Entries by Thai Nguyen
To Improve Memory, Tune It Like an Orchestra
Anyone above a certain age who has drawn a blank on the name of a favorite uncle, a friend’s phone number or the location of a house key understands how fragile memory is. Its speed and accuracy begin to slip in one’s 20s and keep slipping. This is particularly true for working memory, the mental […]
The Right Diet for a Runner Is the One That Works for You
Earlier this week, I read an article about what runners should eat while training for a 10-mile race. One piece of advice it offered: Take a banana and bagel to eat before the start of the race. I don’t mind bananas. I have a bunch of them in my kitchen. But the few times I’ve […]
Is the Saturated Fat in Chocolate as Bad as the Fat in Meat?
Q. Eating dark chocolate is encouraged for its health benefits. I’ve been buying chocolate with 75 percent to 90 percent cocoa content. But the label notes a high amount of saturated fat. Is this as harmful as the saturated fat in meat? A. The fat in chocolate is not as harmful as the fat in meat, […]
The Heart of a Swimmer vs. the Heart of a Runner
Do world-class swimmers’ hearts function differently than the hearts of elite runners? A new study finds that the answer may be yes, and the differences, although slight, could be telling and consequential, even for those of us who swim or run at a much less lofty level. Cardiologists and exercise scientists already know that regular […]
Sydney Brenner, a Decipherer of the Genetic Code, Is Dead at 92
Sydney Brenner, a South African-born biologist who helped determine the nature of the genetic code and shared a Nobel Prize in 2002 for developing a tiny transparent worm into a test bed for biological discoveries, died on Friday in Singapore. He was 92. He had lived and worked in Singapore in recent years, affiliated with […]
Are My Allergies All in My Head?
Q. Are my allergies all in my head? A. No. But emotional factors can make allergies better or worse. Doctors have long suspected a connection between allergies and the psyche. In 1883, Dr. Morell Mackenzie, a pioneer in the field of ear, nose and throat medicine, observed, “It has long been noticed that attacks of prolonged sneezing […]
Why Lifting Weights Can Be So Potent for Aging Well
Weight training by older people may build not only strength and muscle mass but also motivation and confidence, potentially spurring them to continue exercising, according to an interesting new study of the emotional impacts of lifting weights. The findings intimate that people worried that they might be too old or inept to start resistance training should perhaps […]
How healthy is a gluten-free diet?
Gluten free diets have become a trend, and many people question whether they make a significant difference in health; nutrition experts say they are neither good nor bad. Gluten is a general classification for a group of proteins found in wheat, barley, rye and oats, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation.Allergies to gluten are common, with […]
What will your DNA tell you?