Lifestyle

Hernias are a common ailment among Americans; more than 4 million people develop the painful condition. And although both men and women develop hernias, female patients may be harder to diagnose. Doctors and patients may not realize the abdominal pain a woman is feeling is because of a hernia. Dr. Hien Nguyen, assistant professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said the pain can be mistaken for other conditions with similar symptoms, such as adhesions from prior surgery, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts.

In regard to Tavon White's lifestyle ("Alleged gang leader in poor jail conditions, his lawyer says," May 15), his attorney says Mr. White can confer with him for only an hour and only through a glass screen. In addition to that unspeakable atrocity, he only has in his possession a jump suit, one pair of underwear, shower sandals and a sheet for his bed. Aw, my heart bleeds for the worthless thug. Katherine Ambrose, Kingsville

In regard to Tavon White's lifestyle ("Alleged gang leader in poor jail conditions, his lawyer says," May 15), his attorney says Mr. White can confer with him for only an hour and only through a glass screen. In addition to that unspeakable atrocity, he only has in his possession a jump suit, one pair of underwear, shower sandals and a sheet for his bed. Aw, my heart bleeds for the worthless thug. Katherine Ambrose, Kingsville

Constipation hits everybody at some point. The uncomfortable condition can be caused by many things, including a bad diet and dehydration. Dr. Vaibhav A. Parekh, director of Medstar Harbor Primary Care, talks about how to prevent and treat constipation, and how to tell if it's a sign of more serious health problems. What are signs that you are constipated? What is a normal number of bowel movements? Common signs of constipation include straining during a bowel movement, hard bowel movement and a sensation of incomplete emptying after a bowel movement.

Rev. Gregory Perkins' letter "Marriage is ordained by God" (Feb. 22) states that Christians "do not hate men and women caught up in the homosexual lifestyle " (italics mine).  Though I am heterosexual, I presume that Rev. Perkins does not consider me a Christian because I do not accept some of the doctrines of the so-called "Christian" right wing -- including restricting the rights of those who want to spend their lives in a monogamous relationships. Medical science has proven that some people are born homosexual, and that homosexuality is not a "lifestyle" choice.

BOSTON - You have to say that the drug companies asked for it. I mean really asked for it. Remember when Viagra first came on the market? The spokesman was Bob Dole, veteran, Senate leader and prostate cancer survivor, who urged other men to talk to their doctors about erectile dysfunction. The slogan was: Courage. Fast-forward through the millennium. The spokesman now is a hunky 40-something guy and a slogan that says: "Keep that spark alive." The message today is less about disease and more about delight.

When is a can of paint not a can of paint? When it's a lifestyle choice. Ralph Lauren has launched his designer paint collection in a licensing agreement with Sherwin-Williams. The interior latex paint, in select stores by December, will be available in five "lifestyle groups": Safari, Country, Sport, Santa Fe and Thoroughbred. Cost will be around $21 a gallon.Flea-market fortunesWe all love the story of the lucky person who discovers some valuable collectible at a flea market, and wish it could be us. Of course, first you have to know that Barbie No. 1, blonde, boxed and in mint condition, is worth $4,500.

IF INVESTORS learned anything in the stock market swoon, it's that choosing the right mix of stocks, bonds and mutual funds is a lot more complicated than the bull market of the late 1990s had them believing. It's not just a matter of choosing the hot stock or fund, but developing a diversified portfolio based on when investors will need the money and how much risk they can stomach. For investors overwhelmed by these decisions, there's a simple solution: a lifestyle fund. Basically, investors choose a single lifestyle fund based on their tolerance for risk and the amount of time they have to invest.

Now that it's over, the thing I remember most about January is this: It went by in a blur.There were so many things, great and small, in January competing for our attention. The terrible events in Somalia, Bosnia and Iraq. The crime rate here at home. The ever-ballooning deficit. The deaths of Thurgood Marshall and of Audrey Hepburn, Dizzy Gillespie, Rudolph Nureyev. Keeping up with the Clinton Cabinet. The Zoe problem. The Hillary factor. Inaugural balls. Christmas bills.And, of course, the unthinkable: the demise of the Sears catalog.

It's a magazine whose time has come, says publisher `D Reginald Ware.Although the idea took a while to germinate -- about four years -- the premiere issue of Heart and Soul magazine hit newsstands )) last week.So what makes this magazine different from the numerous other health-oriented magazines that are on the market?It's a glossy, 84-page quarterly magazine that bills itself as "the nation's first healthy lifestyle publication for African Americans."Says Mr. Ware: "We try to delve deeply into the African-American lifestyle -- into every aspect of our daily life.

