your day, so keep your head up and your
heart happy.
Digestion
Digestive issues affect all of us at one
time or another. From upset stomach,
gas, and heartburn, to constipation
and diarrhea, digestive problems are
painful and embarrassing. Some of the
most common are:
• Food Intolerance – Often confused
with food allergy, food intolerance
likely allows you to eat a small amount
of an offending food without any
issues (while a food allergy could be
life-threatening). Causes of intolerance
include celiac disease, sensitivity
to food additives, food toxins, and
absence of an enzyme needed to fully
digest a food.
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
(GERD) – A chronic digestive disease,
GERD is defined as experiencing
acid reflux and heartburn at least
twice a week. It affects 20 percent of
Americans and can cause persistent
bad breath, tooth erosion, nausea, and
pain in the chest or upper abdomen, or
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it can make swallowing and breathing
hard to do.
• Hemorrhoids – Hemorrhoids are
inflamed blood vessels found at the end
of your digestive tract. Often painful
and itchy, they are caused by chronic
constipation, diarrhea, or a lack of fiber
in your diet. Seventy-five percent of
Americans over the age of 45 suffer
from hemorrhoids. Staying hydrated,
eating more fiber, or over-the-counter
creams may provide relief from
hemorrhoids.
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) –
Affecting 15 percent of Americans,
IBS is characterized by stomach
pain or discomfort at least three
times a month for several months.
Symptoms vary widely with IBS,
making it hard to determine the exact
cause. Treatment focuses mostly on
diet, eliminating common trigger
foods such as dairy, alcohol, caffeine,
artificial sweeteners and beans. Doctors
also recommend a diet high in fiber
and consumption of probiotics found
in yogurt.
Skin
Most likely, if you are unhealthy on the
inside, it will show on the outside. Your
skin often mirrors your body’s true overall
health, so a healthy diet, exercise, and
drinking lots of water will do wonders.
But keep in mind: there are other ways to
make your skin shine bright!
• Wear sunscreen.
Continued on page 40 >
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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Grob, Scheri, Woodburn, and Griffin
Where
Prevention
is a Priority
I
f you’re looking for a team of medical professionals who are
truly looking out for your health before you get sick, look no
further than Grob, Scheri, Woodburn, and Griffin.
Focused on preventive medicine and proactive approaches,
you not only get a central quality team of doctors working on
your behalf, you also get the benefit of nearly a dozen medical
professionals working for you.
“We have a sick care system and not a health care system in
this country,” said Dr. Mark Woodburn. “We need patients to be
proactive with us as we collaborate together on their behalf. It
takes a multidisciplinary team, like the one we have in place,
to help prevent the onset of chronic disease and keep existing
ailments from multiplying.”
He added that treating and monitoring high blood pressure,
scheduling routine colonoscopies to find and remove precancerous
polyps, and ensuring you and your children are vaccinated are
some other ways people can be proactive in their health.
“We can’t do it by ourselves, but we do everything we can to
make sure our patients have done all they can to stay healthy,” said
Dr. Woodburn, who was recently named one of Pennsylvania’s Top
40 Under 40 doctors. “An ounce of prevention still is worth a pound
of cure.”
For more information on Grob, Scheri, Woodburn, and Griffin, go to
genesismedical.org. There are two locations convenient to the North Hills:
AHN Health and Wellness Pavilion, 12311 Perry Highway, 15090, 724.935.5330,
and 1140 Perry Highway, 15237, 412.364.4402.
NORTH ALLEGHENY
❘
WINTER 2018
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