A Lifetime of Healthy Breasts

A guide to keeping your breasts healthy now and in the years to come.


Breasts: Some women worry that theirs are too big or too small or not as firm and youthful as they once were, but here's one thing that every woman wants -- healthy breasts for a lifetime.

6 Ways to Wreck Your Blood Sugar Level : What not to do if you have type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a tough disease. It requires constant vigilance to keep your blood sugar level under control.

It also requires avoiding some common mistakes, many of which are the product of long-held bad habits.

Here are six mistakes that you can learn to avoid.
1. Not Knowing Your Disease

Living With Insomnia: Get a Good Night's Sleep

A Drink Will Help You Sleep

Myth. Insomnia -- chronic trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep -- can leave you desperate for a good night's rest. Think a cocktail before bed will offer relief? Think again. This myth probably persists because alcohol can help you fall asleep. But as it moves through your body it may lead to disturbed, restless sleep, or it may make you wake earlier

A Visual Guide to Asthma

What Is Asthma?

Asthma is a lung disorder that interferes with breathing. It can cause serious, recurring episodes of wheezing and breathlessness, known as asthma attacks. The trouble stems from chronic inflammation in the tubes that carry air to the lungs. While there is no cure, there are highly effective strategies for keeping asthma symptoms at bay.

The Healthy Wonders of Water: Water Tips for Efficient Exercise

When trainer Amanda Carlson did a study on college football players preparing for a major NFL scouting event, she found that 98% of them were dehydrated at the beginning of their morning evaluation.

“Your ability to perform athletically can decline with a very small amount of dehydration,” says Carlson, director of performance nutrition for Athletes’ Performance, which trains many of the world’s top athletes. “Just losing 2% of your body weight in fluid can decrease performance by up to 25%.”

Is Your Mouth Fit for Kissing? : Reasons You're Not Kissable

Cold Sores
Also called fever blisters, you don’t get cold sores from fevers or colds but they can be triggered by them. The virus that causes cold sores is usually passed via a kiss, shared utensils, or other close contact. OTC creams and ointments may help discomfort and speed healing. Frequent sores may require a prescription. Cold sores are a top mouth problem. Other problems include canker sores, TMJ, bad breath, and mouth cancer.

The Real Cause of Cardiovascular Disease And The Benefits of Chelation Therapy

I have spent over 35 years researching chelation therapy (CT), trying to determine how and why it helps patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). I strongly believe that some form of CT should be a part of the treatment for anyone with CVD. My knowledge of CT has permitted me to safely advise against all bypass operations on my patients for over 30 years.

I knew that this was working, but I jumped to the wrong conclusion: I thought that somehow CT must be reversing plaque, never dreaming that removing heavy metals could bring these benefits. My error probably set back the widespread acceptance of CT by decades, as knowledgeable invasive cardiologists often found that serious "obstructing" plaque was still present after CT.

The Healthy Wonders of Water : 7 Wonders of Water

Stay Slimmer With Water

Trying to lose weight? Water revs up metabolism and helps you feel full.

Replace calorie-laden beverages with water, and drink a glass before meals to help you feel fuller.

Drinking more water also helps amp up metabolism - especially if your glass is icy cold. Your body must work to warm the water up, burning a few extra calories in the process.

Water Boosts Your Energy

If you’re feeling drained and depleted, get a pick-me-up with water. Dehydration makes you feel fatigued.

Water helps the blood transport oxygen and other essential nutrients to your cells.

If you’re getting enough water, your heart also doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood throughout your body

Gender Bending Chemicals in Food Packaging Linked To Breathing Problems in Babies

A gender-bending chemical found in food packaging is linked to breathing problems in young babies, researchers have found.
A study showed pregnant mothers with the highest levels of bisphenol A in  their bodies were twice as likely to have babies who suffer from wheezing in their first six months.
Wheezing in babies can be a symptom of lung damage, asthma, bronchitis, allergies or an infection.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, which is used to harden plastics, is one of the world’s most widely manufactured chemicals and can be found in dozens of everyday items including baby bottles, CD cases and food and drink packaging.

What Men Want Women to Know

Men Will Talk About Feelings

Was your guy raised as a traditional, stoic, man's man? If so, let me walk you through 18 relationship secrets, gathered from psychologists who study gender roles. Secret No. 1: It may be easier for your man to talk about feelings indirectly. Ask what he'd do during a romantic weekend. Or what he thought the first time he met you. His answers will reveal how he feels and bring you closer.

Men Say "I Love You" With Actions

What is alcohol?

