Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Tapping into the vagus nerve for long-term heart health

The vagus nerve stretches from the brain to the colon, touching and impacting our organs and more along the way. But less has been known about it, including that it may be key to keeping the heart younger longer…

Carolyn Gretton

The amino acid ‘hack’ for fewer cavities

Keeping your teeth in good shape can be an uphill battle, even with a stellar oral hygiene routine that includes flossing and brushing a few times a day. If you need extra help, give the cavity-busting power of arginine a try…

Carolyn Gretton

How diabetes can actually reshape your heart

People with diabetes are at high risk for heart trouble, whether they have traditional symptoms like high blood pressure or cholesterol, or not. Now we know why: Diabetes reshapes the heart…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Mouth cancer: The significant risk of just one drink

Alcohol’s relationship with the human body is perplexing. Over the years, there’s been an association with health, but on the other hand, with cancer. How problematic is just one drink a day?

Joyce Hollman

Restless legs and Parkinson’s: the link thickens

Most of the time, restless legs syndrome is an annoying though benign condition. But there’s a lot of speculation about possible links to Parkinson’s. New findings thicken the plot: In some cases, restless legs may be a loud warning sign…

Joyce Hollman

The right way to use vitamin C to renew your skin

You skin is your largest organ. So taking care of it is about more than fighting the signs of aging. But doing both? I’m on board. Save money on the expensive creams you hoped would work, and renew and strengthen your skin the right way…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The ‘no-bloat, no-gas’ prebiotic that reduces liver fat and inflammation

Fatty liver is a stealthy condition with few, if any, signs or symptoms until it progresses. It’s also highly preventable with the right lifestyle choices, including a simple and inexpensive prebiotic that can help a fatty liver slim down…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Anti-aging compounds may get to the root cause of dry eye

If you have dry eye, eye drops accompany you everywhere, and your night routine ends with goopy drops that make you feel slimed. There’s got to be a better way. Research into the root cause may have found a few…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Women urged to eat this blood pressure ‘kryptonite’

If I had a dollar for every time a doctor told me to cut down my salt intake… But what if something could counter salt’s bad effects? Sort of a “kryptonite” that weakened its impact on blood pressure? Sound too good to be true? This time it’s not…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The berry that improved heart and blood vessel function in 30 days

When Hippocrates said let food be thy medicine, he must have had berries in mind. They’re full of uniquely beneficial compounds, wrapped in delicious little packages. If you don’t eat them daily, you’re missing out on a fast path to heart and blood vessel health…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The heart attack risk doctors miss almost half of the time

A heart attack occurs every 40 seconds in the US, making screening to gauge risk vital. But there’s a big problem with the two screening tools doctors depend on: They missed half of all first heart attacks in people screened just days earlier. Here’s why…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

‘TikTok trend’ verified, Rosemary’s scar-free healing…

A natural skincare trend on TikTok claims the aromatic herb rosemary may help wounds heal more effectively and limit scar formation. But does it really work? Here’s what scientists found when they put it to the test…

Jenny Smiechowski

6 ways to make your varicose veins and blood clot risk vanish

Whether varicose veins put a kink in your style or not, you should know they’re not as benign as we’ve been lead to believe. They could increase your risk for deep vein thrombosis. Here are 6 ways to reduce the threat…

Carolyn Gretton

For your immune system’s sake, try kimchi

Fermented foods have a healthy reputation. But if you’re stuck on yogurt, it’s time to break out of the mold. The Korean dish kimchi is gaining a reputation as an immune system “precision regulator.” Here’s why…

Carolyn Gretton

What every woman should know about her brain-gut-vagina axis

The gut-brain axis has demonstrated how the gut microbiome influences cognitive decline, depression and autoimmune conditions. But the gut is the center of the body in more ways than one. And for women, it’s personal…

Carolyn Gretton

Chronic constipation? You may have chronic inflammation

Chronic constipation is more than feeling bloated. It can carry serious consequences. Despite modern medicine, why has this natural bodily process become such a widespread problem? The fiber fallacy has kept us from the truth…

Carolyn Gretton

Coffee or tea drinkers: Who’s got better bone density?

Coffee, tea or… better bones? Our two favorite beverages have finally been put to the test: To reduce risk of an osteoporosis-related bone break that half of women over 50 face, what you drink, and how, matters…

Joyce Hollman

High-fat cheese may protect your brain from dementia

Do you shy away from the cheeseboard at parties? I used to, but that’s changing, like the saturated fat myth that had all of us eating low-fat dairy. Turns out high-fat cheese may support your brain, and not harm your heart…

Joyce Hollman

The bedroom activity that predicts longevity better than diet or exercise

Research into lengthening the human lifespan has been at a fever pitch for a few decades, and science has determined that certain healthy habits can help us live much longer. But the one with the most clout may surprise you…

Joyce Hollman

A multivitamin a day could keep hypertension away

If you’re health-conscious, you may already take a multivitamin every day. If you don’t, here’s a compelling reason to start: you could avoid a factor for stroke and heart trouble that already affects nearly half of all American adults.

