Preventing Disease & Staying Healthy

We all know that it’s good to exercise, eat fresh fruits and vegetables, and get a good night’s sleep. But it’s hard to change our habits, especially if we don’t have persuasive proof that it will improve our lives and health.

The National Center for Health Research is constantly reviewing new research to determine what we can do that will prevent diseases and keep us healthy.

Excellent research is being conducted to learn exactly what kinds of foods and exercise will help you prevent specific diseases, and what exposures to avoid in your daily life. The results are sometimes confusing because new products to prevent diseases are aggressively advertised, whether they work or not. Sometimes the best strategies are ones that don’t cost anything – but who is going to pay to advertise those?

We cut through the hype. We scrutinize new research, and call the researchers to learn even more. Then we translate it into plain language that you can understand.

To find the information you need, please use our search box to search for exactly what you are looking for or browse through our various topics on the right. →

If you’re looking for information about how to prevent cancer, go to our Cancer Prevention and Treatment web site at www.stopcancerfund.org . If you don’t see what you’re looking for on any health topic, contact us through our online health helpline at info@center4research.org. We’ll try to get the information you need within a few days.

The Federal Trade Commission is on Your Side!

The Federal Trade Commission protects consumers through research, policy-making, and law-enforcement.

Buy a Sleep Mask! It’s an Investment in Your Health

Research shows that sleeping in total darkness allows your body to produce as much of the hormone melatonin as possible. This is good because when your production of melatonin drops, you are at greater risk of breast and/or colorectal cancer and other health risks.

Doctors Were Paid to Praise Hormone Replacement Therapy

How a drug company convinced the medical community that hormone replacement therapy works and is safe: Wyeth paid highly respected physicians to allow their names to be listed as authors of research studies, reviews, commentaries, and letters to the editor, although they had not actually conducted or analyzed the research nor written the articles.

The Cost of Obesity: a Higher Price for Women—and Not Just in Terms of Health

By now nearly everyone knows that being obese is bad for your health, but did you know that it is also bad for your wallet? This is especially true for women.

What You Need to Know about Performance-Enhancing Supplements

Everyday new products are advertised, making promises that are often too good to be true. Consumers who desperately want to look and feel better are the unsuspecting guinea pigs for these untested products. Before you decide to buy nutritional supplements, it is important to gather objective information (not from the manufacturers), and to consult with your doctor or another health professional.