Health Flash!

Stride silently. People who chat while walking briskly can hurt their back, say scientists at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Taking steady, full breaths helps trunk muscles protect your spine from impact. Talking may disrupt breathing, leaving vertebrae vulnerable. Walk a deux to egg each other on, but save your gossip sessions for later.

Be a cowgirl. There's hope for all you menstrual mood swingers. Keeping up calcium levels may ward off PMS, suggests a study in Biological Trace Element Research . Too-low levels affect hormones that influence your cycle, leading to more headaches and irritability. Women get only about 65 percent of the recommended daily amount of calcium, so down the dairy and work out to reduce symptoms.

Lens liberation!. A new federal law requires eye doctors to release contact lens prescriptions to patients, allowing them to shop around for the best price. (Before, wearers in only 32 states could do so.) Increased competition will likely cause prices to drop, predicts Consumers Union in Washington, D.C. To save even more, enroll in a flexible spending account to tuck away pretax dollars.

Not so sweet. A massive sugar jones could mean you're at risk for an addiction to alcohol, reports a study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research . It takes more sweetness to satisfy those predisposed to alcoholism because pleasure centers in their brain may be off kilter. Limit drinks to seven a week. More can up your chances of abusing alcohol.

FEMALE REFLECTIONS. It may be down under, but your vagina shouldn't be as foreign as a kangaroo. Nearly a quarter of you feel uneasy about looking at your private parts, finds a Harris Interactive survey. Many gynecological problems can be caught early if you notice and tell your doctor about physical changes. Use a mirror to introduce yourself to...yourself.

Cancer cluster. Women with nonfatal forms of skin cancer face double the risk of developing unrelated malignancies—such as breast and ovarian—reveals a study in the journal Cancer . UV rays that cause skin changes may also contribute to other diseases, researchers speculate. Slather on sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher for protection.

Ms. M.D.. We've all heard medicine is turning into a pink-coat profession. Now it's finally happened. For the first time, the majority of applicants to U.S. medical schools are women, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C. In the market for a new physician? Log on to www.healthgrades.com. For a small fee, you can check track records of local practitioners.