Staying Healthy Archive

The tongue's appearance gives doctors an idea about certain aspects of your health, and its color is an important clue. Some changes in the tongue's color or appearance are signs of health issues and should be seen by a doctor.

Is 98.6˚ F still the norm for body temperature? Data collected over almost 160 years show that the normal body temperature has been declining and is now roughly one degree lower.

Ads for products that promise to supercharge the body's immune system make claims that sound too good to be true. But do these products actually work? 

Research has found that people with more positive attitudes about growing old tend to live longer than those with negative thoughts about aging. They also have a lower risk for diabetes, stroke, cancer, and heart disease and better cognitive functioning. People can maintain a healthy mindset about aging by adopting certain lifestyle habits, such as reducing anxiety, finding purpose in life, seeking challenges, socializing more, and rejecting negative stereotypes about aging.

Getting regular exercise can help fend off diabetes, even in people with a genetic propensity for the disease, according to a 2023 study.

If people see evidence of plaque buildup inside their arteries, it may motivate them to take better care of their heart health, according to a 2023 study.

About half the time, people alter how much, how often, or how long they take a prescribed medication, or they don't take it at all. This phenomenon, called medication nonadherence, can gravely threaten people's health, and is linked to about 125,000 deaths annually. People might not be able to comply with their drug regimen if they feel they take too many drugs, they don't like the side effects, the prescriptions cost too much, or they have memory problems or depression. Doctors should review medication lists and remove what patients no longer need.

A new study found that eating an unhealthy diet high in processed food can affect people's deep sleep, the stage when the pituitary gland in the brain releases hormones to build and repair muscles and bones as well help boost cognitive function and memory.