Tracking fat grams is an easy way to see if your fat intake meets dietary guidelines.

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend the following targets for healthy adults:

• Total fat: 20% to 35% of daily calories
• Saturated fat: 10% or less of daily calories

To figure out what that means for you, start with the number of calories you normally eat or want to eat a day. Multiply that number by the recommended percentages to get a daily range of fat calories.

Here's an example based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet:

• Multiply 2,000 by 0.20 (20%) to get 400 calories and by 0.35 (35%) to get 700 calories.
• Multiply 2,000 by 0.10 (10%) to get 200 calories.

How many fat grams is that? There are 9 calories in a gram of fat, so divide the number of calories by 9.

• Divide 400 calories by 9 to get 44 grams. Then divide 700 calories by 9 to get 78 grams.
• Divide 200 calories by 9 to get 22 grams.

So if you're following a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, your target range for total fat is 44 to 78 grams a day. Of that, saturated fat should make up no more than 22 grams.

To monitor the fat in your diet, simply add up the fat grams from the foods you ate during the day. Use the Nutrition Facts label to find out how much fat is in the foods you eat.

Remember to choose healthy fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) and limit unhealthy ones (saturated and trans).

Fear of public speaking is a common form of anxiety. It can range from slight nervousness to paralyzing fear and panic. Many people with this fear avoid public speaking situations altogether, or they suffer through them with shaking hands and a quavering voice. But with preparation and persistence, you can overcome your fear.

These steps may help:

• Know your topic. The better you understand what you're talking about — and the more you care about the topic — the less likely you'll make a mistake or get off track. And if you do get lost, you'll be able to recover quickly. Take some time to consider what questions the audience may ask and have your responses ready.
• Get organized. Ahead of time, carefully plan out the information you want to present, including any props, audio or visual aids. The more organized you are, the less nervous you'll be. Use an outline on a small card to stay on track. If possible, visit the place where you'll be speaking and review available equipment before your presentation.
• Practice, and then practice some more. Practice your complete presentation several times. Do it for some people you're comfortable with and ask for feedback. It may also be helpful to practice with a few people with whom you're less familiar. Consider making a video of your presentation so you can watch it and see opportunities for improvement.
• Challenge specific worries. When you're afraid of something, you may overestimate the likelihood of bad things happening. List your specific worries. Then directly challenge them by identifying probable and alternative outcomes and any objective evidence that supports each worry or the likelihood that your feared outcomes will happen.
• Visualize your success. Imagine that your presentation will go well. Positive thoughts can help decrease some of your negativity about your social performance and relieve some anxiety.
• Do some deep breathing. This can be very calming. Take two or more deep, slow breaths before you get up to the podium and during your speech.
• Focus on your material, not on your audience. People mainly pay attention to new information — not how it's presented. They may not notice your nervousness. If audience members do notice that you're nervous, they may root for you and want your presentation to be a success.
• Don't fear a moment of silence. If you lose track of what you're saying or start to feel nervous and your mind goes blank, it may seem like you've been silent for an eternity. In reality, it's probably only a few seconds. Even if it's longer, it's likely your audience won't mind a pause to consider what you've been saying. Just take a few slow, deep breaths.
• Recognize your success. After your speech or presentation, give yourself a pat on the back. It may not have been perfect, but chances are you're far more critical of yourself than your audience is. See if any of your specific worries actually occurred. Everyone makes mistakes. Look at any mistakes you made as an opportunity to improve your skills.
• Get support. Join a group that offers support for people who have difficulty with public speaking. One effective resource is Toastmasters, a nonprofit organization with local chapters that focuses on training people in speaking and leadership skills.

If you can't overcome your fear with practice alone, consider seeking professional help. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a skills-based approach that can be a successful treatment for reducing fear of public speaking.

As another option, your doctor may prescribe a calming medication that you take before public speaking. If your doctor prescribes a medication, try it before your speaking engagement to see how it affects you.

Nervousness or anxiety in certain situations is normal, and public speaking is no exception. Known as performance anxiety, other examples include stage fright, test anxiety and writer's block. But people with severe performance anxiety that includes significant anxiety in other social situations may have social anxiety disorder (also called social phobia). Social anxiety disorder may require cognitive behavioral therapy, medications or a combination of the two.

Yes. Although some women experience orgasm with vaginal penetration during sex, most women are orgasmic only during stimulation of the clitoris.

Differences in how women and men experience orgasms can lead to unrealistic expectations and a misinterpretation of the meaning of sexual response.

Effectively communicating with your partner to identify what you want in a sexual relationship can be a challenge. But it's important to be open with your partner. Talk about your differences, so that you can learn about what each of you wants and needs from the relationship.

There's no evidence that daily use of fiber supplements — such as psyllium (Metamucil, Konsyl, others) or methylcellulose (Citrucel) — is harmful.

Fiber has a number of health benefits, including normalizing bowel function and preventing constipation. It's best to get fiber from food, because supplements don't provide the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that fiber-rich foods do. But fiber supplements can contribute to the recommended daily intake.

Fiber supplements can cause abdominal bloating and gas, at least initially. If you have intestinal problems, such as a history of a bowel blockage or Crohn's disease, talk to your doctor before adding a fiber supplement to your diet. It's also a good idea to ask your doctor or pharmacist whether fiber supplements interact with any medications you take.

Fiber supplements can decrease the absorption of certain medications, such as aspirin, carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Epitol, others) and others. Fiber supplements can also reduce blood sugar levels, which may require an adjustment in your medications or insulin if you have diabetes.

If you plan to take fiber supplements, start with small amounts to minimize problems with gas. Also be sure to drink plenty of fluids every day.

