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“A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fish has been connected to decreased depression,” said Anu Ruusunen, MSc, a clinical nutritionist from the university who presented the results as her doctoral thesis in nutritional epidemiology. But food fafctors in long before diagnosis, she found. After examining 13-20 years’ worth of food diaries from 2,000 middle-aged men who were participating in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor study, and after studying the lifestyle habits of 140 men and women for three years during the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study, she concluded that the same dieting trends are equally associated with a healthy person’s risk of experiencing depression....

For the study, researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, and Hartford Hospital in Connecticut followed 33,060 runners and 15,945 walkers for six years. Both running and walking significantly lowered the risk of developing high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. The great news: Walking and running had roughly the same effect on health when the same amount of calories were burned. And not surprisingly, the more people ran or walked each week, the more their health benefits increased....

Tell us why donating blood is such an important cause to you personally. I become involved with The American Red Cross after I got into a bad accident in 2001 and I needed 100 units of blood. I needed so much that they just gave me whatever blood type they had on hand and The American Red Cross supplied my hospital. When I go back over my story, there are a lot of numbers: I was on the table twice....

Where the Plan Came From The diet’s backstory borders on urban legend: Back in 1985, General Motors reportedly developed the GM Diet as a way to help its employees lose weight. “The diet is based on the principle that by eating only the foods in the plan, the body will burn more calories than the food provides,” says Ashvini Mashru, RD, author of Small Steps to Slim. The result is (allegedly) rapid weight loss....

Winning Action

Here’s what you need to know about your options before prepping your next meal: [sidebar]RawEating at least some raw vegetables is a good way to ensure that you’re ingesting beneficial enzymes and water-soluble vitamins (C and the Bs) that cooking often destroys, says Judy Caplan, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Always avoid raw milk, meats, and eggs. BoiledBoiling vegetables can be beneficial for people prone to forming calcium kidney stones, which can be caused by excess oxalic acid (an organic plant compound) in the body....

The research: Thirty-six overweight, sedentary women and 21 sedentary male volunteers between the ages of 35 and 57 were divided into three groups. The subjects all exercised differently, but all consumed 60 grams of whey protein every day—the amount determined by prior studies to elicit a favorable body composition (fat to lean ratio) by helping maintain muscle, providing satiety, and increasing fat burn. When it came to exercise, one group was sedentary; one did intense resistance exercises, which included primarily body weight exercises such as squats, push-ups and lunges, four times a week for 45 minutes each time; and the third followed a plan that included doing interval sprint training (20 to 30 min), stretching (45 minutes), resistance training (45 min) and endurance exercise (60 min) on different days....

“I ended the day after my 40th birthday curled up in bed, trying not to let my three young children hear my sobs. I’d awakened that morning with a 101°F fever and the strange symptoms I’d been battling on and off for years, but this time the painful red rash that snaked its way across my upper body was the worst it had ever been. The blanket of fatigue that had turned me into a zombie wife and mom felt like it had gained 20 pounds....

Pomegranate arils make this salad pop—plus, they’re rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate. Pair them with roasted pumpkin seeds, and you get a salad that’s sweet and savory and totally tasty. Note: I used mozzarella, but goat cheese and feta work well, too. MORE: The 10 Unhealthiest Salads You Can Order Serves 2 Dressing 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil 1/4 c balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp black pepper Salad 2 c mixed baby greens 1/2 c shredded mozzarella 1/4 c pomegranate arils 2 Tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds...

Although the greens are widely popular in other areas of the world, they don’t get much love here in the States, where most of us have no idea that sweet potatoes even have leaves, let alone that they’re edible and delicious, with a softer texture and less bitter taste than kale or chard. But sweet potato greens as food may be getting more affection soon, thanks to a new analysis published in the journal HortScience that found the leaves have 3 times more vitamin B6, 5 times more vitamin C, and almost 10 times more riboflavin than actual sweet potatoes....

Nearly a quarter of new beers released in 2014 had an ABV above 6.5%—that’s roughly three times more than the amount that was released in 2011, according to new data from the market research firm Mintel. And since we all remember from Nutrition 101 that a gram of alcohol packs 7 calories while a gram of carbs packs only 4 calories, the new crop of stronger sips might have you loosening your belt a notch or two....

OK, maybe that’s an extreme example. Still, most nutrition experts do say that skipping meals in an attempt to cut calories will probably backfire, and cause you to end up eating more later on—which you probably don’t want. But what happens if the dinner (or breakfast, or lunch) bell rings and you just aren’t that hungry? Well, you probably shouldn’t eat. In fact, chowing down might actually be bad for your health....

Unfortunately, though, you may not be doing yourself any favors by choosing honey over other forms of the sweet stuff. A recent small study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that honey is no better for your body than table sugar and corn syrup. Worth noting: The study was funded in part by the National Honey Board (not a sugar company), so it’s pretty legit. MORE: Sugar is Killing Us....

In a study of more than 23,000 Italians, researchers found that people who ate the most pasta tended to have lower BMIs and healthier waist circumferences compared to people who ate the least. The findings, published in the journal Nature, prove once and for all that pasta isn’t bad for your weight. Right? Well, not really. Because the study only looked at associations, it doesn’t actually prove anything. What’s more, there are some very important details that are worth talking about before you start scarfing down spaghetti and meatballs or cacio e pepe for dinner every night of the week....

MORE: Are Nestle’s New Artificial-Free Candy Bars Actually Healthier Now? The (sad) short answer: not really. Yes, it’s good that Big Bad Food is shunning lab-made ingredients, since they’re often just plain unnecessary. But the tangible effects of this anti-artificial crusade are way subtler than the Subway PR people want you to believe. We reached out to Michael Moss, journalist, food industry expert, and author of SALT SUGAR FAT, to get the nitty-gritty....

Watch More Fitness Videos More from Prevention: Love Your Lower Body [sidebar]

This was a study of mice, but the researchers suspect that the same biochemical signal-scrambling happens in humans, too. The sequence of events: Overeating refined carbs and saturated fat raises triglycerides; leptin signals are blocked; you don’t feel full, and so you overeat. To keep your triglycerides at a healthy 150 mg/dl, exercise and limit stuff like white bread and fatty meats.

There are few things less romantic than a sink full of dishes. Which may explain why you’re trading a home-cooked meal for a romantic restaurant this Valentine’s Day. And you won’t be alone: In a new survey, online reservation service OpenTable concluded that 51% of respondents also plan to dine out on the big day. But with romance in the air and wine flowing freely, it can be easy to overdo it....

Quad Shaper Plii with Heel Lift

Walking shoes also make walking feel easier. They are specifically designed to help propel you through the heel-toe motion of the proper walking technique. This is why walking shoes work better for walkers than do running shoes. While runners land flat-footed, walkers land on their heels. So the heels of walking shoes are often beveled to increase stability. And that stability is equally important when you roll your foot forward and push off with your toe....