Exposing button mushrooms to sunlight can fortify them with bone-strengthening, immunity-boosting vitamin D. Experts have discovered that mushrooms, like humans, produce vitamin D in response to sunlight. Indoor storage and packaging limits that exposure. The solution: Set out the mushrooms in direct sun for an hour. Just three sun-soaked mushrooms provide an entire day’s RDA of vitamin D.

 

Exercising in the evening may benefit your heart more, found a study. People who regularly worked out after 6 p.m. were less likely to develop heart disease than those who did so be-fore 8a.m. Blood vessel tissue may not respond well in the morning to exercise-related changes in blood flow. For maximum gains, schedule four evening workouts a week.
 

Vitamin D might be the secret to uncovering your six-pack. After scientists at the University of Minnesota in the US assessed body fat and vitamin D levels in ice hockey players, they found that those with the highest D levels had the lowest body-fat percentages. More research is needed to establish a causal link. 
 

If you have been striking out on the dating scene lately, perhaps it’s time to learn from the masters of the pick-up: The French. In a recent study there, men who paid women a simple compliment before asking them out had a 16 per cent higher success rate.
 

We’ll say it again: Chewing your food thoroughly may aid in weight management. A study found that people who chewed their pizza slices more consumed less food. Normal-weight participants also had a slower eating rate that those who were overweight. Form a habit of chewing more: Eat regular meals so that you don’t get too hungry at meal times.

 

For more fitness gains, customise your rest period. “True recovery is returning to 75 per cent of your max heart rate,” says elite trainer Rachel Cosgrove. Multiply your age by 0.7 and subtract that from 207 to work out your upper HR limit. Don’t start the next circuit until you drop back to 75 per cent of that figure.

 

A study has linked delayed fatherhood to disorders in school-age children. As the likeli-hood of a man producing mutated sperm increases with his age, so does his risk of siring children afflicted with autism, psychosis and other issues. While you won’t want to rush into having kids, it may be a good time to reassess child-bearing plans with your wife.