Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Joyce Hollman

Is your doctor prescribing ‘low-value’ heart care?

A review of cardiovascular care in the U.S. found it’s prone to a high frequency of “low-value” tests and procedures. It happens to nearly half of patients and leads to more invasive tests that come with higher risks, costs and questionable benefits. Are you one of them?

Carolyn Gretton

The surprising way your immune system helps burn fat

You may think your immune system is only activated when you’re sick. Truth is, it remains active in your body even when you’re perfectly healthy. In fact, It has cells stationed all over the body that are busy performing vital functions, such as those related to energy production and burning fat…

Carolyn Gretton

The silent way your gut influences heart disease

The gut influences processes in our body far beyond digestion. In fact, it’s known that disturbances in the microbiome and heart problems can go hand in hand. But there’s been some uncertainty about where the issues actually begin and what could be done to decrease the harm…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

How body fat can function to stave off old-age ailments

Most of us think of body fat as something we need to lose. However, growing research is proving it’s much more than a reservoir for storing calories. Depending on how well it functions, fat may be key to preventing some of the most common age-related ailments.

Carolyn Gretton

The cholesterol-busting power of caffeine

Caffeine has been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease risk. But it’s been unclear exactly how. Turns out, there’s an interesting connection between caffeine and a protein that stimulates cholesterol production.

Joyce Hollman

How the right fiber helps slash dementia risk

We’re always hearing we should eat more fiber. It helps maintain a healthy digestive system, reduces cholesterol and improves heart health. Now, research is finding that eating more of a particular type of fiber may also keep dementia away…

Joyce Hollman

Microplastic ‘magnets’ deliver poisons to your bloodstream

Who in their right mind would sit down and eat a bunch of plastic particles with their meal? But we have been for a long time. To the point that it’s poisoning us in an entirely different and alarming way…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How much meat can you eat and keep cancer risks low?

More and more, research is proving that being a meat lover can put you at higher risk for cancer. But is it really an all-or-nothing deal? Maybe not. You may only need to follow a few simple rules to enjoy meat and keep the “big C” at bay…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Autoimmune disease over 50: Why the rise and how to stop it

If you’re at an age where heart and brain health are top of mind, you might be missing a threat that’s 50 percent higher in older adults than it was 25 years ago. The good news is that the nutrients that support your heart and brain can also decrease your autoimmune risk by 30 percent.

Joyce Hollman

The diet that slowed over-50 brain shrinkage

With age, the size of the human brain shrinks. Age-related brain atrophy occurs due to a loss of brain cells. With fewer brain cells, connections are lost and cognitive decline begins. What if you could pump up the volume with a simple diet adjustment?

Joyce Hollman

4 ways cherries make you feel better

It’s no accident that the small, sweet cherry has found its way into idioms that express how good life is. To “put the cherry on top” means to make a good thing even better. That’s because there are few downsides to eating cherries, and a lot of benefits to be had…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Melatonin + late-night eating: A recipe for diabetes

Late-night eating can lead to weight gain or high blood sugar levels. That’s a recipe for diabetes. But new findings show many of us carry a gene that can make that habit worse by turning a hormone naturally produced in the body against us.

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Better sleep provides better odds against mind-stealing plaques

When your sleep cycle gets screwed up, so does your health. Disruption to your circadian clock has been found to interfere with the brain’s ability to clear a protein closely linked to stealing your brain functions and memories. But getting it back on schedule isn’t so hard…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Study seems to settle the connection between cancer and alcohol

While none of us doubt that heavy drinking is a danger to health, the jury has been out for decades as to whether light to moderate alcohol use can be helpful or harmful. But one consistent debate has centered on alcohol’s connection to cancer. Well, now, the jury may have made a final decision.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The scientific myth putting men’s bones in danger

For years, if not decades, health care providers have assumed people with higher levels of body fat have high bone density and are at low risk of fracture. Turns out that was a mistake that’s left men, especially, in danger.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Is meat the link to autoimmune reactions and MS?

More and more evidence has mounted over the past decade suggesting that bacteria in the gut can affect the immune system, particularly an autoimmune reaction. If what we eat can affect the bacteria in our guts, could diet also play a role in whether or not we end up with MS?

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The mistake that could be skewing your blood pressure

A cuff squeezes your arm at your doctor’s office, helping your doctor determine whether he needs to prescribe medication. But you should know those blood pressure readings are wrong surprisingly often…

Joyce Hollman

Red ginseng helps slow aging, boost energy after menopause

Ginseng is an anti-viral and anti-inflammatory that stops our stress response cycle, including the immune response that follows stress. But for those who need help with energy and aging, its benefits may go to the cellular level…

Joyce Hollman

Chronic pain: How the Keto diet can help

A ketogenic diet is a diet that’s very low in carbohydrates. Most people go on a ketogenic diet to lose weight. But research has established other benefits of the diet, including the potential to relieve pain. The reason may surprise you…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

What coffee can do about digestion, gallstones and your liver

Research is proving that coffee has more perks than ever previously thought. But there’s one negative holdover: Many people think coffee increases their intestinal problems, when that’s just not the case. A review of 194 research publications shows exactly what we mean…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Researchers weigh in on how to blast belly fat this Spring

Is one of your resolutions to lose some serious weight this year? But, will hitting the gym give you the results you want? And how much can you expect to lose and how long will it take? Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have all of these answers…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The sleep disorders that more than double heart dangers

What if you did something that doubled your risk of high blood pressure, made you 70 percent more likely to get cardiovascular disease and 47 percent more likely to die for any reason? You’d change your ways, right? It’s not so easy, but these are two sleep disorders to get very serious about…

Margaret Cantwell

Vitamin D2 or D3: Proof one’s a dud and the other fights infection

Vitamin D is mired in controversy. Preventive medicine has always sung its praises, while scientists have been skeptical. But not anymore: Researchers have finally proven one form does next to nothing, while the right form fortifies the immune system and keeps infections away. What’s in your bottle?

Jenny Smiechowski

How to squeeze the most cataract-fighting lutein from spinach

Lutein is a super healthy carotenoid. It reduces the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts, as well as coronary heart disease, stroke and metabolic syndrome. It may even improve your cognitive health. Here’s how to get the most of it from a great source…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Fatigue: How to keep it from shortening your lifespan

Do you feel good about your energy levels or do you struggle to make it through daily activities, even ones you used to enjoy, ending up exhausted? Your answer could predict whether or not you’re going to live a long, healthy life or die within the next three years.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Death during sex: Not just a danger for older men

Sex isn’t just enjoyable. It relieves stress and boosts your immune system. But it’s not all rosy when it comes to what happens between the sheets. Sometimes people die during or shortly after sex due to sudden cardiac death. And it doesn’t just happen to older men…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

One thing diabetics should eat to bring BP, cholesterol, and fasting glucose down

If you have diabetes, you’d think that it would be enough that you have to deal with the disease itself and all of the symptoms it causes… But you’re wide open for hypertension and heart disease. Luckily, just one nutrient can help you fight three of your worst enemies and hold onto your health…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The Amazonian fruit offering hope against cancer

If there’s one thing most doctors would agree on it’s that the most difficult disease to treat has to be cancer. And while the emergence of immune checkpoint inhibitors has provided hope, there’s still room for improvement — and an Amazonia berry may be a key player.

Joyce Hollman

The vitamin deficiencies making older adults depressed

Fatigue, memory problems, even walking difficulties all sound like problems to do with aging. So, when depression sets in, well, no wonder. But what if all of these are just symptoms of a simple vitamin deficiency?

