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(HealthDay News) — Everyone needs some salt to help maintain the body’s balance of fluids. But too much salt may cause you to retain fluids and raise your blood pressure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.
About 75 percent of the salt you consume is from processed foods, the FDA says.

The agency offers these tips to lower salt intake:

• • Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Eat foods that are rich in potassium, including leafy green veggies and bananas. Potassium can help lessen the effects of sodium on blood pressure.
  • Season food with herbs and spices, instead of salt.
  • Opt for unsalted snacks.
  • Read food labels and select foods low in sodium.

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved.

(HealthDay News) — There are plenty of ways to encourage kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. Here are the agency’s suggestions: Create smoothies with fat-free or low-fat yogurt with fruit pieces and crushed ice. Use fresh, frozen, canned or even overripe fruit, such as bananas, berries, peaches or pineapple. Let your kids dip fruit and vegetables in a dip. Make fun kabobs resembling caterpillars by assembling chunks of melon, apple, orange and pear on skewers. For a raw veggie version, use zucchini, cucumber, squash, sweet peppers or tomatoes. Make personal pizzas with whole-wheat English muffins, bagels or pita bread as the crust. Add tomato sauce, low-fat cheese and cut-up vegetables or fruit for toppings. Assemble a fruity peanut butterfly by using carrot sticks or celery for the body and attaching wings made of thinly sliced apples with peanut butter. Decorate with halved grapes...

TUESDAY, Feb. 19, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The electronic babysitter is alive and thriving in the new digital age. A new study says it all: Children under the age of 2 spend twice the amount of time in front of a screen each day — almost three hours, to be exact — as they did 20 years ago. Kids are being exposed to far more screen time than recommended by pediatric experts, the researchers added. That screen was most often a TV set, with the television viewing of toddlers rising fivefold between 1997 and 2014, the study findings showed. Children aged 3 to 5 actually spent less time on screens than younger kids, around two-and-a-half hours per day, with no significant change between 1997 and 2014, according to the report. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages all media use for kids younger than 2, and recommends limiting screen time for...

TUESDAY, Feb. 19, 2019 (HealthDay News) — More primary care doctors mean longer life for patients, but a shortage of these physicians is looming, a new study finds. Why? Fewer medical students are choosing primary care as a career, mostly because of money, the researchers noted. However, every 10 additional primary care doctors per 100,000 Americans was associated with a nearly 52-day increase in life expectancy from 2005 to 2015. In contrast, 10 more specialists per 100,000 increased life expectancy by only 19 days, the researchers found. “Primary care physicians serve as the primary point of contact for most of the population and often perform preventive care, cancer screening and early diagnosis,” said study lead author Dr. Sanjay Basu. He’s an assistant professor of medicine and health research and policy at Stanford University in California. But according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, a dramatic shortfall of primary care...

TUESDAY, Feb. 19, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Upper body strength is important at every age, but you don’t need to be a bodybuilder to benefit from working your pectoral, or chest, muscles. For a study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, scientists from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse evaluated nine popular pec exercises to determine which ones best engaged these muscles. Popular Pec Strength-Training Exercises Barbell bench press Pec dec machine Bent-forward cable crossover Chest press machine Inclined dumbbell flys Dips Push-ups To develop muscle size, the barbell bench press is at the very top of the list, followed closely by the pec deck machine and the bent-forward cable crossover. Here’s how to perform the barbell bench press. Lie with your back flat on a weight bench. Knees are bent at the far end of the bench with feet flat on the floor. Grip the barbell with both...

(HealthDay News) — Electrolytes are minerals in the body that have an electric charge. They are in your blood, urine, tissues and body fluids.
Sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine, phosphate and magnesium are types of electrolytes that are absorbed from foods you eat and fluids you drink.

The U.S. Library of Medicine mentions these roles of electrolytes:

• • Balance the amount of water in your body.
  • Balance your body’s acid/base (pH).
  • Move nutrients into your cells.
  • Move wastes from your cells.
  • Help make sure the nerves, muscles, heart and brain work properly.

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved.

