water. I leaned back and took a sip of steaming hot coffee. Up on the sun deck, a woman…

Many people think that having hearing loss is like listening to a radio set to a low volume — the sound is simply not as loud. Although it is true that certain kinds of hearing loss can make sounds noticeably softer and more difficult to hear, there are in fact different types of hearing loss that can have vastly different effects on how sounds are heard and understood. The different types of hearing loss tend to have different causes, and it appears that having diabetes can contribute to the development of certain types of hearing loss…

Thyroid disorders are very common in the general U.S. population, affecting up to 27 million Americans, although half that number remains undiagnosed. It is second only to diabetes as the most common condition to affect the endocrine system — a group of glands that secrete hormones that help regulate growth, reproduction, and nutrient use by cells. As a result, it is common for an individual to be affected by both thyroid disease and diabetes…

“The wish for healing has ever been the half of health.”

—Seneca the Younger

Most people experience a stay in the hospital at least once in their lives, and for some, it is much more often than that. No matter what the reason for your…

Whether you have had diabetes for years or are newly diagnosed, you know that dealing with this condition can be a challenge. For one thing, diabetes never goes away. Although there are numerous medicines and other therapies available for treating…