Virginia Tims-Lawson

Frailty: The new #1 one risk factor for dementia

Too many believe dementia is a normal part of getting old, when in truth, losing your cognitive abilities is anything but. Even more shocking is that frailty can more than double your risk. That should make preventing old-age frailty a priority by following these steps…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

Signs you’re the 1 in 3 Americans with a protein deficiency

Protein has never been more popular as evidenced by the grocery shelves packed with everything from protein powders and drinks to Greek yogurt and protein-packed bars and cereals. But about a third of us are still missing the mark when it comes to protein and that’s a problem…

Joyce Hollman

Gluten sensitive? It might be something else

We’ve all known the feeling of eating something that just doesn’t agree with us. What you may not realize is that feeling really tired after a meal, getting a headache or even feeling kind of depressed could also be signs of a food intolerance. But finding the cause isn’t so easy…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

What calculating your true age can reveal about your health and longevity

You’re birth date tells you how old you are, but it’s your body’s true age that matters more. That’s because it’s your physiological age that can reveal if it’s in the cards for you to live to a ripe old age or suffer risk factors that could lead to premature death…

Jenny Smiechowski

6 menopause symptoms you can treat with acupuncture

There’s evidence HRT increases your risk for breast cancer, blood clots and stroke. It’s hard to justify those risks. So, many women tough menopause out. You don’t have to. There’s another way to relieve symptoms that’s not so high-stakes. In fact, researchers believe this may be the best option…

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

How to recognize labeling tricks that make foods seem healthier than they are

Can you trust the ingredient panel on food packaging? I’m a doctor and I don’t. Deceptive labeling is one of the major factors behind the epidemic of chronic disease in the U.S. If you’re trying to make the right choices, here’s how to decipher their clever marketing tricks…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The 4 most common triggers of irregular heartbeat

When you have this condition, the electrical impulses in the upper chambers of your heart are chaotic, causing the atrial walls to quiver, instead of contracting normally and moving blood to the lower chambers. This can cause blood clots to form. That’s why you need to know your triggers…

Joyce Hollman

The double standard keeping the pain relief of cannabis out of your hands

Cannabis has proven benefits… yet, it’s grouped with drugs that kill. Why? There’s a double standard allowing the government a stranglehold on producer’s of CBD oil while allowing pharmaceuticals to produce drugs made from marijuana. Does that sound fair to you?

Jenny Smiechowski

The food that could replace blood pressure meds

Blood pressure medications are rife with side effects. In fact, blood pressure pills are being pulled from pharmacy shelves because of cancer-causing impurities. So, how do you avoid that conversation with your doctor about high blood pressure meds you really don’t want to take?

Joyce Hollman

3 reasons your dental care needs extra attention after 50

Maybe your whole life you’ve had strong teeth and a healthy mouth. But when you enter your 50s, you’ll experience changes that need special attention. Here are some proactive steps you can take to keep your mouth healthy as you get older…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The exercise scientifically proven to help you lose more weight

What if time is not on your side and you have no desire to become a slave to exercise to slim down? A new study has found that you can throw out the old guidelines that require lots and lots of exercise for a much faster and more effective way to lose weight…

Jenny Smiechowski

Young-onset colon cancer is on the rise and this habit’s to blame

Even though a recent study identified six different cancers on the rise in younger adults, for several years, we’ve heard about one particular cancer that’s popping up in the under 50 set more often than ever — colorectal cancer. Because it’s more aggressive, you need to be just as aggressive at avoiding it.

Dr. Michael Cutler

Estrogen replacement methods and management

You may have recently made the decision to give hormone replacement therapy a try. There are several ways to replace low estrogen. And several others factors that can affect how well it works for you.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

The diet that helps seniors lose fat, keep muscle and gain bone mass

The older you get the more difficult dieting can be and not just for the same reasons as when you were younger. Now, there’s even more you have to worry about. Because losing weight can also mean losing muscle and bone density. That spells trouble.

Joyce Hollman

Are breast implants worth the cancer and autoimmune risks?

What lengths would you go to reshape your body so that it more closely matches the “ideal” women’s figure? Would you mind being inconvenienced or uncomfortable for a few days or a week? How do you feel about pain? What about cancer?

