Health : The Truth About Protien

If you are what you eat, what does that make a vegan? A string-bean, milquetoast kind of a guy? Of course not—and renowned strength coach Robert dos Remedios, a vegan, is strong evidence to the contrary. Really strong.
But most men eat animal products. And we really do become what we eat. Our skin, bones, hair, and nails are composed mostly of protein. Plus, animal products fuel the muscle-growing process called protein synthesis. That's why Rocky chugged eggs before his a.m. runs. Since those days, nutrition scientists have done plenty of research. Read up before you chow down.
 
Truth #1: You Need More

Think big. Most adults would benefit from eating more than the recommended daily intake of 56 grams, says Donald Layman, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois. The benefit goes beyond muscles, he says: Protein dulls hunger and can help prevent obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

How much do you need? Step on a scale and be honest with yourself about your workout regimen. According to Mark Tarnopolsky, M.D., Ph.D., who studies exercise and nutrition at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, highly trained athletes thrive on 0.77 gram of daily protein per pound of body weight. That's 139 grams for a 180-pound man.

8 Foods That Pack on Muscle

Men who work out 5 or more days a week for an hour or longer need 0.55 gram per pound. And men who work out 3 to 5 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour need 0.45 gram per pound. So a 180-pound guy who works out regularly needs about 80 grams of protein a day.

Now, if you're trying to lose weight, protein is still crucial. The fewer calories you consume, the more calories should come from protein, says Layman. You need to boost your protein intake to between 0.45 and 0.68 gram per pound to preserve calorie-burning muscle mass.

And no, that extra protein won't wreck your kidneys: "Taking in more than the recommended dose won't confer more benefit. It won't hurt you, but you'll just burn it off as extra energy," Dr. Tarnopolsky says.

Truth #2: It’s Not All The Same

Many foods, including nuts and beans, can provide a good dose of protein. But the best sources are dairy products, eggs, meat, and fish, Layman says. Animal protein is complete—it contains the right proportions of the essential amino acids your body can't synthesize on its own.

It's possible to build complete protein from plant-based foods by combining legumes, nuts, and grains at one meal or over the course of a day. But you'll need to consume 20 to 25 percent more plant-based protein to reap the benefits that animal-derived sources provide, says Dr. Tarnopolsky. And beans and legumes have carbs that make it harder to lose weight.

So if protein can help keep weight off, is a chicken wing dipped in blue-cheese dressing a diet secret? Not quite: Total calories still count. Scale down your fat and carbohydrate intake to make room for lean protein: eggs, low-fat milk, yogurt, lean meat, and fish.

But remember, if you're struggling with your weight, fat itself is not the culprit; carbs are the likely problem. Fat will help keep you full, while carbs can put you on a blood-sugar roller coaster that leaves you hungry later.

The Carb-Lover’s Survival Guide

Truth #3: Timing Is Everything

"At any given moment, even at rest, your body is breaking down and building protein," says Jeffrey Volek, Ph.D., R.D., a nutrition and exercise researcher at the University of Connecticut. Every time you eat at least 30 grams of protein, Layman says, you trigger a burst of protein synthesis that lasts about 3 hours.

But think about it: When do you eat most of your protein? At dinner, right? That means you could be fueling muscle growth for only a few hours a day, and breaking down muscle the rest of the time, Layman says. Instead, you should spread out your protein intake.

Your body can process only so much protein in a single sitting. A recent study from the University of Texas found that consuming 90 grams of protein at one meal provides the same benefit as eating 30 grams. It's like a gas tank, says study author Douglas Paddon-Jones, Ph.D.: "There's only so much you can put in to maximize performance; the rest is spillover."

Eating protein at all three meals—plus snacking two or three times a day on proteins such as cheese, jerky, and milk—will help you eat less overall. People who start the day with a protein-rich breakfast consume 200 fewer calories a day than those who chow down on a carb-heavy breakfast, like a jam-smeared bagel. Ending the day with a steak dinner doesn't have the same appetite-quenching effect, Layman says.

Truth #4: Workouts Require Food

Every guy in the gym knows he should consume some protein after a workout. But how much, and when? "When you work out, your muscles are primed to respond to protein," Volek says, "and you have a window of opportunity to promote muscle growth."

