Alva Review-Courier -

Twinkies are near the top of America’s least healthy food pyramid. Sales of packaged snacks such as Ding Dongs, Donettes, and of course Twinkies held up well during the pandemic. Liquor sales were...

Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are becoming household names. Just like Advil, a brand of ibuprofen, they are being recognized as shorthand for a whole class of drugs called semaglutides. Ozempic was dev...

Our oldest granddaughter, Bristol, may require surgery on a knee. There was a time when the name Brock Schnebel would immediately be mentioned. Now that he has retired, there are many competent...

Is the secret of living to 100 just a matter of healthy habits? Experts say “no.” An article by Alex Janin in the Wall Street Journal claims that getting enough sleep, exercising and eating a...

Shoplifting, retail theft, referred to by stores as shrinkage, is not victimless crime. It is a prevalent form of stealing that affects businesses and communities worldwide. Shoplifting occurs for var...

Are you scam savvy: aware of the mental habits and shortcuts that make us easy to fool? It is human nature to be trustworthy and when a prize is dangled before us, the urge to comply is even greater....

The discovery of DNA, according to ChatGPT, “Was a watershed moment in the history of science.” Unraveling its double-helix structure began when Friedrich Miescher isolated a substance from the nu...

Most Americans have concerns about our aging politicians, thinking that high-stress jobs require quick-thinking leadership. As a septuagenarian myself, I agree with their concerns. Experts say that...

Metacognition is described as “thinking about thinking.” Metacognition is the opposite of meditation, which is also a form of mindfulness. Meditation is an attempt to not focus on anything,...

Food, humans and medicine all have expiration dates. Since 2017, the Food Industry Association has researched in vain to establish guidelines on shelf-life of edibles. In fact, with the exception of...

The airwaves are awash with offers for solar panel energy. Incentives are part of a $7 billion federal grant for which residential customers may apply. The issue of whether to take the plunge is...

Kent Taylor, founder of Texas Roadhouse Restaurants, passed away in 2021 by suicide. The family said he was battling post-Covid symptoms, mainly severe tinnitus. According to an article in the AARP...

The Smok-Shak in Ingersol is a local legend and, according to Amanda Foreman in The Wall Street Journal, there are 30,000 BBQ joints in the United States. It’s safe to say that the majority of...

We take the gifts God has given us for granted. Often we are impatient or impolite to others that may have more challenges. We should avoid the stereotypical response that is ingrained in our society...

“No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.” – Alice Cooper. According to an article by Amanda Foreman in the Wall Street Journal, a fragment of the world’s oldest book...

“Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1798). Once a minor part of monthly bills, water costs are putting stress on households and a hold on economic growth....

“Like sand through the hourglass, so go the days of our lives.” Life expectancy on the planet took a two-year hit because of Covid. The average man is expected to live to 76, women up to 5 years...

Seasonal Affective Disorder is associated with the cold, dark winter months that cause some people to experience sadness, hopelessness and lack of interest in activities they once enjoyed. I had...

Sumathi Reddy in Wall Street Journal says, “Not everyone who feels distracted suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” (ADHD). It seems that as I have grown older, my ability to...

CBS News: “Joey Chestnut wolfed down 62 wieners and buns at this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4.” Not his best effort: He ate 76 in 2021’s contest. Still a lot of...

“You are so beautiful to me” – Joe Cocker, 1974. There are many phrases describing beauty, most referring to its benefits. In an article by Emily Bobrow in the Wall Street Journal, she says, ...

I was drugged as a child. My folks drug me to church every Sunday and on Wednesday nights, too. Church attendance and religious tolerance are dwindling in this generation. Research is showing that...

I am someone who enjoys wearing a watch. Rebecca Struthers describes the watch collection at the British Museum in her book “Hands of Time.” They have 4,500 watches, beginning with a model by...

Bipedalism: The ability to move around on two legs. It is a human trait extoled by our ancestors and passed down to the current species. Walking on all fours gave way to the knuckle-dragging gait of...

I just finished a six-week Tai Chi exercise class. It is designed to increase concentration, mobility, balance and strength. It succeeded in each area, so I would recommend it. Like any healthy...