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

Orange juice isn't the only beverage you can grab when you want to help your immune system fight off illness and infection. New research suggests that grape juice may be an immune system booster, too. In a study, people who sipped Concord grape juice daily for 9 weeks had higher blood levels of a special type of infection-fighting cell. Bolster Your Defenses The study involved middle-aged folks who were basically healthy. But something interesting happened when they added about 1½ cups of grape juice to their daily diet . After 9 weeks, they had significantly more T cells compared with the control group. T cells are a type of white blood cell that fights off infections. And in the study, drinking grape juice increased participants' levels of specialized T cells called "surveillance" cells, found mostly in the lungs, intestines, and gastrointestinal tract. Researchers think that these cells act as the first line of defense against invading pathogens....

Next time you feel your blood start to boil, chant this mantra: "blue skies." Why? A calm mantra just might turn you into a fast healer. Here's what we mean by that. Studies show that being quick tempered can make a person's body slower to recover from wounds. Immunity takes a hit if you're a hot head, it seems. One way that psychologists offer to channel anger? Repeat a calming phrase. Stressed and Angry In the study, participants who had received very small blister wounds to their skin were also evaluated in terms of their anger management skills. And those who had trouble managing their tempers were more likely to have slower healing blisters -- over four times more likely. The hot-tempered folks also had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva, leading the researchers to believe that stress is the underlying factor in the impact anger has on healing. The immune system -- command central for healing and recovery -- suffers wh...

Your immune system is responsible for helping fight off everything from the common cold to cancer. A tall order! Send in some reinforcements so it doesn't get battle fatigue. Here are four foods your immune system loves. Sweet, Creamy, Steamy, Crunchy . . . Oranges, yogurt, tea, and pumpkin seeds are the order of the day when it comes to giving your immune system a treat, Oranges are chock-full of vitamin C, an antioxidant vitamin that helps your immune system fend off disease-causing invaders. Other good C options: bell peppers, strawberries, cantaloupe, and broccoli. Or take 400 milligrams of vitamin C three times daily. Yogurt (unpasteurized) contains Lactobacillus acidophilus -- a healthy bacterium that helps thwart fungus-related infections. Or take a 20-milligram acidophilus supplement twice daily.   Tea is full of flavonoids, powerful vitamin-like substances that reduce immune-system aging. You'll also find them in oats, onions, broccoli, tomatoes,...

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...