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TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Red yeast rice can reduce LDL levels

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your response to a recent question regarding drugs to reduce cholesterol levels. In your response, you talked about the risks of taking niacin and its potential side effects. You commented that statin drugs remain the first-line treatment for reducing heart disease risk and for people who are at an increased risk. As a follow-up, my cardiologist recommended several months ago that I take something called red yeast rice. I’ve been taking this product for many months now, and it does seem to have reduced one of my cholesterol components. What do you think of red ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

Experience is a marvelous teacher, but one of the dangers in playing the game for a long time is that it may lead to occasional carelessness in commonplace situations. Take this case where South is in three notrump. Let’s say South ducks the opening club lead and wins the next club with the ...

Losing weight isn’t just about counting calories

BOSTON — When it comes to losing weight, it turns out the simple math of counting calories doesn’t always add up. Fad diets come and go, but the underlying message almost always follows a simple equation. If you consume fewer calories than you burn, the weight will melt away. In ...

Lineman offers practical advice against ticks

Q. I’ve spent years working on power lines in the woods of North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia. I learned about powdered sulfur on my first day out. The old rascal who was with me purposely didn’t tell me about it to teach me a lesson, and I got eaten up by ticks and chiggers. You can find powdered sulfur in country drug stores or order it online. You can also order Sulfur8 Salve and Sulfur8 Shampoo. I use the salve in my ears, belly button and behind my neck. I use the shampoo as a final body wash after I return from the woods. I spray permethrin on my woods clothes and ...

Health notes

To include or update items in the weekly Health News list, email information to tmunnell@tribtoday.com or dbigelow@tribtoday.com. The deadline for inclusion for next week’s list is noon Sunday. ST. JOE’S AT THE MALL Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Eastwood Mall. • EXERCISE CLASSES AVAILABLE — Call 330-652-7542 to inquire and register. • FREE BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS: 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, and 9 a.m. to noon Wednesdays and Thursdays. • DIETITIAN AVAILABLE: by appointment every first and third Friday; no cost — call ...

DEAR ANNIE: One parent’s dream is another’s heartbreak

DEAR ANNIE: My husband and I are in a painful disagreement about our children’s education. He went to boarding school as a teenager and says it was one of the best things that ever happened to him. He talks about the independence, friendships, the sports, the teachers and the confidence it gave him. I did not go to boarding school. I grew up coming home every day to my parents, eating dinner at our kitchen table and being part of the ordinary rhythm of family life. To me, sending our children away at 14 or 15 feels heartbreaking. I know boarding school can be wonderful for some kids, ...