I WAS MAKING a broccoli cheese quiche from a recipe I made regularly. It called for a frozen pie crust, broccoli, eggs, heavy cream, onion, and cheeses. It was delicious, but sometimes the crust was a little soggy or the filling was a bit off.
I checked the recipe online to see if I missed an ingredient. I found out that I did everything right except for one thing—I used a hand whisk to lightly mix the eggs and heavy cream. I noticed that the recipe said to beat or blend the wet ingredients for a better consistency. I didn’t blend or mix the cream and eggs. I should have used a blender or mixer to combine these ingredients, so the next time I made it, I did and the texture was great.
Following the directions carefully could have made my quiche great. Reading about a new appliance or product information is basic and important to do. It helps make our lives run more efficiently. Getting information related to things we do in everyday life can help us improve many facets of our lives. It can help us use electronic gadgets and appliances safely, keep our cars running well, and even give us tips on gardening and home projects. My quiche was so much better when I followed directions.
The same is true of medical information. There are a lot of things we do daily that could be more effective and easier to do if we would read some related information. According to ScienceDirect.com, medical information encompasses the understanding and application of scientific principles and practices to improve human well-being and address health issues. Very simply, we can get medical information a number of ways:
Medical professionals— One source of information is your healthcare professional. Our doctor might recommend a practical way to take medicine, keep our cold feet warm at night (wear socks to bed), find out current treatment regimes, or pay for medical procedures. Our dentists, physical therapists, and pharmacists can offer simple, practical advice that can help us by giving hints on how to take our pills so our stomachs don’t hurt, flossing our teeth more efficiently, and knowing what signs to look for when we need to visit to our doctor.
Reputablewebsites— If you want some general medical information, check the websites of organizations like The Cleveland Clinic, The Mayo Clinic, and Universities and Institutes of higher learning. You can get reliable health information from MedlinePlus, which is the health information website from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Current, cutting-edge information on specific medical conditions is available on sites such as cancer. org (the American Cancer Society), nationalmssociety.org (the National Multiple Sclerosis Society), parkinson. org (the Parkinson’s Foundation), or NAMI.org (the National Alliance on Mental Illness). In addition to the latest information on specific conditions and treatments, they also list resources and offer ways to volunteer. They exist to educate and inform people.
If you are overwhelmed about finding accurate medical information online, nia.nih.gov (National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health) offers clarification on how to know who website sponsors are or who pays for the website. The last three letters of a website or domain tell who sponsors a website.
Knowing who pays for a website may provide you with insight into the mission or goal of the site. For example, if a business pays for the site, the health information may favor that business and its products. Sometimes, the website address (called a URL) is helpful for identifying the type of agency or organization that owns the site. For example:
• .gov identifies a U.S. government agency
• .edu identifies an educational institution, such as a school, college, or university
• .org usually identifies nonprofit organizations, such as medical or research societies and advocacy groups
• .com identifies commercial websites, such as businesses and pharmaceutical companies. While many commercial websites do provide accurate, useful health information, it can be hard to distinguish this content from marketing and promotional materials in some cases. Any advertisements on a site should be clearly marked as such. Watch out for ads designed to look like neutral health information.
So, be a smart cook or steward of your health. Gather information, but do your homework. There’s a wealth of information out in cyberspace. It can give you the power to better manage your health by simply letting you know what is available.
The National Institutes of Health website (nih.gov) is a good place to start for reliable health information. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (cdc.gov) is another one. MedlinePlus.gov is a website from the NIH National Library of Medicine that has dependable consumer health information on more than 1,000 health-related topics. Use its online tutorial to learn how to evaluate health.
As a rule, health websites sponsored by federal government agencies are accurate sources of information. The websites of medical and healthcare organizations, hospitals, and academic medical institutions may be reliable sources of health information as well. Your healthcare provider can also suggest ideal sources of online information. If your doctor’s office has a website, it may include a list of recommended links.
Sister Karen Zielinski is the Director of Canticle Studio. Canticle Studio is a part of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, OH’s overall advancement effort and has a mission of being a creative center where artists generate works, products, and services in harmony with the mission of the Sisters St. Francis. She can be reached at kzielins@sistersosf.org or 419-824-3543. ✲
