Daily Health News Blog

5 tips to rest your eyes 1. Consider special glasses that focus at the proper distance to your computer. 2. Adjust your computer display to the same brightness as the light in the room. Enlarge text on the screen. 3. Reduce glare: Shade bright windows. Paint walls with a non-white matte finish. 4. Avoid excessively bright or harsh lighting. Floor lamps with incandescent or full-spectrum fluorescents can help in place of overhead lights. 5. Use lubricating eye drops to reduce dryness.

(BPT) - You've picked the perfect ring. You've practiced the words you'll use when you propose. But you know she would be livid if you asked her on the big screen at a sporting event. Making an engagement truly memorable will win you points for a lifetime each time she retells your engagement story. These tips will help your engagement stick out. With so many engagements between Christmas and Valentine's Day, here are some great ways to make your engagement be one of a kind. Take it personally You are proposing to the woman or man of your dreams. The one person you've chosen to spend the rest of your life with. The person who is the perfectly unique match to yourself. So, make the proposal just as personalized and special as that person. Yes, you may have chosen the perfect ring, but presentation is equally important. Choose something that will not only stun your betrothed, but also be something he or she can keep for years. Ditch the typical velvet box and g...

(BPT) - Making mistakes is one of Americans' biggest fears at tax time. A single error can delay the processing of your return or even cause it to be rejected by the IRS. If that happens and you're entitled to a refund, get ready to wait. Today's sophisticated tax preparation products make doing your own taxes perfect the first time at an affordable price - or even free - a reality for millions of Americans each year. "Online and downloadable solutions have everything the vast majority of taxpayers need to file their taxes with complete confidence," says Jessi Dolmage, TaxACT Spokesperson. "Using do-it-yourself tax preparation software solutions drastically reduces the chance of errors, especially if you import last year's return information." If you're doing your own taxes for the first time this year or aren't able to import last year's return, be especially careful to avoid these common errors. *Every year, the IRS receives mill...

Some foods are known to raise cholesterol. Some are known to lower cholesterol. If you replace the bad foods with good foods you double your benefit. Most of us know unhealthy food when we see it. But it's not so obvious which foods are really good, especially when it comes to reducing cholesterol. Here's my list of the top 10 foods to lower cholesterol.  1. Dark Chocolate This is a good choice because it tastes great and helps lower your cholesterol. How does dark chocolate do this? It contains flavonols which contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Use chocolate that contains at least 70% cocoa.  2. Almonds and Walnuts and Pistachios These nuts contain unsaturated fat which is the good kind of fat. Unsaturated fat helps lower bad (LDL) cholesterol and raise good (HDL) cholesterol. It also makes LDL less likely to oxidize which is a process that harms the arteries. Numerous studies report a reduction in cholesterol with the consumption of these nuts. ...

You know what is not fair? The fact that it is a lot more fun to gain weight than it is to diet & exercise. That has to be of the actual reasons why people don't like to lose weight, right? I mean it only makes sense. If doing what it took to be at your ideal weight was more enjoyable than what it takes to gain weight, they hadn't have an issue with obesity. It doesn't must be that way anymore.  Imagine if it wasn't such a drag to get healthy, to lose weight, to eat right or to exercise. I am definite you can see what a positive impact that could have on how much you weigh. Here are some ideas you can put to make use of to make it fun.   The first thing you need to do is change your mindset. Don't be concerned about what other people think about your running, or what your overweight friends will say when you order grilled chicken for lunch. You know why you should not worry? Because it is your body! Let them laugh. You can laugh with them or laugh back ...

Virtual colonoscopy -- a screening method for colorectal cancer that's a noninvasive alternative to the traditional colonoscopy -- is becoming more common in U.S. hospitals. A virtual colonoscopy requires the same preparation to empty the bowels as a standard colonoscopy, but instead of inserting a viewing tube into the colon and rectum, a CT scan of the abdomen is done to obtain two- and three-dimensional images of the intestines. Because the test will cause only minor discomfort, sedation is not needed . In a recent study reported in the  Journal of the American College of Radiology (Volume 8, page 169), researchers looked at American Hospital Association surveys from 2005 to 2008 that asked whether hospitals provided virtual colonoscopy, also called computed tomographic colonography, or CTC. They found that between 2005 and 2008, the number of hospitals offering this approach rose from 13 to 17 percent. In 2008, most hospitals (69 percent) that offered CTC also offe...

New Study Sheds Light On Link Between Dairy Intake and Bone Health: Not All Dairy Products Are Equal        A study by researchers has found that diary intake-specifically milk and yogurt-is associated with higher bone mineral density (BMD) in the hip, but not the spine. Cream, on the other hand, may be associated with lower BMD overall. These findings suggest that not all diary products are equally beneficial in promoting bone strength. Diary foods provide several important nutrients that are beneficial for bone health. However, cream and it's products such as ice cream have lower levels of these nutrients and have higher levels of fat and sugar. In this study, 2-3 servings of milk and yogurt intake per day were associated with better bone density. Past studies suggest that dairy products contain more than one beneficial nutrient, and for this reason certain dairy products may contribute towards maintaining healthier bones. Research supports the idea ...