Never Shower in a Thunderstorm

Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths About Our Health and the World We Live In

Anahad O'Connor

Times Books

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The New York Times’s intrepid health reporter investigates the truth about sex, eating, exercise, and other health conundrums
 
For more than two years, the New York Times’s science and health columnist Anahad O’Connor has tracked down the facts, fictions, and occasional fuzziness of old wives’ tales, conventional-wisdom cures, and other medical mysteries. Now in this lively and fun book, he opens up his case files to disclose the experts’ answers on everything, from which of your bad habits you can indulge (yo-yo dieting does not mess up your metabolism and sitting too close to the television does not hurt your eyes) to what foods actually pack the punch advertised (you can lay off the beet juice!).

A compendium of answers to the curious and nagging questions of how to keep healthy, Never Shower in a Thunderstorm will provide guidance and amusement to anyone who has ever wondered if the mosquitoes really are attacking her more than everyone else. (Yes, they are.)

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Chapter One
 
Human Nature?
The Great DNA Crap Game
 
Does your DNA determine your destiny? It used to be that scientists believed our genes were responsible for a select number of our physical features, and that was about it. We began almost as blank slates and our behavior was determined largely by our environment, molded over the years through stimulus and response.
 
It was an overly simplistic view. A better understanding of human genetics eventually showed that we don’t have nearly as much control over who we are and how we behave as we think we

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Reviews from Goodreads

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Kelly  rated it  
Feb 26, 2011
Great book to read in my chemistry class. ...more
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Mohd Afiq  rated it  
Aug 10, 2010
Is chocolate an aphrodisiac? Read this book to find the answer. ...more
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Maria (Ri)  rated it  
Jun 23, 2010
My review for Armchair Interviews:
“Wait half and hour after eating before swimming.”
“Cover your head in the winter so you don’t catch a cold.”
“Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis.”
We’ve all heard the old wives tales, but which ones are really true? Based on ...more
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About the Author

Anahad O'Connor

Anahad O’Connor is a reporter for The New York Times covering science, health, immigration, and life in the greater New York area and contributes the weekly column “Really?”—named for his favorite word in journalism—to the paper’s Science Times section. He lives in New York City.

Anahad O'Connor

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Never Shower in a Thunderstorm
Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths About Our Health and the World We Live In
Anahad O'Connor

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Henry Holt and Co.
Times Books
May 2007
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780805083125
ISBN10: 080508312X
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 256 pages, line drawings throughout
$15.00

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e-Book Agency
Henry Holt and Co.
Times Books
May 2007
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429916073
ISBN10: 1429916079
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 256 pages, Includes line drawings throughout
$6.99
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