Berries May Lower Heart Disease Risk: A study based on the diets of over 93,000 women found that eating at least three servings of blueberries and strawberries a week could reduce the risk of heart attack. The women who ate the most berries were 32% less likely to suffer an early heart attack, even compared to women who ate diets high in other fruits and vegetables. The results held true after researchers adjusted for other risk factors like age, family history and smoking. Researchers think dietary flavonoids called anthocyanins may be responsible for the berries’ heart-protecting effects.

Mindfulness Meditation Can Change Brain Waves: Neuroscientists found that mindfulness meditation appears to alter alpha rhythms – brain waves, which may regulate “how the brain processes and filters sensations” like pain or bad memories – in the brain. The practice of mindfulness meditation is centered on being in the present moment by focusing on immediate sensations, emotions and thoughts without judging or reacting to them. Researchers used brain scan technology called magnetoencephalography to show that brain waves changed when people focused on present sensory experience. Researchers suggested that people with chronic pain or mood disorders could potentially benefit from the ability to change their own alpha waves.

Processed Meats Linked to Increased Risk of Death: Eating processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, salami and bologna was linked to an increased risk of death from cancer and heart disease in a study based on the diets of nearly 500,000 Europeans. These meats are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, which are known contributors to heart disease. They also often contain nitrates, additives that help preserve meat which have been linked to stomach cancer and degenerative diseases like dementia. The researchers believed that 3.3% of the 26,000 deaths that occurred during the study period could have been prevented if participants reduced processed meat consumption to less than 20 grams a day (about one strip of bacon).