Category: harvardhealth_news_UNDEFINED

Eating a plant-based diet like the Mediterranean, MIND, or DASH diet has been shown to help people lose weight and lower their risk for heart disease and diabetes. But such a diet may also help men lower their risk for prostate cancer or help slow the spread of existing prostate cancer. The connection may be due to high consumption of inflammation-fighting fruits, vegetables, and fatty fish, and the fact that people who follow a plant-based diet eat less red meat and processed foods, high intakes of which are associated with cancer risk.

Kettlebell swings are a simple exercise that helps improve posture and strengthens muscle groups that often do not get enough attention, such as those in the back of the thighs, the buttocks, the hips, and the lower back.

A 2023 study suggests that sleep problems such as snoring, snorting, or getting too much or little sleep can significantly raise the odds of having a stroke.

A 2023 study suggests that women and older adults are more likely to sustain serious injuries, such as fractures and head trauma, than others while walking a leashed dog.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released updated draft guidelines in May 2023 proposing that women at average risk of breast cancer be screened every other year starting at age 40.

The more salt people eat, the greater their risk of clogged heart and neck arteries, a 2023 study suggests. Narrowed arteries (atherosclerosis) can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

COVID-19 may increase the risk of cardiovascular problems, including heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure, up to a year after the infection. But vaccination appears to lower these risks. Getting just one dose of a COVID vaccine may halve the risk of myocarditis, a rare condition that causes inflammation of the heart muscle that can arise after viral infections.

Lunges, which strengthen the entire lower body, are a good example of a functional exercise. These exercises mimic everyday actions (such as picking something up off the floor), thereby improving physical functioning throughout the day.

Performing reverse lunges helps develop key hip muscles for better stability and teaches how to better control backward movement and coordination.

Guidelines recommend against routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in men ages 70 and older. Still, two 2023 studies found that men in this age group are having too many PSA tests.