Any time I use the words “soda” and “study” in the same sentence, it’s never good news for soda. I can’t recall a single study that shows soda benefits anything other than the bank accounts of the people who sell it.

And the latest research is no exception.

A new look at data on 42,883 men between the ages of 40 and 75 finds that those who drank the most sugary drinks had a 20 percent higher risk of a heart attack during the 22-year study — a link that held even after adjusting for risk factors such as smoking, activity levels and a family history of heart problems.

What’s more, the researchers found that for each serving of a sugary drink you down in a day — like one 12-ounce cola — your risk of cardiovascular disease is boosted by 19 percent.

In addition, the men who drank the most sugary drinks also had lower levels of HDL cholesterol — that’s the good stuff — and higher levels of deadly triglycerides.

Think that’s bad? Hold on — because the study in Circulation gets even worse: Men who drank the most soda had the highest levels of C-reactive protein, or CRP. That’s an inflammation marker that can mean anything from heart disease to cancer to an autoimmune disorder.

But none of this should be surprising, since all of these problems have been linked to sugar before — and drinks are one of the biggest sources of sugar in the modern diet.

A single can of soda, for example, has roughly 40 grams of the sweet stuff. That’s like going to Starbucks and ordering a “tall” (or what the rest of us call a “small”) 12-ounce coffee… and putting 10 sugars into it.

It’s an insane amount of sugar.

For some incredible visuals on just how much of it is in each can, bottle, and Big Gulp, check out the images on the “Sugar Stacks” website.

All that sweet stuff is bound to play havoc with your body. Along with all the risks I mentioned earlier, even a moderate soda habit can cause your blood sugar levels to spike — eventually leading to metabolic syndrome and even diabetes.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’ll be any safer switching to diet either. Other studies have found that diet soda drinkers actually gain weight — and at least one study linked diet soft drinks to an increased heart risk of its own, along with an increased risk of stroke.

I’m not done with soda yet — keep reading for more.

There’s an easy way to ease the constant pain of rheumatoid arthritis. It’s free, requires no visits to the doctor, and can be done just about anywhere.

All you have to do is get yourself moving again — but the latest research shows that four in 10 rheumatoid patients are almost completely inactive.

This isn’t by some exaggerated self-reported measurement, either. In this study, 176 RA patients wore accelerometers to measure their activity — and 42 percent of them never got even 10 minutes of sustained movement over an entire week.

Many of them said they didn’t move because they didn’t believe it would help… while others told researchers they just didn’t feel motivated.

Here’s some motivation that I hope will make a believer out of you: Moderate activity — and we’re not talking about pumping iron or training for a marathon, mind you — has proven time and again to help ease the pain of rheumatoid.

Now, I get why so many sufferers won’t try it — and if you’re among them, I can hear you shouting at the computer right now: “It hurts too much to move!!!!”

I get it.

But believe it or not, once you start moving that pain often goes away and then some — and it’s perfectly OK to keep it light, because even simple stretching exercises can bring real relief.

One study found that tai chi — the slow Chinese movements often practiced in parks in the morning — can decrease pain, increase function and give RA patients the confidence they need to keep moving.

Another study conducted by Johns Hopkins found that eight weeks of yoga can decrease swelling and tenderness in the joints of rheumatoid patients.

And if yoga and tai chi aren’t your thing, you can try any number of activities — from a brisk daily walk through your local park to gardening. Just pick something you enjoy and keep at it.

But while getting more movement can help ease the pain of RA, it won’t cure it. RA is an autoimmune disorder — and the only way to stop or reverse it is to find out why your immune system is attacking itself.

In many cases, it’s a food allergy — and simply finding the foods that trigger your arthritis and learning to avoid them can end the pain for good. A naturopathic physician can help you with that.

Dr. Jonathan Wright has also found that many RA patients suffer from low levels of hydrochloric acid and pepsin in the stomach. To find out how to check your levels — and boost them if you’re running low — read his free report on the unexpected culprits behind rheumatoid arthritis.

