Your Health

Town Crier File Photo
Communing with nature, whether it be a bike ride, a hike or meditating alone among the redwoods, can reduce depressive symptoms as well as provide significant and wide-ranging health benefits, according to researchers.

Enjoying the great outdoors may be the easiest way to improve your mental and physical health. Plus, it’s a great way to spend time with your partner, squeezing into the coming spring’s extra daylight hours and vacations some blanket time at a park, hiking a trail or sharing a sunset.

Courtesy of JumpstartMD
Dr. Sean Bourke, co-founder and CEO of JumpstartMD, recently released JumpstartMD’s 10-year study touting the benefits of his commercial weight-loss program compared with others.

JumpstartMD, a medical weight-loss company with 12 Bay Area clinics – including one in Mountain View – recently published a 10-year study in the Journal of Obesity that shows its methods work better than other commercial weight-loss programs.

The study, with more than 22,000 participants, focused on JumpstartMD’s low-carbohydrate real-food diet and personalized guidance program. It revealed that after three months, more than 80% of the patients achieved 5% weight loss and more than 45% of them lost at least 10%. That’s greater weight-loss success than competing programs such as Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig have produced, according to the study.

Courtesy of Kim Gladfelter
Applying ice or heat, hugging a pillow while sleeping and undergoing physical therapy are the best ways to cure shoulder pain, according to physical therapist Kim Gladfelter.

Shoulder pain is an extremely common problem these days. The shoulder is a complicated joint with movement in all directions. Use of modern technology is a great contributing factor because of the poor posture and increased compensation it creates.

There are several different reasons why your shoulder may be hurting, including:

Courtesy of Pixabay
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research shows that the U.S. divorce rate is down, despite narratives from television and movies like “Marriage Story.” Experts credit the decline to parents wanting to protect their children, who often suffer lifelong impacts such as reduced life expectancy and chronic stress when divorce occurs.

Director Noah Baumbach’s acclaimed movie “Marriage Story,” starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, depicts a family navigating its way through the anguish of divorce. The acting is extraordinary, emotive and mesmerizing; it may even lead you to believe that the U.S. is a country where divorce is endemic.

Image courtesy of Kim Gladfelter
People need the best possible support for all three arches in the foot to relieve and prevent pain, optimize their posture and help them stay active. PhysioFit offers complimentary foot scans, with no appointment necessary.

The health of your feet can make a big impact on the health and function of your entire body – quite literally from head to toe.

Courtesy of Reena Vokoun
Establishing attainable goals – like eating more fruit in the morning – taking action every day, using positive reinforcement and sticking with a plan are key to maintaining New Year’s resolutions.

The start of a new year and a new decade means many of us are focused on making resolutions and positive changes in our lives. And while we may have the best of intentions, why is it that so many of us fall short and end up giving up on our goals?

According to U.S. News and World Report, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail. While this can sound disheartening, there is hope. Success in keeping and reaching New Year’s resolutions often lies within the simplicity of the goals and the behaviors that accompany them.