Eating plenty of vegetables is a great way to balance your diet, keep your weight in check and get enough fiber, but the right type of veggies might just help prolong your life.

New research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine has linked the antioxidant alpha-carotene to a reduced risk of death.  Researchers analyzed blood samples more than fifteen thousand adults over the course of a fourteen year period looking for the effects that alpha-carotene had on health.

Participating in a regular exercise program of any kind can yield benefits for type 2 diabetes patients, but new research shows the best benefit may come by splitting gym time between cardio and resistance training.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed more than 250 previously sedentary diabetes patients for a period of nine months.  The subjects were broken into groups who performed a combination of

In January the American Heart Association published what they refer to as “Life’s Simple 7,” which is basically a series of goals that need to be met if you want to improve heart health.   The target goals include 150 minutes of exercise per week, quitting smoking, maintaining healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, achieving a target body mass index and meeting certain dietary requirements.

Many of these steps should seem familiar as doctors and health care providers have been prescribing them to patients for years as methods of attaining better health.  The percentage of Americans who seem to be heeding the advice from their health care providers is shockingly low according to a recent national survey though.

Participating in a regular exercise program yields plenty of benefits for men and women of all ages.  Many people are well aware that performing a physical activity, like walking or cycling, for just thirty minutes a day can help you to manage your weight and improve cardio vascular health.  What you might not know is just how many other health benefits that you can reap from that short and simple bout of activity per day.

A recent review of more than 40 different health studies published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice reveals that regular exercise can reduce chances for a few dozen potential health risks.  Getting up and moving on a daily basis can help ward off serious conditions like

The health benefits of quitting smoking are profound, even among long term smokers and a new study has added yet another item to that already long list of positives.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin in Madison followed nearly one thousand people who quit smoking using a number of different methods.  The subjects who were still cigarette free after a year showed a significant improvement in HDL cholesterol.  The increase in good cholesterol was even visible among subjects who gained weight over the course of the study.

The World Health Organization has performed a study in what they consider to be emerging economic nations and they have come to some interesting ideas for the war on obesity.  Some of the suggested methods for spreading awareness and reducing future health care costs include taxes on unhealthy foods, reducing food advertising and using clearer product labels.

Though the WHO study is focused primarily on countries outside of the US, there’s a good chance that

In an effort to cut down on smoking related diseases and conditions, the FDA has announced plans for new cigarette warning labels.  The new labels will be larger than current labels and will also include vivid imagery and be prefaced with “WARNING,” before one of nine very strongly worded messages.

The old, fine print warning label hasn’t been updated in a quarter of a century and it no longer seems very effective in either helping current smokers to quit or preventing new ones from taking up the habit.  The FDA is accepting comments from the public on

Researchers from Yale School of Public health have found a possible link between regular exercise and a reduced risk of endometrial cancer.  The study involved the collection detailed information from more than twelve hundred women regarding activity levels and other lifestyle characteristics.

Based on the information collected, researchers concluded that women who exercise

More than two thousand ACSM certified fitness professionals from around the globe participated in a research survey to predict next years hottest fitness trends.  There are plenty of “usual suspects” on the list, but more than a few surprises this year as well.

For starters a mainstay on the list has seemed to have fallen out of favor.  Pilates, which just a few years ago seemed to be cemented in just about every health club, is absent from the ACSM top 20 trends list for the first time in a long while.

A second, and much more positive surprise, is that “fitness for older adults” is number two on the top twenty fitness trends for 2011.  This means that all of the advice from doctors and health care providers is starting to sink in and that older Americans are ready to be proactive about maintaining their health.

A new study published in the online version of the British Journal of Sports Medicine reveals a connection between a person’s physical fitness level and their ability to ward off colds.

The study consisted of reviewing the data of more than one thousand people aged 18 to eighty five for a period of twelve weeks.  Subjects supplied information on their lifestyle, dietary habits and participation in physical exercise.

Based on the information collected in the study researchers concluded that the fittest people were at a greatly reduced