Moderate drinkers—men who drink around 12 glasses of alcohol a week and women who drink eight—are 30 per cent less likely than ex-drinkers to develop heart disease or suffer a fatal heart attack. The protective effect increases to nearly 50 per cent compared to non-drinkers.

A little sunbathing, taking vitamin D supplements and eating foods rich in the vitamin, such as eggs and red meat, can all help you survive cancer. The vitamin also protects against heart disease and diabetes and strengthens our bones.

Eating one egg a day lowers the risk of developing the lifestyle disease, as it's known, and now researchers have discovered why they have their protective effects.

Just seeing eggs as being high in cholesterol is simplistic; instead, they contain many bio-active compounds that are good for us, say researchers from the University of Eastern Finland.

This is because antibiotics destroy the 'good' bacteria in the gut that protect against infections and inflammation, and inflammation is the key to many chronic diseases, from arthritis, heart problems and cancer.

Although medicine accepts that over-use of antibiotics leads to resistance and 'super bugs', it can also be the gateway drug to most of the chronic diseases that afflict the West.

People taking the drugs for two months or longer were 32 per cent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, say researchers who reviewed a study involving around 36,500 women.

Many of the body's organs, including the heart, kidneys, lungs and liver, depend on serotonin, a chemical that the drugs block to treat depression.

It reduces arterial stiffness by around 42 per cent, a dramatic improvement that lowers the risk of heart disease by around 13 per cent, say researchers from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

The tipping point seems to happen around the age of 70 when any protective effects of aspirin are far outweighed by its dangers, say researchers. Only people with existing heart problems should continue taking the drug.

But even much younger people—aged from 45—shouldn't be taking aspirin if they are healthy; instead, they should be looking to prevent heart disease with a healthier diet and exercise, say researchers from Monash University in Australia.

The diet has been tested on a group of 45 people who were overweight or obese, and who were also given a low-fat diet—but without avocado—to see if that worked any better on their cholesterol levels.

They are hoping the seeds will eventually be developed as a functional food to fight a range of other inflammatory diseases, too, such as arthritis, heart disease and some cancers.

Baking soda, or bicarbonate of soda in the UK, is a raising agent for baking—but it also has enormous therapeutic value. It reduces acid levels in the blood—which helps reverse heart disease and osteoporosis—but it also moderates the immune system's inflammatory responses. That means that auto-immune problems like rheumatoid arthritis—where the body is essentially attacking itself—can be eased.

A 40g (one-and-a-half ounces) slice of cheese eaten every day reduces the risk of heart disease by 14 per cent and a stroke by 10 per cent, researchers have discovered. The risk reduction was greatest in those who ate the most cheese, up to 40 g, say researchers at Soochow University in Suzhou, China.

Six or more cups a day increase your risk of heart disease by 22 per cent, researchers reckon. This seems to be the tipping point for coffee drinking, after which your blood pressure will rise. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one cause of cardiovascular disease, still the world's major killer.

Standing, walking or even doing some light exercise for 20 minutes that would otherwise have been spent sitting has a dramatic positive impact on the wellbeing of people who already have average levels of health.

Despite the growth of the low-fats industry, a diet high in dairy fats seems to be protective, as several new studies have found. But digging further into the data, researchers from the University of Haifa in Israel have concluded the diet almost doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes for women—and yet protects men.

The dark chocolate and olive oil combined are especially good for heart health, while drinking coffee seems to be associated with longevity, and people who drink at least four cups a day are 64 per cent less likely to have a premature death.

The latest research conclusively establishes that dairy fat doesn't increase the risk of heart disease—and certainly doesn't clog up our arteries. Despite the growing evidence, the latest dietary guidelines for Americans still recommends eating fat-free or low-fat foods.

The incentives cost UK taxpayers around £1 bn annually—and the average family doctor can earn, on average, an extra £17,000 ($21,711) a year to prescribe drugs for a range of chronic conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

But the patient isn't benefiting. A major review of cash-for-prescriptions schemes has found that the drugs aren't helping the patient live a longer life or reducing the rate of hospital admissions for conditions such as heart disease and cancer.

The most popular—and cheapest—brands of vitamins and minerals don't help prevent any of the major diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or premature death.