Spring is here, the weather is warmer and days are longer. Just like you, your pet wants to go outside and enjoy to beautiful weather. So what does this mean for your pet? For starters, ticks, fleas, allergies, and a greater risk of injury. You and your pet will be spending much more time outside so it is only natural that more troubles will occur.

While sleep problems are typically classified as a coexisting problem without a distinct causation to ADHD itself, more researchers are suggesting that they should be viewed as a diagnostic criterion. One reason why sleep disturbances related to ADHD may have been disregarded is because they did not meet the requirement from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which specified that all ADHD symptoms must be present by age 7 – as most sleep-related problems resulting from ADHD begin occurring by age 12 ½.

Canadian scientists have learned that a key factor in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) prevents patients from stopping certain compulsive behaviors.1 This discovery was recently documented in a study entitled, When Too Much Is Not Enough: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder as a Pathology of Stopping, Rather Than Starting. Scientists from McMaster University and the University of Waterloo found that

Heat stroke is a life threatening issue for both humans and pets. As humans we can shed layers of clothes to stay warm this is not the case for pets. Imagine not being able to shed your winter clothes on a hot summer day, and you could only cool yourself by panting, to say the least it would be difficult to stay cool. Recognizing the signs of heat stroke in your pet is crucial. Dogs with short noses, heavy coats and heart or respiratory problems have a higher heat stroke risk so make sure to watch them with extra caution. Some pets are more suited for the heat, so make sure to know what weather your pet is bred for.

Research has suggested for years that strawberries, blueberries and blackberries may help restore cognitive functioning and prevent age-related memory loss, which has been accelerating in recent years due to factors such as poor diet, pollution, and lifestyle habits.

ADHD is the most common neurobehavioral condition diagnosed to our children. According to the CDC, 9.5% of children age 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD since 2007 – that’s 5.4 million children! On average, there is a 3% increase in children diagnosed each year. That is an alarming number, and what is leading to this drastic increase? A recent study published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) found that the youngest children in the classroom are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.

When women reach a certain age, they begin to go through menopause. This is when the body has reached the end of fertility. For the majority, menopause begins around age 50, but for some, it may start earlier. Menopause begins with a reduction in the production of hormones estrogen and progesterone. This reduction causes many symptoms including: hot flashes, flushes and/or cold flashes, night sweats, mood swings, thinning hair, irregular periods, and vaginal dryness.

Many dieters often turn to sugar substitutes when trying to lose weight, often switching to sugar-free diet sodas and chewing gum to avoid snacking and eating more calorie-laden foods. However, aspartame is found in many of these products, and can cause many undesirable side effects, and is involved in 75% of reported complaints received by the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS) of the US Food and Drug Administration.

Blood pressure is defined as the pressure exerted by blood circulating on the walls of the blood vessels, and it is one of the common vital signs. Our hearts pump blood through our arteries and throughout our body. It is when people develop high blood pressure (hypertension) that problems can arise. A normal blood pressure range is considered less than 120/80. People at risk for hypertension are considered to have pre-hypertension, which is blood pressure ranging 120-139/80-89. Anything higher is considered hypertension. Stage 1 high blood pressure ranges from 140-159/90-99 and Stage 2 high blood pressure is anything 160 and above/100 and above.

Biofeedback, a mind-body technique, is now being used to help children suffering from ADHD. German scientists recently published a study showing that a variation of biofeedback may help alleviate ADHD symptoms.The published results show that a significant portion of the participating children benefited from this specialized training technique.