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Eat this food to see why you can’t go #2

Gut problems are often revealed by your transit time — the time it takes for food to pass through. Depending on yours, you may be straining on or running to the toilet. This at home test will help you figure out why…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

The herb that helps you get your groove back

When your adrenals are constantly stressed, this sets off an autoimmune inflammatory response in your entire body. If you’ve got thyroid problems as well, things can go south real fast. The result? Feeling hopelessly stuck — tired, overweight and unhappy. There’s a way out…

Carolyn Gretton

Scientists find how to control body’s fat-burning switch

Certain types of body fat are better than others. White fat isn’t one of them. Accounting for most of the body’s fat, it amounts to stored calories that if not burned, keep adding up. But brown fat ramps up metabolism and controlling it is in our reach…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The berry that reboots glucose regulation and fat metabolism

Type 2 diabetes keeps trending up. That’s why we write about it. Not enough people know they can do something about it, starting with diet. But work smarter, not harder, with a functional food that goes straight to the core of the problem…

Craig Cooper

Why blood pressure testing is mostly wrong

Hypertension is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and the second greatest health threat. Getting an accurate measurement of blood pressure is critical. But are we? Some experts say change is needed…

Carolyn Gretton

High blood pressure? Lower it and your dementia risk

It’s become increasingly clear that the health of your heart can affect the health of your brain. In fact, studies have found a link between high blood pressure and dementia. How much can you lower it to reduce your risk?

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

What arm fat can tell you about your bone density

Osteoporosis and the risks for hip or spine fractures go way up with age, especially for women. That’s why we succumb to bone scans and try to build up our bones. But you may be surprised what your arms can reveal about your bones (and a disease trigger deep in your belly)…

Joyce Hollman

The best drink for hydration

Mild dehydration can harm your brain, your joints, your heart and age you more quickly than you’d imagine. But what’s the best drink to replace those lost fluids without running to the toilet all day? You might be surprised…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

How your poop schedule impacts your liver and kidneys

Once we’re out of elementary school, the poop jokes typically end. The childish humor is just that, plus the older we get we learn a fact: There’s nothing funny about not being able to go. And now we know our kidneys and liver can pay the price…

Joyce Hollman

Food that helps you feel happier, not just healthier

It’s easy to feel giddy eating ice cream, but that feeling likely won’t last long. Boost your mood and slash depression risk by 30% with foods that fight inflammation, improve insulin and bolster gut-brain communication…

Easy Health Options Staff

Read before hanging out under the mistletoe

A kiss under the mistletoe is a longstanding holiday tradition, steeped in ancient lore. Depending on the health of your kissing partner, when you indulge in a 10-second kiss, you exchange much more than good tidings…

Joyce Hollman

Half a dozen ways to avoid weight gain over the holidays

The holiday season isn’t kind to people who are trying to lose weight or maintain a holding pattern. But don’t give up hope. I’ve got some strategies to avoiding tipping the scales to share with you…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

The best way to beat down inflammation

Inflammation seems like such a benign and common symptom. But as the saying goes, “give it an inch and it’ll take a mile.” Once it takes hold — which is easy because it’s fueled by stress, sleep loss, sugar, pollution and countless other modern-day threats — it can completely wreck your health.

Carolyn Gretton

A sweeter way to boost hair growth

Living with androgenic alopecia, a common cause of hormonal hair loss in men and women, is challenging, especially when the suggested treatment isn’t all that effective. That may be changing…

Craig Cooper

10 ways to lower your PSA levels

An elevated PSA can be an early indication of prostatitis, an enlarged prostate or other health concerns. Research suggests that lifestyle changes, targeted nutrients, and inflammation reduction may help support healthy PSA levels.

Joyce Hollman

The diet that could keep gum disease away

The Mediterranean Diet is always at the top of any “best diet” list. It just has so much going for it, promoting healthy aging, better blood pressure and protecting against cognitive decline. The lastest? Gum disease…

Joyce Hollman

How to have the memory of a 50-year-old at 80

Diet, exercise and sleep are important for keeping your brain sharp with age. But what if you can’t do it all, like exercise? SuperAgers do more of one thing that’s not on this list, and it works for them…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The hidden arterial dangers of being ‘skinny-fat’

You can easily zip your jeans and your doctor’s happy with the number on the scale. That means you’re fit and healthy, right? Not necessarily. Being skinny-fat may mask artery damage setting you up for stroke or heart attack…

Carolyn Gretton

What your neck size can reveal about your heart

BMI was considered the gold standard for estimating a person’s body fat, until we learned it overlooked a critical detail that’s a much stronger indication for heart trouble, one your neck size could reveal…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

9 signs of poor circulation you shouldn’t ignore

Good circulation is one of the most critical factors for good health. Your heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and everything in between receive life-giving oxygen via a complex network of blood vessels throughout the body. Do you know the signs if yours is failing?

