Latest Stories

Inflammatory bowel diseases, like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can be painful and debilitating, causing chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramping, bloody stools, weight loss and fatigue. If you’re in your 40s, certain medications can increase your risk of developing one…

Tinnitus can be caused by hundreds of health issues and external stimuli. But one recently identified source is something we’re all exposed to at one time or another — and it’s not-so-great news for people living in urban areas…

Phthalates are colorless, odorless “everywhere” chemicals. They go by a host of names, but they’re all endocrine-disrupting chemicals. From thyroid to menopause trouble, women are hardest hit. Now, they’re why you can get diabetes from your shampoo…

Before you head off to the nail salon, there’s something you should know. Gel manicures may look lovely but they expose you to a very real danger. Just like the sun and tanning beds, those nail dryers pack a serious punch of UV radiation…

Exercise is one of the most powerful anti-aging tools we have. But even though physical activity can improve health during aging, evidence also shows that inevitably those beneficial effects decline. Research shows with the right intervention, they may not have to…

If you’re one of the 80 percent of people who suffers from low back pain at one point or another, there’s something that you need to know before you see your doctor: the prescription they want to give you probably won’t work. Even worse, while it does little to nothing for your pain, the drug could lead to problematic or even dangerous side effects…

It’s no surprise that women’s bladders get weaker. And Kegel exercises have long been recommended to improve pelvic floor strength and relieve bladder leaks. But that didn’t always work well enough until they added a second step…

Weight loss has never been easy. That’s why Wegovy sounded like a fairy tale. In truth, it’s a cautionary tale of miserable side effects, disrupted hormones, a black box warning and rapid weight gain that doesn’t live up to the hype for everyone.

Everyone has trouble sleeping occasionally, with the most common causes being stress, anxiety and depression, neurological problems and pain. But there’s another group of middlemen that can make sleep tough, and they reside in a surprising part of your body…

Nuts are givers of great health. Almonds have been called the world’s most nutritious nut. Walnuts have been known to crackdown on chronic disease. And pistachios have been hailed as natural weight loss helpers. But what is the best nut for lowering cholesterol? The one that dropped numbers significantly lower than exercise intervention…

There are a few differences between Americans and Europeans. But one of the biggest differences is the food we consume. Take dangerous food additives. Here is a handful that have been banned in Europe, but are still fed to us, starting with your morning toast…

Did you know habitual tea drinkers have lower BMI and waist-to-hip ratios, and less body fat than non-tea drinkers? In addition, teas offer protection against many of the health risks associated with being overweight. Here are six that top the list…

Cognitive decline can lead to dementia, and dementia is irreversible. But if you keep your intake of sodium low and your potassium intake high enough to support blood flow through the brain you might just avoid it…

You may have heard the phrase “Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This holds for many health conditions, like heart disease and diabetes. But few of us realize this wise adage applies to protecting the skin from UV damage too…

What if you could hold a simple device to your eyes each morning, look into it for several minutes and improve your vision? This isn’t science fiction, but the next possible step in turning back the clock, so at 70 years old you might see as well as you did at 40…

I have a medicine cabinet packed with different vitamins and supplements. But, of all of them, there is one that is by far the most important. Without it, your risk of metabolic syndrome and heart attack, stroke and diabetes goes up considerably, not to mention cancer…

Your cells accumulate toxic, damaged material as you age. A cell cleaning process called autophagy removes this toxic junk, but it happens less frequently with age. The more junk your cells accumulate, the faster you age. In comes a compound found in certain foods that helps make cells new again…

There’s no denying how unpleasant food poisoning caused by salmonella can be. The good news is that the symptoms are usually gone after a few days. But for some, the infection can cause long-term gut problems of the worst kind…

After a long stretch of sleepless nights, it can be very tempting to reach for a prescription or over-the-counter sleep aid. But research keeps stacking up indicating that could be the worst move you could make for the health of your brain…

Like a lot of people in their 50s, I’ve had my fair share of “senior moments.” But I couldn’t help but wonder if I was experiencing something more concerning. Here’s how you can tell the difference and experience those senior moments less and less…

One of the symptoms of long COVID is crushing fatigue, the kind that, even though the virus has cleared the body, makes it feel almost impossible to get back to normal activities. But two nutrients were found to turn that around in a short period of time…

When inflammation becomes an unwanted guest, chronic conditions, including autoimmune disorders, could join the party. Luckily, sending inflammation packing may be as easy as taking your coffee with milk to double down on one powerful ingredient…

