Healthy Heart

The current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that you accumulate 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week, ideally in bouts of 10 minutes or longer. So, either longer or shorter sessions on your exercise bike can be beneficial. If you work at a higher intensity during 15-minute bouts and a slower intensity during the 30-minute bouts, they may end up having nearly equal physiological benefits.

For every 30 minutes you spend in sedentary activity, such as watching TV or doing computer work, take a break for 3 to 5 minutes to do light activity, say new physical activity guidelines from the American Diabetes Association published in Diabetes Care.

If you sometimes suffer a burning sensation behind your breastbone, you're far from alone. An estimated 44% of American adults suffer heartburn at least once a month, and about 20% have a serious form called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Nutrition experts - including those advising this newsletter - have been preaching for years about the benefits of replacing refined grains in your diet with whole grains. The latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans echoed this advice, recommending limiting intake of refined grains and products made with refined grains and starches.

Q. Will apple cider vinegar really improve blood pressure?

A diet proven to protect against high blood pressure could also lower your risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a new observational study.

What foods should you eat to live longer, especially if youre already 65 or older? Previous attempts to tackle that question have often been confounded by other lifestyle and even socio-economic factors that are difficult to untangle from the effects of diet.

A study of older Dutch men provides new insight into why tea and cocoa protect against heart disease, showing for the first time that a compound called epicatechin is associated with reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease.

An analysis of 19 studies involving 45,637 participants in 16 countries provides the most comprehensive picture to date of how omega-3 fats may influence heart disease. Higher blood levels of omega-3s from seafood as well as plants were associated with a lower risk of dying from heart attacks

What's good for your heart might also be good for your aching knees. High intakes of saturated fat were associated with a faster progression of knee osteoarthritis in a new prospective observational study, while consuming more heart-healthy unsaturated fats was linked to slower progression.