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More than 27 million Americans suffer from heart disease, a condition that’s the leading cause of death across the country. Fortunately, one major contributor to the illness might soon be a thing of the past: New research raises the exciting prospect of a vaccine to prevent atherosclerosis, or blocked arteries, a common cause of heart attack and stroke. Atherosclerosis occurs when fat, cholesterol, and other substances—broadly referred to as plaque—accumulate inside the arteries, restricting blood flow to the heart and brain....

Sunscreen is designed to absorb UV radiation so that damaging rays don’t reach the skin. It appears in black in the video for the same reason that a black t-shirt appears black in normal sunlight: It’s absorbing all of the light’s energy, rather than reflecting it. It acts, in other words, like a bulletproof vest for your skin. And Leveritt’s video offers a compelling image to accompany the “wear sunscreen!...

Turns out there is a teeny bit of truth to the claim. Superstar anti-aging ingredients like antioxidants, vitamin C, and retinol, are highly reactive and degrade pretty easily, and formulas without water can help stabilize them so they’re still active and effective when they hit your skin, says Desiree Stordahl, ingredient researcher and co-author of Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me. These ingredients are typically lipid-soluble, so a watery formula may actually prevent them from absorbing as well as they would in an all-oil formula, explains cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson, founder of BeautyStat....

Researchers tested metabolic markers such as blood sugar, cholesterol, and hormone levels of nearly 1,500 men and women between the ages of 16 and 39, who were either slightly overweight or at a healthy weight. Then, 6 years later, the levels were checked again. The study participants who lost even just a few pounds (between 3 and 10% of their total weight; or about 5 to 15 pounds for a 150-pound person) during that time frame saw significant improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, liver function, and cholesterol, all of which lowered their risk of heart disease....

Total Body Shape-Up! The Total Body Shape-Up is a complete workout featuring fat-burning cardio routines and trouble-spot toning moves. Scheduling your workouts—and sticking to them—is easy with our grab-and-go guide. Get the printable calendar now! 7 Weight Loss Mistakes Even Healthy Women Make Tips that help when you’re doing everything right but the scale won’t budge. 8 Secrets of the Naturally Slim Act like you’re a size smaller, and you will be!...

#1 You’re overdosing on it.The facts: Americans swallow a whopping 13% of their daily calories from added sugars. That adds up to about 130 pounds per year. Break that down to the daily level, and we’re way over the limit, downing the equivalent of 22 teaspoons of added sugars a day. According to the American Heart Association, women should max out at the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of added sugars daily; men should stop at 9....

THE SITUATION: You had a crazy month at work and stopped your usual four-day-a-week gym habit cold turkey.THE EFFECT ON YOUR BODY: Doing a mix of strength training and cardio is optimal for weight loss or control, muscle building, and aerobic health. Stop for a month, and you may notice that some areas get softer, that you’re not able to lug as many heavy groceries, and that you get winded a little faster from taking the stairs....

Lipstick Lasts: Up to 2 years Why toss it: Lipstick is one of the most stable cosmetics because it’s oil based (bacteria breed more easily in water). But after a year or two, natural oils like those from avocado, sunflower, or safflower can become rancid. You won’t have any negative health effects, but the product won’t go on smooth and may taste strange. Longer lasting: Lipsticks without natural oils—YSL Rouge Volupte Shine J ($34; yslbeautyus....

Eggs have hit the headlines several times in recent months, but it can be tough to know what to make of the news. Either eggs are worse for your health than cigarettes, or they’re nutritional perfection. So which is it? Well, according to a major new meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal, eggs aren’t doing your body any harm. Researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China reviewed 17 reports involving eggs and coronary heart disease or stroke....

How? Take out your pocket copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany and you’ll find this definition of fruit: “Strictly, the ripened ovary of a plant and its contents. More loosely, the ripened ovary and seeds together with any structure with which they are combined.” Sounds like a tomato. MORE: Cheat Sheet: Increase The Nutrition Of Seven Vegetables (Almost) Instantly But legally, tomatoes are actually vegetables, per a late-1800s ruling by none other than the US Supreme Court....

