Exercise & Mobility

Gout is so painful that its sufferers say you can't really grasp how bad it is unless you've experienced it. A form of arthritis, gout is marked by attacks of severe joint pain, swelling, warmth and redness. Although medication is often used to help manage gout, dietary changes may help, too.

Exercise that stresses your bones (weight-bearing exercise, such as walking or tennis) can help preserve bone mass as you age. But, how?

Getting more physically fit may help reduce risk of dying prematurely. Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, followed 10,854 men and women (average age, 54) who had completed two doctor-ordered exercise stress tests at least 12 months apart.

Controlling type 2 diabetes requires spot-checking blood sugar, including after you eat. "The highest blood sugars of the day tend to be after meals," says Richard Siegel, MD, an endocrinologist and co-director of the Diabetes and Lipid Center at Tufts Medical Center. Blood sugar spikes - temporary high readings - after meals can be hard on heart health.

You may be consuming plenty of vitamin B12. But, is it getting where it needs to go in your body? New research suggests that, even after absorption (which is sometimes poor), genetic variations held by some people may reduce the vitamin's transport from the intestines to the body's tissues where it does its work. Plus, excessive intake of folate (a different B vitamin) might make this problem worse in people with specific genetics.

After kicking cancer, you might worry it will return. That's understandable. Cancer survivors are at significantly higher risk for cancer recurrence and for developing new cancers. But, that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about it. Although many factors affect cancer risk and survival, following a healthy diet and lifestyle are important proactive steps.

Too much sitting and too little exercise may speed biological aging by as much as 8 years, suggests an American Journal of Epidemiology study. A group of 1,481 women (average age, 79) from a nationally-representative sample wore motion sensors for one week.

If you start exercise low on fuel, you could end up feeling weak and run out of steam. Or, you may simply feel hungry, making it hard to focus on your exercise. However, unnecessary snacking before a workout may make exercise uncomfortable and add calories you dont need, counteracting the calorie burn of your physical activity.

Self-reported physical activity rates tend to decrease with age, especially in people with chronic disease, according to a recent CDC telephone survey of randomly-selected U.S. adults age 50 and older.

Grapefruit as a weight loss wonder is a bit of an urban legend, and scientific evidence to support it is scarce. A recent systematic review on the topic included three moderate-quality clinical trials with a total of 250 obese men and women.