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How to Beat the Heat During Record High Temperatures

Summer 2023 was the hottest summer on record, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (more commonly known as NASA). And summer 2024 is on track to beat it.


Want to Adopt a Gut Friendly Diet? Here’s Where to Start

American interest in gut health began rising about 15 years ago. But research on gut microbiome dates back to the 1840s when European scientists studied the role of bacteria in the breakdown of food, the effects gut microorganisms have on health and the importance of probiotics.


How Sleep Can Help Keep Your Heart Healthy

Here’s a little secret about your heart: Your ticker loves it when you sleep.

Good, consistent sleep is great for our heart. Poor sleep, not so much.

Sleep helps everything from our immune system to our mental health. But our heart also benefits.

Let’s start with blood pressure. When we sleep, our heart rate slows down and our blood pressure decreases. This gives our cardiovascular system a reprieve from the day’s stresses while our cells repair themselves.


What Happens When We Sleep

Sleep is still a little bit of a mystery. While we don’t know everything about sleep, we think it does several important things.

Sleep helps us conserve energy. When we sleep, our metabolic rate drops. We use about 35 percent less energy than we do when we’re awake.

That doesn’t mean our body is at complete rest when we’re snoozing. For example, our body is busy repairing the damage we did when we were awake. Our cells repair themselves and regrow. They create proteins and hormones and other substances that help us function when our eyes are open.


Will the Bird Flu Be the Next Pandemic? Here’s How to Evaluate Alarming Health Information

Will the bird flu be the next pandemic? The answer is probably no. In fact, only one mild case has been found in humans in 2024.

But that hasn’t stopped it from being front-page news.

Yes, public health officials are on high alert: Bird flu has a high death rate. However, the rate of transmission to humans is very low and vaccines to help prevent it and medications used to treat it are still effective, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Choosing a Healthier Rice

More than 50 percent of the world’s population relies on rice. It’s a staple in more than 100 countries because it’s affordable, convenient and versatile, lending itself to many different dishes and types of meals.

Generally, rice is gluten-free, high in carbohydrates, with some fiber and protein and very little sugar and fat. Many rice varieties are rich in vitamins, minerals and flavonoids – plant pigments with possible anti-cancer properties.


Metabolic Syndrome Linked to Cancer

Metabolic syndrome is the term used to describe a cluster of risk factors – obesity (particularly excess abdominal fat), high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low good cholesterol (HDL), and insulin resistance -- that raise the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, kidney disease and sleep apnea. The condition is quite common; in fact, one in three Americans have it. 


Should You Add Hydrogen Water to Your Shopping List?

It’s not news that we should be drinking lots of water each day. Many people find water boring; in response, manufacturers began enhancing water with flavors and nutrients. These waters are known as designer waters and many brands tout health benefits to justify their price tag.

The latest: hydrogen water.


9 Tips to Help Minimize Getting Sick from the Gym or Studio

Joining a fitness center is probably the easiest, most convenient way to get a well-rounded workout. But exercisers sneeze, cough and breath hard (expelling airborne droplets of germs), leaving most gyms and studios teeming with bacteria and viruses. In fact, the average treadmill, exercise bike and free weight can have more than 1 million germs per square inch apiece, according to a study conducted by FitRated. And some of the germs can cause staphylococcus, ringworm and MRSA infections. 


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