Volek recommends splitting your dose of protein, eating half 30 minutes before the workout and the other half 30 minutes after. A total of 10 to 20 grams of protein is ideal, he says. And wrap a piece of bread around that turkey, because carbs can raise insulin; this slows protein breakdown, which speeds muscle growth after your workout. Moreover, you won't use your stored protein for energy; you'll rely instead on the carbs to replenish you.

One study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, pinpointed 20 grams as the best amount of postworkout protein to maximize muscle growth. (See 5 Perfect Protein-Packed Gym Snacks.)

You're doing this because resistance exercise breaks down muscle. This requires a fresh infusion of amino acids to repair and build it. "If you're lifting weights and you don't consume protein, it's almost counterproductive," says Volek. Protein also helps build enzymes that allow your body to adapt to endurance sports like running and biking.

Truth #5: Powders Are For Everyone

Everyone—not just muscleheads—can benefit from the quick hit of amino acids provided by a protein supplement, bar, or shake. Your best bet is a fast-absorbing, high-quality kind like whey protein powder (derived from milk): "It appears in your bloodstream 15 minutes after you consume it," Volek says.

Whey protein is also the best source of leucine, an amino acid that behaves more like a hormone in your body: "It's more than a building block of protein—it actually activates protein synthesis," Volek says. Whey contains 10 percent leucine while other animal-based proteins have as little as 5 percent.

Casein, another milk protein sold in supplement form, provides a slower-absorbing but more sustained source of amino acids, making it a great choice for a snack before you hit the sack. "Casein should help you maintain a positive protein balance during the night," says Volek. Building muscle while you sleep? Thanks to protein, anything's possible.

Life : 8 signs that you’re getting old

Unfortunately, no one can stay a vibrant twenty-something forever. Unless you’ve got a pass to Neverland ranch eventually you’re forced to grow up. As the days pass us by, we’re treated to some not-so-subtle reminders, that slowly but surely, we’re getting pretty damn old. Here are eight signs that let you know that no matter how much you ignore it, you’re getting closer and closer to the day when you’re that angry old guy shooing kids off your lawn with a hose.

8 Throwing out your back
You never really know how often your back is utilized until you lose all usage of it. One can blow out their back in a variety of ways: an ill-timed attempt at picking up some luggage, a rough tackle in a pick-up football game, sleeping at a bizarre angle, and many many more. The pain itself is excruciating, but the toughest part of throwing out your back is the embarrassing amount that you’ll need someone to help you do pretty much everything. Nothing says you’re getting old like needing someone to help you get up and go to the bathroom.

7 Doing your own taxes
Once upon a time, you would hear your parents gripe to their adult friends about taxes, and how April 15th was the worst day of the year. Flash forward a couple of decades and now you can hear yourself grumbling about the same stuff. If you know exactly where your receipts are, as well as what your W-4s and W-9s actually mean; then congratulations, you’re worried about something that would confuse anyone under the age of 22.

6 Staying in on a Saturday night
Something that 97% of college kids would equate to blasphemy, staying at home on a weekend evening is a double-edged sword. On one hand, not going out has a positive effect on your liver, wallet, and general health. Maybe you’ll even get some extra work accomplished with all this non-drinking time on your hands. But on the other hand: when all’s said and done, are you going to fondly look back on all those Saturday nights you spent watching LOST on DVD?

5 You start watching the nightly news
Maybe back in the day, you took a cursory glance at the daily news just to make sure you still knew who was president and stuff. But if you’re constantly tuning into the 7pm news to hear the day’s events from your local anchors, then you’ve officially become your parents. It’s not that you don’t want to stay up until 11 to watch Jon Stewart make light of the world’s events, but sometimes 11 is just too late for your tired bones. Which brings us to our next condemning sign…

4 Going to sleep before midnight every night
Yes, it’s fun to be a night owl. Chatting on Gmail or AIM with your buddies until the wee hours of the morning may feel good, but damn some people have work in the morning. On the day where you turn off your XBox, despite the fact that you’re this close to finding a new weapon in Call of Duty, at 10 is the day that you can officially say goodbye to your vibrant youth. Sure, sleep feels good but man who knows how far you would have gotten at that level if you just kept at it?

