Author Archives : Karen Hawthorne, M.A.

If you knew you were going to have a heart attack in two years, would you start doing something to prevent it? My guess is yes, you would. We live in a society that likes to take a pill to make us better and keep us ticking along. No matter all the statistics and risk ...click here to read more

Good old-fashioned milk has been a health beverage of the ages it seems – with good reason. It’s high in vitamins and minerals, and a convenient source of calcium for your bones. Whether you’re drinking it straight, adding it to grain cereals or topping your morning coffee, milk does the body good. Dairy products have ...click here to read more

Michael Douglas is 70 years young. The Oscar-winning actor has battled throat cancer, alcoholism and family hardships, but it’s worked out for the best, he says, and I’m not surprised. He’s an older man. Yes, he’s a celebrity with bags of money and married to one of the world’s most vivacious women ever, Welsh actress ...click here to read more

Do you ever feel going to your doctor’s office is like a factory assembly line? You check in at reception and wait… and wait… as patients are shuffled through doors for their quick 10-minute visit. In and out, in and out. You know the rule: One problem per visit. Once you make it to the ...click here to read more

Here’s the thing: Most everybody likes to watch TV. Depending on the program, it’s informative, provocative, entertaining – or downright silly. You can’t beat those clever sitcom lines that leave you in stitches! Laughter is the best medicine for your health… Sometimes you’re just in the mood for an episode of Seinfeld, like the one ...click here to read more

My elderly aunt, I’m afraid, is not doing well. She lost her husband almost a year ago and has been declining ever since, determined, however, to remain in her home alone. Her kids say she shouldn’t be living on her own. She’s forgetting things, she shouldn’t be driving and has no friends for support. But ...click here to read more

A mystery chocolate drink, made by confectionery company Mars, Incorporated, has turned back the clock on aging brains. Chocolate is even better for us than we thought! A breakthrough study by Columbia University Medical Center has uncovered something quite remarkable: Normal, natural memory loss that comes with aging can be reversed. Not with some dangerous ...click here to read more

Yes, I just had my flu shot this week. I’m primed to make it through the season of probable sickness without being sidelined to the couch with a box of Kleenex and easy access to the bathroom. Sit me down right next to someone who is hacking away and feverish with sweat – with no ...click here to read more