It’s no joke, laughter really is great medicine

From 1995 to 2014, comedies took in $38.6 billion at the box office, more than action, adventure and horror movies. And that’s not even counting romantic comedies, which grossed $9.1 billion. While you might think that comedies are simply a great way to start off an evening with your significant other or spend an afternoon with the kids, they offer even more to all of you (that’s moviegoers everywhere): They bring laughter, a great medicine.

Laughter lets you go with the flow: A University of Maryland study found that laughter helps your blood vessels relax, promoting healthy blood flow and good blood pressure. (Dramas – especially bad TV ones – make them stiff and reduce blood flow.) Suggestion: “This is Spinal Tap”

Laughter makes you a flu-fighter: Several studies indicate that laughter boosts levels of antibodies that help the body fight off upper-respiratory infections. Suggestion: “Splash”

Laughter helps you lose weight and de-stress: When you laugh, even if it’s not spontaneous, you lower cortisol and epinephrine levels that are implicated in weight gain, blood vessel damage and depression. So the next time you are inclined to reach for a sweet treat, tell yourself a joke and walk away smiling. Suggestion: “The Legend of Ron Burgundy”

Laughter keeps glucose levels level: Want your post-meal blood sugar spikes to be slower and lower? Try watching a funny movie before or during your meal. Researchers find that laughter’s effect on the immune system and gene expression helps control your blood glucose level. Suggestion: “The Pink Panther Strikes Again”

Sleeping with baby

Around 4 million babies will be born in the U.S. and Canada this year, and if you’re one of the new parents, you want to make sure your newbie thrives. Fortunately, since 1992 when the American Academy of Pediatrics first recommended that infants sleep only on their back to avoid sudden infant death syndrome, the number of tragic incidences has plummeted, and parents have had fewer worries. But there still are around 3,000 unexpected infant deaths every year, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the AAP are campaigning to help parents eliminate other causes.

Their No. 1 target: bed-sharing. It increases the risk of SIDS five-fold. Falling asleep next to your infant is particularly risky if you are overweight, have long hair, use soft and cuddly comforters and pillows, are exhausted, a smoker or even a moderate drinker or taking drugs or medications.

You can enjoy bringing baby into bed with you to breastfeed or to comfort or cuddle the child – but do it while you are fully awake. The best arrangement is to have your little one sleep in your room but not in your bed. Set up a crib with a firm surface and no crib bumpers, soft bedding or pillows, blankets or other fabric that could interfere with breathing. Don’t use pacifiers on strings placed around baby’s neck or clipped to clothing, and avoid exposure to smoke or illicit drugs. Now, if Mom and Dad could just get a good night’s sleep, too.

The best aspirin regimen post-heart attack

It’s said that new habits die easily but old habits die hard – and that seems to be especially true when it comes to doctors who send their heart-attack patients home from the hospital with a directive for taking daily aspirin. While the current American College of Cardiology guidelines call for low-dose aspirin (81 mg daily) following a first heart attack to help prevent a second one, a team of researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that between January 2007 and March 2011, almost 61 percent of all heart-attack patients were on high-dose aspirin (325 mg) when they were discharged. Only about 36 percent got low-dose. A few folks got other doses. Old habits really do die hard.

Why does this matter? Well, a new study shows that low-dose aspirin is just as effective as high-dose aspirin when it comes to preventing another heart attack, and it’s less likely to cause complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding, stroke, ringing in the ears and even hearing loss. So, if you or a loved one has suffered a heart attack, make sure you talk to your doctor about the benefits of taking low-dose aspirin. If you’re on a higher dose, don’t stop taking it without talking to your doctor; that can increase further heart-attack risk. And ask your doc about changing to two low-dose aspirins a day, 162 mg total. We like the cancer protection that dose affords. And remember to drink half a glass of warm water before and after you take each pill.

Calling all cauliflower

What do Cheddar, Purple Head, Graffiti and White Cloud have in common? No, they’re not names of characters in a “Toy Story” movie or the members of a punk band from the ’80s. They’re varieties of cauliflower. This nubby member of the Brassica genus often gets dismissed as a pale imitation of its heartier relatives, like broccoli and cabbage. But in truth, from white to vivid orange and purple, this veggie delivers as much flavor, nutrition and eye appeal as its more popular relatives.

One cup is packed with 77 percent of your daily value of vitamin C, a dose of vitamin K, protein, fiber, B vitamins like thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, plus the minerals magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese. In addition, cauliflower and other cruciferous veggies deliver sulfur-containing chemicals that have been shown in lab studies to prevent cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, liver, lung, stomach and prostate. When combined with curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, this type of vegetable may lower blood pressure and improve kidney function. So what’s stopping you from rustling up some for tonight’s dinner? Our favorite ways to cook cauliflower include:

▪ Coat the whole head with olive oil and a dry rub made from paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, rosemary, salt, black pepper and chili powder. Slow-roast it in a 275 F oven.

▪ Squeeze fresh lemon and sprinkle olive oil on florets, then top with fresh garlic and lemon slices; cover and steam until tender over water that contains slices of fresh ginger.

For the overweight, stress is more dangerous

It’s like adding insult to injury, receiving a one-two punch or getting kicked when you’re down – if you’re overweight, your system’s already compromised, so your body’s physical reaction to chronic stress becomes magnified. That reaction threatens your health much more than it would if you were at a healthy weight.

Researchers now can assess how increased weight and excess body fat, which cause systemic inflammation, interact with negative responses to repeated stressors: They super-boost levels of the inflammatory hormone cortisol and the cytokine plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6). That’s more than double trouble. In other words, if you’re obese, you triple your chances of having a heart attack from reacting negatively to chronic stressors.

The solution is a short-term shift in how you respond to stress paired with a long-term plan to lose weight, unplug your stress response and get happy!

Short term: As a stop-your-stress-response-now solution, when you feel overwhelmed, take a step back and breathe slowly and deeply. It may sound simple, but it helps you feel in control and calm.

Long range: It’s time to upgrade your lifestyle so that you eat nine servings of fruits and veggies a day; eliminate all red meat, added sugars and syrups, and processed grains from your plate; and drink plenty of water (never soda) daily. At the same time, start a walking program (with a pedometer), heading for 10,000 steps a day, and take 10 minutes daily to practice mindfulness meditation. And don’t stress about making these changes.

This story was originally published October 27, 2014 at 7:15 PM with the headline "It’s no joke, laughter really is great medicine."