Even short bouts of light exercise can help the millions of people with knee osteoarthritis reduce pain and improve their range of motion. Knee osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear form of the disease, occurs when the cartilage between your bones breaks down, causing pain, stiffness and swelling. Researchers in a new study compared high-dose and low-dose exercise…  read on >  read on >

It’s no secret that athletic endurance and strength go hand-in-hand with a healthy heart. “Exercise strengthens the heart muscle, enabling it to pump a greater volume of blood with each heartbeat,” said Dr. Deepak Bhatt, editor of the Harvard Heart Letter, in a recent Q&A. The enlarged heart muscles that athletes may develop are also…  read on >  read on >

Getting a gel manicure may be less safe than many think. Researchers say the nail polish dryers that use ultraviolet (UV) light to cure the gel polish emit possibly dangerous rays. These rays might lead to cell death and cancer-causing mutations in human cells, they noted. Maria Zhivagui, a researcher at the University of California,…  read on >  read on >

Winter is no friend to the body’s delicate skin, but an expert offers three key tips: moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. “It’s pretty intuitive, but it bears repeating,” said dermatologist Dr. David Pearson, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, in Minneapolis. “The environment treats our skin differently in the winter, and that means…  read on >  read on >

Winter may feel like a time for hibernation, but it’s important for seniors to safely keep up their hobbies and physical activity in the cold weather. “It’s important to get outside as much as possible, whether it’s temperate or even if it’s colder, as long as it’s safe to do so,” said Dr. Angela Catic,…  read on >  read on >

Look at a bodybuilder who has bulked up with bulging muscles, and it might not seem that lifting weights can shed pounds. But first impressions can be deceiving. Instead, experts say, building muscle can indeed be one way to transform your body and lose weight. “Weightlifting activates your large muscle groups and, when done appropriately,…  read on >  read on >

Six minutes of high-intensity exercise might prolong the lifespan of a healthy brain, perhaps delaying the start of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, a new, small study suggests. Researchers found that short but intense cycling increased the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is essential for brain formation, learning and memory. It’s…  read on >  read on >