Flu does not discriminate. You may still catch it, even if you were diligent with your hand-washing, immune-boosting, and people-avoiding strategies. Five to 20 percent of the U.S. population comes down with flu each year, so there’s a good chance that you or a loved one may catch it. 

The key to dramatically cutting downtime from flu is to recognize, respond, and relax—and to know when to see your doctor if conditions worsen. I tell my patients that defense is the best offense against this virus. 

Here’s a day-by-day game plan, including what not to do and what to do, so you can recover quickly and get back to your daily demands.

Spring is the time for renewal, and there’s no better time to hit the refresh button on your health. 

This past winter season has been especially brutal to our health, between the life-threatening cold and flu season to being holed up in our homes due to inclement weather… which is why we all really need to hit the refresh button on our health to shake off the potential damaging effects of inactivity, lack of sunshine and suppressed immune systems.

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to strokes, especially silent strokes. 

Many people think strokes only happen to older people, that they happen in the heart, and that there is no prevention or treatment. Despite “stroke awareness” on the basic risk factors and symptoms, the reality for many Americans is that occurrences of strokes continue to climb. 

According to research, approximately 12 million strokes occur every year, and 11 million of those are silent strokes. This means 11 million people are having strokes and most likely don’t even know it!

Eighty percent of strokes are actually preventable, but it’s the silent strokes we really need to be more aware of in terms of preventing damage to the brain, which can ultimately lead to debilitating diseases like dementia.