death

Can you SMELL your own risks?

Your sense of smell can let you know plenty about what's going on.

It'll tell you when there's a fire... or just a BBQ. It'll announce with glee when there's something delicious around, and warn you away from something that's gone bad.

But there's one smell your nose CAN'T pick up on, and that's the smell of something seriously wrong in your own body, as new research reveals a surprising warning sign of deadly health risks: the loss of your sense of smell.

In other words, the nose doesn't always know!

The risk is nothing to sniff at, with a single wrong answer on a 13-question smell test boosting the odds of dying by 8 percent over 10 years.

The more wrong answers, the bigger the risk... with a complete loss of the sense of smell increasing the odds of death by nearly 20 percent.

In fact, over the course of the 10-year study, nearly 25 percent of the 1,774 patients had died -- and ALL of them had at least some loss of sense of smell.

Other studies have also found a link between loss of smell and the risk of serious health problems. Smell -- or loss of smell -- might even be the single strongest indication of dementia around.

There's no blood test for Alzheimer's yet. But in the not-too-distant future, there's very likely to be a smell test!

This new study shows there's even more potential for the smell test, as the folks who took part weren't dementia patients, and they didn't die of the disease.

That makes loss of smell a completely independent risk factor for a visit from the Grim Reaper.

There's no official sniff test out there just yet, but you can certainly arrange your own easily enough. Many of the tests used in studies rely on strong and easy-to-identify smells using items you probably have around your home such as peanut butter and lemon.

Don't panic if you're noticing your sense of smell is fading or even gone altogether with some things.

It's a risk factor, not something set in stone.

If anything, finding out now gives you time to sniff around to figure out what's wrong and fix it before it becomes an issue.

Start with a visit to a doc. Most folks put off their physicals and bloodwork, which can reveal hidden problems, health risks, and more.

But if you spot them now, you can have them fixed in time to enjoy at least one scent: the sweet smell of success.

Slower reactions could lead to a quicker death

It's not often I recommend playing computer games. With three kids at home, I'm usually the one pulling the plug on those noisy time-wasters.

But I'm going to press “pause" on my opposition to videogames for just a moment, because there is one out there that might have a little bit of value.

And while it might look like a game for kids, this one is aimed squarely at you.

It works as a reaction test timing your response, and new research finds that adults who do poorly at it have a 25 percent higher risk of an early death over 15 years than adults who are quick on the draw.

In the game, you're supposed to shoot darts at sheep trying to escape. It's not as easy as it sounds; some sheep make like they're about the break and don't -- and if you shoot them, you get penalized.

If you want to give it a shot yourself, you can play for free right here.

Try it the reaction test few times before you consider the results. And if even after a little practice you find you're a little on the slow side, don't stress it too much -- it's a game, not gospel.

That said, slowing down too fast and without an obvious explanation could be a warning sign of something other than an inability to play videogames. It could be an indication of a neurological problem or an issue with your central nervous system.

In many cases, these problems can be detected and corrected if you have a doctor who knows how to test for and treat them.

I recommend working with a holistic medical doctor -- and if you're in the Southern California area, I can run those tests here in my own clinic.

Believe me, they're a lot more accurate than any videogame.

Contact my clinic for more information or to make an appointment. And if you're not in the area, I'm also available by phone. Call 855-DOC-MARK to learn more.

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