Staying Healthy Archive

Articles

Be careful mixing OTC medications with prescription drugs

Combining over-the-counter (OTC) medications, especially those containing acetaminophen, with prescription drugs can be dangerous.

Extra vitamin D may keep you mobile in later years

Older adults who don't get enough vitamin D, either from sun exposure, dietary sources, or supplements, face higher risks of mobility problems.

New options for treating sleep apnea

Now there are more comfortable ways to correct the disordered breathing that disrupts your slumber.

There's good news for anyone with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). For one, more people can undergo sleep testing at home, making diagnosis more comfortable and convenient. On the treatment side, there are additional choices besides continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which many people use inconsistently despite doctors' warnings. Finally, although excess body weight plays a central role in OSA, it also means you can kick apnea for good with lifestyle change.

Self help for sore muscles

Regular exercise is vital for health and longevity, but often brings strains and sprains. Here are some tips on how to ease the pain.

After a good long walk or a full day of chores around the home or yard, that warm soreness in your muscles can feel almost pleasurable. No wonder: it means your muscles are going to get stronger and better.

Heavy coffee drinkers live longer

With so many cups of coffee consumed daily, scientists have conducted many studies to weigh the possible health impacts. Now, researchers report an intriguing observation in The New England Journal of Medicine: people who drink coffee appear to live longer.

In the largest study of coffee and health to date, researchers examined data from a diet and lifestyle questionnaire administered to more than 400,000 people. They determined that men who drank six or more cups of coffee per day had a 10% lower overall rate of death. Whether caffeinated or not, coffee was also associated with decreased risk of death from heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, diabetes, and infection—but not cancer. Importantly, as coffee consumption increased, the risk of death decreased in step, suggesting the connection may not be mere coincidence.

Could a few daily cups of coffee help you live longer?

A new study suggests that coffee drinkers may live longer. Coffee drinking appeared to reduce deaths from heart disease, respiratory disease, strokes, and diabetes.

Supplements: A scorecard

A detailed look at supplements and their medical use.

Is Vitamin E bad for your bones?

Normal doses are okay; megadoses can be dangerous.

Vitamin E is a popular supplement, hyped to improve your health for everything from the brain to the bedroom. However, the science backing up those claims is largely inconclusive. Now, a recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine further suggests that too much vitamin E may even weaken your bones.

Cartiginous Joint

A. Vertebrae. B. Cartilage disk

Researchers found that rats given megadoses of vitamin E developed bones 20% weaker than those of rats on a normal diet. The amount of vitamin E given the rats was proportionately far in excess of what most human beings consume in their regular diet, or what is in a typical vitamin E supplement. But you should still be careful how much vitamin E you consume, cautions Dr. Bruce Bistrian, chief of clinical nutrition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

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