Daily Health Tips: Trusted Medical Information, Health Tips and Advices

Pureed into soup, boiled, or grilled, this is one spring veggie you can't afford to forget about: artichokes. Turns out that artichokes are high in luteolin. And a recent study suggests that this power-packed antioxidant may help quiet neuron-damaging inflammation in the memory center of our brains. Cool Your Head Over time, chronic inflammation can damage and even kill off brain cells in the hippocampus -- the memory-making part of our brains. And this gradual kill off of brain cells can lead to declines in memory and our ability to learn new things. But in a 4-week mouse study, hippocampal inflammation declined in a group of older, memory-impaired test subjects when they were fed a luteolin-enhanced diet. In fact, memory performance in the luteolin group matched that of much younger mice. (Related: A healthful diet is not the only way to keep your memory intact. Find out how your attitude about aging affects your memory .)   Luteolin inhibits microglia...

Age-related memory loss. Think it's inevitable? Here's why you might want to think again. Buying into the stereotype that memory function automatically dwindles with age could become a self-fulfilling prophecy, research shows. Defy the Stereotypes At least that's what happened in one study. When older adults (ages 60 to 70 years) were given cues that people their age tend to suffer from memory loss, they actually performed more poorly on memory tests than a control group not exposed to such cues. Likewise, older adults who felt looked down upon -- or stigmatized -- due to age also fared poorly on memory tests. Bottom line: Anxious thoughts about negative stereotypes may disrupt your working memory. So think positive! Multifaceted Memory Protection Okay, positive thinking is no guarantee against memory problems -- but a positive attitude is always a healthier choice.

Few things plant the waist-widening TV remote more firmly in our hands than the need to destress. But here's a healthier way to let go of it all: Just breathe deeply. It takes only about 30 seconds to do it right, and a quick and easy stress reduction strategy like this is critical to your waistline -- especially given a recent study on job stress and weight gain. In the study, workers who were super stressed tended to have bigger bellies than their peers who were more at ease.

Breathing is one of those things your body does that you don’t have to think about. But we YOU Docs think you should pay attention to it every now and then, or you’ll miss out on some major health benefits, especially for your lungs. That’s because deep breathing: Brings oxygen deeper into your lungs Moves more nitric oxide (which widens blood vessels) to your lungs, which helps your blood vessels and lungs work better Removes toxins by getting lymph moving Calms you Here’s a quick test: Stop reading, and inhale and exhale normally, looking down as you do. If you don’t see your belly moving, your breathing is short and shallow. Now try this: Lie flat on the floor, one hand on your belly, the other on your chest. Inhale deeply and slowly as you count to five. Your belly button should move away from your spine, and your chest should widen and rise slightly as your lungs fill with air. Exhale slowly to a count of seven. Your belly button should...

Blood sugar problems? Might want to make sure you get your daily dose of D. More research is needed to confirm a connection between blood sugar control and vitamin D levels. But in a study, people with type 2 diabetes had better success in lowering their blood sugar when they followed a diet that included extra vitamin D. Better Blood Sugar Swill In the study of middle-aged men and women, half the study participants drank vitamin-D-fortified yogurt drinks twice a day with lunch and dinner while the other half drank a placebo drink of just yogurt. After 12 weeks, the people in the vitamin D group not only had lower blood sugar but also showed fewer signs of insulin resistance. The vitamin D group even lost a bit of weight over the 12-week period! (Did you know peanut butter is good for your blood sugar, too? Check out 11 other surprisingly delicious foods that can help lower blood sugar.) Good D Deeds More research is needed to know for sure whether vitamin D ...

 1. Walnuts Walnuts are already in a heart-healthy league of their own because of their cholesterol-improving powers. And now a small new study suggests that eating walnuts every day may help give blood vessels a much needed tune-up in people with diabetes. 2. Beans Fiber is great for balancing your blood sugar, but which fiber source is best -- legumes or grains? Pass the peas, please. In a study, a diet high in lentils, nuts, peas, and other legumes seemed to be more helpful than a diet high in wheat fiber when it came to tamping down blood sugar.  3. Black Tea There are powerful little chemical compounds in tea -- called polysaccharides -- that may do your blood sugar a bit of good. And one of the best ways to get them? Black tea. Researchers recently discovered that the polysaccharides in black tea may be tops over those in green or oolong teas. Make mine black! 4. Peanut Butter  There's something sweet and creamy that ...

