I've read studies before regarding how men and women metabolize alcohol differently, and that a woman will feel the effects of a drink sooner than a man of the same weight. But now there's new research that takes that principle one step farther: women don't just feel the immediate/short-term effects sooner, but the long-term ones also. In a study of female and male alcoholics the women suffered negative health effects, specifically brain damage, much faster than the men did.

Of course alcoholism is widely understood as damaging and unhealthy, but it is also widely underdiagnosed. Understanding the risks and not shoving the issue to the background is an important part of prevention.

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Most of us don't want to think about cognitive decline, although this happens to many of us as we age. But brief mental training sessions can slow age-related mental decline according to a new study.

This seems pretty obvious to me -- keep the mind engaged with a variety of mental exercises -- every day -- and the breakdown that generally occurs in the mental state as we age slows down (or even stops to a point).

This new study came from a five-year study of more than 2,800 Americans aged 65 to 94. The training given to the participants was short -- just 10, one-hour sessions for most participants, with eight booster sessions for some. The benefits of such training lasted at least five years. Now, that is impressive.

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