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Each month we feature one full
article from the current issue of the WELLNESS LETTER, plus our
Ask the Experts column, in addition to brief summaries of the
other articles, listed below.
The Sunny Side
of Eggs
Eggs have a bad reputation because of their high cholesterol content: 210 milligrams
in the yolk of a large egg. But, in fact, they do not raise blood cholesterol
in most people—and they may even be good for your heart in some ways. Here’s
the latest on eggs. Full
Story
Will Testosterone Therapy Keep
Men Young?
Search for “testosterone therapy” on the Internet, and you’ll
be swamped with claims about andropause, presumably the equivalent of menopause
in women. Clinics promise to restore you to your youthful vigor via testosterone
therapy. But before signing up, consider these facts: Though older men tend
to have lower testosterone levels, no one knows what this means for their health,
or what the ideal level should be at different ages. The notion that testosterone
therapy might slow declines in physical strength in aging men, protect them
from chronic disease, reduce their risk of fractures, improve their sex life,
or simply make them feel better has never been established. And supplemental
testosterone may increase the risk of heart disease and prostate cancer, as
well as cause other adverse effects.
Perchance to Sleep (Special
Report on Sleep)
An estimated one-third of us have insomnia, sometimes severe and chronic, sometimes “secondary,” meaning
that it arises from such sleep disrupters as long plane flights, anxiety, pain,
illness, late-night work, or too much alcohol. Insomnia can make you feel exhausted
all the time, adversely affecting your ability to work, play, think, and drive.
We provide advice on how to improve your sleep, plus the latest information
about sleeping pills.
ASK
THE EXPERTS
Our readers ask: What
is red tea, and does it have health benefits? What’s the
latest news about aspirin or other pain relievers as a way to prevent
Alzheimer’s disease or preserve mental function? Why do you
rarely mention the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL when you discuss
blood cholesterol? How is an osteopath different from a doctor? Full
Story
WELL & INFORMED
Tips, Short Takes, and Other News You Can Use
Marathons may actually save lives . . . A quick and easy
home stretching routine.
WELLNESS TIPS
• Cooking vegetables
boosts levels of some antioxidants, according to new Italian
research, the latest in a series of studies overturning conventional
wisdom about the nutritional superiority of raw produce.
• If you’re
very overweight, it’s especially important to do aerobic
exercise, even if it doesn’t produce weight loss. Both
obesity and physical inactivity increase the risk of chronic
disease and premature death. But people who are fit (based on
a treadmill test) live longer, on average, than those who are
unfit, regardless of how overweight they are, suggests a recent
study of 2,600 people over 60.
• It’s
a myth that most people prone to kidney stones should avoid calcium.
Getting the recommended daily intake of calcium often helps prevent
stones.
• Be skeptical
about anti-snoring sprays promoted on the Internet and in infomercials,
with names like Snorenz and Snoreeze. Independent published studies
on them have not found reductions in snoring.
• Don’t
assume that cutting down on salt will make your food unappetizing.
A recent study compared three versions of the anti-hypertension
DASH diet with different sodium levels, and people rated the
low-sodium version equally acceptable as the high one, and the
intermediate version as best. “A taste for salt is a learned
preference and you can unlearn it,” according to one of
the researchers.
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