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Bone broth was the hipster darling of 2015 food trends, but if healthy eating is one of your resolutions, just sipping on broth isn’t going to cut it. It’s a new year, and 2016 is all about doubling down on fruits and veggies in the most delicious way possible. Sure, salads pack in a lot of produce, but broth-based soups may be the most satisfying — and warming! — route to healthy eating this winter. If you’ve been mainlining gingerbread and peppermint bark for the past two weeks, a detoxifying veggie soup is the perfect way to usher in a healthier new year, one satisfying slurp at a time. Here are five recipes that’ll give your resolutions staying power all month long:

When expectant mothers are exposed to plastics chemicals called phthalatesduring the first trimester, their male offspring may have a greater risk of infertility later in life, a new study suggests.

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Boys exposed to the chemical diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) may be born with a significantly shorter anogenital distance than those not exposed to these chemicals. Anogenital distance is the distance between the anus and the genitals. A shorter anogenital distance has been linked to infertility and low sperm count, the researchers explained.

"We saw these changes even though moms' exposure to DEHP has dropped 50 percent in the past 10 years," said lead researcher Shanna Swan, a professor of preventive medicine and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

"Therefore, we have not found a safe level of phthalate exposure for pregnant women," she contended.

Swan said that this study cannot prove that these boys will have fertility problems as adults or that DEHP causes these problems. However, animal studies have implicated the chemical in male reproductive problems. Based on the data from this study, Swan believes there is a strong association between exposure to DEHP and fertility in human males.

DEHP is used to soften plastics. Most exposure results from eating foods that pick up the chemical during processing, Swan said.

RELATED: 10 Toxic Household Items You Should Throw Away Now

"Since food is the largest source of DEHP for consumers, it is difficult for pregnant women to minimize exposure," she said. "Eating unprocessed food will likely help. However, eliminating DEHP from food really has to be done by food producers."

The chemical is also found in medical tubing and in a variety of products, including flooring, wallpaper, lacquers and personal care products, Swan said.

The report was published Feb. 19 in the journal Human Reproduction.

For the study, Swan's team collected data on almost 800 pregnant women and their infants.

Specifically, the researchers found that exposure in the womb to three types of DEHP was associated with a significantly shorter anogenital distance in boys, but not in girls.

A group representing the chemical industry took issue with the study, however.

In a statement, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) stressed that the study only examined one type of phthalate, not all versions of the chemical. And it said that phthalates are "one of the most widely studied family of chemicals in use today."

The ACC added that DEHP "is known to break down into its metabolites within minutes after it enters the body. Information collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the last 10 years indicates that, despite the fact that phthalates are used in many products, exposure from all sources combined is extremely low -- much lower than the levels established as safe by scientists at regulatory agencies."

But another expert says phthalate exposure may not be benign. Dr. Kenneth Spaeth, director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., said, "virtually everyone in the U.S. experiences continual exposure to phthalates."

And, a number of studies have tied the chemicals with changes in developing fetuses. "Phthalates, in particular, have been shown in both human and animal studies to interfere with normal fetal development," he said.

This study supports what has been demonstrated before, that phthalate exposure in the first trimester is linked to male reproductive development, Spaeth said. "This study is an important step forward in establishing this effect because the study included a much larger number of individuals than prior studies and helps identify one particular agent, DEHP, as an important contributor to this effect," he said.

Additionally, this study shows the importance of exposure in the first trimester as a critical window for the effect of phthalates on the male reproductive system. "On the whole, given these features, the authors have contributed important information about the public health risk posed by phthalates," Spaeth suggested.

The singer — who gave birth to a son in May — recently appeared on MTV’s House of Style and continues to work with Degree Women for the brand’s Do More campaign. Users can search for fitness classes and view behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage on Degree’s web site. 

“As a hardworking woman, I’m always trying to figure out how I can get better and improve at everything I do," explains Ciara. "I really love being able to share this message with other women and encourage them to keep pursuing their dreams.”

At a Degree Women press event, Ciara gave Everyday Health the scoop on how she stays fit, healthy, and gorgeous while trying to juggle a packed schedule. 

On her fitness regimen: “I work out an hour a day. That’s all you need — the rest of it’s all about how you eat,” says Ciara. “When I train with Gunnar [Peterson], we do a mix of plyometric moving and weight training because you want a good balance of cardio, while still maintaining your muscle.”

On eating right: “For breakfast, I love an egg white omelet with spinach and turkey. I’ll also have a side of fruit and wheat toast,” she says. If she gets a late-night craving, Ciara satiates herself with chocolate Ensure protein shakes. “Sometimes I get hungry before I go to bed — I’ll drink one of these and it holds me over until the morning.” 

On how she motivates herself before a performance: “I think about what it is that I want to do onstage and how great I want the show to be,” she says. “I pray, stretch, jump, and move around to get my body warmed up.”

On maintaining her glow: “When I wake up, I wash my face with my dermatologist’s [Dr. Sabena Toor] foaming cleanser, which is made with organic ingredients,” says Ciara. “Then I put vitamin C and Revisions tinted moisturizer all over my face. I do that twice a day.”

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You may know Nigel Barker as the encouraging yet truthful judge on America's Next Top Model, or as a famed fashion photographer who has shot pictures for GQ, Lucky, and Town & Country, among others — or as the author of a book about connecting with your best self, Beauty Equation.

He's fit and trim and confident, but under that chiseled frame, the now 44-year-old Barker learned a few years ago that he wasn't nearly as healthy as he'd assumed. And he never would have found out — and had the chance to turn his health around — if it weren't for a routine conversation with his insurance company.

In 2011, when Barker asked for an increase in the amount of coverage on his life insurance policy, what he thought would be a no-brainer (pay more to get more) turned out to be a rude awakening.

The company denied the additional coverage because Barker's cholesterol levels were too high.

Food, Family, and High Cholesterol

Barker was shocked: He'd been following a strict low-carb, high-protein diet for the previous two years and had toned his body in the process, which he thought would be good for his heart and health. But his high-protein diet also included saturated fat-heavy red meat, cheese, and butter, which probably contributed to his total cholesterol level of 253 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) and an LDL ("bad") cholesterol level of 155 mg/dL.

"I looked great on the outside," says Barker. But inside, potentially dangerous levels of cholesterol were putting him at risk for heart problems.

The optimal level of total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL, and LDL should be less than 100 mg/dL, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Barker's total cholesterol level put him at risk for heart disease. On the plus side, Barker's "good" HDL cholesterol was fine, at 63; anything above 60 is considered cardio-protective. Though it's important to aim for these numbers, the American Heart Association (AHA) advocates looking at a person's overall health and lifestyle as risk factors in addition to cholesterol counts.

What you eat is one of these factors, and — bonus! — the perks of a healthy meal plan can extend beyond your heart. A study published in July 2015 in JAMA Internal Medicine found that people who followed a Mediterranean diet rich in heart-healthy foods like whole grains, olive oil, legumes, fish, and fruits and vegetables had better memories and cognition as they aged.

For Barker, even more concerning than just the numbers was his family history of heart disease: His father had his first of several heart attacks at age 45. Having a parent who had a heart attack predicts your heart disease risk more than any other single factor, according to a study published in February 2011 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"The combination of Nigel's high LDL levels and family history was really scary," says Barker's cardiologist, Suzanne Steinbaum, MD, director of women's heart health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "When you have a family history of heart disease, you really have to pay attention to your own health."

Because high cholesterol has no symptoms, it can go undiagnosed for years. And people who have a high risk of heart attack due to family history often have no signs or symptoms until they have a heart attack.

While Dr. Steinbaum encourages everyone to have their levels checked regularly, it's especially important if heart disease runs in your family.

The United Stated Preventive Services Task Force recommends getting your cholesterol levels screened at age 35 for men and 45 for women, although if you have increased risk (such as with Barker), you should be screened as early as age 20.

The AHA recommends a more aggressive screening every five years beginning at age 20, but if you have high cholesterol or other heart disease risk factors, your doctor may recommend more frequent testing.

The main priority is to understand your risk and discuss it with your doctor to determine when cholesterol testing is appropriate for you.

How Barker Lowered His Cholesterol Naturally

Steinbaum recommended that Barker first change his diet instead of immediately turn to cholesterol-lowering drugs to lower his total and LDL cholesterol levels.

RELATED: Dr. Dean Ornish Turns Back the Clock on Heart Disease

So Barker traded his low-carb, high-protein eating plan for a Mediterranean-style diet. "Before, Nigel was eating exactly what he shouldn't have been eating for his heart health," Steinbaum says. "But he made the decision to change, and stuck with it."

Within a year, Barker's total cholesterol reading dropped to a much healthier 165, and his LDL was about 100.

"He did it on his own by making healthy choices every day," says Steinbaum.

And Barker remains committed to those heart-healthy habits. "Sometimes you need the drugs," he says, "but we decided to try a little bit of common sense and discipline first."

A small study found that the drug worked quickly in people with major depression.

Low doses of the anesthetic ketamine may quickly reduce suicidal thoughts in people with long-standing depression, a small study suggests.

By the end of three weeks of therapy, most of the 14 study volunteers had a decrease in suicidal thoughts and seven ended up not having any such thoughts, the researchers found.

To get into the study, patients had to have had suicidal thoughts for at least three months, plus persistent depression. "So, the fact that they experienced any reduction in suicidal thinking, let alone remission, is very exciting," said lead researcher Dr. Dawn Ionescu, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Despite these results, many mysteries still remain about the drug, Ionescu said. For example, "we don't know yet how the drug works," she said. "In addition, we do not know if the doses of ketamine being used for depression and suicide will lead to addiction -- more research is needed in this area."

The study used only intravenous ketamine, but oral and intranasal doses may also work, she added.

Whether ketamine might ever become a standard therapy for depression and suicidal thoughts is also up in the air. "That is something we need to investigate," Ionescu said.

All of the study volunteers were being treated for major depressive disorder on an outpatient basis. They had all been experiencing suicidal thoughts for three months or more, and were resistant to other treatments, the researchers said. Eleven of the 14 volunteers were female, and their mean age was 50 years.

Ketamine, which is primarily an anesthetic, had been shown in other studies to quickly relieve symptoms of depression, Ionescu said.

For the study, two weekly intravenous infusions of ketamine were given over three weeks. The first three doses of ketamine were five times lower than typically given when the drug is used as an anesthetic. After initial treatment, the dose was increased.

RELATED: How to Create a Depression Treatment Plan

Patients were checked before, during and after treatment, and every other week during three months of follow-up. Assessments included measurement of suicidal thinking, in which patients were asked how frequent and how intense their suicidal thoughts were, the study authors said.

Of the seven patients who stopped having suicidal thoughts, two continued to be free of both thoughts of suicide and symptoms of depression during the three-month follow-up, the findings showed.

No serious side effects from the drug were seen, the researchers said.

"The most common side effects are an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and changes in the way people perceive their environment. For example, some people will dissociate and feel like their environment looks different or that parts of their body look different. Generally, the side effects are mild and only last for one to two hours," Ionescu said.

Two patients dropped out of the study. One dropped out because of the drug's side effects, and the other had a scheduling conflict, the researchers said.

All of the patients knew they were getting ketamine. The researchers are now finishing up a study in which some patients received the drug and others got a placebo.

Drugs currently used to treat suicidal thinking include lithium and clozapine, but these drugs can have serious side effects requiring careful monitoring of blood levels. Electroconvulsive therapy can also reduce suicidal thoughts, but its availability is limited and it can have serious side effects, such as memory loss, the researchers explained.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of "talk" therapy, can also be an effective treatment for suicidal thinking, but may take weeks to months to be effective, the study authors pointed out.

Dr. Ami Baxi is director of adult inpatient services in the department of psychiatry at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She said, "Ketamine, often used as an anesthetic in medicine, has been recently shown to cause a rapid antidepressant effect and reduce suicidal thoughts in patients with treatment-resistant depression."

However, this study has many limitations, she added. First, it was a very small study and "only two of the 14 patients were able to maintain this reduction three months after the infusion," Baxi said.

Second, patients knew they were receiving ketamine, "leaving them exposed to a possible placebo effect," she explained.

Baxi agreed this is a promising study, but it's too early to know the effects of ketamine on suicidal thinking. "Additional studies remain essential to enhance our knowledge on the psychiatric benefits of ketamine," she said.

The report was published in the May 10 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Bariatric surgery isn't a spur-of-the-moment operation. In fact, preparing for the procedure may begin a year or more before your surgery date, and lifestyle changes continue well after the surgery has been performed. Be prepared by knowing what will be asked of you every step of the process.

The Year Before Surgery

Leading up to the procedure, your surgical team will likely recommend becoming more informed about diet and exercise.The amount of time you spend in this stage depends on several factors, including your insurance and your team’s recommendations, says bariatric surgeon Ann Rogers, MD, director of the Penn State Hershey Surgical Weight Loss Program in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

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“There’s always some component of nutritional education and some expectation that patients will lose some weight in that program,” explains Dr. Rogers. The dietitians and others who work with you during this stage will send reports on your progress to your surgical team before you schedule your surgery date.

In this phase, you may need to make additional lifestyle changes as well depending on the program. Rogers’ program, for instance, requires smoking cessation, though other weight-loss surgery clinics do not.

The Week Before Surgery

The final days before your surgery can be extremely emotional, filled with excitement, nervousness, and anxiety. Taking these steps as you prepare for your surgery will ease tension and ensure that everything goes smoothly the day of your procedure:

• Read the materials from your clinic.

• Eat and drink as directed. “We have a preoperative diet for eight days, which consists of bariatric-friendly protein shakes,” Rogers says. “They are high in protein, and they do not have sugar.” Most programs have a preoperative diet, although the duration varies, she says. Make sure you understand how long that diet lasts and exactly what you can eat.

• Adjust medications as needed. Discuss how to manage any other conditions you might have, such as diabetes, with your weight-loss surgery team and your primary care physician.

• Meet with the anesthesiologist. Once your surgery date is scheduled, you'll also meet with the anesthesiologist, who will ask about your health history. Although patients will have lots of tests done and medical information detailed during the months before surgery, the anesthesiologist might ask for more tests, advises Rogers.

• Take a blood thinner. Clotting is a risk associated with surgery, says Rogers. Your doctor might recommend taking a blood-thinning medication before and after the surgery.

What to Pack

Rogers suggests taking the following items with you to the hospital:

• Instructions. Bring the manual or other instructions you’ve been given, as well as any preoperative paperwork.

• Identification. You’ll need it to check in.

• CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. If you've been using one for sleep, take it with you.

• Laptop and cellphone.

• Pajamas and toiletries.

• Pillow and blanket.  

The Day of the Surgery

What your weight-loss surgery will entail varies depending on the specific type of surgery you'll be having.

• Roux-en-Y: This procedure is also known as “gastric bypass.” Your stomach will be divided into a small top pouch and a larger lower pouch. Your small intestine will also be divided and the lower part raised up to attach to your new, smaller stomach. This procedure reduces the quantity of food you can eat at any given time.

• Sleeve gastrectomy: In this procedure, the majority of your stomach will be removed, creating a banana-shaped stomach.

• Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch: In this procedure, a portion of your stomach is removed. The remaining portion is then attached to a lower segment of your small intestine.

• Banding: In this procedure, an inflatable band is wrapped around the upper part of your stomach, creating a small stomach pouch. The band can be adjusted as needed. 

9 Things You’ll Have to Do After Surgery

• Have a ride home in place. Expect to spend at least one night in the hospital, Rogers says. When you're discharged, you'll need to have someone drive you home.

• Prevent blood clots. You will need to adhere to strategies to prevent blood clots from developing. These include taking blood thinners and getting up and walking around while in the hospital and at home.

• Take pain medication. You'll probably get a prescription for pain medication. Laparoscopic surgery reduces pain and hospital stays, but you still may need prescription pain medication for a day or two after discharge, Rogers says.

• Anticipate constipation, as it's a byproduct of the pain medications and the surgery itself. Be sure to talk with your doctor or nurse about how to prevent constipation.

• Eat a restricted diet. Your diet will be restricted to liquid protein shakes for a week or so after the procedure, and then soft foods following that period. Most people can transition to eating food with texture after their one-month follow-up appointment. By three months you should be able to eat fruits and vegetables, Rogers says. The ASMBS recommends cutting down on carbohydrates and increasing protein.

• Drink lots of fluids. The ASMBS recommends at least 64 ounces, or 8 cups, of fluids daily.

• You may need to take supplements. Calcium, vitamin D, and B vitamins are among those your doctor might recommend.

• Exercise – but nothing too strenuous. Walking daily, starting the day you get home, is good for you, says Rogers. However, skip the gym until you have your doctor’s permission. You should be able to lift small weights, she says, but avoid heavy items.

• Plan on missing work for a while. People with desk jobs usually can go back to work in about three weeks, Rogers says. Those with physical jobs or jobs that require extended periods of sitting, such as driving trucks, will have to wait a longer period of time.

By the time David Clark was in his early thirties, he owned a chain of 13 retail stores that reported $8 million a year in sales, and he was married with three children. “I should be happy,” he recalls thinking. But he wasn’t.

He was depressed. “I couldn’t find simple joy in anything, and had thoughts of stepping in front of a bus to end it,” he says. The depression caused him to eat massive amounts of fast food and drink recklessly, he says, and that led to obesity. At his heaviest, the nearly 6-foot-tall Clark, from Lafayette, Colorado, weighed 320 pounds.

Clark was not alone in suffering from depression and obesity. Nearly half of all adults who live with depression — 43 percent — are obese, and adults with depression are more likely to be obese than adults who aren’t depressed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Whether depression or obesity comes first can vary from person to person, says Kim Gudzune, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. “But if you have one condition, you’re more likely to have the other,” she says.

Depression and obesity are often linked because of the stigma of obesity. Some who are obese have a poor body image and can become depressed as a result, Dr. Gudzune says, and others eat to drown their sorrows.

In addition, “there may be shared neural pathways between obesity and depression that may place individuals at risk for both,” says Leslie Heinberg, PhD, director of behavioral services for the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

How Clark Turned His Life Around

After his weight gain, Clark was at risk for high blood pressure and was borderline diabetic.

He says he overcame both of his health conditions essentially on his own. One morning, when he was 34, Clark says he woke up and realized how close to death he was. He knew that if he didn’t change, his children would be fatherless.

“I didn’t want my kids to see their father drink himself to death,” he says, so he joined Alcoholics Anonymous and followed the group's 12 steps to stop drinking. “I went on a spiritual journey to make peace with my path,” says Clark, who grew up poor and homeless. As a kid, he and his dad had roamed the country in the back of a pickup truck, he says.

RELATED: 6 Ways to Set Goals You’ll Actually Achieve

He also began running. And running. Some years earlier, he'd seen the New York City Marathon on television and always had it in the back of his mind that that was something he might do. Eventually, Clark became an ultra-marathon runner. Now 44, he runs at least 80 to 100 miles a week and competes in some of the most challenging endurance races on the planet, including across Death Valley in California.

At first, it was painful to run, but he says the pain was also motivating. “I knew the stakes had to be pretty high to make such a dramatic change in my life," he says.

Running: A Low Cost Mood Booster

After Clark revamped his diet to be plant-based, stopped drinking alcohol, and began running regularly, his weight began to drop. It took him 18 months, but he got down to a healthy 180 pounds. When he switched to competitive running, he lost another 20 pounds and has stayed at 160 for years now, he says.

The running also improved his mood, says Clark, who chronicles his journey in the book Out There: A Story of Ultra Recovery. Exercise releases endorphins — hormones that reduce your perception of pain and improve your mood, according to Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Clark advises others who struggle with obesity and depression to do like he did and “draw a line in the sand” to say, “I’m not going to live this way anymore — I’m going to move on to a better place.”

What You Can Do

Though Clark lost weight on his own, not everyone can. So if you're struggling, consider working with a nutritionist or your doctor to find a weight-loss program. The key is to make low-calorie, healthy choices and exercise more so that you burn more calories than you consume, according to the National Institutes of Health. If you're extremely overweight, your doctor might suggest medication to curb your appetite, or weight-loss surgery.

Exercise and eating well may also help treat your depression. You can work with a therapist who can help you find the right treatment plan. That could include individual or group therapy, stress-reduction techniques, medication, or some combination of these.

Treatment can be difficult, because a side effect of some depression medications is weight gain, Gudzune says. But treating depression and weight issues simultaneously, Heinberg says, can be beneficial because if people who are depressed are able to lose weight, that could benefit their depression.

People with psoriasis may be twice as likely to experience depression as those without the common skin condition, regardless of its severity, a new study suggests.

"Psoriasis in general is a pretty visible disease," said study author Dr. Roger Ho, an assistant professor of dermatology at New York University School of Medicine in New York City. "Psoriasis patients are fearful of the public's stigmatization of this visible disease and are worried about how people who are unfamiliar with the disease may perceive them or interact with them."

