ArcaMax

That little touch of tomato-y goodness you dip your fries into and the creamy sauce that makes your chicken salad smooth and tasty may seem like minor grace notes in the symphony of foods you eat every day. But ketchup -- or catsup, depending on where you're from -- can be loaded with food felons.

Ketchup was once considered a cure-all for ...Read more

Almost 60% of most Americans' calories come from ultra-processed foods -- stripped of nutrition and packed with refined carbs, sugars, salt, unhealthy fats and unpronounceable chemical ingredients. And, according to a paper presented at an American College of Cardiology-Asia meeting, that's a recipe for disaster.

The researchers looked at data ...Read more

Around 33% to 36% of adults in the U.S. have a lousy LDL cholesterol level of 130 mg/dL or higher, putting them at risk for a heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and dementia. Aiming for 70 mg/dL is heart-smart. But only around 20% of patients at high risk of heart disease manage their LDL -- because they don't want to take a ...Read more

About 250,000 folks in the U.S. have a transient ischemic attack (TIA) every year, and around 20% of them go on to experience a full-blown stroke in the next 90 days. That's why calling these "mini-strokes" isn't accurate, even though the TIA's temporary blockage of blood flow in the brain goes away by itself and doesn't cause permanent brain ...Read more

The summer sun can boost your bone health, immune function and glucose control as it tamps down inflammation. How? Its ultraviolet-B rays hit precursor vitamin D in your skin cells, providing the energy needed for your body to synthesize vitamin D2/3.

Unfortunately, the prevalence of an indoor, sedentary, nutritionally poor lifestyle means that...Read more

The average American walks around 2.5 miles a day -- with about 2,000 to 2,500 steps per mile, depending on the length of the stride. And while it's not what I recommend for healthy aging (10,000 steps daily or the equivalent is best), it's enough to do yourself some damage if you don't have the right equipment or technique.

You want shoes that...Read more

You know that a glazed donut loaded with refined carbs and sugars isn't doing anything to improve your daily nutrition. But what's the impact of such a routine over three decades? That's what researchers from Tufts and Harvard wanted to know. So, they analyzed data from the Nurses Health Study that looked at the nutritional habits and health ...Read more

You know that a glazed donut loaded with refined carbs and sugars isn't doing anything to improve your daily nutrition. But what's the impact of such a routine over three decades? That's what researchers from Tufts and Harvard wanted to know. So, they analyzed data from the Nurses Health Study that looked at the nutritional habits and health ...Read more

Overall, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. -- and the fifth-leading cause among Americans age 65 and older. That's because AD is associated with complications related to progressive brain damage such as life-threatening dehydration and malnutrition, respiratory problems, emotional turmoil, infections, ...Read more

Green juice drinks are the toast of social media sites where influencers extol the latest nutrition fads. These beverages are often made from celery, kale, chard, spinach, wheatgrass, parsley, dill and mint, and sometimes with whey protein -- then sweetened with fruits or added sugar.

If you rarely eat whole green vegetables, juicing them may ...Read more

More than a third of Americans report they're socially isolated or lonely and 10% say they rarely feel there's anyone they can turn to for emotional and social support. Not only does that fuel depression and lack of physical activity (major health risks), but it also contributes to heart disease and stroke, Type 2 diabetes, memory loss, dementia...Read more

Whoever came up with the name PHTHALATES must have wanted to make sure you couldn't figure out how to say the word -- or notice how harmful they can be to your health. Phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) are chemicals that carry fragrances in personal care and cleaning products, improve the texture of cosmetics, and make plastic more flexible and ...Read more

Kids younger than 18 months who are hanging out with a TV on in the background have poorer language development -- possibly because their parents (watching the TV) don't talk to them as much. And at 2 to 5 years old, spending two or three hours a day looking at a screen is associated with behavior problems, poor vocabulary, and delayed ...Read more

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects 1 million Americans, and researchers project the number will double by 2040. That may be the result of environmental assaults, like exposure to pesticides, genetic and epigenetic influences, and age-related factors that lead to problems with mobility, speech, cognition, sleep quality, gastrointestinal functions, ...Read more

I'm a great fan of walking 10,000 steps a day -- or the equivalent. But what exactly is equivalent? And how does that get figured out?

Well, the conversion of steps into other activities is based on the estimated effort, called a Metabolic Equivalent for Task or MET, that it takes for each activity. And while it's been determined based on solid...Read more