Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Carolyn Gretton

Unusual early signs of Parkinson’s disease

You may be familiar with tremors as a symptom of Parkinson’s. But in working to identify the earliest symptoms, researchers are finding that some signs appearing years before a diagnosis is made are, surprisingly, not neurological in nature.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

6 changes that happen when you eat one ounce of walnuts

One of the easiest ways to grab big health and nutritional benefits is by adding nuts to your diet. But the cost of nuts, like everything else these days is going up. Good news: all it takes is one ounce to see these 6 improvements…

Joyce Hollman

Alzheimer’s: Another reason to eat eggs

In the years from 2000 to 2019, Alzheimer’s deaths increased by 145 percent. A missing piece of this puzzle may be a once-vilified source of an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in memory and brain support…

Carolyn Gretton

Vitamin D metabolism: Why it’s not a one-size-fits-all vitamin

Studies into vitamin D have produced mixed results. Take the VITAL trial that saw reductions in cancer deaths and autoimmune diseases with vitamin D up to 40% in some people, and minimal results in others. Now we know why: it’s not a one-size-fits-all vitamin.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The gene that makes eating just one potato chip impossible

We all know that one person who eats just one bite of cake at a birthday party and can open an entire bag of potato chips and really eat just one — while the rest of us struggle to put down the bag. What’s the difference between us and them?

Joyce Hollman

Fast-talking drug ads: Risky new drugs that don’t measure up

There’s big money to be made in shiny new drugs. And the pharmaceutical giants are banking on your help, especially since the majority of advertised drugs have been found not to measure up to older, cheaper existing ones…

Joyce Hollman

Pre-workout veggie boosts muscle nearly 10%

However you do it, exercise is on top of any experts advice for keeping a body healthy and fit. But what if you’re having a hard time giving it your all? No worries. This veggie can help you eat your way to more muscle power…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Another reason to floss: Atrial fibrillation

Is your gum health a priority? If not, listen up: a disease of the gums that can lead to bleeding and bad breath, can also leave your heart scarred and struggling to maintain a healthy rhythm…

Carolyn Gretton

Gut bacteria: The missing piece of the MS puzzle

Evidence keeps stacking up that the gut microbiome plays a strong role in MS. And recent findings reveal systems that may be manipulated for new treatments, perhaps with supplements that promote protective bacteria — without the side effects of medications.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Dopamine levels and testing: Get your pleasure hormone back

As part of the brain’s reward system, the hormone dopamine contributes to feelings of pleasure, happiness and motivation. Low levels do just the opposite and may indicate serious neurological conditions. Here’s your mind and body on dopamine…

Carolyn Gretton

Why some mitochondria ramp up aging

Mitochondria are tiny organelles that power our cells. Convention says they begin to slow down and kick off aging. But some ramp up, then burn out, taking your energy with them. Scientists have an answer that seems counterintuitive, but they say works…

Easy Health Options Staff

8 things you didn’t know vitamin D does

You go to the doctor for your yearly check-up and say to him, “Doc, I want a pill that will make me stronger, smarter, healthier, disease proof, age-proof, thinner and with great skin and strong bones. Got anything like that?” In a perfect world, the doctor would say, “Yes, I do. It’s called vitamin D.” Here’s why…

Jenny Smiechowski

Say goodbye to type 2 diabetes in 8 weeks

If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you may be operating under a false belief about your situation… You may believe that once you’ve crossed the line into type 2 diabetes territory, there’s no going back. You’re stuck with this disease for the rest of your life. But that’s far from the truth.

Joyce Hollman

How to slash the dangers of sitting surprisingly fast

As someone who sits at her desk all day long, I’m a prime candidate for diabetes, heart disease and dementia. Obviously, my work day leaves only minutes to spare. But to lower blood pressure and blood sugar, that’s literally all I need…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Frontotemporal: The dementia that may be ‘repairable’

There are many different types of dementia, but no cures. One type though, known for severe behavioral changes, has been found to be rooted in a cause that could be repaired, reversing the disease..

Margaret Cantwell

Potato soup or toxic soap?

