For all of those wondering if it’s possible to legislate your way to better health, the answer appears to be Yes. Researchers at Yale University have found that people living in areas that restrict trans fats in foods had fewer hospitalizations for heart attack and stroke compared to residents in […]
Eating Well
Losing Weight Gets Harder With Age
The New York Times Ask Well column has some bad news for anyone who is getting older, meaning everyone. Yes, it does get harder to lose weight the older we get. Health columnist Karen Weintraub tell us why: muscles burn far more calories than fat does, and muscles, as we […]
Cup of Tea Staves Off Dementia
Try to remember this: a cup of tea a day can cut the risk of dementia by 50 percent. That’s the word from researchers at the National University of Singapore, where scientists collected data on the tea-drinking habits of close to 1,000 Chinese people over the age of 55. An […]
Alcohol + Energy Drinks Increases Risk of Injury 20 X
Three words of advice from researchers at the University of Victoria for people who like to mix alcohol and caffeinated energy drinks: Don’t do it. A U of Victoria news release reports that the first systematic review of literature on the subject found that 10 of 13 studies showed evidence […]
Drinking And Weight Gain: Myth Or Reality?
Forget everything your spouse has told you about drinking and gaining weight. The truth, according to researchers at the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, is that there is no association between light to moderate alcohol intake […]
Morning People Eat Better
Night owls may have an edge when it comes to drinking, but early risers tend to eat more healthful foods. So says a recent study conducted at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, where researchers studied the eating and sleeping habits of 1,900 people.  HealthDay reports that the […]
For Faster Recovery, Carbs During Exercise
Exercise is stressful, physiologically speaking, and that stress causes biochemical changes, including an temporary drop in white blood cells. Why do we care?  We don’t, when we’re talking about normal daily exercise, which has been shown to boost immune systems. But prolonged intense exercise can actually weaken immune systems for […]
Eat Less, Age Slower
Want to stay younger longer? Try eating less. That’s the practical suggestion of research findings at Brigham Young University, where scientists working with mice, not humans, found that when ribosomes  the cell’s protein makers  slow down, the aging process slows too. Why? Because the decreased speed lowers production but […]
Hot Chili Peppers = Longer Life
People who eat hot chili peppers live longer than people who don’t. That’s the conclusion of researchers at the University of Vermont, who studied data from more than 16,000 Americans who were followed for up to 23 years. Science Daily reports that the researchers found that consumers of hot red chili peppers […]
Broccoli May Make You Smarter, Or Not
Yes, broccoli may make you smarter, or at least boost something called “crystalized intelligence,” which is defined as “the ability to use the skills and knowledge one has acquired over a lifetime.”  The magic ingredient appears to be lutein, which is also found in green leafy vegetables and in egg […]