Special Reports

Could poaching that chicken breast instead of broiling it help reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes? Does how you prepare tonights pot roast really affect your arthritis symptoms or the dangerous complications of diabetes? And can opting for a homemade salad rather than a takeout burger and fries actually protect against the effects of aging?

Take a good look at those runners in this months Boston Marathon- you may be seeing them around for a long time. New research suggests that phrase running for your life may apply literally when it comes to endu - rance athletes such as marathoners, whose exercise habits seem to have anti-aging effects deep down at the cellular level. Its among the most intriguing findings from a flurry of new studies showing how exercise contributes to healthy aging (see story below).

Still need a nudge to get going? A quartet of new studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine should provide a scientific shove, out of your easy chair and into an exercise regimen.

If youre under doctors orders to improve your cholesterol numbers, several new studies offer good news: Whether or not your physician prescribes cholesterol-lowering medications such as statins, you can take control of your cholesterol with diet and lifestyle changes. Separately or in combination with medication, these simple steps can move those nagging numbers in the right direction and reduce your risk of heart disease.

Summertime brings picnics, barbe-cues-and foodborne illness.According to the US Departmentof Agriculture (USDA), which overseesthe safety of meat and poultry, food-borne illness peaks in the summer aswarm, humid weather encourages thegrowth of bacteria. The USDA alsoblames people causes for the sum-mertime spike in foodborne illness:More people cook outside in summer,at picnics, barbecues and campingtrips, away from the safety controlscommon in the kitchen, such as ther-mostats and washing facilities.

Cancer is constantly in the news, it seems-and no wonder, since its re-cently overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in the US. Youre bombarded with information, myths and hopeful guesses about what might protect you against cancer and what might raise your risk. Your lifestyle really can affect your risk-but whats fact and whats sheer speculation?

You can never be too rich or too thin, the saying goes-and now a new study suggests the two conditions are connected. Adam Drewnowski, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, recently found that people who shop at the priciest grocery stores-where its easier to find fresh and healthy foods-are dramatically thinner than shoppers at discount supermarkets.

Its been a tough year for salt. Most recently, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC)-whose recommendations will form the basis of the 2010 federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans to be released late this year-called for slashing the recommended maximum daily sodium intake from 2,300 to 1,500 milligrams (mg).