Heart disease is the single leading cause of death in the United States, with nearly one in four Americans dying from heart-related chronic illnesses each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There is clearly a Mind-Body Connection and when you start to feel something coming on always visualize yourself as being healthy, strong, and confident. Imagine yourself feeling good when you suddenly realize that you are being challenged. I always carry an “Emergency Kit” when I travel and...

XLR-11, PB-22, AB-FUBINACA, MAB-CHMINACA, 5F-AMB. These are the cryptic and sometimes unpronounceable names of the most dangerous drugs you’ve never heard of. They are responsible for kidney injury, psychosis, seizures, coma and death.

Bipolar disorder is a diagnosis given to people who experience periods of intense low mood but also periods of elation and increased energy which can lead to impaired judgement and risky behaviour. The Royal College of Psychiatrists estimates that around 1% of the adult population experience bipolar symptoms at some point in their life.

Cancers have many strategies for avoiding attacks from the immune system. And now scientists have identified a new one.

"Yoga may be especially well-suited to people with arthritis," says Susan J. Bartlett. "It combines physical activity with potent stress management and relaxation techniques, and focuses on respecting limitations that can change from day to day." 

In this excerpt, Ewald Kliegel provides reflexology techniques for one of the most common human ailments – the headache. The head is prone to different problems – from throbbing temples with the sensation of being trapped in a vice, while a jackhammer is busy at work in the background, to having a brain that feels as though it is made of cotton wool.

One in six Australians will have a stroke in their lifetime. That’s about 51,000 strokes per year, or one every ten minutes. Worldwide, stroke is the second most common cause of premature death, after heart disease, and is the leading cause of disability among adults.

A major new initiative called Choosing Wisely has been launched by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. This initiative aims to address a culture of over-medicalisation in health, where treatments are prescribed – not always with much clinical value – when other, better solutions may exist.

Autism is commonly, if mistakenly, associated more with logical thinking than creative expression. But new research suggests we might need to rethink our views on creativity and autism.

Conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract are common in modern humans and many are on the rise. The gastrointestinal tract extends from the mouth to the anus, via the stomach and the bowels, which include the small intestine and the large intestine (colon).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that causes overwhelming recollections of traumatic events. These can be triggered by sights, sounds or smells that serve as reminders of the incident. Sufferers also report severe nightmares, emotional numbness and withdrawal from social interactions.

Looking around at a 20th high school reunion, you might notice something puzzling about your classmates. Although they were all born within months of each other, these 38-year-olds appear to be aging at different rates.

Anyone who battles addiction knows that it's so much more than a bad habit or a moral shortcoming. Addiction is a compulsion so beyond our control, that we may as well be a feather fighting against a gale-force wind. Until...one day the wind subsides.

Most people feel down, tired and inactive when they’re injured or ill. This “sickness behaviour” is caused by the activation of the body’s immune response. It’s the brain’s way of conserving energy so the body can heal.

We have known for some time the people suffering from schizophrenia and other psychoses smoke more than the general population. The explanation that is usually offered is the so-called “self-medication hypothesis”

This is more than the number of hospitalizations for heart attack and stroke combined. Most Americans have never heard of it, but according to new federal data, sepsis is the most expensive cause of hospitalization in the US

A new study finds quantifiable evidence that walking in nature could lead to a lower risk of depression. “These results suggest that accessible natural areas may be vital for mental health in our rapidly urbanizing world,” says coauthor Gretchen Daily, professor in environmental science and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

Cancer cells are survival artists with a strong criminal streak. They surround themselves with a protective shield of extra-cellular material and then secure supply lines by attracting new blood vessels.

The effects of postnatal depression on children’s emotional development can be profound. These children have more mental health and behavioural problems as they grow up. And in low-income countries, the effects of maternal depression extend to higher rates of childhood stunting and physical illness.

“When we think about quality of life for older adults, and improving quality of life, it seems like targeting the individual is only part of the story, and our findings suggests that for older adults, a larger part of individual well-being is defined by our partner’s health and cognitive functioning as well,” says David Sbarra, associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona.

A dollop of peanut butter and a ruler might be a way to confirm a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Jennifer Stamps, a graduate student in the McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste and the University of Florida, came up with the idea of using peanut butter to test for smell sensitivity when she was working with Kenneth Heilman, a professor of neurology at the University of Florida.

Every 67 seconds someone in the United States is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and new estimates suggest that it may be the third leading cause of death of older people. Alzheimer’s disease is associated with losses in memory in older people that become severe enough over time to interfere with normal daily functions.