Among the numerous myths floating around us all the times, myths about weight loss keep on surfacing every now and them. They are all around us: on the Web, friends keep delivering sermons on them or they can be found in the latest issue of a celebrity magazine. On this World Health Day,  tries to rip apart five grave misconceptions related to weight loss. Myth 1: Giving Up the Breakfast Skipping breakfast would only undo your efforts of losing weight. A high-nutrient breakfast gives our body the much-needed calorie burning start. Just make sure that your breakfast is composed of healthy stuff like sprouts, juices, etc and it's not equivalent to the heavy meals you enjoy at weddings. Myth2: Carbs are My Worst Enemy All carbs aren't bad. Soda, a carbohydrate, is bad but broccoli, another carbohydrate, is good. All you need to figure out is which carbs are good for you instead of worrying about the overall carb intake. Re...

Our personalities influence our health more than imagined and being carefree and easy- going may not be as great as you think…   YOU COULD be the butt of jokes among friends for being a hardworking, laborious fool in an age when smart work pays more than hard work. But the reality is that health wise you are better off than your peers. A new study says that those who take their work seriously and work harder tend to live longer. The finding comes from the latest book The Longevity Project by psychology professors Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin at the University of California. Quoting a study done on school kids for 80 years, the book says that the kids who worried about their exams and projects and studied hard, lived longer than the extraordinarily bright and cheerful kids. This debunks the old theory that happy and carefree people live the longest. Rather, it's persistence and a cautious attitude that add years to life. "Having a conscientious personality...

Scientists Observe Karaoke Singers to Get Better Understanding of Neurodegenerative Conditions Belting out a karaoke tune and then listening to the cringe-worthy performance afterward gave researchers new insights into how the brain processes embarrassment. In the study, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco and University of California, Berkeley observed 79 people, 58 of whom had neurodegenerative conditions while the rest had healthy brains. In neurodegenerative conditions, brain cells are progressively damaged or destroyed. Although not asked to sing karaoke in a club or bar, each volunteer crooned "My Girl" by the Temptations along with the voice-recording device and were videotaped while doing it. They were then asked to watch and listen to their vocal chops minus any accompanying music. The goal was to embarrass the singers while researchers measured their facial expressions and reactions, including sweating, breathing, and heart ...

Sometimes the noise from inside our own heads is the biggest stressor of all. But here's the phrase that can turn things around for you: "My mind is calm." Positive affirmations like this one may be key to stress-free health, according to Dr. Maoshing Ni, author of Second Spring . These affirmations can help offset the soaring levels of stress hormones produced by tens of thousands of other negative thoughts we have on a daily basis. Stress Spiral In his book, Ni writes that the average woman has 60,000 thoughts a day and that 80 percent of those thoughts are negative. Ouch. And negative thoughts are bad news for the body, since stress causes wear and tear on many physical health systems. But Ni recommends offsetting that stress by repeating calming, soothing positive affirmations to ourselves because the thoughts that bubble up from our consciousness affect our health, just as our diets and exercise habits do. Positive thoughts feed the body nourishing ...

Most men have their first tryst with backache between the ages of 30 and 45, about the same time they start getting grey hair. According to medical studies, at least 70 percent of men will have back aches at some point in their lives. Of those, 14 percent will have severe pain that lasts for at least two weeks, and up to 7 per cent will have chronic pain that can last for more than six months. Muscle strain has been identified as the most common cause of back pain in several medical studies. As men get older, they get less and less exercise. The amount of physical activity reduces to a good extent. Consequently, the muscles in the abdomen and back that support the spine deteriorate and get out of shape. What happens after this is that you discover that you are unable to perform tasks with ease (as you used to do previously) and experience pain in the abdomen area. Improper posture is also one of the major reasons for back ache. Oft...

You could drop your risk of colon cancer by as much as 65 percent with this simple and delicious diet switch. Trade that meat-and-potato kabob for a fish-and-vegetable one. That's right. As you wait breathlessly for spring to turn to summer, start planning your barbecues now. And plan on making fish and vegetables -- and, what the heck, a little fruit, too -- the mainstays of your hot-coal-fired meals. Cancer-Countering Diet A diet that's bursting with fruit, vegetables, whole-grains, and healthy protein choices like fish rather than meat is smart for a variety of health reasons. But it appears that the good things in this diet -- like fiber, antioxidants , vitamins , and minerals -- may work synergistically to keep the colon healthy and free of cancer. For good measure, add beans and low-fat dairy -- two more diet choices that appear to be an important part of a healthy-colon diet. (You can make meats safer for your body by using this slow-grill method.) Dep...

