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Researchers found that diets consisting mainly of healthy foods like oily fish and fresh legumes, such as peas and green beans, were associated with menopause being delayed by nearly three years. This is based on the average age women start menopause, which is 51 years in both the United Kingdom and United States. Meanwhile, participants who consumed a lot of refined white pasta and rice were more likely to begin menopause a year and a half earlier than the average....

[sidebar]Translation: You’ve had an awful day, you were the last mommy to pick up her kids at preschool, and now you’re simultaneously trying to prepare a healthy dinner, spend quality time with the little ones, and unwind by describing your grueling day to the only other adult in the house. He, meanwhile, is busy checking e-mail on the laptop and avoiding eye contact. Don’t take it personally, says Michele Weiner-Davis, PhD, a marriage therapist in Woodstock, IL....

People often ask me if these products are healthier than bread and a good choice for dieters. They can be. As with most packaged foods, some wraps are incredibly wholesome, while others are made with ingredients on my “avoid list,” such as artificial colors, preservatives, and partially hydrogenated oils. Here are a few surprising facts to help you avoid common pitfalls and buy the healthiest kinds: Fact: Corn tortillas count as a whole grain....

Here are three simple ways to incorporate amaranth into your dining rotation. A bowl of warm amaranth cereal makes a tasty alternative to oatmeal. Add 1 cup amaranth to 3 cups boiling water and cook over low heat 20 minutes. Top with milk, cinnamon, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Cook amaranth (same proportions as above) in chicken or vegetable stock instead of water for a savory side dish or stir-fry base....

As if the recent study showing that you’re 100 times more likely to catch a cold on a plane than in your day-to-day life wasn’t enough to make you wary of air travel, then this new Consumer Reports article may do it. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say seven major airports in particular are most likely to spread a pandemic like SARS and H1N1—namely John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles International, Honolulu, San Francisco, Newark Liberty, Chicago O’Hare, and Washington Dulles....

They’re covered in sensors, wires dangling, like marionettes at rest. As they sit together in silence—blindfolded—they wait for their 10 minutes of psychological torture to begin. These guys are part of an experiment in perspiration. Most human sweat is the “thermal” kind, that dampness you feel during a workout or on a hot day. But psychological sweating is the beading on your forehead when your boss singles you out in a meeting, or the clammy hands you wipe on your jeans before a first date....

If you’ve had patches of red, dry, itchy skin—much like 10% of the population—then you already know how frustrating eczema can be. But thanks to new research, a cure might be on the horizon. Reporting in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers note that the removal of a certain protein from skin cells led mice subjects to develop a scaly skin rash. The finding suggests that this protein, called Ctip2, might be responsible for smooth, eczema-free skin....

What you’re worried about: Consuming food that’s made contact with rust. What if it’s toxic? What about tetanus?! What will probably happen: Likely nothing. While tetanus is a potentially fatal infection of the nervous system, it’s caused by bacteria (spores of the bacterium Clostridium tetani, to be specific), not by rust itself. The bacteria are most often found in soil and animal feces, according to the NIH—and it just so happens that the items we typically associate with tetanus (say, rusty nails) are usually found outside where they’ve been mingling with the bacteria....

Why doesn’t it? Unfortunately, this experience is all too common for women, say a growing number of experts who call this widespread failure to diagnose and treat osteoporosis after a fracture a near scandal. The Washington, DC-based National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends that adults who suffer a low-trauma fracture (such as breaking a bone after falling from ground level or a low height) have a bone-density test followed by medications if necessary....

Photo: Jackson (center) hugs a new friend during a visit to Cotlands, a nonprofit children’s organization in South Africa that provides help for kids coping with HIV/AIDS and nutrition issues. Love, body image, and life itself are just a few of her themes, as is her ongoing war with her waistline. She is almost as famous for her shifting silhouette as is the queen of yo-yo dieting, Oprah Winfrey—particularly when faced with hard times....

“It seems like kale has lost its ‘wow’ factor and one of the new veggie players is beets,” says Marie Spano, MS, RD, a dietitian in Atlanta, GA. Why is this health food that’s been around forever suddenly in the spotlight? “I think it’s because beets lend a beautiful color, and they also have a pleasant sweet, earthy flavor,” says Spano. “They’re a nice way to get a little sugar fix without the sugar....

Media Platforms Design Team"I lost 60 pounds!" Kristen Tomasic, 45Pounds lost in 12 weeks: 27.5Total pounds lost: 60 Kristen’s Story: I struggled with my weight since high school, and it only got worse after college, when I started to put my career-I’m vice president of a software company-and family before my health. When my daughter was born, I never lost the baby weight, and each year, the weight compounded. At my heaviest, I weighed 199 pounds....

‘Tis the season to be excessive. Whether it’s an extra glass of eggnog, a second scoop of yams, or a skipped workout, the holidays are no time for austerity. Unfortunately, while these little indulgences seem harmless, they might also subtract hours from your life—particularly if that celebratory lifestyle lingers from Thanksgiving right through New Year’s. New research in the British Medical Journal warms that we’re aging more quickly with every extra drink or double cheeseburger....

We know this approach works because we asked exercise scientists to test the program on 12 real women for 2 months. Not only did they get stronger and more shapely, but they lost up to 6 pounds in 3 weeks and up to 11 pounds by the end of the program. Lose More Weight in Less Time Want to shorten your workout time and get even better results? Alternate bursts of power walking with ones at a slowed-down pace....

Researchers in Finland followed more than 1,000 men between the ages of 46 and 65 for about 12 years, testing their blood levels of lycopene, the bright red antioxidant found in certain fruits and veggies. The results? Nearly 10% of the men with the lowest lycopene levels had a stroke during that time, compared to just 4% of those who had the highest levels. More from Prevention: 8 Surprising Foods That Fight Disease “This study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke,” said study author Jouni Karppi, PhD, in a press release....

Stewart practiced her poses amid many fans in Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall in New York City yesterday morning. Why? To kick off her American Made celebration, which honors new business owners and artisans who’ve followed in her footsteps to make careers out of their passions. Stewart, 71, says she hits the yoga mat as often as possible. After all, she says her stay-young secret is, “Exercise, exercise, exercise. And diet, diet, diet....

Heads up, citizen scientists: now, a University of Michigan Health System team is making that wish a reality. Last week, the team won the $40,000 first prize in a competition hosted by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which awards innovation in projects that connect patients and researchers in the name of furthering science. The winning concept is called WellSpringboard, and it’s a crowd-funding project where anyone can propose an idea for research and back it with donations....

Seems surprising, right? “Certainly sunscreens weren’t used as much four decades ago,” says lead researcher Jerry Brewer, MD, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic. But while people are aware of the danger of sun exposure and tanning beds, their behavior isn’t changing, says Dr. Brewer. It’s not just the teenager mentality of nothing-bad-will-happen-to-me that’s at play here, say experts. There are a number of misconceptions endangering everybody. Check out these skin care myths that could be putting your health at risk: Myth: A yearly mole check is all I need for screening....

Why would they feel this way? “The first-born gets the privilege of [the parents’] undivided attention until the second child is born,” explains Julia Rohrer, a personality psychologist and research fellow with Germany’s Max Planck Institute. “The last-born gets the privilege of undivided attention when the older children have already grown up [and left the house].” Middles, meanwhile, never have the spotlight to themselves. Some parenting blogs and books argue this imbalance of parental attention leaves middles feeling bitter and resentful, and can lead to later issues with self-esteem or assertiveness....