People who experience insomnia may have a greater risk of having a heart attack, compared to those who don’t have the sleep disorder, new research shows. Women with insomnia seem to be at an even greater risk, as are people with both diabetes and insomnia.

The findings come from a new study, presented earlier this month at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology. The research was also published in the journal Clinical Cardiology in February.1

“Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, but in many ways it’s no longer just an illness, it’s more of a life choice. <Read More>

When the FDA approved bempedoic acid, marketed under the brand name Nexletol, back in 2020, it was clear that the drug helped lower LDL — “bad” cholesterol. The drug was intended for people who can’t tolerate statin medications due to muscle pain, which is a side effect reported by up to 29% of people who take statins.

What was unknown until now, is whether bempedoic acid also reduced the risk of cardiovascular events. Now, the results of a randomized, controlled trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine point to significant benefit. The study included about 14,000 people, all of whom were statin intolerant. <Read More>

If you follow health and wellness news even the tiniest bit, inflammation is likely a term you’re fairly familiar with. Everything seems to have some sort of relationship with inflammation. We’ve previously given a rundown on what exactly inflammation is, but what are ways you can prevent it? By taking a proactive approach, you may even be able to reduce the effects that inflammation can have on your body, so that it doesn’t become a problem that requires a doctor’s visit.

Eat an Inflammation-Reducing Diet

The influence that a well-balanced diet can have on your overall health is incredible, and that remains true for reducing or preventing inflammation. There are plenty of diets that promise to get rid of inflammation in your body. For example, we’ve previously written about, the Mediterranean diet, which has a large body of research backing the potential benefits to your overall health. The Mediterranean diet isn’t the only anti-inflammatory diet out there. <Read More>

A low-carb, high-fat “keto-like” diet may be linked to higher levels of “bad” cholesterol and double the risk of cardiovascular events such as blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes, according to new research.

“Our study found that regular consumption of a self-reported diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat was associated with increased levels of LDL cholesterol – or “bad” cholesterol – and a higher risk of heart disease,” lead study author Dr. Iulia Iatan with the Healthy Heart Program Prevention Clinic, St. Paul’s Hospital and University of British Columbia’s Centre for Heart Lung Innovation in Vancouver, Canada, said in a news release.

“This study provides an important contribution to the scientific literature, and suggests the harms outweigh the benefits,” said Christopher Gardner, a research professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center who has conducted clinical trials on the keto diet. <Read More>

Gardening has been around for as long as humans have been growing food. Through the centuries, gardens have served not only as places to grow plants but as spaces for people to relax, to focus, and to connect with nature and each other. Today, gardening can provide many mental health benefits for your daily life.

Benefits of Gardening for Mental Health

‌Gardening can improve many aspects of mental health, focus, and concentration. 

A sugar replacement called erythritol — used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monk-fruit, and keto reduced-sugar products — has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to a new study.

“The degree of risk was not modest,” said lead author Dr. Stanley Hazen, director of the center for cardiovascular diagnostics and prevention at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.

People with existing risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, were twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they had the highest levels of erythritol in their blood, according to the study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

“If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It’s on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes,” Hazen said. <Read More>