HEALTH
U s e tw ic e d a ily a s d ir e c te d
M
m
x
o
m
H e a le d w it h
a k is s
S w e e t n ew s fo r y o u and y o u r v a le n tin e : H ap p y co u p le s e n jo y sp e e d y
re c o v e ry fro m m in o r c u ts and scrap es. R esea rch ers at O h io S ta te U n iver
s ity in C o lu m b u s m o n ito re d 37 m a rrie d p a irs an d fo u n d th a t
spouses
w ith the highest levels of oxytocin—a “bonding” horm one released
during positive interactions—healed alm ost 1.5 tim es faster
th an
co u p le s w ith lo w lev e ls o f th e h o rm o n e. O n e p o ssib le e x p la n a tio n fo r th e
lin k is th a t o x y to c in h elp s co n tro l in fla m m a tio n .
L o w -c a rb
le s s o n
I f y o u ’r e
t r y i n g
t o
c u r b
y o u r
c a r b
i n t a k e ,
b e
s u r e
t o
e a t
p l e n t y
o f p l a n t - b a s e d
p r o t e i n —
n o t j u s t
m e a t .
R e s e a r c h e r s
a t
S i m m o n s
C o l l e g e
i n
B o s t o n
f o u n d
t h a t
p e o p l e
w h o
a t e
a
l o w - c a r b
d i e t
f i l l e d
w i t h
b e a n s ,
n u t s ,
a n d
n o n s t a r c h y
p r o d u c e
w e r e
2 0
p e r c e n t
l e s s
l i k e l y t o
d i e
o f a n y
c a u s e
t h a n
p e o p l e
w h o s e
l o w - c a r b
d i e t s
c e n t e r e d
o n
a n i m a l
p r o t e i n .
T h e
r e a s o n
m i g h t
b e
t h a t
p l a n t
p r o t e i n
i s
b u n d l e d
w i t h
m o r e
n u t r i e n t s
t h a t
p r e v e n t
m o r t a l i t y ,
s u c h
a s
f o l a t e .
LISTERINE®
SM ART
RINSE®
T h e A n t i c a v i t y F l u o r i d e
R in s e
t h a t s t r e n g t h e n s t e e t h
9 9
%
b e t t e r t h a n
b r u s h i n g
a l o n e a n d
w o r k s lik e a
m a g n e t t o
a t t r a c t p a r t i c l e s t h a t b r u s h i n g
m a y l e a v e b e h i n d . *
L IS T E R IN E
*
B a s e d o n la b o r a to r y te s tin g . D a ta o n file
H e lp in g h a n d s
Q : M y f a m i l y u s e s t o n s o f h a n d s a n i t i z e r in
w i n t e r , b u t n o w P m h e a r i n g i t d o e s n 't
p r o t e c t a g a i n s t g e r m s . S h o u l d w e s k i p it?
A :
R est assu red , u sin g h an d s a n itiz e r is a g o o d
b a ck u p if y o u c a n 't w a sh w ith soap and w ater.
B u t I can u n d e rsta n d y o u r co n fu sio n . A recen t
s tu d y sh o w ed th a t a lco h o l-b a se d gels lose th e ir
g e rm -k illin g p o w e r w ith in tw o m in u tes o f
a p p lica tio n — a fin d in g th a t to o k m an y co n su m e rs
b y su rp rise . B ut h an d sa n itiz e rs w e re n e v e r
in ten d ed to sh ield sk in fro m
in co m in g
b a c te ria and
v iru se s; rath er, th e y ’re m ade to e lim in a te g erm s
on c o n ta c t, m u ch lik e soap and w a te r do.
T o e n su re y o u r h an d s a n itiz e r is su ffic ie n tly
p o te n t, lo o k fo r a b ra n d th a t co n ta in s at le a st 60
p e rce n t a lco h o l. Just b e a r in m in d th a t fre q u e n t
h an d cle a n in g — w h e th e r w ith s a n itiz e r o r so a p — can d ry o u t sk in ,
c re a tin g tin y cra ck s th a t h e ig h te n th e risk o f in fe c tio n . So b e su re to
m o is tu riz e reg u la rly, as w ell.
Have a question about how to im prove your health?
E-mail us at
B H G f e a t u r e s
@
m e r e d i t h . c o m .
We’ll select one question every issue and ask our health advisory
panel to answer it. (Sorry, the doctors can’t respond to all questions personally.)
M egan T. Sandel,
M.D.
A nationally recognized
expert on both healthy
housing and teen health,
Dr. Sandel has been a
practicing pediatrician at
Boston Medical Center
and Children’s Hospital
for more than 10 years.