(HealthDay News) — Infertility affects about 1 in 10 couples that are trying to have a baby, the U.S. National Institutes of Health says.
Advancing age is a prime cause of infertility, but there are other factors that are more under a person’s control, the agency says, including:

• • Alcohol consumption.
  • Smoking.
  • Environmental toxins, including pesticides and lead.
  • Certain medicines.
  • Radiation treatment and chemotherapy.
  • Stress.
  • Poor diet.
  • Being overweight.
  • Sexually transmitted infections.

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved.

THURSDAY, Feb. 14, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Sure, he may snore. She may steal the covers. But if a relationship is solid, your partner will help you sleep better this Valentine’s Day and far into the future, a new study suggests. Good relationships in early adulthood seemed to lead to less disruptive life events, which in turn appeared to lead to better sleep years later, researchers report. “Your partners can have a huge impact on your stress and health behaviors. They can be a source of stress or a reducer of stress,” explained study author Chloe Huelsnitz. She’s a Ph.D. candidate in the department of psychology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. So, how does being in a satisfying partnership affect sleep? Are people more content, or is a good relationship just a sign that you have better people skills that help reduce your stress throughout life? “It’s probably...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 13, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Social media is now a key part of American youngsters’ lives, so parents need to provide guidance and rules to help them enjoy its benefits and protect them from potential dangers, experts say. Social media can help kids connect and find others who share their interests and concerns, SAY specialists at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Health Network, which comprises more than 160 pediatricians. But those benefits come with potential threats. Among them: cyberbullying and cyberstalking, exposure to inappropriate content, distraction from homework, social isolation, privacy issues, and anxiety caused by unrealistic comparisons with others. While kids can have social media accounts starting at age 13, it’s best to keep them off social media for as long as possible, said Dr. Bhavana Arora, medical director of the network. When children do start using social media, parents should talk with them about rules and...

TUESDAY, Feb. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Many more American men are now saying no to surgery for low-risk prostate cancer, and choosing to monitor the disease instead, a new study finds. Over just five years, researchers found, the number of men who opted for monitoring tripled — from 14 percent of patients in 2010, to 42 percent in 2015. The shift followed new guidelines advocating “active surveillance” as an option for men with low-risk prostate cancer. That refers to small, slow-growing tumors that are unlikely to progress to the point of threatening a man’s life. Active surveillance involves periodic blood tests and exams, and possibly biopsies, to see if the cancer is progressing. Treatment might eventually be recommended, or it might never be necessary. Cancer experts said the turning tide is good news. “In medicine, change generally happens very slowly,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, chief medical officer of the...

TUESDAY, Feb. 12, 2019 (American Heart Association News) — Every year, Americans spend $22 billion on chocolate, and it’s a safe bet that Valentine’s Day accounts for a decent percentage of that total. While a heart-shaped box of chocolates may seem like the opposite of healthy, experts say it’s less about the occasional small indulgence and more about making good everyday food choices. Most chocolate falls into one of three categories: milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate. Chocolate’s darkness is determined by the proportion of cocoa solids made from cocoa beans, mixed with cocoa butter and sugar. Milk chocolate, the most popular type in America, typically contains about 10 percent cocoa liquor — the paste made from ground, roasted, shelled and fermented cocoa beans that contains both nonfat cocoa solids and cocoa butter — compared with a minimum of 35 percent found in dark chocolate. Shoppers can tell how...

TUESDAY, Feb. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Physical activity is closely linked to development of a child’s mental skills — ones essential to academic success and navigating challenges they’ll face throughout life. Studies show that boosts in thinking ability, or executive function, often follow bouts of activity. But only one-third of children are physically active every day. Less than half the time they spend in school activities — like physical education, team practices and even games — includes movement that qualifies as physical activity. This shortfall means that their physical health, as well as their mental skills, may suffer. Some problems can begin during the preschool years if youngsters don’t get the activity they need for motor skill development. A 4- or 5-year-old needs 30 minutes of exercise every day. In addition to other benefits, this amount of exercise can also help kids who are overweight stem further fat increases....