https://medicalxpress.com/healthy-living-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Healthy Living During a historic drought in northern Kenya, a pastoralist community turned to a food source it had long viewed as a fallback for people without livestock: fishing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-historic-kenyan-drought-reshaped-livelihoods.html Tue, 25 Aug 2026 11:40:08 EDT news706875781 For decades, the answer to "how much sleep does an adult need?" has been simple: eight hours. The idea dates back to the mid-19th century, when the notion of eight hours of work, eight for recreation and eight for sleep first took hold. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-eighthour.html Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:00:03 EDT news706868582 Higher diet quality is associated with better lung function (LF), especially among individuals with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published in ERJ Open Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-higher-diet-quality-linked-lung.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:00:04 EDT news706776102 The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (VA/DoD) updated their obesity management guideline in 2025 to reflect advances in obesity assessment and treatments. The guideline emphasizes assessing health risks beyond body mass index (BMI) alone, using comprehensive lifestyle intervention as the foundation of care, and flexibly integrating medications, including GLP-1 therapies, as well as endoscopic and surgical options when appropriate. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-obesity-guideline-personalized-effective-weight.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:00:07 EDT news706777161 Mulberry has long been used as both food and traditional medicine. Today, scientists are investigating whether its compounds can influence the gut microbiota and, through it, metabolism. A review involving researchers from Wroclaw Medical University shows that the mulberry species, plant part used and processing method may all matter for these effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-mulberry-fruit-gut-bacteria-linked.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news706807921 Improving and maintaining woodlands in deprived communities is linked to reduced antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication use, research suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-woodlands-urban-areas-linked-antidepressant.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:20:09 EDT news706806061 Physical activity in adulthood may depend on exercise during growth, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The study, conducted in birds, is the first to directly demonstrate that experiences during development influence how efficiently adults use energy during movement. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-bird-bulking-youth-decreases-energy.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:00:02 EDT news706800842 To lose weight, most of us know that it is a matter of eating less and being more physically active. By putting our bodies into a calorie deficit, we "burn" more calories than we're taking in—and so we lose weight. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-fat-weight.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:40:01 EDT news706793042 What we eat plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. A well-balanced meal rich in essential micronutrients not only fuels the body but may also help protect against metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. There is another question worth asking: Does when we eat matter just as much as what we eat? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-longevity-heart-health.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:42:19 EDT news706783315 When Raghav Sehgal arrived at Yale as a graduate student several years ago, he wanted to explore the use of powerful computer science tools in cancer research. With an engineering background and a computational biology startup already under his belt, he was well prepared. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-aging-reveals-interventions.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:05:22 EDT news706781040 For decades, people exercising have been told one simple rule: Never let your knees go over your toes. During lunges, squats and many other exercises, well-meaning coaches, trainers and physical therapists repeated this advice so often that it became fitness folklore. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-knees-toes-bullet-proof-experts.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:05 EDT news706773362 Chronic pain, pain that persists or returns for more than three months, can affect people's emotional well-being and is often accompanied by difficulty concentrating or remembering things. While they can be effective for some patients, available treatments for chronic pain do not always relieve all the other symptoms associated with it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-intermittent-fasting-reveals-gut-brain.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 08:00:01 EDT news706505251 Type 2 diabetes has traditionally been a disease that has affected mostly middle-aged and older adults. But new research from the U.S. to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy (Sept. 28–Oct. 2) shows a sharp increase in the rate of new cases of type 2 diabetes since the turn of the century, which has continued to accelerate in recent years. The study is by Dr. Tessa Crume of the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, Colorado, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-youth-diabetes-cases-colorado-risen.html Sun, 23 Aug 2026 18:10:01 EDT news706534501 Each person has a unique gut microbial population, with variation shaped by diet, lifestyle and disease. We are seeing a rapid rise in metabolic disorders, obesity and inflammatory diseases that cannot be explained by our relatively stable genetic code. One of the most encouraging findings in common modern diseases is that modifiable factors can outweigh genetic predispositions. Unlike genetics, the microbiome is a dynamic system that responds to the daily choices we make. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-gut-microbial-health-index-composite.html Sun, 23 Aug 2026 16:00:01 EDT news706535175 Cottage cheese is having a moment. It's being added to dips, mixed into batters and even used in pizza and brownies. It's touted as a high-protein food that can help people build muscle and lose fat. But the research supporting these benefits is not quite as abundant as the number of viral cottage cheese recipes out there. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cottage-cheese-evidence-health-didnt.html Sat, 22 Aug 2026 19:30:01 EDT news706535290 Nature-based social prescribing can help reduce loneliness among adults living in socioeconomically vulnerable urban areas, according to a trial conducted in Barcelona by the European RECETAS consortium. Loneliness decreased among all participants receiving nature-based social prescribing, but those experiencing greater loneliness and poorer emotional well-being at the start benefited more from the facilitated group intervention. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-people-nature-community-loneliness-barcelona.html Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:20:08 EDT news706529401 Growing up, my brothers were fascinated by the first "Rocky" movie. They were trying to get stronger and excel in sports, so one scene stood out almost as much as Rocky sprinting up the museum steps: Before sunrise, Rocky cracked raw eggs into a glass and drank them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-protein-breakfast-snacks-wont-muscle.html Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:00:05 EDT news706522263 As Japan's population continues to age, age-related declines in kidney function and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are becoming increasingly prevalent, underscoring the need for effective preventive strategies. Despite growing interest in the health benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness, its relationship with future kidney function decline remains poorly understood, particularly among individuals with preserved kidney function. To address this gap, researchers investigated whether higher cardiorespiratory fitness, a measure of whole-body endurance capacity, is associated with a slower age-related decline in kidney function. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-higher-cardiorespiratory-slower-age-decline.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:00:03 EDT news706460762 A UIC study led by kinesiology and nutrition professor Krista Varady found that time-restricted eating may be a safe, effective tool to control blood sugar in adults with type 1 diabetes. The work is published in the journal Diabetes Care. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-intermittent-fasting-diabetics-blood-sugar.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:40:03 EDT news706455025 Air pollution can affect oral health. A study conducted in Brazil by researchers from São Paulo State University (UNESP) and the University of São Paulo (USP) demonstrated for the first time that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a major component of urban air pollution, causes changes in oral tissues and accelerates the destruction of periodontal tissues that support teeth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-air-pollution-oral-mucosa-worsen.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:00:05 EDT news706459381 Participants who followed a Mediterranean-style plan tailored for the Southeast not only kept weight off but also ate better in ways that may help prevent chronic disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-mediterranean-style-tailored-southeast-weight.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:40:07 EDT news706446421 Supplement shelves can give the impression that almost everyone needs something. Yet for generally healthy adults, a review of 84 studies found that routine vitamin and mineral supplements offered little or no protection against cardiovascular disease, cancer or early death. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-supplements-evidence.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:40:03 EDT news706446841 A review published in Nature Reviews Cardiology provides the most detailed picture yet of how nicotine damages the cardiovascular system—tracing the biological chain of events from the moment nicotine binds to receptors in blood vessel walls through to the atherosclerotic plaque rupture that triggers heart attacks and strokes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-nicotine-blood-vessels-biological-hierarchy.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:00:13 EDT news706443542 Cannabis has a reputation for making people hungry. Popular culture has long joked about the "munchies," and many people assume that students who use cannabis naturally have poorer diets than those who don't. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cannabis-university-students-habits.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:20:07 EDT news706446482 Dehydration can affect much more than your thirst. It also can place extra stress on your heart and cardiovascular system, explains Dr. Brodie Marthaler, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-dehydration-thirst-expert-affect-heart.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:20:06 EDT news706440482 Dementia can be brewing in the background for years before the telltale signs of memory lapses and difficulties with wayfinding creep into people's daily lives or are detected through memory tests, but endless crossword puzzles or sudoku are unlikely to make a meaningful difference. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-tasks-surpass-crossword-puzzles-brain.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 10:20:05 EDT news706438301 Anyone who works in health care in rural or remote Australia knows what the challenges look like. Behind every statistic is a person forced to travel hundreds of kilometers for care, a clinician stretched beyond capacity or a community left without the services it needs. These inequities are particularly stark for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-community-virtual-indigenous-chronic-disease.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:40:05 EDT news706435982 A new study found that nearly 8 out of 10 young adult participants, with an average age of 23 years, had cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome (CKM syndrome), according to independent research published today in Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-artery-adults-20s-highlights-early.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 05:00:01 EDT news706281541 A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that adolescents reported that TikTok food content prompted a desire to eat or try foods, while acknowledging that parents could play a protective role by helping them disengage from the platform and fostering critical conversations about food, bodies, influencers and online health information. Participants frequently described TikTok food content as prompting hunger, cravings and interest in trying new foods, while parental involvement could interrupt exposure to food-related content. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-teens-tiktok-food-content-parents.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:00:05 EDT news706373161 Infrequent exercise is associated with a higher prevalence of common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety among higher education students in Norway, according to a study published in PLOS ONE by Michael Grasdalsmoen of Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and colleagues. The findings highlight the potential value of consistent physical activity rather than intense, prolonged exercise sessions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-students-mental-health-intense-workouts.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:29:30 EDT news706368541