Sorting out intolerances, allergies and GI diseases

By Molly Morgan

Many people suffer with diseases and issues related to food, including: food intolerances, food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome (or IBS) and celiac disease.

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Anxious dental patients can benefit from calming strategies

By Aaron Gifford

Getting a child who is fearful of the dentist’s chair to submit to an exam or procedure requires a compassionate, thoughtful approach.

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Writing goals down brings them within reach

By Lisa Barnes Dolbear

As a fitness instructor, I know that health and wellness play a major part in fresh starts. I see the gym packed with new people in January, and I notice their energy as tthey feel the exercise high for the first time.

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Eat, drink and move healthy over the holidays

By Molly Morgan

The holiday season is filled with traditions, fun memories, and lots of food and drinks.

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Leverage the new year with a refresh on fitness goals

By Lisa Barnes Dolbear

Back-to-school time is the perfect time to freshen up your fitness goals. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent or a full-time employee in an office, the beginning of the school year offers a chance to regroup around a new schedule and updated goals.

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Optometry practice has a focus on developmental vision care

By  Tammy DiDomenico

For over 30 years, Dr. Leonard Savedoff has offered patients the latest advances in the field of optometry.

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Five trends to shape your success
By Lisa Barnes Dolbear

Motherhood is a blissful time of getting to know your new baby, and a not-so-blissful time of coming to terms with your new body. Fortunately, in recent years it’s grown easier for women to find support for feeling good about their bodies in the moment, instead of at some distant point in the future. Here are five trends you can start leveraging today on your path to postpartum fitness.

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What to do when your child wants to be a vegetarian

By Molly Morgan

Eating a diet centered on plants is linked to numerous health benefits, and working more meatless meals into a family’s eating can also benefit the planet. But is vegetarian eating right for children? Definitely! A vegetarian or vegan eating plan can be right for any age.

 

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Handling life with celiac disease has grown easier

By Aaron Gifford

So much has changed since Karen Dorazio’s daughter, Mary, was diagnosed with celiac disease 17 years ago. While grocers, restaurant workers and the general public appear to be aware of the increasing demand for gluten-free foods, there is still so much more they need to learn.

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Pediatric dentist Michael Quigley encourages early checkups—and, yes, flossing

By Tammy DiDomenico

 

Regular dental checkups are not commonly listed among most adults’ “favorite things,” but oral health is profoundly important. And it is best learned early. Michael Quigley, a dentist with Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics For All Ages in Fayetteville, is one of many local dentists who recommend establishing strong dental care routines for young children as early as possible.

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Michael Tong devotes himself to treating patients from many countries

By Tammy DiDomenico

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center has been committed to serving the immigrant populations of Central New York since its inception in 1869. As the hospital has grown, that commitment has endured. Through St. Joseph’s Physicians Family Medicine, the hospital is able to offer primary care in neighborhood settings.

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How about a resolution to eat vegetables and other nutritious foods

By Molly Morgan

As you welcome the New Year, consider ditching the diet and instead focusing on changes you    
can stick with and sustain—with the key word being sustain! It is possible to meet your healthy eating goals without deprivation.

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A mindful family meal has many benefits

By Nicole Christina

Being a parent and trying to squeeze in time to teach your kids how to eat well is a real challenge. With both parents often working outside of the home, not by choice but because they have to, we all feel stretched too thin.

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Teach kids to be picky about their sweet treats

By Molly Morgan

Starting now, it’s candy season. But while a lot of candy is consumed on and around the time of Halloween, actually, Halloween day only accounts for about 4 percent of candy consumption in the United States.

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A doctor and a nutritionist weigh in

By Tammy DiDomenico

Pregnant women often find themselves second-guessing their food choices. It is crucial for women to get prenatal care early in their pregnancies and establish trusting relationships with doctors, midwives and nurses. Physicians have access to the most up-to-date clinical information and often work closely with nutritionists—taking patients’ individual health histories into account.

 

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County health chief Quoc Nguyen explains the local tick and mosquito situation

By Tammy DiDomenico

Quoc Nguyen, M.D., has professional and personal motivations for his diligence in tracking local trends in the spread of mosquito and tick-borne illnesses.

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Electronic pumps offer numerous advantages

by Laura Livingston Snyder

My daughter Allison has had type 1 diabetes since she was diagnosed at age 11.

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Tiny practices can help caregivers care for themselves

By Lee Mosseau

Taking time for myself saved my life. This may sound like a bold and crazy statement, but it is true.

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The complications of medicating young people

By Tammy DiDomenico

While educators have been focused on the ever-changing academic demands of our high-tech society, psychiatrists and school health personnel have been busy with another challenge facing students: the increasing use of psychiatric medications.

