Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Joyce Hollman

10 superfoods for seriously healthy smoothies

What’s not to love about smoothies? Quick, convenient, delicious — and when done right, bursting with nutrition. Here’s a list of ten superfood choices and their little-known benefits for enlarged prostate, ED, cholesterol and more…

Joyce Hollman

How acupuncture may prevent a diabetes diagnosis

Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are abnormally high, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, yet. Lifestyle interventions can change that course, and additional support has been found in a surprising practice…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How your microbiome affects your athletic performance

What’s bacteria got to do with fitness? A lot. In fact, taking probiotics before working out could be the secret to increased muscle growth. And now there’s proof problems with your gut microbiome can knock you off your game affecting performance too…

Carolyn Gretton

Stroke danger: Why plaque thins and breaks off

Strokes can happen in an instant. And the mechanisms that lead to some strokes and most heart attacks involve ruptured arterial plaque. But until recently, researchers haven’t been able to determine exactly why that happens…

Carolyn Gretton

The ‘other’ B vitamin that beats depression and stress

You may have read the serotonin connection to depression is under fire. And herbal options can leave you a little too relaxed. Just in time, the benefits of another B vitamin have been confirmed for both depression and anxiety…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Wine or beer: which is safer for your heart?

AFib is a condition that causes heart palpatations and carries a higher risk of stroke or heart failure. If you have AFib, drinking alcohol is a big no-no. And drinking too much can cause the condition to develop. But if becoming a teetotaler is not on your bucket list, research says all alcohol is not created equally.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How a fatty liver can exponentially raise dementia risk

Fatty liver affects 1 in 4. The inflammation and damage may eventually lead to cirrhosis or worse. But if you’re one of 30 million with another common condition plus fatty liver, your risk for dementia skyrockets to insane levels. Trim your liver and your risks today…

Joyce Hollman

3 keys to better aging: Mitochondria, energy and muscle

Skeletal muscle constitutes 40 percent of your body and a world of metabolic activity. Research shows just how important it is to maintain those muscle cells, and igniting a process that leads to energy, endurance and longevity could help make that happen…

Joyce Hollman

Dizziness upon standing? How to stop it and why it happens

Orthostatic hypotension literally means “low blood pressure caused by an upright posture.” For some people, it can be an unpleasant experience, even without any underlying causes. It can also be dangerous if you’re not careful. Here’s how to cut down on episodes…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Having a cat could protect you against a staph infection

Bacteriotherapy is a cutting-edge approach to fighing MRSP, or methicillin-resistant staph. And a strain of bacteria has been identified that’s especially good at inhibiting it. You could say it’s a cat’s superpower…

Carolyn Gretton

Ultra-processed foods: The more you eat, the higher your dementia risk

Ultra-processed foods are everywhere, and they’re not doing you any favors, except making it easy to develop insulin resistance, obesity, inflammation, high blood pressure, heart disease — oh and did we mention the strong link to dementia?

Carolyn Gretton

The truth about exercise and dying early

Exercise has been established as a clear path to a longer life. But there’s been some debate about whether more is better or worse. Now we finally know just how much we need to avoid dying early, especially from a heart condition…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The diet that boosts men’s happiness hormone

Close to one in three men will experience depression in their lifetime. That not only affects mental health but also increases chronic disease risk. And men are less likely to seek help. But what’s that saying about the way to a man’s heart? It may be key to happiness too…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Only one type of plant-based diet decreases breast cancer risk

Switching to a plant-based diet is one of the best ways to stay healthy, from weight loss to avoiding diabetes. They’ve even been found to guard against cancer. But when it comes to breast cancer, not all plant-based diets are equal…

Carolyn Gretton

How a gout flare-up signals a countdown to stroke

People with gout tend to be at a higher risk of cardiovascular issues. That’s a connection research made a while ago. What’s more alarming is that a gout flare-up can actually begin the countdown to heart attack or stroke within months…

Carolyn Gretton

Cocoa’s leg up on healthy blood pressure

Plenty of studies confirm cocoa’s benefits. But results from controlled studies don’t always translate to real daily life. That’s where cocoa’s effects on blood pressure and arteries differ. Not only does it work, it laid to rest a concern doctors have about traditional BP treatments…

