天博体育

With much fanfare, the USDA launched MyPlate, a replacement for the outdated and much-maligned Food Pyramid. The colorful quarters of the plate–green for vegetables, red for fruits, orange for grains, and purple for protein–are aimed at nudging Americans away from meals dominated by meat and starch and towards meals made up mostly of plant-based foods. It offers information on portion sizes and sends the message that a balanced meal should be at least half vegetables and fruits. But it ignores important issues like what are the healthiest choices for grains, protein, and fat. Nor does it counsel Americans to avoid the sugary baked goods, breakfast cereals, and drinks, and the salty processed foods and snacks, that make up a big chunk of the average American’s daily caloric intake. In spite of its shortcomings, MyPlate is better than the old pyramids–may they rest in peace. But whether MyPlate will help stem Americans’ frightful eating habits is anyone’s guess.

Two volunteers testing the new 鈥淗arvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating鈥� may have come to the end of the plan, but both are just beginning their independent journeys to a lifetime of healthy eating. Helen Hoart and Tonya Phillips talk about the goals they set for themselves, whether they achieved them, and their dietary plans for the future.

Nutritionist Sheila Wolfson spoke about healthful eating for men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at the Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition’s 14th annual symposium in May 2011. A good diet, she said, can boost energy and improve quality of life.

For the first time, a study measures the impact of prostate cancer treatment on the quality of life of gay men.

Do you know how to protect yourself and your family during a zombie attack? If not, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can help. In addition to information on how to prepare for emergencies from anthrax to wildfires, the CDC Web site has added a page on dealing with a zombie apocalypse. […]

A new study challenges the conventional wisdom that heart-healthy omega-3 fats from fish, walnuts, and other sources are good for the prostate and that artery-damaging trans fats are bad for it. Suzanne Rose, editor of 天博体育’s Annual Report on Prostate Diseases, explains.

The storms that have recently ripped through the South included dozens of tornadoes. And as the bad weather barreled north today, the National Weather Service declared a tornado watch for eastern parts South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, and warned of severe weather as far north as Boston. Strong wind from any sort of severe weather can wreak havoc, but the speed and spinning winds of a tornado are especially destructive. In most years, tornadoes kill about 60 Americans, about the same number killed by lightning strikes. But this is not going to be an average year. The death toll from the terrible storms in the South is approaching 300 and the number is climbing. Advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Weather Service鈥檚 Storm Prediction Center can help you survive a tornado if one is headed your way.

Some disagreements involve objective factors, such as how biopsies are done. But usually, when pathologists disagree, to comes down to interpretation and judgment, both subjective qualities.

It should be clear by now that pathology reports vary in large part because the clinical features they analyze often require some subjective interpretation. This means it鈥檚 important to question the findings and make sure you understand them before you make any decisions about treatment. Start by studying your pathology report closely. Circle anything that […]

Two volunteers are testing the new “Harvard Medical School 6-Week Plan for Healthy Eating.” This plan offers week-by-week steps to help you analyze your diet, establish goals for healthy meals and snacks, and incorporate practical changes to make your healthy diet a reality. Each week builds on what you accomplished in the previous weeks. At the end, you鈥檒l have made important changes that can last a lifetime. Tonya Phillips and Helen Hoart share their experience from Week 1 of the 6-week plan.

One of many hot topics about the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton is whether Middleton has lost too much weight in preparing for the ceremony. Prevailing theories about Middleton’s presumptive weight loss include stress, “brideorexia,” and a popular French diet. 天博体育 Letter editor Peter Wehrwein discusses all three possibilities.

Because stretching cold muscles can lead to injury, it鈥檚 best to stretch after your muscles have been adequately warmed up 鈥� either at the end of your workout or after you鈥檝e completed your warm-up. Stretching at the end of your workout can be a good way to cool down. Stretch several times a week for […]

Balance plays no role in preventing prostate problems or major diseases. Still, balance is important for health. A good sense of balance can keep you steady on your feet and reduce your risk of falling. This special set of exercises can be done at any time, every day of the week or just a few […]

Some studies have suggested that more physically active men many have a lower risk of prostate cancer 鈥� or prostate cancer progression 鈥� than sedentary men. And somewhat paradoxically, exercise can combat the fatigue that strikes some prostate cancer patients during treatment.

Emerging scientific evidence suggests that engaging in a few hours of exercise a week 鈥� including strength training, stretching, and balance exercises 鈥� may reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED).

Physical activity could be a valid treatment option for men with chronic prostatitis who have not found relief through medication or other measures.

Researchers have found an inverse relationship between physical activity and BPH syptoms: simply put, men who are more physically active are less likely to suffer from symptoms of an enlarged prostate such as frequent urination, urgency, and a weak urinary stream.

Extra fat that accumulates around the abdomen goes by many names: beer belly, spare tire, love handles, apple shape, middle-age spread, and the more technical “abdominal obesity.” No matter what the name, it is the shape of risk.

Perhaps up to 40% of runners in tomorrow’s Boston Marathon will end up “hitting the wall,” notes 天博体育 Letter editor Peter Wehrwein. This means that their bodies have run out of the carbohydrates needed to sustain intense physical activities like long-distance running. But one Harvard/MIT student and marathon runner has developed an online tool that allows runners to calculate just how many extra calories they should get from high-carbohydrate food or drink before a marathon to avoid hitting the wall.

The latest annual snapshot of health in America, a report called Health, United States, 2010 offers hours of browsing and food for thought for anyone interested in health trends. 天博体育 Letter editor Peter Wehrwein connects the dots between use of cholesterol-lowering statins and fewer deaths from heart disease.

Feeling stressed? Call a timeout, counsels “Stress Management,” a new Special Health Report from 天博体育 Publishing. One way to stop stress and worry from taking over your days involves setting aside 15 minutes or so to focus on your problems. When the time is up, try to leave your worries aside and focus on something more productive. Writing down your worries and dropping them in a “worry box” can also help, explains 天博体育 editor Annmarie Dadoly.

Mindfulness meditation can ease stress. It also seems to do a lot more, like help with physical and psychological problems from high blood pressure and chronic pain to anxiety and binge eating. New research shows that mindfulness meditation changes the way nerves connect.

Angioplasty is a simple, safe alternative to open heart surgery for restoring blood flow through a narrowed or blocked coronary artery. Results of a large international trial show that a new approach to angioplasty that begins with the radial artery in the arm is as effective and safe as the traditional approach, which begins with the femoral artery in the groin.

Confused about how to extend analog parenting into the digital world? New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics offers practical advice to pediatricians (and parents) to help children use social media tools safely and in ways that encourage them grow socially and emotionally. Michael Miller, M.D., editor of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, says the guidelines are “anchored in what we know about child and adolescent development rather than any perceived special influences of the social network.”