Do only the lonely die young, or does social connection and support affect most measures of health and longevity? Yes, it’s true: the less social connections you have, the greater the tendency towards illness of many kinds – physical and mental. Even if you don’t feel lonely at all. But how big an effect? For […]
Which Form of Magic: Pill or Lifestyle?
The Magic Is the part equal or greater than the whole? People often hope so. Not long ago a patient requested I give her a pill that “makes me feel good, causes weight loss, and doesn’t have any side effects.” No, she wasn’t kidding. Many others hope for the same. And they spend lots of […]
What’s Wrong With Immortality?
Endless life – what people won’t do to achieve it. Over twenty two hundred years ago the great Qin Shuangdi, the Tiger of Qin, unifier of seven kingdoms into the first Chinese empire, tried mightily to extend his life. The alchemists’ mercury pills did not work. Most historians suggest the attempt at immortality ended his reign, his […]
Whatever Happened to Health?
Checklist Health Can your health be reduced to a bunch of numbers? American medical care is about to test that idea. Beware the results. Checklists – and the checked off numbers – do not a healthy population make. Why Are Checklists Taking Over? People love numbers. They like to count things. Medical care costs enormous […]
The Hat — Cancer Connection
Fashion and Health Go outside. Take a look around a city square, a park, a beach. You will see almost no one is wearing a hat. They’re so rare you might think they caused diseases – like skin cancers. Except they prevent them. According to the CDC, skin cancers are the most common cancers in […]