Alcohol is thought to be responsible for 34,000 deaths in the UK each year because of the damage it does to the body, plus many more deaths due to the indirect effect of alcohol on others.

Alcohol is a sedative hypnotic drug that depresses the central nervous system, making you feel more relaxed.
Most adults in the UK drink alcohol moderately and on a social basis and derive a lot of pleasure from doing so.
However, about one in five men and one in seven women regularly drink more than the Department of Health suggests is strictly safe for good health. This is up to two to three units of alcohol a day for women and up to three to four units of alcohol a day for men, to a maximum of 14 units a week for women and 21 units a week for men. A unit of alcohol is equivalent to half a pint of ordinary strength beer, a small glass of wine or a single pub measure of spirits.

What's Causing My Chest Pain?

Chest pain. The first thing you may think of is heart attack. Certainly chest pain is not something to ignore. But you should know that it has many possible causes. In fact, as much as a quarter of the U.S. population experiences chest pain that is not related to the heart. Chest pain may also be caused by problems in your lungs, esophagus, muscles, ribs, or nerves, for example. Some of these conditions are serious and life threatening. Others are not. If you have unexplained chest pain, the only way to confirm its cause is to have a doctor evaluate you.
You may feel chest pain anywhere from your neck to your upper abdomen. Depending on its cause, chest pain may be:

The Basics of a Healthy Diabetes Diet

The Basics of a Healthy Diabetes Diet

Contrary to what you may have heard, there is no "diabetes diet," per se -- and that's good news! The foods recommended for a diabetes diet to control blood glucose (or blood sugar) are good for those with diabetes -- and everyone else. This means that you and your family can eat the same healthy foods at mealtime. However, for people with diabetes, the total amounts of carbohydrates consumed each day must be monitored carefully. Of the different components of nutrition -- carbohydrates, fats, and proteins -- carbohydrates have the greatest influence on blood sugar levels. Most people with diabetes also have to monitor total fat consumption and protein intake, too.

Better Health Solution, Health Tips and Information: Cocoa Rich in Health Benefits Cocoa Consumption May Decrease Blood Pressure, Improve Cholesterol

Better Health Solution, Health Tips and Information: Cocoa Rich in Health Benefits Cocoa Consumption May Decrease Blood Pressure, Improve Cholesterol

Cocoa Rich in Health Benefits Cocoa Consumption May Decrease Blood Pressure, Improve Cholesterol

March 23, 2011 -- Cocoa, used throughout history as a folk medicine, may actually have significant health benefits, according to a new study by Harvard researchers.
Their analysis of 21 studies with 2,575 participants shows that cocoa consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels, among other benefits.
Eric L. Ding, PhD, of Harvard Medical School says the apparent health benefits come from polyphenolic flavonoids in cocoa that have the potential to prevent heart disease. Flavonoids are antioxidants that are commonly found in fruits, vegetables, tea, wine, and coffee.
Cocoa Flavonoids Good for Cholesterol
In addition to decreasing blood pressure and improving blood vessel health, consumption of flavonoid-rich cocoa decreased “bad” LDL cholesterol among people under age 50, and increased good HDL cholesterol, the analysis showed.

Flavonoid-rich cocoa consumption also was linked to reductions in risk factors for diabetes -- a major risk factor itself for cardiovascular disease.

Also, resistance to the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar, favorably dropped among people who consumed flavonoid-rich cocoa, compared to people in comparison groups.

Further, consumption of flavonoid-rich cocoa did not change triglyceride levels of study participants or make them obese. Triglycerides are a type of blood fat that have been linked to coronary artery disease when levels are elevated above normal.
More Research Needed to Nail Down Benefits of Cocoa

Most of the previous studies analyzed were short-term research projects using mostly sugar-free, dark chocolate.

Ding and his colleagues say in the new study that because most chocolate is high in added sugar and fat, more research is needed to determine the risk-benefit effect on the heart health of eating commercially available chocolate.

Though past studies by Ding and others have found that cocoa may reduce heart attack risk, the dosage necessary to produce this effect is not known, and further research is needed to shed more light on that question, as well as on cocoa’s direct benefits on preventing strokes and heart attacks, according to a news release.

The new research is being presented in Atlanta at the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

Improve Your Odds for a Long and Healthy Life

No one is guaranteed a life free of disease or injury. As we age, many of us will face at least one of these common health problems. But certain lifestyle steps can help forestall illness and sometimes prevent it altogether. They can also improve your quality of life and recovery if disease or injury does strike. Read on to learn what you can do to improve your odds.

Better Health through Diet

"Food provides essential vitamins and minerals that play a number of different and overlapping roles," says Jen Sacheck, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science