Natural Health

Being a night owl is known to raise the risk of a variety of diseases.

People who prefer to be more active during the evening, and who go to bed later and get up later, have higher rates of metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, psychiatric symptoms, mood disorders and winter depression.

But no scientist has ever examined whether these problems increase the risk of death. So two researchers, one from the US and another from the UK, joined forces to find out.

For the study, Kristen Knutson, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University, Chicago, and Malcolm von Schantz, professor of […]

If you’ve had your blood cholesterol tested recently, you ought to know that many researchers now agree with what I’ve believed for years – it’s a dubious guide to your health status.

But it’s a persistent medical myth – the notion that your cholesterol levels determine your future well-being and your heart health.

Meanwhile, studies now show there’s a different blood analysis that actually does offer valuable information about your health future. Keep reading for this exciting news. . .

First I want to point out that when you look at studies of how accurately cholesterol test results correlate with things like life […]

A recent investigation into the ways in which exercise affects longevity shows that the amount of exercise you do and its intensity may not be the most important factor in helping you live longer.

Instead, in a finding that surprises me, the researchers found that your attitude toward exercise has an outsized effect on your chances of extending your life expectancy.

Here’s a full report on this weird result…

In a Stanford study, people who believed they were more active than other people lived longer than those who believed they didn’t exercise much – even when the exercise levels were, in both groups, […]

How can two people both born in the same year appear so different?

One looks half their age while the other displays many of the signs of aging. Then again, outward appearances may suggest they’re the same age, but they may have very different health-related futures and life expectancy.

In short, their chronological age may be the same but their biological ages may be quite different.

Finding a way to measure a person’s “real” age (as opposed to what the calendar says) could be far more valuable in identifying and predicting risk factors that influence health and length of life.

Now researchers from China have come […]

A vast range of herbal teas offers all kinds of health benefits. Heaven knows, they get a lot of publicity, but I still bet you don’t know about a tea with strong anti-aging abilities that’s grown only in a certain region in South Africa. It may even reduce wrinkles.

Its history is rooted in the small Cederberg mountainous region near the Cape of Good Hope, where Bushmen have harvested the leaves for centuries. They use it to treat a wide range of health problems, from skin to heart to bone health.

In fact, there’s almost no part of the body that doesn’t benefit from […]

Scientists have identified five lifestyle factors that will reduce your risk of dying prematurely.

Each one will lower your chances by between 3% and 21%.

The lead author of the new research stressed that “People should try to incorporate as many of these things into their day as they can if they wish to give themselves the best chance of living to a ripe age.”

The findings were revealed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Austin, Texas in February.

Talk to Strangers and Spend Time on Hobbies

Claudia Kawas, professor of geriatric neurology at the University of […]

Scientists have conducted a great deal of research to learn how physical health, diet and genetics relate to longevity, but they’ve paid little attention to mental health or personality.

To plug this shortfall, researchers from Italy, Switzerland and the US teamed up to find out if there are any special traits that help people live to a healthy old age.

Some of their findings may be bad news for those of us who have to live with a loved one who makes it past 90!

A Region Full of Centenarians

The focus of the study was an area of rural southern […]

It gets harder to keep muscle strength as you age. We naturally lose muscle mass as we grow older. But how big is this problem, really?

When you’re in your 40s, you lose about 1% of your muscle mass and strength each year. By the time you reach your 70s, you’ll lose another 30% of your remaining muscle mass each decade. And while you may be concerned about what that does to your physical appearance, there’s a much more serious problem…

Muscle loss is one of the main reasons older adults are prone to falls and fractures.

And for many older adults, these falls […]

If the idea of plastering your face with mud, smearing it with expensive creams, and signing up for Botox or a facelift doesn’t appeal to you, there’s a new way to turn back the clock on the way you look – and it needn’t cost you a cent.

This new approach lifts, firms and smooths drooping and sagging areas; tones muscles; and minimizes or softens lines and wrinkles.

At least that’s the opinion of New York yoga instructor Annelise Hagen. She developed this anti-aging facial program, so I guess she might be a little biased. But now scientists have confirmed her claims, […]

If your body generates excessive free radicals, it can overwhelm antioxidant defenses. When this takes place you enter a state called oxidative stress. It’s the cause of many chronic diseases.

The poisons in our environment are major sources of free radicals and oxidative stress.

For those keen to remain physically young, this poses a special threat because telomeres are vulnerable to cumulative toxic exposure. With the help of a microscope, you can see the consequences in your telomeres — a shorter length. And in due course you may see a reduced lifespan.

Yet in some cases, toxins are linked […]