black women’s health
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Formerly Fat: How Bariatric Surgery Helped Me Transform My Life
On a break while shopping for Black Friday deals, a friend and I sat down for lunch in the Detroit suburbs. My friend quickly observed how I only ate half of my burger and picked over my loaded baked potato. I shrugged. “Well, you know I had weight-loss surgery a couple years ago,” I said.…
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Be Aware: Your Favorite Beauty Secret May Be More Trouble Than It’s Worth
We’re not quite sure when the buzz began about biotin, but suddenly, it seemed, every woman we knew was taking the vitamin—also called B7 or vitamin H—to support hair and nail growth. And indeed, while research is sparse, at least one double-blind study concluded that Viviscal, a supplement containing biotin, not only supported hair growth…
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Because Being a Woman Isn’t Scary Enough: Now Your Birth Control Could Cause Breast Cancer
Have breasts? Trying not to get pregnant? A new study from Denmark has revealed that hormonal birth control of all types can raise your risk of developing breast cancer, which is frightening news to the legions of women who choose these methods to prevent conception. This new research expanded beyond high-dose birth control pills studied…
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Hot Flashes: The Cold Truth
Once a month, when you’re suffering from cramping, bloating, moodiness and fatigue, do you imagine menopause as a dream where your menstrual cycle ends? That, like a butterfly, you’re freed from monthly changes forever? Think again, my friend. Estrogen, the hormone that makes a woman a “woman,” controls not only female menstrual cycles and fertility…
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If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late: An Insomniac’s Lament
I do my best writing at 4 a.m. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself, night after night, when I start writing after hours of tossing and turning. I remind myself that studies say that smart people are typically night owls (as well as messy and profane—don’t judge me). By that logic, I must…