Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Carolyn Gretton

The sweet news about sugar in your coffee

There’s no doubt that coffee’s health benefits are backed by plenty of research. But the caveat has been to avoid the cream and sugar to reap them. Of course, you want the benefits — but you want to enjoy your coffee too. Here’s some good news on that front…

Carolyn Gretton

How time of day (and sex) affects your exercise results

Exercise is so good for us experts tell us to do it whenever we have the time. But depending on what your goals are — less tummy fat versus more upper body strength or better blood pressure and cholesterol — your exercise timing makes a huge difference…

Carolyn Gretton

The lowdown on skin cancer: Types, treatment and staying safe

More Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer each year than for all other cancers combined. But skin cancer is still shrouded in mystery, misconceptions and doubt. Let’s take a look at the main types, how to identify them, what to expect and how to stay safe.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Proline: Why this amino acid causes depression for some

More than 37 million Americans now take medications for depression. And for far too long experts focused on chemical imbalances in the brain these drugs treat. But another imbalance is proving just as powerful at affecting your mood. And the medicine is much easier to swallow…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Strange link: Dietary cholesterol and viral infection

Specific limits on dietary cholesterol were lifted from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans back in 2015. But that move may have been too hasty. Turns out there’s an odd connection between dietary cholesterol and your susceptibility for viral infection…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How breast cancer and diabetes feed off each other

As scientists will say, just because there seems to be a link doesn’t mean there is, especially without proof. But now, when it comes to diabetes and breast cancer, they’ve got the proof connecting cancer’s sweet tooth and a dangerous feedback loop…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

A doctor’s list of 6 diseases a plant-based diet benefits

Have you ever noticed something strange when you go to your doctor? No matter what your health problem, their answer is always in a pill. But physicians everywhere are being put on notice by one of their own — and she’s got a better prescription with lots of clout…

Joyce Hollman

10 surprising things that cause hair loss

Aging is not automatically accompanied by hair loss. But there are lifestyle and other factors that could cause you to see more hair in your hairbrush than you’re used to. I was surprised to find that several of these may be behind my own hair loss.

Joyce Hollman

A year after COVID infections, thyroid troubles persist

After learning that a COVID-19 infection could take lives, we also learned that it could change lives by the way it attacked various organs in unexplainable ways. One of those was the thyroid. If you’re still having trouble a year after an infection, this may be why…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

4 movements that really help you “go”

I had a problem with constipation for years. Whatever the cause, going to the bathroom was my nemesis. I would go days without “going” and then when I did, the strain was awful. After many, MANY doctor’s visits, and getting no help, I decided there had to be a better way. And, I found it…

Carolyn Gretton

Atrial fibrillation: A reason to work harder to avoid dementia

Atrial fibrillation can raise your risk of several heart and circulatory issues, including heart failure and stroke. But what’s been less clear is whether AF increases the risk of dementia not caused by stroke. So far, this is what they’ve found…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The serious blood clot risk that comes with prostate cancer

People with cancer are known to have a higher risk of dangerous blood clots known as venous thromboembolism or VTE. These clots are a leading cause of death in people with cancer. Because prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, this is a risk they need to be aware of…

Jenny Smiechowski

The antioxidant that protects your brain’s barrier

Inflammation is a huge factor when it comes to Alzheimer’s. It’s triggered by a build-up of proteins that kill your brain cells. And it may cause the build-up in the first place. One thing’s for sure, inflammation causes the disease to progress quickly and severely.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Quantified: How much type 2 diabetes ages the brain

Type 2 diabetes doesn’t just spell problems for your blood sugar. It acts as a gateway disease in many respects. And while there have been concerns about its connection to cognitive decline for a while, you may be surprised to learn how much diabetes ages the brain…

Carolyn Gretton

The real reason ‘bad’ cholesterol increases during menopause

When women undergo menopause, they experience a decline in estrogen that kicks off a host of unpleasant symptoms. But what has been less clear is estrogen’s specific role in heart disease risk, and how the “change” is connected to cholesterol, until now…

Joyce Hollman

The medication increasing inflammatory bowel disease in people over 60

Most people that develop inflammatory bowel disease do so by the age of 30. But IBD is on the rise — and it’s targeting a vulnerable population: folks aged 60 and older. IBD is painful, difficult and debilitating. And if you’re a senior, the risks are even higher…

Carolyn Gretton

What gout and heart failure have in common

Gout has been established as a risk factor in certain cardiovascular conditions, including stroke and heart attack. But what about heart failure? Exploring a potential link between these two conditions may offer heart failure patients a new lifeline…

Joyce Hollman

Why the mercury in fish may not be so bad

We’ve been warned to avoid eating much fish over concerns about mercury. But now, Canadian researchers say the chemical form of mercury consumed from a high fish diet is completely different from the form found in the brains of those who were poisoned by mercury. What gives?

