A dose of Rover might just be the perfect medicine for heart patients. Research, reported by the American Heart Association, has found that spending time with a dog helps heart and lung function by lowering blood pressure, diminishing the release of harmful hormones, and decreasing anxiety.

The best news, is that it doesn't take much time with a furry friend to see results. In the study, hospitalized heart patients spent just 12 minutes with the dogs -- so even short-term exposure to dogs has beneficial physiological and psychosocial effects on patients.

Personally, I can attest that dogs are a great comfort ... they make people happier, calmer, and feel more loved ... this has to be a huge help when you are scared and not feeling well.

Is your trainer a real dog? No, literally, is he or she a dog? Well, researchers from the University of Victoria found that having a canine as a pet helps whip many people into shape.

The research suggests that people who own dogs walk almost twice as much per day as people who don't. Dogs, particularly those who spend most of their time indoors, require a considerable physical commitment from their owners. From play time to pee time, let's face it, sometimes it's hard to tell who has who on the leash.

But, as the research reveals, the burdensome task of taking your dog for a walk during your favorite TV show or just about any other inopportune time of the day is actually benefiting you just as much. Think of it as hiring a full-time personal trainer, only this one poops in public and may occasionally get fleas (then again, I wouldn't put these traits past a few human personal trainers I've come across over the years).

In former president Clintons latest victory for Americas kids -- five major food companies agreed to create and promote healthier snacks for sale in schools. Healthier, meaning lower sugar, fat and salt -- helping todays kids avoid obesity and future heart disease.

The companies promising to provide healthier snacks and support healthier kids include: Pepsi Co., Dannon, Mars Inc., Campbell's, and Kraft Foods, Inc. Among the proposed health snacks, Pepsi Co. promised reduced salt potato chips. Does that then make potato chips healthy?

According to consumer watchdogs, these are only baby steps. Food distributors -- not the food companies that Clinton made the deal with -- have the final say on which snacks go into the school vending machines. Not only that, but the agreement is 100 percent voluntary and can be neglected by the major food companies at any time. "A better proposal is to ban the marketing and sale of junk food in schools," said Gary Ruskin, executive director Commercial Alert, a non-profit consumer public health group.