Joyce Hollman

Sourdough: The ‘better digestion, blood sugar and heart health’ bread

Just about anyone who tries sourdough bread becomes a fan. But there’s more to the light, chewy distinctively-flavored bread. Not only is it loaded with nutrition but it has unique properties that offer big heart, blood sugar and digestive benefits…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

This thyroid condition could raise dementia risk 80 percent

Your thyroid regulates many functions, including metabolism. That requires a steady flow of thyroid hormones circulating in your bloodstream. Too much, too little and you have problems, like weight gain and fatigue. But it looks like your thyroid has a broader impact than we ever thought…

Carolyn Gretton

Metastatic memory: Another reason to avoid palm oil

Palmitic acid, found in palm oil, has been linked with heart disease and cancer. Scientists have been working to unravel the reasons behind the latter, and they may have uncovered how palmitic acid turns regular tumor cells into aggressive spreaders of disease…

Joyce Hollman

When frequent napping may be a stroke warning

Is there anything more enjoyable than a nap on a rainy afternoon? You wouldn’t think there’d be any risk in that. Yet over the past twenty years, scientists have discovered frequent naps carry health implications that may be serious…

Craig Cooper

When low testosterone is actually a simple vitamin problem

Whether you want sustained strength in the gym, more brainpower in the boardroom, better performance in the bedroom, or other overall health benefits, you need to keep this vitamin at optimal levels, especially if you’re concerned about low T…

Margaret Cantwell

What a week of pain relievers does to your heart

You may not realize just how quickly some painkillers can take a toll on your heart. You don’t have to take these drugs for years and years to experience an elevated heart attack risk. Damage can be done by taking them for just one week.

Carolyn Gretton

COVID’s surprising legacy: Making other infections more dangerous

Imagine getting sick and the one antibiotic shown to fight your infection no longer works. In COVID’s wake years of caution took a backslide, and some antibiotic-resistant infections have jumped as much as 78 percent. Here’s what to know going forward…

Jenny Smiechowski

7 surprising health benefits of our favorite fall spice

You may already know that cinnamon can improve your memory, balance your blood sugar and lower your cholesterol… but that’s not all this super spice has up its sleeve…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Unraveling: The serotonin connection to depression

Millions of people turn to antidepressants to help them weather their darkest days. But despite their popularity, what if the mechanism by which the most popularly prescribed were designed to work — correcting a serotonin “imbalance” — turned out to be a myth?

Carolyn Gretton

The dirty truth about toxic soil and your heart

Even if you do everything right for your heart in terms of diet and exercise, there’s a vulnerability almost impossible to avoid. The air we breathe and the soil we grow our food in have been found to contain contaminants directly linked to heart problems on a major scale. Give up? There’s always an answer…

Joyce Hollman

The ‘one a day’ that skyrockets women’s liver cancer risk

Most cases of liver cancer are traceable to clear risk factors such as diabetes, cirrhosis or non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, among others. But for 40 percent the cause isn’t so clear. Until research came across the ‘one a day’ that raises liver cancer risk by 73 percent…

Joyce Hollman

Cut your risk of premature death 28% at the dinner table

While science is finding we’re capable of living much longer, many of us succumb to habits that cheat us of even an average lifespan. In fact, four in one hundred of us die early, when ditching one simple habit can bring those numbers down significantly…

Joyce Hollman

5 factors that increase your fall risk and how to beat them

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, three million seniors are treated in emergency rooms every year for fall-related injuries, and one in five of those falls causes serious injury, usually hip fracture or head injury. But you don’t have to become a statistic…

Joyce Hollman

One thing anxiety, depression and Alzheimer’s have in common

We are what we eat, but how seriously do we take that adage? Considering insulin resistance, anxiety and depression are part of a journey that leads to Alzheimer’s, we’re not taking it seriously enough…

Joyce Hollman

A safer way to shut down your brain’s ‘pain network’

Living with chronic pain can turn your world upside down. I’ve been there. That’s why I’m excited about some hopeful news for anyone living with depression, pain, or both. Science has uncovered something that may offer a way out of pain and depression, without the risk of becoming addicted to the cure.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

A tickle in your ear could help you age better

Your autonomic nervous system controls many of the bodily functions that you don’t even have to think about. But, as you age, that balance begins to tip to your sympathetic nervous system. This imbalance makes you more susceptible to the unhealthier side of aging. But there’s a novel way to get balanced…

Joyce Hollman

A test that could reduce worry for breast cancer survivors

Drug and chemotherapy treatments for early-stage cancer have become more successful in recent years. Up to 30 percent of women show no signs of cancer following chemo. But how do they know their cancer has truly gone into remission so they can live without that terrible worry hanging over their head?

