Prevention October 2015

17 Reasons Why It’s Time for You to Go to the Doctor Here’s an unsettling statistic: 80% of people report holding off on preventive care. What’s even less comforting—the majority are women, who tend to put the health of their friends, family, and even pets before their own, a ZocDoc survey of 2,000 found. TRY IT NOW: Join me in releasing that I don’t have time for this crap frustration. That attitude made sense back when I had zero faith I could see my doc without long phone waits, an hour in the waiting room, and a blizzard of confusing mailings about insurance coverage. But once I read the advice in “17 Secrets Every Doctor’s Receptionist Knows” (p. 32), I got my MD mojo back and finally made an appointment…

Here’s a new reason to submit to a siesta: Volunteers who snoozed for 90 minutes recalled 33% more random word pairs (like “vegetable-bible,” which, by the way, we’d totally read) after waking. The bump is courtesy of sleep-time action in the brain’s hippocampus, says study author Sara Studte of Saarland University, Germany. Not the napping type? Consider pre-bedtime your prime slot for learning new stuff; you just might wake up smarter You Say Tomato, We Say See Ya, Hot Flashes A surprisingly everyday beverage might help you weather your worst menopause symptoms. In a recent study published in Nutrition Journal, 93 women with at least one menopausal complaint found palpable relief after drinking about 4/5 cup of unsalted (ah, the catch: unsalted!) tomato juice twice a day for 8 weeks.…

A shocking one-third of women have full-on high blood pressure. This excess force of blood pushing against artery walls can damage blood vessels and ultimately trigger heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, or kidney damage. The problem arises from narrow or stiff arteries and an overworked heart—dire-sounding, yes, but often reversible. Here’s how. Start Here! The Outdoors Good day, sunshine. UV light alters levels of a compound called nitric oxide in skin and blood, relaxing vessels and lowering BP. (Erectile dysfunction drugs also use nitric oxide to relax blood vessels.) And Japanese research into shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” finds that spending time in nature lowers BP, along with stress hormones and heart rate. 120/80 to 139/89 = prehypertension, meaning you might end up with high BP if you don’t take steps to…

The average wait time to see a physician in 15 major US cities is 18.5 days. Need a GP in Boston? That’ll be 66 days (on average). If you’re hunting for a dermatologist in Philadelphia, try 49 days. Accessing doctors is just one of the maddening things about medical care, but the secret to navigating it all is right there in the waiting room with you: the receptionist. As the office gatekeepers, they know all the tricks…so we asked them to spill. Here, 17 of their top tips for getting prompt, quality health care—anywhere. 4 STRATEGIES FOR SAME-DAY SERVICE 1 Call between 10 and 11 am. That’s when most offices know about afternoon cancellations. Booked solid? Ask if the doctor holds any times open for same-day or urgent appointments. 2…

The power of miso soup to soothe the jitters goes well beyond its comfort-food status. A new study of 700 people found that those who ate more fermented foods like miso, kimchi, yogurt, and kefir had fewer social anxiety symptoms. The relief was strongest among people who tended toward the highest levels of worry, anxiety, envy, and guilt. Likely at play? Probiotics, of course. This corroborates earlier findings showing that animals given good bacteria produced more GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter made in the gut that has an effect similar to that of antianxiety drugs. To reap max benefits, aim for at least one serving of probioticrich foods every day. For this Soothing Miso Soup recipe, head to prevention.com/miso-soup. Be sure to add miso paste last to preserve live bacteria.…

Spiralized veggies have taken the blogosphere by storm. The hot-hot-hot pasta alternative appeals to millions watching their weight or on grain-free diets like Paleo. Vegetable noodles are even popping up in restaurants, like Raw in Chicago, and in supermarkets, thanks to Hungryroot, which offers packaged “pasta” meals with sauces ($10). But there’s an even simpler way to taste the awesomeness: Pick up a tool like the Inspiralizer ($50), crank through your favorite veggie—beets, carrots, broccoli, anything!—and sauté with oil. Compared with 1 cup of pasta, a zucchini’s worth of noodles will save you 166 calories and 33 g of carbs. Spaghetti that’s glutenfree, low-carb, low-calorie, and packed with nutrients? Sounds like a win to us. This simple Zucchini Pasta is easy and delicious to make. Head to prevention.com/spiral for this…