Advice

For decades, those with high cholesterol have been given a list of don'ts when it comes to their diet: Don't eat cholesterol-rich eggs; don't eat butter; don't eat red meat or regular ice cream. Well, now researchers have identified a list of do's for the diet that may work to lower cholesterol levels better than avoiding those don'ts. In a study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that eating cholesterol-lowering foods like nuts, soy protein, and certain fiber-rich items result in bigger drops in "bad" LDL cholesterol than avoiding...

Healthy men shouldn't get routine prostate cancer screenings, says updated advice from a government panel that found the PSA blood tests do more harm than good. Despite strenuous protests from urologists, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is sticking by a contentious proposal it made last fall. A final guideline published Monday says there's little if any evidence that PSA testing saves lives — while too many men suffer impotence, incontinence, heart attacks, occasionally even death from treatment of tiny tumors that never would have killed them.

On a recent Friday morning, a classroom of teenagers at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School broke up into small groups and spent an hour not answering questions about Albert Camus's "The Plague. " It wasn't that the students were shy, or bored, or that they hadn't done the reading. They were following instructions: Ask as many questions as they could, and answer none of them. The kids wrote in rapid fire on sheets of butcher paper. "Why is everyone acting normal when people are dropping dead?"

To implement its Safe Steps program, being funded by a $65,000 MetroWest Health Foundation grant, town officials are asking residents to complete an online survey that asks people to identify obstacles to safe walking. The survey, accessible via a link on www.natickma.gov, asks residents to identify streets and destinations that need help because of lack of crosswalks, sidewalk disrepair, and obstructions like utility poles, cars parked on sidewalks, and landscape plantings. The grant will also help fund planning for capital improvement projects and public outreach to encourage walking.

With the school year winding down, Tufts University administrators met recently with students planning to study abroad, outlining what they should do before they leave and what to expect when they arrive. Above all, they stressed the risks - and ways to minimize them. But with an audience of young adults eager to see the world and seize adventure, it was hard to know whether the warnings truly hit home. "I think the message gets through," said Sheila Bayne, who directs the university's study-abroad program.

> My husband and I have five children in their 40s. Sometimes when I see an article I think might be helpful, I e-mail it to them. My husband says it is wrong for me to give them any kind of advice, since they are adults and I can't understand what their lives are like. I know they are very busy, and I do admire them. I just feel that I would like to help. Being retired, I have time that they don't to peruse flyers and surf the Net. My husband complains that I act as if I know more than they do. But naturally, I do. E.G. / Westford  And your question is . . .?

Can't face another night at the stove, knowing that whatever you make is doomed? We sought advice from top moms (defined as mothers whose families grumble slightly less than average). Good luck, and bon appetit. Fajitas are your friends. Put out a variety of fillings — chicken, grilled vegetables, grated cheese, rice — and let each combatant assemble his own. Everyone's basically eating the same thing, meaning you didn't commit the sin of making a different meal for each person.

Two things I learned the hard way in 2011:  1. Never Google an ex, and 2. Always pack a plain black dress when you travel.  And something PeaceBang learned the hard way many years ago:  3. If you are a pastor, and you are riding in the hearse at a funeral procession, do not let the hearse driver punk you with tales of faux transvestitism .  (PeaceBang's advice comes with...

The town's Cultural Council is conducting an online survey to collect opinions on setting its grant-funding priorities for the coming year. The council is also seeking comments on exhibits and events being planned at its gallery in the Old Fiske Museum on East Street. The survey can be found online at www.wrenthamculturalcouncil.shutterfly.com. For more information, e-mail wrenthamculturalcouncil@gmail.com. - Rachel Lebeaux

The Marion Council on Aging is offering a series of informative talks to help senior citizens manage their changing worlds. The free talks are offered at 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month at the Marion Police Station on Mill Street (Route 6). Preregistration is not needed. The next talk is Jan. 4 and will focus on how seniors can protect their savings. The Feb. 1 talk is about how to communicate with Alzheimer's disease patients. For information, call the council on aging director, Susan Schwager, at 508-748-3570.

