A daily dose of sun isn’t just good for your bones and moods. Research last year from Boston University has found that sun exposure could lower your risk of gum disease too.

Having enough vitamin D, which is manufactured in your skin from exposure to sun, has been shown to lower the risk of breast cancer.

People who are depressed, overly stressed, cynical and distrustful of others may have a greater risk of developing heart disease than those who have a more positive outlook, a new report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests.

Upbeat people have healthier hearts because they’re less likely to adopt unhealthy eating habits such as smoking and overeating, say researchers from the University of Michigan. People who were distrustful and cynical were at the greatest risk of becoming ill. Proof indeed that you should always look on the bright side of life!

Changing to a healthier diet and lifestyle and taking more exercise seems to be at least as effective at protecting people from diabetes as taking prescription drugs, a new study in the British Medical Journal shows.

Healthy lifestyle changes halved people’s risk of developing type two diabetes according to the researchers at the University of Leicester. They reviewed other research in which people who were at high risk of the disease had used different methods to reduce their risk.

The three methods were changing to a healthy lifestyle, taking drugs for diabetes and taking drugs to help with weight loss. Lifestyle changes were found to be  as effective as drugs and were not associated with bad side effects.