Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Carolyn Gretton

Explained: How a high-fat diet fuels anxiety

If you tend to eat when you’re anxious, you probably go straight for your favorite junk foods hoping to feel better. But in reality, you’re fueling a vicious cycle of anxiety that starts in your gut and travels a superhighway to your brain…

Joyce Hollman

The changes that happen when you eat less red and processed meat

So, you’ve gotten the message loud and clear, and are ready to reduce the amount of meat you eat. What changes could you expect to see? How would your health improve? And just how much do you have to give up? If you need those answers to take the dive, read on…

Easy Health Options Staff

Another spice-related recall for lead contamination

Cinnamon is in the news again as yet another recall for a lead-contaminated brand has recently affected a few states. Here are the details you need to keep safe, and news you need to know about spices as a growing heavy metal health threat…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Carbs aren’t the only macronutrient with an impact on blood sugar

If you’ve been ditching the bread, pasta and grains in order to keep your insulin in check, you might be missing some important information. It turns out two other macronutirents impact blood sugar in ways never before characterized by science…

Joyce Hollman

Are these foods behind your chronic insomnia?

Stress, pain, bathroom trips, frequent screen time and irregular sleep habits can add up to occassional sleeplessness. Chronic insomnia, where sleep is elusive night after night can be maddening. But a growing connection means a simple solution may be in reach…

Joyce Hollman

The most critical habit for keeping Alzheimer’s symptoms at bay

An “amyloid cascade” starts with an abnormal increase of β-amyloid protein in the brain, which triggers tau tangles. Memory and cognition can start to falter and, ultimately, Alzheimer’s can set in. But even with these brain changes, one thing can keep symptoms at bay…

Carolyn Gretton

Grow an indoor garden and watch your immune system flourish

Research has shown that gardening is good for your joints, longevity and stress levels. And those benefits come from the dirt. But there’s more… getting your hands dirty is tied to the healthy functioning of your immune system thanks to beneficial microbes.

Joyce Hollman

The viral heart risk that’s greatest for boomers

Liver problems are often serious. But some chronic liver conditions often go under the radar. That doesn’t mean they’re not doing damage, and not only to your liver. Even though they can affect anyone, if you’re a boomer like me, this is urgent for you…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Soak up the sun to ramp up your calorie-burning metabolism

Spending time in the sun isn’t just fun and recreational. It’s a great way to power up your health with the sunshine vitamin. But as if you needed one more reason, it turns out catching some rays has quite an advantageous effect on burning fat and calories…

Joyce Hollman

Memory problems: Validating Alzheimer’s first hint

Senior moments are the butt of jokes and over-50 birthday cards. But all joking aside, it’s time to get serious if you notice the first hints of a memory problem. It’s called subjective cognitive decline and could be key to slowing changes to your brain…

Carolyn Gretton

When weight loss is a sign to get checked for these cancers

Losing weight without trying may seem like the Holy Grail for anyone struggling to shed some excess pounds. However, unintentional weight loss may be an early sign of one of these developing cancers…

Joyce Hollman

Hidden food allergies and the link to heart damage

What if you had a food allergy to a common allergen, like milk, peanuts or shellfish, but it was mild enough that you had none of the typical symptoms? New findings say continuing to eat an offending food could cause heart damage that could shorten your life…

Joyce Hollman

For a happy liver and digestion, balance your bile

Bile produced by the liver helps digest fats and vitamins. But too much bile can be toxic to the liver and other organs. Here’s the run-down on what happens when there’s too much bile, and how you can keep things flowing smoothly.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Neck inflammation: an undeniable link to headache pain

I have a special insight when it comes to headaches. Not only have I suffered them all my life, I’m also a chiropractor. And there’s one thing I can tell you without a doubt… if you want to defeat them, you’ve got to address the inflammation in your neck.

Carolyn Gretton

OTC supplement improves walking for people with PAD

Peripheral artery disease is painful and can restrict the ability to walk, due to fatigue and poor blood flow in the legs. But researchers uncovered a vitamin that could counter these symptoms and get people with PAD on the move again…

Carolyn Gretton

The alarming truth about ‘forever chemicals’ and your skin

Our skin protects us from the outside world. But there are some things it can’t defend against. Known to enter the body through air, food or water, sneaky “forever chemicals” lurking in personal care products, furniture and more also have an open door through your skin.

