WATER WORKS

Thirst can masquerade as hunger, which is one reason dieters should stay hydrated. Now German researchers have found another reason: Water fuels your body’s fat burners. For 90 minutes after drinking 16 ounces of chilled H2O, adults saw their metabolisms rise by 24 percent over their average rates. According to the study author, Jens Jordan, M.D., the mechanism is partly due to the energy your body generates to warm the water during digestion.

LOSE BIG, STAY SMALL If your goal is longterm success, perhaps the “best” diet is simply the one you can best stick to. In a recent study, Brown University scientists tracked the diets of people who had dropped at least 30 pounds and maintained their new weight for 3 years. Contrary to popular opinion, the researchers discovered A mouthful of fruit prevents you from stuffing your face. that low-carbohydrate dieters were just as successful at keeping weight off as dieters who followed a low-fat approach. Which just goes to show that more than one weight-loss method can be effective. Interestingly, the carb cutters— who didn’t bother to count calories—reported feeling less deprived than their low-fat counterparts.

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Your hero training
Do 2 or 3 sets of each exercise in this routine, resting 30 to 60 seconds between sets. Perform the workout 2 or 3 times a week, and rest at least a day between sessions.

Grab a pullup bar with an overhand grip, your hands a bit more than shoulder-width apart. Pull up toward your right hand as you simultaneously bend your right knee and lift it toward the bar. When your chin is above the bar, lower back down and repeat to the other side. Do 10 reps.

1 Tea off in the morning
Hot tea can slash your risk of kidney cancer by 15 percent, according to a review in the International Journal of Cancer. Try pu-erh tea, which is better than green or black tea at preventing DNA damage.

2 Sleep smarter
Too much sleep, or not enough of it, can kill you. A British study found that getting more than 9 hours of sack time a night, or less than 6, doubles your risk of an early death from any cause. Aim for 7 to 8 hours a night.

3 Pop in your lenses postshower
Soaping up while wearing your contacts can expose your eyes to infection-causing waterborne microbes, say University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.

4 Drink wine, stay lean
Polyphenols, the compounds found in red wine, help your body block fat absorption, an Israeli study found. Red-wine marinades work, too.

5 Lose the lint
Taking 2 seconds to empty the lint trap in your clothes dryer can prevent you from being a dryer-fire victim.

6 Check your neck
An American Journal of Medicine study found that a mildly underactive thyroid can boost your heart-disease risk by 65 percent. A quick blood test can assess your level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

7 Lean back
Parking your torso at a 90-degree angle strains your spine, say Scottish and Canadian researchers. Instead, give your chair the La-Z-Boy treatment and recline the seat back slightly. The ideal angle is 45 degrees off vertical.

8 Scent your air safely
Some air fresheners contain phthalates, compounds that may disrupt hormone processes, Natural Resources Defense Council testing reveals. Stick with Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects.

9 Boost your defenses
An Archives of Internal Medicine review reports that 400 IU of vitamin D a day reduces your risk of an early death by 7 percent. Try Carlson’s vitamin D (carlsonlabs.com).

10 Skip the spray
Using household spray cleaners just once a week increases your risk of an asthma attack by 76 percent, say Spanish researchers. Use wipes instead.

11 Steam your broccoli
Italian researchers recently discovered that steaming broccoli increases its concentration of glucosinolates (compounds found to fight cancer) by 30 percent. Boiling actually lowers the levels.

12 Stretch it out
Genes in your body linked to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity can be “turned on” if you sit for hours on end, reports a study in Diabetes. Hit the “off” button by taking hourly laps during TV, book, and Web sessions.

When the rain hits and the water stands, you’ve got a problem in your hands. Your tires hit a patch, lose traction and end in a crash. The bad rhymes won’t kill you but aquaplaning will. Discover how to avoid it.

Aquaplaning (or also known as hydroplaning) happens when water on the roadway accumulates in front of your vehicle’s tires faster that the weight of your vehicle can push it out of the way. The water pressure can cause your car to rise up and slide on top of a thin layer of water between your tyres and the road, essentially floating your wheels momentarily. To better conceptualize aquaplaning, imagine your vehicle riding on top of the water, like a wake boarder on a lake as the motorboat pulls it along at speed. The faster the motorboat progresses, the more lift the wake boarder experiences. In less than a second on the road, your car can completely lose contact with the ground, putting you in immediate danger of sliding out of your lane.