Author: News Room

7 min readIn 2012, Len Robertson, a 46-year-old high school music teacher and musician in Brooklyn, New York, noticed a discharge coming from his left nipple. “It was worrisome. I did some research and learned that it’s never a good sign when this happens,” Robertson says. He went to a breast specialist to get checked out, and she removed a benign (noncancerous) tumor from his left breast. While most breast lumps are benign, Robertson took this as a sign to be on the lookout for any other changes in his breasts. Six years later, in the summer of 2018, Robertson…

6 min readAs a child, I’d always loved mysteries found within the pages of books. Detective novels like Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and other who-done-its. Little did I know that, as an adult, I’d be solving mysteries within my own body.It was easy to overlook the initial warning signs. As a healthy, competitive swimmer between the ages of 8 and 18, I glided through water for up to 3 hours daily. Stomach cramps would pop up occasionally, but they were easily dismissed—I’d waited too long to eat, perhaps, didn’t eat enough protein, or swam too soon after a meal.At age…

3 min readRead more real-life stories about women who’ve been misdiagnosed by doctors in Prevention’s series: I Was Misdiagnosed Not long after my 30th birthday, I began experiencing fleeting moments where it felt like my apartment was somehow tilting to the left. These moments were sporadic, and usually occurring when lying down, so I ignored them for a while. Then, two years later, I dropped 30 pounds in less than a month, and felt like someone was injecting me with adrenaline 24 hours a day. At that point, I knew something was seriously wrong. Distraught, I went to the doctor.…

4 min readIf you feel stiff after a day at your desk, it may be time to start incorporating hamstring stretches for tight muscles into your daily routine. Hamstrings, the group of muscles that run along the back of the thigh from hip to knee, are “vital skeletal muscles that allow us to walk, climb stairs, and perform many daily tasks,” explains Melissa Bentivoglio, a certified pilates instructor and co-founder of Frame Fitness.Meet the Experts: Melissa Bentivoglio, a certified pilates instructor and co-founder of Frame Fitness; David Hughes, P.T., D.P.T., a physical therapist at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush; and Maeve…

8 min readStruggling to get enough sleep is remarkably common: About one in three American adults don’t get the recommended seven hours a night, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). If your nights are being disrupted by pain, heat, or general discomfort, it might be time to think about getting a new mattress. However, buying one can feel daunting. The key to getting the best mattress for you? Knowing your sleep type and needs. First, which position do you sleep in? Are you a back, side, or stomach sleeper? Then, what kind of firmness level do you prefer?…

4 min readFigs and dates don’t get nearly as much attention as blueberries or pomegranates, yet they’ve been a staple of healthy diets for years and years, and for good reason. Both are naturally sweet, fiber-packed, and loaded with plant compounds that nutrition researchers get pretty jazzed about. But if you’ve ever grabbed one off a charcuterie board and wondered whether one is a smarter choice than the other, that’s a fair question worth answering properly.Few foods have quite the legacy these two do. Figs turn up in ancient texts and religious scripture; dates have so many health benefits that…

3 min readTia Mowry shares that it took her years to get her eczema properly diagnosed.The 43-year-old opened up about her disappointment in the lack of visibility for Black skin health, education, and resources. Mowry partnered with Aveeno’s Skin Visibility campaign to raise awareness of the underdiagnosis of eczema for African Americans. While you may recognize Tia Mowry as the happy and energetic twin from Sister, Sister, things were not always as cheerful as they seemed. The 43-year-old actress, wife, mother of two, and wellness entrepreneur recently revealed that she had been misdiagnosed for years with “sunspots” until finally learning…

5 min read I’ve been dancing since I was 3 years old—my career really took off when I came in fourth on season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance. A couple of years later, when I was 23 (I’m 33 now), I was performing in arenas across America as an all-star with the SYTYCD national tour, but things started to feel off. I was exhausted all the time. The running joke with the other dancers was that they would always say to me, “Good night, Grandma!” because as soon as we got on the bus, I was out.…

4 min readKey PointsWhen you eat your meals may matter just as much as what you eat, according to scientists.A recent study found that people who ate their breakfast and dinner within certain time windows each day lived longer.Here, experts break down the findings.You’ve probably been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it might not be just about what you eat. In fact, when you eat might play a role in how long you live, according to findings from a new study.Now, it’s not the first study to link meal timing to health, but…

6 min readEarlier this year, at age 34, I experienced what I self-diagnosed to be an allergic reaction. I wasn’t the only one to diagnose it as an allergic reaction—doctors did, too. It took thousands of dollars, multiple office visits, and a number of tests to ultimately determine what was really wrong. The first time it happenedIt was an average day for me. I woke up feeling completely normal and went about my day as I typically would. Suddenly, while out driving around doing errands, I felt as if I couldn’t swallow. The saliva built up in my mouth—like the…