Drop Dead Healthy by A. Jacobs (books to read to increase intelligence .TXT) 📕

on cheekbones of, 154–55

magical thinking, 148–50

how it works, 148

Julie and her mom saved by, 148–49

in lost kids chase, 332

in outsourcing worries, 149–50

Maine blueberry industry, 97

malaria, DDT ban and, 188

Male Biological Clock, The (Fisch), 279

mangoes:

AJ’s defense against their Siren song, 230–32

fooling the idiotic mind with, 84–85

as tree-growing Snickers, 230

manliness, testes thought related to, 283

marriage:

arranged, adoration learned in, 48

health linkage of, 46–47

nature’s evident bias toward, 46

Shaw on irony of, 45

Mars bars, deep-fried, 32

Marti, anti-, 187–88

Marti, aunt, 181, 223

AJ’s apartment swept of toxins by, 183–86

antimeat information drilled into AJ’s head by, 93

distinctly Californian viewpoint of, 7

hazardous substance list of, 186

at her father’s funeral, 289–90

illness and death of, 349–52

multitasking rejected by, 68

need for the vigilance of, 190

raw-foodist guidance from, 225–27

solar gazing of, 184

on Standard American Diet (SAD), 92

sunscreen appalling to, 241

toxin-free life tenets of, 188–89

trademark purple scarf of, 184

Martin, Steve, 345

massage, self-, 110, 359

mass transit, air pollution cut down by, 218–19

mastectomy, predrug, 115–16

Master-Cleanse diet, 13

masturbation:

bland foods prescribed for, 101–3

religion, cortisol levels and, 201

as secret of longevity, 103–4

two-person sex vs., 104

Mayo Clinic, 34, 151, 272, 341

meat:

carcinogens in, 93

Marti’s case against, 93–94

raw, in caveman diet, 38

as side dish, 362–63

medical adviser board, 7

medical innovation, 9

waiting to be saved by, 31–32

medical students, how mindfulness may cause panic among, 21

medicine, specialty bias of, 241

meditation, 1, 167, 347, 359

contextual, 218

noise found interesting with, 219

rock solid medical benefits of, 218

as video game, 177

Mediterranean diet, 13

melanin, 242, 243

melanoma, 141–42, 244

melatonin, 264

Melngailis, Sarma, 274

memento mori:

AJ’s pneumonia as, 3

as ultimate form of reframing, 154–55

memorization, 169

of word lists, 173

memory:

hard-to-read fonts as aid to, 2

Ribot’s law of, 178

men:

calorie-burning benefits of missionary position for, 105

calories allowed for, 17, 18

daily alcohol allowance for, 14

hand-holding among, 308

relaxing body odors of, 295

rugged individualism of, 248

testosterone and personalities of, 282

what will give them boobs, 283

meningitis, 152

Merchant, Mark, 248

metabolic syndrome, 96

metabolism:

changed by marathon sitting sessions, 66

slowing down of, 18

metaphors:

for AJ in noise-canceling headphones, 58

for AJ’s brain, 173

for AJ’s deviated septum, 260

for AJ’s mouth, 197

for AJ’s mouth breathing, 215–16

for antisnoring strategies, 261, 262

for bad posture, 313

for Benihana’s ambience, 53

for body pollution, 51

for body pride, 84

for the brain as muscle, 165–67

for the brain as ski slope, 170

for costs and benefits of smoking, 215

David vs. Goliath and Revenge of the Nerds, 173–74

for dental sadism, 193

for fellow gym members, 60–61

in germ porn, 75–76

for gift of self-delusion, 122

for hand-washing performance, 78

for health fundamentalism, 191–92

for hearing loss, 55

for intenSati ambience, 128, 130

for marriage/health link, 46

for noise pollution, 54

for persistence of pain, 116–17

for pole dancing, 249

for slow fitness, 159, 160

for smaller triathlon, 251

for treadmills, 35

mice:

diet and longevity of, 9, 18

telomerase in reversing age of, 31–32

mindfulness, 21, 27, 171

Mindless Eating (Wansink), 21, 276, 363

Minnesota Stroke Institute, 151

moles, 241–44

artificial, 242

Momofuku, Julie’s insistence on, 171

Monell Chemical Senses Center, 294–99

monkeys, on low-calorie diets, 18

Monroe, Marilyn, favorite nightwear of, 239–40

Monty Python, 152

Morena, Patricia, 127–29

mortality, wake-up call about, 244

Moses, Robert, 26, 345

mouth, germs in, 77

MovNat (Mouvement Naturel), 37

Mozart Effect, 167–68

Mr. Clean Bath Cleaner, sniff and recoil from, 184–85

MRI, meditation while hearing the noises of, 219

MRSA, 32, 79

multitasking, 65

Marti’s disapproval of, 68

medical, 243

muscle failure, focus of weight training as, 33

muscles:

