Diabetes and obesity are integrally linked and together pose a major health crisis both in the united states and globally. Type II diabetes occurs frequently in overweight adults and 2/3 of the US population is overweight. Both conditions also increases the risk of all the leading causes of death including cancer, cardiac disease and stroke. Besides the obvious preventive methods of eating less and [...]

Age related hearing loss is a very significant detriment to quality of life in the aged.  As we strive through lifestyle and technology to expand our lifespans it is important to avoid age related hearing loss. Age related hearing loss is poorly understood.  Oxidative stress causing loss of hearing cells is one theory, but it is also believed that chronic exposure to loud noises in the environment is [...]

A newly published study looked at 10,000 US veterans who served in World War II and the Korean war. The researchers analyzed the soldiers’ death rates and whether they correlated with Purple Heart awards. The surprising findings showed that veterans who received a Purple Heart had only one half the mortality rate as those who did not receive a medal.  The study was for the period between [...]

Hormesis is the name given to an animal’s response to toxic exposure. It might seem counterintuitive to believe that exposing living things to toxic substances would make them live longer, but at low levels that appears to be true. In a recently published experiment, scientists exposed C elegans roundworms to a substance called plumbagin which is a pesticide.  Plumbagin acts by producing free-radicals, [...]

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that working long hours increases a persons risk of heart disease, itself the leading cause of death. This study examined 7095 men and women and followed them over a 10 year period. The number of hour worked per day was considered a stressor and therefor potential risk factor for heart disease. The subjects were divided into normal [...]

The Centers for Disease Control just released preliminary figures for life expectancy and death rates for major medical conditions in the USA for 2009. The study found that life expectancy in the US increased for the year 2009 over 2008. A person born in 2009 would be expected to live an average of 78.2 years. This is up from 78 years in 2008. The CDC also found that the death rate for 10 of the [...]

It could be expected that wealthy people have access to better health care, information, and can spend more on diet and exercise.  Such efforts and availability could be expected to lead to longer lifespans. A report from South Korea shows such a correlation exists in that country. The National Pension Research Institute released a report that looked at life expectancy among men in their 60s. It [...]

Lower body core temperature appears to be correlated with aging. To promote cells to live longer it would seem logical to keep them cool.  A cooler environment will slow down biological processes and thus potentially slow the aging process. In this study of over 18,000 people researchers measured core body temperatures and looked to see if they correlated with age. They did find than mean temperature [...]