Joyce Hollman

A complex relationship: women, weight and high stroke risk

There’s been a lot of conflicting information on weight and health status. But most experts agree: maintaining a healthy weight improves many areas of health. For women though, depending on when weight struggles started, the risk of stroke is much greater.…

Joyce Hollman

Eczema flare-up? Cut back on the salt

Salt. It’s tied to hypertension and heart health, and now, would you believe skin? It makes sense how it gets in your bloodstream to impact arteries, but how it affects your skin will leave you scratching your head, and maybe your eczema flare-up…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

7 sneaky medications that cause constipation

Constipation can be caused by many things, though most people never suspect their medications. But, it turns out at least 7 sneaky medications you could be taking right now that may be making your restroom trips more troublesome than they should be.

Carolyn Gretton

The one time the benefits of exercise don’t hold up

If exercising to be healthy, how much exercise should you get and how hard should you workout? For supercharged benefits, vigorous exercise appears to have a greater impact than moderate exercise. But for immune health, the opposite may be true….

Joyce Hollman

The link between diabetes and silent heart attacks

The human body is complex. Conditions that may seem unrelated can have connections below the surface, like diabetes and the increased risk for heart problems. And as if it couldn’t get more complex, there’s the “silent heart” attack factor…

Joyce Hollman

The low-fat answer to lung cancer, even for smokers

Diet has long been proven to make a huge difference, not only in matters like weight, but in disease risk. And one component, fat, gets the most attention. No wonder. When your choice of fat can reduce lung cancer risk, even in smokers, that’s a big deal.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Why night shift leads to weight gain and diabetes

Working night shift does more than mess with your sleep. Flipping your schedule on its head releases a cascade of damage that leads to chronic metabolic conditions that research shows can turn your good health bad surprisingly fast…

Carolyn Gretton

What drinking alcohol on a plane can do to your heart

Maybe you’re traveling for vacation. Maybe for business. Either way, you may not think twice about enjoying a cocktail to unwind, unless you know about the risk that drink carries for your heart that it doesn’t when you’re on the ground…

Joyce Hollman

7 amazing benefits of pterostilbene

If you try to stay on top of your heart, brain and blood sugar health, you’re aware of resveratrol, the polyphenol found in red wine and dark chocolate. But what about its powerful cousin? From blood pressure to calorie burn, you’ll want pterostilbene in your life…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Margarita burn: The risk to watch for

If you’re hitting the pool or the beach this summer, you may want to think twice before you reach for a citrusy cocktail. You could end up with an unexpected “allergy-like” reaction that could quickly end a good time…

Carolyn Gretton

Easing chronic pain the drug-free way

Doctors admit relieving chronic pain leaves them baffled. Often the pills don’t even work or their sides effects can be intolerable. If that’s where you are, a surprisingly simple answer might take a little time, but has been shown to work for thousands of people…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Food and drugs that harm your ‘memory’ transmitter

Researchers have found that in patients with Alzheimer’s, a neurotransmitter involved in memory and learning, called acetylcholine, gets depleted. If that could be avoided, could cognitive decline? Thankfully, a few simple changes could keep that from happening.

Carolyn Gretton

Unraveling the sleep connection to migraine

Migraine can accompany sleep disorders, like insomnia, trouble falling or staying asleep, poor sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness. But is migraine what’s causing these sleep problems or vice-versa? The answer could lead to relief…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The longevity debate: To run or not to run

There have been questions about whether running long distances is good for your health or not. Some data shows it could induce a heart attack but some says it lowers risk of death in general. If you’re on the edge, the longevity debate may settle it for you…

Carolyn Gretton

The activity that slashes diabetes risk 44 percent

Blood sugar problems that lead to diabetes are most common around the age of 45. That spells big trouble, including an increased risk of heart disease, nerve damage and even sexual problems. Lifestyle changes can improve things, but this one gets powerful results…

Carolyn Gretton

A concerning connection: breast cancer survival and heart disease

Breast cancer deaths are declining. If we stop right here, that’s certainly great news. But even though fewer women are dying from the cancer, their treatment may set them up for another disease they should be followed closely for…

Joyce Hollman

Worried about Alzheimer’s, cholesterol and blood pressure? There’s a tea for that

Drinking tea warms the soul. I find it one of the most soothing things I do for myself. What’s even better? Knowing this guilty pleasure has lots of researched benefits—many among the biggest health issues we face today.

