The Checkup: Red Meat Could Kill You
• Apparently, it’s not only the good who die young. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) According to a new study from a team at Harvard University, eating red meat every day increases your risk for dying young—by 13 percent if you eat unprocessed red meat, and a full 20 percent if you eat the processed stuff. Eating fish, poultry, whole grains or nuts instead seem to lower the death risk pretty significantly. The culprit? Probably all the saturated fat, sodium and nitrates in red meat, which contribute to chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. Time to stock up on salmon, right?
• When you’ve thought about the problem of climate change (I know it keeps you up at night), have you ever asked yourself, “What if we could engineer human beings to be more energy efficient?” The Atlantic dared to ask it—and here’s the answer.
• LSD: a cure for alcoholism? Yes, according to one study.