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.

Last week I wrote that Advocacy Day was happening for Resolve. This week, I bring you notes from the field...er...Senate Building, not only to tell you about the work Resolve is doing to ensure that all Americans have adequate infertility coverage during this national discussion on health care reform, but also to entice you to join along next year when Advocacy Day rolls around again.

For some people, staying fit qualifies as a fun hobby. They choose to do things they enjoy, like running, biking, swimming, or rock climbing (or all of those things, and more). Other people know that they should move, so they choose activities that are convenient and effective -- even if they don’t particularly like to do them. But what makes someone go from just liking (or putting up with) exercise to saying, “I LOVE to work out?”

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!

Wednesday's Wall Street Journal got me to fuming. "Frugal Shoppers Drive Grocers Back to Basics" hyped the headline. Good news, yes? We wish. Reporter Ben Worthen wrote that supermarkets make as much as 70% of their profits from the middle aisles and thus are focusing attention there: "... the recession has refocused [supermarkets] on the staples sold in center aisles." Those "staples" he cites? Private label brands of canned vegetables, breakfast cereal and whole wheat bread. OMG I thought I'd have a heart attack.

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.

I had an addiction. I freely admit that now. It was an addiction that lasted throughout the entirety of my first pregnancy and for most of the first year of my daughter's life. It was an addiction that I could not shake, even though I had moments of clarity when I knew that the object of my addiction was not good for me. Because even though I knew that it wasn't good for me, knew that it undermined me, knew that it kept me in a state of panic, I really believed that I couldn't go on without it.

In a stroke of fortuitous timing, Resolve's annual Advocacy Day comes on the heels of the Family Building Act being introduced to the Senate by New York's Kirsten Gillibrand. Which means that today, constituents will flock to the Hill to discuss H.R.697, the Family Building Act, with both congresspeople and senators.

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.

It seems the top domestic news story in the United States this week is the concern among Congressional leaders that draft legislation aimed at overhauling the health care system is doomed because of its projected $1 trillion price tag (.pdf) But the Obama administration hasn't even offered its plan, so the hard bargaining hasen't begun yet. When it does, one of the big challenges for consumers seeking reliable information will be a dearth of independent, knowledgeable reporters.