Pope Benedict XVI is promoting the church's prescription for coping with the economic crisis: share resources and pare lifestyles down to the essentials. Benedict spoke about economic problems as he made a daylong pastoral visit Sunday to the Tuscan town of Arezzo. During his homily at Mass, he acknowledged that the complexity of the problems makes it hard to pinpoint "more rapid and efficient" solutions to the eurozone crisis, which he noted hits the weakest especially hard and is worrying the young, as they search for hard-to-find jobs.

Can't face another night at the stove, knowing that whatever you make is doomed? We sought advice from top moms (defined as mothers whose families grumble slightly less than average). Good luck, and bon appetit. Fajitas are your friends. Put out a variety of fillings — chicken, grilled vegetables, grated cheese, rice — and let each combatant assemble his own. Everyone's basically eating the same thing, meaning you didn't commit the sin of making a different meal for each person.

One of the more entertaining books of this campaign season comes to us from 2,000 years ago: "How to Win an Election: An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians," a memo full of campaign advice (probably) written by Quintus Tullius Cicero for his famous older brother Marcus on the occasion of his run for Consul in 64 B.C. The magazine Foreign Affairs adds a nice twist in its May/June issue: The editors have excerpted the book and added commentary by the political strategist James Carville, who notes—mournfully, guiltily, gleefully—that Cicero's advice is completely relevant today.

> At Christmas this year my girlfriend sent letters to friends and family requesting no presents (because of holiday mass marketing, imports from China, global warming, and overconsumption). My sister and her family sent us an outfit for our daughter and a card saying they had donated to charity in our name. My girlfriend mailed the gift back to them with a strongly worded note. I think this was rude, but she is angry, refuses to come to family parties, and still brings the subject up several times a week.

> I live in a large, comfortable retirement home. I eat dinner with a few very nice ladies who stack their plates to help the young people who wait on us. These stacks get pretty high, and this in a crowded room. The servers don't object, but I find it out of place. Who is correct? J.K. / Peabody You are — if your friends stack the plates, then the kitchen staff will have to wash both sides. (If you haven't heard that one yet, you must not be at the same large, comfortable retirement home as my dear father-in-law.)

Q. I have a relationship question and I'd appreciate some insight — mostly because I'm uncomfortable with the advice that my friends are giving me. I'm 37 years old and still single. I live alone, am gainfully employed, and either I'm generally disinterested in what I perceive to be the requirements of being in a relationship or I just haven't found someone I'm truly interested in. Most of my friends are married and having kids, and these are the guys I've gone to for advice.

To implement its Safe Steps program, being funded by a $65,000 MetroWest Health Foundation grant, town officials are asking residents to complete an online survey that asks people to identify obstacles to safe walking. The survey, accessible via a link on www.natickma.gov, asks residents to identify streets and destinations that need help because of lack of crosswalks, sidewalk disrepair, and obstructions like utility poles, cars parked on sidewalks, and landscape plantings. The grant will also help fund planning for capital improvement projects and public outreach to encourage walking.

A job-search program will be held in Bellingham Public Library on Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. Bellingham resident Phil Cicio, a motivational speaker and professional development consultant, will offer tips on standing out from the crowd in a job search. After the talk, library staff will provide information about free programs and workshops on computer training, resume and cover-letter writing, searching for jobs online, and traditional and social-media networking. The program is sponsored by Friends of the Bellingham Public Library.

> A young person in my field cornered me at a professional event and asked for an informational interview. I saw a lot of room for improvement on his resume, but he didn't ask me to critique it — can I offer unsolicited advice? And how can I avoid these requests? I do what I can, but I'm starting to feel a bit flooded by them. Also, in recent months, the interviewees seem to be angling for definite job prospects, which I cannot provide. How can I convey this in advance? B.U. / Boston Reclaim your power, B.U. The beauty of the informational interview is that it...

So, you're running the Boston Marathon for the first time. You have trained, studied the course, hopefully sought the counsel of those who have run before. But how familiar are you with the grueling, 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Copley Square? We asked two marathon veterans -- Jack Fultz, winner of the 1976 race, and Michael McGrane, an eight-time competitor, to offer some keys to a successful race. 1. Resist the temptation to start fast. It is easy to do -- your adrenaline is flowing, and the first several miles are downhill.