Why older patients need less bedrest and more mobility in the hospital

Bedrest is toxic to older adults. That’s the lesson of a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine that calls out the immobility of older patients in hospitals, bringing attention to the damage it can do. Bedrest is associated with disability, ending up in a nursing home, and ultimately, death, the authors wrote. Half of permanent disability in older adults begins with hospitalization, they said, and 2/3 of them will either be placed in a nursing home or dead within a year of being sent home from the hospital.

How to lower blood sugar using just apple cider vinegar

Vinegar comes from the French word vin aigre meaning sour wine. It can be made from almost any fermented carbohydrate - wine, molasses, dates, pears, berries and apples have all been used to make vinegar, with apple cider vinegar being one of the most popular kinds. The benefits to apple cider vinegar are abundant.

Prediabetic? Try exercise to control your blood sugar levels

Staying fit into middle age may be one way to reduce your risk of prediabetes and diabetes, according to a new study published in Diabetologia online. Prediabetes simply means your blood sugar is higher than normal, but is not yet diabetes. It is estimated that half of all U.S. adults have either prediabetes or diabetes.

Exercise may help teens dealing with depression

The teenage years can be challenging enough, but even more so when depression is thrown into the mix. Depression is common, especially among teenagers. It’s been estimated that approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood. But there may be a natural solution to help teens who are dealing with depression.

The best mosquito repellents for avoiding the Zika virus

Protect your family from the Zika virus by choosing an effective mosquito repellent! Consumer Reports’ testing shows not all repellents are created equal, especially when it comes to protecting against Aedes mosquitoes – the kind that transmit the Zika virus. The top performers?

Can cancer be prevented with exercise?

Good news if you just signed up for a summer obstacle race! A new study suggests exercise may reduce your risk of getting multiple kinds of cancer. In this study, researchers analyzed data from more than a million Americans and Europeans and found that exercise reduced the risk of 13 cancers out of the 26 they studied. The risk was reduced by anywhere from 10 to 42 percent.

Medical error: The third leading cause of death in the U.S., new study says

Heart disease, cancer and …. medical errors? We didn’t see that one coming. According to findings recently published in the British Medical Journal, medical error is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. At least 250,000 deaths each year can be attributed to medical care gone wrong, the study reported. Medical errors may include getting a drug you’re allergic to or contracting a preventable infection in the hospital.

Patients pleading for better care of the P’s and Q’s

I used to drive a BMW. Because it was a high-performance vehicle, I felt compelled to take the car back to the dealership for service. Each time I returned to the service office with my BMW key, I was welcomed in a manner that would put Dino greeting Fred Flintstone to shame. A warm hello, a disarming smile and a how-may-we-make-your-day-so-much-more-awesome approach was the spirit each and every service representative exuded and bestowed upon me. I half expected a relaxing shoulder rubdown in the waiting room.

Want to improve your memory? Try a cup of blueberries

It’s blueberry season! And if the taste alone wasn’t incentive enough to go get yourself a carton, new research shows that blueberries may be quite the superfood for your brain and memory. Two new studies show that eating blueberries may improve thinking and memory skills in older adults with memory issues.

Iyengar yoga: Safe enough for pulmonary hypertension patients to reap big benefits

People turn to yoga for relief from all sorts of ailments – aches and pains, insomnia, headaches, stress and many more. Now, recent research is adding another condition to the list: pulmonary arterial hypertension. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs and right heart.

The prostate cancer and smoking link

By now, it’s well-known that smoking has some serious health risks. One of them, for men, is prostate cancer. Fortunately, both the prostate cancer mortality and cigarette smoking rates have been declining in the U.S. Part of the reason prostate cancer mortality rates have been dropping is due to more prostate cancer screenings (called PSA tests) and better treatment when men are diagnosed or when the disease spreads. But is it possible that the drop in smoking is helping, too?

Vitamin D may help with cancer prevention

You may have heard about the health benefits of vitamin D before – for migraines, uterine fibroids, memory, hives, bone strength, mood and your immune system. But did you know research shows it may help prevent cancer as well? Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine found that higher levels of vitamin D are associated with a reduced risk of cancer, ScienceDaily reports. The findings were recently published in PLOS ONE.