3 You keep plants in your house
There must have been a time where you lived in such squalid conditions that even a cactus would have been starved to death. But now since you’re all responsible and stuff, there are various potted plants dressing up your pad. Taking care of plants takes a certain level of responsibility that most guys just do not have in their youth. There’s the watering, the sunlight…and that’s pretty much it. But the point here is that you have to care enough about a plant to keep it alive.

2 There is more food than alcohol in your fridge
In college, for most of us, food was mostly an afterthought. A box of half-eaten, cold pizza, some sandwiches, chips, whatever. What filled up the fridges back in the day was 18 racks of the cheapest swill money could buy. Whether it was Natty Light, Miller High Life, or some weird local brew, beer and alcohol always took up more real estate than food. Nowadays if you open your fridge and find that you’ve got more types of cheese and breads than food–well, congrats buddy you’ve moved to the next stage in life.

1 You have gray hair
This is it. Your body is breaking down, one hair follicle at a time. The once lush colors you had are slowly going away to a lifeless gray. Sure, Clooney makes it look really good, but for most people that aren’t international movie sensations, this sucks. You can color your hair sure, but that’s only delaying the inevitable. Happy trails sir.

Health : 6 Reasons to Take a Walk

As anyone who makes a habit of regularly walking knows, it makes you feel good. Swinging your arms and stepping briskly on a nature path, sandy beach, or treadmill makes you feel energized and works the body. What’s more, recent medical research gives you lots of reasons to step out. From staving off stroke to keeping your GI tract in working order, here’s the latest on why a regular brisk walk should be part of your day.

1. Live longer

The faster you walk, the longer you likely will live. That’s the conclusion of a report revealing a strong correlation between walking pace and expected survival rates for people older than 65. The average gait speed of the 34,485 participants from nine studies included in the analysis was three feet per second, but University of Pittsburgh researchers found the faster participants lived longer.

"Walking requires energy, movement control, and support, and places demands on multiple organ systems, including the heart, lungs, circulatory, nervous, and musculoskeletal systems," the researchers recently wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Slowing gait may reflect both damaged systems and a high energy cost of walking."

2. Fight dementia

Walk six miles a day and prevent brain shrinkage and dementia. A study of nearly 300 people in Pittsburgh who kept track of how much they walked each week showed that those who walked at least six miles had less age-related brain shrinkage than people who walked less.

Researchers reporting last fall in the journal Neurology said more studies need to be done on the effects of exercise on dementia, but because there are no effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease, walking may be one thing people can do now that may help in the future.

3. Battle breast cancer

Women who regularly take brisk walks have a lower breast cancer risk after menopause, a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests. Researchers reviewed data collected from nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women and found that those who walked briskly for at least an hour a day (or an equal amount of activity) were 15 percent less likely to get breast cancer than women who walked less than one hour per week. And those who got little exercise but increased their activity level after menopause were 10 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who remained sedentary.

Physical activity "is one of the few breast cancer risk factors that women can do something about," study author Dr. A. Heather Eliassen told Reuters Health. "And it's never too late."

4. Soothe your tummy

Move regularly and calm an irritated bowel. In a study of 102 adults with irritable bowel syndrome, 43 percent of those who got 20 to 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise — like brisk walking or biking — three to five days a week showed significant improvement in their symptoms of cramps, diarrhea, bloating, and constipation. Only a quarter of the participants who maintained their regular lifestyle reported improvements.

Researchers, whose work recently appeared in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, noted previous studies have shown that exercise can relieve gas and constipation by getting the digestive system moving.

5. Slash your stroke risk

Reduce your stroke risk — one step at a time. A study of 39,000 healthy women 45 and older found that those who walked two or more hours a week had a lower risk of stroke than those who walked less than two hours a week. The most active women were 17 percent less likely to have a stroke, compared with the least active. And those who walked more than two hours per week were 30 percent less apt to suffer a stroke than those who didn’t walk at all.

