Latest Stories

One of the reasons many people have a hard time with their cholesterol is because of how they respond to the popular statin drugs used to treat it. For some, drug therapy works, but for others, not so much. But a few tweaks can fix that…

If you have a family history of heart disease, you might assume you’re a time bomb waiting to go off and there’s little you can do about it. But you’d be wrong. As much as 90 percent of our risk comes from factors within our control. And some of those factors have recieved an updated seal of approval from the experts, validating their potential to save your life…

It’s no secret that for decades Americans have been getting heavier. There are a lot of reasons why, and we’ve been conditioned to believe they are within our control, and that not following a healthy diet or overeating is no one’s fault but our own. But it may not have been the food all along, and instead, what was on the food…

If you have the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (AFib), you may be confused as to whether it’s a good idea to exercise. No wonder. To this point, the few studies on AFib and exercise have been contradictory. But, there’s been positive indication that a carefully structured exercise program may help some people with AFib better manage their condition…

Most of us have gotten the message: eating more whole grains (as opposed to refined grains like white flour and white rice), is key to healthy living, especially if you want to avoid chronic disease. And nothing can become chronic faster than jumping from prediabetes to a full-fledged diagnosis. But the right grain can completely turn things around, and it’s gluten-free…

You’ve probably heard that 10,000 steps a day can lead to better health and longer life. But have you ever wondered why 10,000 steps? Truth be told, it was an estimate with little science behind it. Recently, researchers set out to determine exactly how many steps per day are needed for those optimal health benefits. Luckily, you can live a lot longer while walking a lot less…

It’s no secret that eating or drinking too much sugar is an unhealthy choice. Foods and beverages laden with the sweet stuff have been strongly linked to type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart attack and heart disease. Scientists quantified sugar’s effects and found a shocking number of lives could be saved by giving up the worst culprit. One of those could be yours…

Flavonoids are known to have great effects on lowering blood pressure levels. But the results haven’t been consistent for everyone. Researchers found why, and how you can make them work better for you…

About one in eight American men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime, and one in 41 will die from the disease. Researchers determined to improve those odds are working to uncover more effective ways to treat prostate cancer — and they may have found an answer in the way these cancer cells feed themselves…

Exercise is one of the best ways to reduce chronic disease risk. Why? It helps burn fat that can lead to metabolic syndrome, a constellation of factors that increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes and stroke. But the number one factor is an accumulation of fat around your middle. So if you’re going to exercise, pick one known to go straight for this fat…

Having a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s can be really scary. But the National Institutes of Health found that people who adhered to at least four of five specific healthy lifestyle factors lowered their risk of Alzheimer’s by sixty percent. Best news of all? Even octogenarians can avoid Alzheimer’s by following these habits…

When most of us think about the foods we eat, we get stuck on things like fat, calories and the amount of sugar in them. Yet, one thing few of us consider is the effect of food on the pH balance — alkalinity to acidity ratio — of the body, which is equally as important… even moreso, for your kidneys.

Research has shown that the makeup of your microbiome greatly affects your immune system. But that’s not all. It impacts your weight, healthy aging and your risk of numerous chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. Two types of foods, fiber and fermented foods, have been known to increase bacterial diversity in the gut. But one does a much better job…

For many recovering from a mild COVID-19 infection, dealing with symptoms for a few weeks may have been the least of it, thanks to long COVID syndrome. Research has tried to uncover why some people suffer the phenomenon and others don’t. Turns out, 73 percent of people with long COVID had a prior run in with a well-known virus waiting for this opportunity to wake up…

Don’t you love the advice to eat better? Silly question. In fact, we hate to hear it because, what is better, specifically? Oftentimes, it’s conflicting. And it rarely includes our favorite indulgences. That’s why we struggle to choose and stick to a healthy diet. But would it be easier if you knew which foods added or subtracted minutes from your life?

To keep our hearts healthy, we’re bombarded with well-meaning advice. Eat this, don’t eat that. Exercise this much. Don’t sit too much. Avoid bad habits and reduce the stress levels in your life. But there’s one simple piece of advice that, if you follow especially during midlife, could eliminate heart failure from your future…

We have more leisure time than ever, between 36 and 40 hours a week by some estimates. But we live in a society that makes us feel like every moment must be a productive one. Once you believe that, and internalize the message that leisure time is a waste of time, research shows you’re going to be more depressed and less happy, unless you think of it this way…

Random mouth ulcers are just plain painful. Over-the-counter topicals or prescription mouthwashes may reduce the pain, but they don’t help heal those canker sores so much. So a group of scientists decided to put CBD to the test. It’s been shown to do so much, why not?

While most people recover within weeks, many are left with what’s been dubbed long-haul symptoms, lasting weeks to even months beyond the initial infection. The exact cause of the condition now known as long COVID syndrome has been a mystery, until evidence pointed to the dangerous role blood clots play in symptoms that won’t go away…

My gut is somewhat out of whack thanks to long-term antibiotics I took several years ago. So I’m familiar with an urgent bathroom run. But there are some surprising things about some foods that can trigger diarrhea even if you have an iron stomach. If you’d rather not be caught off guard, watch out for these eight…

The aorta, the main artery coming into the heart, becomes gradually stiffer with age, even without other risk factors, like smoking or obesity. This stiffening is the main reason the risk of hypertension increases as we get older. But even if weight is a problem, you might be surprised to find you don’t have to starve to make a significant difference in your heart health…

People suffering from Leaky Gut spend years looking for relief. Knowing the symptoms and conditions that can be tied to leaky gut is a good starting point for you to nail down what’s ailing you and how to get relief…

It’s no secret that high amounts of fructose are hiding in hundreds of foods, from condiments, like ketchup, to luncheon meats, apple sauce, breakfast cereals and more. It’s contributed to an obesity epidemic, but scientists were truly surprised to see exactly how: by conditioning the gut to absorb supersized amounts of fat and calories…

The fact that migraines and diabetes are linked at all seems rather unlikely. While migraines happen in your brain, diabetes is caused by issues with your pancreas. And there’s a lot of body separating these two organs. But research has uncovered an odd connection that may seem like a silver lining for at least one of these conditions…

You may believe there comes a point when taking up exercise won’t make any difference to your health. But don’t give up just yet. Research in more than 30,000 people indicates that becoming physically active later in life can be almost as good for a longer, healthier life as having exercised consistently for years…

From watching funny pet videos to relaxing with our favorite pooch, pets make us laugh, make us smile, and make us feel better. That’s why doctors and hospitals have long enlisted therapy dogs to help patients, whether they’re recovering from a physical injury or need emotional support. Here’s how your pet can help you feel better fast…

Certain foods have a reputation as superfoods, meaning they possess particularly heathy attributes that confer improved health and even longer life to those who eat them. You can include them as part of healthy diet or, in the case of this one, the worse your diet is, the bigger the benefits you’ll see…

Time-restricted eating is a type of intermittent fasting. It’s an eating plan where you restrict consuming your calories or food to a specific window of time each day. You might eat during an hour 8 hour period and fast for 16 (a chunk of that when you sleep). It’s not for everyone, but these four big health benefits might inspire you to give it a try…

At any given moment, I can listen to the right tune to help me feel calmer, happier, more focused or primed for sleep. But playing music also improves your life in multiple ways. In fact, learning to play a musical instrument is well worth the effort, especially for your brain, even if you don’t start learning until you’re an older adult…

Erectile dysfunction is a subject most men don’t want to talk about. After all, many men take it as another sign, along with laugh lines and a receding hairline, that they’re just getting older. But if you’re experiencing problems in the bedroom that you’ve been ignoring, the results of a study of over 95,000 men in Australia may be a wake-up call for you…

After examining the brain tissue samples of healthy people in comparison to the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, researchers found that the pH of your brain plays a pivotal role in how amyloid plaques form and take over your brain…

Winter is coming. So is the common cold. That means you should be checking your pantry to take stock of anti-virals and immune-boosters that can ward off these nasty buggers. But there’s one you should especially have on-hand to kill that cold fast…

It’s hard to feel positive when you’re feeling ill. And negative emotional states can certainly bring about physical symptoms. What may surprise you is how connected your happiness is to length of life, disease and death…

Inflammation causes severe health problems and destroys your quality of life when you’re living with an autoimmune disease. And, finding a way to stop the inflammation could give you back your life. Could it really be this simple?

Science is telling us that keeping our hearts healthy will also protect our minds. There is evidence that many of the factors that contribute to physical illness also contribute to mental decline, especially these seven indicators…

So many conditions cause serious, long-term pain. Fibromyalgia. Arthritis. Back injuries. Nerve damage. Migraines. Multiple sclerosis. Shingles. Cancer. Forget the opioids and try these alternatives that are heavier hitters than you might think…

Do you still have your appendix? Well, hold on to it… Long-term scientific research is questioning whether surgery is even necessary for an appendix attack. It turns out you do have another option, and for more than half of patients, it worked better.

