Health Expert Christina Lasich, MD shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/23153/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/23153/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/23153/index http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/148883/americans Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:01:00 -0500 Christina Lasich, MD "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Lao Tzu    Whether your goal is to walk a thousand miles, climb a mountain or loss 20 pounds, you must begin taking small steps in the right direction towards that goal. Knowing this, the Health and Human Services Department developed a self-help website geared towards helping people make those small steps towards improving health and wellbeing. You might notice some ads... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/148883/americans http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23153/148880/surgical Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:33:00 -0500 Christina Lasich, MD When the pain and disability from arthritis get too much to bear, a person may decide to look for solutions. My husband is one such person who has just decided to do something about the pain which began eight years ago. His right wrist is severely afflicted with a "bone on bone" case of osteoarthritis. Being a right handed man, the pain started to interfere with daily activities like writing, eating and dressing years ago. But he is a very... http://www.healthcentral.com/osteoarthritis/c/23153/148880/surgical http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/23153/147406/movement Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:27:00 -0500 Christina Lasich, MD If a zebra in the safari injures his leg, he keeps moving as much as possible because he needs to survive. If a human injures his leg, he may stop moving because he is too scared to move. This fear of movement (kinesiophobia) is rooted in the belief that pain is harmful and threatening. For the same reason Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, zebras do not become fearful of movement. Zebras are too busy surviving to worry about pain, movement or threats... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/23153/147406/movement http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/146868/depressant Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:26:00 -0500 Christina Lasich, MD Happy Thanksgiving! Next week, President Obama will issue a pardon to another fortunate turkey while most of us partake in the yearly ritual of gorging ourselves on succulent turkey meat. Afterwards, a satisfied, sleepy feeling will hit us like a ton of sheep. Some believe that turkey dinner makes people sleepy because it contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid. In fact, some people actually take a supplement containing L-tryptophan to... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/146868/depressant http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/142625/fitness Thu, 11 Aug 2011 07:41:00 -0400 Christina Lasich, MD Thank goodness we all have a built in floor, the pelvic floor. Otherwise, our bladders and rectums would be dragging around on the ground in a gruesome fashion. Like our built in abdominal walls, some floors are built stronger than others. A weak floor tends to sag. A strong floor holds up a full bladder or a 9 pound baby. How strong is your floor?   The strength of the pelvic floor is related to two primary muscles that compose a structure... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/142625/fitness http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/141264/substitute Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:48:00 -0400 Christina Lasich, MD Traveling with a bloated belly that is backed-up by some restaurant food from the night before is never fun. Those flavor enhancers found at a recent convenience food stop can also ruin a trip. These sudden changes of diet that most of us experience while traveling can really tie the loops of bowels into knots.  These knots can be prevented and undone with some simple strategies to keep things moving smoothly. Seeking out the best foods,... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/141264/substitute http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/139555/program-fat Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:57:00 -0400 Christina Lasich, MD In an attempt shed the extra pounds that America gained by following the ill-fated Food Pyramid for the past 20 years, the USDA recently replaced the pyramid with a round plate-MyPlate. Although thinking about a diet strategy in terms of what is put on one's plate is nothing groundbreaking, this concept is simple to understand, relevant to real life, and adaptable to different situations. All the advice offered by the USDA MyPlate program is... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/139555/program-fat http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/137911/goldstein Mon, 09 May 2011 10:55:00 -0400 Christina Lasich, MD Tired of your same old salad? Looking for a fresh, new taste for summer? Allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite chefs and cookbook authors: Joyce Goldstein. She takes salads to a gourmet level beyond the usual iceberg lettuce with tasteless, mass-produced tomatoes and some carrot pieces; all smothered in blue cheese dressing. After studying the foods of the Mediterranean region, Joyce Goldstein brings at-home cooks recipes for delicious... http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/c/23153/137911/goldstein http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/23153/134410/enhancers Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:33:00 -0400 Christina Lasich, MD Nutrition-related pain exists. Having talked extensively about how the right and breakfast and dinner foods can help reduce pain and inflammation, it is time to talk about how certain foods can potentially trigger pain. On the list of foods that can trigger pain are those foods that contain flavor enhancers. These chemicals are used to excite and sensitize the taste buds in an attempt to make foods taste better. Two main types of flavor... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/23153/134410/enhancers http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/23153/133938/infections Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:51:00 -0400 Christina Lasich, MD Some people are walking around with some serious body hardware. Not the armor type, I am talking about the implants: the hips, the knees, the teeth, the stimulators, the pumps and every type of screw you can think of. None of these objects are naturally found in the human body; thus, they are "foreign" objects when implanted. Sometimes the immune system will attack a foreign intruder like a splinter or piece of glass. But sometimes the immune... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/23153/133938/infections