"More active people generally demonstrate a 25 to 30 percent lower risk of stroke," Jacob Sattelmair, the study's lead researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health, told Reuters Health.

6. Protect your prostate

Even moderate exercise — like walking — may lower your risk for prostate cancer. In a study published in 2009 in the Journal of Urology, researchers from Duke University Medical Center found that among 190 men who underwent prostate cancer biopsies, those who regularly exercised were less likely to be diagnosed with the disease than sedentary men. Moderate exercisers—those who exercised the equivalent of three or more hours a week—were two-thirds less likely to have prostate cancer compared with those who were inactive.

Exercise decreases the amount of testosterone and other hormones that help prostate tumors grow, and bolsters the immune system, researchers noted, which may help explain the findings.

Health : Science Has Found the Best Way to Cure Your Hangover

Finally, a reason for science to exist: A researcher in Philadelphia (of course!) has discovered the single most effective cure for a hangover. And it's really pretty simple.

Coffee and aspirin. That's it! So much simpler than my current cures of "building a time machine and preventing myself from drinking the night before," and, if that fails, "staring at the wall until the day is over." This is all according to Thomas Jefferson University's Michael Oshinsky, who, no joke, gave rats hangovers:

Ethanol brings on headaches thanks to a chemical acetate it can produce and even low doses can affect some people more than others, said the study.

Professor Michael Oshinsky, of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, induced headaches in rats using small amounts of ethanol.

He then gave them doses of caffeine and anti-inflammatories to find it blocked the acetate and relieved the headaches.

Is this real? Well, it's science, so it has to be! But what does it mean?

For one thing, that dehydration isn't the cause of hangovers—the rats Oshinksy got drunk weren't dehydrated—so don't worry about coffee further dehydrating you. For another, all the weird cures your roommate is always trying to make you take—"A raw-egg-and-vodka wheatgrass shot? And I have to drink it from the opposite side of the glass? Are you sure about this?"—aren't even as effective as what your grandfather (and grandmother) were taking.

But, okay, okay, I know you have the best cure, no matter what this Oshinsky fraud says, and all you need is a pound of bacon, a single eagle feather, a willing human sacrifice, and DVDs of the second season of Battlestar Galactica.

Apple Says Steve Jobs Will Take a New Medical Leave

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Steven P. Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive of Apple, is taking a medical leave of absence, a year and a half after his return from a liver transplant, raising questions about both his long-term prognosis and the future of the world’s most valuable technology company.

Mr. Jobs, who recovered from pancreatic cancer after surgery in 2004, is going on leave at a critical time for Apple.

While the company has outflanked most of its rivals in the technology industry, creating a string of products like the iPhone and the iPad that have been blockbuster hits with consumers, it is also facing ever more intense competition from giants like Google, Microsoft and Samsung. Some of those rivals have narrowed Apple’s lead or even surpassed the company by some measures.

Mr. Jobs’s leave is certain to cause anxiety with investors and even consumers. Perhaps more than any other chief executive, he is seen as inseparable from his company’s success.

“He may the most vital C.E.O. of our era,” said Michael Useem, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and director of its Center for Leadership and Change Management.

Mr. Jobs is known for his hands-on management style and his obsessive attention to the most minute details of Apple’s products. He is also credited with anticipating the needs of consumers time and again, leading Apple to create one breakthrough product after another.

Mr. Jobs, who is 55, announced his leave on Monday in a letter to employees that said he was stepping aside “so I can focus on my health” but would continue to be involved in major strategic decisions at the company.

“I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can,” Mr. Jobs wrote in the letter, which was made public by Apple.

As during his prior medical leave in 2009, Timothy D. Cook, 50, the company’s chief operating officer, will run day-to-day operations, Mr. Jobs said.

“I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011,” Mr. Jobs said in the message.

Unlike his prior leave, when Apple said Mr. Jobs would be gone for six months, this time Mr. Jobs did not say how long he expected to be out. Analysts said the leave raised questions as to whether Mr. Jobs would come back to lead Apple.

“It raises the bigger question about whether he’ll ever return,” said Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.

Medical experts said that people who have had a liver transplant often suffer from a variety of medical problems that are not life-threatening.

