In a world where one day coffee is said to cause cancer and the next to protect against it, sex is normally considered one of the few pleasurable acts we have left where we know where we stand. It might give you herpes, sure, but cancer, not...
Like the people they occupy, bad habits come in all shapes, forms and sizes. Whether you’re a nail biter, a chain smoker or a shopaholic, everyone has experienced that near-reflexive urge to continue to do something you know isn’t good for you. It’s not addiction with a...
You’re probably quite fond of your sperm, that innocent-looking yet powerful reproductive seed that glistens softly against the night sky. Bad news, though: Turns out it can be a disease-ridden cesspool. Worryingly, we’re not even talking about the fact that there are carcinogens in your semen (by...
Most of us, at one time or another, have drunkenly inhaled a few thousand calories before passing out fully clothed with the lights on. Which, of all the times you could eat three days’ worth of calories, is generally accepted to be pretty much the worst. Extreme...
Few things are more human than our collective yearning for absolutes. Which is why everyone loves antibacterial cleaning products that claim to kill 99.9 percent of bacteria. And it’s actually even better than that. According to Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona whose research...
Even in the wonderfully oversaturated world of diets and weight-loss plans, the last 10 to 15 pounds might as well be called the “fuggedaboutit” phase. Because it can often feel like, no matter how hard you train and how little you eat, that little kangaroo pouch is...
As Fat Bastard from the Austin Powers series once grumbled, “Carbs are the enemy.” It’s a mantra many people trying to drop a few pounds have adopted, and with good reason: For years now, the conventional thinking, as espoused by a large proportion of the many researchers...
From an early age, fruits and vegetables are held aloft together on a pedestal: the ultimate in healthy eating, five daily portions of which will save your life. But all things being equal, are they really of equal worth? Do five portions of watermelon do you as...
It’s long been said — and suggested by research — that remote workers are more productive than their in-office counterparts. Most famously, the co-founders of the Chinese travel website CTrip found that their remote employees ended up making 13.5 percent more calls than those dialing from company headquarters, the equivalent of...
The French have croissants. The Spanish have churros. And here in America, the doughnut is our dessert-for-breakfast food of choice. The sweet, ring-shaped fried cake has become the expected accompaniment to any office breakfast meeting. But considering your standard doughnut is packed with more than 300 calories,...
We’ve talked about vacations from work before — more specifically, how most Americans aren’t taking them. As Mel magazine has previously noted, a whopping 54 percent of us didn’t take a vacation at all last year, meaning “a grand total of 662 million vacation days withered and died like rotting bananas.” I’m...
Arianna Huffington and I have at least one thing in common: We’re both obsessed with getting enough sleep. As a man who typically enjoys anywhere between 8 and 10 hours of shut-eye each night, even getting as little as six hours feels like some form of sleep-deprivation...