Did you know 47% of Americans have at least one of three risk factors for heart disease? Did you know heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women? Did you know one person dies every 34 seconds in the U.S. from cardiovascular disease? And, did you know that one in five heart attacks are silent? These facts can serve as a first step to opening our eyes to the importance of cardiovascular health, but there’s more we can do for ourselves to achieve full and healthy … [Read more...] about Getting to the Heart of the Matter with Gratitude
Columnists
Assessing Coconino County’s Education Needs
Five feet of snowfall aside, my first few weeks as president of Coconino Community College have been marked by the gratitude that I feel at the welcome I received from faculty, staff and the community. My family and I feel right at home. My focus these first couple of months is to meet with as many of CCC’s internal and external stakeholders as possible and to take a lot of notes to get a sense of the educational needs of our students and the communities we serve. I will then compile a report … [Read more...] about Assessing Coconino County’s Education Needs
Guiding Native American Youth Through Pathways
The Native Americans for Community Action (NACA) Pathways Youth Program is a substance use prevention program tailored to Native American youth and their families in the Flagstaff community who can benefit from a supportive and nurturing environment. Pathways provides information and education on developing and maintaining healthy lifestyles for youth and their families. Pathways’ target population is youth ages 6-13 from Flagstaff Unified School District Elementary and Middle Schools. The … [Read more...] about Guiding Native American Youth Through Pathways
How Belly Fat Leads to Inflammation, Disease, Hormone Issues
Obesity is continually on the rise in the United States since the 1990s because of food packaging, lifestyle choices and changes in the food pyramid recommendations of eating a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. Food packaging got in on the low-fat bandwagon and would add more sugar, grains, processed items in place of the good fats or nutrients that they removed from food products. Certain lifestyle choices also contribute to increasing belly weight and increasing inflammation from continually … [Read more...] about How Belly Fat Leads to Inflammation, Disease, Hormone Issues
Stopping PAD: A Silent Killer
"PAD is often called the silent killer, because you may have it and not even know,” said Dr. Joel Rainwater, chief medical officer of Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC). The reason it’s sometimes missed is because people dismiss the symptoms of this dangerous disease as “just a sign of getting older.” But it’s not. “It’s not normal to have difficulty walking to your mailbox, it’s not normal to have constant leg pain or cramping,” said Rainwater, “That’s not normal aging; it could be a sign of … [Read more...] about Stopping PAD: A Silent Killer
How to Determine Your State of Hearing
The first step on any hearing health journey is undergoing an examination. This exam provides you and the audiologist an understanding of your current state of hearing and allows for proper recommendations to be made. The findings are presented in a report called an audiogram. An audiogram contains both a written section and a graph. While the audiologist does review the audiogram during the appointment, it can sometimes be difficult to remember or fully grasp how to interpret your results. … [Read more...] about How to Determine Your State of Hearing
Three Tips for Supporting Loved Ones in Recovery
Loving someone during addiction often feels like a hopeless endeavor. You may feel as if you are being used or constantly manipulated by your loved one, making it difficult to want to keep providing support. This level of stress is enough to drag down your emotions and can even make you physically sick. Loving a person suffering from addiction may feel like an uphill battle you will never win. If you have a loved one in recovery or in the middle of addiction, you have probably felt all these … [Read more...] about Three Tips for Supporting Loved Ones in Recovery
Super Bowl Brings Super-Sized Real Estate Sales
It’s no secret that the Super Bowl will be held in Arizona this month at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. The last time the Grand Canyon State hosted the Super Bowl was 2015, prior to that, it was 2008, and the first time was 1996. Beyond the showstopping halftime entertainment and the memorable commercials, what makes headlines – to numbers geeks like me – is the profound financial impact the Super Bowl has on the local economy. Direct visitor spending will total between $128 million to $259 … [Read more...] about Super Bowl Brings Super-Sized Real Estate Sales
What is Mohs Surgery for Skin Cancer?
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and it is estimated that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. Here in Arizona, sun exposure over a lifetime, high altitude, outdoor work and active outdoor lifestyles all add up to a dramatic increase in risk. The most common types of skin cancer we encounter in my clinic are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. While these skin cancers generally carry a low risk of spreading to lymph nodes … [Read more...] about What is Mohs Surgery for Skin Cancer?
Hope for Dry, Itchy Skin
One of the most common concerns I see in my clinic is dry, itchy skin. Even if it is not the primary reason for the clinic visit, it seems at some point we talk about how to address it. The frequency even increases this time of year as our dry Arizona climate gets even drier in the winter. We all experience age-related changes in our skin barrier function and its ability to hold in moisture. Most people over the age of 60 will inherently have some degree of dry skin. Dry skin is also … [Read more...] about Hope for Dry, Itchy Skin