By now, you've no doubt heard all about how this year's flu epidemic is reaching, well, epidemic proportions. And besides being widespread, sounds like it ain't a pretty strain (or strains) of flu this time around, either. Maybe you've already experienced the flu, maybe you were first in line for the flu shot, maybe you're contemplating getting a flu shot but your doctor is wiped out of stock ... whatever your current flu status, you're probably wondering what else you can do to prevent the flu (or any of the other nasty bugs lurking out there).

Thankfully, there are some measures you can take to protect yourself and your family, and they really do work -- although some of these tips might take you by surprise.

Would you be angry, insulted, or feel imposed upon if the government made HIV testing mandatory for every citizen? Would you revolt? Or would you acquiesce because you were sure it was all part of an effort to stop the spread of the disease? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is recommending that every American between the ages of 15 and 65 be tested for the virus. Everybody in that age range, regardless of personal history. 

Yikes. I've never been much of a sun worshipper, but this photo of a 69-year-old man who drove a delivery truck for the past 28 years (apparently somewhere very, very sunny) makes me even more wary of those skin-damaging rays. I mean, good lord -- look at what the sun did to the left half of his face!! (The condition is technically known as Unilateral Dermatoheliosis.)

Ready to freak out a little bit more?

According to the latest studies, the standard SPF you're probably using might not be enough.

Paula Deen gave Prevention magazine an exclusive interview, talking about the three years she kept her diabetes diagnosis to herself and about the backlash that followed. We got a surprise about that Novo Nordisk endorsement deal. But we also got this puzzling quote.

I don't want 25 million people out there with diabetes blaming themselves. This is not something we choose. Diabetes is like a puzzle, and if the pieces fit together, then we show up with type 2 diabetes.

I'm sorry, what? This is not something we choose? Where is the personal responsibility? What about that full cup of sugar Paula says she was drinking every day in her iced tea? I get what she means about diabetes being a puzzle, but you're putting some of those pieces in place with your lifestyle choices. I don't care how unpopular it is to say so.

Nothing inspires me to take care of my health like watching my female relatives age. I have their genes, after all, so they're a pretty good indication of what's ahead for me. It's been a rough few years for my mother. She suffers from arthritis. Her knees ache so badly she's had to cut back on her great passion, gardening. Even standing in her front yard raking up the mimosa blossoms has become too much for her. She finally found a holistic practitioner who helped her cope with the pain, but it was just a band-aid. Just last week my mother finally faced the inevitable: She had the first of two knee replacement surgeries.

Those of you who have known knee surgery have seen that it doesn't magically transform your knees. There's months of physical therapy, a recovery that can take forever, and then you still have to do the other knee! My poor mom, I hate that she has to go through this! But -- I'd also hate to go through it myself. Can I prevent the same thing happening to my knees?

We often think about breast cancer screenings as a women's health issue. After all, it's usually our bodies in which the cancer grows -- it's our health and our lives that are at risk. Recently, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care published new breast cancer screening guidelines recommending that early detection methods like routine mammograms for women in their 40s and breast self-exams and clinical exams for women with no symptoms be dropped, as well as that older women undergo mammograms less frequently. It's not surprising Canadian women were as upset as we American women were two years ago when a U.S. task force made similar recommendations.

Remember those days when we all used to slather our bodies with baby oil and bake ourselves in the sun, crisping up our skin in pursuit of the perfect deep shade of tan? Yeah, well, now that we know a few things about skin cancer and UV rays and understand that those sun-baking sessions may prove deadly, those days are definitely over -- and they're never coming back. No loss there. But every once in a while a new study comes out that makes me wonder whether maybe, just maybe, we haven't taken our mortal fear of the sun just a little too far.This week brings news of just such a study: Danish researchers have found that women who don't get enough vitamin D, which the body takes in from sunshine, fish, and vitamin D-fortified foods like milk and orange juice, are at a higher risk for heart failure and stroke than women with sufficient levels of vitamin D.

Happy Movember, everyone! No, that's not a typo. Movember is the month when people raise awareness about an important men's health issue -- and it's related to mustaches. I'm not talking about the risk of food poisoning from crumbs left in mustaches -- although, ew guys, you should really look into that. I'm talking about thousands of men growing mustaches to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

Movember is an awareness and fundraising campaign for prostate cancer that started in Australia and then went global. This month men can join the effort, start growing their mustaches, help raise funds for prostate cancer research, and even throw their own fundraising party. Did I mention Ryan Gosling is involved in this campaign? Oh yeah. Read on for a list of other reasons why you need to get your man on board the Movember train.