In a new study out of Massey University in New Zealand, nine subjects rode stationary bikes to exhaustion at moderate intensity in a hot environment on two separate occasions. They were given a fixed amount of cool water to drink during both rides, but during one ride they were also given a menthol solution to swill and spit out every 10 minutes, while in the other they were given a placebo to swill and spit. Menthol, as you probably know, creates a perception of coolness on the tongue. Mundel wanted to see if swilling a menthol solution might improve endurance performance in the heat by essentially tricking the brain into thinking the body was cooler than it really was. And guess what? It did. Eight of the nine subjects rode 9 to 12 percent longer in the menthol ride. While their body temperature was the same in both rides, the menthol ride felt easier to them.

According to the results of a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a traditional Mediterranean diet, which is not low in fat, may manage the symptoms of diabetes more effectively than a low-fat diet. Led by researchers at the Second University of Naples, the study involved 215 overweight men and women who had been newly diagnosed with diabetes. Half were assigned to follow a low-fat diet, with less than 30 percent of calories coming from fat, and the other half were placed on a Mediterranean diet rich in grains, fish, fruit, vegetables, wine and nuts in low in meat, dairy and refined sugars. After four years, only 44 percent of those on the Mediterranean diet required medication to control hyperglycemia, compared to 70 percent of those on the low-fat diet. On average, members of the Mediterranean diet group also lost 4.5 more pounds of body weight.