A person with knowledge of the situation said that Mr. Jobs suffers from immune system issues common with people who have received liver transplants and that, as a result, his health suffers from frequent “ups and downs.”

In recent weeks, Mr. Jobs began a down cycle and slowed his activities at Apple, said the person, who refused to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss Mr. Jobs’s condition. Mr. Jobs has been coming to the office about two days a week and has appeared increasingly emaciated, the person said. He has frequently had lunch in his office, rather than in the company cafeteria, the person said.

During his prior leave of absence, Apple kept details of Mr. Jobs’s health private, prompting criticism among some shareholders who contended that the company had an obligation to be more forthcoming with information.

In his message to the staff on Monday, Mr. Jobs said, “My family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.”

An Apple spokeswoman, Katie Cotton, said Apple would have no further comment beyond Mr. Jobs’s statement.

Apple’s stock immediately dipped on foreign exchanges Monday, falling almost 7 percent in Germany. Financial markets in the United States are closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King’s Birthday.

“It is natural that investors will expect the worse,” said Charles Wolf, an analyst with Needham & Company, noting that Apple has a history of “minimal disclosure” and “obfuscating” details about Mr. Jobs’s health.

Mr. Wolf said that regardless of whether Mr. Jobs returns to Apple, the company would probably continue doing well for the foreseeable future, though its long-term prospects are more uncertain.

“Right now Apple has a management team that is one of the greatest in American business,” Mr. Wolf said. “Whatever trajectory the company is on will continue for two to five years, regardless of whether Steve comes back.”

Still Apple faces increasing competition, especially in the smartphone market, where handsets powered by Google’s Android software recently began outselling the iPhone in the United States. Some analysts said the rise of Android led to Apple’s recent decision to begin offering the iPhone on Verizon Wireless starting next month, ending more than three years of exclusivity on AT&T.

Apple also faces sharper competition in tablet computers. The company’s iPad, introduced last spring, became an instant hit with consumers. But less than a year later, companies like Samsung, Research in Motion and others have introduced or announced a string of credible competitors.

Analysts said that during Mr. Jobs’s 2009 leave, Mr. Cook successfully steered the company as it developed critical products like the iPhone 4 and the iPad.

“Last time, Tim elevated his status with shareholders and employees,” Mr. Sacconaghi said. “The company did very well in Steve’s absence and various constituencies were pleased with that.”

In January 2009, Mr. Jobs went on a medical leave. During the leave Mr. Jobs secretly flew to Tennessee for a liver transplant.

In June 2009, Apple said Mr. Jobs was back at work, and he reappeared in public for the first time in September of that year. While he was energetic and exhibited his unique brand of salesmanship as he unveiled new products during 90-minute event, he continued to look gaunt. Since then, Mr. Jobs has headlined a string of product introductions, including the iPhone 4 and the iPad and a new line of MacBook Air laptops, where he was equally energetic and focused, but still looked frail.

At one such event in July 2010, a reporter asked Mr. Jobs about his health, and he replied, “I’m feeling great.”

In recent months, he has looked increasingly frail, according to people who have seen him.

Dr. Lewis Teperman, the director of transplant surgery and vice chairman of surgery at the Langone Medical Center of New York University, said a variety of problems could affect someone with a liver transplant. Dr. Teperman has not been involved in Mr. Jobs’s care and said he had no knowledge of the case.

“It’s very common for transplant patients to have issues that are not life-threatening,” Dr. Teperman said. “We give them very strong, high-powered medications, immunosuppressants, to prevent rejection. It’s a delicate balance, more art than science.”

Side effects from the drugs can make patients ill, and sometimes the regimen has to be changed, a process that can take days and weeks. The side effects include high blood sugar and diabetes, kidney damage, diarrhea, high blood pressure, high blood fats and cholesterol, rashes and low counts of white blood cells. The drugs leave patients prone to infection.

Rejection of the transplanted liver is also a possibility, but Dr. Teperman said it was extremely rare for a liver transplant to be totally rejected.

