By Michael Roizen, M.D., And Mehmet Oz, M.D.


Letting worries go

The first time Clevelanders dealt with the loss of LeBron James - to the Miami Heat - they protested in the streets and owner Dan Gilbert called James' decision a cowardly betrayal. Fast-forward eight years: Although they were sorry to see him go (again!), they didn't start jersey-burning bonfires, and Gilbert's farewell to his star player was wholeheartedly generous: "LeBron ... nothing but appreciation and gratitude for everything you put into every moment you spent in a Cavaliers uniform."

The town, apparently, has learned to recognize when a threat is no longer a threat. Having a team of young players could save ticket buyers money, and could be interesting next year (or the year after) without LeBron. But giving up that feeling of being threatened? That's not so easy for most folks, according to a new study published in Science.

When the researchers investigated people's reactions to threatening faces, they found that once people were exposed to those images, they thought faces with neutral expressions also were threatening. That persistent sense of peril can cause chronically elevated levels of stress hormones, putting you at risk for heart and memory woes, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and more.

You could ease your distress by winning a championship (that worked for a big part of Ohio), but don't overlook these proven de-stressors: taking 900 mg of DHA omega-3; exercising for 30 or more minutes; meditating for 10 minutes daily; eliminating added sugar from your diet; and having fun, like Cleveland will do when it wins another title, maybe in baseball.

© 2018 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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