Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the way the body makes energy from food. Normally, the human body produces a hormone called insulin that helps turn sugar from food into energy that the body can use or store. In people with diabetes, their bodies either don't produce enough insulin or don't use insulin properly. This can cause sugar levels in the blood to rise too high, which if left untreated can cause serious health problems over time—including heart disease, kidney disease and blindness. November is National Diabetes Month , an opportunity to learn more about this

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the way the body makes energy from food. Normally, the human body produces a hormone called insulin that helps turn sugar from food into energy that the body can use or store. In people with diabetes, their bodies either don't produce enough insulin or don't use insulin properly. This can cause sugar levels in the blood to rise too high, which if left untreated can cause serious health problems over time—including heart disease, kidney disease and blindness. November is National Diabetes Month , an opportunity to learn more about this

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the way the body makes energy from food. Normally, the human body produces a hormone called insulin that helps turn sugar from food into energy that the body can use or store. In people with diabetes, their bodies either don't produce enough insulin or don't use insulin properly. This can cause sugar levels in the blood to rise too high, which if left untreated can cause serious health problems over time—including heart disease, kidney disease and blindness. November is National Diabetes Month , an opportunity to learn more about this

It’s a question we often hear at the Smith Alzheimer’s Center. No matter how you fill in the blank, it’s a fair question to ask. There are numerous types of dementia , symptoms vary depending on the type and everyone is affected differently. And dementia is already hard enough to recognize as aging changes how we react, remember, recover, and more. So how do we know what is normal aging and what isn’t? Here are some common signs for those living with dementia. 1. Short-term memory loss One of the most recognizable signs of dementia is memory loss, particularly short-term memory. There are

A mammogram is an X-ray image that is taken of each breast. Mammograms are important and potentially life-saving tools that can detect early signs of breast cancer and reduce the risk of dying from this disease. An estimated 1 in 8 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives. A panel of primary care and prevention experts known as the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently updated recommendations regarding the age at which routine breast cancer screening should begin for women in the United States. Read more to learn about these new

During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we should take some time to educate ourselves and others about breast cancer. Here are three ways you can get involved and become more well-informed about this common health condition. 1. Show your support In the United States, women are diagnosed with breast cancer more than any other type of cancer. A woman has a 1 in 8 chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime (though a person's individual risk may vary). This means that you or someone you know will probably be impacted by breast cancer at some point in time. Showing your

It’s harvest time at the city of Springfield’s community gardens, and a new SIU Medicine program has produced some robust results. SIU’s Office of Community Care (OCC) launched ‘Operation Taproot’ earlier this summer to provide fresh vegetables and herbs for residents in neighborhoods around the Mid-Illinois Medical District, while offering new routes for communication and access to care. Community health worker Kaye Barnes designed and spearheaded the project to raise awareness of nutrition and health services available within Springfield. As the crops matured, she and teammates have been

It’s harvest time at the city of Springfield’s community gardens, and a new SIU Medicine program has produced some robust results. SIU’s Office of Community Care (OCC) launched ‘Operation Taproot’ earlier this summer to provide fresh vegetables and herbs for residents in neighborhoods around the Mid-Illinois Medical District, while offering new routes for communication and access to care. Community health worker Kaye Barnes designed and spearheaded the project to raise awareness of nutrition and health services available within Springfield. As the crops matured, she and teammates have been