The next time someone complains of high blood pressure, tell them to sleep it off. New research, just published in the journal Hypertension, suggests that that may be possible–over a sufficient period of time. As the New York Times reports, the study of more than 4,800 men and women, ages […]

The newly and nicely redesigned magazine, amc outdoors, offers up a very useful piece for readers who happen to live in the Northeast,describing eight great hikes in states from Virginia (OK, the Northeast is a little larger than expected) to Maine. AMC Outdoors gives us the usual goods: time, distance […]

The L.A. Times gives those of us who wear contact lenses (and those of us who garden) something new to worry about. It’s called Fusarium keratitis, and if it goes untreated, this eyeball loving fungus can cause blindness. Historically, the Times reports, Fusarium keratitis has been  associated with situations in […]

Do omega-3 fatty acids make us mellow? Maybe. Or maybe they just make us mellow enough that we don’t want to kill someone. The New York Times reports on a study conducted by an Oxford University scientist that tested the theory on 231 men in a British prison–a place where, […]

Yes, it started in Southern California, and yes, it is often played by people wearing swimsuits, and yes, many of those people wearing swimsuits are beyond their swimsuit-wearing prime, but then, yes, it started in Southern California and those people are also swinging tennis rackets, which might ordinarily provide enough […]

Is sunscreen the snake oil of the 21st century? Sam Rudman, a lawyer who is leading a class-action charge against five sunscreen sellers says it is. Rudman’s suit argues that the use of terms such as "sunblock," "waterproof," and "all day protection" encourage a false sense of security that actually […]

For three years now, health researchers from Mass General Hospital have been studying a sample of runners from the Boston Marathon, taking their blood and doing some noninvasive stress tests after the runners cross the finish line. What they have found is not happy news. As Judy Foreman reports in […]

Can a high-protein diet really keep you awake at night? Geezer, happily mired in an ancient carb-friendly regimen, wouldn’t have a clue, but London Times’ health answer person Jane Clarke seems to think it’s quite possible. Clarke reports that she has seen many people who start to have trouble sleeping […]

Just because the 42-page "report," Exercise: A Program You Can Live With, is a shameless effort to capitalize on Harvard’s brand, doesn’t mean it’s not worth the sixteen bucks that Harvard Health Publications wants you to pay for it.  So is it? HHP gives us two clues: a table of […]

The support groups are not yet in place, but it’s not impossible that we’ll soon be hearing confessions along the lines of "My name is Geezer and I am a tanning addict." The New York Times reports on a study published in this month’s Journal of the Academy of Dermatology […]