We all have those moments. You’re at drinks with friends and wonder if you should order red wine instead of a cocktail “for your heart.” Or you’re back in bed after a middle-of-the-night bathroom trip and think: Is waking up to pee normal?
Every week, we tackle your health questions in our Ask Well column. Our reporters pore over the research and talk to experts to provide clear guidance.
Here are the 10 most popular columns from 2025, with science-backed answers to keep you in good health into the new year and beyond.
10. What’s best for my pain: Tylenol or Advil?
It’s the middle of the night, and you have a splitting headache. You open your medicine cabinet to find a bounty of drugs — Advil, Aleve, Tylenol. These pain relievers are grouped into two main categories, acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and they work on different types of pain in different ways. We asked experts which is best for you.
9. Can you get rid of cold sores for good?
These painful, blistering sores are a result of infection with the herpes simplex virus type 1, which is common among adults and not the same virus that causes genital herpes. Once you start getting cold sores, the virus can cause outbreaks throughout your life — but there are effective ways to treat them.
8. I left a plastic water bottle in a hot car. Is it safe to drink?
When certain types of plastic heat up, they can leach all kinds of chemicals into your water. The inside of your bottle could also become a breeding ground for potentially harmful microbes. Is that enough to actually affect your health? Read what the experts said.
7. How can I build muscle as I age?
It’s one of the greater indignities of aging: Starting at 30, we lose as much as 8 percent of our muscle mass every decade. A few tweaks to your routine, however, can help you slow down the clock. We asked experts how.
6. Do healthy breakfast cereals exist?
With all of their sugars, refined carbohydrates, fun colors and flavors, many cereals are essentially just desserts. But if you know what to look for on the box, experts say it’s possible to find better-for-you options.
5. Is waking up to pee normal?
Do you regularly need to use the restroom in the middle of the night? You’re in good company. But when that urgency crosses a certain threshold, it might be a sign of poor health. Here’s how to tell if your middle-of-the-night bathroom trips should prompt a call to a doctor.
4. Does Benadryl do more harm than good?
It’s been a mainstay of American medicine cabinets since the 1940s, and it’s an effective remedy for itchy eyes, congestion and other symptoms of seasonal allergies, colds and more. But experts now caution that because Benadryl can increase the risk of certain health conditions, it might be time to switch to newer antihistamines.
3. Does hot lemon water have any health benefits?
This is a popular scene on TikTok: An influencer squeezes some lemon into a mug of hot water and claims that drinking it every morning can kick start your metabolism, smooth your skin, boost your immunity and help you stay hydrated. Can that be right? There’s a kernel of truth to some of these claims, but there are also some caveats to keep in mind.
2. Is going to the bathroom ‘just in case’ bad for you?
“Proactive peeing” probably wasn’t on your bingo card of the most popular health topics of 2025. But lots of us have wondered if that quick trip to the bathroom before a long car ride can weaken your bladder over time. See what the experts said.
1. Is there a least bad alcohol?
Most of us know that drinking isn’t good for you. But if you’re going to partake, are some types of alcohol better for you than others? We asked experts to weigh in on some long-held beliefs about alcohol, including whether red wine was a more healthful choice than beer or hard alcohol, and if lighter liquors were less harmful than darker ones.
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