Odds and Ends

Clearing my folders of things that have been languishing a while...

* From UCLA, this study is sort of mind-boggling in that it supports a strange phenomenon known as the "obesity paradox." Apparently, the one time in your life when it pays to be obese is if you're hospitalized for heart failure. The heavier you are, the better your chance of survival. The researchers think that obese people have more nutritional reserves to draw upon as they fight the heart failure. I have no idea what practical purpose the study will serve--can't imagine it would cause any docs to advocate weight gain!--but it's interesting, nonetheless.

* The Brits may be in trouble. In this study, scientists have discovered that all the antioxidant benefits of drinking tea are erased if you add milk to your tea. Most "Yanks" don't have milk with their afternoon tea--we're more apt to add sugar!--but it's quite common in Europe. Has something to do with the milk preventing the tea's artery-relaxing properties from kicking in.

* If you're starting a new exercise routine, you might want to drink a cup of coffee before you start. The newest issue of the Journal of Pain has a study that the caffeine equivalent of two cups of coffee cuts post-workout pain by 48 percent. The downside? If you're already a moderate coffee drinker, your body is probably immune to the caffeine effects and it might not work.