Latest Stories

Latest Stories

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…

Jenny Smiechowski

Keeping weight off requires different approach than losing it

You’ve probably heard weight loss is 80 percent diet/20 percent exercise. So, if you want to lose weight, focus on cutting calories and complement that with a modest calorie burn in realistic daily workouts. But for maintaining the loss, the same rules may not work…

Dr. Michael Cutler

Demystifying diagnostics: Blood tests and what they mean

Blood tests are part of annual health physicals for most of us. Sometimes, though, tests may be needed beyond the basics, including more advanced and in-depth tests for disease risk profiling. Here’s your insider’s guide to blood tests…

Carolyn Gretton

Plain and simple: The right diet keeps us from dying early

There’s just no denying the power of a healthy diet to reduce disease risk. But the payout gets bigger when you stick with it, as in reducing your risk of early death, period. But there is still the stroke conundrum…

Carolyn Gretton

10-minute test helps detect ‘curable’ hypertension

Is your doctor overlooking the most curable cause of high blood pressure? Nodules affect one-in-twenty people with the condition. Researchers found that a urine test and new scan help detect patients who come off all their medicines after treatment.

Virginia Tims-Lawson

The silent liver disease that’s worse on your heart

There’s a one in four chance, unbeknownst to you, you’re living with a common liver condition, and it’s damaging your heart right now. Researchers are so concerned, they say we can’t view the heart and the liver as completely separate functioning organs any longer…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Verified secrets that supercentenarians share

Sister André was a supercentenarian, someone who lives significantly beyond 100. When she passed at 118, it reignited a well-known longevity theory. You may think you know all about the French Paradox. But what it does for artery health is its best-kept secret…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

See your dentist to avoid the gastroenterologist

If you’ve been putting off your trip to the dentist, you may be risking more than just a cavity. In fact, you could be setting yourself up for inflammation of your gut lining. Here’s the connection you’ve probably never heard of between the bacteria in your mouth and your chances of developing inflammatory bowel disease.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Confirmed: For cancer prevention vitamin D levels matter

If you’re not already taking vitamin D, it’s time to rethink that strategy. Not only can it help you maintain healthy bones and a strong immune system as you age, an exhaustive review of scientific research has found the sunshine vitamin can protect against cancer and even improve prognosis. But it all comes down to your vitamin D status…

Jenny Smiechowski

Why people who eat leafy greens live longer

There’s a good reason everyone always tells you to eat your greens. They’re chock-full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that keep you happy and healthy — including one specific vitamin that’s essential to your body’s ability to clot blood, create bone, maintain healthy blood pressure and, now, a new study shows it could help you live longer.

Jenny Smiechowski

The snack habit that lowers cholesterol and heart disease risk

When you’re craving a snack, you have two choices. You can reach for something salty, crunchy and processed (like potato chips) that won’t do your heart health any favors. Or you can reach for something that’s just as satisfying that significantly improves your cholesterol, blood vessel health and cardiovascular disease risk…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Just 10 minutes of exercise alters 9,815 molecules in your body

Exercise helps keep your heart, blood sugar and metabolism in check. But it doesn’t make it any easier to commit to exercise, especially if you rely on outward signs to show it’s actually doing anything for you. But new science reveals thousands of changes that occur in your body in as little as 10 minutes of exercise…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How negative thoughts lead to Alzheimer’s plaque

Depression and anxiety are well-known risk factors for the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Recent research has shown that simply falling into a pattern of repetitive negative thoughts could raise that risk even higher — leaving physical marks on the brain directly linked to Alzheimer’s…

Jenny Smiechowski

Why a hard time sleeping hardens your arteries

Are you one of the lucky few that can fall fast asleep and stay asleep for hours? A great many of us can’t. Besides feeling unrested, there’s a bigger problem: Fragmented sleep and hardening of the arteries go hand in hand. Lucky for us, research discovered what’s at the root of that connection…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How quitting smoking the wrong way could increase your cancer risk

We all know smoking is risky. Coronary heart disease, COPD, lung cancer… plus about nine other specific cancers and various diseases are tied to smoking. If you’re ready to quit, consider your cessation method carefully, however. One could send cancer cells straight to your brain…

Joyce Hollman

Chocolate: The sweet way to suppress a cough

Researchers have persisted in looking for natural remedies to act as cough suppressants when honey and lemon just aren’t enough — and narcotics like codeine are way too much. That’s where the chemical in cocoa that knocks out coughs comes in…

Jenny Smiechowski

Shocking: How rocket-fuel-tainted tap water wrecks your thyroid

There’s a good reason health-conscious folks refuse to drink from the tap. Tap water is full of contaminants that pose a threat to your health. In fact, millions of people’s tap water is tainted with perchlorate, a chemical from rocket fuel that keeps your thyroid from getting the iodine it needs to stay healthy…

Jenny Smiechowski

Combating stress could give color back to your gray hair

Gray hair is something most of us learn to accept as we get older. But it turns out, those grays aren’t always permanent. If stress caused your gray hair, there could be a shot at getting your hair color back again…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Gut reveals why lack of sleep can be deadly and how to reverse it

Research has linked too little sleep to diseases like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Now, a new study has found a link between sleep deprivation, gut changes and the risk of premature death, as well as a simple way to fight it.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

5 science-backed ways to boost insulin sensitivity for better blood sugar

Insulin sensitivity plays a big role in determining whether your blood sugar levels stay in the healthy zone or spiral out of control and lead to full-blown diabetes. That’s why it’s important to know how to increase your sensitivity to reduce insulin resistance and better control your blood sugar.

