Shingles shot may protect the brain
The shingles vaccine, recommended for adults 50 and older, may do more than prevent a painful rash — it appears to protect the brain. Taking advantage of…
Author: Rick Good
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader's money, real estate, and business coverage.
Ragweed can make melon itchy
Bite into a slice of cantaloupe in late summer and feel your mouth tingle? It may not be the fruit so much as the pollen. In a quirk called oral allergy…
Allergies don’t retire
Allergies are supposed to be a childhood problem you eventually outgrow. For a lot of people, it works the other way around. While most allergies begin…
The muscles that keep you walking aren’t only in your legs
Ask someone which muscles keep them walking and most will point to their thighs. The real workhorse sits lower down — and some of the muscles that keep…
Pasta e ceci: an ancient Roman comfort dish made simple
Pasta e ceci — pasta and chickpeas, pronounced roughly ‘pasta eh CHEH-chee’ — is one of Italy’s oldest comfort foods, and one most Americans have never…
Different shapes, same dough: what really separates one pasta from another
Open a box of spaghetti and a box of penne side by side and you are usually looking at the exact same dough. The shape is the only thing that changes….
The best desk setup still can’t beat getting up
Even a perfectly arranged desk will not rescue a body that holds one position for hours. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most useful ergonomic habit is…
A short walk can head off a workplace strain
Stress does not stay in your head. When the pressure climbs, muscles tighten and posture slips, and that tension sets the stage for the sprains, back…
When a child can’t see, they rarely say so
A child who needs glasses usually does not complain, because blurry vision is all they have ever known, and they assume everyone sees the world the same…
What to do when dehydration becomes an emergency
When someone has already fallen behind on fluids, the fastest fix is an oral rehydration solution, the same salt-and-sugar mix the World Health…