Health Advice
/Health
Do your prenatal diet and supplements deliver what you need?
If you're thinking of becoming pregnant or are pregnant, making sure you have the right balance of nutrients and vitamins in your diet and from supplements is essential for your health and the health of your fetus. Low levels of six nutrients, folic acid, vitamins A and D, calcium, iron and omega-3 fatty acids, can cause pre-term birth, low ...Read more
The risks of melatonin supplements -- especially to children
Last year, Kristen Bell, the voice of Anna in "Frozen," said that she found gummies containing melatonin helped her young children sleep more peacefully. A recent government report that says last year there was a 500% increase in the number of poison center calls involving kids eating melatonin gummies. We hope her kids dodged that bullet.
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Period poverty is real -- but solutions are increasingly available
Over a lifetime, the average American woman spends $18,000 on products to manage her period. For many young girls, college students and adult women, the expense may mean a lot of stress and some skip school or work since they cannot buy products they need (12 million U.S. women ages 12 to 52 years live below the poverty line and many don't have ...Read more
Are French fries bumming you out? There's a chance they are
Adele once said, "My ideal meal, my death row meal, my last meal, would be a McChicken Nugget with a Big Mac and then fries." That love of fried foods may do more than affect her heart health -- it may influence her lyrics. In her 2015 album, "25," she sang: "I wish I could live a little more / Look up to the sky, not just the floor / I feel ...Read more
Do you turn your genes on -- or off?
What we're learning about genes, the brain and Alzheimer's disease expands almost weekly. Researchers from Harvard University recently found that you can turn on brain-protective genes and protect your cognitive powers. How? When you stress your brain cells by actively and intensely using them they turn on a gene that produces the small protein ...Read more
The art of healthy napping
"Siesta" is a Spanish word that comes from the Latin phrase "hora sexton" -- or "sixth hour" -- six hours after dawn. That kind of afternoon nap was favored by Leonardo da Vinci. He slept two hours a night but took a 15-minute power nap every four hours. That's only 4.5 hours a night. He must have had a relatively rare gene that allows brain ...Read more
Topical pain relievers -- from CBD to capsaicin
Pro golfer Rickie Fowler, retired Patriot's tight end Rob Gronkowski, and soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe are just three of the professional athletes who advocate the use of topical CBD to ease their aches and pains.
CBD (cannabidiol) is a compound found in marijuana and hemp plants -- but it doesn't have any psychoactive properties. And while ...Read more
Go green to reverse cardiovascular disease
The Framingham Heart Study found that more than 60% of folks age 70 and older have aortic stiffness that's crept up on them over the past 20 years. The aorta is the largest artery in the body and has several sections that transport blood from the heart to the circulatory system. Its stiffening is directly correlated with increased risks for ...Read more
The bitter truth about sweetened drinks
Cindy Crawford, Elton John, Beyonce, Ray Charles, Britney Spears and David Beckham have all done Pepsi ads. And everyone from Marilyn Monroe (in 1953) to Selena Gomez has flacked for Coke. They aren't doing their fans any favors. In fact, one could argue they're pushing their fans to get sick.
Around 63% of Americans down a sugar-sweetened ...Read more
New insights into Alzheimer's and dementia
Whether you're open- or close-minded, your brain contains 86 billion neurons. Their job is to send and receive neurotransmitters -- chemicals shuttling information between brain cells that are ultimately translated into thoughts and actions. What goes on in that amazing maze that causes Alzheimer's disease and other dementia is something we're ...Read more
A healthy diet may protect against miscarriages
Chrissy Teigen, Meghan Markle, and Carrie Underwood have spoken publicly about their miscarriages. They are just a few of the millions of women who experience the spontaneous loss each year; it's estimated that up to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage -- and half the time there's no identifiable cause.
Now, a study offers new insight ...Read more
The power of passive stretching
There have been lots of celebs who promote highly aggressive stretching routines: There was Madonna's photo of her leg tucked behind her head; Jennifer Garner's Instagram posts with her Pilates instructor; even Ruth Bader Ginsberg advocating full body routines. But we're talking about passive stretches today.
That's the kind of stretching you ...Read more
The power of passive stretching
There have been lots of celebs who promote highly aggressive stretching routines: There was Madonna's photo of her leg tucked behind her head; Jennifer Garner's Instagram posts with her Pilates instructor; even Ruth Bader Ginsberg advocating full body routines. But we're talking about passive stretches today.
That's the kind of stretching you ...Read more
The power of passive stretching
There have been lots of celebs who promote highly aggressive stretching routines: There was Madonna's photo of her leg tucked behind her head; Jennifer Garner's Instagram posts with her Pilates instructor; even Ruth Bader Ginsberg advocating full body routines. But we're talking about passive stretches today.
That's the kind of stretching you ...Read more
Diabetes and dementia
Data that shows that preventing Type 2 diabetes decreases the risk for dementia keeps getting stronger. A 2021 study found that the younger you are when diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the greater the risk of dementia. For folks age 70 and older without diabetes, the rate of dementia is about 9 out of every 1,000 people -- less than 1%. But for ...Read more
Diabetes and dementia
Data that shows that preventing Type 2 diabetes decreases the risk for dementia keeps getting stronger. A 2021 study found that the younger you are when diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the greater the risk of dementia. For folks age 70 and older without diabetes, the rate of dementia is about 9 out of every 1,000 people -- less than 1%. But for ...Read more
Diabetes and dementia
Data that shows that preventing Type 2 diabetes decreases the risk for dementia keeps getting stronger. A 2021 study found that the younger you are when diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the greater the risk of dementia. For folks age 70 and older without diabetes, the rate of dementia is about 9 out of every 1,000 people -- less than 1%. But for ...Read more
Dopamine and exercise enjoyment: Make it work for you
Many people find exercise "too hard" to do -- it may be why only 28% of U.S. adults manage to get even the minimum recommended level of physical activity. (And that's not the minimum for maximum health and longevity, but the minimum to just maintain decent health.) So researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine decided to find out why physical ...Read more
Dopamine and exercise enjoyment: Make it work for you
Many people find exercise "too hard" to do -- it may be why only 28% of U.S. adults manage to get even the minimum recommended level of physical activity. (And that's not the minimum for maximum health and longevity, but the minimum to just maintain decent health.) So researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine decided to find out why physical ...Read more
Dopamine and exercise enjoyment: Make it work for you
Many people find exercise "too hard" to do -- it may be why only 28% of U.S. adults manage to get even the minimum recommended level of physical activity. (And that's not the minimum for maximum health and longevity, but the minimum to just maintain decent health.) So researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine decided to find out why physical ...Read more