Next time you take a dip in your local pool, close your eyes and picture a giant Petri dish. Not so refreshing, is it?

Like it or not, pools, rivers and lakes can be packed with nasty bacteria… and a new study out of Australia shows just what you risk when you take that dip.

The researchers found that swimmers had a 25 percent higher risk of gastroenteritis–better known as stomach flu–in the week or so following a splash in their local pool. And people who take their chances in rivers, lakes and the ocean are 77 percent more likely to get intimate with their toilets in the week following their swim sessions.

And if you think chlorine is the answer, think again. Not only is this toxin bad for your body, it’s also not a kill-all for germs. Some bacteria, like Cryptosporidium, can survive for days in a chlorinated pool.

The worst part of all is that the bacteria most likely to survive that chlorine assault are the ones that enter the pool through the rear exit… of your fellow swimmers. That’s right–the bacteria that live in fecal material.

Anyone who has or recently had diarrhea could be these oozing nasty germs. Anyone who’s changed a diaper between dips and jumped back in without washing could also be spreading them (and let’s face it–that’s something you see all the time poolside).

At the end of the day, your local pool is only as clean as the filthiest person who paddled into it. And I don’t know if you’ve been people-watching at the poolside lately, but some of these folks are in pretty bad shape.

They contaminate the water… then all it takes is a little splash in the mouth or eyes for the bacteria to win their own version of a swimming medal: a brand-new human host.

This isn’t just a problem in far-away Australia–it’s an issue here, too. One U.S. survey last year found that nearly half of all people who enter public pools admit to some pretty gross behavior.

For example, 17 percent say they’ve urinated in the pool, and a third say they don’t shower before swimming.

These are the ones who admit to this, mind you. The real number is probably higher–much higher.

And you want to swim with these people?

Do yourself a favor–take up biking instead.

You can’t beat Father Time–he catches up to all of us eventually–but you can slow him down.

And four new studies–all published in Archives of Internal Medicine–show that one of the best ways to fight Father Time is by keeping yourself fit.

In short, the studies found that:

• The sooner you start, the better: A long-term study found that women who were exercising at the age of 60 were healthier and had a lower risk of chronic diseases as well as physical and cognitive impairment when they reached 70. They were also less likely to have had heart surgery.
• Working your body saves your mind: Adults over 55 who exercised had a much lower risk of developing cognitive impairment. The harder they worked out, the lower that risk.
• Fitness keeps you focused: Senior women who exercised with resistance training had improved mental focus and conflict resolution skills. And naturally, they had better muscles, too.
• Sweating strengthens your bones: Women who exercised had higher bone density in the spine and hip and a 66 percent lower risk of falling. Those who did take a tumble had half the risk of bone fracture than those who did no exercise. These studies affirm what we already know–exercise can help you stay in shape, live longer, boost your energy levels and fight heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, obesity and cancer.

I’ve told you about the importance of fitness before… and I hope you’ve taken it to heart and started your own workout plan if you weren’t already getting some steady movement.

But if you haven’t, you can start today, and you don’t need to spend a dime on a gym or sign up for the Senior Olympics. You can transform any fun activity into exercise… turn that daily walk in the park into a brisk stroll. Then, convert that stroll into a daily jog.

Even making love can be considered exercise… as long as you can do it for 20 to 30 minutes a day, every day (and if that’s part of your daily routine, I salute you).

Try biking, hiking, or dancing.

We all want to give our kids gifts that will last forever… but a lifetime supply of meds shouldn’t be among them.

Yet that’s where we’re headed as our already-overmedicated youths are being hit with another needless worry: cholesterol.

The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention says 20 percent of all U.S. teens have high cholesterol levels, including 40 percent of obese kids… and you know what that means.

It’s statin time.

If that sounds crazy to you, that’s because it is — downright insane, really. But the American Academy of Pediatrics already laid the groundwork for this, calling for statins in kids as young as 8 years old.

That’s a Big Pharma dream come true because once you’re on statins, you’re supposed to keep taking them… right up to the day they bury you and your prescription bottles. Imagine how many years of refills an 8-year-old has waiting for him.

But that’s not even the most outrageous part. Get ready, because this one’s a biggie: There’s virtually no scientific evidence for any of this. None.

We already know what statins can do to adults: muscle pain, debilitating weakness, liver damage and kidney problems, just to name a few. But no one knows what these drugs will do to a child, especially over the long term. There’s just no research.

You’d think they’d look into that before giving these drugs to children.

Nope — as usual, it’s prescribe first, ask questions later.

Hey, feds — we’ve got some bigger issues here. Most kids need FEWER drugs, not more. Millions of children are already on a whole pharmacy’s worth of unnecessary prescription pills, from antidepressants to ADHD meds to painkillers.

Add it all up and some kids are already using those seven- day pill containers to track all their meds.

But we can solve problems like high teen cholesterol and more through dietary and lifestyle changes. Most of these problems have the same root: nutritional and hormonal deficiencies created by processed foods and carbohydrate overload.

Consider sugar the worst drug of all, and make it your mission to get your child or grandchild off it. Then, get him or her off the sofa and back outside every day.

That’s your real answer… but since they don’t sell a drug that can do that, they’re not interested in talking about.

Big Pharma wants you to think there’s no way off the statin train… but I beg to differ.

Most people can control cholesterol levels through lifestyle changes, but if you’ve had no luck, you still don’t need to turn to those drugs. One new study shows how a perfectly natural treatment used for centuries beat a common statin.

It’s called red yeast rice. It was actually banned once because it contains a natural version of a common statin (no wonder it works so well). But it’s also more effective, safer and comes with a lower risk of side effects than Big Pharma’s synthetic alternatives.

Researchers looked at 43 adults who had tried statins, but stopped taking them because of that infamous muscle pain — one of the main side effects of these drugs. Some were given 2400mg of red yeast rice a day for 12 weeks, while the patients who drew the short straw got the drug pravastatin for the same period.

Those who took red yeast rice saw a 30 percent drop in LDL cholesterol levels (that’s the bad stuff), while those on the drug saw a 27 percent drop, according to the study published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

But the good news doesn’t stop there: 9 percent of those on meds had to stop due to those notorious muscle problems… versus just 5 percent in the red yeast rice group.

No wonder Big Pharma’s been trying to replicate this stuff for years!

Too bad they can’t sell the real thing. Well, they can — but they’re not interested. That’s because you can’t patent a natural substance — and if you can’t patent it, you can’t make a big profit off it.

But they have pulled a few tricks to try to keep this natural competitor out of your store… including that ban I mentioned earlier.

Get this — Big Pharma’s FDA pals considered red yeast rice “contaminated” with a drug since it contains a natural version of a statin. That’s a little like saying tomatoes have been contaminated with red.

Just remember: the real key to cholesterol control isn’t in a pill, no matter what Big Pharma tells you. It’s in your lifestyle. If you commit to a better diet and steady exercise, you’ll see the kind of changes that’ll keep you off the drug train for good.