Each time I bring up the potato’s less than stellar qualities, it upsets some folks. I know you love your potatoes. I did too. But the science says that eating too much of this vegetable is just not good. Think Leaky gut, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

When hearing loss means your arteries are in trouble

Hearing loss is often lumped in with a long list of age-related changes many of us have a high chance of experiencing. Unfortunately, it’s not always a benign condition. Trouble hearing could be an indication of a condition that leads to stroke…

Joyce Hollman

An inconsistent link: Cholesterol, heart disease and statins

Doctors prescribe statins to lower “bad” cholesterol and to lower risks for heart attack or stroke. But do we really need to take a drug that can elevate risks for diabetes, liver damage, and neurological and cognitive problems — especially if there is any doubt it’s not at all what it’s cracked up to be?

Carolyn Gretton

The strange side effect of too much ‘good’ cholesterol

You probably already know there are two types of cholesterol: HDL (the “good” cholesterol) and LDL (the “bad” cholesterol). HDL supports heart health and fights inflammation. But, when it comes to HDL, too much of a “good” thing may hurt your bones…

Carl Lowe

The appetite suppressant the diet industry hopes you won’t discover

In the supermarket aisle that holds diet foods, you’ll find bars, shakes and an array of other processed foods that are supposed to help you lose weight. But there’s a superfood great for aiding your healthy weight efforts you’ll never find in that part of the store…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

The common sense rule for best vitamin benefits

You can’t pick up a product these days without finding not only instructions on how to use it, but warnings on how not to, usually because one person did something most people with common sense wouldn’t dream of. Let’s talk about vitamin D and that guy…

Joyce Hollman

Lead and cadmium: The ‘dark side’ of dark chocolate

Some dark chocolate brands, even organic ones, have been found to contain dangerous amounts of cadmium and lead, heavy metals linked to hypertension, kidney failure, nerve damage and more. Take precautions if your favorite is on the list.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Anti-nutrients: The hidden danger of meat substitutes

Mountains of research and our doctors tell us a meat-heavy diet is a fast track to early death. But if you’ve embraced meatless burgers and other mock meat substitutes, you’re cheating your body of vital nutrition. It starts with ‘deception’ on the ingredient label…

Joyce Hollman

5 health-based benefits of kindness

Being kind to others feels good. But the benefits extend even further than that. Science shows acts of kindness have real effects that impact physical health, from depression to heart health. Check out these 5 you can get more of…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Fast food and fatty liver: How much is too much

Fast food, offering tasty and effective transport of unhealthy fat, is horrible on the liver. And the heart. We’d be kidding ourselves to think we could give it all up completely and forever. But knowing where the point of no return is would be really helpful.

Carolyn Gretton

Cannabis: A new breakthrough in anti-aging skincare

CBD products are growing in popularity. You can find tinctures, gummies and even topicals made from phytocannabinoids (pCBs). Topicals are non-intoxicating and include creams, balms and oils. One more thing you may want to know: they may be the next thing in anti-aging skincare…

Joyce Hollman

The obesity-AMD connection and the nutrient that helps both

Obesity can steal your heart health. Now, research shows it could steal your vision, too. Obesity appears to be a trigger that uses inflammation like fire on DNA and may be the reason some people get age-related macular degeneration and some don’t…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

This six-minute trick beats fasting for brain health

The neurons in the hippocampus, the brain area responsible for memory and learning, depend on brain-derived neurotrophic factor for their production and survival. But BDNF’s potential to halt cognitive decline and how to boost it is what should really interest you…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

What blood type can reveal about stroke risk

Stroke is a growing threat with age. In fact, after age 55 that risk doubles every 10 years. But people under 60 do have strokes. How can you know if that’s a probability so you can do your best to avoid it? See where your blood type stroke risk falls…

Joyce Hollman

How consistent hydration slows aging and prolongs life

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: it’s important to keep your body hydrated for reasons like termperature regulation, waste elimination and much more. But its effects on sodium may be the best kept secret yet…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Avoid stroke and heart attack by avoiding these foods

Each year, heart disease and stroke kill more people in the U.S. than all cancers, lower respiratory diseases and cases of influenza and pneumonia combined. But you don’t have to become a statistic. Thanks to a new study, there’s now an easy cheat sheet so that you can know what foods to avoid to keep your heart healthy.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

45 is the new 50 when it comes to colon cancer

If there’s one medical procedure that’s universally dreaded and put off for as long as possible, it would have to be the routine colonoscopy. But considering the statistics on colon cancer, it’s the one procedure we should all be clamoring to get. Well, you may get your turn sooner than you expected…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How to save your muscles without moving

Whether you’ve been injured and stuck in a cast, imobilized due to surgery or stroke or maybe you just have a bad shoulder or knee, being immobile leads to muscle wastage that steals strength that’s hard to get back. But don’t let being sidelined prevent you from exercising the limbs you can move. New research shows the benefits can be transferred to the ones you’re not even moving!

