Do you have at least one go-to recipe up your sleeve? I do. It’s this one. MORE: The One Ingredient That Makes Salmon Delicious You already know how fabulously healthy salmon is, but the real reason I love this recipe is because it’s both easy and fancy. This recipe is for one, but it’s easy to scale up: Just add one salmon filet, one lemon, and a few more basil leaves for each person you’re cooking for....

Maybe you’re a running junkie who can’t resist the lure of another marathon. Or maybe you just live in a city where climbing stairs—from the subway, to the office, to your walk-up apartment—is essentially unavoidable. Don’t get us wrong: All that activity is terrific for your health. It just might not be so great for your knees, finds new research. Over a four-year period, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco tracked the activity levels of 200 healthy men and women between the ages of 45 and 60, none of whom had any history of knee pain....

But the research, published in the journal the Annals of Internal Medicine, is facing strong criticism from experts who say studies that fail to look at the big picture end up confusing people—rather than helping them make healthy choices. “Nutrition studies miss the point,” says Charlotte Vallaeys, director of farm and food policy for The Cornucopia Institute, an organic watchdog group. “Consumers should not lose sight of the important impacts of organic agriculture, which produces foods without the use of toxic pesticides that have been linked to an array of health problems, including ADHD in children and cancer....

[sidebar]I have a better proposal Before your vacation, aim to lose 5 to 6 pounds, a more realistic amount that won’t require draconian measures. In the meantime, buy a new pair of jeans (you’ll look thinner in clothes that fit right). Don’t deprive yourself while you’re away, but don’t go overboard on the piña coladas and crème brûlées, either. Then, after you return from your vacation, continue your weight loss efforts, and by midsummer you should be back in those white jeans....

“Europe will always have influence in terms of science-based skin care technology,” says Richard Pietz, global director of product development at Jurlique. “But people are looking to Asia for ingredients with natural and traditional efficacy.” Plus, Asia simply tends to care about skin care…a lot. Since Asian culture defines beauty as having flawless skin, there’s a high demand for skin care products, forcing companies to create and innovate. “For thousands of years, there have been potions, treatments, and services that were dedicated to achieve the perfect complexion,” says Esther Dong, senior vice president of Sulwhasoo....

Although many of the ideas below have small effects on their own, Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, section head of preventive cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, says they’re great when put together. “You may get 5 or 10% here and there, but when you add them up you get something effective,” he says. Of course, you shouldn’t forgo your traditional medication for these alternatives. “I’d recommended these ideas when a patient can’t get to their goal levels with diet and a statin prescription—which sometimes happens when a person’s cholesterol is really high to begin with, or if their body doesn’t tolerate the medication well,” he says....

You haven’t gone out to play in a long time Several studies have linked spending time indoors to nearsightedness—especially among young children. But getting outside may prevent this vision problem. Why? Sunlight causes your pupils to shrink, which reduces visual blur, suggest a study from the University of Sydney in Australia. The study authors say sunlight may also strengthen the eye through the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which spikes when you’re retinas are exposed to natural light....

A new study published in Gastroenterology examined how carbonation changes the way our brains perceive sweetness. The researchers looked at magnetic resonance imaging to see what parts of the brain were lighting up during consumption of diet and regular soda. Here’s what they found: regardless of whether the beverage contained sugar or an artificial sweetener, regions that influence the ways we detect sweetness lit up like crazy. Carbonation, the researchers concluded, might be responsible for leveling the playing field between the sweeteners....

Recently, a team of experts combed through the research to find the scientific answer to the age-old question. The exercises they looked at fell into a few broad categories: traditional core exercises (situps), core stability exercises (planks), exercises involving a stability ball (like a crunch on a ball), free weight exercises (squats), and upper-body exercises (bicep curl). The studies they looked at—17 in total—used measures of the electrical activity in muscles to determine how hard different core muscles were working....

