With cold season in full swing, a just-released study points to a readily available supplement for relief. Pycnogenol, a pine bark extract, reduced sore throats, fever, congestion, headaches, coughing, and sneezing. Participants took 100 milligrams per day after cold symptoms appeared. Their colds were shorter and less severe than people in a control group.

Click here for effective and natural cold and flu remedies. (Yes, chicken soup is on the list!) For homeopathic help, consider these options.

You only look as good as you feel, right? Actually, you may only feel as good as you look—at least when it comes to aging and heart health.

Visible Signs of Heart Attack Risk

Some of the more visible signs of aging, specifically yellow fatty deposits around the eyelid, baldness at the head's crown, earlobe creases, and receding hairline at the temples each signal risk for poor heart health.

Over 10,000 Caucasian men and women in the Copenhagen Heart Study, ages 40 and older, were studied for 35 years.

Those who exhibited the previously mentioned signs of aging had an increase in heart attack and heart disease.

Those who had three of the four signs had a 57% increased risk for heart attack and a 39% increased risk for heart disease.

More studies are needed to understand why these particular signs of aging increase the risk.

Fatty Deposits Around the Eye

The one predictor most associated with heart disease and heart attack is fatty deposits around the eye. Those with this particular sign had a 35% increase in heart attacks.

The lead investigator in the study, Dr. Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, said, “The visible signs of aging reflect physiologic or biologic age and are independent of chronologic age.”

Wrinkles and Gray Hair

Two other signs of aging, graying hair and wrinkles, which were also studied, were not related to heart health and seemed to indicate only chronological age rather than age-related health issues.

Doctors reporting the results at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012 did not say that these signs of aging cause poor heart health but that “looking old for your age is a marker of poor [heart] health," said Tybjaerg-Hansen.

Lifestyle Recommendations

In the meantime, she said lipid lowering therapies and lifestyle changes “should be intensified” for those with fatty deposits around the eyes, a receding hair line, earlobe creases or baldness at the crown of the head.

Though you may be quick to notice gray hairs and moisturize wrinkles, when it comes to heart health, those are not the worrisome signs of aging.

To reduce cardiovascular disease risk, cut your intake of saturated and trans fats by substituting unsaturated fats—such as olive or vegetable oils—for butter, lard, shortening, and margarine. Enjoy a wide selection of organic oils such as peanut, hazelnut, macadamia nut, avocado, red palm, safflower, sunflower, and grape seed.

These organic oils that are great to have on hand for a variety of dishes.

Five Healthy Oils to Keep In Your Kitchen

• Olive Oil

  This oil is super-rich in monounsaturated fats. Studies have shown these healthy dietary fats can actually improve cholesterol levels. 

• Sesame Seed Oil

  This oil is loaded with omega 6s and 9s; add it to hot dishes after cooking for a distinctive flavor.

• Flax Oil

  This oil is a good source of omega 3s. You’ll locate flax oil refrigerated in your natural products store or market.

• Walnut Oil

  Fantastic on salads and in salad dressings. Check labels: Certain organic walnut oils can be used in cooking. 

• Almond Oil

  Use raw or in baked goods. Almond oil adds a nuanced taste to Chinese and Indian dishes, as well as to chicken, fish, asparagus, and pasta.

Ironically, many of the products on the market designed for household cleaning actually add chemical contaminants to the air around you, the water outside, and potentially your own body—if you inhale them or absorb them through your skin. 

Luckily, this doesn’t mean you can’t clean your house. But it does mean you should clean smart: Read labels and do the research before you buy cleaning products; learn which products and ingredients to avoid; and stock up on safe alternatives.

In many cases, being smart about cleaning translates to being smart about your pocketbook as well, as some inexpensive items you may already have on hand, such as vinegar and baking soda, are great substitutes for more costly and potentially toxic cleansers.

When it comes to cleaning, it’s easy being green! And it’s safer for you, your household, and the world.

Risks of Chemical Cleaning Supplies

• Environmental Risks

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average home may have as much as 100 pounds of environmentally harmful chemicals in the basement, garage, and other storage areas. Those products can contaminate your septic tank or pollute the groundwater if they’re poured down drains or toilets.

• Human Health Risks

  Toxic ingredients in cleaning products can be dangerous to children and pets. One study published in Pediatrics found that close to 270,000 children were treated in emergency rooms between 1990 and 2006 for injuries related to exposure to household cleansers. Most of the harm came from ingesting toxic liquids packaged in spray bottles; the product most commonly associated with injuries was bleach. 