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Sugar ruins your gut surprisingly fast — but there’s an antidote

Thanks to all the sweet treats that go hand-in-hand with social gatherings, I have no doubt that I eat more sugar during the holidays than in the previous six months combined. But eating a high-sugar diet for even a short amount of time can result in shockingly fast health problems…

Jenny Smiechowski

Avoid hidden heavy metals this holiday season

Decorative tableware is never more popular than during the holidays. But those festive platters can serve up toxic metals that shorten lifespans and endanger your heart on par with cholesterol. Before you serve guests, how dangerous is your holiday setting?

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Simple hack stops ‘viral vitamin’ from plummeting during winter

It’s no secret why cold and flu season go hand-in-hand with the dark days of fall and winter. Luckily, scientists have discovered an easy way to bio-hack the ‘viral vitamin’ we need most this time of year…

Margaret Cantwell

More proof of skin cancer prevention in a vitamin

A few years ago, a small study from Australia, the skin cancer capital of the world, suggested a simple vitamin could help prevent the most common skin cancers. A much larger study just put those findings to the test, and they were right…

Carolyn Gretton

The real cholesterol culprit cracked: It’s not eggs

If you have elevated cholesterol, you’ve probably been avoiding eggs. Turns out, that advice may be as dated as bell-bottom pants. In fact, it’s this Western breakfast staple that may be the real villain in the cholesterol war…

Carolyn Gretton

The unusual link between HRT and women’s immune health

Hormone replacement therapy has largely shed its bad reputation, given the heart, bone and brain health benefits revealed in recent years. New evidence shows it could shore up another system critical to keeping women well…

Joyce Hollman

The perfect pair to beat disease-causing inflammation

There are lots of supplements that support gut health and fight disease-causing inflammation. But a perfect pair that produces a crucial short-chain fatty acid essential to healthy aging may be the most potent anti-inflammatory to do the job…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

10 sneaky conditions that lead to weight gain

When you do everything right and still gain weight, it can be frustrating. It’s probably not even your fault. Many health conditions, some you’d never suspect, can make it hard to maintain healthy weight or even cause sudden weight gain…

Amanda Wilks

6 Anti-aging superfoods that will make you feel younger

Take into account just how important a factor food can be when it comes to aging. Stuffing yourself full of foods with added sugars and bad fats can be almost as destructive as hours sedentary on the couch. If you want good health to feel and look better, try these…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

16 medical tests to expect in your 60s and beyond

Some preventative medical tests are a piece of cake, while we dread others. And it seems new ones gets tacked on with each passing birthday. Here’s what to expect at 60 and beyond, including when you can start saying ‘no’ to some of the poking and prodding…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

What is ‘Ghost Poop’ and what it signals about your health

‘Ghost poop’ is making the rounds on social media. Who you gonna call? Not Ghostbusters. We’ve got all the answers about what this spooky-sounding term means, who experiences ghost poop, and what it signals…

Jenny Smiechowski

Eat this ONE veggie for clearer arteries

Most people with atherosclerosis don’t know they have it until artery-clogging problems show up, like stroke or heart attack. So, what can you do to steer clear? Eat the one vegetable that reduces vascular calcification.

Joyce Hollman

Two common conditions increasing pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is on the fast track to becoming the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Why? A common denominator in two common conditions turns cells cancerous, but there’s a way to throw a kink into the equation…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The unseen fat that’s your heart’s biggest threat

A layer of fat around the heart offers protection. Unless there’s a little too much and it’s composed of damaging substances that can leak directly into your heart. Here’s how that happens and how to gauge your risk…

Joyce Hollman

The shortcut to living longer than people who walk 3 hours daily

We’ve got all kinds of reasons for not exercising. But if you’re not walking because it takes hours a day to get in 10,000 steps, I’ve got the shortcut to better benefits in a fraction of the time…

Joyce Hollman

The Parkinson’s clues found in ear wax

Right now, diagnosing Parkinson’s is costly, subjective and slow, taking an average of three years. When the only hope is to slow progression, every second counts. Here’s why ear wax could lead to faster diagnoses, but don’t break out the swabs…

Joyce Hollman

Common drugs that disrupt your gut years after taking them

You may be done with that antibiotic, but is it done with you? Not by a long shot. But research has found it’s not the only common medication that continues doing damage to your gut long after you’ve finished it…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

This ‘living drug’ could be the real fountain of youth

No need to travel to Florida. New findings reveal the real fountain of youth is much closer to home. Tweaking our own T cells, immune system cells, is the start of what scientists are calling a “living drug” to halt the ravages of time…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How to get more from your vitamins

Are you among the 80 percent of Americans supplementing? Most of us realize that to feel better, have more energy, fight the ravages of time and avoid chronic conditions, nutrition matters. But are you making these 13 mistakes that can sabotage this healthy habit?

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

5 foods and drinks that lower blood pressure like a prescription

A growing body of research is proving that some foods and drinks can lower blood pressure to a level often on par with prescription medication, reducing what is normally a high risk for heart attack or stroke.

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