As one who has been following the pros and cons of the gay marriage debate, one fact has gone unmentioned. There is no way to convince a person to be or not be homosexual; it is not a choice but the way one is born. For religious people, this means that gays and lesbians have been created by God to be who and what they are. Medical research has shown that gay people's brains are actually "wired" differently than those of heterosexuals. Why would anyone "chose" to be homosexual knowing that it would mean being shunned by a large segment of the population out of ignorance or hate?

Taylor DesRosiers was a competitive swimmer throughout her life, always fit. But in her first year of medical school, she realized that had changed — she was at an unhealthy weight. The rigors of her education had piled on top of two rough years in which she went through a broken-off engagement and supporting her mother through a health scare. During a course on obesity, she realized, according to body mass index charts, she was technically obese herself. "It just kind of hit me: I need to make a large change," DesRosiers said.

Iggies , the popular purveyor of thin-crust pizzas, is moving out of Mount Vernon. The new location will be in the Riderwood Station shopping center in Towson, near Joppa Road and Bellona Avenue. The move is "95 percent" certain, said Peter Wood, a familiar presence at the BYOB restaurant owned by his wife, Lisa Henkman. Wood said there are still a few zoning issues to work out at the new location, which has never been used for a restaurant. Wood said the primary reason for the move, which could happen as soon as November, comes down to "lifestyle.

Remember former Mayor Sheila Dixon's Jimmy Choo shoes and closetful of fur coats? Who could forget — except, perhaps, Washington, D.C., City Council President Kwame R. Brown, who resigned from office this week after federal prosecutors charged him with bank fraud and misuse of campaign funds. Mr. Brown's troubles allegedly began when he needed money for a second mortgage, a 40-foot power boat and, yes, a closetful of fancy clothes and shoes. Mr. Brown's resignation comes just a few months after another D.C. council member, Harry L. Thomas Jr., pleaded guilty to secretly stealing more than $350,000 in city funds intended for youth sports programs and filing a false tax return.

The children's novel "The Adventures of M.T. Pitt" is helping Howard County promote healthy lifestyles for youths. The book shines a light on an imaginative young boy whose expanding girth makes him a target for the school bully. The Howard County Health Department has published 5,000 copies of the paperback, at a cost of about $9,000, and is offering complimentary copies at its six area libraries. Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, county health officer, wrote in the book's foreword that "childhood obesity stands as the central health challenge of our time.

Here's a wake-up call for Gov. Martin O'Malley and other supporters of PlanMaryland: The American Dream has never been a red brick row-house or even a condo with a Starbucks, Whole Foods and North Face store on the ground floor. It's a suburban or rural single-family home, with a white picket fence out front, two cars in the driveway and kids playing with the dog in the backyard. Few Italians or Greeks live in Little Italy or Greektown any more because their descendants have achieved the American dream, and they have quite literally moved on to greener pastures.

BIG SUR, Calif. -- Not all the rich and famous are searching for a Pebble Beach property and the golfing, clubby lifestyle. In Southern California, more and more Hollywood folks are looking to Big Sur as an idyllic getaway within striking distance of Los Angeles."

BOSTON - During the Vietnam War there was a phrase that came to symbolize the entire misbegotten adventure: "It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it." It was said at first with sincerity, then repeated with irony, and finally with despair. I have heard similar thoughts in the weeks since Texas authorities invaded a ranch in Eldorado and rounded up hundreds of children from the polygamous sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Did they traumatize the children in order to protect them?

Celebrity lifestyle blogs tend to be little more than bragging and holier-than-thou advice (cough*GwynethPaltrow*cough). But Jenni "JWOWW" Farley's is thankfully a bit different. The "Jersey Shore" star officially launched her site, jwoww.com , today. Covering "Shore" news (including live chats with JWOWW, relationship advice and a pets section (!), it's an accessible look into Farley's life that shockingly down-to-earth. JWOWW calls the site "my personal venting space, therapist office and collection of things I am currently obsessed with.

The best way to view Peck and Patti Miller's home on Assawoman Bay is from the stern of their 22-foot runabout — to slice the water across the little cove and to see the gables of their cottage in Ocean City come closer and closer as people wave from the pier. "Now this is how to experience it," said Peck Miller, a 55-year-old transplant from Towson who came to work "downy ocean" in 1973 when he was a teen and happened to stay. " Ocean City can be a noisy place. This area is called 'Little Salisbury' [because]