Ever since the South Beach Diet engulfed the land of thin-obsessed, the glycemic index–a 100 point scale that measures how quickly carbohydrates enter the bloodstream as sugar– has been a major influence on the daily menus of believers. Now, a researcher at the University of South Carolina says the index […]

Wanna know why your fat won’t go away? Location, location, location. If you’re a man, chances are the fat that won’t go away is in your midsection. And if you’re a woman, the fat that won’t go away is probably on your hips. A nice, reader-friendly explanation of the problem […]

It turns out that there is not a lot (any) academic research comparing the pros and cons of working out in the morning with those of working out in the evening, so to answer the question: which is better? Geezer resorts to common sense, and to the wisdon of the […]

Yes. Napping is a good thing. It’s good for productivity, good for creativity, good for memory, good for stress and good for your heart. On the other hand, for those who work in an office environment, it may be really bad for keeping a job. Men’s Journal gives us the […]

In this People’s Pharmacy column from the L.A. Times, a 47-year-old complains of muscle cramps that arrive reliably whenever he plays basketball. The crampee is advised that muscle cramps can be caused by all sorts of things, including a lack of minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium. In such […]

Question: After discovering that one could travel over water at dangerously high speed by standing on a board and hanging onto a giant kite, how long did it take "sports enthusiasts" to try the same stunt on snow?  Answer: As long as you would expect it to take someone who […]

To cut or not to cut? That is the question that faces every person with chronic back pain. The answer, as presented in this enlightening and somewhat depressing piece on NPR, is that there is no answer, or at least no easy answer. The right route to reduced pain depends […]

Quick–How many calories can you burn in one hour if you’re digging worms? How about washing the dog? Having sex? The answers: 272, 238, and 88 (moderate) 102 (active) to these and many more "burning questions" appear in this excruciatingly well-researched L.A. Times report on the rapidly evolving science of […]

Geezer is still uncertain if it’s better to look good than feel good, but he hopes that that is not the case, because while feeling good is still within reach, looking good is, well, not the kind of thing Geezer would put money on. Which brings us, not entirely smoothly, […]

File this under "almost but not quite too good to be true," along with earlier reports that sex is good for your health, and wine is good for your health. In this dispatch, we learn from the Harvard Men’s Health Watch newsletter that vacations are good for your health. While […]