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The Crucial Care Missing From Most Hospitals [Reuters] For many hospital patients, particularly those coping with a terminal illness, spirituality—whether through religion, yoga, or even nature—is a key component to overall care. Yet the majority of doctors and nurses say they don’t provide for religious or spiritual patient needs—in some instances because they lack time, but often because they simply don’t know how. That’s according to new research in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, which polled doctors, nurses, and patients in four oncology wards, and found that physicians reported offering spiritual care for only 24% of their patients....

It should be simple to tell whether you’re hungry, but that often just isn’t the case. So many things can masquerade as hunger and have you reaching for a snack before you realize you don’t physically need one. “Many people struggle with ‘head hunger’—confusing wanting to eat with needing to eat,” says Michelle May, MD, founder of Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Programs and author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat....

If you’re looking to refresh your workout wardrobe, now’s a great time to do it. Old Navy’s already-affordable styles are on sale right now. The entire store is up to 50% off, and if you buy today, you get an additional 20% taken off at checkout. (Got 10 minutes? Then you’ve got time to lose the weight for good with Prevention’s new 10-minute workouts and 10-minute meals. Get Fit in 10: Slim and Strong for Life now!...

First, the researchers had 26 participants complete decisionmaking tasks in which their choices either led to monetary gains or losses. The researchers used fMRI imaging to measure their brain activity, and asked them repeatedly, “How happy are you now?” Based on the data the researchers gathered from the first experiment, they created a model that linked self-reported happiness to recent rewards and expectations. Here’s what the equation looks like: MORE: The Most Effective Way to Work Out Then, in their study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers tested their model by having 18,420 people play a smartphone game called The Great Brain Experiment for points....

1. Against the Grain Gourmet Lebanese-Style Pita Bread Your falafel, hummus, or gyro plate finally got its pita back. Tapioca starch keeps these things light, while buckwheat flour adds substance and a wheatlike flavor.Nutrition (per pita): 180 calories, 3 g protein, 2 g fiber, less than 1 g sugar, 4 g fat, 33 g carbsTaste and texture: Light, thin, and chewyGet ’em: $9.99 for 6 pitas, amazon.com MORE: Coming Soon: Gluten-Free Wheat Bread?...

Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States, and medical experts often cite high cholesterol as one of the primary risk factors that contributes to the condition. Now, one doctor is saying that it’s all a big myth. Dr. Jonny Bowden, author of The Great Cholesterol Myth, spoke with Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, about how lowering your cholesterol may not necessarily prevent heart disease....

But the granola bar caught on and became a smash hit a few years later when Nature Valley introduced its “chewy” bars. Then, in fairly rapid succession, we saw the explosion and diversification of the category into energy bars (PowerBar, Clif Bar), nutrition bars (Balance Bar), diet and weight-loss bars (Kashi GoLean Bar, Atkins Bar, ThinkThin Bar), snack bars (Pria Bar, Odwalla Bar), protein bars (Builder’s Bar, Quest Bar), and nut-and-fruit bars (KIND Bar)....

Yogurt’s moment as the ultimate health food is still going strong. Case in point: A recent study of more than 6,500 men and women, published in Nutrition Research, found that people who ate more than two servings of yogurt a week had better overall diets, consuming more potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamins B2 and B12. They were also healthier overall, with lower levels of triglycerides and lower systolic blood pressure than those who ate yogurt less often....

According to the geniuses that regulate our food supply, saturated fat works just like trans fat to raise your bad cholesterol and up your heart attack risk. This is not only off the mark—an increasing number of studies has found that sat fat does not, in fact, increase the risk of heart disease and might even have health-giving benefits—but also beside the point, as there are more egregious ingredients that make KIND bars less healthy than packaging might imply....

We followed up with Khurram Nasir, MD, polypill researcher and Director of the Center for Prevention and Wellness Research at Baptist Health South Florida, for the scoop on this promising new treatment. What exactly is it? The polypill isn’t a new drug per se, but a new combination of several classes of medication that have already been shown to prevent heart attacks—cholesterol-lowering statins, aspirin, and one or more blood pressure-lowering medications....

Based on what we know about diet soda's main components, here's how they stack up.Least Harmful? The newly reformulated Diet Pepsi no longer has aspartame—so that may push it to the top of the list. But it still contains acesulfame potassium (ace-K), which is poorly tested, although two studies suggest it may pose a cancer risk, as well as sucralose (Splenda), which the CSPI is now approaching with caution since the authors of a forthcoming study link it to leukemia....

Chicken nutrition Let’s talk about what brought us here: lean protein. A 3-oz chicken breast has about 21 g of protein and 3.5 g of total fat per serving. Chicken also contains blood-building iron, immune-supporting zinc and magnesium, and is a rich source of B vitamins. “B vitamins help with brain function and fight fatigue, and protein supports good muscle mass,” says Laura Iu, R.D., a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified intuitive eating counselor in New York City....

PREP LIKE A PRO CHOOSE Choose a homely tomato. It will often be a good one because it’s usually either a tasty heirloom variety or organically grown. MORE: 14 Ways To Make Eating Your Veggies A Lot Less Boring CUT Cut tomatoes with a serrated bread knife to make neat slices and avoid squeezing out the juices. PEEL Peel easily by cutting an X with a paring knife on the bottom of the tomato, dipping it 30 seconds in boiling water, and then plunging it into ice water....

But you can lose weight while you watch your favorite shows with this TV-friendly circuit designed by Cindy Whitmarsh, star of the exercise video 10 Minute Solution: Target Toning for Beginners. The half-hour workout alternates between moderate cardio moves during the show and high-intensity cardio bursts and multimuscle strength exercises during commercials. To get started, you’ll need 3- to 5-pound dumbbells, a sturdy chair, and a mat. Breaks can vary, so you may need to adjust the times slightly....

American Birth Rate At Historic Low [Bloomberg] Despite the seeming ubiquity of celebrity baby bumps, American women as a whole are experiencing a historic baby bust, says a new report from the Pew Research Center. The US birth rate fell 8% from 2007 to 2010, and is at its lowest level since 1920. Why? Blame the recession, say experts, who contend that a decline in birth rate is typical during economic downturns....

“I do think of it as a dose, and when I get it, I feel better,” says Figueiro, PhD, a light researcher and an adjunct assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center in Troy, NY. Though she doesn’t have seasonal affective disorder (SAD), the so-called winter blues, Figueiro says she and most people sleep, concentrate, and feel better when exposed to a lot of light early in the day....

Even though I was a heavy smoker starting at age 12, I kicked it at 25. My lips are wrinkled, but my lungs are strong and healthy. Occasionally I fantasize about that comfort cigarettes gave me, but I’m no fool. I want the 80’s and maybe even the 90’s. We are talking good numbers there. Sometimes the odds are in our favor and sometimes they are not. My dad’s lungs are screaming at him now, but he barks back with a shrug and still lights up....

To guide you through the next four weeks, we’ve got two pros to cheer you on—and keep you sweating: Your cheerleader: Proving that happiness follows health, and to cheer you on, we tapped ultimate glow-girl Kris Carr. In the free daily emails, this best-selling author and cancer thriver—Kris has lived with stage 4 cancer for 11 years—is here to remind you why you said yes to this challenge in the first place....