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An insidious illness and how to prevent it

By Tammy DiDomenico

Pertussis—or whooping cough—is one of those illnesses many Americans no longer take seriously. Once a vaccine became widely available in the 1940s, the highly contagious infection was rarely diagnosed in the United States; fewer than 1,000 cases were reported in 1976.

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Tracking an infant’s size offers important information

By Vanessa Langdon

With a newborn baby come visits to the pediatrician’s office and the use of growth charts to track length and weight.

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Prepare your child for a calm doctor’s visit

By Marsha Kernan

A parent’s biggest job is to take care of his or her children. There are a lot of responsibilities: providing a warm home, healthy food and gentle parenting

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Good habits help kids deal with anxiety

By Laura Livingston Snyder

Stress is everywhere and affects everyone. Children are no exception. But unlike adults, kids are rarely mature enough to explain that they’re feeling anxious or figure out how to deal with it. And parents might have trouble recognizing when their child is having anxiety.

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Young children with disabilities receive services for a good start

By Tammy DiDomenico

Every child deserves a good start in life. For parents and guardians of children with disabilities, it is particularly important to connect with the services and resources that enable their children to have just that. The New York State Early Intervention Program helps families find the services to foster children’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive development.

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How bad are sweets, really?

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Most parents think too much sugar is not good for their children, but no one really knows how much is too much. Despite popular opinion that sugar is generally bad for you, sugar itself isn’t a poison that should be banned from your household. Finding ways to moderate sweet treats within a balanced diet will leave the sweet tooth satisfied and healthy.

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Baking with kids yields many treats

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Fall is prime time for heating up the oven and taking on a deliciously rewarding baking project with
the kids.

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The simplicity movement is a way to focus on essentials

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Why all the fuss about simple living? Some people simplify their households because of uncertain finances and rising costs, while others aim to lessen their environmental impact.

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Use safer products to clean and “green” your home

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

No one loves to do housecleaning, yet we all have to anyway. How can you set reasonable standards for cleanliness, get it done efficiently and use products that aren’t dangerous to your health and the environment at the same time?

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Meditation helps rest the mind, body and spirit

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Stacey Smith offers a journey toward achieving inner calm with four simple words: stop, calm, rest and heal.

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Homemade costumes and treats stoke the Halloween spirit

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Halloween marks a busy time of year, with students just settling into a new school year, and families preparing for a change of seasons and the holidays ahead. Grown-ups might moan and wail like ghosts at the thought of buying costumes and managing trick-or-treat mayhem, but who can blame kids for wanting to dress up, knock on neighbors’ doors, and beg for candy and treats?

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Staying in touch, but not too much

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Parents often find it hard to let go of a child who’s heading to college. They realize there is a fine line between helpful and hovering, but after all, they are investing big money into their child’s future. So why not have some influence?

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Can new college students eat healthily?

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Each fall, we send our young adults off to college to gain an education, expand their circle of friends, and grow their life experiences. But the first thing many of them gain is weight—about 15 pounds, on average.

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Nursing a baby demands commitment and preparation

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Deciding whether to breastfeed or bottle feed is a personal choice primarily made by two intimate participants: mother and baby. For breastfeeding to work, both mother and child need to be committed to continuing for as long as that remains the best arrangement for the two of them. And whatever feeding method the two arrive at, family, friends and other supporters should offer encouragement.

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Fit self-renewal into your schedule

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

The average woman spends 17 years of her life caring for her children and 18 years caring for her aging parents. The family with a special needs child has additional challenges on top of that. Parents who are caregivers may need to put themselves in “time out” once in a while. Even when faced with the demands of constant caregiving, taking the time to care for yourself helps you to be a better parent.

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Save some effort with a handy appliance

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez
As families look for ways to cut expenses, the food budget is often the first place to find savings. Going out to restaurants or eating fast food is neither cheap nor healthy. But cooking weeknight meals at home is often challenging for busy families. Look no further than a lowly appliance that 83 percent of American families already own: the slow cooker.

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Teach your kids to tend a garden

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

At least since Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote The Secret Garden in 1911, gardens and young people have enjoyed a mystical connection. In 2007, St. Louis University researchers found children were more likely to eat vegetables and fruits when they were grown in a home garden.

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Food labels provide facts, and lots of them

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

You’ve seen me in the grocery store aisle: I’m the one staring at the fine print on food labels with a puzzled look. I see nutrient listings and a breakdown of ingredients, but how do I make the final decision to purchase this item or the one next to it? Or neither?

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Stick to this month’s goals all year long

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

New Year’s resolutions seem destined to be broken. Think back to years past, when you’ve resolved to lose weight, spend more time with family, or get out of debt. Chances are good that you gave up during the first few months, sliding back into the “old routine” and feeling guilty and unsuccessful to boot!