I can’t think of anything less appetizing than a drink filled with thousands of worm eggs — but if it meant beating a serious and life-wrecking disease with limited options, I’d swallow it all without thinking twice.

I know — as far as the gross-o-meter goes, this one is off the charts… but a series of new studies finds that stomach worms can actually help defeat multiple sclerosis.

In one small study, four of the five MS patients who drank a solution of 2,500 pig whipworm eggs every two weeks for three months had fewer of the brain lesions that mark the condition.

In an upcoming study, 70 patients will let researchers infect them with hookworms. Instead of drinking eggs, these worms will burrow into the shoulder and wriggle their way to the stomach.

Both lines of research are promising, but there’s at least one big difference between the two: Your body will take care of whipworms on its own, but you’ll need de-worming tablets to flush out the hookworms.

So, of the two, it would seem as if the worm juice might be the better option — but I’m sure most MS patients would eat a plate live earthworms if it meant a cure for the disease.

I don’t think a trip to your doctor’s office will ever resemble an episode of “Fear Factor,” but stomach worms might be part of the mainstream care for this disease soon enough — because if earlier studies are any indication, the research under way now should get some serious results.

In one study out of Argentina just a few years ago, researchers compared 12 MS patients who suffered a parasite infection to 12 with no worms. Those with the worms had just three relapses over an average follow-up of 4.6 years
versus 56 among those without the parasites.

The worm patients also had less disability, fewer brain lesions as revealed on MRI scans, and measurable beneficial changes in the blood.

MS isn’t the only autoimmune disorder that you can worm your way out of. Other studies have shown that the creepy-crawlies can help fight Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome along with asthma and even some allergies.

These are all tough-to-beat conditions… yet some of the simplest creatures on the planet may be able to stop them cold.

That’s humbling… and yes, a little bit gross.

We’ve all seen about a million television shows or movies where it seems like the villain is about to get caught, and then he somehow makes a daring escape.

I’m often reminded of that frustrating plotline when I read medical research. Sometimes the researchers are so close to understanding a fundamental truth… to uncovering the real culprit behind a disease… that it breaks my heart when they don’t.

Case in point, researchers from the West Virginia School of Medicine recently took a group of kids with allergies and asthma and moved them from an Italian city to the countryside for a week of camp.

After just one week in the countryside, they all improved. They were able to breathe easier, and their lungs functioned better in clear and measurable ways, according to the results published in the March issue of Pediatrics.

Unfortunately, the researchers were achingly close to making a conclusion that would have helped an awful lot of asthmatics… but they didn’t. Instead, they concluded that we need to improve air quality in cities and reduce pollution so that our children can breathe better.

That’s an admirable goal – but for all the folks suffering from asthma right now, it’s not going to be of much use.

The real message of this study should be that asthma is an autoimmune disorder, triggered by allergens. So if you live in a city and have asthma, there may be some allergens in the air (or just in your home, for that matter) that are helping cause it. Get yourself away from those allergens, and you could start to feel better.

Now, as a longtime resident of Montana, I have to say I’m a little biased towards fresh air and open skies. But we have folks here who suffer from asthma and other illnesses because they’re allergic to ragweed pollen. Or all the timothy grass you’ll often find on the vast ranches and prairies. Or the majestic elms that dot our great state.

See, battling asthma isn’t about urban areas versus rural ones – it has more to do with identifying the specific allergens in your life, and removing them. In this case, rather than remove the allergen, they removed the people. That can work, too, as long as the allergen is not present in your new location – but it’s not really a practical solution for most people.

So for the rest of us, we need more accurate and thorough testing for our allergies, so that we can better understand what is triggering our symptoms. Then, rather then moving away, see if you can remove those allergens.

Much like the kids in this study, I think you’ll see improvements, and relatively quickly. Our bodies have an amazing capacity to heal themselves when given the chance, and you don’t need a vacation in the Italian countryside to enjoy that everyday miracle.