Gallstones are tiny, hard “pebbles” made of cholesterol. They’re usually very small but can grow to several centimeters, causing pain and sometimes, medical emergencies. Here are some tips to make it less likely you’ll get them…

If you’re over 40, you’re fighting an uphill battle to keep sarcopenia from stealing your muscle mass. But what most people don’t realize is the gradual deterioration of muscle increases the risk of diabetes, heart attack and dementia…

A toilet plume brings to mind a world of nasty carrying all sorts of germs. But are we getting paranoid about these kinds of things? A video made by engineers shows how far those germ-filled droplets can reach, and it’s shocking…

You may be familiar with tremors as a symptom of Parkinson’s. But in working to identify the earliest symptoms, researchers are finding that some signs appearing years before a diagnosis is made are, surprisingly, not neurological in nature.

One of the easiest ways to grab big health and nutritional benefits is by adding nuts to your diet. But the cost of nuts, like everything else these days is going up. Good news: all it takes is one ounce to see these 6 improvements…

In the years from 2000 to 2019, Alzheimer’s deaths increased by 145 percent. A missing piece of this puzzle may be a once-vilified source of an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in memory and brain support…

Studies into vitamin D have produced mixed results. Take the VITAL trial that saw reductions in cancer deaths and autoimmune diseases with vitamin D up to 40% in some people, and minimal results in others. Now we know why: it’s not a one-size-fits-all vitamin.

We all know that one person who eats just one bite of cake at a birthday party and can open an entire bag of potato chips and really eat just one — while the rest of us struggle to put down the bag. What’s the difference between us and them?

Of all the things that can happen to a woman’s body during menopause, there’s nothing quite like a hot flash. When I was young, my mother used to roll down the car window in the dead of winter and stick her head out the window. I never understood this, until I hit menopause myself. If […]

A checkup on your heart may look something like this: an echocardiogram to check your valves, an MRI to look for scar tissue, and an EKG to predict incoming heart attack development.  As great as these methods are, they do have drawbacks. But this simple at-home method can check your heart status in between checkups… Just […]

The biggest reason most of us exercise, beyond weight loss, is for the heart health benefits. Lowering blood pressure tops the list, and that alone is worth heading to the gym, sweating through a workout doing it all again a day (or two) later. But your mouth may be cutting those heart health benefits short… […]

By the end of 2030, there are expected to be at least 82 million cases of dementia worldwide. Scientists have been dutifully searching for a cure, but they continue to hit roadblocks. But that doesn’t mean we have to sit patiently on the sidelines. If you do though, make sure to sip some blueberry juice… […]

Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene which the body converts into the essential nutrient vitamin A. But researchers studying the role of beta-carotene in lowering cholesterol levels identified an enzyme that’s necessary for this benefit — and some of us are missing out. That means you need to go about getting yours differently. That […]

Over the last decade, research has shown the importance of having a collection of diverse and varying kinds of gut bacteria in your microbiome. Without that balance, we’re wide open for disease. You could, and should, eat more fiber. But there’s one superfood that can give you all that — and the fat you don’t […]

After all we’ve been through, reach around and pat yourself on the back. You deserve it. You’re a survivor and that means you’re looking ahead… Because the mutant variants of COVID will keep coming. If you haven’t made it a priority to ramp up your immune system, there’s still time…

Snoring. Waking up multiple times a night gasping for air. Feeling tired and irritable throughout day. All of these are signs you could have sleep apnea, a condition that affects more than 29 million Americans and carries very serious health risks. But if you have thyroid eye disease, sleep apnea may even steal your sight… […]

Obesity has been linked to an increased risk of more than a dozen types of cancer. It also appears to worsen prognosis and survival rates. However, the obesity-triggered mechanism behind this increased risk has been slow to emerge — until now…

Like most people, you’ve probably heard of melatonin. In fact, you may even take the supplement each night since it’s a commonly used natural, over-the-counter sleep aid. Now, however, research has found that melatonin may be doing far more than just helping you get the restful sleep you need. It may guard you against cancer. […]

If you’re a dog owner, I don’t have to tell you about the special bond that exists between people and their dogs. Your dog is your companion, your child and your protector, all wrapped into one. There isn’t much you wouldn’t do for them — but sharing a diabetes diagnosis may not be what you […]

A thriving workforce full of women is not only good for the economy, families and women’s independence — it’s good for women’s brains. In fact, preliminary research from the University of California, Los Angeles appears to suggest that for women at least, earning a living seems to offer a big perk: staving off cognitive decline. […]

