Healthy Tips & Resources

Your bones play an important role in your health, providing structure, protecting organs, supporting muscles, and storing calcium. As you age, your bone health becomes an important component of your overall health.

Research shows visiting a primary care physician (PCP) on a regular basis can improve your overall quality of life, making sure you receive routine health screenings and preventive care.

An estimated 100 million Americans live with chronic pain—pain that continues beyond a normal period of healing that is not expected to resolve itself.

As school sports kick off this fall, many young athletes will try sports for the very first time. Working closely with your child’s pediatrician or specialist, you can support your child’s health and sports performance on and off the field.

Packing a healthy lunch box can be challenging for busy families who are constantly on the go. You can help your children get a healthy start to the school year with uncomplicated lunches that are easy for you and your family to prep.

With the arrival of summer sunshine, people gravitate outdoors to soak up the vitamin D. But sun exposure can cause several undesirable effects, like wrinkles, cataracts, skin cancer, and sunburns.

Getting a driver’s license can come with a variety of emotions. According to Graciela Villadoniga, “Setting ground rules and expectations for what your teen will and will not do while driving can reduce your stress and help keep them safe.”

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends adults get at least 2.5 hours of physical activity a week and kids get an hour per day. While the time commitment might seem intimidating, meeting these guidelines doesn’t have to be a chore! 

You know that washing your hands is important, but do you know why? And more importantly, are you doing it right? We’re sharing the truth behind these questions and more, so read on and wash up!

With over 100 types, finding a diagnosis might seem overwhelming, but doctors can look at your health history and other contributing factors to help you find answers.

There are a few things you can do to keep yourself safe in the kitchen, and we’re dishing out our favorite tips to keep your food delightful and your cooking experience from becoming frightful.

Donating blood, for those who haven’t done it before, can seem intimidating. But once you know what to expect, it’s easier to get involved. We’re sharing the basics and benefits of blood donation so you can have the confidence to give to others.

A healthy circulatory system is important. If a part of your body comes into contact with bacteria or happens to develop an infection, your circulatory system delivers white blood cells to heal the problem area.

For many people, Thanksgiving means one thing: food, and lots of it. Thanksgiving brings to mind images of roasted turkeys, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato pies. For some, however, Thanksgiving meals bring stress.

While rewarding in many ways, caring for a loved one with a condition like Alzheimer’s disease can require more work than a full-time job.

Spending the days participating in outdoor activities is what summertime is all about, but with warm weather comes mosquitoes and the inevitable bug bites.

Struggling to lose weight and considering bariatric surgery? Obesity is a complex health issue to address, and it’s important for you to consider your options.

How do you know when the celebrating goes too far? Alcohol poisoning can often be difficult to detect in the blur of the night and can lead to death if left untreated.

“While there is no sure-fire way to prevent cancer, many scientific studies show specific lifestyle factors that can reduce a person’s risk of developing it,” says Patricia Sammarelli, MD

As a senior, keeping up with a fitness plan can feel daunting, but creating a plan that works for you is easier than you think and more important than you can imagine.

If your bladder control isn’t what it used to be, you may be experiencing urinary incontinence (UI). Though the loss of bladder control is more common in women and older adults, it can happen to anyone.

Each year, between 9 and 35 million people will come down with the flu. As a quickly mutating virus, this illness can quickly spread through communities and result in severe complications.

It’s a time for family, food, and lots of good cheer—but it’s also the time of year that sees the highest number of ER visits.

If your parent or loved one develops Alzheimer’s disease, you may find yourself taking on the duties of a caregiver.

If you live with diabetes, you know how important diet and exercise can be for your physical health.

Not all lung cancers are preventable. However, there are several steps you can take to lower your risk of developing lung cancer.

As you age, participating in fitness activities can positively impact your physical and emotional health.

Using small surgical instruments and a series of tiny incisions, robotic surgery is a minimally invasive technique with a multitude of benefits.

Did you know that an estimated 1 out of every 2 women will have a urinary tract infection, or UTI? Even though the condition is much more common in women, it’s important for men to realize almost anyone can get one.

