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The retiree’s year-end wellness checklist for a healthier 2026
Don’t wait until Jan. 1 to scramble for health resolutions that rarely last. As you enter a new year, the focus should shift from just “being healthy” to optimizing your longevity and vitality. Maintaining physical health, preventing cognitive decline, and building social resilience are paramount to a happy and active retirement.
Use this...Read more
Environmental Nutrition: Freezer rules
Q: How long can I safely freeze certain foods?
A: Freezing food is a smart way to cut waste and save time, but even frozen food has limits on quality. While frozen items kept at 0 F (-18 C) remain safe indefinitely, their taste and texture can suffer over time.
Meats like beef steaks or whole chicken maintain best quality for up to 12 months. ...Read more
Does eating fruit help with weight loss?
Eating fruit can help you lose weight, particularly if you choose fruit rather than processed foods that are high in added sugar and fat. Making fruit a daily staple in your diet can offer many health and nutritional benefits. The high fiber content can help you feel full, and the natural sweetness can help stave off cravings.
Fruit often gets ...Read more
Mind your heart for a longer, healthier life
Stories about people with remarkably long life spans — like the Spanish woman who died at the age of 117 earlier this year — often spark speculation about longevity secrets. They’ve also fueled the growing interest in longevity clinics. But what does the science actually say?
“There are plenty of affordable, proven strategies to live a ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Emotional exhaustion: When your feelings feel overwhelming
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Recently, I’ve been feeling physically and mentally drained from the demands of work, caregiving and other responsibilities. I struggle to find motivation and have trouble concentrating on tasks. Are there strategies to help me find emotional balance?
ANSWER: Turning on the news or opening a newspaper to see local and world ...Read more
You Go, Girl
When men and women are given exercise routines to reduce coronary heart disease risk, one group does better. It's not men.
Women had a 22% lower risk of coronary heart disease if they logged 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous exercise. Men doing the same amount of exercise had a 17% lower risk.
The caveat: As in previous similar ...Read more
Get to know your microbiome: It can improve gut health and more
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Resolutions to improve health typically include measures such as more exercise, a healthier diet and stopping smoking. But what about your gut microbiome? Taking steps to protect and improve it can benefit digestive health and more, says Purna Kashyap, M.B.B.S., a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic who specializes in the gut ...Read more
Bill of the month: Scorpion peppers caused him 'crippling' pain. Two years later, the ER bill stung him again
Maxwell Kruzic said he was in such “crippling” stomach pain on Oct. 5, 2023, that he had to pull off the road twice as he drove himself to the emergency room at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, Colorado. “It was the worst pain of my life,” he said.
Kruzic was seen immediately because hospital staff members were pretty sure he ...Read more
Defining What It Means To Be A 'healthy' Person Nowadays
DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your column daily in my local newspaper. The people who write in often describe themselves as "healthy" or "in good health." Then they always add that they are taking some sort of medication for some sort of ailment. Can you please clarify which attributes make a person healthy as opposed to unhealthy? -- L.S.
ANSWER: I...Read more
Of all the nerve
Around 180 million Americans contend with tension and migraine headaches, making them the top two nervous system disorders, according to a new study that looked at 36 unique neurological health conditions that affect more than half the U.S. population.
If you are battling tension headaches, you may be surprised to learn that stress isn't the ...Read more
Rural health is a 'real concern,' Gov. Little says. Idaho to get millions to help
Idaho is set to receive over $900 million in federal money over the next five years to improve the state’s provision of healthcare in rural areas, Gov. Brad Little’s office announced. The funds were allocated as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program under House Resolution 1, also called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“For many ...Read more
Salmonella outbreak update: Maryland cases, hospitalizations increase
BALTIMORE — Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its initial report on a recent outbreak of a strain of Salmonella linked to raw oysters, cases and hospitalizations in Maryland have seen a slight increase.
On Dec. 23, the CDC reported one Maryland resident as having fallen ill after being infected with the strain. In ...Read more
Health care fight returns in January with affordability at center
WASHINGTON — Health care policy will be top of mind when Congress returns to Washington in January, with lawmakers acknowledging that escalating insurance premiums are hitting millions of Americans.
That’s about where the agreement ends. The parties and even the factions within them are sharply divided on the path forward — with several ...Read more
Texas gets largest share of reconciliation law's rural health fund
The Trump administration on Monday announced that all 50 states will receive proceeds from a $50 billion rural health fund, the creation of which helped secure the support for President Trump’s tax cuts law from Republican senators worried about the impact of Medicaid cuts in their states.
In 2026, the first year of the program, states will ...Read more
Coloradans snap up over-the-counter naloxone while hospitals offer the overdose-reversal drug to more patients
DENVER — Colorado is coming closer to universal access to overdose-reversing medication as residents snap up an over-the-counter version and hospitals offer it to more patients.
Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, counters the effect of opioids so that a person who is overdosing doesn’t stop breathing. For the last decade, Colorado ...Read more
On Nutrition: Out with the old
I enjoy watching what people put in their grocery carts this time of year. Up to Jan. 1: butter, eggnog, chocolate, booze. After Jan. 1: salad, chicken, fruit, yogurt.
That stroke of midnight that begins each new year seems to ignite something in us. For me, it’s a desire to start fresh. Clean my house. Finish that writing project I put off ...Read more
A Case Of Clostridioides Difficile Has Become Difficult To Treat
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 76-year-old male who is in relatively good health. For the past six months, I have been experiencing diarrhea on and off. I initially spoke to my general physician, and he thought it could be lactose intolerance. I reduced my dairy intake, drank lactose-free milk, and took Lactaid pills before eating dairy.
After about ...Read more
Sleep more to move more
Less is more -- and more is less -- when it comes to physical activity and sleep. A new study in Communications Medicine looked at 28 million days' worth of health data from more than 70,000 folks and found that:
1. Less sleep makes it more difficult to exercise.
2. More exercise doesn't make it more likely that you'll sleep soundly.
The ...Read more
A couple told patients they'd created a breakthrough medical device. In a Philadelphia courtroom, they admitted it was all a lie.
She went by Dr. Mary, and her promise was a tantalizing medical breakthrough.
At clinics operated in Arizona and several other states, Mary Blakley and her husband, Fred, told patients that for just $300, they could provide a full-body scan that utilized a proprietary "smart chip" to detect a variety of potential illnesses, including cancer.
...Read more
Kentucky to receive $212.9M from feds to strengthen rural healthcare
Kentucky will receive $212.9 million from President Donald Trump’s administration over the next five years to improve rural health care, state officials said Monday.
The money will be used to address stubborn, long-term rural health care problems including maternity care deserts, limited access to mental health professionals and gaps in oral ...Read more
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Popular Stories
- Mayo Clinic Q&A: Emotional exhaustion: When your feelings feel overwhelming
- Does eating fruit help with weight loss?
- Bill of the month: Scorpion peppers caused him 'crippling' pain. Two years later, the ER bill stung him again
- Mind your heart for a longer, healthier life
- The retiree’s year-end wellness checklist for a healthier 2026






















