HEALTH+

How Marijuana Really Affects the Brain

Clearing the air: New science reveals that toking up may be more addictive than previously thought.  Although there’s a lot of buzz about marijuana being non-addictive, the evidence is stacking up that people can — and do — become dependent on the drug. A study released earlier this year, for example, found that 40 percent of marijuana users in an outpatient treatment program showed signs of withdrawal, a classic indicator of

Young, Fit…and Diabetic

Thirty-seven percent of Americans have “pre-diabetes,” fasting blood-sugar levels considered higher than desirable. Her sister, Sonia, had juvenile diabetes, or Type 1, which is linked to an unfortunate gene.

Why You Should Never Touch a Receipt With Clean Hands

By Ramona Emerson for Allure Clean hands are great until someone hands you a receipt. When people handled cash-register receipts after applying hand sanitizer, the level of bisphenol A (BPA) in their blood stream increased as much as tenfold, according to a new study from the University of Missouri. It’s not entirely clear how BPA affects humans, but animal studies have shown that it can disrupt hormones that are key to

Exercising and Gaining Weight? Here's What to Do

Fitness enthusiasts who haven’t seen any weight loss results in a month should reexamine their diet and activity level. Scientists at Arizona State University discovered that exercise does not, in fact, lead to sustained weight loss for most people. Their study was published in the October issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

7 Scientifically-Proven Ways to Trick Yourself into Eating Healthier

You don’t need to eat that massive handful of Hershey’s kisses to quash your chocolate craving, according to research conducted by Brian Wansink, author of Slim By Design and director of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab. Researchers found that the beverage you pair with your meal matters, setting the tone for how healthy or unhealthy your food is.

Best Diet? Look Beyond the Beauty Pageant

Can we say what diet is best? Well, not on the Today show.A study published this week in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes purportedly compared an array of “popular” diets and found that — despite a whole lot of marketing claims and clamor — none was demonstrably better than another, and none was particularly good.The study,…