It’s easy for the number of medications you’re taking to spiral out of control. But in addition to the minor (or sometimes not so minor) side effects each medication has on its own, there’s also a major side effect of taking multiple medications you may not suspect…

The number of infections seen with contact lens use is increasing. In fact, there’s a threefold increase in the number of infections caused by one particularly nasty eye infection known as Acanthamoeba keratitis. Here’s how to avoid losing your sight if you wear them…

Glyphosate is killing people. Are we surprised, then, to find out that glyphosate is also getting to the honeybees, the creatures whose pollination is responsible for about three-fourths of the world’s food crops? Is our food supply next?

Roughly two-thirds of US teens and adults have low vitamin D levels. But there are a bunch of easy ways to boost it: Get more sun. Eat more fish. Drink more milk. Take a vitamin D supplement. Eat chocolate. Yes, I said chocolate!

Colon cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. These numbers, together with the statistics on outcomes from conventional therapies, reveal an urgent need for integrative approaches to stop cancer development and spread… specifically, plant-based compounds that fight against colon cancer…

When it comes to cancer, there are many factors that can increase your risk… age, diet, physical activity and even your weight all play into the equation. Fortunately, they are also factors that you can control to limit your risk and hopefully avoid that cancer diagnosis.

We all know the saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” But you may not know there’s abundant research, including six anti-cancer studies at one university alone, to show that no matter what variety is your favorite, you’ll be making a healthy choice…

The fewer antibiotics each of us take, the less antibiotic resistance there will be worldwide. How can we do this? There’s a safe supplement that could make all of us much less likely to rely on an antibiotic script from the doctor…

Good skincare can cut down on further damage, but to reverse the look of sagging skin, you might have to consider a cosmetic procedure. These days, that doesn’t mean a full-on face lift. In fact there are many, much less-invasive options to choose from…

It’s no secret that opioids come with serious side effects: nausea, vomiting, constipation, depression and a huge risk of addiction. Most people put up with these side effects, because opioids made that pain more tolerable. At least that’s what we thought…

There are quite a few other things my doctor could be looking at besides my iron and cholesterol levels. A few could actually save my life. In fact, there are several simple blood tests that will alert you to changes you can make to slash your risk of heart attack and stroke…

They’ve been reported to have the power to lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of clots that lead to both heart attacks and strokes. But until now, no one was sure why or which variety offered the best protection…

Mitochondria are the energy centers of your cells. As you get older, your mitochondria don’t work as well. They become less active. Some become defective. This causes physical aging and illness. You can change that…

A “superager” brain stays sharp and protects your body, too. The same brain regions that control your decisions and dreams also regulate your organs, your hormones, your immune system, and predict how much energy your body needs…

About one in every three American adults suffers with hypertension. You probably know the big things that can bring on hypertension, including family history, salt, anger, stress, smoking, being overweight. But there are a few sneaky ones you need to know about…

Did you know that most people with osteoporosis don’t realize that their bone density is slipping away until they have their first fracture? If you’ve been lazy about boosting your bone health, a single supplement may be able to slash your future bone loss in half…

Music is a well-known stress management tool, which could be very helpful to someone with heart disease. But let’s hope that you’re not there yet. If that’s the case, there’s another important way music might help keep you from ever having your first heart attack…

Food is everywhere. But we’re woefully deficient in nutrients. Underfed and undernourished. And this has serious consequences for our health. In fact, there’s compelling evidence these low-nutrient foods could be causing the cancer epidemic…

Have you ever felt that warm glow when you do something for someone else, from helping a neighbor with their yard work to dropping a few dollars into the hand of someone who really needs it? Well, you should see what it does to your brain…

While healthy foods play a role in diabetes prevention, science shows there is one food that goes above and beyond in the fight against type 2 diabetes. And its serious diabetes protection might come as a shocker in more ways than one…

Experts have starting asking is an aspirin a day worth the risks, including gastrointestinal bleeding. But what if aspirin is your go-to remedy for knee pain, headache or your doctor said it would protect against stroke and heart attack? How about an aspirin alternative?

This phenomenon of subjective age is nothing new to most people. What you may not know is that it can be controlled, and that this is a good thing, since it seems that it actually plays a part in determining how long, and how well, you can live…

A bad night of sleep can throw your whole day off, but that’s not all… After a single night without the proper amount of rest, the metabolism in your fat cells are already in trouble — leaving you unable to burn fat and beginning to store it instead…