Posts

UK researchers found that people responded to genuine smiles in less than 200 milliseconds (the fastest we can process an expression and respond with a voluntary one) more often than when their partner put on a polite grin. Although the researchers classified any smile involving the eye muscles as genuine during analysis of 48 videotaped one-on-one conversations between adults of the same sex, the real markers are internal. “There’s an emotional component to it that feels very different than a polite smile, a feeling of positivity,” says study coauthor Erin Heerey, PhD, senior lecturer in the school of psychology at Bangor University....

Shaking your booty on the dance floor can be way more than a good time—a dance-oriented fitness class often offers major health perks. Unless, that is, you dance yourself right into an injury: A simple misstep, an overly energetic turn, or a poor landing can all leave you hurting. In fact, dance-related injuries might be on the rise. New research, published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, found that the annual number of dance-related injuries has increased 37% over the past two decades....

Before the Trials started, we caught up with Dara Torres to see how she says so positively ageless: With the Olympic Trials coming up, what is your training like? Age is just a number: If you have the right attitude, you can do anything you put your mind to. Swimming is 80% mental and 20% physical. Now that I’m older, I’m concentrating more on my nutrition, dry land strength training—especially core strengthening—and also recovery....

Sixteen years ago, Dr. Gregg Gerety was driving his two young children home from a day of swimming and outdoor activities. One minute, he felt a little light-headed. The next, his car was totaled, having veered off New York’s Taconic State Parkway. Fortunately, Dr. Gerety and his children were unharmed. But his experience underscores the danger that driving can pose for diabetics. “I felt fine when I got behind the wheel, but I failed to take into account how that afternoon’s physical activity may have affected my blood sugar levels,” says Dr....

Beef Empanadas (pictured left) Ingredients 1 c chopped fresh onions1 tsp olive oil1/2 lb lean ground beef2 tsp ground cumin2 tsp wine vinegar1 tsp sugar1/2 tsp salt1/4 tsp pepper1 11 oz package of thin-crust pizza dough [sidebar] Directions Heat oven to 400°F. Sautée onions in olive oil over medium-high heat, 3 minutes. Add ground beef and brown, 5 minutes. Take off heat. Stir in cumin, wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper....

Fun fact: Twenty-one of the first 23 American astronauts were firstborn children. Not so fun fact: Being first out may also increase your risk for diabetes and hypertension, according to new research from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Researchers monitored the blood pressure and glucose absorption rates of 85 children. Insulin sensitivity—a major risk factor for diabetes—dropped 21% among firstborns compared to later-borns, the study found. The “oldests” also suffered from higher blood pressure, which could eventually develop into hypertension, according to the researchers....

Hospital visit, next exit? Roadside billboards are the driving distraction you haven’t heard of: they mess with your mind—and your right foot—long after you’ve refocused on the road, new research shows. In the study, researchers at the University of Alberta asked 30 adults to hop into a driving simulator and react to different types of billboards. The boards featured both positive and negative words like “joy” or “stress,” as well as target words the drivers were told to look out for, such as “cat” and “lion....

That’s where a new crop of how-the-hell-do-they-make-milk-out-of-that beverages comes in. Here’s what you need to know about the five newest non-dairy concoctions on the market. Banana MilkTaste and texture: Like a banana smoothie you’re too lazy to make from scratch—we’re serious, folks.The pro: This is basically banana puree mixed with organic soymilk (and flaxseed oil and vitamins), so you’re getting 5 grams of complete protein per cup, along with omega-3s, potassium, and other nutrients not found in dairy milk....

POUNDS LOST: 27 AGE: 38 HEIGHT: 5'7" WEIGHT NOW: 199 WEIGHT THEN: 226 When Beth met her future husband, Anthony Henry, in 2003, he had just graduated from the New York City Fire Department Academy and was in the best shape of his life. But starting work changed that. “The heart of the firehouse is in the kitchen, and we often ate rich, elaborate meals,” says Anthony. Two years later, Beth was pregnant with their first daughter, and Anthony’s weight had risen by 40 pounds....

Researchers compared databases of chemicals classified as hazardous by European Union chemical regulation standards, and found that a full 154 of them were legal to use in US food packaging. Some chemical highlights: perchlorate, which affects thyroid gland function, tributyltin, which has been linked to immunosuppression, and some forms of asbestos, which increases your risk of lung disease. “We are especially concerned about chemicals that affect hormonal activity, known as endocrine disrupting chemicals, or ECDs,” says study author Jane Muncke, PhD, managing director of the Food Packaging Forum Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland....

Roll your eyes or clap your hands—whatever. If you’re acquainted with cold brew, you know that once you taste anything “craft” like beer, kombucha, or vinegar, there’s no going back. So how to increase your cool now that cold brew has gone to the masses? Impress your friends and snobbish baristas with these four tips that make cold brew worth every extra buck, even if you’ve never dipped a straw into those dark, icy, and delicious waters....

Here are 20 ways you can begin enjoying all the benefits that pleasure can bring to your life right now. Watch a funny movie. This one’s easy. Don’t try to make the rest of your family—or anyone else—happy with the choice. Pick out a movie that only you want to see. The funniest I ever saw was a Korean film called My Sassy Girl. If you can’t find that one, try The Princess Bride or the original versions of Cheaper by the Dozen and The In-Laws....

More from Prevention: 10 Worst Germ Hot Spots Because there is not yet a vaccine for RSV, and because flu vaccines aren’t 100% effective, researchers decided to investigate red ginseng extract, which had already been proven a worthy immune-enhancer (ginseng’s ability to successfully help ward off colds was shown in a 2006 study, and earlier research also suggests it has antiviral action against RSV and flu). In this new study, Sang-Moo Kang, PhD, a professor at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State in Atlanta, who specializes in developing vaccines that protect against bacterial and viral disease such as influenza and RSV, discovered that red ginseng extract protects the survival of human lung epithelial cells infected with Several species of ginseng and types of ginseng extracts exist, but to fight theflu, Kang recommends Korean red ginseng, which is a cured ginseng root extract....

Since inhaled steroids are highly effective against asthma, and bone density changes were relatively small, “the balance of risk versus benefit is still strongly weighted on the benefit side for steroids,” says lead study author Conroy A. Wong, a physician at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. “However, because patients with asthma often require ongoing treatment for many years, this may mean an increased risk of osteoporosis,” he says. Here’s how to minimize the risk: Preserve bone density—from the inside....

Grains are perfect disrupters of skin health. Their prolamins trigger autoimmune skin reactions and turn antibodies against skin enzymes; their lectins fan the fires of inflammation; their proteins provoke allergies; and their amylopectins send blood sugar and insulin sky-high and provoke the skin-disrupting hormone insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF). The whole grain package adds up to an impressive collection of skin conditions that can take a variety of forms, from simple red, itchy rashes to scaly, oily raised patches to large vesicles and even gangrene....

And that oil is ultimately what contributes to greasy hair. “Similar to the skin on our face, our scalps contain sebaceous glands that produce an oily substance called sebum,” says Jennifer David, DO, a dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group in Northfield, New Jersey. “Sebaceous glands connect to the hair follicles beneath our scalp and release sebum onto the hair shaft, forming a protective coat of natural oil that repels water and prevents hair from drying out....