Did you know that one in every three adults has high blood pressure? Are you one of them? I had some good news the other day. It seems that all of my hard work trying to eat healthy and lose weight is finally paying off. For the first time in years my blood pressure is actually normal. Yaaay! This is just the kind of validation I was looking for when I began my journey of weight loss and healthy living. If you have high blood pressure or know someone who does, here are some tips that can help lower blood pressure naturally.

Although the cause of Michael Jackson's death is still unclear, and it may be some time before the final cause is known. Sudden cardiac death is suspected, as well as possible prescription drug abuse. So I thought this would be a good opportunity to bring some more awareness to both of these problems. Did you know that accidental death from prescription pain medications is on the rise in this country? It's true. Kathleen Doheny of WebMd wrote Drug Overdose Deaths on the Rise...

It is my belief that most Americans think that HIV/AIDS is now a global problem and almost eradicated in the United States. Sadly, this is far from the truth. According to the CDC, in 2006 approximately 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV and 1 in 5 are undiagnosed. Twenty-one percent!

The answer seems to be yes. If it is possible for anything good to come out of the loss of Farrah Fawcett, it would probably be that it is bringing cancer awareness back to the forefront of our minds. She even made a documentary (Farrah's Story) of her experiences for that very reason.

Remember when I used to blog about cancer a lot? No? Well that's ok, I almost can't remember that far back either. But it's true, I used to be a health blogger and I blogged about cancer several times a month. My feedreader was filled with women who were blogging about surviving cancer, blogging about loved ones who weren't surviving cancer, and blogging about how to prevent cancer. When I think about what caused me to stop blogging about cancer, I realize that I unsubscribed to most of the cancer bloggers I'd been following because it got to be too much. Yea.

Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald gained national acclaim in 1999; as a scientist at the South Pole's Amundsen-Scott station, she diagnosed herself with breast cancer and managed her own treatment with the help of (untrained) staff until weather allowed for her rescue by the National Guard. Her story became the best-selling book "Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole" and was later made into a movie.

Have you seen the new show Royal Pains? If so, you are probably now familiar with what a concierge doctor is. It's not a bad show, but is concierge (or boutique) healthcare bad for patients? From Doc Gurley...

There is a lot of controversy surrounding alternative modalities of healing, and whether or not they are effective. My feelings on alternative medicine is that mainstream medicine should not be replaced by it, but rather complimented by it. It's not an all or nothing scenario. All alternative medicine is not good, but it's also not all bad.

I'm not a lover (or a hater) of the Oprah Show, when she has something I'm interested in I watch, otherwise I don't. Since I write about health and wellness, I do tend to be more interested in her health related shows. Now there is a Newsweek article addressing her many controversial and sometimes misleading health related shows. No surprise, there are a lot of women blogging about whether or not Oprah's advice is good advice.

Are you getting enough vitamin D? Would you know if you weren't? Apparently, most of us are deficient in vitamin D, and that is putting us at greater risk for heart disease, osteoporosis, some types of cancer, diabetes, and possibly other chronic medical problems (like asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis). You might be surprised to learn how important vitamin D is to your overall health, and how easy it is to make sure you're getting enough.

Do you have children that suffer with food allergies? It seems like food allergies are becoming more and more prevalent. Why is that? My personal opinion, is that it has something to do with how germ and bacteria free we've become as a society. Last week was food allergy awareness week, so I thought I would use this post to look at food allergies and how some parents are coping. What are food allergies? From The Mayo Clinic...

Do you suffer from a chronic illness with no known cure? Like Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? If so, you probably wish every day that you could find a cure and finally be healthy and well. Why is it that just about every illness without a medically proven cure, has loads of people "claiming" to know the cure? Not only is it disingenuous to promote cures to desperate people suffering with chronic illness, but it also minimizes the seriousness of these conditions.