Postmenopausal women who eat foods higher in potassium are less likely to have strokes and die than women who eat less potassium-rich foods, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

More than 90 percent of U.S. children, aged 6-18 years, eat more sodium than recommended, putting them at risk for developing high blood pressure and heart disease later in life, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report.

In light of recent news stories showing a strong link between the consumption of sugary drinks and obesity, the collaboration announced this week between the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Beverage Association (ABA) may come as a surprise to some people.

If you’re not an athlete or serious exerciser — and want to work out for your health or to fit in your clothes better — the gym scene can be intimidating. So says a recent press release from the Harvard Medical School. Just having to walk by treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight machines can be enough to make you head straight back home to the couch, says the release.

In response to a landmark report issued a year ago by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that sounded the alarm on drug-resistant threats to human health, President Barack Obama has issued an Executive Order and National Strategy to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

Gaining just five pounds can increase your blood pressure, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2014.

Building on President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has announced additional EPA actions to curb emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning.

Smoking indoors is making a comeback. But take a closer look. Are those really clouds of smoke? These days, the chances are good that what you are actually seeing is vapour released from electronic cigarettes.

In a finding that should surprise no one, eating at both fast-food and full-service restaurants is associated with significant increases in the intake of calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium, according to a new study. The study, appearing early online in Public Health Nutrition, finds on days when adults ate at a restaurant, they consumed about 200 additional total daily calories whether they ate at fast- food restaurants or at full-service restaurants.

Higher exposure to one measure of traffic-related air pollution is associated with higher levels of a hormone linked to increased rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, reports a study in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).