(Thinkstock/Stockbyte) The New Year is the time to lose weight. But to protect your long-term health, you might also want to make sure your cholesterol is in check — a new study highlights a lesser-known reason why. High levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and low levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol are associated with a lower level of amyloid plaque in the brain, a key marker of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers from the University of California report in JAMA Neurology. (MORE: 33...

Prepare for These Common Illnesses ((Thinkstock/Photodisc)) After months of anticipation and preparation, New Year’s Eve and Christmas have come and gone, leaving many longing for summer. You might already be sick of winter, but most of the season remains and that means more than just cold weather. This time of year coincides with the peak months for several annoying illnesses, such as the flu. The new year might mean a new set of sick days, but many of them could...

From air pollution to obesity rates, where you live can seriously impact your health. Click through find out your state’s worst quality, according to data from America's Health Rankings and the U.S. Census, unless otherwise noted, compiled by Policymic.com. (Thinkstock) Where you live might determine more than how brutal your winter will be. The latitude line you live on is one of four main factors — along with tobacco use, consumption of meat products and your country’s gross national product...

Baboon syndrome is a rare rash that appears on the buttocks, but can also appear in the armpits and other areas too. Here, it's pictured on a patient's side. (BMJ Case Reports) A 40-year-old man with a sore throat and fever was diagnosed with tonsillitis, and was prescribed penicillin, a common antibiotic. But several days later, the man developed a rash over his armpits, groin and buttocks — an unusual condition known as "baboon syndrome." The condition, more formally called...

Winter Storm Hercules might cause a sudden halt to the plans of many resolutioners. Those seeking extra motivation to head to their gym should consider a disturbing global trend: One in three adults worldwide are obese — and obesity rates have quadrupled in the developing world since 1980, according to research from the United Kingdom’s Overseas Development Institute. (ABOVE: Which Country is the Fattest?) The Future Diets report looked at how changes in diets worldwide have caused a large spike...

(Thinkstock/Digital Vision) There may be a reason that Santa, who spends most of his time toiling away at his freezing North Pole workshop or traversing the globe in an open-air sled, is a little on the rotund side. A bowl full of jelly may actually help to defend people against cold weather — at least to a certain extent. It’s not the most politically correct of questions to ponder to be sure, but Popular Science recently shed some light onto...

The Happiest State in America: Hawaii. With a well-being score of 71.1 Hawaii was named the happiest state in the 2012 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being survey. States are listed here in order from most to least happy. (Credit: Medioimages/Photodisc) The first Monday after the holidays (that’s today — Jan. 6) can be a bummer because of a post-celebration emotional let down and the blues triggered by short, dark winter days, according to lore. This year, “Blue Monday” is likely to be particularly...

(General Mills) General Mills made headlines Friday when it announced plans to use only non-genetically modified cornstarch and sugar cane in its original Cheerios brand of breakfast cereal. The announcement occurred in the wake of a campaign by a consumer activist group to pressure the company to drop genetically modified ingredients, or GMOs, though General Mills denied that outside pressure motivated the change, according to the Los Angeles Times. General Mills’ switch came a month after the Grocery Manufacturers Association,...

As record low temperatures grip much of the nation, most Americans are thinking aboutshort-term health concerns. But there is good news for America’s long-term health. Overall life expectancy increased to 78.5 yearsin 2009, the most recent year for which data is available, up from 78.1 in 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. (ABOVE: The WORST States for a Long Life) This finding doesn't mean you will necessarily live longer — it applies to individuals born...

McMaster University graduate student Alison Devault examines an intestinal specimen from a cholera victim who died in 1849. This tissue led to a new understanding of the deadly disease. (McMaster Unniversity) In the 19thcentury, cholera pandemics killed millions. But researchers never knew which strain of the water-borne pathogen was mostly responsible for this devastation — until they looked at a nearly 200-year-old intestine. The gut sample, which came from a male cholera victim who died in 1849, allowed researchers from...

((E. Lukianova-Hleb/Rice University)) Better defenses against mosquito-borne illnesses are soon to be needed — climate change is predicted to lengthen mosquito season with longer summers and warmer winters. People at risk of one of those illnesses, malaria, could benefit from a new rapid, diagnostic test that uses lasers instead of blood tests to detect the disease, according to research from Rice University published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (MORE: 10 Diseases Spreading from Climate Change)...

(Thinkstock/Photodisc) Disease outbreaks tied to swimming happen even in the winter, often after people go in hot tubs or spas, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2009 and 2010, there were 81 outbreaks and 1,326 cases of illness in the United States linked torecreational waterexposure (in pools, lakes, hot tubs, etc.), according to information reported from 28 states and Puerto Rico. (An outbreak is defined as two or more people who visited...