Joyce Hollman

15 minutes of yoga and your ‘stroke’ number could drop 10 points

Exercise and health go together like PB and J. Typically, people choose one kind of exercise that works for them. I’m not knocking that because getting any exercise is a good thing. But adding in a little yoga can balloon benefits for blood pressure…

Carolyn Gretton

The ‘d’eeper problem behind age-related muscle weakness

Sarcopenia is the progressive loss of muscle mass, strength and functionality associated with aging. But have you heard of dynapenia? If you want to keep fraily, falls and decline out of your future, you need to understand how deep age-related muscle loss goes.

Joyce Hollman

Thunderstorm asthma: What allergy sufferers should know

A lot of us suffer from allergic rhinitis or hay fever. There’s nothing that unique about seasonal allergies, except maybe this: If you have hay fever, you are at risk for a serious event called “thunderstorm asthma,” even if you don’t normally have asthma.

Carolyn Gretton

An important step forward in gauging men’s prostate cancer risk

The old standby, PSA testing, isn’t 100 percent accurate, leading to unnecessary biopsy and treatment and loads of anxiety. But when it was scaled back, metastatic prostate cancer cases rose. The key is identifying men by risk level—and a new tool may be the answer to saving lives…

Carolyn Gretton

The uncomfortable condition Americans won’t talk about

Too many Americans suffer from chronic bloating — that tight, heavy, swollen feeling in your abdomen that can be caused by a number of conditions. What’s worse, few are seeking help. If you’re one of them, you don’t have to suffer in silence…

Joyce Hollman

5 additional benefits of walking when you do it backwards

Walking is my exercise of choice. No equipment or special skills required! But what really inspires me to lace up my walking shoes is the documented benefits. But guess what? Walking backwards is even better, especially if you have joint or low back pain…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

The one thing disrupting your natural protection from obesity and diabetes

Researchers have found that though fats, salt and sugar are the quickest recipe for poor health, one among them does the most damage at making your body ripe for metabolic disease, especially when your natural protection is missing…

Joyce Hollman

Spice it up: A tasty way to a healthier gut

Your gut microbiome needs a variety of bacteria to do its job and keep you healthy. And spice is, as they say, the variety of life. After learning what spices can do for the diversity of your microbiome, that saying may take on a whole new meaning…

Carolyn Gretton

Worn-out non-stick cookware: Not just ugly — but toxic

In the 1950s, a convenient chemical made non-stick pans the best thing since sliced bread. Or so we thought. But perfect omelets and easy cleanup came with a hefty price: our health. And if you’re still using old non-stick pans, here’s why that threat is even greater…

Joyce Hollman

What men who want to avoid colon cancer eat

Colon cancer is the third most common form of cancer and men tend to have a higher risk than women. Caught early, it’s treatable. That’s what brought a group of scientists to re-examine the power of diet to prevent colon cancer specifically in men.

Carolyn Gretton

The surprising truth about the color of snot

Snot — it’s certainly not something you would discuss at the dinner table. But it’s something we should be more aware of, especially since you can tell a lot about your health, from colds to molds, from what color your mucus is…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The 3 most impactful ways to support your brain

Much research exists about how to hold onto a sharp mind as we age. But the bottom line comes down to protecting the grey and white matter of your brain. Norwegian researchers whittled down the three best ways to do that…

Joyce Hollman

DHA: The omega-3 that’s like poison to tumors

If you’re supplementing your omega-3s, it’s probably because you know they’re tied to heart health, a longer life and a super brain. Need I say more? Well, what if I told you that one in particular killed cancer cells and slowed development of tumors?

