Fitness and Nutrition: Interesting Stories from The New York Times

The New Health Care: A Study on Fats That Doesn’t Fit the Story Line
Old but only recently published research increases a concern that when it comes to nutrition, personal beliefs can trump science.

Well: From Sleep to Sushi: Guidance for Confused Parents
For a generation of parents who grew up on Google, clear answers to simple parenting questions aren’t always easy to find. A new book, “The Informed Parent: A Science-Based Resource for Your Child’s First Four Years,” offers guidance.

Well: Ask Well: Do I Need the Shingles Vaccine if I’ve Had Shingles?
A reader asks: Does the shingles vaccine prevent a recurrence if you already had shingles years ago?

Well: The Gift of a Lost Coat
You know how the one-size-fits-all yoga pants technically fit everyone, but for some of us, they make your butt look like it’s been sculpted from a quesadilla? Parenting is like that.

Well: Living Near Greenery May Help You Live Longer
A study found that women whose homes were surrounded by vegetation had lower death rates than those who lived in areas with less vegetation.

Well: In the Hospital, Resisting the Urge to Do More
So often when a patient is dying, I must hold myself and my residents back and quiet our itchy fingers.

Well: For Women Who Run, the Bathroom Problem
When to relieve oneself and where to do it is a tricky issue for female runners.

Well: Where’s the Magic in Family Dinner?
Regular meals serve as an easily measured proxy for one of longest-standing and sturdiest determinants of adolescent well-being: authoritative parenting.

Well: An Easy Way to Prevent Blisters? Try Tape
Applying ordinary paper tape, a common component of first-aid kits, can be an inexpensive way to prevent the blisters that can arise from running a marathon.

Well: A Decades-Old Study, Rediscovered, Challenges Advice on Saturated Fat
The study, whose data had never been fully analyzed, found that a diet of low-saturated fat did not reduce mortality. Some top nutrition experts said the study was flawed.

Well: Cleaner Air Tied to Fewer Lung Problems in Children
Less air pollution in Southern California has been accompanied by a significant decrease in childhood lung problems.

Well: Ask Well: Why Is Arthritis More Common in Women Than Men?
More women than men get arthritis over all, but there are many types of arthritis, and some types are more common in men.

Well: Foster Families Share Their Stories of Love and Loss
Readers share their experiences with foster care.

Well: Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer Tied to Depression
Androgen deprivation therapy, a widely used prostate cancer treatment, may increase depression risk.

Well: Letting Patients Tell Their Stories
Doctors have many skills, but we often fail to appreciate people’s messy, beautiful lives.

Well: Social Support of Marriage May Improve Cancer Survival
It may largely be the emotional support of marriage, rather than any economic advantages, that produces health benefits.

Well: Sometimes Pain Is a Puzzle That Can’t Be Solved
Opioids? Stretching? Doctors have no easy answers for chronic discomfort, but the tide has shifted away from the idea of removing all pain.

Well: Millions With Leg Pain Have Peripheral Artery Disease
The best treatment? Exercise, even though it may be hard at first.

Well: Fear of Crying: The Problem of Babies and Airplanes
Babies cry on planes because their ears hurt and they’re being made to stay in a certain position when they don’t want to or the air smells strange or they’re just plain cranky. As are we all.

Well: Think Like a Doctor: Packing on the Pounds Solved!
Readers solve the case of a 59-year-old woman with unexplained weight gain.

Well: Ask Well: Do Pain Relievers Heal Tendinitis, or Just Ease Pain?
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen are commonly given to blunt the pain and inflammation of tendinitis, but they may actually slow healing.

Well: Fighting Heroin Addiction With My Mother on My Side
When I was finally ready to stop drugs, my mother didn’t have to “accept” me back. She had never quit being a guiding force in my life.

Well: The Weekly Health Quiz: Brain Age, Colon Cancer and Arsenic
Test your knowledge of this week’s health news.

Well: After Physical Therapy, Why Not Cancer Therapy?
My family and I would have given anything for the house calls of a creature we never imagined: an oncological therapist. And it might be less expensive than recurrent emergency room visits.

Well: Think Like a Doctor: Packing on the Pounds
Can you figure out why a 59-year-old woman keeps gaining weight?

Well: Flu Shot During Pregnancy May Reduce Risk of Stillbirths
The flu vaccine has major benefits for both mother and infant.

Well: On Widower Watch
Widowers are endangered beings, challenged by grief and its grim companions: loneliness, disorientation and a statistically high mortality rate.

Well: Walk, Jog or Dance: It’s All Good for the Aging Brain
New evidence that physical activity can forestall the mental decline in aging brains.

Well: 3 Things School Counselors Want You to Know About Their Jobs
Counselors: They’re not just for guidance anymore.

Well: Does Exercise During Pregnancy Lead to Exercise-Loving Offspring?
Our will to work out may be influenced by a mother’s exercise habits during pregnancy, and begin as early as in the womb, according to findings from a study in mice.

Well: Ask Well: How Do You Die From Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s affects the brain, and ultimately impairs the ability to swallow, cough and breathe.

Well: Parents With Sleep Problems Think Their Children Have Them, Too
Doctors have to remember that reports of the children are coming through the filter of the parents — on sleep and other issues.

Well: Flint’s ‘Lead Water’ Poses Particular Threat to the Youngest
The crisis presents an especially daunting challenge to pregnant women and the parents of young children.

The Checkup: When Parents Have a Favorite Child
It’s impossible not to have favorites, and the perception of favoritism is one of the biggest factors in sibling rivalry.

Personal Health: A Teachable Moment on the Need for Colon Cancer Screening
Traditional colonoscopy is best at finding cancer. Less invasive screenings are not as definitive, but they’re better than nothing.

Well: Ask Well: Does Less Than 5,000 Steps a Day Make You Sedentary?
Sedentary status cannot be defined by how many or few daily steps you manage.

Well: The Weekly Health Quiz: Sitting, Weight Loss and an Abortion Pill
Test your knowledge of this week’s health quiz.

Well: My Banished Brother
My family sent him away because he had Down syndrome, but he created another family for himself in his group home.

Well: Advice on Boys and Sex, From the Author of ‘Girls and Sex’
The author of a new book about girls and sex answers readers’ questions, mostly about boys and sex.

Well: Endometriosis Tied to Increased Risk for Heart Disease
It may be especially important for women with endometriosis, especially those under 40, to follow a heart-healthy lifestyle.