Blog Posts by The Editors of Prevention

Allergies are the result of an immune system run amok; they develop when your body overreacts to a normally harmless substance, such as pollen, cat dander, or dust. About 20% of Americans are plagued by allergies. The hallmark symptoms include sneezing, coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, itchy eyes, hives, and rashes.

For allergies to things like foods and medications, avoidance is your only option. But for allergies to seasonal triggers, like pollen, or irritants in your home, like dust mites, there's a lot you can do to minimize the misery. Here, the best home remedies to soothe allergies and allergy symptoms.

Find the perfect home remedies for dozens of everyday ailments!

1) Crank up the water heater
Wash your bedding weekly in water that's at least 130˚F to keep dust mites in check. These bugs also live in clothes and carpeting, but their highest concentrations are in beds. If you wash with cold or warm water, you're just giving them a

They run amok online, through e-mail chains and even across generations, making it harder and harder to separate fact from fiction. Here, six of the most common food myths, and the nugget of truth each contains that you can use to your health or weight loss advantage.

Myth #1: Drinking water helps you lose weight
The nugget of truth: Water may trim meal size
Just adding a few glasses to your day isn't going to melt away fat, but research shows if you drink up before a meal, you may eat less. Scientists at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University followed a group of adults on low-calorie diets for 12 weeks; they found that those who had two cups of water before each of their daily meals lost 4.5 more pounds than the non-water drinkers. Filling your stomach with a zero-calorie substance might lead to smaller meals, say scientists; plus, substituting water for soda and juices also helps save calories. Hate the nontaste of plain water? Stick a slice of lemon or

Your turkey, tuna, or PB & J is only as healthy as the package it comes wrapped in. That's why we went shopping for 6 ridiculously healthy breads, wraps, and rolls (plus their just plain ridiculous counterparts) to make sure your sliced bread is the best thing since, well, you know the rest:

11 "health" food impostors to avoid now!


1) WHOLE WHEAT: Earth Grains Wheat Berry with Honey (2 slices)

NUTRITION: 200 cal; 10 g pro; 6 g sugar; 6 g fiber; 2 g fat; 300 mg sodium

Why it's ridiculously healthy: This bread gets our vote for its nutritional value, great taste, and the eco-friendly way its wheat is grown.

What's just ridiculous: If whole grains are not listed as the first ingredient, keep shopping; you're getting next to nothing in the way of heart- and waistline-friendly whole grains.

2) ROLL: Martin's Famous Whole Wheat Potato Rolls

NUTRITION: 100 cal; 7 g pro; 5 g sugar; 5 g fiber; 1 g fat; 160 mg sodium

Why it's ridiculously healthy: This soft

In a perfect world, we'd all make whole wheat pasta from scratch and grow fresh tomatoes in our own backyard. We do not live in a perfect world. That's why prepackaged foods make so much sense-as long as they're a healthy addition to your diet. Here, 12 great-tasting packaged products that are also ridiculously good for you (they're also trans-free and low in sodium and sugar).

5 Ways to spot a healthy food

1) Cereal: Ambrosial Venetian Vineyard Granola

Why it's a winner: This sweet and crunchy organic granola wowed our tastebuds with its combination of walnuts, dates, and raisins. It packs in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and 28 g of whole grains and has no added oil.

Healthy highlights: Though it's a little caloric, at 230 calories and 7 g of fat per 1/2 cup serving, it contains 5 g of fiber, 6 g of protein, and 10% of your daily dose of iron.

Try it: Over yogurt or mixed with fat-free milk and fruit.

Get Cereal-Smart with these tips for buying the

Snoring isn't just a nighttime annoyance; it can be a serious health issue, disrupting normal sleeping patterns and disturbing partners as they try to sleep through the noise. Snoring affects more than 90 million adults and their partners. One British survey found that if your spouse snores, by your 50th wedding anniversary you'll have lost about 4 years' worth of sleep.

Besides just feeling tired all the time, people who don't get enough sleep can develop memory and mood problems; they're even at a greater risk of car accidents. Moderate snorers include people who snore every night, but perhaps only when on their backs or only for part of the night. Heavy snorers should see a doctor to make sure they don't have a serious sleeping disorder called sleep apnea.

For light or moderate snorers, here are home remedies that can help you-and your partner-sleep better.

Are you robbing yourself of sleep?

1) A Tennis Ball

If you snore mostly when on your back, put a

Pants tight? Take a closer look at your carbs, says Jacqueline Wolf, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of A Woman's Guide to a Healthy Stomach. Many-even ones that are otherwise healthy, like beans and certain whole grains- are high in one of five hard-to-digest sugars: lactose, fructose, fructans, sugar alcohols, and galactans. To help relieve your stomach symptoms, study your diet and follow these tips.

1. Stop milking it.

If dairy makes you bloated, you may have developed lactose intolerance. Try lower-lactose foods (like hard cheese or yogurt) or lactose-free dairy products, or take a lactase enzyme.

See over 4,500 dairy-free recipes in Prevention's Recipe Finder tool


2. Pick fruit carefully.

Berries, grapes, and citrus contain a near-equal ratio of the sugars fructose and glucose, making them easier to digest than fruits with more fructose, such as honeydew, apples, and pears.

See which fruits and veggies you

Activity is not just about "exercise," it's about moving your body more all day long. This type of light activity is essential, whether you're a card-carrying couch potato or a marathon runner. Growing evidence finds that too much sitting harms your heart health. Worse, that damage is not easily undone by jumping on the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes in the morning if you spend the other 23 ½ hours sleeping and sitting. A recent study of 1,579 people found that people whose jobs require more than 6 hours of chair time a day are 68% more likely to wind up overweight than those who sit less.

The solution: Stand more. By using these tips you'll be in motion more all day long. That alone could be enough to help you shed stubborn pounds for good.

Lose 35+ pounds without working out


1. Limit yourself to one TV show: Watching TV is a great way to unwind. But when it comes to the tube, there's such a thing as too much downtime. The average American tunes in for 3 hours a day, which is

Insomnia ranks right below the common cold, stomach disorders, and headaches as the most common reasons people seek a doctor's help. The CDC reports that more than 25% of Americans say they don't get an adequate amount of sleep and 10% experience chronic insomnia.

10 sleep tips from top researchers

At one time, doctors might have automatically prescribed a pill or two to ease you into dreamland, but that isn't always the case today. Researchers and doctors are learning more about sleep each year, broadening their knowledge of how to deal with its related problems.

Indeed, behavioral treatments are often most effective. There are also quite a few commonsense approaches you can use to try to correct the problem yourself. It may take just one therapy, or it may take a combination. In any case, the key to success is discipline. As Michael Stevenson, PhD, says, "sleep is a natural physiological phenomenon, but it's also a learned behavior."

1) SET A RIGID SLEEP SCHEDULE