Health Advice

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Cool it -- but not too much!

When a winter chill blankets most of the nation, it's hard to imagine that older folks could be harmed by having their home too warm. But that's the conclusion of a new study in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences that reveals seniors are most cognitively alert when the indoor temperature is 68 F to 75 F. If the temp varies by even 7 ...Read more

Multiply your chances of dodging dementia

The new year started off with a bang -- especially when it comes to confirming two simple steps you can take to protect your brain from cognition problems and Alzheimer's.

It's not news to anyone who reads this column that eating processed red meat poses a huge risk for body-wide inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic ...Read more

Spotlight on grocery stores' highly processed food bombs

Ultra-processed foods make up 60% of the calories Americans consume, leaving folks nutritionally deficient and at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, dementia -- the list goes on and on.

One reason so much of what Americans eat is stripped of nutrition and loaded with sugars, additives and preservatives, is that many ...Read more

Simplifying your battle against Type 2 diabetes complications

Many of you find that managing Type 2 diabetes is complicated -- juggling medication, insulin, dietary plans and ways to manage your weight. And it can get even more complicated if you develop the well-known complications of Type 2 diabetes, such as eye, nerve, kidney and heart disease.

Unfortunately, new research indicates there are additional...Read more

New insights into the newer weight-loss drugs

A KKF poll finds that, overall, 12% of Americans have used or are using a GLP-1 agonist like Trulicity, Ozempic or Mounjaro for weight loss or to manage Type 2 diabetes and associated complications. Specifically, around 25% of folks who have been told they have heart disease are taking it and that goes up to 40% among those with Type 2 diabetes....Read more

How to lower your increasing risk for cognition problems

Half a million Americans will be diagnosed with dementia this year. That represents a 42% jump in the risk that someone age 55 or older will develop the life-altering condition. In fact, an NIH-sponsored study in Nature Medicine reveals that half of all adults in the U.S. will experience cognition problems after age 55. And by 2060, there will ...Read more

Good morning, joe

More than half of Americans agree with the statement, "Coffee is pure pleasure to me." No wonder a third of folks drink an estimated three to five cups a day. And while they love it as a pick-me-up, a source of warmth, and a morning ritual, they may not know what it is doing once it gets inside them.

A new study in Nature Microbiology shows ...Read more

The non-vegetarian's smart balance of animal and plant proteins

We are a nation of carnivores -- about 70% of Americans' protein comes from highly inflammatory, saturated fat-packed animal sources, two to three times the global average. (Americans don't eat much healthy, fatty fish, like salmon.) And women in the U.S. only get around 11% of their protein from fruits and vegetables, including legumes as well ...Read more

The ABCs of PPIs and CVD

If you're post-menopausal, you're two to three times more likely to develop GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) than you were before -- and you're probably taking a PPI (protein pump inhibitor) to quell the fire. Around 50 million folks in the U.S. take the meds, even though there's concern that the risks of long-term use may outweigh the ...Read more

Knee'd to know: alternatives to total knee replacement

Almost 800,000 total knee replacements (TKRs) are done in the U.S. every year, offering many folks a chance to reclaim total mobility. But the surgery is complex, recovery demanding, and it can pose difficulties for people with severe obesity and some heart and lung problems.

Fortunately, there are now a couple of possible alternatives that are...Read more

Pain in the neck

More than half of folks report they had neck pain in the last six months. The causes can range from an acute muscle pull in your neck, shoulder or upper back, to stress, poor posture (slumping or craning toward your computer or phone screen), changes in your cervical discs (they compress over the decades), osteoarthritis, and even what's called ...Read more

Improving results from your statin therapy

Almost 47 million Americans take a statin daily -- and they can provide huge benefits. Statins not only lower lousy LDL cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke, but they also reduce high blood pressure, improve erectile dysfunction, and may even help prevent osteoporosis, dementia and cancer.

But for some folks, a statin doesn...Read more

Surprising ways to have a healthier new year

If your New Year's resolution is already a forgotten promise, you're not alone. Surveys show that by the end of the second week in January, 88% of folks have abandoned their promises to themselves.

Chances are your resolution(s) were designed to make you healthier and happier. So, we thought you might love these three surprising -- and ...Read more

Quieting the food noise in your head

Almost 60% of folks with obesity contend with the relentless chatter of "food noise" that prods them to overeat and compromise their health, according to a Weight Watchers and STOP Obesity Alliance study titled "Beyond Hunger: Understanding Food Noise." Some folks even report that, at times, it's almost impossible to clear their mind and focus ...Read more

 

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