Is What's Good For Us Getting Better?

The Mediterranean Diet - fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish, poultry, olive oil and alcohol in moderation - lowers the risk of heart disease, as well as cancer. Now a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that it also lowers the risk of "metabolic syndrome", which is a set of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance. Fifty million Americans supposedly have metabolic syndrome; and with its prevalence increasing worldwide, why isn't the Mediterranean Diet more popular? "It's Greek to me".

Coffee may reduce the risk of stroke, stroke being the third leading cause of death in the U.S. - behind heart disease and cancer. A study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association followed 34,670 women ages 49-83 for an average of 10 years. According to the results, women who drank more than 1 cup of coffee daily had a 22%-25% lower risk of stroke than women who drank less. A study done on men in 2008 had similar results. However, smokers experienced the least reduction in the risk of stroke. That's where the benefit of a coffee break was - broken.

Meditation can reduce sensitivity to pain. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, 15 men and women were mildly burned before and after four 20-minute meditation trainings over 4 days. The second time they received 120-degree heat on their calves they rated the pain, on average, as 57% less unpleasant and 40% less intense. The type of meditation used focused on breathing or a chanted mantra. Brain scans showed that meditation both reduced the sensation of pain and helped control the perception of pain. It seems making time to learn how to meditate wouldn't be a "pain in the neck".

Aspirin was originally used to relieve pain, but studies have shown it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, colon cancer and reoccurring breast cancer. A study presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research showed aspirin might also reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. Of the 1,224 healthy people in the study, those who took aspirin monthly had a 26% lower risk of pancreatic cancer. Those who took low-dose aspirin regularly for preventing heart disease had a 35% lower risk. Perhaps it's an aspirin a day - not an apple - that keeps the doctor away.