An important new article in the New York Times argues that we aren’t paying serious enough attention to two factors critically important to the risk of developing a COVID-19 infection and its potential severity: immunity and inflammation. Just because older people are especially vulnerable doesn’t mean nothing can be done to slow or sometimes even reverse immunological decline to enhance resistance to this deadly disease.…
MONTHLY BAROMETER The slow and grinding economic recovery will be characterized by three prominent features. (1) Much more debt, which will trigger redistribution reforms (mainly through higher taxation) similar to those put into place during the Great Depression and WWII when the top marginal tax rate went above 80 percent in several countries like the US. It will also lead to financial repression. (2) Less…
A new study from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences compared standard medication to medication plus a two-month yoga program for migraine sufferers. They found that the yoga group had fewer migraines, fewer headaches overall, and consumed fewer pills—even though their headache frequency was higher at the study’s start. This is important because migraine medications only work for about half of the patients. ACCESS…
There is an intriguing wellbeing twist in COVID-19’s multiple uncertainties. It seems bizarre that Japan, the world’s oldest and fastest-aging society, has so far recorded low rates of infection (13 confirmed cases per 100,000 people) and very low mortality rates (less than 1 per 100,000 people). By contrast and in relative terms, the US (a much younger society than Japan) and the UK fare poorly:…
The GWI has announced The Clean Water Initiative. Nearly one-third of all countries currently face medium to high levels of water stress, and billions of people suffer from a lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation facilities, while climate change means severe floods and droughts. Water security is a global crisis, and all wellness sectors need to take action in reducing water waste and…
A small, but interesting, new study from the University of Texas found that just 4 seconds of intense exercise (in this case, sprinting on a stationary bike) throughout the day (for a total of 2 minutes and 40 seconds across 8 hours) has an eye-opening impact on metabolic health: lowering triglycerides 30 percent and burning significant fat. The researchers noted that frequent, extremely tiny bursts…
