The Essential Guide series brings together the best recent coverage from New Scientist specially curated into beautiful compendiums about the most exciting themes in science and technology today. Written and edited by some of the world’s best science writers, these guides will leave you with everything you need to know about subjects from nutrition to the solar system and more.
NEW SCIENTIST ESSENTIAL GUIDE BETTER YOU
New Scientist - The Essential Guides
HOW HEALTHY ARE YOU?
DEFINING HEALTH • Getting a read on your own health status is surprisingly difficult, not least because medicine was invented to treat diseases, not to measure health. But thinking about how the body keeps itself in balance has led researchers towards new hallmarks of well-being.
HEALTH OFF THE SHELF • While scientists work towards new full-person measures of health and well-being, here’s what is available right now
TOO MUCH INFORMATION? • A new wave of DNA tests can predict your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But is a genetic crystal ball a blessing or a curse?
WHAT TO MAKE OF DAILY HEALTH TARGETS • Many of us aim for “recommended daily” doses of exercise, nutrients and sleep, but not all of them are supported by evidence.
THE TROUBLE WITH WELLNESS • The wellness industry offers no end of quick fixes for better health, productivity and happiness, but more often than not, hard evidence is lacking, says expert in rhetoric Colleen Derkatch.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
HEALTHY TODAY, HARMFUL TOMORROW • Barely a week goes by without some new evidence about what to eat – or avoid – for a long, happy life. Sometimes this advice contradicts what we were last told. But there are ways to cut through the noise.
THE TRUTH ABOUT CALORIES • Amid all the confusion about what to eat for a healthy body and mind, the calorie feels like a reassuringly simple guide to what we actually need. But there is much more to healthy eating than balancing “calories in” with “calories out”.
YOUR GUIDE TO ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS • Following years where calories were blamed for all our diet-related woes, there is a new villain in town: ultra-processed foods. But the claims against these foods are often conflicting and many open questions remain.
WHICH DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD YOU TAKE? • From vitamin D to turmeric extracts and probiotics, nutritional supplements are a booming industry. But are any of them worth the money?
THE SURPRISING SUPERNUTRIENT • Most ingredients touted as the key to better health fail to live up to the hype, but fibre bucks this trend, with benefits for the whole body, not just the gut.
CAN SNACKING ACTUALLY BE HEALTHY? • We get about a quarter of our calories from snacks and new research shows that this isn’t necessarily bad for us. Done right, snacking can boost our health.
WHAT TO MAKE OF BLOOD SUGAR MONITORS • More and more people without diabetes are monitoring their blood glucose levels. Here’s what the evidence says about limiting your blood sugar spikes after eating to boost your health.
SWEET AND INNOCENT? • A new wave of guilt-free, plant-based sweeteners may soon allow us to have our cake and eat it.
HOW TO HYDRATE • Our notions about what we ought to be drinking are confounded by half-truths and questionable health claims. So, what should we really be drinking – and how much?
THE INCREDIBLE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE
GET FIT FAST • Getting fit doesn’t have to be painful. Knowing what happens to our bodies when we get fitter can make all the difference to how much you enjoy the process and how quickly you see results.
SLOW AND STEADY • The slow-running movement, where people meet for unhurried jogs, is booming – revealing the surprising benefits of low-intensity exercise.
HOW...