Jenny Smiechowski

Use yoga to cut your migraine frequency in half

Migraines are incredibly common. These debilitating headaches affect somewhere between 38 to 50 million Americans… possibly even more. And only half of sufferers experience any relief from migraine medications. Luckily, there may be a safe, natural way to ease the pain of serious migraines…

Margaret Cantwell

4 evidence-based benefits of eating alkaline foods

It’s not a reach to assume that most Americans are walking around in a state of metabolic acidosis. No wonder heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and many other chronic metabolic diseases are rampant. Can an alkaline diet really help? Here are four ways the research says it can…

Jenny Smiechowski

How fasting and low-carb diets fight infection and aging

A lot of people try intermittent fasting and low-carb diets like the keto diet to lose weight. But that’s far from the biggest benefit of going low-carb or fasting. Research shows both practices change how your metabolism works in a way that fights infection and aging simultaneously.

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Soak away up to 28 percent of your heart disease risk

The number one cause of death for men and women in the U.S. is heart disease. That’s why there’s no shortage of advice on how to lower risk. But I think most of us would never have guessed this relaxing habit could take such a sizable chunk out of your risk level…

Joyce Hollman

Coffee has more digestive perks than you can shake a stir stick at

The ways that coffee can keep you healthy are really underrated. So, if you love your cup of joe, take heart! Among all the great benefits research is revealing about coffee, you’ll be glad to know drinking it is one of the best things you can do for your digestive health!

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Reprogram disease-causing inflammation with this ancient herb

Frankincense could be the key to defeating some of the most frightening diseases of the modern world, thanks to its ability to target inflammatory enzymes to stop the disease cascade.

Joyce Hollman

Vaping leads to a mouthful of disease-causing bacteria

Most people believe e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to the real thing and are a good way to quit. But e-cigarettes have their own dangers, including the risk of cancer, heart and lung disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. It comes down to a mouthful of bacteria that turns bad in a surprisingly short amount of time…

Jenny Smiechowski

Microgreens: Big benefits from tiny greens

If you’ve ever been at a restaurant and seen a delicate mound of tiny greens resting on your grass-fed burger, then you’ve tried microgreens. You may not have given this green garnish much thought, but you should start paying more attention to it — these greens pack a serious nutritional punch.

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

How to find nutrition news you can trust

Today, with news coming from so many different sources, it has become much harder to decide who to trust. This is not just true for current events or politics, it also applies to food, nutrition and medical care. So do like I do and follow these five rules…

Joyce Hollman

Antibiotic resistance: One more reason to avoid NSAIDs

Using NSAIDs like Motrin and Advil for pain relief can damage your stomach and put you at risk of heart attack and stroke. But there’s one more reason to reach for something else… these meds could also make it harder for you to battle a resistant infection.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Why losing weight before bariatric surgery could save your life

Weight loss surgery can come with big benefits, including lowering your risk of chronic conditions, like heart disease and diabetes. The surgery is not without risks, though, including a small percentage of deaths. Fortunately, there’s a way to cut that risk by 40 percent before you enter the operating room…

Joyce Hollman

The unexpected way lead gets in your drinking water

Depending on the age of your home, your pipes may be lined with lead. And when it mixes with another heavy metal commonly used in municipal water systems, your lead exposure could increase tenfold…

Joyce Hollman

One more reason to use hops for menopause relief

With all the research linking hormone replacement therapy with breast cancer, it’s no wonder many women prefer natural relief for menopause symptoms. After concerns about its possible interactions with common medications, a particularly effective supplement has been given the all-clear…

Jenny Smiechowski

Keto, inflammation and the autoimmune disease connection

Making changes to your diet can drastically improve autoimmune disease symptoms… or even send your disease into remission. But what diet is best if you’re one of the 23.5 million American’s struggling to get an autoimmune condition under control?

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Why an amino acid deficiency could lead to diabetes

The rate of diabetes in the U.S. is rising sharply. Lots of reports and research seems to focus on the American lifestyle and the terrible food we eat. So, you can probably imagine how surprised I was to learn a deficiency we hear little about could be partially to blame…

Jenny Smiechowski

How omega-3s from fish help regulate cholesterol

There’s been some debate over the years about whether omega-3s reduce heart disease risk. But a new study may put the decades-long debate to rest. Not only does it show that omega-3s come with substantial cardiovascular perks, but it also shows exactly how these healthy fats help your heart…

Joyce Hollman

7 everyday essentials for a natural medicine cabinet

It’s becoming commonplace to find that medicines we’ve thought were safe, aren’t. In fact, some of them are downright dangerous. Remember the recent warning about carcinogens in your heartburn medication? If you’d like to build a natural medicine cabinet, here are seven starters for you…

«SPONSORED»