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Here's what you can do about the three most common foot issues related to aging.

When our feet hurt, we hurt all over. That saying is often attributed to the Greek philosopher Socrates, and it's as relevant today as it was more than 2,500 years ago.

"Our feet are our vehicle to an active lifestyle," says Dr. Christopher DiGiovanni, chief of the Foot and Ankle Service at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital and Newton Wellesley Hospital. "If your feet are not sound and healthy, it's tough to keep the rest of you healthy, too."

In the journals

Zinc oxide (ZO) is one of the most effective ingredients in sunscreen, but previous studies have suggested it could potentially damage skin cells. Now, a small study in the February 2019 Journal of Investigative Dermatology has found that ZO nanoparticles don't penetrate the skin or damage skin on a cellular level even with repeated applications.

ZO is one of 17 active sunscreen ingredients approved by the FDA. ZO offers broad-spectrum protection and shields against both UVB rays, which cause sunburn, and UVA rays, which penetrate more deeply and are more likely to damage cell DNA and increase the risk of skin cancer.

In the journals

Spinach is one of the best sources for the antioxidant lutein, which may promote eye health and reduce the risk of macular degeneration. A new study in the March 30, 2019, issue of Food Chemistry suggests that eating uncooked chopped spinach can ensure you get the highest amounts compared with traditional cooking methods.

The researchers measured the lutein content of baby spinach after it was fried, boiled, and steamed. They found that lutein levels dropped by 40% after only four minutes of boiling, and by 90% after 90 minutes, while levels decreased by more than 60% after just two minutes of frying. Spinach lost about 50% of its lutein after four minutes of steaming.

Microneedling was once viewed with skepticism, but it can be an effective procedure to improve the skin.

If the idea of poking yourself in the face with tiny needles in hopes of improving your skin sounds a little bizarre to you, you're not alone. For years, the medical establishment looked at the practice, known as microneedling, with a leery side-eye.

"I didn't take it seriously until relatively recently," says Dr. Kenneth Arndt, medical editor of the Harvard Special Health Report Skin Care and Repair and a founding editorial board member of the Ì첩ÌåÓý Letter.

The answer to that question is becoming clearer, thanks to new research.

Some 10% of American adults regularly take an omega-3 supplement, despite uncertainty about whether these products truly live up to their health claims. But two new studies published in November 2018 shed some light on who might benefit from omega-3 supplements � and who probably won't.

VITAL

The first study was the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL), a large multiyear study with 25,871 healthy adults with no history of cardiovascular (heart or blood vessel–related) disease and at "usual risk" for it. The group was racially diverse and chosen to be representative of the general population, says the study's lead author Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, professor of medicine and the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women's Health at Harvard Medical School.

Research we're watching

An ongoing lack of sleep may lead to more fatty buildup in the arteries, according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers measured the sleep quality of 3,974 people with no history of heart disease.

Participants wore a sleep monitor for seven days and were then categorized based how much they slept: short sleep (six to seven hours a night), reference sleep (seven to eight hours a night) and long sleep (more than eight hours a night). Study authors also looked at how fragmented participants' sleep was throughout the nights. They then compared those findings to measures of arterial buildup in the heart and other parts of the body.

There are many types of yoga. One of the most popular forms practiced in the United States is known as hatha yoga, a style that focuses on maintaining specific poses. What sets yoga apart from most other exercise programs is that it places as great an emphasis on mental fitness as on physical fitness, what's known as the mind-body connection.

Studies suggest that yoga has benefits for people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraines, low back pain, and many other types of chronic pain conditions. It can also improve mood, which can be helpful to people with CFS who are depressed.

A walking program is good for you; so is resistance or weight training; balance exercises help improve your athletic abilities and keep you independent.

The current U.S. physical activity guidelines emphasize all three aspects of fitness. Here are the recommendations:

Medications can be lifesaving by performing critical tasks such as keeping blood sugar at safe levels, hearts thumping rhythmically, and moods afloat. Yet side effects and interactions between drugs (both prescription and nonprescription drugs) may increase your fall risk in numerous ways. Prime examples include blurred vision, dizziness or lightheadedness stemming from low blood pressure, drowsiness, delirium, and impaired alertness or judgment. Some medications may affect the inner ear, spurring temporary or permanent balance disorders.

Often, problems stem from the sheer number of medicines you take, rather than a single drug. According to a national health survey, a third of 45- to 64-year-olds and two-thirds of people 65 and older take three or more prescription drugs over the course of a month. And 16% of 45- to 64-year-olds, as well as 39% of people 65 and over, take five or more drugs. Some gerontologists say they rarely see patients who take fewer than six or seven. Taking many medications at the same time can boost the severity and frequency of side effects among people of any age. Older adults are especially vulnerable, because people's bodies absorb and respond to drugs differently with age.