People who get inadequate sleep are more vulnerable to infection than those who are well rested.  In one study, researchers injected healthy volunteers with a cold virus.  Those who slept less than 7 hours a night for the previous week were 3 times more likely to develop symptoms than those who got 8 hours or more.   In another study,  people who got only 4 hours sleep for several nights in a row had a weaker immune response to the flu vaccine than those who slept between 7.5 and 8.5 hours. 

Don’t skimp on your sleep.  It’s only going to de-rail you down the line.   People seem to wear sleeping to little or working too hard as a badge of honor.  It’s not.  It’s a sign of being unbalanced.  In actuality, it’s a sign of not handling your life properly.  So the next time you hear someone bragging about how much they work and how little they sleep, let them know they are setting themselves up for failure.  Buy them a box of tissues, because they’ll be needing it for the cold they are about to get.

The Iowa Women’s Health Study, which has been investigating the health habits of 34,000 women for nearly 20 years, named apples as one of only three foods (along with pears and red wine) that are most effective at reducing the risk of death from heart disease among postmenopausal women. Other massive studies have found the fruit to lower risk of lung cancer and type 2 diabetes—and even help women lose weight.

Eat an apple as an afternoon snack with a tablespoon of peanut butter (think protein), or add slices to sandwiches or salads.

According to the Journal of Nutrition, eating a small square of dark chocolate a few times a week will reduce your risk of a heart attack.  According to the results of the research, 20 grams of dark chocolate per week, or 6.7 grams three times per week, is ideal.  Research subjects who ate this amount had significantly lower blood pressure levels of C-reactive protein.  Because of dark chocolate’s richness, you can satisfy your sweet tooth with much less chocolate than a milk or white chocolate, for example.