Firing up the grill this weekend? Keep your choice meats on the healthy side with this cooking philosophy: low and slow. Cooking meat at a lower temperature is better for your health. It may take a little longer, but the reward is fewer body-aging by-products. Douse the Flames When cooked at high heat, meat proteins can form cell-damaging, inflammation-promoting oxidants. And getting too much of these oxidants, called advanced glycation end products (AGEs), may actually shorten life span, according to early-stage animal studies. Researchers think certain aging genes may be turned off or on in the absence or presence of these AGEs.    Better Barbecue Regardless of how you cook, make sure you practice food-safety habits, and heat meat to the right internal temperature. Check out this article for safe grilling tips and target temperatures .

Two minutes in the morning and two minutes in the evening and your lungs may be breathing fine for a very long time. We're talking about brushing your teeth. As you've no doubt heard, good dental hygiene helps prevent gum disease. But what you might not know? A recent study suggests that gum disease may open the door to some pretty serious lung diseases. The Mouth-Lung Connection Smoking remains the leading cause of serious respiratory diseases, such as lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The recent study did not conclusively prove that gum disease is another direct cause of COPD. But people in the study who were hospitalized with COPD and other types of lung disease had significantly higher rates of gingivitis and periodontal disease than the folks in a control group who had healthy lungs. It's not clear what the connection is. But we know that the bacteria from dental plaque, when inhaled into the lungs, not only can cause COPD...

The keys to a young and healthy smile may be brushing and flossing -- and eating plenty of fish. In a study, people consuming the highest amounts of omega-3 fats -- particularly two kinds found in fish -- were significantly less likely to have periodontitis, a form of gum disease. The Healthy-Fat Effect The greatest gum-health benefits came from a type of omega-3 fat called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), although eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) showed subtle benefits as well. Both fatty acids are found in abundance in cold-water fish, such as salmon and sardines. People who got the most DHA from their diets or supplements had as much as a 20 percent lower risk of gum disease. Researchers think omega-3 fats may help calm oral inflammation caused by infections. The end result? Less tissue breakdown.    Simple Servings You need to eat only a moderate amount of fish to glean the sort of benefits enjoyed in the study. A good target, researchers say, is two servings a we...

It's versatile, it's low in fat, and it's high in protein. And it just might help your lungs stay lusty and young. We're talking about soy. Don't blanch just yet. Prepared correctly, soy can taste sublime. Certain kinds, like tofu, easily take on the flavor of whatever you cook with. And research suggests that some extra tofu or edamame in your diet may slash your risk of pulmonary diseases to boot. Tasty Airway Protection Specifically, early research shows that eating soy foods is associated with a reduced risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). That's a category of lung ailments that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In one recent Japanese study, those with the highest intakes of soy foods not only had lower risk of COPD but also had better overall lung function. Here's another food that lungs love. A Controversial Food? There's a ton of conflicting evidence about the health benefits of soy. But as a whole food...

It's Fruit and Vegetable Month, and there's one fruit in particular that your lungs love. It's round, it's red, and it's really delicious. Give up? It's apples. This Superman of fruits is packed full of vitamins and phytochemicals that may reduce the risk of asthma and improve your overall lung capacity. How many should you eat? The Flavonoid Fruit In a study, people who ate at least five apples a week had better lung function than the people who noshed less frequently on this crunchy fruit. However many you decide to munch, get the most out of them by eating the peel, too. That's where most of the health-helping flavonoids -- like quercetin, catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidins -- reside. There's another way apples may help you breathe easier: by loosening your waistband.

You know flossing is a great way to fend off gum disease. But cancer? Turns out that there might be a connection. A recent study of lifestyle habits showed that people with healthy gums also enjoyed a lower risk of developing any type of cancer. Telling Teeth In the study, researchers used questionnaires to track the health histories and lifestyle habits of close to 50,000 men for nearly 18 years. Compared with men who had no track record of gum problems, men with a history of gum disease were 14 percent more likely to develop cancer -- any kind, although the link was especially strong for lung and pancreatic cancer. The Gateway to Good Health How gum problems might lead to cancer isn't totally clear, but other research indicates that people with gum disease usually have higher blood levels of certain inflammatory markers that are also associated with cancer and other health problems. Yep, healthy teeth may mean more than just a pretty smile.