Things that are medically good or bad for you as of January 2026 &
— Can AI help us keep track?
Dancing by yourself for at least 20 minutes a day: 48 people doing whatever dance they wish with their choice of music achieved “health-enhancing levels of heart rate and oxygen uptake.” Not surprising, if you realize that dancing by yourself for 20 minutes is excellent aerobic exercise.
Receiving the shingles vaccine (Zostavax): People in New Zealand who were born on or after September 2, 1913 and received the shingle vaccine were 20% less likely to develop dementia as they aged than those who did not receive the vaccine.
Blowing into a conch shell: 15 Indian patients with sleep apnea who were asked to blow into a conch shell until it sounded like a horn (aka an Indian exercise known as shankh) . They had 34% less tiredness, higher oxygen levels in their blood, and had fewer sleep apnea spells 6 months later then the OSA patients who just did deep breathing exercises. Researchers boasted that “symptoms could be reduced without the need for machines or medicines.” Good news, indeed, for sleep partners at least.
Speaking of sleep, Melatonin for insomnia could be bad for you: A study of 130,000 insomniacs who took this prescription hormone supplement were “more likely to develop heart failure, be hospitalized, or die within the next five years than those insomniacs who did not take melatonin.” The study author did not recommend that “all insomniacs should stop taking melatonin, . . . but we should not assume something is risk-free just because its natural or sold over the counter.”
Living near a golf course could be bad for you: People who lived within a mile of the golf course had a 126% higher occurrence of Parkinson’s than those who lived 6 miles away. The increased risk was calculated at about 13% per mile. The lead author ( Brittany Krzyanowski) suggests that the use of pesticides on the golf course could be the culprit.
A Dry January might be of no health benefit: A review of published reports since 2010 by Robert Kaplan, Senior Scholar at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Clinical Excellence Research Center, revealed no proven association between moderate drinking and the occurrence of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or mouth and/or throat cancer . “The Surgeon General’s Report suggesting such an association is based on secondary sources, assumes that the cancer risk rises with every sip, and does not identify a meaningful threshold level for when harm begins.” (Bos Globe, Jan 11, 2026, K8)
A 2025 American Heart Association report suggested that not only was light-to-moderate drinking (1 drink a day for women and 2 drinks a day for men) NOT associated with major cardiovascular harm, BUT may offer modest protection. “Notably: a glass of wine with dinner is associated with lower mortality.” (Ibid.) Even Dr. Oz officially admitted, on TV while standing in front of RFK, Jr. and his new food “pyramid”, that “occasional drinking could enhance both food enjoyment and social interactions without increasing any risk of disease.” Of course, undertaking a Dry January can be “a valuable opportunity to reset and reflect” about your life style and to enhance your mental resilience: both excellent positives.
A cautionary word about understanding “risk percentages” in medical studies:
If 2 out of 1,000 non-drinkers develop a disease and 3 out of 1,000 light drinkers develop a disease, the relative risk for light drinkers is 1.5 – or a 50% increase. But the absolute risk (the increase of risk to any one individual) of 1 additional case per 1,000 is only a 0.1%.
Similarly, in a large UK study a woman who had fewer than 7 drinks per week had a 0.56% absolute risk of developing breast cancer over 10 years, compared to the 0.64% absolute risk for a woman who drank more than 7 drinks per week.
Will Artificial Intelligence help patients keep track of odds and treatment options for different diseases?
Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on the AI system. The Biomedical Informatics Department at Harvard Medical School showed that different AI systems (Claude, Chat-GPT, and Gemini) had remarkably different clinical approaches, and consistently disagreed on the same cases. “Always get a second opinion from a different chatbot.” It could help you spot when one chatbot sounds “certain” when it shouldn’t be. (Issac Kohane, MD, Boston Globe editorial page, 1/6/25) Just practice using both the Google AI and the Perplexity AI systems (available on your computer now) to research subjects you are familiar with and you’ll learn to appreciate any differences.
HUB's LIST of medical fun facts 