Fortune Well

My latest story for Fortune Well is both personal and reported: about how there is no reliable way to screen for ovarian cancer, the most lethal of all gynecological cancers, and how the best and perhaps only defense for all women (not just those at an elevated risk) is the well-timed, prophylactic removal of one's fallopian tubes—where 80% of ovarian cancers begin. It's called an opportunistic salpingectomy, and I had one last month. Here's what it was like. https://lnkd.in/e39iXSuE

Dementia affects more than 6 million Americans and accounts for more than 100,000 deaths each year, according to the National Institutes of Health. https://lnkd.in/etAcWGwB Further, researchers estimate that 42% of Americans over 55 will eventually develop dementia—and that an aging U.S. population could cause the number of new dementia cases per year to double by 2060. Now, researchers at the University of California San Francisco have identified the U.S. regions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where dementia occurs most often. Read more: https://lnkd.in/etAcWGwB

Sugar is the enemy. Right? https://lnkd.in/e7EbWW8y Not always, as it turns out—at least according to a new study, which found it depends on how you consume it. In analyzing data from over half a million people across multiple continents, researchers at Brigham Young University found something unexpected: that sugar consumed through drinks like soda—and even pure fruit juice, which is high in naturally occurring fructose—appeared to be more harmful than sugar that is eaten in foods. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7EbWW8y

Night owls are already forced to wake up too early for office jobs and to deal with derision from early birds. https://lnkd.in/exGPkRwX And now comes a new affront: research concluding that they appear to decline faster, cognitively, than morning people. To look into this, dementia researcher Ana Wenzler at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands analyzed sleep-based questionnaires through a large national study, BIRD-NL Project. Her conclusion was that evening people saw faster cognitive decline—but every night owl may not have the same risk. Read more: https://lnkd.in/exGPkRwX

“One of us was late to the gym this morning.” Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Scott Boatwright tells Fortune's Kristin Stoller that he still trains at the gym every morning with his predecessor, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol. Read more from #FortuneCOOSummit: https://lnkd.in/e8cjvm3V

“I’m a big coffee drinker. Seven days a week.” https://lnkd.in/eFvQpjEB In a recent interview, Keurig Dr Pepper’s CEO Tim Cofer told Fortune that he always starts his day with two cups of coffee. At lunchtime, he likes to have a carbonated soft drink—which is often caffeinated—before shifting to an energy drink to keep him going during the afternoon. You might be thinking, “That’s a lot of caffeine.” But is it too much? Read more: https://lnkd.in/eFvQpjEB

Eating a more plant-focused diet has numerous science-backed benefits: healthier aging, lowering colorectal cancer risk, and could even reduce the amount of dangerous chemicals in your blood. https://lnkd.in/e_N8cMMG Within those healthy plant foods are superfood compounds like antioxidants that can reduce inflammation and phytosterols that help lower cholesterol. New research, which is not yet peer reviewed and presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s conference in Orlando on Tuesday, reveals that eating more of the latter is linked to lower risk of chronic disease and better indicators of health. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e_N8cMMG

“These young people are the best people to help us find solutions." https://lnkd.in/eMHWZQ2F In Philippi village in the Western Cape of South Africa, the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation helps fight HIV/AIDS through the use of youth-led mobile clinics. The Foundation received funding from the Gates Foundation, starting with an initial planning grant to brainstorm how best to provide HIV education and prevention in hard-to-reach communities plagued by high disease rates. Over 60 youth meet with leaders of the project monthly to inform the approach and brainstorm ways to reach more people, including co-designing the exterior of the trucks. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMHWZQ2F

A three-year exercise program improved survival in colon cancer patients and kept disease at bay, a first-of-its-kind international experiment showed. https://lnkd.in/dAaNavAK With the benefits rivaling some drugs, experts said cancer centers and insurance plans should consider making exercise coaching a new standard of care for colon cancer survivors. Until then, patients can increase their physical activity after treatment, knowing they are doing their part to prevent cancer from coming back. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dAaNavAK

Sitting on grocery store shelves among all of the different varieties of fruit juice is an unassuming nutritional powerhouse: tart cherry juice. https://lnkd.in/eMfjCPTK It turns out, this beverage is a well-studied supplement teeming with benefits, according to research and sports performance dietitian Susan Kitchen. Tart cherry juice, which comes from the Montmorency cherries primarily grown in the U.S., is highly concentrated with vitamins, minerals, and beneficial compounds that leave nutrition experts like Kitchen recommending it. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMfjCPTK