Texarkana Gazette

Advice

Control your cholesterol with three easy steps If you Google "cholesterol," you'll get 112 million responses. Overwhelming and confusing, to say the least. So we're going to give you a straightforward rundown of what you need to know about: 1) keeping lousy LDL cholesterol under control so it can't ding your blood vessels and cause cardiovascular disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke and peripheral artery disease, and 2) about helping good-for-you HDL cholesterol do its job. Published Jan. 25 2020 @ 10:48pm

A deer warning Dear Heloise: Thank you for alerting pet owners that male deer can be aggressive and violent with household pets during the rutting season. I have lived with deer in our neighborhood in San Antonio for almost 40 years. Published Jan. 25 2020 @ 10:45pm

Questions to ask on a first date First dates are hard. There's no denying that. From the endless supply of sweat that you didn't know your body could actually make, to the awkward silences when you actually contemplate talking about how unseasonably cold it is outside, to the question of who pays the bill for that glass of red wine, first dates are often fairly anxiety-inducing. One thing that makes it even harder is not knowing the right questions to ask. Published Jan. 25 2020 @ 10:37pm

New hire is disappointed to be working as a gofer Dear Abby: I recently landed a new job and was excited about doing work that would be directly in line with my education and background. I left a job of more than a decade to pursue this field. My problem is, I'm being asked to carry luggage, make coffee, run errands, etc. This was not in my job description, nor was it what I was hired for. Published Jan. 25 2020 @ 2:03am

What causes kidney stones? People love Top 10 lists, like Billboard's Year-End Top 10 songs, Listverse's 10 Hilarious Historic Predictions of Life in the 2000s and Google's Top 10 searched-for health topics of 2019. Published Jan. 25 2020 @ 1:34am

Wife of serial philanderer planning ahead for his funeral Dear Abby: I have been married for 37 years. During that time, my husband has cheated on me and fathered several children. Published Jan. 23 2020 @ 11:35pm

These foods fuel your brain In 1/10,000 of a second your brain can respond to input and generate an action. Although it accounts for only about 3% of your body weight, it uses 30% of the blood your heart pumps, and burns 300 calories daily. Plus, it takes your whole brain to make sense of what's being said: While speaking and comprehending languages is mainly a left-brain activity, language processing happens on the right side, which lets you know if the words are sarcastic or kind or the punchline of a joke. Published Jan. 23 2020 @ 11:34pm

Plan to stay healthy while traveling Dear Heloise: Nothing ruins a vacation like getting sick away from home. Here are some suggestions to help keep you healthy on your next trip: Published Jan. 23 2020 @ 11:34pm

Keep fireplace safety in mind as winter temperatures drop Dear Readers: The winter's chill calls for a bright, warm and crackling fire, but is your fireplace up to snuff? Let's take a look at some hints from the American Academy of Pediatrics (aap.org): Published Jan. 23 2020 @ 2:25am

Reining in that charley horse The term "charley horse" has been around since the 1880s, when players on the Chicago White Stockings went to the racetrack and everyone bet on a horse named Charley - except for one player named Joe Quest. When the horse the others bet on came up lame after the last turn, Quest is alleged to have told his teammates, "Look at your old Charley horse now!" "Charley horse" became the accepted name for leg cramps. Published Jan. 23 2020 @ 2:24am

Talkative woman gives friend the silent treatment Dear Abby: I'm a busy woman. My friend "Adele" was calling me excessively on my cellphone. She would call up to three times every day, even when I was at work. When I would take her call, she'd start questioning me, asking me what I was so busy with. At times she would lecture me about things she thought I should be doing. Published Jan. 23 2020 @ 2:23am

Early exposure to cigarette smoke linked to hyperactivity In 2010, a 2-year-old Indonesian boy, Aldi Suganda, made headlines when a video showing him smoking went viral! The poor kid was reportedly so addicted to nicotine that he was smoking up to 40 cigarettes a day, and would throw tantrums and hit his head against the floor whenever his parents tried to get him to cut back. Although this is a more-than-extreme case, it clearly shows how harmful smoking can be to a kid's mental and physical health - and that's true even when the exposure is from strictly secondhand smoke. Published Jan. 21 2020 @ 11:45pm

A switch to red for safety Dear Heloise: This is a safety tip for the kitchen. Some kitchens have a set of electric switches that are usually on the side of the sink on the wall. One switch turns on the light above the sink, and the other switch turns on the garbage disposal. Published Jan. 21 2020 @ 10:53pm

Man with history of cheating caught visiting hook-up sites Dear Abby: I just found out my husband of 18 years has been going to "hook-up" websites. He says he was just looking at the pictures, but I don't believe him. I have caught him cheating twice in the past, so it's hard to trust him. Published Jan. 21 2020 @ 10:52pm

Family has trouble accepting parents' move to warmer clime Dear Abby: My husband and I relocated to a warmer climate a few years ago, putting us more than 1,000 miles away from my adult children. The kids all seem to think this trip was just for fun, and continue to ask me to "come home." Published Jan. 18 2020 @ 10:17pm

Is it OK to wave? Dear Heloise: Is there a universally accepted hand signal to say "thank you" to drivers who do you a kindness? When a driver slows down and allows me to merge into a lane of traffic, I am grateful. I wave my open hand high back and forth. Published Jan. 18 2020 @ 10:16pm

Prep an emergency kit for winter travel Last Christmas Day, as 3 feet of snow fell in the mountain passes, motorists were stranded for eight hours on Interstate 15 between Southern California and Las Vegas, with many having to pull off to the side of the road to sleep and conserve gas. That was minor compared with the 250 cars that were trapped for 24 hours by 4 feet of snow in Washington State's Snoqualmie Pass in February 2019. Although these may sound like extreme examples of travel catastrophes, there are myriad situations when heading out from home by car, you're cut off from healthy food and drink, but could have planned ahead and made the whole experience easier to handle. Published Jan. 18 2020 @ 10:14pm

Here's the most effective way to wash your hands This from the Department of Over-the-Top: In 2015, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., suggested that restaurants be allowed to "opt out" of certain regulations, such as employees washing their hands. "I don't have any problem with Starbucks if they choose to opt out of this policy [of employees washing hands] as long as they post a sign that says, 'We don't require our employees to wash their hands after leaving the restroom.'" Huh? Published Jan. 18 2020 @ 4:58am

Bouquet for girlfriend looks shabby Dear Abby: Is there a delicate way for me to tell my boyfriend not to use the same online floral delivery service again? The birthday bouquet he had delivered to me arrived with limp, wilted, torn petals and leaves and broken stems. It was one of those box-of-flowers deliveries. Published Jan. 18 2020 @ 4:54am

Separated boyfriend is in no hurry to file for divorce Dear Abby: I have been dating my boyfriend for almost a year. I love him, and we have an undeniable connection I have never had with anyone else. The problem is, he's separated but not yet divorced from his wife. Published Jan. 16 2020 @ 11:37pm

Attendant tells how to have a healthy flight Dear Heloise: As a flight attendant, I've learned how to "fly healthy," and here are a few hints to keep you safe while traveling: Published Jan. 16 2020 @ 11:33pm

Your cellphone is dialing up health problems Tech innovator Elon Musk launched Neuralink in 2017 to develop implantable electrodes that can directly link your brain to computers' vast knowledge base. This neural lace technology is supposed to make us one with the digital world, but if the way people are interfacing with their smartphones is any indication of how well humans handle such entanglements, this bot-human hybrid could cause a lot of unforced errors. Published Jan. 16 2020 @ 11:32pm

Man disabled as a teen haunted by parents' inaction Dear Abby: When I was a junior in high school, I sustained a neck injury (at school) that damaged my spinal cord. I recovered mostly from that, but I have residual weakness in my right side and severe neck pain. I was able to work until, at 57, I had to go on disability. Because of that, my financial situation is difficult, increasingly so now that my wife will be retiring. Published Jan. 15 2020 @ 11:50pm