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An illustration of a Thanksgiving table, with a dog looking up as the turkey is being passed.

You are reading our weekly Well+Being newsletter. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/well-being/?method=SURL&location=ART&itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_2" target=_blank>Sign up here</a> to get it delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are sending this newsletter a day early because of the holiday.

In this season of gratitude, I wanted to thank all of you for reading our stories, sharing your thoughts in comments and emails, and encouraging us to write articles that improve health and well-being.

This week, we’re writing about our gift guide, how parts of our bodies age earlier than others and building tolerance to lactose. Plus, we’ve got our weekly “joy” snack. But before that …

Exercising to lose weight? <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/27/exercise-weight-loss-science/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8" target=_blank>Science says it rarely works.</a>

Are you good at building friendships? <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/26/friendship-relationship-how/?itid=lk_inline_manual_9" target=_blank>Here’s how to tell.</a>

Can sitting too close to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/26/screen-devices-eyesight-myopia-kids/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10" target=_blank>screen damage your eyesight?</a>

Why additives are so common <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/22/food-additives-gras-fda-regulate/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11" target=_blank>in America’s food</a>

Gaslighting can mar holiday gatherings. Here’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/24/gaslighting-holidays-identify-coping-strategies/?itid=lk_inline_manual_12" target=_blank>how to identify, avoid it</a>.

Some companies offer health benefits for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/11/24/menopause-hot-flashes-health-insurance/?itid=lk_inline_manual_13" target=_blank>employees managing menopause</a>

I am 16 and have a stutter. Here’s what <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/23/stuttering-emotions-explain-andrew-flint/?itid=lk_inline_manual_14" target=_blank>most people don’t understand</a>.

Each year, the Well+Being team picks products that have made our lives easier in the past months. I love reading about my colleagues’ choices, which give me ideas for gifts for my family and friends.

The many good cooks among them would appreciate storing their recipes in a beautiful, wooden box that reporter Teddy Amenabar recommends.

My female friends would like the running shorts that reporter Gretchen Reynolds suggests. “Close-fitting but not too clingy, these shorts have pockets on each side deep enough to hold a phone and snacks,” Gretchen says. Being able to carry a phone for safety and directions, and snacks for fuel and fun, makes this an excellent gift for runners.

And the ring-holder necklace chosen by disability reporter Amanda Morris would be perfect for those who like to remove their rings when they wash their hands or work out with weights. They can slip them onto the necklace and not worry about misplacing or losing precious jewelry.

Check out these and other helpful gift suggestions in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/27/wellness-gift-guide/" target=_blank>Well+Being gift guide</a>.

Aging unfolds at remarkably different rates

Are you a “heart ager,” “brain ager” or “muscle ager”?

Any of these parts in your body could be older than other parts, Gretchen notes in a fascinating article about “organ aging” research. This can have life-changing health effects — for instance, in the diseases you develop. She writes:

The research suggests aging isn’t strictly temporal, not solely about minutes and years passing. Once considered a steady, predictable decline, affecting everything in our bodies, everywhere, all at once, aging is much more haphazard than we once thought, starting in different parts of our bodies at different times, possibly long before we’re even thinking about aging.

It’s also personal, occurring at a unique molecular level inside each of us, and the process may be partially within our control. Once we know how our own organs are aging, we may be able to brake or speed that process by how we live.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/25/longevity-organ-aging-disease/" target="_blank">Read more here</a> about how organs age and how we can have more youthful organs.

Our Ask a Doctor columnist is Trisha S. Pasricha, a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Lately I’ve noticed that eating cheese and other dairy products makes me bloated and gassy. I’m embarrassed to eat in public — my stomach gets so loud! How do I know if I’ve become lactose intolerant, and can it be reversed?

Most of us are born with the ability to digest lactose, but about <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/lactose-intolerance/definition-facts" target=_blank>two-thirds of the world’s population</a> develops difficulties as the molecule that breaks lactose down in the small intestine, known as the lactase enzyme, switches off as we age. Without enough lactase, intact lactose cruises into the colon where it gets fermented by our microbiome, leading to the production of gas and bloating.

The other common symptoms of lactose intolerance are diarrhea, stomach pain and borborygmi — the loud growling and rumbling noises made by the stomach during digestion. These usually occur 30 minutes to two hours after eating a meal containing lactose.

Despite these symptoms, my advice as a gastroenterologist is: Don’t go cold turkey on dairy.

Studies have found that most people with lactose intolerance can tolerate <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20404262/" target=_blank>at least 12 to 15 grams of lactose</a> in one sitting — the equivalent of about one cup of milk. This is important because dairy products are some of our main sources of calcium and vitamin D. Furthermore, eating small <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8694025/" target=_blank>amounts of lactose</a> regularly can have a prebiotic effect by promoting the kinds of gut bacteria that can better metabolize lactose and improve our tolerance.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/11/25/lactose-intolerance-reversible-gut/" target=_blank>Read her full response here</a> and learn about some ways to increase the amount of lactose you can tolerate. And use our <a href="https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3ab1d1f/64c2eaf358f992438ec756ac/646a8a3b44d19211b6959a96/28/38/64c2eaf358f992438ec756ac?itid=lk_inline_manual_33&itid=lk_inline_manual_29" target=_blank>Ask a Doctor form</a> to submit a question, and we may answer it in a future column.

Here are a few things that brought us joy this week.

The Washington Post’s Food section has a plethora of recipes for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/?itid=lk_inline_manual_48" target=_blank>your Thanksgiving meal.</a>

7 TikTok hacks to take the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2024/11/25/tiktok-holiday-decorating-hacks/?itid=lk_inline_manual_49" target=_blank>stress out of holiday decorating</a>

9 ways holiday travel will annoy you, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2024/11/26/thanksgiving-holiday-travel-delays-storms/?itid=lk_inline_manual_50" target=_blank>what to do about it</a>

A former Miss California lost her sash. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/11/27/former-miss-california-lost-sash-new-one/?itid=lk_inline_manual_51" target=_blank>At 96, she got a new one.</a>

A recording of their 1966 wedding was in a thrift store. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2024/11/26/record-vinyl-wedding-thrift-store/?itid=lk_inline_manual_52" target=_blank>A stranger returned it.</a>

Pet pig visits senior home each day: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2024/11/23/miniature-pig-senior-center-kansas/?itid=lk_inline_manual_53" target=_blank>‘They’re very social animals’</a>

Let’s keep the conversation going. We want to hear from you! Email us at <a href="mailto:wellbeing@washpost.com" target=_blank>wellbeing@washpost.com</a>.

Want to know more about “joy” snacks? Our Brain Matters columnist <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/11/17/feel-happier-joy-flourishing/" target=_blank>Richard Sima explains.</a> You can also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/02/24/joy-snacks-comic/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10" target=_blank>read this story as a comic.</a>

Kent State University, PhD in political science 

University of Mumbai, MA in political science/international relations

University of Mumbai, BA in political science/international relations

Anjuman Ali is deputy editor on The Washington Post's Well+Being desk.

Anjuman Ali

Aging, weight loss and a gift guide: The week in Well+Being

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