Jenny Smiechowski

Zinc: Too much or too little spells trouble

Zinc is one of those nutrients you don’t hear a lot about. People are all over vitamin C, but zinc, an equally important nutrient for a strong immune system tends to take a back seat to all the hype. But supplementing can be tricky…

Carolyn Gretton

This could be why your blood pressure medicine isn’t working

About 20 percent of people with high blood pressure are resistant to treatment, leaving them vulnerable to heart attack and stroke. Researchers trying to get to the bottom of why are onto something…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

New study shows 3 ways eggs benefit your heart

Remember how for years, doctors warned us not to eat eggs? They would raise our cholesterol, give us heart disease and leave us to die of a heart attack or stroke? Forget that old-school advice. The new-school lists three ways eggs do a heart good…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

4 lifestyle choices that add up to 6 years to your life

It’s no secret that the choices you make have a profound impact on your health. From protecting your heart to guarding against dementia and disability as you age, lifestyle modifications are taking center stage, and these four can add years to your life…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Slow walker? You’re on a fast track to a nursing home

We all want to age like those people who get laugh lines, not wrinkles, hold on to their memories and become more vital as the years pass. But it doesn’t always go that way. There’s a way to measure your odds — just in time to do something about it.

Joyce Hollman

The heart condition you can get from one episode of heavy drinking

A drink with dinner — no big deal. What about two or three beers? If you’ve had enough to drink that you get a hangover the next morning, you’re setting yourself up for a potentially fatal heart problem, even if you’ve never had heart issues before.

Carolyn Gretton

How your age at menopause impacts your dementia risk

Women are at much higher risk of dementia than men, and declining estrogen may have something to do with it. But it gets more alarming: The earlier menopause happens, the higher that dementia risk goes. What can we do about that? You’d be surprised…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

The hidden factor increasing heart disease in lean people

I’m not body-shaming. My concerns stem from knowing that certain kinds of fat and where it’s carried, like around the middle, can do real damage. But there’s another type of fat we never see that goes after the heart. Surprisingly, the leanest among us may be most at risk.

Joyce Hollman

Reducing cravings: An added benefit of exercise

Exercise should be part of any weight-loss strategy. But can it do more? Scientists have looked into how it may help us resist the foods that often sabotage our best efforts. And it’s promising enough that you may start disliking exercise a whole lot less…

Joyce Hollman

A fiber fix for antibiotic-resistant infections

When bacteria become resistant, the original antibiotic can no longer kill them. The chances of experiencing an antibiotic-resistant infection are only increasing. But what you eat can shift the balance of antibiotic resistance genes in your gut…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

What gallstones reveal about your cancer risk

Pancreatic cancer is tough. Often diagnosed late, survival rates are low. Knowing your risks can help. And now a predictor of elevated risk has been identified — a condition that could mean cancer isn’t far behind. But like those other risk factors, you can take control…

Carolyn Gretton

Vision loss as a dementia risk factor stacks up

None of us want to face dementia. So we do crosswords and brain teasers and hope we’ll maintain a sharp brain. But there’s actually a simple action that a lot of us aren’t taking that can make a big difference in our dementia risk…

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

Why Weight Watchers points are becoming irrelevant

Every day someone decides to “lose weight and eat better.” The reasons vary but they have one thing in common: they’re endless. Which is maybe why Weight Watchers came out with an update to its SmartPoints system. As a cardiologist, I’ve learned that diets don’t work — because they focus on the wrong thing…

Joyce Hollman

Focus on your waist, not weight, to beat diabetes and heart disease

High blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, excess body fat, and elevated blood sugar are all part of metabolic syndrome. You may be surprised to learn your doctor is probably not doing nearly enough to help you avoid it. That’s concerning enough that new guidelines have been developed…

