I spent Independence Day in the Shenandoah Valley. Anytime I’m there this time of year I start thinking about how when I was a kid my grandparents would take my brother and me to the orchards to pick fresh fruit. Apples, peaches, grapes, nectarines – it seems we picked everything short of tropical fruit. I recently … Read more
Several well-controlled studies have found that listening to music can alleviate pain or reduce the need for pain medications. Other research suggests that music can benefit heart disease patients by reducing their blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety. Music therapy has also been shown to lift the spirits of patients with depression. Making music yourself—either playing instruments or singing—can have therapeutic effects as well.
Some countries have reduced their populations’ salt intake by using various strategies, such as regulating the salt content in processed foods, requiring labels on ready-to-eat foods and educating the public. Researchers led by Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California, San Francisco, set out to explore the potential impact of a modest reduction in dietary salt on the health of the U.S. population.