Fortune Well

“The biggest push is to get people to stop sitting for long periods." There are a few good reasons why we should consider standing more often, among them lower blood sugar levels, lower risk of heart disease, and less stress and fatigue than those who sit for eight hours or more each day. “Standing has a significantly larger impact on our longevity than sitting. Some health benefits to standing include greater muscle activation; higher levels of sugar burning; improved insulin sensitivity and long-term heart health benefits,” explains Maillard Howell, global wellbeing lead at Rokt and owner at Dean CrossFit. Read more: bit.ly/3zHrOnO

Oral health is whole-body health. Research proves it to be true to an even greater extent: Gum disease can inhibit the body’s ability to fight off amyloid plaques—clumps of misfolded proteins that clog up the brain in Alzheimer’s disease patients, according to a study out of Massachusetts. Research suggests that gum disease can impact health in other parts of the body as well. A 2020 study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research found that people with gum disease and tooth loss had a greater chance of developing colon cancer. And those with gum disease have double or triple the risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular event, according to Harvard Medical School. Read more on how to prevent gum disease: bit.ly/4eFHcjo

Cortisol—it’s an often-vilified stress hormone that’s been implicated for its role in excess belly fat and risk for a number of chronic diseases. https://trib.al/HEKQ8RI When your life is so high-stress that you’ve got cortisol coursing through your veins at all times, it can lead to high blood sugar, high blood pressure, excess weight and diabetes—all of which raise your risk for a slew of long-term health conditions. So it’s no wonder you might want a pill that could lower cortisol. Here’s what’s known about dietary supplements that may affect how your body handles stress and, as a result, lower your cortisol. Read more: https://trib.al/HEKQ8RI

Tennis star Serena Williams shared in a TikTok posted on Tuesday that she had a cyst removed from her neck—one the size of a “small grapefruit.” https://trib.al/xiFj3FS “One day, back in May actually, I found this big mass on my neck,” Williams says in the video. “I was mortified by it. I got tests done, everything you could imagine, everything was negative.” The mass was diagnosed as a benign branchial cyst. In the caption, Williams wrote that her doctors said she didn’t need to get it removed, “but it kept growing.” Once it got large, her doctors advised her to remove it as soon as possible, since it could leak or get infected. Read more: https://trib.al/xiFj3FS

Condoms are no longer a fact of life for young Americans. Fewer young people are having sex, but the teens and young adults who are sexually active aren’t using condoms as regularly, if at all. And people ages 15 to 24 made up half of new chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases in 2022. The downward trend in condom usage is due to a few things: medical advancements like long-term birth control options and drugs that prevent sexually transmitted infections; a fading fear of contracting HIV; and widely varying degrees of sex education in high schools. Is this the end of condoms? Not exactly. But it does have some public health experts thinking about how to help younger generations have safe sex, be aware of their options—condoms included—and get tested for STIs regularly. Read more: bit.ly/3ZM3mMJ

Not brushing or flossing regularly? You could be hurting your body’s ability to fight off Alzheimer’s disease. Research suggests that gum disease can impact health in other parts of the body as well. A 2020 study published in the journal?Cancer Prevention Research?found that people with gum disease and tooth loss had a?greater chance of developing colon cancer. And those with gum disease have double or triple the risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular event,?according to Harvard Medical School. Here's how to prevent gum disease: https://lnkd.in/e8FiFHEA

"It was really hard to get people, largely men, at some of these venture capital companies to believe that menopause was a real thing.” “I’m in menopause,” actress Halle Berry said during a live interview at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, California on Tuesday. “How liberating is that?” A misdiagnosis of herpes—which turned out to be the common symptoms of menopause after she had been in perimenopause—led Berry on a journey to raise money in Silicon Valley to launch a community platform for her midlife women’s wellness business, Respin. She also rallied the halls of Congress to support a bill aimed at directing $275 million for research on effective therapies and medicines. Read more from?#FortuneMPW here: trib.al/ZzEa8Tj

“The neck is one of the most important parts of your body." Since working from home, a survey in 2020 found 92% percent of chiropractors reported seeing increased neck and back pain and musculoskeletal issues in their patients, per the American Chiropractic Association. But easy on-the-go exercises that you can do in under three minutes can help release neck strain and “change your life,” according to Dan Go, a personal trainer and founder who works with entrepreneurs on health and wellness changes. Here are 5 neck exercises you can do in under 5 minutes to help: bit.ly/3zN2Pzn

We’ve long known that meditation is good for your mental health, but what about your gut health? https://lnkd.in/g8QpFn7p According to a comparative study published in General Psychiatry, regular deep meditation may help regulate the gut microbiome, which includes the bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in your digestive tract. In the study, researchers analyzed the blood and stool samples of nearly 40 Tibetan Buddhist monks from three temples and compared them to samples from 19 secular residents in neighboring areas. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g8QpFn7p

When it comes to warnings about kids and smartphones, "The Anxious Generation" author Jonathan Haidt is determined to get the message out. https://lnkd.in/ggyGTZ4u The social psychologist sat down recently with Prince Harry to amplify his ideas about keeping kids mentally safe from technology. And he’s also teamed up with psychologist and parenting expert Becky Kennedy—aka Dr. Becky—to offer help for those who want to heed Haidt’s warnings but don’t know how. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ggyGTZ4u