Modern medicine has enabled citizens of wealthy, industrialized nations to forget that children once routinely died in shocking numbers. Teaching 19th-century English literature, I regularly encounter gutting depictions of losing a child, and I am reminded that not knowing the emotional cost of widespread child mortality is a luxury.

...Read more

Open enrollment to purchase health insurance for 2025 is here, and this year, as many as 100,000 people are newly eligible to apply.

As of November, individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and certain other lawfully present immigration statuses can purchase private health insurance through the federal marketplace, the ...Read more

With the holiday season in full swing, beverages from warm and fragrant drinks to festive cocktails become a staple in every home, bringing a sense of comfort and cheer.

Here are the best and worst holiday drinks for you, ranked from best to worst, so you can make an informed decision that can balance indulgence with health.

1. Peppermint tea ...Read more

Americans love their ultra-processed foods, whether they come as cereal (like Cap’n Crunch, a favorite of mine as a kid), snack foods (like Cheetos), entrees (like hot dogs), or desserts (like Twinkies). Sure, loading your plate with vegetables, fruits, fish, healthful oils, and grains in a Mediterranean-style diet boosts heart and brain ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am 41 years old, and at my last women’s health appointment, I was told I was in perimenopause. What exactly does that mean? I haven’t had any symptoms. What should I expect? Is there anything I should be doing to prepare?

ANSWER: Perimenopause refers to the time of your life when your body starts making the natural ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Cancer researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia see promise in personalized medicine to help crack the code on improving diagnosis and treatment options for pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer accounts for 3% of all cancers and a disproportionate 7% of cancer deaths. That's partly because there's no routine ...Read more

Are you getting too much protein, not enough or just the right amount? The answer? It depends. Your gender, age, activities, use of weight-loss medication or supplements and other factors can affect your protein needs.

Here are some answers to your questions about protein needs:

Are you getting too much protein?

Contrary to all the hype that ...Read more

Dr. Christopher Kahler always wanted a career exploring "how people make meaning out of their lives." He planned to teach philosophy or literature.

But when he got a job working with teens recovering from substance misuse, a different question emerged: How can people turn their lives around in a meaningful way?

"I realized there was so much I ...Read more

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Jerry Qualls had a heart attack in 2022 and was rushed by ambulance to Holston Valley Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for a week and kept alive by a ventilator and blood pump, according to his medical records.

His wife, Katherine Qualls, said his doctors offered little hope. In an interview and a written complaint...Read more

There’s an amazing, tax-advantaged, wealth-building tool available for savvy savers that you may be neglecting to use right now. What is this great financial tool, and how can you take advantage of what it offers?

It’s a health savings account, or HSA.

HSAs are often billed as a type of savings account to help people manage health care ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Junk food like potato chips, ice cream and ready-made meals have long been linked with a spate of health conditions including cancers, heart disease and diabetes.

Now, a new study by University of South Florida Health and Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute has revealed that these ultra-processed foods may be fueling ...Read more

Public health authorities are seeking to determine if a Marin County, California, child stricken with flu could have potentially contracted the illness by drinking infected raw milk that was subject to a recall.

The presumptive bird flu case was announced on Friday, in a Dec. 6 Marin County health newsletter, which provided few details about ...Read more

A federal judge in North Dakota has ruled in favor of 19 states that challenged a Biden administration rule allowing — for the first time— enrollment in Affordable Care Act coverage by people brought to the U.S. as children without immigration paperwork, known as “Dreamers.”

The move effectively bars those who have qualified for the ...Read more

A second baby has died in a listeria outbreak linked to recalled meat and poultry products.

The 8-state outbreak was traced to recalled Yu Shang Food ready-to-eat meals that were sold in stores and online nationwide, according to federal officials.

A total of 19 cases have been reported, with 17 hospitalizations, in California, Georgia, ...Read more

We’ve all seen it, typically on television or on stage: A hypnotist selects a few members from the audience, and with what seems to be little more than a steely stare or a few choice words, they’re suddenly “under the spell.” Depending on what the hypnotist suggests, the participants laugh, dance and perform without inhibition.

<...Read more

With Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion is back on the chopping block.

More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that�...Read more

SEATTLE — Four years after arriving from Texas, Dr. Umair Shah is on his way out of Washington state's Department of Health.

Shah announced last month he would not seek another term as Washington's secretary of health, becoming one of six members of Gov. Jay Inslee's executive Cabinet who plan to step down before Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson takes...Read more

Having occasional feelings of anxiety is a normal part of life, but people with anxiety disorders experience frequent and excessive anxiety, fear, terror and panic in everyday situations.

These feelings are unhealthy if they affect your quality of life and prevent you from functioning normally.

Common symptoms of anxiety disorders include:

-...Read more

It seems no one is taking COVID-19 seriously anymore, said Mollee Loveland, a nursing home aide who lives outside Pittsburgh.

Loveland has seen patients and coworkers at the nursing home where she works die from the viral disease.

Now she has a new worry: bringing home the coronavirus and unwittingly infecting her infant daughter, Maya, born ...Read more

Ryan Wettstein Nauman was inconsolable one evening last December. After being put down for bed, the 3-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, just kept crying and crying and crying, and nothing would calm her down.

Her mother, Maggi Wettstein, remembered fearing it could be a yeast or urinary tract infection, something they had been dealing with during...Read more