An Easy Way to Lower Your Risk of Stroke

Men who smoke are at high risk of heart disease and stroke. Quitting smoking is obviously the best way to lower your risk. Quitting smoking is the big goal, but there are other things you can do to lower your risk while you're working on that goal.

Finnish researchers recently discovered by accident that drinking coffee can help. The researchers were actually studying diet and cancer in male smokers. Part of the study was tracking major health events, including stroke. They discovered that men who drank eight cups of coffee a day were 23% less likely to have a stroke.

Tea is even better than coffee. Men who drank just two cups of tea a day lowered stroke risks by 21%.

Most strokes are due to hardened arteries—a blockage in the arteries forms cutting off blood to your brain. Researchers believe that coffee and tea both help because they have antioxidants that help reduce and prevent hardening of the arteries.

For some people coffee can make other existing health problems worse, so talk to your doctor before you begin drinking a lot more coffee. Tea, on the other hand, is free from side effects and provides a number of health benefits as well… so think about making tea a new daily habit.

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

Don't Overlook the Importance of Breakfast

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." How many times have you heard that? Here's the thing, though. It's true.

Breakfast does a lot of good things for your body. It jumpstarts your metabolism, which means you'll burn more calories during the day. It helps to control cravings later on in the day so you're less susceptible to junk food snack attacks. It also helps to control blood pressure and fasting blood sugar.

Of course, what you eat matters. If you scarf down a doughnut and a café latte, you don't do your body any favors. If you eat whole grains paired up with some fruit or good lean protein paired up with vegetables—or some combination of good wholesome foods—you'll be doing your body a very good turn.

When it comes to breakfast, even a small breakfast—a piece of fruit and a slice of cheese—is better than nothing. But it turns out that a big breakfast might be the key to losing weight more easily.

Researchers recently found that because of the way your body works, it actually does best on a big meal in the morning. Your brain especially needs a good boost of energy to start the day—if you don't give it this in the form of food then it will rob energy from you by burning muscle mass.

Making sure your body has the energy it needs translates to weight loss. Obese patients were assigned to eat a normal-sized, low-carb, high-protein breakfast or a large-sized breakfast (1240 calories) over the course of eight months. Those who ate the bigger breakfast lost 40 pounds during the study compared with 9 pounds of weight loss averaged by the other group.

That's an impressive difference.

If you would like to lose weight, give this a try. Eat a very large breakfast including a glass of milk, two slices of whole grain toast, a serving of lean meat, and two slices of cheese. Follow it up with an ounce of chocolate.

During the rest of the day eat small portions. Eat slowly, and stop when you feel satisfied, but before you feel full. Doing this will make sure that your brain has all the energy it needs during the day, it will increase your metabolism, and you'll feel more energetic and less prone to cravings.

Stay well,
Meghan Krohn

A New Look at Anti-Aging Medicine

So often when we talk about anti-aging, we think about how many years we can live. The real point of anti-aging, though, is to live better as well as longer.

What's the point of living to 100 if you can't enjoy yourself during the final years of your life? If you spend years suffering and miserable, then what's the point? Real anti-aging focuses not just on living longer, but on maintaining your youth and vitality.

Here are a few tips that will help you live better and also longer:

1. Take a good multi-vitamin that is rich in anti-oxidants and an omega-3 essential fatty acid supplement. Taking these two things every day will help fill in any gaps in your diet. I recommend that you get your omega-3s from a cod liver oil supplement—you'll also benefit from the vitamin D.
2. Enjoy a glass of wine a dinner on occasion. The resveratrol in red wine is very good for your cells—it helps protect them from early aging. If you have pre-existing health problems, though, check with your doctor before making wine part of your daily routine.
3. Take good care of your eyes and your joints. The health of your heart and brain are without a doubt very important. But don't overlook the importance of your eyes and joints to your quality of life.
4. Stay active. Get moving each day—even if it's a simple walk through your neighborhood. This helps you maintain your balance, flexibility, and strength.
5. Find new ways to challenge yourself. Challenging yourself both mentally and physically is one of the best ways to stay young in body, mind, and heart.


Stay well,
Danny Wallace

Stress Can Make You Hungry

In recent research, scientists have been examining the relationship between certain hormones your body produces under stress and how big your appetite is. What they've found gives added support to the theory that stress can cause you to gain weight.

When you feel depressed or anxious, your body releases more of a hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin helps to combat anxiety and depression, but it also helps to regulate your appetite. More ghrelin makes you feel like you need to eat. It follows that in many people stress can lead to overeating because it triggers production of this hormone that makes you hungry.

Researchers are considering ways of suppressing ghrelin that might help with weight loss. However, this is a risky strategy. If levels of ghrelin get too low, you could become depressed or suffer from higher levels of anxiety.

A better strategy is to learn to cope better with stress. Here are a few ideas.

Exercise is an excellent coping mechanism when it comes to stress. People who exercise help to regulate their hormone levels and their mood. Exercise works as well as prescription drugs when it comes to treating moderate depression. It's an all around good way to beat stress.

Meditation is another great option. You can rent guided meditations at your local video store. Or you can do you own meditation. Just sit quietly in a relaxed position. Choose a focal point such as your breathing and try to clear your mind of thoughts by focusing gently on that one thing. When a stray thought does enter your mind simply acknowledge it and then bring yourself back to your focal point.

