Healthy habits (physical activity, good diet, good sleep) boost the immune system, much research has suggested. But why? A new study suggests a specific way physical activity — especially over long periods of time — works its magic. medium.com/wise-well/ca... #health #fitness

In this week's Wise & Well newsletter: > Weight Stigma: The Alarming Story of Blame and Shame > Dementia, Anxiety and ADHD Benefit from the Same Meds > Can You Train Your Immune System to Work Better? > Calling Deaths ‘Preventable’ Shifts Blame to Individuals > When Fame Turns Fatal

Thanks to lack of insurance, time, money or desire, many of us don't get great healthcare. But famous people? Surely they get the best care and have the highest odds of living long and healthy lives. Not always, for a handful of surprising reasons, this doctor writes.

The last thing an overweight person needs is to be shamed --especially by a doctor -- for their condition and supposed lack of willpower. This psychologist knows all about this blame game, from her own youth, and now she's got a learned perspective on how to eradicate the stigma.

Many types of deaths, and their timing, could have been avoided or delayed, deaths the healthcare industry commonly refer to as "preventable." Problem is, it often implies the person failed and is to blame, perhaps for not eating right or exercising, when the real failure is more systemic.

I'm well known among friends and family for leaving social events early, often abruptly. Been that way all my life. I learned early on that if you announce your imminent departure, you get stuck in a series of long goodbyes and drunken pleas to stay. Now I just learned the tactic has a name.

Maintaining strength is vital, especially with #aging. Strength training - via weights, stretchy bands or even body-weight exercises - allows one to perform basic life tasks, and it helps prevent falls. It also makes the heart stronger and helps the brain stay healthy. This doc explains.

This psychiatrist/neuroscientist eats well and runs marathons, yet still had high blood pressure. He's found that meds that can help stave off bad heart #health outcomes can also benefit people struggling with #mentalhealth conditions. What an unexpected, informative story!

Chronic pain can be depressing. And I mean that in a clinical sense: People with chronic ailments, including ongoing pain, are at high risk for other chronic conditions, both physical and mental, including heart disease, arthritis, asthma and even cancer, new research finds. #health #mentalhealth

For anyone who gets their nails done a lot, this story will prove enlightening. Facts like: As we age, fingernails produce less keratin and hold less moisture. And: The stuff that adds sheen to gel nail polishes just got banned in Europe for being harmful (but not in the US). Plus new research.

I had no idea there was a human vaccine for Lyme disease. That's because it was shelved decades ago. The dubious reasons, and the story behind a vaccine still used for dogs, is a cautionary tale in how good science can be negated by one bogus study and the ensuing hysteria of a misinformed public.

Ultra-processed food is engineered by big food companies to be tasty, cheap and convenient, but also highly addictive. New research finds the first generation to grow up with UPFs shows the highest rates of addiction to them. medium.com/wise-well/ge... #GENX #food #diet #health

The debate over whether #acetaminophen causes #autism is rooted in studies that find an association, not causation. The link is not so clear. This writer, a scientist with an autistic child, parses what's known and what's speculated to offer a reasoned view.

The writer, a retired physician and former US medical center CEO, reached out to several former colleagues, young and old, to glean whether becoming a doctor has the same noble lure of days gone by. Responses reflect problems in healthcare: inhumane workloads, substandard care and physician burnout.

I hope you're doing OK. It's crazy out there. We all have ways of coping in times like these, but maybe some of yours aren't working so well. I'm certainly struggling. So I pulled together some of the most useful science-backed ways of getting by, of dealing with difficult times.

Why would Tyler Robinson, accused of killing Charlie Kirk, do such a thing? We don't have all the details, but science offers clues about retribution and revenge being incredibly powerful human emotions. Understanding the #psychology might help us all process, if not prevent, events like this.

Waiting lists for #mentalhealth counseling can be weeks or months. #Telehealth services have helped fill the gap, and research shows they're vital for those who most need the help, as this psychiatrist explains. So why does the US government want to shut them down?

If you've never had chronic pain, you likely have no idea how it transforms life, from the constant weight on mental health to an even crueler effect that's rarely discussed: Sheer loneliness, and lack of support from friends and family, according to a new study.

We get all serious about goals at the beginning of every year, but most people, according to surveys, give up on their resolutions within weeks. In this new trend, people "lock in" on their goals now in order to finish the year strong. But how? This psychologist offers three research-backed tactics.

You've probably hear that watching lots of TV isn't great for the mind. New research suggests that cutting out even one lousy hour of your TV time can be good for you, but it depends on what you use that time for.

Nature or nurture? Yep. And that's why it's so hard to pinpoint causes of our behaviors and habits and mental health conditions.The writer calls for a greater understanding of genetic complexity and more appreciation of the powerful nuances.

We've long known women are woefully underrepresented in medical research. That long history of exclusion has real consequences, as this family doctor explains, as the risk factors for heart disease are different in women and men. Thus many women never exhibited the telltale warning signs until...

The main ingredient in Tylenol, acetaminophen, has been linked with #autism and #ADHD in children whose mothers took the painkiller during pregnancy. But as is often the case with medical research, the finding may not be as dire as news reports indicate.

