New dietary standards are more cautious than many expected.

After a decade of glowing reports for vitamin D, a panel of experts has seemingly thrown the dimmer switch on the sunshine vitamin. In revising the 1997 dietary guidelines, a panel convened by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that there wasn't enough solid evidence to support taking vitamin D to stave off a host of disorders from colon, breast, and prostate cancer to heart disease, arthritis, and autoimmune conditions. The panel's report, released on Nov. 30, 2010, also throws cold water on the assumption that most North Americans are ...

Slow down, you're eating too fast. Distracted, hurried eating may add pounds and take away pleasure.

Does this sound familiar?

You're at your computer, facing a wall of e-mails. After composing a reply, you hit "send" and reach for the bulging tuna wrap on your desk. After a few bites, chewing while glancing at the screen, you set the wrap down, grab a handful of chips, and open the next message. Before you know it, you've finished lunch without even noticing it.

A small yet growing body of research suggests that a slower, more thoughtful way of eating could help ...

There's no cure in sight, but there do seem to be ways to make the common cold less common.

Perhaps the only topic that rivals the weather forecast for idle chitchat this time of year is a rundown of cold symptoms. Was yours like a stalled pressure front that lingered for days, or did it come on as a nor'easter and knock you flat? But most of the time, we're fortunate. The typical cold is a relatively mild misery maker that goes away without special treatment after about a week.

Colds are caused by viruses that invade the upper ...

The electrocardiogram is useful in diagnosing many heart conditions, and is receiving new attention due to its role in determining whether someone has had a heart attack.

Early introduction of palliative care (well before hospice) improves mood and quality of life — and may help people live longer.

Hospice and palliative care are often talked about as if they are the same thing, but they're not. Hospice is for people who are expected to live for a short time (usually defined as six months or less) who have agreed to stop getting treatment aimed at prolonging life. Palliative care is medical care that aims to relieve pain or suffering and, more generally, to improve a person's quality of life during a serious illness. Palliative care is ...

Q. My teenage daughter wants to be tan when we go down to Florida for our winter vacation in February. I have suggested one of these so-called sunless tanning products, but she says they don't look natural and wants to go to an indoor tanning salon instead. What do you think?

A. Sunless tanning products have been around for decades. The old products, especially the ones you applied yourself, were streaky and they turned the skin an orangey-brown.

Today, the results are much better. People get an even, natural look, especially from the spray-on products applied by hand or by ...