Not that many people get excited about the prospect of having a doctor put a scope up their bum, but consider the alternative: 50,000 people die of colorectal cancer each year. If everyone got screened, that number could be cut in half, says Dr. Jordan Karlitz, an associate professor of gastroenterology at Tulane University and a member of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable.

Tragically, many people do not get screened - some because they lack access to information and healthcare, and others who know they should get screened and have access but are squeamish about anything poop-related, or fearful that it will be painful or embarrassing.

Ever come from a session at the gym feeling especially sore?

Probiotics are beloved by many health-conscious folks. They fit that sweet spot between natural (always good, right?) and medical (must have health benefits). I get legit hate mail if I write anything less-than-glowing about probiotics.

One charming gentleman called me “fake news” and suggested I get my head out of my “pharma fog,” as if Big Pharma and other major corporations weren’t very into selling probiotics for money.

You, dear Lifehacker readers, are smart enough to know that measles is bad and that the measles vaccine is good. But there’s a lot of misinformation floating around, especially as the disease flares in Washington, Texas and New York.

More exercise is better than less, but beyond that, there’s nothing special about taking 10,000 steps each day.

That goal may have started with a popular Japanese pedometer of the 1960s named manpo-kei, the “10,000-step meter.” It was just a catchy name, but it stuck because it’s a good goal for at least some of us. 10,000 steps is roughly five miles — challenging but not impossible to fit into a busy day.

Telling people to drink more water is a lazy and mostly useless health hack. You’ll drink when you’re thirsty. Why complicate things?

It’s time for a little gratitude. Every time I do one of this week’s core exercises, I am intensely grateful that I am not doing planks. Even when the moves are hard, it’s OK, because at least they aren’t boring.

Android/iOS: Keeping track of what you eat can help you make better choices, because you know that whatever you choose, you’ll have to write it down. But that doesn’t mean you need to obsess over every kilojoule or ask an app to run weight loss calculations.

If you just want to look for big-picture patterns in your diet, YouAte (free on iOS and Android) is a low key way to do just that.

Five people have recently told me they were going to "try keto" — the most recent after gushing about a mutual friend who has been doing keto, aka the popular ketogenic diet, and getting awesome-looking results. You've probably heard rumblings about keto, but what the heck is it? And is it too good to be true?

Salt has its uses: It flavours food, keeps us from dying of a sodium deficiency (rare but real), and, well, that’s about it. And that’s true whether the salt is white or pink.

Three years ago, I injured my lower back while weightlifting (and again, two times after). It was a motivational buzzkill, to say the least. I’ve struggled with having to lower weights and sometimes, have avoided the gym altogether, feeling as though I’d let myself down.

Look, sometimes gyms suck. Your gym might not have the equipment you need, it might be too expensive or too far away, or you might just hate exercising surrounded by other people. It’s OK to quit the gym. Here’s how.

We’ve tried lots of techniques over the years to solidify a new habit. Tying up your ego in a daily streak is just one of those, and it’s not for everybody. And yet it seems every app wants you to care deeply about keeping up a consistent streak. Screw that. It’s OK to break your streak.

Take a minute to think about when you had sex for the first time, how much sex you have, and whether you think other people are doing it more or less than you. Chances are, you're more normal than you think.

Is your cold brew stronger than a regular coffee? It turns out that's a trick question. Cold brew actually can't extract as much caffeine as hot brewing techniques, but often the finished drink is concentrated enough to rival hot coffee.

The Whole30 diet declares swaths of food off-limits, and sets up ironclad rules about the little that's left. That means it checks a lot of boxes for a fad diet or one that's too draconian to be effective. But there's good here too, enough that it might help if you know what you're in for.

Need to fall asleep fast? One mid-century relaxation technique, developed in the US Navy Pre-Flight School, supposedly works within minutes. It may not be magic, but it seems like a pretty good way to relax your body and mind.

Welcome to our second week of the not-a-plank challenge, where we try out underrated core exercises you should know. Today we’re taking on two exercises named after creatures, both of which are harder than they look.

So you worked hard at the gym yesterday, and you’re feeling it now. You have a case of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and you just want it to stop. Here’s how to cope, and importantly, how not to.