‘Tis the season for end-of-year celebrations, and with them often come a few more alcoholic beverages than usual. So we thought it’d be a good time to review how consuming alcohol impacts your health. [Read more…]
What we know about the holiday blues
December 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Regardless of one’s religious affiliation, the holiday season often inspires feelings of warmth, joy and belonging. But for some people, this time of year can evoke feelings of loneliness, stress and anxiety. [Read more…]
The evidence on avoiding holiday weight gain
December 11, 2015 By 1 Comment
It’s the holiday season! With that comes the cocktail hours, cookie-baking, end-of-year celebrations and countless other festivities that include delicious food. Unfortunately, along with that delicious food and festivities, come many extra calories. [Read more…]
Mental health and sexual orientation: What the evidence says
December 7, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Being different than other people — whether it means your race, gender, or sexual orientation — is often a source of stress in our society today. People of minority sexual orientations often feel that stress most acutely, according to the evidence. [Read more…]
The science of giving
December 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment
It was big news this week when Mark Zuckerberg, a co-founder and CEO of Facebook, announced that he would give 99 percent of his Facebook shares, currently valued at more than $45 billion, to charity. Zuckerberg made the announcement on Giving Tuesday, a movement to spark charitable giving in response to the high levels of commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season. [Read more…]
Kids and ear infections: What’s the best strategy?
November 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment
If you’ve ever parented a child who gets frequent ear infections, you know that this is the time of year to brace yourself. It starts with a runny nose. And before you know it, there’s a fever and ear pain. [Read more…]
The evidence on giving thanks
November 24, 2015 By 1 Comment
As most of us spend the upcoming week cooking turkeys, gathering with family and friends, and preparing for the holiday season, I found myself returning to a blog post that Karl wrote several years ago about the evidence surrounding gratitude. As my life feels increasingly busy, I find it helpful to remember that giving thanks is not simply a nice sentiment – it’s actually good for you! [Read more…]
Contradicting evidence: How much sleep do we need?
November 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment
When we read a systematic review with a strong conclusion, we believe the answer is accurate. Reviews do, for the most part, encompass all of the data we have on a given topic. The evidence is even more convincing when there is more than one review that draws a strong conclusion. [Read more…]
The birds and bees: Talking to your kids about safe sex
November 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
There are conversations that many parents approach with apprehension. Ranking high on that list are talks about sex. But given our modern culture, conversations between parents and children about sex are increasingly important.
Artificial sweeteners: Better than sugar?
November 11, 2015 By 3 Comments
I never know what to think when I see a Diet Coke or jar of jam labeled as sugar-free. On the one hand, I know that consuming sugar leads to weight gain, among other problems. But on the other hand, I’m suspicious of low-calorie sweeteners. What exactly are they made of, and how do they affect the body? [Read more…]
Investigating Daylight Savings: The data on springing forward and falling back
November 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The vast majority of U.S. residents shifted their clocks back to standard time last weekend, effectively “gaining” an hour of time on Sunday. In my house, it meant that my early-rising daughter was up at 4:30 a.m.
instead of 5:30 a.m.! [Read more…]
The body of evidence on meat and cancer
October 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The media has been full of stories this week about a recent determination by the World Health Organization: That processed meats such as bacon, sausage and ham increase the risk of developing colon cancer. [Read more…]
