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TUESDAY, Feb. 26, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Nuts and seeds are often mentioned in the same breath, but nuts seem to get all the attention. Time to stop overlooking seeds — they might be tiny, but they pack in a lot of nutrients. They’re also tasty and some make a filling snack. Like nuts, seeds have protein, carbohydrates and fats. Because of their fat content, they’re calorie-dense, and a half-ounce — weighed without the shell, about one tablespoon — is equivalent to an ounce of protein. Flax seeds are especially good for you because of their high omega-3 content and both soluble and insoluble fiber. To get the most benefits, buy them whole, keep them in the fridge and grind them as you need them (not in advance) — easily done in a coffee bean grinder. Besides sprinkling ground flax on cereal and yogurt, add it to smoothies, ground meat...

(HealthDay News) — As days become shorter and the weather becomes colder, it is not uncommon to have depression-like symptoms.
For those with the winter blues, the American Psychological Association offers ways to manage symptoms:

• • Immerse yourself in daylight by going for a walk, or sitting by a window.
  • Eat healthy, low sugar meals.
  • Spend time with friends and family.
  • Stay active by exercising or scheduling pleasant activities.
  • Seek professional help if symptoms worsen.

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved.

(HealthDay News) — Flu season is in full swing. Thousands of children under the age of 5 have been hospitalized for the flu in the last decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The CDC suggests following these precautions to protect younger children:

• • Keep yourself and the child away from people who are sick.
  • If you have flu-like symptoms, avoid contact with the child.
  • Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze.
  • Try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth.
  • Disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the home.

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved.

MONDAY, Feb. 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) — When parents abuse prescription painkillers, their teenagers may follow their example, a new study finds. The study of thousands of U.S. teenagers found that kids were 30 percent more likely to abuse prescription opioids if one of their parents had. The results mirror what’s been seen in past studies of substance use, including cigarette smoking: When parents do it, their kids are more likely to do it. But this is the first study to look at those patterns when it comes to prescription opioid abuse, said senior researcher Denise Kandel, a professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. In the current opioid crisis, much of the spotlight is now on illegal drugs like heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl. But the roots of the epidemic go back to the 1990s, when prescriptions for opioid painkillers — like Vicodin...

MONDAY, Feb. 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) — If supermarket circulars influence your grocery shopping, you could be saving money at the expense of your health. That’s because studies show the offerings are often far from the healthiest food choices. Researchers looked at a year’s worth of circulars from a small Midwestern grocery chain to see how the nutritional quality of sale items compared to that of the average American diet, which itself scores low. They found that sales reflected a tendency to eat too much protein and not enough fruits and vegetables. While 25 percent of sale items were for protein-based foods, only 8 percent were for vegetables and 7 percent for fruits. Worse still, less than 3 percent were for the most healthful dark green, red and orange vegetables. So, it’s important not to let these circulars dictate your eating habits. Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost as much...

MONDAY, Feb. 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Kids can be as strongly influenced by TV commercials as by the shows themselves, and many studies have found that tempting food ads have a particularly harmful effect, contributing to childhood obesity. While the government has stepped in with nutrition guidelines for manufacturers, these are largely voluntary and, therefore, not enforceable. So it’s up to parents to be vigilant. It might seem like the odds are stacked against you. According to a study in the journal Childhood Obesity, most food and beverage products in ads seen by 2- to 11-year-olds during kids’ programming don’t meet the guidelines of the government’s Interagency Working Group. The panel includes representatives of the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. Plus, less than half of TV ads during kids’ programming meet the guidelines...

THURSDAY, Feb. 21, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Infections with two strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) are showing marked declines among American women, and rising vaccination rates could be driving the trend. That’s the finding from a new study involving thousands of U.S. women who tested positive for precancerous conditions of the cervix. Infection with HPV is by far the leading cause of cervical cancer, and it has also been tied to genital warts and cancers of the mouth, throat, vulva, vagina and anus. But the new study finds that rates of infection with HPV 16 or 18 — the two strains most heavily implicated in cervical cancer — have markedly declined between 2008 and 2014. It’s during those years that rates of the use of HPV vaccines such as Gardasil and Cervarix became more widespread. Both vaccines target HPV 16 and 18, among other strains. The bottom...

THURSDAY, Feb. 21, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Fast-food restaurants get a bad rap for menus chockful of high-fat, high-salt foods with little nutrition. But are fast casual and sit-down chains better? The answer may surprise you. A University of South Carolina study looked at the calories in lunch and dinner entrees and found that fast-casual dishes had, on average, 200 more calories than fast-food ones — 760 compared to 560. Menus at fast-casual restaurants also have more high-calorie options to tempt you. But the study didn’t look at whether these higher calorie choices are healthier. For instance, a whole-wheat roll might have more calories than a fast-food white burger bun, but it could also have more nutrients. Researchers at Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia focused on both nutrients and calories of 2,600 menu items served at local full-service restaurant chains. They found that choices in general...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Interacting with lots of different people may help you live longer and healthier, a new study suggests. Older people who spend more time with family members, close friends, acquaintances, casual friends and even strangers were more likely to be physically active, spend less time sitting or lying around and have a more positive attitude and fewer negative feelings, the researchers found. “Adults often grow less physically active and more sedentary as they age, and these behaviors pose a risk factor for disease and death,” said study author Karen Fingerman. She’s a professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Fingerman said that it can be hard to get people to exercise, but it might be easier to get them to reach out to acquaintances, go on group events or talk to the people who serve in restaurants....

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20, 2019 (HealthDay News) — A half-hour of morning exercise can help control blood pressure in overweight and obese people for the entire day, a new study finds. And for women in particular, adding frequent short breaks from sitting through the day can offer additional benefit, the Australian researchers said. “For both men and women, the magnitude of reduction in average systolic blood pressure following exercise and breaks in sitting approached what might be expected from antihypertensive medication,” said lead author Michael Wheeler. “However, this reduction was greater for women,” he added. Wheeler is a member of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne. The research involved 67 people between the ages of 55 and 80 who did three different laboratory sessions, in random order, separated by at least six days. Those sessions included: uninterrupted sitting for eight hours; one hour of sitting prior to 30 minutes...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20, 2019 (HealthDay News) — As excited as you are that your teen’s going to college, it’s normal to have mixed emotions, such as anxiety, sadness and possibly depression. It’s even normal to feel envious that his or her life is just beginning while yours is on the wane. For most parents, this rush of emotions will pass, but both generations might have to work to ease the transition, especially if your child is also experiencing a mix of joy and apprehension, which often manifests as bickering with mom and dad. Parents will need to loosen the reins and acknowledge that their child is his or her own person and may not see eye-to-eye with them on everything anymore. Realize that this is a natural progression in their development, not a rejection of you or an end to your closeness. And take comfort in the fact that most...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20, 2019 — (HealthDay News) — Dense root vegetables such as sweet potatoes and parsnips benefit from roasting. They sweeten as they cook, making for healthy comfort food during cold winter months. Follow these general steps for any hard vegetables: Start by cutting them into uniform pieces, so they’ll roast and brown evenly. (Otherwise, you can end up with either burnt or undercooked pieces.) Next, toss the vegetables in a healthy cooking oil like olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt, which helps to bring out their sweetness. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Then spread the vegetables evenly so that all pieces will brown at the same rate. Roast in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until tender. The high temperature is key to bringing out the sweet flavor — plus it gets dinner on the table faster. Serve roasted...