healthbriefs
can money buy
Happiness?
Y
es, so long as you spend it on
others, suggests a recent study
by the University of British Co-
lumbia and the Harvard Business
School. The researchers found that
people who spent money on others
reported greater happiness than
those who did not, or than those
who spent it on themselves—re-
gardless of income. Surprisingly, the amount of money spent
on others did not matter; as little as five dollars a day did the
trick.
The researchers wanted to test their theory that how
males and females spend their money is at least as important
as how much money they earn. Individuals participating
rated their general happiness, reported their annual income,
and provided a detailed breakdown of their monthly spend-
ing, including bills, gifts for themselves and others, and
donations to charities.
cherries for
the Heart
T
he tangy taste of tart cherries might deliver
more than a treat for the taste
buds. Preliminary work with labora-
tory rats at the University of Michi-
gan Cardiovascular Center sug-
gests that mixing whole tart cherry
powder into the animals’ diet led
to less weight gain and a reduc-
tion of inflammation. Researchers
explain that inflammation is a com-
mon indicator of heart disease and
diabetes. More, those on the cherry
supplement also had significantly
lower blood levels of cholesterol
and triglycerides than the control
group.
“These new findings are encouraging, especially in the
light of what is becoming known about the interplay between
inflammation, blood lipids, obesity and body composition in
cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” says Steven Bolling, a
cardiac surgeon at the university and the laboratory’s director.
A pilot study to determine the effects of tart cherries in human
diet is underway.

September 2008
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