Mayo Clinic looking at what keeps you really alive
Over the past three years, the renowned Mayo Clinic has been building “one of the largest aging centers in the nation,” according to the Minneapolis StarTribune, with “48 geriatricians, 10 geriatric psychiatrists and research supported by 90 federal or private foundation grants.” And they’ve put all that money to good use,...
On alcohol, scientists still successfully confusing us
Anyone who drinks has probably decided either that the health benefits don’t exist or don’t matter. We’re pretty sure no one drinks because of the health benefits. No matter what you tell your spouse. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in the news about alcohol and health, because we’re...
Health Watch
This is a shoulder season—too cold and too often icy for comfortable biking and too warm and rainy for snow sports (at least at our elevation)—so we are inside more than we like. This is a time to concentrate on health and fitness, building up resources that we can put...
Ouch: Another story about scaling back without stopping
Earlier this week we noted a story about the often painful transition to a less aggressive, less violent, less taxing and (alas) usually less adrenaline-pumping activity. It’s not something we like to dwell on, but it’s worth paying attention to because most of us will have to make that shift,...
Bamboozling booze guidance for old Brits
Health advice used to be like cheap ball caps: one size fit all. Over the years, it has become more discriminating, with guidance that differentiates between ages, genders, ethnicity and more. And in the decades ahead, we’ll be making even finer cuts. Your doctor will run a DNA scan...
Is it safe to eat snakes?
Well, is it? We don’t know. This article from Outside raises and presumably answers the question. We don’t know because we haven’t read it. We don’t need to. Here’s why: Let’s say you’re on a long hike…no, call it a trek, alone, in a wilderness. A wasteland. And...
More good beer (or wine) news
This isn’t the first time you’ve heard this but it bears repeating. Alcohol, in moderation, is part of a healthy lifestyle. The latest proof comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—your go-to source for health information—which puts alcohol up there with diet, exercise and...
Toughest old bird of the day: you decide
If you need to be reminded that even the most prosaic trip can have its risks, consider Dan Anders (61) from St. Petersburg, Florida. An avid outdoorsman, Anders was on a not-particularly-adventuresome trip through the West. Visiting the parks, driving aimlessly down back roads, collecting...
More good beer news
You don’t need more reasons to drink beer in moderation. It is salubrious. This has been established. But it never hurts to have additional validation of this claim, another arrow in the quiver when hectored by stiff-necked puritans. So there is this analysis, which says that people who...