It should be no surprise that a nutritious diet and regular exercise help us live longer. That's why these two must-haves appear in a top 10 list created by Dr. G. Medical Examiner.

Day in and day out, Dr. G. determines how recently departed people died. Sounds like a morbid job, doesn't it? It's actually pretty amazing if you watch her show, though. She takes clues from everything and sometimes comes to unexpected conclusions. For families that have lost loved ones without much warning, I expect that the explanation of their loved one's death helps to give them closure.

An expert in death, Dr. G. has come out with a book to help preserve life. Discovery Health has her top 10 ways not to die. Here are a few of her tips:

• Know your numbers. Keep your BMI in a healthy range by exercising and eating right. Check your blood pressure often. Have your cholesterol and blood sugar levels tested.
• Listen to your body. Don't ignore unusual pains or aches ... tell your doctor about any concerns you have.
• Use as instructed. Take medications according to your doctor's instructions.

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My son has ADHD and I know how important a good breakfast is for him. When he gets a nutritious breakfast -- preferably with some whole grains -- and gets good exercise in the morning, he's always more focused and better able to control his behavior. Previous research has confirmed what I (and probably every other parent) knew: Breakfast does a kid's body -- and mind -- good.

A new study supports this previous finding and takes it one step further. It turns out that, while beneficial for all, the benefits of breakfast vary in boys and girls. Researchers had half of students in the study eat a standardized breakfast while the other half didn't eat breakfast. All students later took a test to measure cognitive ability and mood. A week later, the test was repeated except the previous non-breakfast eaters ate a morning meal and vice versa.

While there was measurable improvement in focus, all of the students who ate breakfast reported feeling more alert. In addition, boys reported having an elevated mood and the boys performed better on visuospatial memory tests.

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What if you could get a home kit for testing your DNA: all you had to do was spit into a vial and send it off. The results would be posted on the Internet for your own viewing pleasure. Would you pay $1,000 to do this? Well it's not just hypothetical -- a company called 23andme based out of San Francisco is doing just that by using only people's saliva.

The company likes to brag that "genetics just got personal," and if you haven't made the connection yet, the name comes from the number of chromosome pairs humans have. After sending in your saliva sample, they conduct dozens of tests to assess your risk factor for just about anything. Breast cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, even heart attacks are addressed using this method.

But critics think getting potentially disheartening news about your health right off the Internet at home could be doing the consumer injustice. They say because there's no doctor there to talk you through it, or because saliva was the only thing tested, the accuracy may not be as reliable. That's not stopping some people, however. Even an executive at Pixar took the plunge. If the thought of grappling this kind of news sounds scary, there's always the traditional doctor's office. For others wanting a new way to engage their medical information, this proves how personal the Internet is making every facet of our lives.

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30 U.S. states still don't test patients for the virus that causes AIDS, even after health officials continue to want all Americans routinely tested for the virus. This according to a report released this week.

This tells us that the states in question probably do not have any intention on heeding newer guidelines from the CDC that were released last year. The CDC, probably a bit miffed, stated that six states has modified their testing to simplify HIV tests, while other states have pending change that would accomplish the same thing.

What do you think: do you want all teens and adults under age 65 to be tested for HIV when they visit doctor's offices, ERs and other health care facilities?

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I spend a lot of time listening to internet radio while I work and, while I normally wouldn't pick up on Tour de France news as it doesn't rate very high on my interest scale, I have heard a lot about the famous cycling race over the last few days. The 2007 race has been called a disaster after several instances of doping were reported among a number of riders.

What I don't understand is, how do these cyclists assume that they won't get caught? According to this piece, a random sample of riders are tested each day including the race leader and the winner of the current stage, along with a number of other riders. I figure that athletes who show positive results for banned substances have taken them as they think it will help them win, and they must know that they will be tested at the end of the day and found out, so what's the point? Doesn't seem like a very intelligent strategy.

It's a shame that a few riders had to tarnish the reputation of the entire race, but perhaps this will make others smarten up next year. And in happier sports news, not a single one of the 5,500 participants at the Pan-American Games, which just came to a close, tested positive for any banned substances. Apparently these athletes have brains as well as brawn.

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June 27 marks the day which many hope will raise awareness for HIV by encouraging high-risk people to get tested. This is an annual recognition started by the CDC and the National Association of People with AIDS. Considering the potential that over 200,000 people in the United States are walking around without even knowing they carry HIV, this cause should mobilize those individuals to find out.

Don't count out men and women who are over the hill either. Nearly twenty percent of the people who have these sexually transmitted diseases are over 50. So what can you do if you're at risk? Stop by a clinic today and have a rapid test or a normal blood test conducted. Because it's National HIV Testing Day after all, many doctor's offices will not charge for these tests.

Of course you can always try testing yourself as well. Home Access provides the only FDA-approved home-testing kit for HIV. However they get you on the name, because the kit only gives you the material to take a blood sample. After that you have to mail it off to a clinic and wait for the results. Whether at home or in an office, today's the day to get tested if you're at risk.

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With all the recent food poisoning scares and recalls in the news lately I'm not exactly sure where this bit of news fits in, but a new test has been developed that allows for much faster detection of salmonella in meat. Obviously when it comes to perishables like meat, the faster the fresher so that's definitely a good thing. But on the other hand although this new test is faster it's not necessarily better. The results from the new test were "comparable" to the old methods, just quicker. Currently it takes as long as 5 days (why so long?) compared to only 12 hours if they switch to this new method.

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At-home test kits used to be limited to blood sugars and pregnancies, but nowadays we have so many more options. There are now home tests that can tell you your cholesterol levels, tests for detecting symptoms of colon cancer, telling you your HIV status, and even for allergies. There are even tests becoming available for things like making sure your coffee really is decaffeinated (a simple dipstick into your cup), seeing if the glass of wine you had last night made its way into your breast milk (and if it did, when it's gone), and a way for testing food for salmonella and E. coli.

Some of these sound like really good ideas, but some of them are also a little expensive and possibly dangerous. For example, if you suspect you may have colon cancer do you really want to rely on a home-kit for completely accurate results?

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Of those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, almost all had "pre-diabetes" before-hand. Pre-diabetes is defined as blood glucose levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to actually be diabetes. There may be as many as 54 million people in the U.S. that have pre-diabetes, and it's important to know if you're one of them for 2 main reasons: research suggests that internal damage to arteries and organs may already be happening in the pre-diabetes stage, and it's possible to prevent full-blown type 2 diabetes from ever developing if you take steps to manage your blood sugar early.

So how do you know if you have pre-diabetes? Testing your blood sugar at home isn't the way to go, instead you should see your doctor and have either a fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). As far as treatment if you do have it? Expect your doctor to recommend some diet and exercise strategies, as most people have positive results with losing as little as 10 pounds.

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