Genetic or biologic factors may also play a role in the link between depression and psoriasis, which requires more research, he said. Either way, the findings mean that all individuals with psoriasis could benefit from screening for depression, Ho said, and their friends and family members should be aware of the connection as well.

The findings were scheduled for presentation Thursday at an American Academy of Dermatology meeting in New York City. They have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and should be considered preliminary.

Most people with psoriasis have red, raised patches of skin covered with silvery-white scales, the researchers noted. These patches usually appear on the scalp, elbows, knees, lower back, hands and feet.

The researchers analyzed the responses of more than 12,000 U.S. adults in the 2009-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall, nearly 3 percent of responders reported that they had psoriasis, and about 8 percent had major depression based on their answers to a depression screening assessment. Among those with psoriasis, 16.5 percent had sufficient symptoms for a diagnosis of major depression.

Those with any degree of psoriasis had double the odds of having depression even after taking into account their age, sex, race, weight, physical activity level, alcohol use and history of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and smoking, the researchers said.

Depression is one of several concerns that someone with psoriasis should look out for, said Dr. Delphine Lee, a dermatologist at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.

"Patients with psoriasis should be aware that there are several other health issues associated with this condition, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, as well as psychological or psychiatric disorders," Lee said. "To address your health beyond your skin is critical to maximizing a person's quality of life."

Several aspects of dealing with psoriasis may contribute to depression, said Dr. Doris Day, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

RELATED: 7 Hidden Dangers of Psoriasis

What matters more than its severity is the location of flare-ups, she said. Some of her patients won't wear shorts if it's on their legs or won't go on dates because they're embarrassed about red spots on their skin, she added.

"Also, because it's a chronic illness, you don't know if it's going to get worse and you don't get to take a vacation from it either," Day said. "You're using topical treatments all year long, and as soon as you stop, it comes right back. It's very depressing, and it can affect your self-esteem and your quality of life."

Anxiety about how psoriasis and its treatment may affect your future health might also contribute to depression, Day explained.

"It's unsightly, it can be itchy, people are worried about it spreading to other parts of their body, they worry about the side effects of medication, they worry about psoriatic arthritis, they worry about taking medications when they're pregnant, and they worry about passing it along to their children," she said.

Day recommended that people with psoriasis seek mental health treatment to get to the bottom of their depression.

"It's about that emotional connection and finding out what about this condition is affecting someone in the way that it is," Day explained.

Not seeking help can make matters worse, said Dr. Tien Nguyen, a dermatologist at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif.

"Psoriasis can cause severe emotional distress," he said, noting some patients may have suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide. "Stress is a known cause of exacerbation of psoriasis, so this will lead to a vicious cycle."

Day added that it's critically important to continue seeing a dermatologist to learn about new medications that become available.

"There are some really amazing new treatments that have a great safety profile that can have excellent clearance with lasting results," Day said.

The drug ketamine -- known as Special K on the party scene -- shows promise as a depression treatment. But researchers aren't ready to recommend it because its long-term effects remain unknown.

That gap in knowledge must be filled before ketamine can be widely used to treat depression, said Colleen Loo, co-author of a new research review. She's a professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Ketamine, an anesthetic drug, is increasingly being used off-label to treat severe and treatment-resistant depression. And some preliminary findings suggest rapid-acting effectiveness, Loo said.

But "this has not been effectively explored over the long term and after repeated dosing," she added in a university news release.

RELATED: 10 Diseases That Make Depression Feel Worse

Loo and her colleagues examined 60 published studies of ketamine treatment for depression, involving a total of nearly 900 patients. The investigators found few studies reported on the safety of repeated doses or sustained use of the drug.

"As ketamine treatment will likely involve multiple and repeated doses over an extended time period, it is crucial to determine whether the potential side effects outweigh the benefits to ensure it is safe for this purpose," she explained.

Past research has linked longer-term ketamine use to bladder inflammation, liver damage, memory loss and addiction. These potential troubles "may limit the safe use of ketamine as a long-term antidepressant treatment," the review authors wrote.

The review was published July 27 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

One look at the billion dollar anti-aging industry and it's no surprise we find youth beautiful above all else. But skin isn't the only indicator of it — the size of your eyes is, too. "Women with baby-like features such as large, widely-spaced eyes are typically judged to be most attractive," says Viren Swami, PhD, author of The Psychology of Physical Attraction,who cites cross-cultural study data from African-American, Asian, Hispanic, and Taiwanese participants.

The quickest and easiest way to maximize your eyes is to sketch a line on the top lash line using a smoky shade, and then smudge the shadow with a brush or your fingertip to soften and blend, says Tina Turnbow, a celebrity makeup aritst.

1 / 8   Serotonin Syndrome
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (a naturally occurring brain chemical) that helps regulate mood and behavior, and increasing serotonin is one way of treating depression.

But if you're taking antidepressant medication that increases serotonin too much, you could be at risk for a dangerous drug reaction called serotonin syndrome.

"Serotonin syndrome usually happens when a doctor prescribes a drug that increases serotonin to a patient already on an antidepressant," said Mark Su, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Hofstra University and director of the Toxicology Fellowship at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

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Cognitive therapy was aimed at 'getting people out of hibernation mode.'

Individuals with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) who participated in 6 weeks of daily cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) saw more improvement than those who used light therapy, with the advantage for CBT becoming apparent two winters post-intervention, researchers reported in AJP In Advance.

Two winters after receiving either CBT or light therapy, researchers found that those who received CBT experienced a smaller proportion of recurrence as measured the SIGH-SAD, a primary measure of SAD symptoms, as compared with those who received the light therapy (27.3 percent versus 45.6 percent, respectively), and larger proportion of remissions from SAD as defined by a score of  less then 8 on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (68.3 percent  versus 44.5 percent, respectively), according to Kelly Rohan, PhD, and colleagues from the University of Vermont.

For the study, Rohan and colleagues randomized 177 patients to receive either light therapy on a daily basis for 30 minutes upon waking or to receive CBT-SAD, a type of intervention that delivered psychoeducation, behavioral activation, and cognitive restructuring specifically targeting winter depression symptoms in group therapy sessions twice per week for 6 weeks.

Rohan told MedPage Today that CBT-SAD therapy involved "getting people out of hibernation mode so they approach rather than avoid winter... the activities do not necessarily need to be outdoors or involve communing with snow. They involve anything the person finds enjoyable that can be done in the winter to experience pleasure, rather than withdrawing and socially isolating oneself, which breeds depression." This could involve staying active in one's routines, such as going to the gym, maintaining hobbies, or developing new hobbies to take the place of summer-specific hobbies, or seeing people socially, for instance.

The following winter, researchers contacted study participants in both groups, asking them to resume the treatment they received during the previous winter under their own volition.

Those who received light therapy the previous winter received a letter asking them to resume the daily light therapy upon the onset of the first depressive symptom and those who received CBT-SAD were encouraged to use the skills taught to them the previous winter. Researchers instructed participants in both groups that if recommended strategies were insufficient to relieve symptoms of depression, they should pursue formal treatment, and included contact information for local mental health centers.