The original reason for Mr. Jobs’s transplant was never publicly disclosed. At the time, doctors not involved in his case said the most likely reason was that his pancreatic cancer had spread to his liver. If that was the case, it is possible that cancer has recurred; the anti-rejection drugs can increase the odds of cancer recurrence. A recurrence may be treatable. But so little information has been disclosed that it is impossible to tell, Dr. Teperman said.

“There are lots of bumps in the road with transplantations, and people usually get through them,” Dr. Teperman said.

Health : 6 Uncommon Cures for Everyday Ailments

If you believe Johanna Brandt, she discovered an uncommon cure for cancer roughly 80 years ago while living in South Africa. The remedy: grapes. Bunches of them. In fact, all you can eat, because, well, grapes are all you can eat for 1 to 2 weeks, if you follow the plan outlined in Brandt's 1928 book The Grape Cure. Proof? She claims to have conquered her stomach cancer with the power of purple.

Needless to say, the medical establishment never swallowed grapes as the answer to cancer. And yet, as extreme—and potentially dangerous—as Brandt's prescription may be, today's researchers are uncovering compelling evidence that natural chemicals in the fruit of Vitis vinifera could help prevent and, yes, even treat certain types of tumors in mice. Granted, you wouldn't want to stake your life on a rodent in remission, but there are other examples of modern science finding that some really odd antidotes might be just crazy enough to work.

Bad back? Plug in your headphones. Bad breath? Screw in a lightbulb. These are two of the six strange-but-true treatments that we went from Australia to Israel to Ohio to gather. We aren't promising that any of these uncommon remedies will cure cancer, but they are guaranteed to be completely seedless.

Use a Didgeridoo for Sleep Apnea

"A didgeri-what?" you ask. While aborigines in Australia have been playing this long wooden trumpet for centuries, it's just recently been redefined as a modern-day medical device.

Researchers reporting in the British Medical Journal evaluated 25 people with sleep apnea—a breath-stealing condition caused by flabby throat muscles—and found that those who took 4 months of didgeridoo (DIH-jeh-ree-doo) lessons had about 31/2 times less daytime sleepiness than the folks who didn't blow their own horns. The newly minted musicians also snored significantly less.

Credit this uncommon cure to vibrations that exercise tissue in the mouth and throat, says researcher Milo Puhan, Ph.D. "When these muscles are strengthened, the tongue has less tendency to obstruct the airway."

Make it work for you: If huffing on a wooden tube to treat your sleep apnea sounds a tad too weird, then you probably aren't familiar with the alternatives. The most commonly prescribed option is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which involves spending every night hooked up to a machine that pumps air down your throat to keep it from collapsing. The other approach is surgery, and that's only 30 to 60 percent effective.

Now are you ready to toot the didgeridoo? You can pick up a beginner-friendly model for about $80 at L.A. Outback (laoutback.com). And don't worry; it's intuitive to learn, says co-owner Barry Martin. You purse your lips and blow into it with the beat.

Text to Quit Smoking

Any time you want a Marlboro, reach for your Motorola instead. Researchers at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, compared how well two groups of smokers were doing in their attempts to quit. They discovered that those who received daily text messages containing tips on beating cravings plus motivational words from other quitters were twice as likely to kick ash as the people who went textless. What's more, rates of quitting for the cell-supported group remained high after 6 months.

"People tend to carry their phones with them at all times, so it's a readily accessible means of providing cessation assistance," says study author Robyn Whittaker, M.D. "It's also relatively anonymous and confidential."

Make it work for you: When you're finally ready to stub your cigs, set a quit date and then go to backpackit.com, where you can write text messages to yourself and have them sent on preset days and times. Or, to prevent you from predicting every missive, you can use random delivery options, such as "later today" and "tomorrow morning." Either way, include words of encouragement and reminders about why you're quitting (such as a later exit from Earth).

Next, go to your phone's message options and create a group list of your closest friends and family. Send a text message to all of them, asking that they shoot you encouragement on your quitting day and the days that follow. Save the messages you like and pull one up every time a craving strikes.

Beat Back Pain with Music

It's official: Brahms is the balm. Cleveland Clinic researchers recently found that when people with loused-up lumbar regions listened to music for 1 hour every day, they experienced a 20 percent reduction in back pain after just 1 week.