When news broke that Toni Braxton was hospitalized in LA last week, many fans were surprised to learn that the “Un-Break My Heart” singer has lupus. Following the incident, she reassured her Twitter followers: “Just a lupus flare up, but I promise you all that I am ok! Love you all! Thanks so much for all of your support!” About 90 percent of those affected by the illness are women and the majority first experience symptoms during their child-bearing years, according to the Lupus Foundation of America....

When researchers analyzed more than 650 surveys of men and women, they found that light imbibers scored 15% higher on episodic memory tests than nondrinkers. Episodic memory is what scientists call the recall of past events and the emotions tied to them. In other words, a 15% higher score could be the difference between remembering that someone threw you a surprise 30th birthday party and remembering the actual feeling of surprise and delight from that moment, explains lead author Brian Downer, a postdoctoral fellow at University of Texas Medical Branch’s Sealy Center on Aging....

But how you lose weight matters: Crash dieting can actually make cellulite worse by reducing skin’s elasticity, making more of those little puckers noticeable. Gradual weight loss (to better preserve skin’s suppleness and reduce fat) accompanied by targeted muscle development, which firms and smooths underlying tissue, is the most effective cellulite solution, says Glynis Ablon, MD, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at UCLA. When Wayne Westcott, PhD, coauthor of No More Cellulite, tested such a strategy on 115 women, all of them reported a reduction in cellulite appearance at the end of 8 weeks, and ultrasound measurements confirmed a higher proportion of muscle to fat in their thigh areas....

During an interview with Esquire, the billionaire Boston Beer Company co-founder and chairman revealed his secret for drinking all night without ever getting drunk: yeast. MORE: 9 Secrets to Living Longer Koch says he mixes Fleischmann’s dry yeast into yogurt to snack on before long periods of drinking, adding in one teaspoon of yeast per beer. Koch says he got the idea from friend and beer fan Joseph “Dr. Joe” Owades, who had a PhD in biochemistry and worked at the Fleischmann’s fermentation lab....

They’re not the most common vaginal infection That honor goes to bacterial vaginosis (BV), an infection that’s caused by an overgrowth of bacteria in the vagina. Much like a yeast infection, BV festers when the vagina’s pH levels are out-of-whack—but unfortunately, OTC treatments aren’t available. Because it’s caused by bacteria and not yeast, attempting to use yeast infection meds to combat BV can make your symptoms worse (cue the sad trombone)....

It is just plain cool to give kids little loving army men doing yoga vs doing battle. Just saying - and giving a shout out to Yoga Joe and his Kickstarter campaign. Little things matter. Positive messages matter to our kids.

Erase a day of chaos with nine simple moves When stress creeps into your relationship with your body, bank account, boss, beloved, or otherwise supposed sources of strength, give this soothing workout a try, from Yoga to the RescueYour yoga practice will equip you with all the key elements to help you relax and quiet your frantic mind. Use this sequence to calm your nerves after a stressful day. by Amy Luwis, CEO/Creator of RescueGirl....

Any sort of explosive motion—like a squat jump—helps us to maintain and build fast-twitch muscle fibers. And while we can’t see them, we really need to keep these babies around. Fast twitch muscle fibers are what help us generate power, an ability we quickly lose—at twice the rate of muscle strength—as we age, says Irv Rubenstein, PhD, exercise physiologist and president of S.T.E.P.S., Nashville, TN. While power can certainly improve your workout, we need it for everyday movements, too: Even something as simple as crossing a busy street before the light turns red requires your fast-twitch muscle fibers to spring into action....

It seems like every week a new study reveals some wacky way to boost your memory. For example, chewing gum and sipping cocoa (not at the same time) were recently linked to improved recall. Not surprisingly, the evidence backing these theories is a little thin. But there are plenty of carefully researched, science-backed methods to fire up your mind’s recall and retention. Here, 10 you should definitely try. SleepThe less you sleep, the more your cognitive abilities—including your memory—will suffer, concludes a study from Finland....