heart disease

Running around on those wheels all day can't be easy for a hamster. I bet some have heart attacks and drop dead right on the spot.

Luckily, pumping tiny hamsters full of raspberries keeps their little tickers healthy.

A new study suggests antioxidants in berry juices and teas may prevent artery hardening, a major precursor to heart disease.

Just when you thought the advice on protecting your heart from cardiovascular disease couldn't get any more standard, here comes a wild card study out of nowhere:

People with skinny thighs are more likely to develop, and die from, heart disease.

So much for that skinny jeans workout!

The American Heart Association say people must cut their sugar intake dramatically. And, you can see why, the typical American diet has three food groups: sugar, saturated fat, and marshmallow cereal! The diet of champions--not really.

In a new report, the AHA claims all this sugar is making Americans fat and setting us up for diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Here's an idea--get a bunch of lab rats hopped up on sugar and see what happens. Someone tried it, and no, rats don't get a sugar rush.

Instead, they get dopey. Rats fed lots of fructose developed problems with spatial memory.

Spatial memory refers to a person's ability to navigate a familiar place, or the way a rat locates food through a maze. How fitting.

Two studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirm what experts have often repeated: a healthy diet and lifestyle cuts the risk of heart failure dramatically.

Both studies were carried out by Harvard Medical School, Boston. One study (led by Dr. Luc Djousse) examined data from 20,900 men, and the other (led by Dr. John P. Forman) analysed of data from 83,882 women.

For years, Donkey Kong has been trying to snuff out Super Mario, but with no luck. So maybe he should try cutting back on his bananas.

A new study found rhesus monkeys--a distant cousin of Donkey Kong--stayed healthier and more youthful on a calorie-restricted diet.

The research, first reported on in 2006, tells the tale of two rhesus monkeys, Canto age 27, and Owen age 29, both with two very different diets.

We're no better now, with our electric pro-wrestling-sized abdominal workout belts. Editor's note:Whole Body Vibration Training does not use belts of any kind and should not be equated with those old "Fat Jiggling Machines".

But check this out. Researchers claim vibration plate exercise machines promote weight-loss, especially harmful belly fat.

But, given our soaring rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, I hardly think we're a good role model for overcoming childhood obesity. Are we?

Our life-partner China seems to thinks so. Chinese health officials have asked the U.S. for help in addressing China's increasing number of overweight children.

Most people (myself included) would rather light their faces on fire than visit the dentist.

Although I floss regularly now, I never gave much thought to strict oral hygiene. I was always under the impression that if I burned to death (perhaps by lighting my face on fire), my teeth would survive. Logically, if my chicklets could endure a blazing inferno, why is my hygienist hounding my about daily flossing?

As it turns out, periodontal health is not only important for your teeth and gums, but it can also impact overall health, including obesity.

Between 1996 and 2005, the average annual cost of medical expenses not covered by health insurance rose from $427 per American in 1996 to $741 in 2005.