Can Eating Peanuts Prevent Peanut Allergy?
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Report Backs Raising Age to Buy Tobacco
Raising the legal age to buy cigarettes to 21 would reduce smoking rates 12% by the time today’s teenagers are adults, a new report estimates. The report comes from the Institute of Medicine. It studied the issue on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates tobacco. The report says raising the age to buy tobacco to 25 would cut smoking rates by even more, about 16%. But raising the age to 19 would reduce smoking rates by only 3%. Many 19-year-olds are in the same social circles as younger teenagers. So they could buy cigarettes for their younger friends, the report says. But most teens don’t have friends who are 21. Nearly every smoker starts before age 25. About 90% begin in their teens. Raising the legal age to buy tobacco would have the biggest effect on reducing smoking rates for youth ages 15 to 17, the report says.
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Healthy diet: Is glycemic index the key?
A lower-glycemic-index diet reduces sudden increases in blood sugar. To get the benefits of such a diet without having to look up the glycemic index of foods, cut back on white flour and white rice, white potatoes, and added sugars.
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Atrial fibrillation: Living with a common heart condition
Atrial fibrillation (afib) is an irregular quivering of the heart’s upper chambers, or atria. It can cause blood clots that lead to strokes. To prevent strokes, most people with afib must take a blood thinner (anticoagulant) for life.
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Acetaminophen: Minimal relief for knee arthritis pain
In a comparison of 137 studies of treatment for knee arthritis, the over-the-counter pain reliever acetaminophen (Tylenol, other brands) does not relieve pain much more than a placebo pill.
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Portable ultrasound reveals early signs of heart disease
A simple, inexpensive ultrasound of the arteries in the neck and upper leg may be a better way to screen people for possible cardiovascular disease than the current risk-based estimate used to guide treatment, though more research is needed.
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Yoga’s health advantages may extend to the heart
Yoga combines gentle physical movements, breathing, and meditation, all of which may lower heart disease risk. People who do yoga may reap benefits such as weight loss, lower harmful LDL cholesterol levels, and lower blood pressure.
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Reaping gains from grains
Whole-grain foods offer nutritional benefits beyond just the fiber from the outer layer. The nutrients and compounds from all parts of the grain offer a wide range of cardiovascular benefits and have been linked to longer life.
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Ask the doctor: What is pericarditis?
I had chest pains for a couple of days and thought I was having a heart attack. My doctor did an electrocardiogram and said I had pericarditis and that it was not serious. What exactly is pericarditis?
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Blood sugar on the brain
Years of poorly controlled diabetes have a devastating effect on the cardiovascular system, kidneys, and brain. High blood sugar may also harm thinking and memory power even in people who do not have diabetes.
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