Carolyn Gretton

The ‘K’ey nutrient for strong bones when you need them most

Breaking a bone, especially a hip, is a real concern for women as we age. So it stands to reason that if there’s something you can do to help prevent that issue later in life, you’d want to do it. Research says a key factor is a forgotten nutrient that drastically reduces that risk….

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

5 steps to make your resolutions stick

If you’ve set a goal for the new year, whether it’s a fitness plan, quitting smoking, drinking less or having more fun, the odds are against you. Most resolutions fall to the wayside by the 2nd Friday in January. But here are five research-backed tips that can give you your best chance…

Easy Health Options Staff

Alert: Blood pressure tablets recalled over cancer risk

Just before Christmas, the FDA announced, as a public service, that drug manufacturer Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has issued a voluntary recall for Quinapril — a blood pressure-lowering medication that may contain a cancer-causing impurity. Here’s what we know…

Carolyn Gretton

Lower your blood pressure in 20 minutes without sweating

Sure, exercise will lower your blood pressure. But it’s not the only way. Have you ever wondered what people mean when they talk about mindfulness? It’s much more than mumbo jumbo. Not only does it take BP numbers down, it kickstarts a signaling molecule your body uses to do just that…

Joyce Hollman

The ‘causal link’ to Alzheimer’s you can break

Research relies on different types of studies. Some are “observational,” where researchers observe the effect of a risk factor. Then there are the ones we get really excited about. These identify an actual causal factor that, if avoided, can greatly cut your risk of something like Alzheimer’s…

Joyce Hollman

Kidney cancer is silent, until it’s not: Know the symptoms

Kidney cancer is fast becoming one of the more common cancers. It often strikes around age 65, but likely starts sooner because, in its earliest stages, kidney cancer often does not cause any noticeable symptoms. And diagnosis occurs after it has spread. Know these signs…

Jenny Smiechowski

How to reduce dementia risk by 90 percent

Exercise and brain health go hand in hand… But how much time do you have to put in to prevent the most dreaded of age-related brain diseases — dementia? Science finally has a solid answer: A recent study determined a goal you can set to obliterate your dementia risk…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Stretch away low back pain in 6 simple moves

If you’re living with low back pain, you’re not alone. And whether your pain is sharp and shooting, dull and achy or radiating, there are things you can do at home to get relief, including the 5,000-year-old practice deemed just as effective as physical therapy…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The virus no one wants that could eradicate cancer

When you think of the herpes simplex virus, not much that’s pleasant comes to mind. But what if the virus that can wreak so much havoc could also be used for good, like causing advanced tumors to disappear, shrink or stop progressing?

Joyce Hollman

What’s in your mug could lower your risk for hip fracture

A hip fracture, especially over 60, can be a nightmare. The long period of immobility that follows can bring on dangerous health complications. Calcium and vitamin D are important, but you may be shocked to know how much your coffee or tea habit may help…

Carolyn Gretton

Allergies in the wintertime: Weather as a trigger

For some people, allergies can be an issue year-round. Even when there’s frost on the ground and no pollen in the air, they’re still dealing with sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes. One allergy expert points to weather as a possible trigger and what may help…

Carolyn Gretton

Why bladder problems increase with age for some women

In the United States, roughly 17 percent of women ages 20 and older suffer from urinary incontinence. While that doesn’t seem like a lot, the number skyrockets as women age. And so does overactive bladder. But why are these conditions worse for some, and where’s the relief?

Miguel Leyva

Glyphosate and thyroid cancer: Too little too late

Research into the causes of thyroid cancer is ongoing, but exposure to pesticides has long been suspected. One, in particular, glyphosate, was associated with a 33 percent increase in cases. 2023 is the year this health destroyer is supposed to be phased out. Is it too little too late?

Jenny Smiechowski

The 4-minute hack that lowers blood sugar for hours

Did you know that every time you exercise, your muscles start using more of the glucose (and fat) in your bloodstream? That’s why it’s recommended for balancing blood sugar. But what if you have high blood sugar, but no time to exercise? Try this instead…

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