And being fed by a supermodel: Gisele Bundchen's healing touch for Tom Brady

The picture of New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady being spoon-fed by his supermodel girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen, was jarring. Perhaps football fans don't want to think of our injured QB as a guy who is cuddled – or coddled.

But I'm all for it. Why? Because the more Tom gets touched, stroked, and babied, the healthier he'll get.

Scientists have proven, in study after study, that touching and loving heals the body. During this important off-season, while Tom is recuperating, Pats fans should be begging Gisele to feed him. To rub his feet. Whatever nonverbal acts of affection she can come up with to make him feel all better.

Sure, it's weird to see a model pet our QB like a dog, but the next time Gisele does her doting we should cheer her on. In her own way, she's helping the Pats.

Dr. Tiffany Field, who runs the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami, says touching is medicinal, and helps with diabetes, cancer, and asthma. "Hugging and massages and doing various forms of exercise stimulate pressure receptors," she says. "It slows the heart rate and blood pressure and the production of stress hormones."

Advice to partners of injured weekend warriors and professional athletes: Cuddle them, and coddle them.

Read another petting story.

Thanks to Meredith Goldstein for the source article in today’s Boston Globe.

Six pack? I have a keg: Vince Wilfork, diet and diabetes

Vince Wilfork plays nose tackle for the New England Patriots. He's listed at 325 pounds. That girth is needed to hold his ground – a key responsibility for the nose tackle.

"Six pack? I have a keg and I’m proud of it," he says.

But in the off-season he read "The Abs Diet." His wife grabbed it before he could read it, and she began conducting weigh-ins and demanding three workouts a day, starting at 5 am. He lost weight, but kept his strength. Indeed, without his normal girth he has been just as strong, he realizes, if not stronger, and quicker too.

As of mid-December, he had made 64 tackles while anchoring the New England Patriots' fourth-rated defense. He earned his first Pro Bowl (all-star) berth on Dec. 18. He says he owes the honor to his wife's nudging.

He'll keep working at controlling his weight after this season ends. "I know that overnight it's not going to happen. It's going to take time, and every year we're going to attack that."

Vince's father had diabetes and died at 48. His mother died at 46 from complications of a stroke. Now, Vince and his wife host an annual NFL draft party to raise funds for the Diabetes Research Institute.

Advice: Be as unyielding as Vince Wilfork in defending against the strong pushes you feel toward binging. Good luck with the New Year's Resolution!

Browse for related stories in the index at the very bottom of this page, or read an athlete story.

Thanks to Christopher Gasper for the source article in the Dec. 20 issue of the Boston Globe.