The vegetables in the genus Allium are full of medicinal properties and have been used as such for thousands of years. This group of foods includes leeks, onions, scallions, shallots, and chives. While all these have benefits, there is one that stands out from all the others. It qualifies for that overused term "super food" [...]
In my years of writing about ways to lower the risk for Alzheimer’s, I’ve covered a long list of lifestyle habits that can improve your memory. I’ve explained how exercise protects the brain. How various nutrients keep neurons functioning effectively. How a better night’s sleep boosts the brain. So what if we took all those [...]
Aristotle did it for clarity of thought while he lectured his students. Virgin boss Richard Branson does this with his associates to help generate ideas. For the poet William Wordsworth, it was an essential daily habit that fired up his imagination. For philosophers, poets, and chief executives alike, walking is a good way to stimulate [...]
Ever get one of those days where you feel like your brain isn’t on top of its game? I do from time to time. And it’s awful. On one of those days, it’s hard to stay focused on what you’re trying to accomplish. Distractions are impossible to ignore. Your mental powers and your thinking slow [...]
Bertrand Russell, a famous British philosopher, once said, "Laughter is the most inexpensive and most effective wonder drug." Medical researchers, who have named the study of laughter "gelotology," are starting to agree with him. Here are a few reasons why. . . Even though scientists can’t rigorously explain exactly what makes something funny and what [...]
Winston Churchill was devoted to "that refreshment of blessed oblivion." So were Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, P.G. Wodehouse, and many others. In fact, some our greatest philosophers, statesmen, artists and writers swore by it. They liked to take an afternoon nap. The habit may have contributed to their great achievements. Science is now confirming what [...]
Ancient East Asian treatments for all kinds of conditions have made their way into Europe and the Americas as complementary practices. One of the first to do so was acupuncture. It made a big splash in the early ‘70s as a result of President Nixon’s opening to China, and remains popular. But, although its origins [...]
Longtime readers of this newsletter know there are many recommended ways to reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. These include reading fiction, being social, exercising, eating well, playing board games and getting hearing aids if you’re experiencing age-related hearing loss. Now here’s another thing showing up in the research that can [...]
It improves the immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces the risk of a heart attack, relieves pain, improves sleep and eases stress. That’s quite a collection of benefits for one activity. Better still, it’s something people look forward to and enjoy (so you know it can’t be exercise). It’s sex. Now a new study has [...]
If you aren’t eating organic food now, you will at least consider it after you read this. The story I’m going to tell you sounds like the plot to a TV show. In the 1940s, researchers at Hoffman-La-Roche figured out how to make a type of synthetic heroin called MPPP (desmethylprodine 1,3,dimethyl-4-phenyl-4propionoxyperidine). But the drug [...]
