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Today’s trackers go leaps beyond monitoring heart rate and step count. We asked tracker expert Jill Duffy, tech writer for PCmag.com, to sift out the top game-changing gadgets that will transform your health now—and in the (very near) future. 12 THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH TRACKERS NOW… Train to stay calm Photo courtesy of Muse Do your thoughts move faster than Usain Bolt cranked on espresso? Try Muse. The headband uses EEG technology to measure your brain’s activity, and the companion app teaches you to quickly go from stressed to centered with mini mindfulness exercises....

After an ER doc determined that a tiny kidney stone caused my husband’s sudden agony last year, a nurse came to deliver more pain meds and a dose of sympathy: “I passed a stone a couple of months ago, and it was worse than any of my four labors,” she told him. Indeed, when Prevention asked doctors for their opinions about which conditions trigger the most horrific pain, kidney stones made the list....

So, what do you actually need to stock a clean pantry? Here, some guidance on the stuff that’s healthy, relatively inexpensive, and that you’ll actually use on the regular. Oils: Basically, you only need two oils in your life—one you can cook with at pretty high temperatures, and one you can use for dressings and dipping. Our picks: coconut oil, avocado oil, or ghee for cooking, and extra virgin olive oil for dressings....

The study team examined data on more than 70,000 post-menopausal women. Among those who slurped 12-ounces of soda (or more) daily, the risk of fracturing a hip rose roughly 14% compared to people who don’t drink pop, according to the study. That was true whether a woman enjoyed diet, regular, or caffeine-free soda. Flavor also played no part in things: Whether you’re into colas or lemon-lime sodas, the more you drink, the more likely you are to suffer a hip fracture, the study concludes....

The research: Researchers at the University of Navarra in Spain recruited 96 obese adults to follow a reduced calorie diet consisting of either 30% or 15% protein for 8 weeks. Body composition measurements and blood samples were taken at the start and end of the study; vegetable, meat, and fish protein intakes were recorded throughout. After 8 weeks, both groups lost nearly the same amount of weight and fat, but participants who got more of their protein from meat had higher levels of inflammation compared to participants who consumed mostly fish or plant-based sources of protein....

Researchers had 18 teenagers sleep for only 4.5 hours for three nights and wake up to either dim natural light or blue light from a pair of specially constructed goggles. The results: Teens who woke up to the blue light had levels of the stress hormone cortisol that were nearly twice as high as those who woke up to the dim light. But isn’t cortisol a bad hormone, you ask?...

Although I’m not a big fan of the gym, I try to focus on my workout while I’m there, so I don’t make a habit of carrying my phone around with me. But as I walked on a treadmill one day in May 2008, I kept the device propped up on the display panel. I’d had a biopsy for a lump in my breast 3 days earlier and was expecting a call with the results....

For nine years, researchers studied more than 31,000 women enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Samples of the participants’ blood and urine were analyzed for the presence of 111 different endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are chemicals in the environment that have an effect on the production of hormones that regulate reproduction, metabolism, sexual function, and more. According to the study, women who had the highest levels of EDCs went through menopause 1....

Young Women in Their 20s Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! Even sun damage acquired in your 20s will show up later in life as wrinkles and age spots.A good cleanser and eye cream are essential to your daily routine.Concealer disguises dark circles the morning after a late night. (Check out these makeup tips for hiding dark circles.)Use a lightweight tinted moisturizer to even out skin tone and a stick foundation that matches your skin tone exactly to cover blemishes....

I wasn’t just struck by this photo because it’s adorable, I was struck because it symbolizes to me what true love is. There is a video that gives some background about this couple with 50 years of marriage and, clearly, love. It shows a remarkable example of unconditional love. Don’t miss the tiera - it broke me open. The video made me think of mom and dad who are married close to 60 years....

According to new research, published in the BMJ, acetaminophen—known to most of us as Tylenol—isn’t all that effective at relieving pain from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. MORE: How To Keep Arthritis From Killing Your Libido Because acetaminophen is one of the most popular tools for treating pain, study author Gustavo Machado, a PhD student at the George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney medical school in Australia, says he and his co-authors wanted to assess its safety and efficacy....

Lightlife Smart Deli Pepperoni Style The slices are peppery and chewy. You can eat 13 for just 40 calories and no grease. Field Roast Lentil Sage Artisan Deli Slices The flavor is rich with sage and garlic - comfort food heaven for 104 calories per serving. Yves Roast without the Beef You’ll love the texture and get 15 g of protein. It’s my veggie Reuben corned beef substitute. Try 5 Mouthwatering Vegetarian Meals

Quick, try this: Sit down on the floor, then get back up using as little support as possible. (No hands!) How’d you do? According to a new study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, your ability—or inability—to do the test with ease may predict how long you’re going to live. Researchers asked more than 2,000 people ages 51 to 80 years old to perform the “sitting-rising test”—check out the video here—then rated the subjects on a 10-point scale, awarding five points for sitting and five for rising without any supports, like hands, forearms, and knees....

No one epitomizes the glory of getting older better than Ernestine Shepherd, the world’s oldest female bodybuilder and star of our short documentary. At 77, Shepherd redefines what it means to be ripped. We saw it firsthand, in fact: A quick unzip of her workout vest revealed a row of abs any 20-year-old would envy. Being buff is a fairly recent development for Ernestine. “I was a total couch potato until age 56,” she says....

MORE: How Science Is Messing with Your Morning Coffee If your answer is Literally as soon as I drag myself out of bed or else I will die (or something to that effect), you’re wrong. A few years back, research showed that drinking coffee right when you wake up can actually blunt the effects of caffeine and make you even more dependent on the drug. This new video, from the dry-erase aficionados over at ASAPScience, explains why....

He’s the man you fall asleep beside every night, and the first person you see every single morning. So why isn’t your husband making a cameo in your actual dreams? And why, when he does show up, are you both dressed in elf costumes and bickering about adopting a cat? Chances are, there’s an explanation for these nighttime curiosities—and understanding what dreams mean might actually make your relationship healthier. “The subconscious is going to produce whatever dream it feels is appropriate at the time,” says Cindy Nodland, PhD, a Denver-based dream therapist....

But don’t go on a freezer-strike quite yet. A new study published in the Journal of Food Science found an easy fix to the frozen broccoli dilemma: just sprinkle a little daikon radish on top. The missing compound is abundant in radish, and when paired with broccoli, it reactivates the enzyme. “We’re trying to sell that idea to frozen broccoli producers,” said Elizabeth Jeffery, PhD, a professor at the University of Illinois’ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the study’s co-author....

Neuroscientists put 16 married women in a stressful situation (they knew they’d receive mild electric shocks). When a friendly male volunteer held their hand, scans showed less activity in the parts of the brain that respond to danger. The effect was even greater when the hand belonged to the participant’s spouse. “It may be that your mind relaxes because someone is there to help,” explains lead researcher James Coan, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UV....