Staying Healthy Archive

Taking a class to explore a subject or learn a new skill may increase cognitive ability and slow mental aging.

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Active aging involves more than moving your body. You also need to move your brain. "When you exercise, you engage your muscles to help improve overall health," says Dr. Ipsit Vahia, director of geriatric outpatient services for Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. "The same concept applies to the brain. You need to exercise it with new challenges to keep it healthy."

A fun way to do this is to sharpen your No. 2 pencils and go back to school. "New brain cell growth can happen even late into adulthood," says Dr. Vahia. "The process of learning and acquiring new information and experiences, like through structured classes, can stimulate that process."

Poor lifestyle habits can trigger chronic neck pain that impedes daily activities and raises your risk of serious health issues.

Muscle strains caused by poor posture and sleeping positions often trigger neck pain.
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Neck pain is a nagging ailment that affects everyone at some time. In fact, approximately 80% of people experience neck pain during their lifetime, and 20% to 50% deal with it annually, according to Dr. Frank Pedlow, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Increasing daily water intake by one, two, or three cups daily can help reduce total calorie intake and lower a person’s intake of saturated fat, sugar, sodium, and cholesterol.

Eating 10 servings of green leafy vegetables per week, or about 1.5 cups per day, may lower a person’s risk for primary open-angle glaucoma by 20% to 30%. These foods are rich in nitrate, which can help reduce eye pressure and improve blood flow to the optic nerve.

Each of your medications may be affecting how the others work, leading to harmful side effects and complications.

Each additional medication you take increases the risk of drug interactions.
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Are you taking more than one drug? Are you taking a few different types of medications? Are you seeing several different doctors? If so, you may be at increased risk for drug interactions, which occur when a drug, a supplement, or even a food affects the way your body processes a medication. Such interactions can make a drug more powerful—so that a standard dose becomes an overdose—or can render it less potent or altogether ineffective.

Inflammation is an important link between obesity, elevated blood sugar, and type 2 diabetes.

Weight loss can reduce inflammation—a major contributor to diabetes.
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We've known for a long time that being overweight is a major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. But only in the last 20 years have researchers determined that metabolism and immune responses are linked and that chronic inflammation plays an important role in the development of obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic diseases. "Inflammation is not only associated with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, but also precedes and predicts these conditions," says Dr. Allison Goldfine, head of the Clinical Research section at Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center.

Research We’re Watching

In the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the emphasis shifted from healthy foods to healthy eating plans. Scientists are also focusing on the role of one's entire diet in preventing osteoporosis.

A team of German researchers analyzed data from more than 90,000 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), who were ages 50 to 79 when they entered the study.

They follow their own advice to enjoy lots of vegetables, legumes, lean protein, and a fruit-based dessert.

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Following a healthy diet is a proven and powerful way to lower your risk of heart disease. But do you ever wonder if doc-tors actually practice what they preach, especially with regard to their eating habits? While we obviously can't speak for all of them, four Harvard physicians with diverse ethnic backgrounds agreed to share examples of their favorite heart-healthy dinner menus.

Dr. Enrique Caballero, assistant professor of medicine

A native of Mexico, Dr. Caballero directs the Latino Diabetes Initiative at the Joslin Diabetes Center; his research interests include cardiovascular disease prevention.

Your BMI estimates your body fat better than the number on a scale. But a tape measure is an equally important tool.

As your BMI rises above 25, so does your risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
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The body mass index (BMI), a measurement derived from the relationship between your weight and your height (see box), is a common way to estimate body fat. It's a simple, fast, and essentially free tool that enables doctors to help identify people who might be at risk for health problems—including cardiovascular disease—that are linked to excess body fat.

People who do volunteer work may reap benefits beyond the satisfaction of helping others.

Doing volunteer work may give you a greater sense of purpose in life—a positive emotion that’s been linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
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If you volunteer on a regular basis, perhaps you've experienced the emotional rewards of donating your time. What you might not realize, however, is that volunteering may offer some added advantages for your heart.