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Why ‘normal’ blood pressure readings set you up for a false sense of security

Healthy blood pressure equals a healthy heart. Or so we’ve been told. But, according to recent research findings, relying on normal blood pressure as a sign that a heart attack or stroke is not in your future has painted a pretty picture that’s been revealed to be nothing but a facade — a false sense of security that could put you in deadly danger.

Carolyn Gretton

Why vitamin D keeps taking the spotlight in the pandemic

As the pandemic heats up, researchers strive to uncover all there is to know about COVID-19. A recent study has found a common vitamin deficiency among 80 percent of those infected in one hospital. And this connection isn’t the first. Growing evidence keeps placing vitamin D squarely in the pandemic spotlight…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Eat takeout? You’re ingesting up to 10,000 plastic particles yearly

A new study has some sobering information for those of us who’ve made a regular habit of it eating takeout. Along with your favorite foods and a hefty side of convenience, those takeout containers carry a mega dose of plastic that’s finding its way into your meals. Here’s how, why you should be concerned and how to reduce the harm…

Joyce Hollman

The secret cancer weapon in oats, barley and mushrooms

The human body has two different immune systems with different roles. But did you know that one of those systems can be trained to seek out and destroy cancer? That’s exactly what immunotherapy is all about and why researchers are excited about a nutrient found in certain foods that could double our immune power against cancer.

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

5 ways a heart-healthy diet helps beat cancer

When you eat in a way that helps lower cholesterol and improve overall heart health, you’re also helping lower risks associated with cancer, dementia, arthritis and other diseases. Here’s why and how…

Tracey G. Ingram, AuD

Can diet reverse heart failure? Keto might

Based on available research, a ketogenic diet may be associated with improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, such as type 2 diabetes and HDL cholesterol levels. And now, it certainly looks promising as a nutritional intervention for heart failure.

Joyce Hollman

Is a lower body temperature the new normal?

Do you take your temperature and regularly find it hovering around 97 degrees? Or feel sure you have a fever only to find the thermometer reads a “normal” 98.6? There are several theories as to why this happens, but if you’re like me, you want to know if it’s anything to worry about. Here’s what we’ve found…

Carolyn Gretton

Relieving the symptoms of shingles naturally

Shingles can strike anyone who’s had chickenpox, although older adults tend to be more susceptible. This painful, burning, itching rash takes time to heal. But you can relieve its symptoms through a number of natural means while waiting for it to disappear…

Tracey G. Ingram, AuD

Old test could give your doctor new insight into aspirin risk or benefit

Taking a low-dose daily aspirin has been widely accepted for decades as an easy way to prevent a heart attack or stroke. But aspirin’s safety in prevention has been challenged over the last couple of years, and now it’s a call you should leave up to your doctor. Luckily an old test may provide new insight into whether it’s worth the risk for you or not…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The Chinese proverb that’s helping researchers lower liver cancer

While we tend to hear a lot about cancer of the lungs, breasts and colon, liver cancer tends to be ignored — kept as kind of a dirty little secret. Yet, deaths from the cancer are skyrocketing. But there is good news. A brand-new study has found a simple way to keep your liver healthy and decrease your risk of liver cancer dramatically. And it has to do with how much you eat.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

CBD increases lung-protective peptide in Acute respiratory distress syndrome

ARDS is a dangerous respiratory condition in which the lungs’ ability to provide the body’s organs with oxygen is diminished. In the most severe cases of COVID-19, patients can progress to ARDS. While debate continues over which drugs may help patients the most, new hope is coming from an unlikely source…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The high blood pressure danger of social isolation for women

If you’re a woman, simply not socializing enough can put your heart at as much risk as if you put on weight, regularly take medications with cardiovascular side effects or eat a lot of salt.

