from times.

sweet tooth, big tippler?

having a sweet tooth may foretell more than a little extra padding around the gut. a new study found that people with a paternal history of alcoholism were 2.5 times as likely to enjoy sweets as those with no such history and may be at a high risk for drinking problems down the line. the link may seem odd, but researchers say our reactions to alcohol and sweets are regulated by the same mechanism in the brain.


why men should make more friends

people who need people are not just lucky; they may be healthier too. as part of the MacArthur Sucessful Aging Study, researchers examined more than 800 men and women in the context of their social networks and found that socially isolated men ages 70 to 97 appear to be at greater risk of heart diseases than men with more robust social networks. the researchers looked at martial status, number of close friends and family members, and participation in social and religious clubs. compared with men in the highest quartile on the social network index, men in the lowest fourth had significantly greater blood levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, substances that are associated with inflammation and are believed to be markers for cardiovascular disease. curiously, researchers found no such link between social well-being and heart disease risk among the women they studied.


i love chocolate but i dont think i will live long enough to enjoy the robust social network i have.