Health

Whether it's helping individuals transform their health, earning the prestigious title of Mr. America, or building a life centered around purpose and service, Betty and Phil Thomas understand what it takes to pursue excellence. Betty Thomas, founder of Better Together Weight Management,

Dr. Tanya Baldwin on leadership, Black women’s health, faith, sisterhood and creating a pathway for those who come next.

Before she became Dr. La’Shardae Scott, President and CEO of the Scott Center for Observation, Treatment and Transition, she was simply a mother searching for answers. When two of her children were diagnosed with sickle cell disease at birth, the future suddenly became uncertain.

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned how to carry heavy things so well that people stopped asking whether the weight was hurting us.

Over the past year, I've found myself having more conversations about women's health than ever before not only with healthcare professionals, but with friends, colleagues, and women I meet in everyday life. What has struck me most is how often those conversations sound very similar.

One in two children now lives with a chronic health condition. At first glance, it sounds like another healthcare statistic. In reality, it is reshaping families, education, the workforce, and the future health of an entire generation.

Food is more than fuel. It is medicine, prevention, culture, and community. For generations, food was never separate from health because families understood something we are rediscovering today: what we eat directly impacts how we live.

Music as a conduit to health and well-being became an American ideology in the late 19th century and continues momentum in this 21st century as a documented therapeutic approach. Early theories of music impacting health and wellness dates back to Ancient Greece when philosophers Plato and Aristotle discussed music’s influence on the mind, while Hippocrates speculated it could affect mental health and body functions.

Dr. Valerie Walston has spent more than thirty-five years in education, and she has the titles to prove it. What people in Toledo tend to remember, though, is how she makes a room feel alive. They call her Dr. Val. She can host a gala one night and lead a prayer-centered workshop the next morning, and to her the two are the same job: getting people to believe they can keep going.

In the world of mental health and chronic pain, many people follow the usual path: medications, therapy, and maybe lifestyle changes. For some, these approaches work beautifully. For others, the relief never fully comes. Depression lingers, anxiety feels unshakable, or chronic pain becomes a constant companion.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to view health as something we manage only when symptoms arise. We’ve been conditioned to believe that a prescription or quick fix is the solution to every ailment, a pill for every problem.