RELATED: How to Survive Daylight Saving Time and Shorter Days

Researchers conducted in-person visits in January or February of the first winter following the initial intervention as well as the second winter.

Responses to CBT the first winter after the intervention strongly predicted its effectiveness the following winter. Those who were depression-free the first winter following the intervention were markedly more likely to be depression-free during the second winter compared with those had still shown depression symptoms during the first winter.

In contrast, those who received light therapy who remained depression-free the winter following the intervention were only twice as likely to avoid recurrence during the second winter compared with those without a substantial initial response.

Light therapy has long been used as a treatment for SAD, but one major obstacle to success in treatment includes lack of compliance. In the study, only about a third of subjects reported continuing light therapy at each follow-up, which may have been in part due to study design, according to the authors.

Said Rohan, "In practice, these data indicate that there are options for treating SAD. If someone is willing not only to use light therapy to alleviate current symptoms, but also to keep using daily light therapy until spring and resume using it each fall/winter season, that is a viable option -- however, if someone is willing to work on their thoughts and behaviors in CBT-SAD over 12 sessions in a winter, that is also an option. Better yet, CBT-SAD is a treatment that might have longer-lasting benefits than light therapy in terms of lower risk for SAD recurrence and less severe symptoms two winters later."

Rohan said she hopes to get rates of depression recurrence even lower following SAD treatment in her next study. "This may involve early fall booster sessions to reinforce use of CBT-SAD skills as the seasons change," she noted, or for those who receive light therapy, a conversation regarding increasing compliance with the daily regimen to offset depression recurrence.

The aches and pains of rheumatoid arthritis can be hard to overcome, but these strategies may help in treating chronic pain.

From fatigue to loss of appetite, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can impact your life in a number of ways, but the most limiting symptom for many people is pain. Because that pain comes in different forms, you may need more than one strategy to relieve it.

“The primary cause of rheumatoid arthritis pain is inflammation that swells joint capsules," says Yousaf Ali, bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery, an associate professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine and chief of the division of rheumatology at Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York City. Joint capsules are thin sacs of fluid that surround a joint, providing lubrication for bone movement. In RA, the body's immune system attacks those capsules.

The first goal of pain relief is the control of inflammation, Dr. Ali explains. “Inflammation can cause acute (short-term) pain or longer-lasting smoldering pain," he says. "Chronic erosion of joint tissues over time is another cause of chronic pain. But there are many options for pain relief.”

Getting RA pain under control may take some work. You may find that you'll need to take several drugs — some to slow the joint damage and some to alleviate joint pain. Alternative therapies, like acupuncture, combined with drugs may help you to feel stronger. It may take some time, too. Try the following strategies — with your doctor's supervision — to discover which are most effective for you:

Treatments and Strategies to Help Relieve Chronic RA Pain

1. Inflammation Medication "In the case of RA, all other pain-relief strategies are secondary to controlling inflammation," Ali says. The No. 1 option in the pain relief arsenal is to control inflammation with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, called DMARDs. These drugs, which work to suppress the body's overactive immune system response, are also used to prevent joint damage and slow the progression of the disease. DMARDs are often prescribed shortly after a diagnosis in order to prevent as much joint damage as possible.

"The most commonly used is the drug methotrexate," he says. It's administered both orally and through injections. Digestive issues, such as nausea and diarrhea, are the most common side effect of DMARDs, and of methotrexate in particular, if taken by mouth. Hair loss, mouth sores, and drowsiness are other potential side effects. Methotrexate, which is taken once a week, can take about five or six weeks to start working, and it may be three to six months before the full effects of the drug are felt; doctors may also combine it with other drugs, including other DMARDs.

"Steroids may be used to bridge the gap during an acute flare," adds Ali. "If flares continue, we can go to triple-drug therapy, or use newer biologic drugs that are more expensive but also effective.” The most common side effect of biologics are infections that may result from their effect on the immune system.

The next tier of pain relief includes these additional approaches:

2. Pain Medication The best drugs for acute pain, Ali says, are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, called NSAIDs. Aspirin and ibuprofen belong to this class of drugs, as does a newer type of NSAID called celecoxib. While NSAIDs treat joint pain, research has shown that they don't prevent joint damage. In addition, NSAIDs may irritate the stomach lining and cause kidney damage when used over a long period of time.

"Stronger pain relievers, calledopioids, may be used for severe pain, but we try to avoid them if possible," says Ali. "These drugs must be used cautiously because of the potential to build up tolerance, which can lead to abuse."

3. Diet Although some diets may be touted to help RA symptoms, they aren’t backed by the medical community. “There is no evidence that any special diet will reduce RA pain," Ali says. But there is some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce inflammation — and the joint pain that results from it. Omega-3s can be found in cold-water fish and in fish oil supplements. A study published in November 2015 in the Global Journal of Health Sciences found that people who took fish oil supplements were able to reduce the amount of pain medication they needed.

4. Weight Management Maintaining a healthy weight may help you better manage joint pain. A study published in November 2015 in the journal Arthritis Care & Research suggested that significant weight loss can lower the need for medication in people with RA. Among the study participants, 93 percent were using DMARDs before they underwent bariatric surgery, but that dropped to 59 percent a year after surgery.

5. Massage A massage from a therapist (or even one you give yourself) can be a soothing complementary treatment to help reduce muscle and joint pain. A study published in May 2013 in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice involved 42 people with RA in their arms who received either light massage or medium massage from a massage therapist once a week for a month. The participants were also taught to do self-massage at home. After a month of treatment, the moderate-pressure massage group had less pain and greater range of motion than the others.

6. Exercise Although you may not feel like being active when you have RA, and it might seem that being active could put stress on your body, gentle exercises can actually help reduce muscle and joint pain, too. “Non-impact or low-impact exercise is a proven way to reduce pain," Ali says. "We recommend walking, swimming, and cycling.” In fact, one of the best exercises you can do for RA is water aerobics in a warm pool because the water buoys your body.

The Arthritis Foundation also notes that yoga is another option to help reduce RA pain, and traditional yoga poses can be modified to your abilities. Yoga may also help improve the coordination and balance that is sometimes impaired when you have the disease. When it comes to exercise, though, it’s also wise to use caution. Talk with your doctor if any workouts are making your pain worse, and, in general, put any exercise plan on hold during an acute flare.

7. Orthoses These are mechanical aids that can help support and protect your joints. Examples include padded insoles for your shoes and splints or braces that keep your joints in proper alignment. You can even get special gloves for hand and finger RA. A physical therapist can help you determine the best orthoses options for you.

8. Heat and Cold Heat helps to relax muscles, while cold helps to dull the sensation of pain. You might find that applying hot packs or ice packs, or alternating between hot and cold, helps reduce your joint pain. Relaxing in a hot bath can also bring relief, as can exercising in a warm pool.

9. Acupuncture This Eastern medicine practice, which has been around for centuries, is thought to work by stimulating the body's natural painkillers through the use of fine needles gently placed near nerve endings. “I have found acupuncture to be helpful for some patients, but the pain relief is usually not long-lasting,” says Ali.

10. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) TENS is a form of therapy that uses low-voltage electric currents to stimulate nerves and interfere with pain pathways. “TENS is usually used for stubborn, chronic pain and not as a first-line treatment for RA,” Ali says. One of the benefits of this treatment is the low occurrence of side effects. If you're interested in trying it for pain relief, talk with your physical therapist.

Remember, you’re not alone — your doctor and specialists can help you find relief from chronic pain. If you’re experiencing more pain than before, or if pain is interfering with your ability to get things done, don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor. Ask your rheumatologist about pain relief options, like exercise, massage, yoga, and acupuncture, but remember that the first priority on your pain relief list should be to get RA inflammation under control.

The legendary talk-show host is helping raise awareness about heart health and the importance of staying on drug treatment.

Regis Philbin has been entertaining us for more than 50 years — from his legendary morning show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa to . With his carefree personality and love of the sharp, off-the-cuff one-liner, at age 86 he remains one of America’s favorite television personalities. Seemingly forever young, he got a wake-up call in 1992, when he faced a major health scare that spurred him to lead a more .

Philbin was away from the TV studio and on a trip in Florida when he started to experience sharp chest pains.

“My heart was driving me crazy, I couldn’t believe it, I had these chest pains,” Philbin says. “We did an down there in Florida and my doctor told me my cholesterol levels were at 300. Are you kidding me? Three hundred!”

High blood cholesterol is one of the major markers of heart disease. According to the , a healthy total cholesterol level is less than 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Any levels at 240 mg/dL or above — like the levels Philbin had — would be considered significantly high.

Once Philbin was back in New York, his doctor put him on his first , and Philbin, with his wife, Joy, by his side, decided that he would make significant to fight off the progression of his heart disease.

“I think things changed in a hurry,” Philbin says about his approach to his health.

“It shook us both up, it was a wake-up call,” Joy recalls of her husband’s health scare. “Quite frankly, I didn’t give cholesterol a thought myself. I mean, Regis didn’t have the best diet, but I never thought it was that bad. It kind of set him on a new regimen. You really start to feel your mortality. He was only 61 when he had his first event.”

This wouldn’t be his only heart health scare. Philbin had triple bypass surgery in 2007 because of a buildup of .

The ‘Take the Cholesterol to Heart’ Campaign

Right now, the Philbins are raising awareness about heart health through the “” campaign, which they launched in October 2017 in cooperation with Kowa Pharmaceuticals and the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. The campaign aims to encourage people to remain on a heart-healthy routine while also seeking out better information and asking questions before considering stopping their . Philbin, who has shared almost everything about his life over decades of being on air, has always been very open about his experiences with and was approached by the campaign to be its public face.

Joy says that what was most stunning to her about being part of the campaign was learning that 50 percent of people who are on statins stop taking the drugs after one year of use. She adds this shocked her because of how helpful the drugs were for her husband’s health.

Statins are drugs that lower blood cholesterol levels by blocking an enzyme that produces cholesterol in the liver. Getting people to maintain their drug regimen is one of the big challenges of treating high cholesterol, says , the president of the Utah Lipid Center and a fellow at the American Heart Association and the National Lipid Association.

“The big question is, why do these people stop taking their statins? One issue is you don’t necessarily feel better or worse when you take a statin; you have to go through testing to know your cholesterol is lower, so you don’t necessarily have a daily reminder every morning telling you you’re getting better,” Brinton says. “Another thing is that some patients will experience , like muscle pain or weakness. They might have stomach pain or a skin rash.

"There’s also a lot of negative and sometimes factually inaccurate information on the web. However, reputable medical sites cite evidence that highlight the positive health benefits of statins and show that these side effects do not occur in anywhere near the high numbers some of these other sites might lead you to believe.”

Reasons to Stay on Your Statins

A looked into the effectiveness of both statin and non-statin therapies for lowering cholesterol. The study reviewed 49 trials from 1966 to 2016 that involved 312,175 people in total. The report’s authors assert that statins should remain at the front of the line in treating cholesterol, but alternative therapies could be just as helpful if a person can’t tolerate statins or is looking for a different source of treatment. These could involve bile acid sequestrants or even a simple .

“I’ll say this up front, . They prevent heart attack and can prevent stroke. But a statin can’t work if you don’t take it,” Brinton stresses.

Brinton says there are a few things people should keep in mind when looking to lower their cholesterol with statin treatment:

Stay informed. To help counter some potentially inaccurate information out there, Brinton says the first person to turn to is your doctor. Beyond that, he says there’s useful information at places like the , the American Heart Association, and the National Lipid Association website, .

Know your options. Brinton says that people who are discouraged by one drug should know that there are multiple statin drugs out there. “A lot of people who stop their statin for whatever reason didn’t talk to or consult their doctor, who then doesn’t have a chance of helping them decide what to do,” he adds. “There are several statins out there, and people need to realize that there are other options if what they try first doesn’t work out.”

Be vigilant. If you’re having a bad experience, your statin medication could be reacting with other medications you are taking. Brinton says it is important that people tell their doctor about other medications or supplements they're on. They could then be prescribed a different statin.

How Regis Stays Healthy in Retirement

This all rings true for the Philbins. After his scare in the early '90s, Philbin started seeing a cardiologist, , and became even more of a “fitness freak,” Joy says.

“When you’re in your thirties, for example, you aren’t running to a doctor. But when you hit your sixties, you become a little more proactive about your health,” Joy says. “If your diet is wrong, you start looking into it. You become more aware.”

Echoing Brinton, Joy says that communication between you and your doctor is key in maintaining the best possible heart health.

“Some people avoid going to the doctor; they’re afraid of bad news,” she adds. “It’s important to maintain that [relationship]. You get closer to your doctor as you age, it’s one of the things you do. That’s crucial. It was so important for Regis.”

For his part, Philbin is doing everything he can to stay healthy in retirement. The talk-show host with the gift of gab is more than happy to share his heart health journey.

“I’ve been dealing with this for 25 years. It’s been a long time,” Philbin says. “I'm always more than happy to talk about this. For me, it’s everything.”

Statistically speaking, ovarian cancer is relatively rare: It represents just 1.3 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States each year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). But although its numbers are small, the fear factor for many women may be disproportionately large.

We spoke to two leading ovarian cancer experts: Robert J. Morgan, Jr., MD, professor, and Mihaela C. Cristea, MD, associate clinical professor, of the medical oncology and therapeutics research department at City of Hope, an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California.

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Here are 10 essential facts about ovarian cancer that you should know:

1. About 20,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. As a comparison, nearly 250,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Of the women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, 90 percent will be older than 40; most ovarian cancers occur in women 60 or older, according to the CDC.

2. You should see your doctor if you experience any of these ovarian cancer symptoms:

• Vaginal bleeding (especially if you’re past menopause)
• Abnormal vaginal discharge
• Pain or pressure in the area below your stomach and between your hip bones
• Back pain
• A change in bathroom habits, such as urgently needing to urinate, urinating frequently, or having constipation or diarrhea

It’s important to pay attention to your body and know what’s normal for you. If you have abnormal vaginal bleeding or have any of the other symptoms for two weeks or longer, see your doctor right away.

