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TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Healthy diet helps healing of intestines

DEAR DR. ROACH: My son, who is 28, has always had issues with his gut. Almost everything passes through his intestines quickly. He frequently sees undigested vegetables in his stool. He had intestinal pain and underwent upper and lower GI scopes because the doctor suspected Crohn’s or inflammatory bowel disease. But he found nothing other than inflammation in his stomach, for which he ordered Protonix; this helped with the pain. His BMI is below 18 and has always been this way. He says that if he eats healthy, it makes his gut worse, and if he eats fast food or other non-healthy ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Hair too dry? Vegetable oil saves the day

DEAR HELOISE: Years ago, when I was growing up on an Iowa farm, my hair would dry out because I was outside so much of the time. We also had what people called “hard water,” which would dry out each strand of hair. Instead of buying an overpriced hot oil treatment, my mother would warm up some vegetable oil and use a disposable cotton pad to rub the oil on my scalp. Then she would comb the oil through my hair and cover it with a plastic shower cap; the oil and cap were left on while I slept. In the morning, I shampooed my hair as always, making sure that I lathered and rinsed ...

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, ...

Millennial’s ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ is letter perfect

YOUNGSTOWN — Considering how emotionally draining it is as an audience member, it’s hard to imagine how difficult it must be for the cast of Millennial Theatre Company’s “Dear Evan Hansen” to do six performances. The Benj Pasek/Justin Paul/Steven Levenson musical won six Tony Awards, including best musical, in 2017, and it’s easily the best and the most serious of the teen-centric, social-media-focused musicals in recent years, and the talented cast assembled by director Joe Asente is more than capable of handling its challenges. MTC built a reputation locally for ...

Irresponsible boss leaves team in the lurch

DEAR ANNIE: I work in a small office where our boss is almost never there. She comes in late, leaves early, works from home whenever she feels like it and is often “unavailable” when problems come up. Meanwhile, the rest of us are expected to answer clients, meet deadlines, handle emergencies and keep everything running. The frustrating part is that she still takes credit when things go well. When something goes wrong, however, she wants to know why “the team” dropped the ball. Last week, we had an upset client waiting on a decision only she could make. She finally showed up ...