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When the French writer Anais Nin said, "The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery ... there is always more mystery," she could have been talking about pomegranates. No matter how many times you tackle that red orb, it's always a bit of a challenge to figure out how to extract the seeds.

There are scores of videos...Read more

In 1826, the French epicure Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are." A couple decades later, a German philosopher penned, "Man is what he eats." And in the U.S. in the 1940s, nutritionist Victor Lindlahr published "You Are What You Eat: How to Win and Keep Health with Diet."

Now, researchers ...Read more

Fairy tales and old epics are loaded with magic objects that empower lost, endangered and bewildered characters. Magic boots, apples, even cups of tea all are credited with helping heroes overcome difficulties and slay dragons.

You could add exercise to that list, because it has magic powers too. Exercise can increase your longevity, keep ...Read more

In the 1200s, Viking children were paid for their first lost tooth. Today the Tooth Fairy's under-the-pillow donation makes the transition from baby to permanent teeth less scary. But if you're an adult and you're losing a tooth -- or teeth -- there's nothing rewarding about it.

Around 178 million Americans are missing at least one tooth and ...Read more

The two-minute warning sounds in NFL games at the end of the second and fourth quarters -- ostensibly to alert teams to how much time they have left to execute a series of plays before the clock runs out. It's a tradition left over from when the stadium clock wasn't the "official" timekeeper -- it is these days. But that doesn't make a short ...Read more

What is: a berry, loaded with fat and fiber, is sometimes called an alligator pear and, according to researchers, offers far-ranging health benefits, including banishing belly fat? An avocado. All that and guacamole, too!

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition found that when women who are overweight or have obesity eat an avocado a day for...Read more

There are only 11 positions available for starters on a pro soccer team -- and no one wants to be left on the bench when he's worked so hard to make it to the Premier League. But some second-stringers have managed to become major substitute players. James Milner played for five teams and made 161 substitute appearances, the most of anyone in the...Read more

Hard to believe, but in one recent year, Americans ordered 2.3 billion restaurant servings of chicken nuggets. So, when meatless nuggets were launched onto menus and put in grocery stores, it caused quite a commotion.

What are these concoctions made of? Impossible Chicken Nuggets contain 28 ingredients -- never a good sign when a "food" is ...Read more

In "The Picture of Dorian Gray," by Oscar Wilde, Dorian was able to avoid (for a while, at least) the tribulations of aging by making a deal with the devil to have his portrait get old and wrinkly as he stayed young and smooth-skinned. A masterpiece of self-deception for sure.

Chances are you are making an opposite -- but just as deadly -- deal...Read more

Myron Rolle played football at Florida State University (and graduated in two and a half years) and was headed for the NFL when he became a Rhodes Scholar. So he postponed his football career a year to attend Oxford University. Afterward, he was picked by the Tennessee Titans in the 2010 draft. An outstanding safety, nonetheless, he headed back ...Read more

Jamal Crawford is basketball's all-time high scorer of four-point plays -- he totaled 60 in his career with nine teams. That rarity happens when a player makes a three-point field goal while simultaneously being fouled by a defensive player -- and makes the resulting free throw.

You gotta love the unusual ways athletes find to get a little ...Read more

In 1900, only 12% of white men and women born then would live past 65. For people of color, it was even worse: Only 11% of African American women and 10% of African American men would make it to what we now call retirement age. Only 4% of any group reached age 85.

According to Dr. Mike's new book, "The Great Age Reboot," by 2050, life ...Read more

Theories come and go. For example, 18th-century chemists thought phlogiston was a substance that was released when something burned ... and breathing removed it from your body so you wouldn't spontaneously ignite. And it's long been said that the best way to get into a new exercise routine is to start slowly. But a study published in JAMA ...Read more

The 1975 movie "Muhammad Ali: Skill, Brains and Guts" sums up the artful relationship that exists between the mind and the digestive system -- and how, when they're working together, you're likely looking at a champion performance, whether you're the greatest athlete and boxer of all time or an ordinary Joe or Jane simply trying to stay healthy....Read more

You may hate childproof lids that make it difficult to take an aspirin when you need one fast, but as a direct result of the 1970 Poison Prevention Packaging Act, deaths have decreased by 1.4 for every million kids ages 5 and younger. Simple changes have big benefits.

The same is true for the leading causes of death in adults. Most cases might ...Read more

When Allen Iverson retired from the NBA in 2010, he headed for the Hall of Fame because of his astounding control of the ball. His dribbling magic allowed him to repeatedly provide his teams (the 76ers, Nuggets, Pistons and Grizzlies) with a healthy lead.

That's the same kind of artful control you want to execute so you can get a healthy lead ...Read more

The film "Gerry," staring Casey Affleck and Matt Damon, tells the story of two boys who wander -- and wander and wander -- in the desert without food or water. The movie bewildered film critic Roger Ebert, who said the more he watched it, the less he liked it and the more he admired it.

What we admire is folks who know how good it is to walk --...Read more

It seems like every week, the Food and Drug Administration issues an alert about salmonella contamination in the food supply. You're told to avoid eating prosciutto and salami (we say they're always to be avoided anyway) or to ditch your dog's fancy food. Recent outbreaks of salmonella illness have been linked to contaminated fruit and ...Read more

We'll start with the good and tasty news: Pecans (as in a pecan-pomegranate salad or the newly available pecan milk, not the sugar-disaster that's pecan pie) can help you stay healthy in important ways. And since 80% of the world's supply is grown in the U.S., pecans are never in short supply.

A study out of the University of Georgia (natch!) ...Read more

Sarah Hyland of "Modern Family" has had multiple kidney transplants. That means she's immunocompromised, because of the anti-rejection drugs she has to take and because her original condition strains her immune system.

When she got her COVID-19 vaccine in March, she declared, "HALLELUJAH! I AM FINALLY VACCINATED!!!!!" Now, she sounds like a ...Read more