Journaling is another option when it comes to coping with stress. Writing down the things that bother you can help you to put them into perspective and even find solutions. Sometimes by writing something down you give yourself permission not to worry about it constantly, and that's very helpful, too.

Finding healthy ways to deal with stress is important both to your quality of life and to your health.

Stay well,
Heather Robwell

Red Wine for Anti-Aging

You may have heard of resveratrol. It's a compound found in red wine that scientists have been getting excited about because of its anti-aging properties.

A few years ago, scientists discovered that high doses of resveratrol had a similar effect in mice as a calorie restricted diet. Up to that point, calorie restriction was the most promising anti-aging method. It was also terribly impractical. Who wants to reduce their calories down 30% from the recommended daily intake? You might live longer, but you'd be tired and cranky all the time.

That's why resveratrol has generated such a buzz. And the news is only getting better.

Up until now, researchers believed that only high doses of resveratrol could deliver anti-aging benefits. It turns out, though, that they may have been wrong. New research suggests even low doses make a huge difference.

In a recent study, researchers found that even doses as low as a daily glass of red wine are effective at slowing aging and protecting against heart disease. This is great news. Previously, researchers thought that you would have to take resveratrol supplements to reap the health benefits. Supplements can be tricky. It's hard to know how a compound behaves differently when it's isolated versus how it behaves in its most natural form.

Generally speaking, getting a compound like resveratrol in its most natural form is best if that is practical. And now it turns out that it is practical.

So here's a toast to your good health—enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner tonight.

Stay well,

Meghan Krohn

Men—Start Reducing Your Risk Factors Today

Even with all the medical advances we've make in the last century, men still die earlier than women. Most chronic diseases affect—and kill—more men than women, too. But guys aren't helpless when it comes to their health. There are plenty of steps you can take to make sure you buck these statistics and live a long, healthy life.

For starters, stop smoking. Men who smoke are more likely to develop heart disease, have a stroke, or die from lung cancer. Quitting smoking isn't easy, but it can be done. And getting it done is one of the most positive health changes you can make. If you're a smoker, check into support programs that can help you to quit. Finding support can help you achieve your goal to stop smoking, and more importantly, a good support system can help the change to stick.

Next up, get more active. Men who are active during their leisure time are more physically fit. Good physical fitness will cut down on heart disease and stroke risks. Plus, you'll look and feel better, which means you'll be more likely to enjoy all the extra years you're going to live.

Finally, see your doctor for a physical each year. Having a good relationship with your doctor means that he or she will be able to catch early warning signs of any developing health problems. Reacting sooner rather than later can make all the difference in the world when it comes to preventing or treating diseases.

Your health is important. So, take care of yourself.

Stay well,
Heather Robwell

Bad News for Golfers

I love a good game of golf. And no matter what anyone says, it's a tough sport with a lot of health benefits. To enhance my own fitness, I usually walk the course when I golf. I like the walk. The course is beautiful and it gives me a chance to enjoy being outside.

However, news is out that walking the golf course might be hurting my game. It turns out that players who walk rather than use a golf cart experience a steady decline in their game. If you're playing a full eighteen holes, by the end of your game, the difference can be pretty noticeable.

The walking actually interferes with your swing after a while. Your body can't transfer its weight through the swing like it can when you're fresh. The good news is that the higher your level of fitness, the less pronounced this effect becomes.

I'm going to continue to walk when I golf—at least most of the time. Like I said, I enjoy the exercise. But this news does give me—and every other golfer I know—one more reason to become more physically fit. It'll improve my game!

Stay well,
Danny Wallace

How to Beat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Millions of Americans have carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition where the nerve in your forearm becomes pinched. The result is pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand and forearm.

Carpal tunnel syndrome disrupts your life in two major ways. It interferes with your productivity at work and it makes restful sleep more difficult at night.

Some people who develop carpal tunnel syndrome don't have a known cause, but for many it's repetitive stress to the wrist and arm that triggers the condition. If you work on a keyboard, use a mouse, or have another job that demands repetitive arm motions then you're at risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

You can protect yourself by making a few simple changes. First, stretch your arms, wrists and hands several times a day. One good stretch is to press the palms of your hands together in front of your chest. This will stretch the wrists, the fingers, and the lower forearm muscles. Another good stretch is to hold your arms straight out in front of you, make gentle fists, and then bend your wrists to press your fists toward the floor. Don't lower your arms when you do this. This will stretch your wrists and your upper forearms.

Another way to prevent carpal tunnel is to vary your activity throughout the day. If you spend a good deal of the day typing, take breaks to do some brainstorming or another task that involves an activity away from your computer.

If you already have symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, one of the best things you can do is buy a wrist splint to wear at night. This will help ease the pain while you sleep. You'll sleep better, which is good all by itself. However, a better night's sleep also means that your body has more time to heal. Most people who sleep with a wrist splint find that they experience less pain during the day, too.

I have also personally had good luck with massage therapy. Some licensed massage therapists are very knowledgeable about carpal tunnel syndrome. Ask around and find someone with experience working with your condition and schedule an appointment—you'll be glad you did!

Stay well,
Heather Robwell