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

Nobody likes the idea that they snore like a truck driver. But a lot of us do just that. In fact, it's been estimated that up to 50 percent of the US population snores at one time or another. And snoring is more than just a nuisance--it's been shown to disrupt the sleep of 90 million American adults and their partners. The good news is that lifestyle changes and medical advances can minimize the log sawing. Here's how. Skip the Nightcap Alcohol can make snoring worse by relaxing the muscles in your airway, which makes breathing harder--and the effort to breathe louder. Lose Weight The heavier you get, the more suction is needed to inhale. The extra suction causes swelling and vibration in the back of the throat, uvula, and palate, says Barbara Phillips, MD, professor of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Losing even just a few pounds can help reduce snoring or even resolve sleep apnea. Try a N...

If you hung out in a commercial gym, and watched people exercise, you’d come to an interesting conclusion: The people there aren’t doing much actual exercise. A few years ago, one trainer did just that. His finding: For every hour spent in the gym, the average person actually works out for just 11 minutes. They spend the rest of the time chatting, preening, flirting, and “recovering” between sets. And while the idea of, say, a 15-minute workout is probably laughable to many of these folks, a smart 15-minute routine might actually give them better results. Truth is, when it comes to working out, intensity and efficiency matter much more than length, says  Men’s Health  fitness advisor BJ Gaddour, who recently created a dozen 5-minute workouts for the first-ever Men’s Health and Women’s Health Beach Boot Camp event, to be held in New York this summer. What can 5 minutes do for you? Plenty. Go hard enough and you’ll blast out more than 100 repetitions and work ev...

A stroke is an interruption of the blood supply to any part of the brain. A stroke is sometimes called a "brain attack." To help prevent a stroke: Avoid fatty foods. Follow a healthy, low-fat diet. Do not drink more than 1 to 2 alcoholic drinks a day. Exercise regularly: 30 minutes a day if you are not overweight; 60 - 90 minutes a day if you are overweight. Get your blood pressure checked every 1 - 2 years, especially if high blood pressure  runs in your family. Have your cholesterol checked. If you are at high risk for stroke, your LDL "bad" cholesterol should be lower than 100 mg/dL. Your doctor may recommend that you try to reduce your LDL cholesterol  to 70 mg/dL. Follow your doctor's treatment recommendations if you have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Quit smoking. Aspirin therapy (81mg a day or 100mg every other day) is recommended for stroke prevention in women under 65 as long as...

Masturbation is a natural sexual practice. In fact, May is known as National Masturbation Month. Still, many are raised believing certain myths about masturbation said About.com. Here’s a look at the truth. Myth #1: Masturbation is for the young. Masturbation is a lifelong sexual activity. About.com reported surveys regularly show 70 to 95 percent of adult men and women masturbate. Myth #2: Masturbation causes blindness, acne, hair loss, chronic fatigue, hairy palms or cancer.  Not true. In fact, doctors say masturbation has medical benefits, wrote Seventeen.com. It can relieve stress, insomnia, headaches, PMS and menstrual cramps. Myth #3: Masturbation isn't real sex. When people masturbate, they can get really aroused, which can result in very real orgasms, said About.com. From a health perspective, masturbation is as “real” a sexual activity as intercourse, oral sex or kissing. Myth #4: People in relationships don’t masturbate.  WebMD reported people in r...

Moderate Intake of Some Red Wines May Improve Health, Study Shows Drinking a daily glass of red wine not only tastes good to many people, but it's also good for the bacteria lining your large intestine. A new Spanish study suggests that sipping about 9 ounces of Merlot or a low-alcohol red wine changed the mix of good and bad bacteria typically found in the colon in ways that can benefit your health. Bacteria may sound like a bad thing to have in your intestinal tract, but having a balanced mix of them actually helps to digest food, regulate immune function, and produce vitamin K (which plays a key role in helping the blood clot). Since the study results showed that Merlot and low-alcohol red wine had similar positive effects on intestinal bacteria, researchers suspect it's not due to the alcohol but to the polyphenol compounds found in the wine. Polyphenols are helpful plant-based compounds found in a variety of foods and beverages. Besides red grapes, many other fruits ...

  Turn down the dial on inflammation with these anti-inflammatory foods and lifestyle changes. Chronic inflammation plays a significant role (as either a cause or effect) in many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, and the three top killers in the United States: heart disease, cancer and stroke. Emerging research is focusing on the link between inflammation and brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The good news is that diet, exercise and lifestyle changes can be powerful tools against inflammation. Here are 10 ways you can help stave off—or tamp down—inflammation. Balance Your Omega Fats Americans are gorging on too many inflammation-promoting omega-6 fats (found in vegetable oils, such as sunflower and corn, and processed and fast food made with them) and not consuming nearly enough inflammation-soothing omega-3 fats (found in salmon, tuna, flaxseeds, walnuts, canola and olive oils). In shor...

Start your day with breakfast. Breakfast fills your "empty tank" to get you going after a long night without food. And it can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain waffles or even last night's pizza! Get Moving! It's easy to fit physical activities into your daily routine. Walk, bike or jog to see friends. Take a 10-minute activity break every hour while you read, do homework or watch TV. Climb stairs instead of taking an escalator or elevator. Try to do these things for a total of 30 minutes every day. Snack smart. Snacks are a great way to refuel. Choose snacks from different food groups - a glass of low-fat milk and a few graham crackers, an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, or some dry cereal. If you eat smart at other meals, cookies, chips and candy are OK for occasional snacking. Work up a s...

Starting a business can be hazardous to your health—staying healthy is often the first thing that goes. Who has the time to follow a comprehensive fitness and weight loss program? You do. Make a few simple changes to your day and you can create healthier habits that are easy to stick with. Incorporate one, incorporate all... because your business is only as healthy as you are. 1. Add protein to your breakfast. If you normally eat cereal, yogurt, or  that’s fine. Add 10 grams or so of protein. One easy way is to boil a carton of eggs on Sunday and have two egg whites every morning. You’ll add less than 40 calories to your breakfast, pick up 12 grams of protein, and reduce your level of hunger at lunch. 2. Get up and walk around every hour. Sitting for extended periods is hazardousto your health. Plus it makes you feel sluggish and inactive. At least once an hour get up and move around. Walk while you talk on the phone. Manage by walking around. Your heart will thank you...

Bones play many roles in the body — providing structure, protecting organs, anchoring muscles and storing calcium. While it's particularly important to take steps to build strong and healthy bones during childhood and adolescence, you can take steps during adulthood to protect bone health, too. Your bones are continuously changing — new bone is made and old bone is broken down. When you're young, your body makes new bone faster than it breaks down old bone and your bone mass increases. Most people reach their peak bone mass around age 30. After that, bone remodeling continues, but you lose slightly more than you gain. How likely you are to develop osteoporosis — a condition that causes bones to become weak and brittle — depends on how much bone mass you attain by the time you reach age 30 and how rapidly you lose it later. The higher your peak bone mass, the more bone you have "in the bank" and the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis as you age. A numb...