To help assess your aerobic fitness, here is a minimum standard: See if you can walk up five flights of stairs at your own pace without stopping, using the railing only for balance. The test may seem too simple to be useful, but in the days before sophisticated exercise tests were widely available, thoracic surgeons used this very test to see if their patients were fit enough to undergo lung operations. In modern terms, people who pass the five-flight test have maximum oxygen uptake values of at least 20. That level will get you through surgery and daily life, but healthy people should use exercise to build up to levels two or even three times higher.

It is unlikely that a health club would ask you to use the stairwell for self-assessment, but it might well use a single 12-inch step or bench to evaluate your fitness. With just a little help, you can do it yourself. Ask someone to time you and count for you so you can concentrate on the task at hand (or foot!). At the signal to begin, step up with your right foot, then bring your left foot up beside it. Follow the "up, up" with "down, down" to complete one step. Repeat at a rate of 24 steps per minute for three consecutive minutes. Then rest in a chair for exactly one minute before taking your pulse. Finally, use the YMCA standards (see table below) to see how you stack up.

Experts say many over-the-counter cough medicines are ineffective, and that those suffering from a cold-related cough should take an antihistamine with a nasal decongestant.

The normal temperature of 98.6° F is anything but, especially as we get older.

Normal, when it comes to body temperature, is 98.6° F, right?

Recently, news stories reported that studies found that daily calcium and vitamin D supplements may not help older women protect their bones or prevent colon cancer — at least not as much as we thought they would.

Researchers for the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) looked at more than 36,000 healthy women ages 50–79. Half of the women took 1,000 mg of elemental calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D each day. The other half took a sugar pill (placebo). After seven years, the women taking the supplements showed slightly better bone density in their hips. They also had fewer hip fractures, but the results could have occurred by chance: Protection against hip fractures, a key goal of improving bone density, was not proven.

Let's cover the original misinformation first: The earliest missives warned that microwaved plastic releases cancer-causing chemicals called dioxins into food. The problem with that warning is that plastics don't contain dioxins. They are created when garbage, plastics, metals, wood, and other materials are burned. As long as you don't burn your food in a microwave, you aren't exposing yourself to dioxins.

Migrating chemicals

There's no single substance called "plastic." That term covers many materials made from an array of organic and inorganic compounds. Substances are often added to plastic to help shape or stabilize it. Two of these plasticizers are

Conflicting recommendations on exercise obscure the main message: Just do it.

Of all the things you can do to stay healthy or get better, exercise tops the list.

The devastation left in the wake of recent natural disaster and terror attacks provides graphic evidence of just how destructive they can be. Residents can be forced to evacuate from their homes at a moment's notice in an atmosphere of panic and chaos, and many of them will not be able to return for months. In light of these potential disasters and their aftermath, it has become clear that preparation for the unknown is of the utmost importance.

No matter where you live in the United States, you are vulnerable to some sort of natural disaster such as a blizzard, earthquake, flood, hurricane, or tornado. In addition, terrorist attacks on America are also possible. Both natural disasters and terrorist attacks can disrupt power, communication, and transportation for days or even longer.

Will a click of the mouse replace word of mouth when it comes to picking a hospital?

These days, hospitals — like students — have to worry about getting a bad report card. Employer groups, health insurers, government agencies, and even newspapers are amassing mountains of data about them, crunching the numbers, and assigning scores and rankings. Several private companies have turned the collecting and assembling of hospital data for public consumption into a nice little business. Patients and their families are increasingly expected to act like savvy shoppers, making smart choices based on all this computerized wisdom.

This list describes your priorities in an emergency situation. Follow these steps:

1. Evaluate the scene to protect yourself and others from injury or danger.
2. Be calm and reassuring.
3. Do not move the person unless he or she is in imminent danger or unless you cannot provide assistance without moving the person.
4. Get help. Call out for someone to phone 911 or, if the person does not need immediate assistance, make the call yourself.
5. If the situation is a choking emergency, perform the Heimlich maneuver (see Choking).
6. Look, listen, and feel for breathing (see Breathing Difficulties).
7. Feel for a pulse to determine if the heart is beating.
8. Control bleeding with direct pressure.
9. Treat for shock.
10. If the person is unconscious, move him or her into the recovery position.