Jenny Smiechowski

Why you don’t need crazy exercise classes to live longer

You want to get in shape. So, you go to a boot camp exercise class in a nearby strip mall gym, and it kicks your butt. Sure, challenging exercise has its place. But people who struggle with moderate or intense exercise, shouldn’t get discouraged. Low-key exercise can pay off big time too…

Jenny Smiechowski

The fried food cancer connection that doubles tumor growth

I know fried food isn’t healthy. But I let myself indulge in it more often than I probably should. Unfortunately, all fried food is equally unhealthy in one important sense — the oil. You may not know most oils are unstable and produce a chemical linked to cancer. It can also make tumors double in size…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Are antibiotics causing rheumatoid arthritis?

When most of us think of arthritis, we probably think of the classic stiff, achy joints of the most common type of the disease, osteoarthritis. But, there’s another type of arthritis that’s a whole different animal, an autoimmune disease that attacks your joints, leaving them painful, swollen and even disfigured.

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

What you should know about your hardworking heart valve

If I opened and closed the front door of my house 60 times a minute, it would probably fly off its hinges in a month! But that’s exactly what your heart valves do. There are no medications for treating valve problems. The only way to fix a severely malfunctioning valve is to replace it. But there are a few things you can do to keep your heart valves in tip-top shape…

Joyce Hollman

For ‘mature’ folks, this could be the king of all workouts

Kickboxing is a form of martial arts that combines karate with boxing. But don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re too old to engage in such a strenuous activity. For older adults, the benefits in terms of weight loss, stress relief, better balance and improved concentration are hard to beat!

Joyce Hollman

When bread isn’t what it says (and shares an ingredient with your yoga mat!)

Whole wheat. Sprouted wheat. Gluten-free. And that’s just the beginning. Are you confused about bread these days? I know I was. Until I did a little research. When you understand what some of the words you see on bread labels REALLY mean, it becomes easier to decide which one is right for you.

Jenny Smiechowski

Fighting autoimmune fueled fatigue? Optimize your HDL for more energy

If you have an autoimmune disease, you know about fatigue. How it prevents you from working, going out with friends, keeping up with your housework and living a normal life — probably more so than any other autoimmune disease symptom. The question is… what (if anything) can you do about it?

Joyce Hollman

5 huge improvements you get from a digital detox

You’ve heard us talk here about the health benefits of a periodic detox to cleanse and rejuvenate the health of the body. But, have you ever considered a “digital detox”?

Dr. Michael Cutler

Stem cell science available at your doctor’s office

Stem cell therapy has moved from the laboratory to your doctor’s office. You may be pleasantly surprised at how stem cells — from your own body — can transform, improve and remedy problems in just about any part of your body. Here’s more on stem cell therapies and the real-world applications available to you…

Dr. Geo Espinosa

7 food additives to always avoid

If you’ve been suffering from unexplained headaches, bowel troubles or allergy-like symptoms, it may be time to look at your diet and eliminate some of the ingredients in processed foods. Here’s a closer look at each type of additive and the health problems associated with it.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The depression symptom on your brain that could be Alzheimer’s

With age, most of us may be on the lookout for warning signs of Alzheimer’s… things like forgetfulness, difficulty following simple instructions, personality changes and problems communicating. But there’s one sign you might not know about… Depression. And its link to Alzheimer’s shows on the brain.

Jenny Smiechowski

Why cannabis is a better pain reliever than aspirin

Whatever you think about cannabis, there’s no denying it’s a promising pain reliever — especially in a world where our only options are OTC pain relievers that increase the odds of internal bleeding and insanely-addictive opioids. So why are more people popping aspirin or opioids than cannabis products for their pain?