Beating cancer once seems like it should be enough of a challenge for any lifetime. But the truth of the matter is cancer often does come back. Doctors haven’t been able to pinpoint just why some tumors suddenly activate again sending many survivors back into the spiral of surgery, chemo and radiation. Until now. Thanks […]

Weight loss surgery carries significant metabolic benefits, and for some, it’s their best option. But there’s a serious downside that can create another problem affecting bone health. Here’s what to know to aovid it…

Once thought to be caused by blood vessels in the head, researchers now believe migraine is a neurological disorder involving nerve pathways and brain chemicals. Whatever the cause, effective treatment would be a huge relief for many. One research team has zeroed in on a particular brain chemical that could be involved in migraine onset… […]

A weird and common symptom of COVID-19 affecting up to 80 percent of us is the loss of smell. Some suffer parosmia, where their sense of smell is distorted, making lemons smell like cabbage. Luckily, it’s possible to “train” your sense of smell back to normal…

Too few of us give our liver the credit and care it deserves. In 2018 there were nearly 3 million liver-related deaths. Roughly half were due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common chronic liver disease, for which there is no treatment. That may be about to change, thanks to a simple amino acid. […]

A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is pretty grim. In fact, the five-year survival rate is less than 10 percent. But, thankfully, medical researchers are busy exploring new avenues of treatment for the deadly disease. And one team has identified a compound from a plant commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine that may be able to […]

One thing most Americans take for granted is clean drinking water. Even most bottled water drinkers wouldn’t blink an eye at the thought of turning on the tap for a quick, refreshing glass in a pinch. But depending on the community you live in and its water source, that might not be a good idea. […]

Menopause is a time of distress due to the symptoms it brings. But few realize how much a woman’s risk for heart disease increases during this change. That’s because menopause isn’t just “the change” that marks the end of your menstrual cycle. It’s the time of life that also signals a change in cardiovascular health. […]

If you enjoy a little cheese and a glass of wine regularly, we’ve got good news. That delicious indulgence may provide cognitive protection. A first-of-its-kind large scale analysis has connected specific foods to mental sharpness later in life. But not only that, they revealed the one thing you should never eat to avoid Alzheimer’s disease. […]

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes your thyroid gland to become overactive. Unfortunately, in some cases, it can lead to vision problems. Fortunately, it’s not too common, only affecting a small segment of the population. But if you were in that group, wouldn’t you like to know how a trace mineral might help? […]

L-dopa remains the gold standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease. But using L-dopa over the long term can lead to some pretty nasty side effects. Researchers have been exploring naturally derived alternatives to chemical L-dopa, and they’ve come up with a potential solution that can save money and possibly sidestep its adverse reactions… If you have […]

Science has many times proven a link between the bacteria in your gut and your odds of both getting and surviving cancer. Now, a new study has revealed a surprising truth behind cancerous tumors that could hold the key to cancer care in the future — and yes, once again, it all comes down to […]

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve been told to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. But shelves that once were full of the germ-killing goo have gone bare. That’s ok, because research is finally catching up with what works and what doesn’t against the virus. And that applies not just to treatment but hand sanitizer too. […]

Diabetes is a disease that can be difficult to manage. Less than 50 percent of the half a billion people worldwide with diabetes meet glycemic targets, increasing their risk of complications. It’s a situation that cries out for innovation. And strangely enough, it is coming from a surprising source: the pandemic is changing diabetes care… […]

How successful was the last diet you tried? Based on our experience and research, the answer is probably, “not very!” We’ve all tried the newest trendy diet and guess what? We rarely last more than a few days and the results never stick! Before you try another, let’s talk about why and discuss effective options… Fad […]

The average person has about 22 square feet of skin. In fact, your skin is your body’s largest organ and the biggest barrier between you and disease. Natural oils keep skin healthy and flexible. You probably know about coconut oil for your skin and hair. But it may be time to try something new… Dry, […]

Respiratory symptoms are the hallmark of a COVID-19 infection. But others are pretty strange, like loss of smell and taste. Others are more commonplace, producing flu-like body aches, sore throat and headache. But about 20 percent may get “stomach bug” symptoms and be in for a long recovery. Research is showing that those patients who […]

For a cat owner, there’s nothing better than a loud, rumbling purr coming from a warm body in your lap. To us, it says that our feline friends love us. And we love that their companionship offers up proven health benefits, as do other pets. But cats can also be notoriously aloof unless you know […]