I’m an expert in public health. Which is why, aged 38, I’ve qualified as a personal trainer | Devi Sridar

A a quick skim of the other faces on the Zoom call shows that I’m clearly the oldest person on the personal training course. They’re probably wondering whether I’m having a midlife crisis triggered by the pandemic. Maybe I am. Aren’t we all?

I’ve always enjoyed fitness, physical activity, sport – really any kind of movement. This intensified while working under intense pressure and scrutiny during the Covid-19 pandemic: I coped with using exercise as time for daily meditation and reflection. When you’re being shouted at from all directions, and asked to predict the future, creating silence is vital to

5 min read

The Best Daily Habit for Heart Health, Per Cardiologists

If your doctor has told you that you need to take proactive steps to lower your blood pressure or improve your cardiovascular health, knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. It isn’t easy to break habits that have been in place for years that are so automatic that you often do them without even thinking about it.

The encouraging news is that 90 percent of heart disease is preventable through diet and lifestyle habits. Cardiologists Dr. Kaustubh Dabhadkar, MD, MPH, MBA, FACC, who specializes in preventive cardiology, says the key to making changes that will be long-lasting is making

5 min read

Should You Eat With Your Hands and Eschew Cutlery?

November 22, 2022 · 7:30 AM

“Me Grok”

DailyMail has an interesting article that promotes eating with your hands instead of forks, knives and spoons. After all, caveman Grok didn’t have eating utensils.

Those who are a stickler for etiquette should look away now.

That’s because we’ve all been eating the wrong way and should be eating with our hands, according to a psychologist.

Professor Charles Spence, from the University of Oxford, said giving up cutlery is the secret to enjoying food.

He says eating with our hands can ‘heighten the dining experience’ – even for meals like pasta and

1 min read

The Government of Canada announced a temporary negative COVID-19 test requirement for travelers arriving from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong or Macao

Air travelers two years of age and older will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test before leaving for Canada beginning January 5

December 31, 2022 | Ottawa, ON | Public Health Agency of Canada

As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to evolve, the Government of Canada has taken a prudent and measured approach to adjusting border measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians. In response to the surge of COVID-19 in the People’s Republic of China and given the limited epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data available in these cases, the Government of Canada intends to

4 min read

Is It Time to Cut Back on Alcohol?

December 12, 2022 · 7:00 AM

“Is the room spinning, or is it just me?”

A few months ago I ran across a thoughtful article by Morris van de Camp entitled Love Drinking Less. It’s well worth a read if your alcohol consumption is out of control or heading that way.

Alcohol is a two-edged sword. On the one hand it makes life fun and turns strangers into intimate friends in the course of an evening; on the other, it makes a person dysfunctional. Very dysfunctional. Productive time is lost, relationships are damaged, and health is harmed.

I cannot say

2 min read

Blue Monday mental health tips

Pine trees have been discarded, wreaths and string lights are tucked back into storage, and in just a few short weeks, heavy feelings of sadness may arise as the holiday comes down officially sets in.

The third Monday of the month, January 16, will mark ‘Blue Monday,’ considered to be the saddest day of the year and a particularly heavy time for some.

“Now the holiday celebrations are over and people are now returning to their regular routine, and on top of that, we are also facing the depths of the cold and dark winter season,” Vera Cheng, registered social

3 min read

Why Cano Health’s Shares Dropped 27.9% in December

What happened

Shares of Cano Health (CANO 3.57%) fell 27.9% in December, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock closed November at $1.90 a share but fell as low as $1.01 on Dec. 28. The stock has a 52-week low of $0.9801 and a 52-week high of $9.75. The downward move followed a 46.9% drop in November.

So what

Investors took a closer look at the healthcare company’s financials after the Third Point hedge fund pulled out its investment from Cano, citing the company’s illiquidity. Cano focuses on senior primary healthcare and has 151 facilities

2 min read

One More Cure for Hiccups

December 20, 2022 · 5:50 AM

I’ve written previously about how Paul Ingraham helped cure my patello-femoral pain syndrome.

More recently, Paul looked into hiccup cures because his father had an intractable case. What finally worked for dad? Breathing into a plastic bag.

Boosting blood CO2 (hypercapnia) by breathing in a PLASTIC bag. This one is quite plausible and is easy and safe to try. Hypercapnia definitely affects some kinds of hiccups. The story (from a smart source, a good “friend of PainSci”): “There’s an even easier way out of hiccups — at zero cost. Learned it from my uncle,

2 min read