People sometimes privately express in a diary thoughts that they don’t feel comfortable sharing with others. But does this process actually contribute to healing? A recent study led by Gail Ironson, MD, PhD, from the University of Miami, investigated whether a written trauma disclosure intervention would be effective with populations of HIV infected individuals. Dr. Ironson and her colleagues suspected that writing about trauma could reduce PTSD symptoms and depression. To test this hypothesis, they screened HIV positive individuals, recruiting 244 participants between the ages of 18 and 70. At the baseline visit, all participants received a questionnaire and interview….

We know that trauma has a significant psychological impact, but it has long-term biological consequences as well. In the past we’ve talked about how trauma affects the body, such as increasing chances for irritable bowel syndrome. This is another case that exemplifies this effect, but this time, using telomeres. As we’ve mentioned before, telomeres are protective caps that stabilize the ends of chromosomes and help regulate cellular aging. As we get older, our telomeres get shorter until our cells eventually die. They’re sometimes used in research to determine “biological age” and can be a good marker of overall health. Led…

For many menopausal women, hot flashes are the bane of their existence. While there’s more to the experience of menopause than hot flashes, they’ve become the most recognizable sound-bite to sum up what most women find so unpleasant. There are a number of pharmaceutical options out there for addressing hot flashes, but little by little scientific research is coming out with some mind-body medicine alternatives to ease this menopausal journey. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis recently published a study by Gary Elkins, PhD et al. from Baylor University. Their focus: whether the use of “cool” imagery during…

Not all fat is the same. All of us have heard about the difference between saturated fats and unrefined vegetable fats. But it isn’t as often that we talk about the health differences in body fats. Visceral, or intra-abdominal fat, is located deep under the muscle tissue in the abdominal cavity and has been linked to numerous health problems, especially heart disease. This same fat is again in the scientific press, now as the subject of a new paper published in the scientific journal Bone. Miriam A. Bredella, M.D. led a team of radiologists at Massachusetts General Hospital who looked…

When I’ve spoken with people who were trying to get pregnant, one common problem they all mentioned was the staggering amount of inconsistent information about how to increase their chances of getting pregnant.

The truth is, there are a lot of unanswered fertility questions still waiting for the scientific community to tackle.

But on the other hand, we’ve come a long way in obtaining fertility for couples who a generation ago would have never been able to have biological children.

Every ten years, an interagency working group within the US government develops health goals for the country to work toward. First, the good news: The number of women in the nation receiving mammograms, the number being screened for colorectal cancer, and the number that had annual dental exams met or exceeded national goals for 2010. But sadly, other than that, women in the USA are not keeping up in making progress toward health improvement. In fact, in the other 23 target areas, most states and the country overall failed miserably. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) provided report cards periodically…