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Open your home for an adults-only affair

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez
When your child’s social calendar, filled with play dates and birthday parties, is more interesting and varied than your own, it might be time to throw an adult party at your place. Many people see entertaining as a daunting task but just a few straightforward steps can lead to creating the right atmosphere for an event that is relaxed, festive and fun—even for the person throwing the party.

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Pack your child’s lunch with nutrition and flavor

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

If your idea of a pleasant school lunch is a flat, square sandwich, a half-crushed bag of potato chips and a piece of fruit, then no wonder your kid is angling to trade the items she doesn’t want or is depositing them in the trash after just a few nibbles. Sure, the wasted food bothers you, but even worse: Your child isn’t getting proper nutrition during the most important part of her day.

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Getting groceries grown nearby offers many advantages

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Mommy, where do baby carrots come from?

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Be cool and safe while enjoying watery fun this summer

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

With an ocean of water-fun activities available in Central New York, chances are good that your summer leisure time will involve some proximity to water. Whether your recreation centers on one of New York’s lakes, rivers or ponds, or a home or neighborhood pool, parents should instruct children of all ages how to stay safe around water.

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Prepare yourself and your household

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

The word on the street—you’ll hear it from family, friends and neighbors—is babies are expensive. Glossy parents magazines advertise the latest gear to outfit your nursery until it begins to look like a space station. But baby’s requirements are simple: to be nourished, to be kept comfortable and to feel loved.

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It's not hard to throw a spa party at home

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

A rejuvenating alternative to home shopping parties is a home spa party for moms to celebrate their special day in May.

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Consider ‘voluntary simplicity’ in honor of Earth Day

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

This Earth Day, April 22, get down to earth by simplifying your family’s entire outlook on life.

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Embrace winter by taking up a cold-weather sport

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

The best advice we received when considering a move from Texas to Central New York was to learn to enjoy the winters. “If you don’t find something fun to do during winter, you’ll be miserable and complain during the long cold months,” we were told.

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Being mindful is a New Year’s promise you can keep

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Many of us spend much of our lives on autopilot. We move from minute to minute following the path of our lives without ever really seeing where we stand.

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Consider offering your self and your time this holiday season

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Parents spend much time and even more money to give their children the happiest holidays. But my two grown kids have far simpler memories of their best Christmas than I could have imagined.

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Celebrate Halloween safely - at home or in the neighborhood

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

When parents think of dangers associated with Halloween, their thoughts go to candy tainted with poison or razor blades hidden in apples. But according to Snopes.com, the Internet urban-legend buster, many of the tampered candy reports are either myths or hysteria over injuries caused by something other than poison or sharp objects hidden in candy by strangers.

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Make back-to-school shopping a mindful experience

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Concerns about global climate change and high-consumption lifestyles mean that more people are looking for ways to integrate the notions of "reduce, reuse and recycle" into back-to-school shopping. Saving money with smart shopping, getting the most use out of supplies, and buying only what's needed help your family, your community and your planet.

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A car trip can be a chance to connect with your kids

By Sami Arseculeratne

When our kids were small, we took a road trip from our home in Austin to San Antonio. Although our destination was less than two hours away, we planned to stay overnight in a hotel to immerse ourselves in the sights and sounds of a great getaway city.

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By Sami Arseculeratne

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Make your child’s next birthday party unique and fun

By Sami Arseculeratne

Tired of a red-haired clown or gigantic gray mouse leading the party parade? A little ingenuity will make your child’s birthday celebration an event to remember.

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Parents can adapt to a child’s choice to go vegetarian

By Sami Arseculeratne

Children have always loved animals, so don’t be surprised if one day your son or daughter announces he or she has become a vegetarian. The parent’s next challenge is understanding her child’s choice and learning how to prepare healthy meatless meals.

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Time-strapped mothers can turn their home into a spa

By Sami Arseculeratne

Central New Yorkers often pick the dead of winter to get away to sunnier climes. But what if you’re a busy mom with barely enough time to take a shower, let alone a vacation?

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Healing foods can help fight colds and flu

By Sami Arseculeratne

Although drugstore shelves are lined with remedies for cold and flu viruses, many people look for naturally effective ways to deal with the symptoms. Some commercial medicines even claim to contain natural ingredients like lemon, honey or herbs for flavor or added strength.

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After-prom parties offer teens alcohol-free fun

By Sami Arseculeratne Martinez

Spring is the season of formal balls and proms for high-school juniors and seniors and, increasingly, the event itself is just the beginning of a full night of formal fun. Proms usually take place between 7 p.m. and midnight but teens find that the night is still young after all the dressing up and dancing. Alcohol-free after-prom parties have become a common alternative for prolonging the fun.

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Fake a healthy attitude and you just might fool yourself

By Sami Arseculeratne

Maybe you’ve heard the parable: A simple man in tattered clothing stands on a park bench chanting, “Peace, love, tranquility,” over and over again. A wise man in a business suit happens by and hears the simple man repeating his chant.

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