Living Well

This weekend, millions of American will lather themselves with toxic chemicals...

Memorial Day weekend is the official start to the summer here in the U.S... with pools and beaches opening for summer across the country.

You could hear it all the way down the hallway...

My research assistant said it sounded like metal or plastic grinding against a chalkboard. And it was loud.

The average American household spends more than $800 a month on health insurance.

That number doesn't include additional expenses like copays and deductibles. One study from the Commonwealth Fund found that the average family spends 10% of its wealth on health insurance. That's up from 6.5% 10 years ago.

"Live in the know."

That's the slogan for popular DNA test-kit service 23andMe. You've likely seen the company's ads about how easy it is to use its mail-service kit to send away a sample of your DNA to learn more about yourself. 23andMe claims to reveal everything from where your ancestors lived to your predisposition of various diseases.

Roughly 50 million Americans dread "allergy season" each year... And I'm one of them.

I start to experience seasonal allergic rhinitis – or "hay fever" – in spring. I then spend about three weeks coughing, sneezing, and rubbing my itchy eyes. And it's no wonder... Spring is the worst season for most allergy suffers.

Are you a quitter?

Each New Year's Day, millions of hopeful Americans set resolutions to improve their lives – whether it's losing weight or saving money. But statistics show by the middle of February, 80% of folks have quit on themselves.

Doc's note: Longtime readers know I've talked many times about the importance of keeping your brain healthy. One of the best ways to do that is to keep learning.

So today, I'm sharing an essay from Whitney Tilson. In it, he explains how to get the most out of your day and become a "learning machine."

It's time to get your hands dirty.

As the weather gets warmer, I love to go out in the garden. I typically plant some fresh vegetables and herbs like tomatoes, oregano, and basil. I also love to add a few handfuls of wildflowers in places that need a little color and calming. May is the ideal time to start planting.

Doc's note: The key to keeping your mind sharp is learning. But procrastination – thanks to a lot of modern distractions – keeps many of us from succeeding.

In today's essay, Whitney Tilson discusses three of the biggest distractions today, and how to stay on the path of learning and success.

I know better than to believe stories I hear at dinner parties.

I'm only human, and I still get excited when I hear that I can "triple my money by Christmas" or about a new pill that "gives you all the benefit of drinking wine without the calories"... But I've heard enough of these stories to know how they end. The promises never pan out.