HEALTH BEAT.

• Position: Brief notes - Brief Article

Clean out your medicine cabinet once a year, recommends Candy Tsourounis, assistant clinical professor of pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco. "If a medication has expired, throw it out. If there is no expiration date, get rid of it after one year." To keep track, write the date of purchase on any label without an expiration date. The primary reason for such diligence is that many active ingredients in prescription drugs, diet supplements, and herbal medication may break down over time and lose their potency. Moreover, she stresses the importance of keeping medication in the containers they come in, since the amber-colored plastic protects drugs from light and keeps out oxygen, elements that can decompose active ingredients.

Drinking water or tea and eating slower are two often over-looked tools to help people stay on weight management plans, says Diane Hester, director of clinical nutrition services, Stanford (Calif.) Hospital and Clinics. A glass of water or cup of tea about 10 minutes before every meal helps the body begin to feel full without taking in a single calorie. Since it requires at least 20-30 Minutes for the body to start to digest and satisfy the appetite, "By eating slowly, less food and calories are eaten in the amount of time it takes to process the food and begin feeling full."

Incorporating soy protein into a daily diet helps fight coronary disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicates that research shows that, when included in a low-fat and -cholesterol diet, soy protein could lower total blood cholesterol and low-density (LDL or "bad") lipoprotein cholesterol levels without adversely affecting high-density ("good") lipoprotein levels. High total blood cholesterol and LDL are proven risk factors for coronary disease.

Psychological stress can...