These symptoms can be caused by many different problems, but it’s best to have them evaluated, suggests the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

3. It’s tricky to pinpoint early, milder symptoms of ovarian cancer. However, the findings of a study published in Cancer in 2007 point to a cluster of vague symptoms that may suggest the need for ovarian cancer testing, says Dr. Morgan. In the study, researchers linked these symptoms to the possibility of ovarian cancer:

• Pelvic or abdominal pain
• Strong urge to urinate or frequent urination
• Bloating or increased abdominal size
• Difficulty eating or feeling full early

If a woman experiences these symptoms on more than 12 days a month for less than one year, she should insist that her doctor perform a thorough ovarian evaluation, says Morgan. This might include the CA-125 blood test or atransvaginal ultrasound exam.

4. Early detection can mean a better prognosis. When detected early enough, ovarian cancer can be cured. “Stage 1 and stage 2 ovarian cancer is curable about 75 to 95 percent of the time, depending on the tumor grade and cell type,” says Morgan. But because this cancer occurs deep inside the body’s pelvic region, it is often diagnosed in later stages, he says. The cure rate for stage 3 ovarian cancer is about 25 to 30 percent, and for stage 4 it's less than 5 percent, he adds.

RELATED: Overcoming Ovarian Cancer, Twice

5. Ovarian cancer has several key risk factors. These include:

• Women with a family history of ovarian cancer may be at higher risk.
• Women who have never been pregnant and women who have uninterrupted ovulation due to infertility treatments seem to be at higher risk.
• Early onset of your period, or having a late menopause, seems to increase risk.
• Using talcum powder in the genital area may increase risk.
• Smoking is a risk factor for a type of ovarian cancer known as mucinous ovarian cancer. Quitting smoking seems to reverse the risk back to normal, says Morgan.

6. Ovarian cancer is not a single disease. In reality, it’s a diverse group of cancers that respond to different treatments based on their molecular characteristics, says Dr. Cristea. Treatment will also depend on other health conditions, such as diabetes or heart problems, that a woman might have.

7. Ovarian cancer treatments are evolving and improving all the time.“Immunotherapy is emerging as a new treatment option for many malignancies, including ovarian cancer,” says Cristea. In another recent development, the firstPARP inhibitor, a DNA-repair drug, has been approved for women with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer when chemotherapy hasn’t worked. “Women should also ask their doctors about clinical trials that are evaluating immunotherapy as well as other new treatments,” she adds.

8. Surgery may prevent ovarian cancer in women at very high risk. For women who carry the BRCA or other genes that predispose them to ovarian cancer, doctors often recommend surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes.Angelina Jolie, the actor and human rights activist, decided to have this surgery in March 2015. “Removing the ovaries can decrease the risk of developing the disease by 98 percent, and can substantially decrease the risk of developing breast cancer,” notes Morgan. Women in this very high-risk group should opt for this surgery after they’ve completed childbearing at around age 35, he notes.

9. Even after remission, ovarian cancer can still respond to treatment. “About 80 to 90 percent of ovarian cancer patients will achieve remission after chemotherapy treatment,” says Morgan. However, many of those women will later experience a recurrence of the cancer. The longer the remission, notes Morgan, the better the chances are for achieving a second remission.

10. It’s best to see an ovarian cancer specialist. When you’ve been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, getting a referral to an ovarian cancer specialist is a wise move, says Cristea. If you’re having surgery, it’s best to have a gynecologic oncologist perform the operation instead of a gynecologist, she adds. And to make sure you’re getting state-of-the-art treatment, consider seeking a second opinion at a NCI-Designated Cancer Center.

You may feel in complete control of your child's allergies — at least when he or she is under your watchful eye. But you can't be with him or her 24/7, and you want her to live as normal a life as possible. What's the balance between letting your child enjoy life and managing your stress in the face of severe childhood allergies? You’ll need to explain to other parents, teachers, and caregivers all they need to know to try to avoid the allergens, recognize allergy symptoms, and treat an allergic reaction so they’ll be as knowledgeable and vigilant as you are. There are steps you can take to clearly convey this potentially life-saving information about your child’s allergies.

Create an Allergy Action Plan

Before a child with severe allergies goes to school, day care, or a babysitter (even a close relative), put an allergy action plan in place to ensure your child’s safety. First, meet with your child’s doctor and ask for a letter that outlines the following:

• What your child is allergic to as confirmed by allergy testing
• How to avoid exposure to the allergens, including reducing the risk of cross-contamination in food preparation for food allergies
• What medications and treatment are needed in case of an allergic reaction, whether mild or severe

This letter is the basis of your written allergy action plan at home, school, and anywhere else your child goes. Send a copy of this letter along with your instructions wherever your child is being watched by others.

Share Your Child’s Allergy Action Plan

Whenever a child with severe allergies is under the care of anyone other than a parent, whether it’s a relative or a babysitter, make sure the caregiver is familiar with your child’s allergy action plan.

However, it's not enough to just hand a written emergency plan to another caregiver, says Scott H. Sicherer, MD, an Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe professor of pediatrics, allergy, and immunology and the chief of the division of allergy and immunology in the department of pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and author of Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on It. “You should still educate them about avoiding, recognizing, and managing an allergic reaction,” Dr. Sicherer says.

Manage Severe Childhood Allergies at School

Make an appointment to talk with the principal and school nurse before the school year starts, or as soon as you learn of your child's allergy, to discuss the situation and the school’s allergy policy. Take the letter from your child’s doctor along and use the information to work with the school nurse to develop an at-school allergy action plan that meets your child’s specific needs.

Also meet with your child’s teacher and discuss what measures will be taken to prevent an allergic reaction in the classroom, such as regular hand washing, safe foods allowed in the classroom, and allergy-free celebration treats.

"Most schools have allergy policies in place and have had children with allergies before,” Sicherer says. “They may have a variety of approaches for keeping children safe and being ready to recognize and treat reactions." For example, some schools may have special tables in the lunchroom for children with food allergies or offer closer supervision while they’re eating.

Here are three questions to ask about a school’s allergy policy:

• Where is allergy medication stored?
• Who is authorized to give allergy medications?
• What is the allergy emergency plan for field trips and other extracurricular activities?

“Allergy medications at school must be immediately available with clear instructions, and they should not be locked up,” says Robert Wood, MD, a professor of pediatrics and the chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, Md. “Medication needs to be within five minutes of where the child is.”

In October 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its first voluntary guidelines for managing food allergies at school, but there are no mandatory national standards. Some states have their own allergy guidelines in place for schools, which can help you and your school design your own allergy action plan.

Share Information With Your Child About Allergies

How you educate your child to protect him or herself from allergic reactions will depend on his or her age. Preschool and early elementary school kids can’t be expected to speak up for themselves about their allergies and should have close supervision. In the case of a food allergy, there should be very explicit instructions about what they’re allowed to eat, Dr. Wood says.