AJ’s growing awareness of, 83–84

standers’ use of, 66

MyPlate (USDA), 94

Nabokov, Vladimir, 67

Napier, John, 303–5, 306

naps, as Healthy Vice, 1, 330

NASA, on mother-in-law’s tongue, 28

National Academy of Sciences, 33, 94

National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 32

Natural History of the Senses, A (Ackerman), 327

Nature’s Platform, 132, 136–37

description and assembly of, 137

NBC, 21

neck problems, 315

nervous system, 113–30

see also pain

Nesheim, Mal, 96

Nestle, Marion, 95–98, 362

food labels translated by, 96

on Paleo diet, 229

on ranking fruits and vegetables, 97

Whole Foods tour with, 95–98

neti pot, 72, 73

neurobics, 170–71, 177

neurofeedback, 176–77

neuroplasticity, 165–71

increased by exercise, 176

NeuroReport, 125

nevus, 242

New England Journal of Medicine, 161

New York:

decibel levels in, 59

healthiest glass of water in, 274

insalubrious flatness of, 64

morbid little landmarks accruing in, 343

as one big dinner plate, 76

proximity of acupuncturists in, 118

as sixteenth worst city for ozone pollution, 220

New York magazine, Best Doctors list of, 133

New York Post, 46

New York Times, 245, 315, 341

on the caveman movement, 38

conservatism linked to germaphobia in, 82–83

crossword puzzles of, 168

on germy downside of gyms, 32

Kheel’s obituary in, 291

on separated-at-night couples, 259

New York Times Magazine, 91, 285

New York Triathlon, postponing of, 323–24

New York University Langone Medical Center, 76

nicotine, appetite suppressed by, 215

Nightingale, Florence, 294

Nike, 129, 205

Nippon Medical School, 43

N95 surgical mask, 220–21

nods and smiles, missing words covered up with, 58

noise, 53–59

fight-or-flight response to, 55

meditation for, 218–19

as second-hand smoke of our ears, 54

three tips for dealing with, 365–66

as unpatriotic and possibly fascist, 56

voices raised against, 54

noise-canceling headphones, Bose, 52, 57–58, 59, 340, 366

Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, 365–66

nose, 292, 293–99

breathing through, 216

as diagnostic tool, 294

improving of, 297–98

world’s largest sculpture of, 294

see also smells, smelling; specific smells

nosocomial infections, 77

Nugent, Benjamin, 174

nutmeg, when everything smells like, 297–98

nutrition:

Bratman on unproven hype of, 89–90

contradictory headlines on, 91

warring tribes in, 92; see also diet debate

see also diet; eating; food

nutritionists, “intellectual horsepower” lacking in, 90

Oates, Joyce Carol, door-handle germs compared to total output of, 75–76

Obama, Barack, Jr., 179

Obama, Barack, Sr., 179

Obama, Michelle, 63

obesity, 64, 229

social contagion of, 161

obesity epidemic:

cranking up thermostat blamed for, 210

low-fat diet linked with, 93

mindless eating as source of, 21–22

potential effect of smoking on, 215

Obesity Reviews, 210

obscenity, pain relieved with, 125

Odell, Peter, 327–28

“Odysseus Contract,” AJ’s crafty use of, 231–32

Odyssey (Homer), 231

Okinawa, longevity in, 2, 64, 84, 221, 346

Okinawan diet, 13

old age:

exercise in, 44–45

infancy compared with, 267

Old Testament, 69, 236

olfactory diagnostics, 294

Omnivore’s Dilemma, The (Pollan), 90

Onion, The, 361

Operation Squat, 136–37

optimism, longevity and, 70–71

oranges, as “Clark Kent” food, 97

orchestra conductors, longevity of, 45

organic foods, 368

Origins (Paul), 301

orthodontists, 193

Orthodox Judaism, 188, 201, 339

orthorexia nervosa, 87–90, 98, 347, 364

“ose,” dreaded suffix of, 230

osteoporosis, 92

Other, The, origins of disgust with, 83

outdoors, healthiness of, 43–44

ovarian cancer, 64

ovations, standing vs. sitting, 63

oxytocin, 104, 151

oysters, as dubious aphrodisiac, 107

Oz, Mehmet C. (Dr. Oz), 33, 59, 135, 331

pain, 9, 113–26

acupuncture for, 118–21

before anesthesia, 115–16

Buddhist approach to, 117–18

chronic, 116, 117

cursing for relief of, 125

as erratic, lazy, and easily confused, 117

neurofeedback tried for, 177

placebo success with, 122

reasonable alternatives to, 116

in Spanish, 2

after working out, 36

see also back pain; and usual suspects

Pain Chronicles, The (Thernstrom), 115–16, 117, 122–23

painkillers, 115, 116

Pale Fire (Nabokov), 67

Paleo diet, 13, 37, 38, 40–41, 227–29

raw food diet vs., 225–29

socially acceptable raw meat on, 228

weight loss and, 228–29

Paleolithic