Dark meat is as good

Health authorities have long advocated choosing white meat, saying it contains less fat and fewer calories.

Health authorities have long advocated choosing white meat, saying it contains less fat and fewer calories. But the nutritional differences between the two are not so great. In general, what makes one cut of turkey 8212; or any other type of poultry 8212; darker than another is the type of muscle it contains. Meat is darker if it contains higher levels of myoglobin, a compound that enables muscles to transport oxygen, which is needed to fuel activity. Since turkeys and chickens are flightless and walk a lot, their leg meat is dark while their wing and breast meat are white. Many people choose white meat over dark because of its lower caloric content. But according to the

US8217;s department of agriculture, an ounce of boneless, skinless turkey breast contains about 46 calories and 1 gram of fat, compared with roughly 50 calories and 2 grams of fat for an ounce of boneless, skinless thigh. But dark meat has its benefits. Compared with white meat, it contains more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12. Both have less fat than most cuts of red meat, so you can8217;t go wrong either way.

Smoking may accelerate men8217;s hair loss
While Asian men generally have less trouble than Caucasians with the most common form of hereditary male baldness, smoking cigarettes may erase that edge, researchers said in a recent study. Smoking may destroy hair follicles, interfere with the way blood and hormones are circulated in the scalp or increase the production of estrogen, the research said. The study, published in the November issue of the Archives of Dermatology, recommended that men showing early signs of hair loss should be advised about the role smoking can play to prevent further progression.

Walking faster and outpacing death
Researchers who followed the health of nearly 500 older people for almost a decade found that those who walked more quickly were less likely to die over the course of the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The findings, the researchers said, suggest that gait speed may be a good predictor of long-term survival, even in people who otherwise appear basically healthy. The researchers also found that people whose walking speed improved reduced their risk of death.