Fight aging for real

In Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” when a young artist’s model (Dorian) makes a deal with the devil to have his image in a painting age while he stays wrinkle-free and youthful, it turns out badly, to say the least. So, when scientists announced — as they did recently in an aptly named journal Cell Death & Disease — they’ve figured out how to reverse age-related wrinkles and hair loss in mice, we thought, “You know, this might turn out badly too.”

We’re all for defeating aging and fighting wrinkles. But it worries us that there may come a time when your arteries are clogged, your brain’s short of oxygen and you still (kind of ) look youthful. So, we’re here to remind you about the effective ways that exist today to fight premature aging, wrinkles and disease. (Take the full RealAge test at Sharecare.com to make scientifically validated choices that will help you hit your antiaging goal.) Start with:

■ 7-9 servings daily of brightly colored fruits and veggies; no red/processed meats or added sugars.

■ 2-4 cups coffee or tea daily.

■ 25 grams fiber daily from 100 percent whole grains, legumes and other produce.

■ 900 milligrams of omega-3s from flax seeds, walnuts, salmon.

■ Olive oil (1 to 2 tablespoons daily; cook only at low temps).

■ 10,000 daily steps or the equivalent.

■ Two 30-minute strengthbuilding sessions weekly.

■ 7-8 hours of sleep nightly; 6-10 minutes meditation daily helps manage stress.

■ 1 multivitamin (half morning and evening); 1,000 IU vitamin D; and, if your doctor says OK, two 81-milligram aspirins daily (one morning, one night).

Taking the kick out of hiccups

When Neko Case sings “Honky Tonk Hiccups,” you can feel her agony: “I started getting hiccups ‘round suppertime. Held my breath ‘til I hit the floor, but the hiccups kept coming, even more, more, more.” And she’s not alone. A recent study in Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports says the involuntary contractions are much more common than previously thought. Every year they send about 4,000 folks in the U.S. to the hospital seeking relief from the relentless interruptions to sleep, socializing and work that come from persistent hiccups (lasting two or more days) or intractable hiccups (lasting a month or more). And more than 90 percent of these people are men over 50!

What’s the cause? Researchers say major nerves (vagus and phrenic) and neurotransmitters send signals through the midbrain that create the “hiccup now” message. That may be triggered by chronic illness such as arthritis of the sternum, heart failure with an enlarged heart, even herpes infections or blood clots in the lungs. Meds such as corticosteroids, Xanax, Ambien, acidreflux drugs, chemo, some anti-Parkinson’s drugs and antibiotics also can trigger them.

Solutions are hit or miss. For some folks, surgery can stop transmission of the message, and medications, including anticonvulsants, dopamine blockers, baclofen (used for multiple sclerosis), as well as anesthesia, ventilation and even acupuncture are useful. Here’s one of Dr. Oz’s home remedies: Stand on one leg; pinch your nose closed; jump up and down. Seems changing the carbon dioxide balance in your lungs calms the diaphragm. Try it!

Hand, foot and mouth disease on the rise; picking the right toothpaste

Question: Our local paper published an alert that hand, foot and mouth disease is on the rise, and I don’t even know what that is. My kids are off to school and preschool in a few weeks. Is there anything I should do to make sure they don’t get it? — Laura K., Nashville, Tennessee

Answer: Hand, foot and mouth disease is a mild virus that mostly infects children from infancy to about 5 years of age. Sometimes, kids as old as 10 contract it, and adults have been known to get it too! We’re aware of the recent report from the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville that there’s been a steep rise in the number of cases of this enterovirus, most commonly caused by a coxsackievirus. Although it is rarely a serious infection, you want to spare your children, if at all possible.

In child day care centers and schools, it spreads through person-to-person contact. The first sign often is a spotty rash on the hands and feet, and sores may appear in the mouth. Tough cases can result in blistering on the upper arms and legs, and ulcers in the mouth. The blisters contain the virus. Until they dry, they’re highly contagious. As with any virus, it can leave kids feeling wiped out.

The virus and symptoms will resolve on their own, but if you have young ones, now would be a good time to teach or reinforce personal hygiene, especially frequent handwashing. Also, make sure the folks in charge of the preschool and the teachers are aware of the heightened need for good hygiene, so everybody stays healthy and happy.

If your child does catch it, keep him or her away from other kids for a few days — up to a week, if symptoms last that long. As for treatment, ask your doc about using child-safe pain and fever relievers and mouth sprays.

Q: I looked at the ingredients in my toothpaste, and it contains triclosan. I know it’s a hormone disruptor, and I want to go with an herbal toothpaste, but do they work? And does my family need fluoride in the toothpaste to protect our teeth? — Jessica B., Tucson, Arizona

A: Yes to your first question, and no to your second. The most important thing you and your family need to do is brush regularly: once in the morning, once before bedtime (when you floss, too) and, if you can do it, after every meal. Do that and see a dental pro every six months; that’ll maintain healthy teeth and gums.

As for herbal toothpastes, a recent randomized control study of people who had slight to moderate chronic periodontitis found that herbal toothpaste worked just as well as the control toothpastes that contained both triclosan and fluoride, and improved their periodontal conditions.

And as for fluoride, you can have too much or too little. The right balance of fluoride in water (and if you choose to have it in your toothpaste) is important for good tooth health. But you do get it in your water supply. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends water fluoridation, and the addition of fluoride to the water supply is something public water utilities have been doing since 1945.

So, you can go for the herbals, and to slow inflammation and aging, brush, floss and see a dental pro regularly.

The You Docs, Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, are the authors of “YOU: Losing Weight.” Want more? See “The Dr. Oz Show” on weekdays at 4 p.m. on WPBF Channel 25. Have a question? Go to www.RealAge.com.