Jenny Smiechowski

The toxic chemicals hiding in your ‘eco-friendly’ takeout bowl

It’s been years since I ate fast food, like McDonald’s. Now I’m a fast casual aficionado. You know, those restaurants that provide healthy-ish options, like lentil quinoa bowls from Panera and sofritas tacos from Chipotle, that I eat a little too often. Though fast casual seems healthier, it’s still rife with hidden health pitfalls…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The menopause-muscle connection you need to work on now

New research has finally determined how menopause leads to muscle atrophy. It’s been one of the least understood menopausal symptoms within the medical community. But nothing makes aging more difficult than frailty, and without muscle, that’s where a lot of women end up following menopause…

Jenny Smiechowski

How to vibrate high blood sugar and inflammation into oblivion

Have you ever heard of passive exercise? I know what you’re thinking… that’s an oxymoron. Exercise is active not passive. In fact, activity is the whole point of exercise. But passive exercise is a real thing. It’s when your body moves but someone (or something) does the work for you. Here’s an example…

Joyce Hollman

Therapeutic fibbing: When a “little white lie” is helpful therapy

Therapeutic fibbing is a creative communication technique you can use when someone with short-term memory loss is disoriented, anxious or upset. It’s not lying, but a way to step into their reality and spare them unnecessary distress or anxiety. My mom was a champion at this technique.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Why apples and tea help prevent heart disease and cancer

A powerful compound you can get from regularly consuming common foods like apples and tea has the power to protect against both cancer and heart disease in one fell swoop — especially if you’re at higher risk due to some not-so-healthy lifestyle habits…

Dr. Michael Cutler

4 big ways NSAID pain relievers can hurt your body

You know nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by the names Motrin, Advil, and Aleve, etc. These are typically the first choice to control inflammation and pain. They seem harmless enough. Why else would the FDA make them available over the counter? But there are a few safety concerns, including newer warnings…  

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are hitching a ride on your produce

Antibiotic-resistant infections usually bring to mind a hospital setting — not food. But even if you’ve come to grips with news that superbugs are in your grocery store meat, this next part may be harder to swallow… There’s another agricultural source of antibiotic-resistant superbugs lying in wait…

Craig Cooper

7 foods that reduce joint pain

Regardless of your level of activity, joint pain can affect your performance and your enjoyment. You can tackle this challenge by selecting from a wide variety of anti-inflammatory and pain medications, or signing up for physical therapy. You also can choose these 7 foods that help reduce joint pain.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The best exercise to keep an aging body strong

More people over 60 are hitting the weights and skipping the cardio machines. The reason being that muscle strength declines with age. But is it the best exercise for them? Here’s the definitive answer on whether strength training or endurance exercise is best to prevent age-related decline…

Jenny Smiechowski

How to burn fat, curb appetite and boost metabolism when you eat

You live a pretty healthy lifestyle, eating vegetables and walking every day. But you like to let loose with a piece of tiramisu (or two) on occasion. You think moderation is better than anxiety-inducing perfection, but your mid-life belly bulge is developing a mind of its own. Try this to stay fit without changing your diet…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

How your gut could trigger Parkinson’s disease

The number of people living with Parkinson’s has risen steeply over the past three decades. In fact, from 1990 to 2016 alone, Parkinson’s diagnoses more than doubled from 2.5 million to 6.1 million. Unfortunately, the disease has confounded the medical community and the cause behind the majority of Parkinson’s cases has remained a mystery. Until now…

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

Why all the fuss about protein is a waste of time

Most of us think if we don’t eat meat, fish, eggs or dairy we’re not getting any protein in our diet. But that’s NOT protein. It’s FOOD. And the protein content of those foods is not necessarily related to the protein content of your body. Because the only protein that’s present in your body was made in your body…

Jenny Smiechowski

5 steps to follow immediately after you find a tick

You’ve probably experienced it — that terrifying moment when you notice a strange bump in your armpit, behind your ear, on your inner thigh, under your boob. Is it a pimple? An ingrown hair? A cancerous tumor? That marble you ate when you were seven? And that’s when you realize, it’s none of those things…

Joyce Hollman

Don’t get greenwashed into using healthy or eco-friendly products that aren’t

It’s important to watch out for your health and the planet’s, but being a conscious consumer isn’t easy. When a company covers up its questionable environmental record with distracting claims, dramatic advertising or by omission, it’s known as greenwashing. Here’s what you should know…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Caffeine: Defining the line between migraine trigger and reliever

Caffeine’s connection to migraine is certainly complicated. Maybe that’s why few studies have looked at this suspected trigger in-depth enough to find out why it’s both reliever and trigger. Until now… If migraines are a problem for you, now you can know how much caffeine might trigger your next one… or how much might help.