Researchers monitored the hearts of 18 healthy young men and women before and after they downed energy drinks. One hour after consumption, heart contraction rates significantly increased among the study participants. Specifically, the heart’s left ventricle—which draws oxygen from the lungs before pumping it out to the rest of the body—strained more than usual, explains study co-author Jonas Dörner, MD, of the University of Bonn. Past studies have linked energy drinks to insomnia, upset stomach, headache, heart palpitations and arrhythmia, seizure, and even sudden death, Dr....

You already know the secret to eating foods that are more natural than they are chemical-y: Don’t eat anything you can’t pronounce. But what happens when you can pronounce it—and it actually sounds good for you? Case in point: “All-natural geranium extract.” Sounds super healthy, right? Like a deliciously healthful bouquet stuffed into a compact capsule, ready to bloom once it hits your insides. But according to a new study, it’s anything but natural—and it might even be lethal....

Duck isn’t something that we eat that often—but I have no idea why. This stuff is seriously delicious (and, ounce for ounce, it has more iron and more healthy monounsaturated fats than chicken). In this Paleo-friendly recipe, I’ve paired the tender bird with a simple salad and citrusy dressing—the bright acidity from the fruit is the perfect counterpart to the rich, fatty duck. Prep time: 5 minutesTotal time: 25 minutesServes 2 1 handful chopped hazelnuts 1 Tbsp sesame seeds 2 7-oz duck breasts 1 orange 5 scallions, sliced 2 handfuls watercress 1 handful mint leaves 1 clove garlic, peeled ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp olive oil ½ Tbsp honey...

Until now: Before beef jerky and real-food bars can even finish blowing up, a new breed of squeaky-clean bars is swooping in to steal space on supermarket shelves. We’ll calling these jerky-PowerBar hybrids “meat bars,” because there’s really no better way to describe these things. And they’re freaking delicious. Meat bars are usually made from organic or grass-fed beef, along with spices and dried fruit. The result is plenty of clean, unprocessed protein, real meat flavor, and a soft and chewy, not unlike a PowerBar before it gets stale, with a hint of natural sweetness from the fruit....

“I was confused as to why I wasn’t a beaming, radiant goddess bursting with health,” says the 23-year-old. When she switched to a Paleo diet, Murray says, she felt her energy levels increase. She’s not alone. Whether you chalk it up to the popularity of the Paleo Diet and CrossFit or the availability of better, grass-fed meat choices, many wellness experts are noticing a major return-to-meat moment. “We’re in the early stages of a trend,” says nutritionist Dana James, MS, founder of Food Coach....

Don’t think your morning commute is going to give you dementia, though. These women were coping with tough life events like divorce, job loss, serious illness, and abuse. Although the researchers took into account factors like education, marriage, and income, the link between these major stressors and health outcomes 40 years later was still clear. While it’s unsettling to think that unavoidable life events can cause emotional trauma and put you at risk for serious brain function loss, it’s not a package deal....

But an investigation from the Cornucopia Institute shows that “organic” milk and eggs might not actually be organic after all. This winter, Cornucopia, a watchdog institution that strives to protect the economic wellbeing of small family-run farms, filed legal complaints with the FDA, arguing that 14 dairy farms and egg-laying producers were in violation of the organic standard because their animals were not given proper outdoor and pasture access. MORE: Meet the Milennials Behind the Best Online Farmers Market Part of Cornucopia’s proof:A series of aerial photos showing these massive organic farms with none or only a few animals outside....

Here, our favorite wholesome meal ideas from Instagram, plus how to pull off each one at home—in less than 20 minutes. (For more easy ways to trim down, get Prevention’s Fit in 10: Slim and Strong for Life today! It’s packed with effective 10-minute workouts and delicious 10-minute meals.) Roasted veggie grain bowl When you buy them from a health food store, produce-packed grain bowls (sometimes called Buddha Bowls) can quickly put a dent in your wallet....