This Thanksgiving holiday, U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is encouraging family members to share their health history with each other. This marks the nation's eight annual Family Health History Day. Family members can use the My Family Health Portrait website to gather their family's health history, which increases awareness for possible health conditions that may run in the family. Once information is added, the website tool creates a "family health tree" that is unique to your family.
"Discussing health information with other members of your family can often uncover conditions and explanations for health problems which your never knew about, simply because no one ever asked," says Benjamin.