Can Your Pet Catch a Cold?

You may have begun hearing the coughs, sneezes and sniffles that seem to sneak up on us every fall, from around the office, in the stores, or even in your own home. A lot of people often wonder whether their dogs and cats can catch common colds like humans do!

Pets get sick, too

Symptoms that resemble human colds in cats and dogs, like a runny nose, sneezing and coughing, are usually caused by a viral, bacterial or fungal infection in the canine or feline respiratory system, such as kennel cough. So while your pet is just as susceptible to illness as you, the viruses that affect pets don't affect humans and vice versa.

Can Naps Lead to Type 2 Diabetes?

WESTCHESTER, Ill. -- Admit it. There's nothing like taking that quick cat nap in the middle of the day. It rejuvenates your mind and gives you a fresh burst of energy. But beware: a new study in the March 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that frequent daytime napping may increase your risk of of type 2 diabetes.

The study looked at an older Chinese population and found that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 36 percent higher in participants who reported napping four to six times a week and 28 percent higher in those who napped daily.

Similar associations were found between napping and impaired fasting glucose. The observed associations were unaltered in statistical analyses that removed participants with potential ill health and daytime sleepiness, suggesting it is less likely that diabetes leads to daytime sleepiness and raising the possibility that napping may increase the risk of diabetes.

Can Food Improve Your Memory?

I get asked all the time whether or not food can improve memory. The short answer is a resounding “yes.

It’s really true that “You are what you eat.” Most people recognize that what they eat affects physical health. If they live on a high-fat diet, they’re likely to develop heart disease; avoiding calcium-rich milk will increase the risk for osteoporosis, etc. But it takes years of eating poorly before these diseases rear their ugly heads.

Long before your bones crumble or your arteries clog, your thinking is blurred by the wrong food choices. In fact, the link is so immediate that literally what you eat or don’t eat for breakfast can affect how clearly you think or how well you recall information by mid-afternoon. Some foods also will help you side step memory loss and even Alzheimer’s down the road!

Can Blood Tests Detect Arthritis?

Question: Can a blood test detect arthritis?

Answer: There is a special blood test for rheumatoid arthritis, but no test for the wear-and-tear type called osteoarthritis.

However, according to Arthritis Answers from the Experts, blood tests are only one of many tools physicians use to make a diagnosis. In the case of osteoarthritis, a diagnosis is made based on physical examination, detailed patient history, and, in some cases, ruling out other probable causes of pain.

The best way to prevent and treat osteoarthritis is through a holistic pain cure program. The four tenets of such an approach would include: nutrition along with supplementation, physical therapy such as exercise and acupuncture, medicine--including the possibility of hormone replacement therapy, and mental and spiritual pain control.

Candy Canes Are More Than Just a Sweet Treat!

Did you know that the main ingredient in a favorite seasonal treat offers amazing health benefits as well? Especially during the holidays, when added stress can disrupt the nervous system—causing debilitating migraines or tension headaches, digestive upset, heartburn and more—welcome  peppermint into your life; it’s a natural healer!

Peppermint has been found to reduce sensitivity to pain and the extract has a relaxing effect on tight muscles in the head and neck, which often trigger tension headaches.

In a study performed in England, researchers asked headache-suffering patients to apply peppermint extract on their foreheads. Amazingly, 95 percent of users said they felt a soothing effect within two minutes! Not only that, but they also said they found it more convenient then conventional pain killers.

Cancer Nutrition Tips

Weight loss and malnutrition are serious threats to patients battling cancer, who can find that their tumors or treatment sap their appetite, cause nausea and other side effects and block absorption the nutrients they do force down. Here are some tips from cancer specialists and dietitians to help:

Try to eat five or six small meals throughout the day rather than three large ones.

Cancer patients tend to need more protein than healthy people. Peanut butter crackers, yogurt and fruit, a hard-boiled egg and piece of toast all are good mini-meals. 

Drink between meals, not with them, to avoid filling up on liquid. 

Buy Small to Eat Healthy

When it comes to healthy eating, the spirit often is more than willing but the flesh is where the whole business falls apart. Particularly, writes dietician Stephen Gullo at Healthy Lifestyles, when the flesh goes wandering down the aisles of supermarkets and buys super-size products.

"Availability creates craving," says Gullo. Which is another way of saying if food is there, we will be tempted into eating it. The solution, he suggests, is to forget about the bargain super-packages and buy individual servings. You'll end up eating less, he says.

Another villain, Gullo says, is variety: "If you've got five different types of fat-free cookies in the house, you'll consume more than if you have just one kind." So instead of sampling every cookie in the place or vacuuming the refrigerator for leftovers, give some thought to a simple cup of non-fat soup as an early-evening appetizer.

Build Bones, Lose Weight

Boosting calcium consumption spurs weight loss, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, but only in people whose diets are calcium deficient.

Angelo Tremblay and his team at Universite Laval's Faculty of Medicine in France made the discovery in a 15-week weight loss program they conducted on obese women. The participants consumed on average less than 600 mg of calcium per day, whereas recommended daily intake is 1000 mg. In addition to following a low calorie diet, the women were instructed to take two tablets a day containing either a total of 1200 mg of calcium or a placebo. Those who took the calcium tablets lost nearly 13 pounds over the course of the program compared to only about 2 pounds for women in the control group.