No. Fibrocystic breast changes don't increase your risk of breast cancer.

Fibrocystic breast changes are common. Women with this noncancerous (benign) condition often have lumpy, nodular breasts and experience breast pain that varies throughout the menstrual cycle. Doctors don't know exactly what causes fibrocystic breast changes, but the condition is likely due to hormone changes during your menstrual cycle that affect breast tissue.

Although fibrocystic breast changes don't increase your risk of breast cancer, having fibrocystic breasts may make it more difficult for you to feel a new breast lump or other abnormal change — such as a persistent breast lump that doesn't go away with your next menstrual cycle or thickening or firmness within lumpy breast tissue.

It's important to become familiar with how your breasts normally feel so that you'll know when something just isn't right. If you detect something unusual, make an appointment with your doctor to have it evaluated.

Anti-seizure drugs, such as gabapentin, are often used to treat chronic pain. Pregabalin (Lyrica), a drug similar to gabapentin, was the first medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat fibromyalgia. While gabapentin hasn't been approved by the FDA for the treatment of fibromyalgia, some doctors may prescribe it off-label for such use.

Gabapentin and pregabalin were originally approved to treat certain types of epilepsy and nerve pain. Both drugs work by limiting the release of pain-communicating chemicals by nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The most common side effects of both drugs are dizziness and drowsiness.

Acupuncture appears to modestly reduce many types of chronic pain, so it's not surprising that many people with fibromyalgia are interested in trying it. While the studies on the effectiveness of acupuncture for fibromyalgia symptoms are somewhat mixed, most suggest that it may have a beneficial role.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very fine needles to various depths into strategic points on your body. They are usually left in place for 20 to 30 minutes and sometimes are further stimulated by the addition of heat or electricity. When performed by a trained practitioner, acupuncture has few risks.

Fibromyalgia can be difficult to treat, and a combination of treatments may be necessary to control your symptoms. If you're having trouble finding relief for your fibromyalgia pain, it may be worth trying acupuncture. But if your symptoms don't begin to improve within a few weeks, acupuncture may not be the right treatment for you.

Yes. Fibromyalgia often coexists with other health problems, so your doctor may also ask if you experience:

• Back or neck pain
• Headaches
• Frequent or painful urination
• Jaw pain
• Irritable bowel syndrome

In some cases, these coexisting problems might be connected to how your body processes pain signals. In fibromyalgia, your brain amplifies pain signals, so you feel a higher level of pain than what might be commonly expected for certain types of painful stimuli.

The drug fingolimod (Gilenya) is sometimes prescribed for people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) to reduce flare-ups and ease symptoms. However, it may not be safe to take if you're pregnant. Based on animal studies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given fingolimod a pregnancy category C rating, indicating that it could harm your unborn baby.

As of yet, there are no adequate, well-controlled studies of fingolimod in pregnant women. A pregnancy registry has been established to track outcomes of fingolimod use during pregnancy, but the reported number of pregnancies is too few to form firm conclusions about using the drug during pregnancy. However, preliminary data indicates a possible risk of fingolimod-related developmental problems.

Fingolimod may take approximately two months to be completely eliminated from your body. Because of the potential risk to the baby while the drug is still in your system, the prescribing information advises women who may become pregnant to use effective contraception to avoid pregnancy during and for two months after stopping fingolimod treatment.

Fingolimod should be discontinued immediately if a woman gets pregnant while on the medication. These women should also be monitored with early ultrasound for major fetal malformations and maternal rebound disease activity.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are industrial chemicals that were manufactured from 1929 until 1979 when they were banned. PCBs have been shown to cause adverse health effects, including potential cancers, and negative effects on the immune, nervous and endocrine systems.

PCBs can pose serious health risks to people who frequently eat contaminated fish. They can be transferred from a mother to her unborn baby, increasing the risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight. They may also be transferred from mother to baby through breast milk, and exposure has been associated with learning defects.

PCB remnants still cycle between air, water and soil, and traces are found all over the world. They settle into water and sediment, where they are taken up by small organisms, and increasingly accumulate in fat and organs such as liver in fish and animals (including humans) that eat fish. Small amounts are found in meat, dairy products and drinking water. Fish are the major dietary sources of PCBs, especially fish caught in contaminated lakes or rivers.

Level of PCBs found in fish will vary with region and the type of fish native to that region. So if you eat fish caught by family or friends, check for local advisories. In general, bottom-feeding fish (striped bass, bluefish, American eel, sea trout) and larger predator fish (bass, lake trout, walleye) caught in contaminated waters contain higher levels of PCBs.

Farmed salmon that are fed ground-up fish have been found to be higher in PCBs, compared with wild-caught salmon.

The Food and Drug Administration sets PCB residue limits for foods, while the Environmental Protection Agency sets limits for lakes, streams and drinking water. They recommend the following measures to reduce exposure to contaminants such as PCB:

• Trim away fatty areas (belly, top back and dark meat along the side)
• Remove skin before cooking to allow fat to drain off
• Grill, bake or broil fish and allow fat to drain off
• Do not fry or deep-fry fish because frying seals in any chemical pollutants in the fish's fat

Two other groups, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, suggest limiting your intake of fish containing high levels of PCBs, such as salmon and bluefish. With respect to salmon, their guidelines say:

• Canned Pacific salmon can be eaten twice a week
• Fresh or frozen wild Pacific salmon can be eaten up to twice a month
• Fresh or frozen farmed Atlantic salmon can be eaten once every two months

The bottom line: Eat a variety of fish twice a week and keep the portion size at 4 ounces (113 grams). When you eat fatty fish such as salmon, make sure it is prepared using the above guidelines. When you catch your own fish, follow local and state fish advisories for restrictions.