Dress Down, Slim Down

To burn kilojoules at work, take the stairs, not the lift, or hang up the phone and walk to your colleague’s office.

Great advice, but when you’re in an uncomfortable suit and tie or toe-crunching high heels, taking even one extra step can feel like climbing Everest.

Dress less restrictively and you’re more likely to move. There is a study indicates that the workers wore jeans or cotton shirts and comfortable shoes, they took about 500 more steps and burned more kilojoules than on dressier days.

Most of people add up to one kilo a year; dressing down daily could prevent this weight gain.

Heart-Attach Humbug Alert!

An idea has been doing the rounds on the internet that if you suffer a heart attack while alone, you can keep yourself alive and possibly restore a pulse by coughing.

The British Heart Foundation warns that this is based loosely on reports of cardiac patients who achieved some blood flow by coughing, much like chest compressions – but someone alone would be unlikely to keep themselves conscious long enough to drive to hospital, as the rumor suggest.

Vigorous coughing could do more harm than good. Anyone experiencing chest pain should call for help, especially if it lasts 15 minutes or more.

Kicking Kidney Stones

They're painful, they're on the rise - and high-protein diets may be partly to blame. Protein from meat and other animal products is broken down into acids. It's your kidneys' job to balance acids with bases for elimination from the body. The handiest base in the calcium in your bones. Protein is broken down and stored in the bone, where it binds with calcium. Then the kidneys filter these particles from your blood. And the more meat you eat, the more calcium you'll have in your kidneys. Over time, these particles bind together, forming stones.

Kidney stones have typically been viewed as a male problem, but since women are more likely than men to try these diets their risk is rising at a faster clip. The simplest fix is to avoid high-protein diets. If you must try one, talk to your doctor first.

Putting the Squeeze on Acne

Most teenagers will live through a plague of pimples at some time, usually just before an important date. But what should you do when acne grows from a few blackheads to large cysts?

You should consult your doctor rather than wait to “outgrow” acne. Medical treatment can improve your appearance and prevent the development of scars.

To keep acne from getting worse, dermatologists recommend gently washing your face – not scrubbing or rubbing – no more than twice a day with a mild soap.

And although there is no problem wearing make-up or shaving, oily and greasy cosmetics may make the condition worse.

Diet does not usually cause acne, but a few people find that their acne gets worse when they eat certain foods, particularly chocolate, fried food and chilies.

Several Ways to Guard Against Dementia

Research shows that your lifestyle could affect your risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's. There are some tips for you to against dementia:

• Drink alcohol - In moderation, that is. A US study of older women found that those who reported drinking (typically 1-2 drinks a day) had a 40 per cent lower risk of cognitive decline that those who claimed to drink nothing.
• Eat apples - Fresh apples have high concentrations of quercetin, an antioxidant that, lab studies suggest, may fight the damage done by free radicals to brain cells.
• Eat Broccoli - A study of men aged 50-85 in Boston found that those with more folate in their blood showed less decline in verbal fluency. Folate turns up in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and kale.
• Eat Oily Fish - Experiments on mice bred to develop Alzheimer's show that feeding them DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in mackerel, halibut, salmon and sardines (and also almonds, walnuts and soya), reduced by 70 per cent the build-up of blood plaques that are a hallmark of the disease.
• Eat less - It is generally considered that obese people are at greater risk. And another mouse study found that animals who have their food restricted by 40 per cent, compared with mice who can eat all they want, again have a reduced level of blood plaque.
• Take exercise - It does not need much. A Hawaiian study found that elderly men who walked three or more kilometers a day halved their risk of dementia compared with men who walked less than a third of a kilometer.
• Look after your ticker - High LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes are all known to be risk factors for heart disease, but a study of 9000 Californians found that they also raised the risk of dementia - by 46 per cent for diabetes, 42 per cent for high cholesterol, 26 per cent for smoking and 24 per cent for hypertension. There are cumulative, if you've got all four then your risk is boosted by 237 per cent.

Prevent Painful Hangovers

Everyone has his own hangover cure: caffeine, exercise, greasy food – even the pills and potions sold in convenience stores. But none has been proven to cure hangovers. Caused mainly by dehydration, hangovers are best treated by drinking water and taking acetaminophen, which is easy on the stomach. (Heavy drinkers, who are at risk for liver disease, should not take acetaminophen without a doctor’s OK)

Luckily, recent research indicates you can prevent post-drinking pain. Try these tricks before your next night on the town:

• Bet on B – Swallow a daily multivitamin that contains B-6. It speeds the elimination of alcohol from the blood, leading to a faster recovery.

• Have an H2O chaser – Alcohol is a diuretic. It impairs the kidneys’ ability to retain water, resulting in dizziness and nausea. The fix: down a glass of water after each drink, and another before bed.

• Cut down on congeners – These impurities arising from the fermentation process inflame your body’s tissues, much like a virus does. Choose top-shelf brands, or clear drinks, like vodka, which have fewer congeners than darker booze, like Whisky.

Hard Beds are bad for Backs

If you suffer from chronic back pain, you may have been told that you should sleep on a firm mattress. New research suggests a bed with a bit of give may be better for you.

A team at the Kovacs Foundation in Palma, Majorca, took 313 patients with chronic, non-specific lower back pain and gave them either firm or medium-firm mattresses to sleep on for three months. Those with the medium-firm ones were twice as likely to report an improvement in pain when lying down or getting up and were less likely to need pain-killing medication.

The US Sleep Council advises that you go for a supportive mattress, rather than a hard one. “Those labeled “orthopaedic” are generally just extra-firm. But what’s right for you depends on your weight. Don’t be afraid to try mattresses out in shops to find one that’s comfortable.

Kick Athlete’s Foot

Not just itchy, athlete’s foot can be painful and unsightly. And ridding yourself of the fungus isn’t easy.

Prevent the problem by wearing flip-flops in locker rooms, drying feet after bathing and changing socks if they get damp.

If you get athlete’s foot, follow through on treatment. Over-the-counter medications work, but often aren’t used properly. Creams are better absorbed than sprays or powders.

No matter which product you use, follow the package directions. It can take six weeks to get rid of athlete’s foot. Even if it clears up, keep treating it or the infection will return.

Still suffering? See your doctor for a prescription.