Not all types of influenza are created equal. Some types will give you milder symptoms, while others can leave you seriously sick. Keep reading to learn about the different types of influenza and understand what you can do to protect yourself. What is the flu? Also known as influenza, the flu is a respiratory
Down with the flu? Getting sick is something that most of us try to avoid at all costs, by getting a flu shot every year, washing our hands, and avoiding friends and acquaintances who are sick. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to avoid catching the flu. When the virus finds a way into your body,
Approximately 550,000 Canadians suffer from the neurodegenerative disease known as Alzheimer’s Disease, which is also the cause of 60% to 70% of cases of dementia. This disease is associated with symptoms such as memory loss, difficulty performing simple tasks, disorientation of time and space, and even sudden changes in mood or personality. It is a
Chances are you’ve heard conflicting information about dietary fats. Take butter, for instance. Butter was once in everyone’s bad books. It was so bad for us, in fact, that margarine was the recommended substitute for people trying to avoid saturated fats. Margarine has since been called “deadly” for health, while butter appears to be making
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. That means getting active—in spurts of ten minutes or more—on most days of the week. Not only can physical activity dramatically reduce stress levels, boost energy, and improve the quality of your sleep
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, about one in five Canadians have hypertension, or high blood pressure. Even more worrisome is the fact that millions more Canadians have something called prehypertension, a condition in which blood pressure levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed. Whether you have high blood
In Canada, an estimated 7.5 million people live with hypertension, or high blood pressure. Though high blood pressure is very common, easy to diagnose, and treatable, many people don’t even know they have it. It rarely has symptoms. But when left untreated, it can do damage to the arteries and increase your risk of developing
If something was wrong with your heart, would you know? Unfortunately, not all heart problems come with clearly recognizable symptoms. Though you might think of someone clutching their chest before they drop to the floor—like in a movie—it doesn’t always happen that way. In fact, heart-related symptoms don’t even necessarily manifest in the chest. If
Inflammation is often made out to be the bad guy, but it’s actually a crucial part of your body’s immune system response—one you couldn’t live without. We’ve all experienced inflammation at some point or another. It’s what causes the redness and swelling that appears around a mosquito bite, or the tender, soft skin that appears when
The majority of people suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives. The region of the back that starts below the ribcage and ends at the tailbone is called the lumbar region. Pain in the lumbar region is often intense, ranging from a constant, dull ache or a sharp, shooting sensation when you