"The effect may simply be due to music distracting your mind—or it could be that it induces muscle relaxation," says study author Sandra Siedlecki, Ph.D., R.N. "New studies that examine the effect of music on stress hormones such as cortisol may shed more light."

Make it work for you: Don't just flick on the radio and leave your relief to chance. In the study, those who chose their own tunes experienced significantly greater pain relief than the people given songs selected by the researchers. And it didn't matter if the self-styled DJs listened to heavy metal or light pop. "Different types of music had similar effects," says Siedlecki. So make a mix of your desert-island favorites and press "play" when back pain hits.

But keep the volume in check: Research shows that loud sounds—even the toe-tapping kind—can raise cortisol levels, possibly negating any benefit.

Zap Bad Breath with Blue Light

Duct tape has hundreds of uses, but apparently researchers at Hebrew University Hadassah School of Dental Medicine felt that fixing a malodorous mouth shouldn't be one of them. So they experimented with other, less restrictive ways to stop the stench, including shining some light on the problem. In a study reported in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, the scientists exposed saliva samples to various wavelengths of light and then conducted a sniff test. The winner: blue light—by a nose.

"It induces the production of oxygen radicals, which are harmful to anaerobic bacteria, the producers of bad breath," says study author Nir Sterer, D.M.D., Ph.D.

Make it work for you: Until researchers develop a safe, handheld blue-light device, you'll need to get creative. To that end, try replacing the lightbulbs over your bathroom sink with a set of GE Reveal bulbs ($4)—they give off the necessary bug-bashing rays. Then just complete your normal twice-a-day routine—floss, brush, scrape, gargle.

Whatever light that manages to filter into your mouth may help your halitosis, and it won't hurt—unless you stand on your tiptoes and bare your teeth to the bulbs; prolonged, close-up exposure to blue light has the potential to harm sensitive gum tissue.

Use Cherries to Mend Muscle

Recover from hefting 200 pounds of iron by lifting 12 ounces of cherry juice. In an 8-day study of weight-training men, University of Vermont researchers discovered that those who imbibed a tall glass of a cherry-juice blend twice a day retained more strength (18 percent) and experienced faster pain relief (1 day sooner) than men who downed cherry-flavored Kool-Aid.

A concentration of inflammation-fighting antioxidants inside cherries helps erase the ache, says Declan Connolly, Ph.D., the study author. "They minimize the microscopic muscle tears that occur during forceful contraction."

Make it work for you: Normally, calorie considerations would argue for chewing your cherries instead of drinking them. Only problem is that you'd have to eat dozens of cherries to realize the anti-inflammatory effect of one glass of the juice, which Connolly points out is really all anyone should need to feel results.

What is important, however, is the timing of your imbibing. "It's best to drink it after lifting or any time you do a higher-intensity workout," he says.

Look for a brand made with "red tart cherries," but without added sugar, such as Organic Just Tart Cherry from R.W. Knudsen ($5) or CherryPharm.

Botox an Enlarged Prostate

Physiologically speaking, an expanding gland and frown lines have nothing in common, except that the former can cause the latter. But recent research in the British Journal of Urology International shows that when men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were given Botox injections in their prostates, most experienced a 30 percent improvement in their symptoms, including a reduced urge to urinate and an easier time of things when they did.

Botox is believed to help beat BPH by blocking key nerves that contribute to the prostate's runaway cell production. In addition, the effects of a single injection last for a year, says study author Michael Chancellor, M.D., which is about three times the duration of Botox-corrected crow's-feet.

Make it work for you: "Botox is a good option for younger men who don't want to take a pill or have surgery," says Dr. Chancellor, adding that both can cause side effects ranging from fatigue to erectile dysfunction. "And even though it's an off-label use, more and more doctors are being trained to do it." (Ask your urologist about prostate botulinum-toxin therapy.)

Obviously, it's harder to hit a target below the belt than one on someone's face, which is why doctors use ultrasound to help guide needle into gland. "It sounds worse than it really is—you can be off playing golf the same afternoon," says Dr. Chancellor.