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Delay frailty with higher doses of the sunshine vitamin

From preventing osteoporosis to shoring up your immune system, vitamin D is one of the most important supplements you can take. But most people are barely getting the minimum when there’s good reason to get more. To avoid frailty, stay strong, fit and active, higher amounts matter.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Drinks that lead to heart disease: Sugary, artificially sweetened or both?

You may think of artificially sweetened beverages as a better alternative to sugar-laden drinks and a good way to avoid weight gain. Surely one is at least heart-healthier than the other, right? That’s not just wrong… it could be dead wrong.

Tracey G. Ingram, AuD

Omega-3s shown to help heart attack survivors come out on top

For many years, omega-3s have been reported to be heart healthy. The Mayo Clinic recently quanitified that as a fact in a review of 40 clinical trials. And now we’ve learned that in the event of a heart attack, these fatty acids can make all the difference…

Carolyn Gretton

The plant that’s stepping up against chemo-resistant cancer

Colorectal cancer is most commonly treated with chemotherapy. But the most widely used chemotherapeutic agent is only effective in less than 30 percent of cases. More and more researchers are turning to nature to try to broaden the array of effective therapies, and one plant is stepping up to the plate…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Metabolic benefits from weight loss surgery may outweigh natural weight loss

Your doctor put it all on the line: Lose weight or have a heart attack. How would you do it? Diet? Exercise? Bariatric surgery? It’s a lot to think about, but the Cleveland Clinic has some pretty shocking information that may help you make up your mind…

Joyce Hollman

9 ways to save your brain from disease-causing particles

Research has proven that small particles breathed in from polluted air are connected to Alzheimer’s. Now we’ve learned they can lead to Parkinson’s and motor neuron disease. This brain damage starts at an astoundingly early age because with every breath, aluminum, iron and titanium may build up in your brain…

Joyce Hollman

Why you can ignore what the glycemic index says about potatoes

People with type 2 diabetes are often told to avoid potatoes because they’re high on the glycemic index and thought to raise blood sugar. But a new study shows potatoes may actually be the starch of choice…

Tracey G. Ingram, AuD

How exercise kicks the immune system into gear against cancer

Research has indicated exercise may improve the prognosis of cancer, but experts haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly why. One theory was that exercise activates the immune system to support the body’s ability to prevent and inhibit the growth of cancer. Now researchers know why it works, and not just in mice…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Sugar in the brain may initiate Alzheimer’s

We’ve seen plenty of research on brain plaques and tangles, the telltale signs of Alzheimer’s. But experts may have linked the disease’s beginnings to a surprising cause… one that bolsters a long suspected association with diabetes and increased risk for this mind-robber — sugar made in the brain.

Joyce Hollman

Choose fruits with flavanols to lower blood pressure

Flavanols are natural antioxidants found in certain fruits and vegetables as well as tea and cocoa. They have well-researched benefits that just keep piling up, like substantially lowering blood pressure to help support arteries and prevent strokes.

Carolyn Gretton

The common nutrient that could help fight obesity

There’s no question obesity is a serious disease that’s spreading among Americans. And scientists are working overtime to find ways to treat it beyond the usual diet and exercise. One group of researchers may have found an answer hidden in a common vitamin…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Why blue light blockers may be the easy fix for better sleep

Have you been spending more time on your laptop or smartphone or binge-watching your favorite shows since the COVID-19 lockdowns began? If so, you could be setting yourself up for a danger no one expected from a pandemic. Here’s how those screens are putting your health at risk, along with a simple solution for better sleep and sight.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Missing link between gum health and heart disease found

Brushing and flossing your teeth is about far more than just avoiding cavities. In fact, the health of your mouth is tied to serious conditions from diabetes to heart disease. But until now, the reason wasn’t clear. Now researchers know it’s tied to a particularly powerful immune cell that, when hyperactivated, can circulate through your body to do major damage…

Tracey G. Ingram, AuD

Why the connection between asthma and osteoporosis?

Asthma can be deadly. The symptoms include coughing, tightness in the chest and wheezing. Because there currently is no cure for asthma, management of the condition is the best our health care providers can offer. However, recent research is proving those treatments can come at a cost…

Joyce Hollman

Shockingly minuscule amount of exercise shown to boost health and longevity

Some recent research has made me feel a lot better about my pretty minimal exercise program. The research insists that even a little bit of physical activity every day can improve health — but I was shocked at just how little could help me avoid disease and live longer…

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