Jenny Smiechowski

Why one scientist says all aspartame should be pulled from grocers’ shelves

Professor Erik Millstone, a researcher from the University of Sussex and expert on food chemical safety policy, believes products that contain aspartame should be pulled from the grocery store shelves they proliferate. Why? All those studies that said it was safe were sketchy, to say the least…

Joyce Hollman

Pink noise puts your sleep and your brain in the pink

In order to build and retain memories, we need to get deep sleep, known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. So, just staying in bed with your eyes closed, even for seven or eight hours, is not necessarily going to do the trick. But there is a trick scientists say can get your sleep and your brain in the pink!

Easy Health Options Staff

In case you missed it: Lead and arsenic found in fruit juice

Remember the days when fruit juice was considered healthy? Moms packed juice boxes in the kids’ lunches. People invested in expensive juicers to make it fresh every morning. Health nuts did juice fasts to lose weight and improve their energy levels. Well, the times have changed more than you may know!

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Antioxidant counters radiation ‘cancer boost’ from CT, PET, X-ray and more

The levels of radiation received during CTs, x-rays and such is generally considered safe. But that might not be the case: Radiation equivalent to three CT scans was shown to give cancer-capable cells a competitive advantage over normal cells. But a simple supplement before your next scan can protect you…

Jenny Smiechowski

Get into the flow to guard your brain from dementia

Blood is your best protection against the scariest brain diseases… especially dementia. As you get older, your blood vessels get smaller and stiffer and carry less blood to your brain. And when your brain cells don’t get enough, they start to wither away. That’s why blood flow matters most to avoid cognitive decline.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Don’t let your autoimmune medication give you cancer and Crohn’s

I still remember sitting in my rheumatologist’s office. He was recommending a medication that could increase my risk for deadly cancers for a condition he thought I might have — but wasn’t actually sure. And that’s the trouble with many autoimmune diseases. But what else could I do?

Dr. Michael Cutler

How your gut influences full body health and how to help it

Your gut is one valuable organ. For years it wasn’t given much thought. We were busy keeping hearts, brains, kidneys and other vital organs healthy… until research caught up and keyed us in on just how much the health of your entire body depends on your gut.

Joyce Hollman

Cruciferous vegetables: The good, the bad and the gas

Broccoli. Kale. Brussels sprouts. Cruciferous vegetables… the holy grail of health. It’s pretty much a fact of life by now that including enough of this family of vegetable in your daily diet is a sure ticket to health, and that not eating them at all is asking for problems. But there are some dos and don’ts…

Margaret Cantwell

The major heart disease warning this diet sends your gut

It’s a diet some call life-changing. There are more than a few studies that show its effect on health is purely positive. It helps balance blood sugar, reverse serious autoimmune disorders, and even shed stubborn pounds. But the results of a new study throw a scary prospect on the table.

Joyce Hollman

6+ super antioxidants that stop inflammation cold

As with many health problems, the good news is that our eating habits can reverse and control this process. Here are half a dozen of the foods and herbs you can include in your diet to help stop and even prevent chronic inflammation from taking hold.

Jenny Smiechowski

How resveratrol helps fight muscle loss and fatigue

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass that occurs with age. It can start as early as your 30s, but it really kicks into high gear in your 50s and 60s. Because anstronauts. For astronaughts, it kicks in everytime they go to space, Tht’s why helping them can offer you a sure-fire solution too…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Testosterone therapy may hurt men’s hearts

Testosterone therapy is a rapidly growing market – one that’s expected to hit $1 billion by 2024. In addition to improving sexual health, it can boost a man’s general health. But, just like HRT for women, male testosterone replacement therapy is not without risks…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How antibiotics now may affect you next flu season

Summer is almost over. And, while the fall brings a lot to look forward to from cooler days, the vibrant colors of changing leaves, and holidays with pretty decorations and even pumpkin pie, it also brings with it a reason to be worried…

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