Our food safety expert explains how bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply like gangbusters at room temperature yet don't give off any odors. Here's what to know to protect yourself, plus who is at greatest risk.

A hearing check qualified me for a set of $6,000 hearing aids, and I said to the audiologist: "Say what?" I get by without, but millions of people have much worse hearing, and I'm not surprised by the results of this new study.

The human brain gets better at dealing with high-stress events  (physical and mental )  through repeated exposure. It's how top athletes stay on top of their game. They also learn use proven strategies, such as taking deep breaths after a missed shot to regain focus. You can learn a lot from them.

It was inevitable that eventually marketers would catch up to the growing awareness among women of perimenopause, that time of great internal change that happens sooner and lasts longer than many would wish. Enter the weighted exercise belt. Seriously? for perimenopause?

“As a scholar of rhetoric and the mother of an autistic child, in the language of #MAHA I hear a disregard for the humanity of people with disabilities and a shift from supporting them to blaming them for their needs."

People don't have children for various reasons, and if you've ever wondered what some of them are, this writer has a bunch of answers… and no regrets.

It's not rocket science to imagine young minds will be transformed by #AI. This neuroscientist/psychologist has thought deep about how it will affect her own kids' pliable young brains. Given her serious concerns, should we be worried?

One of AI's most sinister effects is showing up among people prone to paranoia. This writer/psychiatrist and others are seeing evidence for AI-induced psychosis, and while it affects a small number of people, the implications are big for us all. #AI #psychology

After two recent outbreaks of egg-based Salmonella infections involving cage-free and even organic eggs, you gotta wonder: Do the labels mean anything? This food safety expert offers a surprising inside look.

#AI systems use up to a the equivalent of one bottle of water for each short conversation with the OpenAI’s chat GPT-3, or to draft a 100-word AI-driven email.

This doctor writes about fatty liver disease, a deadly condition that affects a surprising percentage of Americans, even children... and it's main cause is not what we thought.

Inflammation at the cellular level is often blamed as a cause of chronic disease, and inflammation is thought to increase with aging (hence the term). New research on indigenous people finds inflammation doesn't increase as they age, suggesting modern lifestyles are the cause of inflammation.

Nighttime is a nightmare for this writer, who suffers never-ending chronic pain that makes sleep difficult. His plight is not all that unusual, and he and other who deal with it have a name for the condition, even if it's not a formal medical term: #painsomnia

While there's always more research to do on the nutrition front, two new studies (along with mountains of other evidence) make a clear case for leaning into the Mediterranean diet if one aims to live longer and be healthier and sharper along the way.

A new study that finds walking a little faster offers notable benefits for older people. And we're talking about just a few extra steps per minute.

Serious misconceptions about #ADHD medications involve everything from whether stimulants can cure it to what drugs even qualify as stimulants. This neurologist/psychiatrists sorts fact from fiction and explains why so much confusion.

The most motivational K-12 classes for me were those that encouraged thinking and creativity, rather than memorizing a bunch of facts and dates. This writer, a professor who teaches future educators how to teach, thinks that's exactly how #AI could be used effectively in classrooms.

It'd be awesome if we could take oxytocin orally, like any other supplement. But the reasons why it won't work that way offer a quick, basic course in body chemistry. Oh, and as this scientist explains, there are easy ways to pump yourself up with this feel-good love hormone at zero cost.

Whatever you think about #ChatGPT and other #AI helpers, know this: If you lean on them, you're probably not gonna get smarter. But that depends on how you use the #technology.

As meaningful as eye contact is, looks can be deceiving. More often than not, when you think you're making eye contact, the other person is actually looking at your mouth. Anyway, I had so many questions about eye contact, I just had to look into it.

If you've never heard about "lithiated lemon-lime soda" or beer infused with lithium, this scientist has plenty to teach you about this element that's both helpful and dangerous. Why we care: While more research is needed, he writes, lithium "could conceivably transform Alzheimer's treatment."

On the surface, it's obvious that guys are bigger and more muscular, on average, than women. But strength means many different things, and it when it comes to survival advantages, I'm sorry guys, but we're the weaker sex. The writer lays out the latest science that reveals the truth of it.

A psychologist explains why self-forgiveness is crucial as one science-backed approach to getting past things we wished had never happened (but that we can't change).

It's hard to fathom the extent of violence faced by doctors, nurses and others who work in hospitals and health clinics. 80% of nurses say they've experienced workplace violence, and the problem is getting worse. This family doctor has seen her share of it, too. #healthcare #culture

Getting your iron intake just right is a challenge, as evidenced by the billions of anemic people around the world. Now we learn too much can cause dementia. So: Might you be interested in an essay on the nutritional benefits and risks of iron?

I was surprised now to learn that the risk of a dangerous e. coli infection is far greater in ground beef compared to steak, and that we can't rely on color alone to tell us if a burger is safe. Armed with this knowledge, I'll be deciding whether to order burgers well-done or… get a veggie burger.

It's long puzzled me whether reading is better than listening for learning, or if it goes the other way. Turns out, according to this language scientist, each offers distinct advantages.