Margaret Cantwell

The broth that warms your bones and protects your heart

Soothing, healing broth is a natural health staple for helping people feel better from just about any ailment. But if you want to block the activity of enzymes known to lead to heart disease, not just any old broth will do. Let me tell you what the science says is so special about this one…

Carl Lowe

6 ways gluten can secretly ruin your life

Even if you don’t have celiac disease, gluten can be problematic — even dangerous. If you suspect gluten could be at the root of your problems, you may have to do some digging on your own. Start by weeding through these most common myths that people believe about gluten…

Jenny Smiechowski

The diet that makes you susceptible to sepsis

Sepsis occurs when your immune system releases chemicals into the bloodstream to fight an infection, but things go awry. The immune system goes into overdrive triggering body-wide inflammation and a real risk of organ failure and death. Who’d have thought your diet could do this…

Virginia Tims-Lawson

What the studies got wrong about fish oil’s heart health benefits

Lately, controversy has been swirling around the long-held belief that omega-3 fish oil supplements were beneficial for heart health. In fact, recent reports have come out saying they have little or no heart or vascular health benefit. Your life could depend on understanding what the research got wrong…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

If you’re shaving down there, know the risks

How do you wear your hair? Nope… Not the hair on your head, but the hair down there… Your pubic hair. Do you go au naturale, trim, shave, wax? Well, if you trim it back or take it off, you’re not alone. But there’s a dark side to this grooming habit.

Joyce Hollman

The root that gets to the root of resistant cancer stem cells

Imagine weeding your garden by cutting back the stalks as low to the ground as possible, then leaving it at that. Not a very effective technique, is it? If you don’t pull out the roots, those weeds will grow back pretty quickly.

Jenny Smiechowski

Be wary of the weedkiller raising cancer risk 41 percent

After conducting a comprehensive review of the existing science on glyphosate exposure and cancer, researchers came to a startling conclusion… There’s a clear connection between glyphosate and at least one type of cancer. And the risk is much higher than ever thought before.

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How your nose can boost your dieting willpower

Making changes to your lifestyle is just not easy, no matter how much you want to exercise more or eat better, or both, because you know those things will make a significant difference in your health and your future. But that smell…

Joyce Hollman

Did your cell phone make the ‘most’ or ‘least’ radiation list?

Study after study has made the connection between cell phone use and cancer, brain damage and other diseases. So if you’re not taking the threat seriously still, time to get with the game. Find out if your phone is a bigger threat than you think, and how to avoid the danger…

Jenny Smiechowski

Supercharging your cells can defend against Alzheimer’s, aging and diabetes

You are what you eat… or, to be more precise, your cells are what you eat. And cell function affects aging and disease. But if feeling healthy and young matters to you, it’s not just what you feed your cells, but how you eat, that can supercharge your cells to protect you from premature aging and disease.

Dr. Elizabeth Klodas MD, FACC

The LDL ‘big picture’ and why you need to see it sooner than later

LDL plays a central role in the initiation and progression of plaque build-up. That’s why it’s the number you and your doctor are most concerned with. But plaque buildup is determined not only by LDL levels. That’s why we need to talk about cumulative LDL exposure and what it means for you…

Dr. Adria Schmedthorst

How to eat dessert and still lose weight

The words dessert and diet don’t seem to go together, right? Well, the truth is there is a way to make eating dessert work for weight loss. Shocked, right? Stick with me while I lay out the details on how you can have your cake and eat it too, and lose weight, starting with four separate experiments…

Joyce Hollman

Why statin manufacturers may soon target the mentally ill

Inflammation. It’s been called the root of disease. Not just heart disease either. Recent research is positing some compelling evidence that inflammation plays a role in the development of mental illness. No one’s prescribed an Advil for schizophrenia, but you should be concerned at what drug could be…

Jenny Smiechowski

The drink that doubles stroke risk in post-menopausal women

There are a lot of great things about being a woman who is past menopause, but your stroke risk isn’t one of them. In the decade after menopause, your stroke risk doubles. That’s why it’s important to find ways to get it back down. Luckily, there’s a simple way to do just that…

Dr. Michael Cutler

How to get your estrogen back with benefits

If you’re a women wondering if you should be using hormone replacement therapy, you might like to know there is increasing evidence regarding overwhelming health benefits, supported by research. But benefits and risks vary depending on how you’re getting your hormones…

Jenny Smiechowski

The tiny seed that tackles high blood sugar and belly fat

When you’re trying to lose weight and balance your blood sugar, you must face a sad truth… Your microbiome might be working against you. Research shows that certain strains of gut bacteria can make it harder to lose weight. They can also impact the amount of sugar in your blood.

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