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Still, intense competition, higher postal rates and declining subscriptions have prompted many newsletters to examine their own health. They have revamped formats, changed names and identified new markets. Alternative medicine, for example, has such broad appeal that it is the focus of three of the 10 most popular health newsletters and is a frequent topic in the others, including the January issue of the starchy Harvard Health Letter. "Baby boomers, who have defined so many trends as the bulge in the python, are beginning to move along in age," says David Thorne, president of Thorne Communications and publisher of Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing, a leading alternative-medicine newsletter. Boomer fitness enthusiast Harvey Mysel, 49, of Glencoe, Ill., grew frustrated by traditional newsletters that always seemed to call for further study. Now he finds confirmation of his diet and health beliefs in Dr. Weil's newsletter and Dr. David Williams' Alternatives for the Health-Conscious Individual. "I'm the choir, and they're preaching to me," says Mysel, "and I feel good about that."
Different newsletters have different bedside manners. An epilepsy story in the Public Citizen Health Research Group's Health Letter reads like a no-nonsense government report. By contrast, a breast story from Dr. Christiane Northrup's dear-friend-style Health Wisdom for Women advises, "Imagine that your perceptions and thoughts are magic wands with which you can transform your life."
For new readers, the healthiest thing to exercise is common sense. "Be wary, because more and more groups are putting out newsletters. Try to stick with those that have a good track record," says Miriam Nelson, founder of StrongWomen.com author of such books as Strong Women Stay Young and adviser to the board of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter. "And make sure you read critically. If you've got to eat 6 lbs. of chocolate to boost your immune system, it's not going to work."
Veteran readers have one complaint that medicine can't cure. "I don't have enough time," says Margot Green, 67, a Manhattan businesswoman who reads Harvard Women's Health Watch but has stopped saving back issues. "There's only so much you can consume and just so many hours in a day." With enough useful nuggets, though, devotees like Green look forward to many more busy--and healthy--days ahead.