general health

Hematocrit is a component of the blood that can affect your health if you have either too much or too little. It is the measure of total blood volume, with balanced levels needed to aid in the transport of oxygen and nutrients to various locations in the body. What is a normal hematocrit? Many factors ...click here to read more

Our body needs protein—that’s a fact. An important building block of bones, muscles, and skin, protein can be found virtually everywhere in the body. Hair and nails, for that matter, are mostly composed of protein. Our body uses it to repair tissues and make enzymes, hormones, and other chemicals that are important for healthy functioning. ...click here to read more

It is a well-known fact that as we age, our muscles become weaker and atrophy due to a lack of use. There are many things that can be done to somewhat counteract this normal phenomenon, but in the end, it is caused by aging cells no longer being as robust as they were. However, new ...click here to read more

In America, there are many places you can choose to live. For those who prefer warm climates, choosing a state like Florida may provide an ideal living condition, and those who want to experience every season nature has to offer may choose to live in a northern state. Nevertheless, living in a developed country like ...click here to read more

Drinking soda to quench our thirst or as a beverage with our daily meals has become commonplace. We know just how much sugar content soda contains, so we opt for diet, but even diet soda has negative consequences. According to a new study, drinking sugary soda—or even sugar-free variants—might damage the brain, accelerating brain age ...click here to read more

For as long as anyone can remember, it’s been said that salty foods make you thirstier. Previous studies have shown that increasing a person’s salt intake stimulated the production of more urine, with the assumption that the extra fluid came from drinking more beverages. But apparently, this is not true, as having a salt-filled diet ...click here to read more

As we age, it becomes more difficult to follow all the changes that happen around us, not to mention the changes that occur within our own bodies. We try to categorize the world around us to make it easier to make associations and function in an efficient manner. In a study exploring this concept, neuroscientists ...click here to read more

Incorporating more fruits and vegetables into our diets can be a costly and time-consuming process. Going to the supermarket and knowing which ones to buy and how to pick the freshest items can be confusing. Yet, we should eat more of nature’s bounty, as all the scientific studies point to their ability to reduce the ...click here to read more

It’s the weekend, and we have another weekly health news roundup for you. If you experience arthritis pain or renal colic, we have detailed articles to get you up to speed on what you need to know. Heart disease is an issue we believe everyone should be more informed about, so we’ve included material on ...click here to read more

This April marks the 25th annual Rosacea Awareness Month and it’s a time to educate the public on this commonly misunderstood chronic disorder. It is estimated that rosacea affects nearly 16 million Americans, and at Bel Marra, we have taken the time to gather the best articles about it. You’ll find information on how rosacea ...click here to read more

The aroma of some of our favorite foods can stir up a bevy of emotions that contribute to the overall enjoyment of the food we eat. The consumption of our favorite food makes us happy and content, and we are usually incredibly satisfied afterward. But perhaps our favorite foods may be having more of an ...click here to read more

Antibiotic resistance is a looming threat that is slowly rearing its head, becoming a difficult complication to handle in the fight against disease. It occurs when an antibiotic medication loses its ability to control or kill bacterial growth, which is its primary purpose. Antibiotics have saved millions of lives since the inception of penicillin, the ...click here to read more

With the increasing number of states in America legalizing cannabis, there have been a lot of related studies of the plant for medical application. Whatever your stance is on the drug, there is no doubt that the marijuana plant is full of potential benefits for patients. This list of benefits seems to grow by the ...click here to read more

The longer you live, the more likely you are to have had surgery for some sort of ailment. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2012, approximately 312.9 million operations were performed globally, which had increased by 38 percent over the previous eight years. This is about 4,469 surgical operations for every 100,000 people ...click here to read more