Young children with severe food allergies may learn that they can’t share food with another child, Sicherer says, or that there are specific people, like Mom, Dad, and their teacher, who know what they're allergic to and what's safe to eat — and that no one else can give them food. But as they get older, they can learn more and take more responsibility for themselves. "They may learn to speak up in restaurants and read food labels to begin to decide what’s safe under supervision," Sicherer says.

Maria Sharapova isn’t just a talented athlete. With supermodel looks, it’s no surprise that the Russian-born blonde has endorsement deals with a slew of beauty and fashion brands and has been photographed for the “Sports Illustrated” Swimsuit Issue. (She even edged out rival Serena Williams to be named the highest paid female athlete in 2014 by “Forbes” magazine.) 

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The five-time Grand Slam winner, who is currently gearing up for this year’s US Open, took time out of her busy schedule to chat with Everyday Health at a recent Supergoop! press event. She reveals her healthy skin habits, how she stays energized during a tough match, and more. 

1. The most important step in her beauty routine: As one of the best tennis players in the world, Sharapova spends plenty of time out in the sun practicing and playing grueling matches. To ensure her fair skin stays protected, she reaches for SPF almost as soon as she wakes up. And in fact, she says she’s been an avid sunscreen user since her teenage years. 

“It’s important for me to think about sunscreen early in the day, because as you go about your day, you’re thinking about the challenges ahead and the activities you’re doing and [sunscreen] is almost not on your mind anymore,” she says. “I have a bottle of sunscreen next to my shower, so I wake up, take a shower, towel off, and apply.” When she’s playing tennis, Sharapova relies on Supergoop! Everyday Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50, which she says has a lightweight texture and doesn’t sting her eyes as she sweats. 

RELATED: 10 Best SPFs for Every Skin Concern

2. Her glow-boosting secret: In addition to slathering on SPF in the morning, Sharapova starts her day with a whole lot of water to stay hydrated and keep her skin fresh. “I usually wake up and drink more than a half liter of water, just to get my mind ready and aware that I need to drink [water],” she explains. 

3. How she relaxes before a big match: For Sharapova, getting enough sleep is one of the keys to her success. “I love to sleep. I love taking naps,” she says. “That’s been part of my regimen since I was a young girl. I used to have a morning and afternoon practice, and I’d come home and have lunch and then take a 45 minute nap. To this day, I enjoy doing that if I have the opportunity.” 

4. Her favorite pre-game meal: When it comes to food, Sharapova keeps it simple. “I’ve learned a lot over the years about how I react to foods and how much energy I have,” she says. “Usually, I eat a little bit of chicken and a lot of green vegetables [before a match].” Sharapova also likes to whip up her own green juices, visiting local stores to pick up veggies and adding lemon and kiwi for sweetness. 

5. How she stays confident: One of the easiest ways Sharapova gives herself a boost is by spritzing on her favorite perfume before walking out the door. And before she steps onto the court, she reminds herself of how lucky she is to be following her dream. 

“I’ve played this sport for a long time and put in a lot of work and effort,” she says. “And that moment when you’re about to go on the court — that’s what you work for, that’s the goal — it’s a privilege. No matter if you win or lose, the opportunity to go out there is pretty special. It’s very powerful.”

The mass production of the Ford Model T sparked a new love affair – one between people and their cars. We carve out time to wash them, cringe at the sight of a dent or scratch, and even name them (although, the nameChristine for a car has yet to make a comeback).

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Our car–caregiver behavior is strange, especially when you consider that a 2011 study found that 40 percent of men said they’re more likely to resolve car problems than their own health problems. Where does your health rank? Are you taking better care of your car than your health? 

Check out our article to see which gets more TLC – your car or your body.

Mechanic Vs. Doctor

If you have a trusted mechanic but not a trusted doctor, you may care more about your car than your health. Choosing a doctor you trust and feel comfortable asking questions fills a critical piece of the health puzzle. In fact, a 2012 study showed that people spend more time researching car purchases than they do selecting a physician. 

Maybe you're new to insurance because you've just signed up for Obamacare. While insurance plans can limit which primary care providers you can choose, there are other factors to consider when picking a PCP. For example: Is the office staff friendly and helpful, is the doctor easy to talk to, and does the doctor’s approach to testing and treatment suit you? Still unsure which PCP to pick? Ask co-workers, friends and family members for their recommendations.

RELATED: 5 Worst Celebrity Health Bloopers 

Engine Health Vs. Heart Health

It’s a familiar situation. Your check engine-light pops up and you call your mechanic or hightail it to your nearest car dealership. But can you spot symptoms of heart disease — the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the United States — when they strike?

In addition to having regular cholesterol and blood pressure tests, look for these check-engine lights for your heart, and see your doctor promptly if you have any of them:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Swelling of your feet and lower legs, also known as peripheral edema
• Yellow bumps on the skin called xanthomas
• Swollen, sore or bleeding gums

Americans spend more time researching car purchases than they do selecting a physician.

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Car Weight Vs. Your Weight

Packing your car to the gills with stuff isn’t the best idea. Extra weight kills your gas mileage, makes your car work harder, and causes premature wear and tear. 

The same concept applies to your own body! If you’re still carrying extra pounds around your waist, you’re at greater risk for health conditions like stroke,hypertension, diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea, gout,depression, and even fatty liver disease. The extra weight also puts stress on your joints and can lead to arthritis.

Changing Your Oil Vs. Checking Your Blood Pressure

You should probably get an oil change every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, depending on the make and model of your car. But how often do you get your blood pressure checked?

High blood pressure is a serious health condition that can put you at risk for heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, and every healthcare visit should include a blood pressure reading. But if you're dodging the doctor altogether you're missing out on this vital checkpoint. The American Heart Association recommends that you get your blood pressure checked at least every two years if your blood pressure stays below the healthy standard 120/80 mm Hg — more often if it's inching up.

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Brake Check Vs. Flu Shot

If you get your brakes checked at least once a year, but don’t get a flu shot every year, you're putting yourself at risk for infections caused by particular flu season's bugs. For the 2012-2013 flu season, the flu vaccine prevented an estimated 6.6 million flu-associated illnesses and 3.2 million flu-associated medical visits,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, more than half of Americans didn’t get a vaccination for the most recent season. Make the flu shot a yearly habit and you'll not only cut your risk of getting the flu, you'll also lower your risk of death if you have heart disease, according to research conducted by Jacob Udell, MD, and colleagues at the University of Toronto, published in JAMA. 

For many people, pizza tops the list of favorite foods. Not only is the drool-worthy combo of cheese, bread, and sauce satisfying, but it’s one of the easiest meals to pick up (or have delivered) from your local pizzeria. While your favorite slice may be delicious, it can be easy to go overboard on sodium-laden sauce, toppings, and high-calorie crusts. Luckily it’s just as easy — and delicious — to pop a homemade pie into the oven. With a few simple swaps and key ingredients, you can give your favorite comfort food a wholesome makeover without skimping on flavor. So whether you’re craving a fresh-out-of-the-oven slice or just looking for a hassle-free weeknight meal, these five healthy and delicious pies are better than delivery!