Virginia Tims-Lawson

The plant compound that blasts fat and type 2 diabetes

Did you know that not all types of fat are created equal? And, I’m not talking about the types of fat you eat, but the types of fat you have on your body. Yup, there is such a thing as good fat that you actually want to have more of, especially if you’d like to win the battle with obesity and diabetes…

Joyce Hollman

That ‘gut feeling’ is big clue about where anxiety starts and how to stop it

Have you ever noticed how many expressions that describe anxiety include the word “gut”? “I could feel it in my gut.” “I had a gut feeling that something was wrong.” Turns out that this association between our innards and our feelings of anxiety may have crept into our language by way of actual, biological fact.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The best way to slim up a dangerously fatty heart

Fat around your heart is a dangerous thing. It’s linked to cardiovascular disease and the possibility of early death. But can you slim your heart down the same way you do your body? Research found the best ways to knock off up to 30 percent of two types of dangerous heart fat…

Gena Hymowech

The meat that cuts your breast cancer risk

Meat gets quite the bad rap these days. Most experts tell us we need to eat less — if any at all — to avoid some of the scarier diseases… like heart disease and cancer. They also tell us that those who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet live much longer and healthier lives than meat eaters. Now, I swore off red meat a while back. It made me feel “off.” But chicken… that’s my weakness.

Jenny Smiechowski

How smoking fuels dangerously infectious bacteria

Cigarette smoke is bad for you… whether you’re the one smoking or the one caught in the aftermath. Asthma, ear infections, respiratory infections and, yes, even cancer are all on the table if you inhale enough of it. But there’s another surprising effect of cigarette smoke that can hurt us all, either way…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Microneedling may be the best treatment for acne scars

One of my longtime friends is absolutely gorgeous but never thought so herself. That’s because despite all of her natural beauty, she had acne scarring from the time she was in her teens. And, every single time she looked in a mirror, those scars were all she could see.

Jenny Smiechowski

The anti-cancer potential of Keto

People go keto for a lot of reasons. To fit into that one pair of jeans… to balance blood sugar to prevent (or even reverse) conditions like prediabetes and diabetes… to replace brain fog and mid-afternoon slumps with keto euphoria and a clear mind. But there’s one benefit that’s not on most keto dieters’ radar — at least not yet…

Joyce Hollman

3 personal care products you’d be better off making yourself

Would you knowingly wash your hair with a chemical that could give you osteoporosis? Would you get in the shower every morning and lather up with something that would irreparably damage your kidneys or lungs? Or that could cause cancer? I thought not.

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

How one restaurant meal can blow your nutrition for 3 days

One of the casualties of modern-day life is home cooking. Not surprisingly, 90 percent of us don’t like to do it. No wonder more and more people eat out. But it’s getting even harder to differentiate the restaurant foods that might not be so bad from the ones that are a heart attack waiting to happen…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

5+ ways to smell better post workout

I’m one of those weird people who actually likes going to the gym. To me, working out, while necessary, is also fun. In fact, I drive my oldest daughter crazy since she absolutely hates to run and I’m always trying to encourage her to do a mile or two with me. But, one thing I don’t like about the gym is how I smell by the time I leave.

Jenny Smiechowski

Why there’s a very good chance your blood pressure reading is wrong

Blood pressure is one of the most important predictors of complications like heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. But we’re learning that getting an accurate BP reading is a slippery slope… even when your blood pressure is taken by professionals. If you rely on a few readings a year during doctor visits to feel safe, this information is urgent for you…

Joyce Hollman

The best juice for pain relief, better sleep and sharper thinking

Nothing says summer to me like a handful of dark, sweet cherries. You just can’t get them any other time of year as good as they are in the summer months. But the cherries I’m going to tell you about are bright red, not dark purple. And they’re anything but sweet. But year-round they may be your best cure-all…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Use your smartphone to train your brain

A team from the Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cambridge decided to address problems related to forgetfulness. And guess what? They may have found an antidote to the daily distractions that we face in this busy world… and you can get it in a brain training game.

Joyce Hollman

The science behind a warm bath at bedtime

There is one thing that many folks have long used to help them relax, unwind mind and body, and prepare for restful sleep. And it works like a charm, for most people, but not for the reasons they think it does. Now science reveals the secret to why a warm bath can help you get your best sleep ever…

Jenny Smiechowski

Why prescription fish oil may be the next cholesterol wonder ‘drug’

Statins are the most popular cholesterol-lowering drug around. But you may have heard a few things about statins that concern you. It sure would be simpler if your doctor pulled out the prescription pad and gave you something safer to manage your cholesterol. Something without side effects, like fish oil…

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