Thinking of giving your tween a smartphone for Christmas? You might want to think again — giving a tween a smartphone might endanger their mental and physical health, a new study says. Kids who have a smartphone at age 12 are more likely to have depression and obesity compared to those that don’t, researchers reported…

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For many young adults, social media is where life happens: Friendships, news, stress, all rolled into a single screen. But a new study suggests that stepping away, even for just one week, may help ease anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Researchers tracked 295 young adults ages 18 to 24 who agreed to limit their social…

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What if something as simple as a daily walk could help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease? A new study finds taking just over 5,000 steps a day may slow the buildup of tau protein in the brain… one of the key hallmarks of Alzheimer’s, along with amyloid plaques. These proteins spread as the disease…

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Can just a few minutes of movement really boost your heart health? A new study says yes — thanks to something called “exercise snacking.” Exercise snacking involves short bursts of physical activity that fit into your day — like taking the stairs or doing a few squats. An analysis in the British Journal of Sports…

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Eating fruits and vegetables is key to good health, but a new study suggests that choosing produce with higher pesticide residues may boost the amount of these chemicals leaching into the body. Researchers linked the types of produce people eat with levels of pesticides found in their urine.  The results show that eating foods on…

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Coca-Cola is saying so long to high-fructose corn syrup and hello to cane sugar for a new soda launch this fall. “As part of its ongoing innovation agenda, this fall in the United States, the company plans to launch an offering made with U.S. cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range,” the company said in a…

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Why does sugar taste so good — and why do we want it so badly? Scientists may finally have the answer.  For the first time, researchers have figured out the structure of the sweet receptor — the tiny part of your tongue that tells your brain when something tastes sweet. The study, published May 7…

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Spring has sprung, and the battle with seasonal allergies is underway in earnest. But there’s a lot folks can do to manage their pollen-produced misery, according to Dr. Zachary Rubin, a Chicago-area pediatrician and allergy expert. “There’s a lot of different issues at play when it comes to seasonal allergies, especially as tree pollen counts…

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Night shift workers might be able to protect their heart health by only eating during daylight hours, a new study says. Participants in an experiment experienced fewer heart health risk factors if they only ate during the daytime while working a night shift, researchers reported April 8 in the journal Nature Communications. “Our study controlled…

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