Adapting to a life with chronic pain is a journey. Chronic pain has been shown to affect more Americans than heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined. Learn how to gain comfort and peace while dealing with chronic pain.

Going from summer fun to the classroom is a big transition. Shake off your nerves and check off these items to stay healthy and safe this semester.

Conventional wisdom tells us a good night’s sleep is key to feeling refreshed, alert, and ready to take on the day. Experts say sleep is essential to our health and longevity.

Your Body Mass Index takes your weight and height and converts it to a score to tell you if you are at a healthy weight, underweight, overweight or obese.

Did you know that one in five Americans will have skin cancer during the course of a lifetime? Skin cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells, due to mutations or genetic defects that can cause the skin cells to form malignant tumors.

When you’ve set a goal to have healthier eating habits, it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are a few of our tips to get the most out of your healthy eating goals.

We often don’t think twice before jumping into a pool or taking a trip to a water park for some summer fun, but sometimes a day at the pool can lead to a painful condition called swimmer’s ear.

The most important reasons to have an annual physical is to catch health problems before they worsen and prevent future illness. Perhaps it is time for you to receive a vaccination, or maybe you are due for a mammogram or prostate exam.

Too much of anything is bad for the body. The key to reducing harm when consuming alcohol is drinking in moderation. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines moderate drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.

At the same time you take steps to protect yourself from the flu, you are also helping prevent others from getting sick. We encourage you to do your part to keep the people in your community healthy. Take note of these tips to stay well this flu season.

It’s natural for anyone trying to lose weight to want to lose it quickly, but the best way to keep the weight off is to lose it gradually in a healthy way. Losing weight takes more than desire; it takes commitment and a purposeful plan.

While smoking can be addictive and a habit that is hard to break, quitting is possible. Once you quit smoking, your body starts to heal. Within one year of quitting, your risk of heart disease is cut in half. 

As we age, we become even more susceptible to malnutrition. We also may experience age-related conditions that call for changes in our diets. Improve your overall health and decrease your risk for chronic conditions by focusing on your food.

As temperatures soar, summer is the prime time for swimming and soaking in the sun. However, you don’t need to let the elements take a toll on your health and safety. Stay well in the water and summer heat by following these top safety tips.

Learning you have high blood pressure can be overwhelming. There are so many ways to lower it, and you might be unsure what advice to follow. Make an appointment with a CHI St. Joseph Health physician to form a plan for your health.

If you are heading to the beach or pool this summer, you may be thinking about losing some extra weight to feel more confident in that bathing suit. By losing extra pounds, your energy, mobility, self-confidence, and mood can also improve.

Allergies and asthma are common problems in the United States. As the sixth most common cause of chronic illness, allergies are your immune system’s overreaction to particular allergens, like dust or pollen.

While receiving vaccinations is commonplace for many people, rumors about their negative side effects are equally common. However, most of these rumors are merely myths. Let’s set the record straight and debunk five common vaccination myths.

Food poisoning outbreaks increase during the holiday season, most cases attributed to meat. Take note of the proper food safety precautions so your guests can stay comfortably stuffed.

Our physicians at CHI St. Joseph Health understand that our health needs change as we age. Our risks for certain conditions increase over time, making health screenings more important as we mature. Make sure you are aware of these 10 health exams.

Water-based exercise is a great way to get active, especially for older adults. Aging is often accompanied by additional health problems that can make exercising more difficult, but exercising in a pool can improve the overall experience.

Hosting a party for the big game may seem stressful when trying to maintain a healthy diet; however, serving foods that taste good and make you feel good is possible. Follow these party menu tips to help simplify healthy eating.

Adults 65 and older account for over 177,000 emergency room visits due to medication-related problems every year and are twice as likely as the younger population to experience these complications.

Preparing for college may seem overwhelming. Sometimes your health is pushed to the back burner when you’re busy shopping for your dorm room and registering for your first semester. However, staying healthy doesn’t have to be stressful.

From childhood to adulthood and every stage in between, good nutrition is important. Eating a balanced diet can help you maintain your health, strength, and even reduce the risk of certain diseases like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.