Brown Rice Holds Nutritional Edge

Health food fans fond of rice as part of their long-life diet continue to favor the brown version of the staple as holding the edge in nutritional benefit.

Rice experts at lundberg Family Farms says the difference is significant. When the bran layer of brown rice is shucked off to produce white rice, the rice grain's carbohydrate core is left, while the nutrient-rich outer layer is eliminated. Also discarded with the outer layer is most of the fiber, and B vitamins along with essential oils and minerals, they say.

The experts say one cup of brown rice contains 3.32 grams of dietary fiber compared with .74 grams found in a cup of the white variety and brown rice also provides more vitamin E, magnesium and potassium.

Broccoli's Taste Has an Upside

The saying goes that if it tastes terrible, it's got to be good for you. That, scientists say, is quite true in the case of that very unpopular vegetable, broccoli.

Experts at Britain's Institute of Food Research claim it's the taste of the vegetable itself that gives broccoli some properties that seem to be effective in dealing with cancer. The flavor is created by the vegetable's anti-carcinogenic compounds.

The researchers found that juiced broccoli when added to cancer cells reduced their survival by a whopping 95 per cent.

The Cancer Research Campaign says the institute's work supports its own findings. Whether it makes broccoli any more popular with two of its more prominent critics, George Bush and Bill Clinton, is perhaps something else again.

Breakfast At Your Desk: Would You Try This Breakfast Pizza?

Morning guys! Have you ever had a breakfast pizza? I know, I was a little skeptical myself, but then I saw this photo and decided that this could actually be pretty tasty (and if you make it right, healthy)...

Sounds like fun (and a little decadent) huh? But why not? You could totally make this with a whole-wheat crust, use turkey bacon (or none at all) and swap in some spinach and go easy on the cheese. Yum! I found this recipe over at the fun blog Project Foodie.

Breakfast Pizza

Makes 2 pizzas (serves 4, and probably more)

Recipe adapted from The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook by Michelle Wojtowicz, Philip Wojtowicz and Michael Gilson (William Morrow Cookbooks 2009)

Breakfast at Your Desk: Strangly Sounding Good: Beans + Greens

Morning dearies! It wasn't until I hopped over to Jen Causey's beautiful blog Simply Breakfast that I started craving this unlikely duo in the a.m. hours: beans and greens ...

I'm normally an oat bran + banana or whole-wheat blueberry muffin + soy milk sort of gal. But thanks to Simply Breakfast, where Jen is showing off a recent greens + beans kick, here I am craving beans alongside lightly sauteed greens--the ones with lots of personality, like mustard greens or rainbow chard.

Tell me, does this appeal to you too? If it does, you (and I), are in for a nutritional treat. This breakfast is so high in nutrients--from antioxidants to fiber. Round it out with a slice of whole-grain toast, and something warm and comforting to drink.

Breakfast At Your Desk: He Broke His Tooth on This Cereal--Now He's Suing Whole Foods

It's Christmas Eve, so how about a bah-humbug moment (for all of you who may not be feeling exactly merry and bright)? Have you ever taken a bite of cereal and crunched on something hard? It's happened to me! Fortunately, I've never had any serious tooth injuries. But one guy says something in his cereal broke his tooth and sent him into the ER. So he's suing the grocery store...

Apparently there was a little too much fiber in six-time Mr. World Fitness champion Franco Carlotto's cereal. According to reports, Carlotto allegedly was eating a bowl of "Whole Foods Market Organic Everyday Value Organic High Fiber Cereal" and "broke his teeth when he chomped down on a portion of the cereal that had solidified to a hardened mass." He had to seek medical treatment for his injuries.

A Fitness Do or a Don't: Exercising With Friends Who Talk Your Ear Off

Lately I've been loving (with a capital "L") my solo running time. Maybe it's because I have two little kids and the peace and quiet is heaven. But I also know people who can't workout with out a friend. What's your preference? Exercising in silence or chatting away with a pal?

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I wrote about running clubs yesterday--a "free fitness" concept that I'm kind of fascinated with. But one problem with group exercise--or just exercising with friends--that I didn't get into in the post is this: When you work out with others, does it mean you have to be chatty with them?

I was invited to join a running club here in my city. The organizer's email went something like this: "Let's face it, running alone is boring. Join us this Saturday for a run and you'll meet new friends and have great conversations while jogging."

A Brilliant Holiday Gift Idea for the Health Nut on Your List

Are you stumped on what to get your yoga-loving sis? Or your father-in-law, who recently lost 30 pounds and became a vegetarian? Recently, I stumbled across a really cool gift idea--wish I could take credit for it!--that I wanted to share with you...

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I love gifts that are less about stuff and more about experiences--like gift certificates to great restaurants, zoo memberships, things like that. And I think the gift of healthy eating is a great concept too. Recently, on a listserve I'm on, someone mentioned that they're getting their sister a few deliveries of organic produce for Christmas--via one of those nifty produce delivery services. Brilliant, I thought.

Are You Laid-Back and Friendly? You May Have a Lower Dementia Risk

Want to stave off dementia and Alzheimer's disease when you get older? Researchers have a surprising suggestion for you: Go to a party

Researchers gave 506 volunteers questionnaires about their personality and lifestyle and tracked them over the course of six years. Socially active people who don't get stressed easily had a 50 percent lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who have less social contact and have a tendency to fret, according to a study published in Neurology. One in seven Americans aged 71 and older have memory loss, problems with orientation and other symptoms that signal Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.