Top 5 must-read articles on health: January 2017

I read a lot of health-related news topics, both from respectable media sources and from top tier academic journals. Each month, I’d like to highlight my favorites and provide a my thoughts.

Be on the lookout for next month’s recommendations!

1. How to Become a ‘Superager’:

Researchers from Mass General Hospital in Boston sought to understand why some individuals remained healthier and more mentally sharp even in old age. Their short answer: work hard at something. This means to continually exert and challenge yourself both physically and mentally. Whether in retirement or earlier in your career, don’t take the easy, convenient road. Instead, feeling like you want to give up with an activity (running, math problems, etc.) is a good thing for health. It means you are challenging yourself to go beyond comfort and in turn are becoming a ‘superager’.

2. Big Sugar’s Secret Ally? Nutritionists:

Renowned science writer Gary Taubes explains the industry’s role in continuing to discredit the role of sugar in the obesity epidemic. Instead, they push studies to show that all calories are equal and that total calories should be limited. This is not true. Different nutrients have different effects on the body and this is especially true with sugar. To keep the inaccurate dogma that a calorie-is-a-calorie perpetuating, the industry has enlisted nutritionists as research authors and guideline directors. Nutritionists and more health associations need to stand up to these ‘alternative facts’ and educate on the true consequential health effects of all macronutrients.

3. How Social Isolation Is Killing Us:

Social isolation and loneliness are a growing epidemic and are having significant consequences on our health. In a world no longer built on local communities and instead on impersonal electronic contact, it’s no wonder why we are feeling less personally connected. In past communities, every individual had something to offer, whether a material good or an intellectual skill which led to the member feeling valued and needed. We need to be connected and we need to feel valued within these connections. What do you provide other? Love, labor, jokes? Whatever it is, it is needed for you and those you care about.

4. A Gut Makeover for the New Year:

A growing body of research links the trillions of microbes in your gut to effects on your health. And the food you consume is directly affecting which types of bacteria will grow, whether more beneficial, or more harmful. The best way to increase the beneficial gut bacteria is to eat a diverse selection of fiber rich foods, including colorful vegetables. I couldn’t agree more. In my health plan, T Tier, I’ve highlighted fiber as THE most important action to improve your health.

5. The War on Facts Is a War on Democracy:

When governmental policy affects the science used to promote and encourage health, politics become a health issue. Donald Trump has attacked facts–facts that keep you safe and healthy–including climate change and has forbidden scientists from communicating on them. It is a suppression of knowledge not seen in recent history. Our democracy and our health depends on science and the understanding that facts are not partisan and are not up to belief. What actions are taken with the facts is one thing but to deny their existence is an absurd alternative.

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