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When it comes to taking care of your body, chances are your kidneys are often overlooked. But this pair of organs does more for your health than you realize. They remove wastes from the body while ensuring that the water, salts and minerals are balanced in your blood. The kidneys also make hormones that create red blood cells, control your blood pressure and maintain your bone health.

Your kidneys are some of the most important organs in your body. Not only do they remove waste and excess fluid from your blood, but they maintain the levels of potassium, sodium and other essential minerals that your body needs to survive. The kidneys also create hormones that regulate important health factors like blood pressure and bone strength. But despite all that, they still remain underappreciated compared to organs like the heart or lungs. The kidneys do a lot, so they can become overworked without your notice. Roughly one in seven American adults has chronic kidney disease, which can cause...

Wyoming’s most famous wild critters, Grizzly 399 and her "absolutely gigantic" cub Spirit, which has had a growth spurt, appeared this week for the first time in about a month, gorging on abundant forage in Teton National Park. Wyoming’s beloved Grizzly 399, her cub of the year, Spirit enjoyed bountiful forage in Teton National Park when they recently made their first public appearance in about a month. Wyoming’s beloved Grizzly 399, her cub of the year, Spirit enjoyed bountiful forage in Teton National Park when they recently made their first public appearance in about a month. (Courtesy Roam Wild Photo...

Writing in the Journal of Ethnobiology, Natalie Muellert, assistant professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences, describes how she painstakingly grew and calculated yield estimates for two annual plants that were cultivated in eastern North America for thousands of years—and then abandoned. Growing goosefoot (Chenopodium, sp.) and erect knotweed (Polygonum erectum) together is more productive than growing either one alone, Mueller discovered. Planted in tandem, along with the other known lost crops, they could have fed thousands. Archaeologists found the first evidence of the lost crops in rock shelters in Kentucky and Arkansas in the 1930s. Seed caches and dried...

We eat with our eyes first, don’t we? God made food attractive so we would choose to eat what’s good for us. As you walk into the produce section of your grocery store, you can’t help but notice the beautiful colors of the vegetables and fruits. It’s like a painter’s palette with its rich display of color. Green, red, yellow, purple and orange, with some of those variegated together. It’s a pretty fresh looking sight, but did you know that the colors of your acid/alkaline vegetables and fruits are important to your health. Let’s learn how you can benefit from...

<p>THE secret to longevity lies in the supermarket. According to "SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life" (William Morrow, $24.95), some foods will not only improve your life - but may well extend it.</p> <p>Beans, blueberries, broccoli, oats, oranges, pumpkin, salmon, soy, spinach, tea, tomatoes, turkey, walnuts and yogurt - all rich in nutrients and relatively low in calories - are all credited with preventing, and in some cases even reversing, heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and dementia.</p>