  Adults who use household cleansers, or are regularly exposed “second-hand” to airborne cleaning products, are at risk too. Research indicates that people who use chemical sprays—particularly for cleaning glass, polishing furniture, or freshening the air—face an increased risk of developing asthma.

How to Choose Safe Cleaning Products

With a slew of cleansers that label themselves “green,” “eco-friendly,” “natural,” and the like competing for space in stores with the commercial products we remember from childhood, it’s hard to know what the best options are for ourselves and the environment. And reading the fine print on the ingredients list can be confusing, if, like most of us, you’re not a chemical engineer. Here are a few guidelines to help you decide which cleaners to put into your shopping cart.

• Check Ingredients

  Seek out products from companies that name every ingredient on the package or on their website – you’ll easily be able to discover whether they are safe. Such cleansers can be hard to find, though, as manufacturers are not require by law to list specific ingredients on their labels. If you can’t find any with detailed ingredient listings, select products that tell you what’s not inside—for example “No ammonia,” “No chlorine,” “No petrochemicals,” and “No sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate.”

• Look for Endorsements

  Independent groups such as Green Seal, Cradle to Cradle, the Leaping Bunny, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment program analyze products and certify that their ingredients do not pose a risk to health or the environment.

• Be Skeptical of Claims

  Words like “natural,” “eco-friendly,” and “non-toxic” aren’t backed up by any federal or industry regulations, so they can mean almost anything – or nothing. Similarly, “biodegradable” sounds earth-friendly, but in truth, every substance will break down in time, under the right conditions.

• Avoid Surfactants

  Such as alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), DEA, and TEA; nerve-damaging butyl cellosolve; chlorine; ammonia; fragrances containing phthalates; the antibacterial triclosan; and petroleum-based ingredients. (Green Guide #2) Stay away from 1,4 dicholorobenzene (a volatile organic compound also known as 1,4 DCB): It’s what puts the odor into mothballs and can also be found in air fresheners and insecticides – and it can trigger asthma.

Suggested Alternatives for Cleaning

What worked for your grandmother will also work for you. You can create your own safe cleaning products, in some cases, by simply reaching into the cupboard. Try these ideas for safe (and economical!) cleaning:

• Windows

  DIY goddess Martha Stewart suggests mixing equal parts white vinegar and hot water, and applying with a good quality squeegee.

• Kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry

  You put it in your homemade cookies and you probably have an open box absorbing odors in your refrigerator too. Green living expert Annie B. Bond suggests some other uses for baking soda: Sprinkle it on a damp sponge or cloth, and it can be used as a gentle, nonabrasive cleanser for countertops, sinks, bathtubs, ovens, and on fiberglass. Add a cup to your washerload, and it will neutralize odors. (Use it as an air freshener and carpet deodorizer too!)

• Carpets and Rugs

  If you’re dealing with a season’s worth of dirt, sand, or salt on rugs that aren’t fastened to the floor, take the rug outside and beat it with a broom. To attack stains before they’ve set, try dousing the soiled area with club soda, then blot with a rag. If you’re dealing with a big spill, cover it with cornmeal (hint: in terms of amount, think “dump” rather than “sprinkle”), wait 5 to 15 minutes, and vacuum. To make spot cleaner, put one-quarter cup liquid soap and one-third cup water into a blender and mix until foamy. Spray the mixture on the spot, then rinse with vinegar. To deodorize: sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on the carpet (use about a cup per medium-size room), wait 30 minutes, then vacuum.

• All-Purpose Cleaning

  Here’s a quick and easy recipe that may replace your conventional all-purpose cleanser. Mix one-half cup of borax with one gallon of hot water. Make sure the borax dissolves completely. Apply, then wipe clean with a rag. (For one spray-bottle’s worth, use one-eighth cup of borax and a quart of hot water.)

• Wood Furniture

  Dust and polish your wood furniture with a mixture of one-half cup white vinegar and one teaspoon olive oil.

• Metal

  To polish copper and brass, add white vinegar to 2 tablespoons of salt to make a paste (adding flour will reduce the abrasiveness, if desired). Apply with a rag and rub clean. To polish stainless steel, apply baking soda with a damp cloth. Scrub stubborn spots with white vinegar.

Most adults should increase their intake of omega-3 fatty acids while curbing their intake of saturated and trans fats, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The group recommends that 20 to 35 percent of our calories come from dietary fats, noting that eating more fish, nuts, and seeds is “a simple and effective way to improve health.”

Fish is an excellent source of the omega 3s EPA and DHA, while flax, walnuts, and organic canola oil are among the plant sources of the omega 3 ALA.