Latest Stories

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…

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?

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…

There’s a reason we’ve learned to trust our gut instincts. Research has revealed that it works for the body like a second brain and that its effects on total body health can reach far beyond its intestinal confines. That’s why when scientists had a gut feeling about its connection to heart disease, they couldn’t shake it until they discovered this missing link…

Nobel Prize-winning physiologist and biochemist Otto Warburg hypothesized over 90 years ago that cancer cells use sugars for energy. If you take a cancer cell’s preferred energy source, what happens then? On the keto diet, the body turns to burning fat for energy instead of carbohydrates, but cancer might starve…

Sometimes staying motivated to exercise can weigh heavy on your fitness goals, no matter what they are. We’ve been conditioned that achieving them depends on the long haul. Not so for these five benefits that science says you can experience immediately. Hint: some of these may be the motivation you need!

Boswellia serrata, a tree that is native to India, has long been used in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine to control arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Lots of research has shown that it’s a safe, natural substitute for dangerous NSAIDs, but that’s not all…

There are more than 270 types of mushrooms with loads of health benefits. So how do you know where to get started using them to boost your health? You can’t go wrong with any of them, but here are some top recommendations and how they help…

People with periodontitis, a common gum infection, face a diabetes risk that’s “greater than the sum of the individual effects” if they also have a certain vitamin deficiency. In other words, two conditions worked together to fan the flames of type 2 diabetes risk more than anyone could imagine…

For years, the best options for dealing with tinnitus have been antidepressants to help with sleep, treating any underlying causes like high blood pressure or changing medications that could be the problem. But an exciting new therapy you can do at home has been successful…

Doctors feel secure prescribing any medicine that’s been shown to be effective. The statin drug manufacturers know this and successfully established their studies showing big benefits of statins to lower cholesterol and reduce cardiovascular disease risk. But what did they hide?

Many people think of hemp and marijuana as being the same thing, but they’re not. The big difference being that hemp, unlike marijuana, doesn’t contain THC (the psychoactive compound that makes you high). But they both contain cancer-fighting cannabinoids…

Fall is the time to leave peaches and melons behind, and start enjoying those crisp, juicy apples. But did you know there’s a tiny ‘cousin’ to the apple that you can harvest at the end of summer? It has more vitamin C than an orange and that’s just the start of its benefits…

The only surefire way to lose weight is to give up the greasy fries, sugary milkshakes and fast food burgers. But what if you slip up? This extract of an Amazonian fruit could speed up your metabolism even when you go on a regrettable junk food binge…

Spider veins are caused by enlarged blood vessels and are similar to varicose veins which often occur on the legs but are much bigger, bulging and can be painful. Spider veins may not be imminently dangerous, but they are unsightly. Here’s how to reduce their appearance…

When you sit, your heart doesn’t beat fast and your blood doesn’t pump as quickly. This adds up to less oxygen and nutrients flowing to your brain to help you stay sharp, focused and to preserve your memory and cognitive function as you age. You can fix that in just 2 minutes…

Here’s a surprise for you: At least three studies have shown very clearly that there’s an intimate link between the symptoms of metabolic syndrome and a disease we’ve always thought to be neurologically based. What does it have to do with heart disease and diabetes? A lot…

We would probably all like to live to a healthy ripe old age. Yet, even though most of us are taking more control of our health than ever before, there’s one thing that we’ve been missing… and it has a huge impact on how long you live. Here are 5 ways to get it…

I’m sure you’ve heard the bad news: Drinking alcohol is terrible for your health. But before you commit to life as a teetotaler, there’s a hidden benefit to drinking that plenty of people don’t think of… Alcohol makes you social, and that comes with some serious health perks…

We all know that being overweight can cause major health problems and has been linked to everything from heart disease and diabetes, to Alzheimer’s and even cancer. But how much weight loss is enough to lower these risk? Surprisingly, much lower than you think…

The symptoms of a silent heart attack can be similar to those you’re familiar with. But blood tests will show no signs of heart damage. There will be no signs of arterial blockage, and an EKG will look nothing like it does in a traditional heart attack. Until…

At some point in your life, you’ve probably been told to “treat your body like a temple.” And that’s good advice. You only have one body, after all. And it has to last you for a while. But, if you’ve been a little rough on it, no worries. One special drink could turn things around for you…

There are two powerful antibiotics that can’t be patented. They’re free, plentiful, and you can access them anywhere, except perhaps the darkest polar nights. But for their introduction into early modern medicine, we owe a forward-thinking nurse a debt of gratitude…

I’m thrilled to have valid, healthy reasons to drink a few cups of coffee every day — guilt-free! But the really great thing about coffee is this: The less we do to it, the more it gives up its gold. That’s because it contains a special fat-burning compound you don’t want to roast away…

I know someone who has Crohn’s, and once he got a medical marijuana card, it changed his life. He was able to manage his pain without dangerous opioids. He stopped taking the steroids that were giving him osteoporosis. And his symptoms improved. But here’s the thing…

More and more disease-causing bacteria are immune to the drugs used to treat them. That’s why research into one healing spice is so exciting. It could be the answer that saves us from succumbing to “superbug” infections that are killing thousands of people each year…

You may have heard about the recent YouTube video in which a Harvard Professor called coconut oil “pure poison” and “one of the worst foods you can eat.” Like I did with the American Heart Association, let me set the record straight about this highly nutritious food…

The Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when healthy adults with high LDL levels ate one serving of pistachios daily, their LDL cholesterol levels dropped by nine percent. Those who ate two servings per day saw a 12 percent drop in LDL. That’s just for starters…

If the mushroom’s only “gold star” was that it benefited your immunity, or helped lower blood pressure or inflammation, it would still be a superior natural remedy. But mushrooms can do much more, like helping you process glucose and possibly preventing diabetes altogether…

Sometimes, as you get older, it can seem like all the fun you used to have in the bedroom is replaced by more sleep and lots of TV time in bed. But, it doesn’t have to be. Despite the fact that 52 percent of men will experience erectile dysfunction, you can crank things up…

Are you skinny fat? It’s not hard to tell if you are… Being skinny fat means you have too much fat and too little muscle mass. Either one of these conditions on their own has a negative impact on your health. But together? They’re a recipe for disaster…

A night out with friends, dinner or just a few relaxing minutes at the end of the day. Nothing caps off the moment like a glass of wine, beer or a shot of your favorite liquor. Responsibly, of course. But is any amount of alcohol safe? Exhaustive research has the answer most of us won’t like…

The number one priority of anyone living with diabetes is having the right amount of insulin at the right time. That usually means injections or insulin pumps. For most diabetics, a lifetime sentence of needle sticks. But what if you could get the insulin you need from a pill?

What if you could knowingly take a sugar pill and still experience real healing power? It sounds far fetched but there’s proof it works. In fact, chronic low back pain sufferers knowingly taking a placebo pill had far less pain than people taking painkillers. We think we know why…

These tips were shown to impact a key component that could turn off premature aging much quicker than creams. But it’s about more than how you look. You can protect yourself from age-related diseases, like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers…

Even though people don’t always respond predictably to every kind of treatment, there are clear patterns of how your body works. Sometimes standard treatments and prescriptions work, and sometimes they don’t. You’ll be lucky to know those avenues are not your only choices…