Staying Healthy Archive

Olive oil, when consumed as a regular part of the diet, may help protect against an early death and specifically against deaths related to cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurogenerative conditions, and respiratory conditions.

Frequent handwashing may lead to dry, cracked skin. Strategies such as lowering the water temperature and moisturizing with a heavy hand cream after washing can allow the skin to heal. Also try wearing cotton gloves over a thick moisturizer at night.

Researchers estimated that if people increased daily activity by 10 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, like brisk walking, it could result in 7% fewer deaths per year. Increasing daily activity by 20 or 30 minutes could lower the rate by 13% or 17%, respectively.

The number of people taking large amounts of melatonin (more than 5 milligrams per day) is at an all-time high. However, the amount in a supplement can be significantly higher than what the label shows. This can cause people to take too much, especially since many use melatonin regularly.

The medical world agrees that daily aspirin can help people with cardiovascular disease lower their risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, most people over age 70 without cardiovascular disease should avoid aspirin as a way to prevent a heart attack or stroke. Even if a person has taken aspirin for a long time as primary prevention of heart disease, it's time to talk to your doctor about potentially stopping it.

A placebo response (improvement in symptoms from the act of taking a drug independent of its biological effects) is not fully understood. Still, placebos are commonly used in clinical trials to test the effectiveness of a specific therapy.

A study published online Jan. 24, 2022, by JAMA Internal Medicine estimated that increasing physical activity by 10, 20, or 30 minutes a day would decrease the number of annual deaths by 7%, 13%, or 17%, respectively.

A study published online Feb. 16, 2022, by the European Heart Journal suggests that the prevalence of statin intolerance is much lower than commonly cited. Instead of 50%, the study found that prevalence is 6% to 10%.

A study published online Jan. 15, 2022, by Appetite suggested that people's expectations of how full they will feel after eating can influence their actual food intake.

Gut bacteria may influence our emotions and cognitive capabilities. For example, some bacteria make oxytocin, a hormone the body produces that encourages increased social behavior. Other bacteria make substances that cause symptoms of depression and anxiety. Still others make substances that help people to be calmer under stress. Gut bacteria also have been shown to influence people's vulnerability to certain brain diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and autism. For example, a substance found in the brains of people with Parkinson's disease (synuclein) is made by gut bacteria and can travel via nerves from the gut to the brain.