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South Carolina GOP senators consider ban on transgender care for children, joining a growing list of states

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A group of South Carolina Republican lawmakers are looking to join a handful of other states that have passed restrictions on certain medical care for transgender children.

A Republican-led Senate panel on Thursday held the first of what is slated to be a much longer two-part public hearing next Wednesday, gathering testimony...Read more

Jose A. Iglesias/El Nuevo Herald/TNS

Florida families sue state for banning transgender care for youth

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Florida’s ban on gender-affirming medical treatment for youth is unconstitutional, a group of parents and transgender children alleged in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday.

The ban violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause because it singles out transgender minors and blocks them from obtaining medically necessary care for gender...Read more

Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Georgia governor signs bill limiting treatment to transgender minors

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed a bill into law that bans health care providers from providing certain hormones or surgical treatment to children to align with their gender identity.

Senate Bill 140 passed the Legislature on a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting it.

“As Georgians, parents and elected leaders, it is ...Read more

Infant formula shortages forced some parents to feed their babies in less healthy ways

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

One third of families who relied on formula to feed their babies during the COVID-19 pandemic were forced by severe infant formula shortages to resort to suboptimal feeding practices that can harm infant health, according to our research published in the journal ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q and A: Travel safety tips

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have a group of friends with whom I love to travel. We plan several trips a year, and this spring we are planning to go outside the U.S. and visit the Caribbean. We will stay at an all-inclusive resort in a popular destination and do a few sightseeing day trips in the area. Are there things we should do to be safe while ...Read more

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Consumer Health: Nutritional needs during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

March is National Nutrition Month, which makes this a good time to learn about your nutritional needs during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

During pregnancy, the basic principles of healthy eating remain the same — get plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats. However, a few nutrients in a pregnancy diet ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: How is kidney cancer treated?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

More than 50,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with kidney cancer each year. Risks factors for developing this type of cancer include environmental exposures, such as smoking, high blood pressure, a history of kidney failure, obesity or not having a healthy weight. And there are also hereditary syndromes that may increase your risk for kidney...Read more

Carline Jean / South Florida/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Carline Jean / South Florida

Something in the water? Researchers studying high amounts of late-stage breast cancer in Florida county

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Broward County, Florida’s rate of advanced breast cancer exceeds the state and national average, and researchers want to learn why.

Could a chemical in the water or one sprayed on lawns play a role? Does someone’s ancestry make them more vulnerable to the chemicals?

Dr. Jean Latimer and her team at Nova ...Read more

Mounting research points to health harms from cannabis, THC and CBD use during pregnancy, adolescence and other periods of rapid development

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Cannabis is a widely used psychoactive drug worldwide, and its popularity is growing: The U.S. market for recreational cannabis sales could surpass US$72 billion by 2023.

As of early 2023, 21 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for recreational use for people age 21 and up, while 39 states plus the ...Read more

Can a vegan diet treat rheumatoid arthritis?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

I recently learned about a study suggesting a vegan diet is an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

While that sounded intriguing, another claim made in an interview about the study really caught my attention: the lead author of the study said that physicians should encourage people with rheumatoid arthritis to try changing their ...Read more

Environmental Nutrition: Cast iron cooking helps provide additional iron to diet

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Q: Does cooking in cast iron help with iron deficiency?

A: Iron is an essential nutrient and is needed to form proteins called hemoglobin (which carries oxygen to the body in red blood cells) and myoglobin (which carries and stores oxygen in your muscles). Iron deficiency causes symptoms like fatigue, weakness, lightheadedness, and confusion. ...Read more

Is it better to drink coffee before or after you exercise? The answer might surprise you

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

We know that coffee (in moderation) is good for us. It’s been shown to increase your energy levels and metabolic rate, lower your risk of depression and decrease your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes.

Speaking of energy levels, many of us cannot leave the house without a cup (or two) of coffee. We rely on it to bring us back to life in the ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q&A: Fibroids and pregnancy

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’m 24, single and looking forward to having a family one day. I was recently diagnosed with fibroids. What treatment options would allow me to have a baby in the future?

ANSWER: Fibroids are noncancerous masses made of muscle that grow within the uterus.

While fibroids are common — they are present in over 75% of women �...Read more

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This tick-borne disease is now endemic in 10 US states

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Babesiosis, a tick-borne disease, is endemic in 10 U.S. states, according to a March report by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The parasitic disease primarily occurs within the Northeast and Midwest. As cases continue to rise in several states, the CDC has advised for an increase in tick prevention messaging ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: What is the best sleeping position?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Most people spend a third of their lives either asleep or resting, according to the Sleep Foundation. During sleep, the body recharges and repairs itself. And a good night's sleep often can be determined by what position you are lying in bed.

Back-sleepers beware.

"I know many people find it to be comfortable, because they're not putting ...Read more

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Colorado -- a national hub for eating disorder treatment -- hopes to slow surging rate of stigmatized illness

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DENVER — Two weeks after a routine trip to a health clinic turned into a psychiatric hospitalization, Emma Troughton was on a plane to Denver.

The intervention had been building: By early 2017, Troughton had struggled with body image and eating for years, first as a high schooler in Indiana piecing through their gender identity (Troughton is ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Q and A: How a heart condition affects the kidneys and causes swelling

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I recently began experiencing swelling in my legs, feet and hands, as well as fatigue. Testing led to a diagnosis of pericardial constriction. Can you explain what this is and how it's treated? Is there anything I can do to reduce the swelling?

ANSWER: Pericardial constriction is a condition with multiple possible causes. It ...Read more

Poisons are a potent tool for murder in fiction – a toxicologist explains how some dangerous chemicals kill

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

People have used poisons throughout history for a variety of purposes: to hunt animals for food, to treat diseases and to achieve nefarious ends like murder and assassination.

But what is a poison? Do all poisons act in the same way? Does the amount of the poison matter in terms of its toxicity?

I am a toxicologist who studies...Read more

Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Bill to limit health care for transgender kids heads to Georgia governor's desk

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate on Tuesday voted to send to the governor a bill that would prevent medical professionals from giving transgender children certain hormones or surgical treatment.

The Senate voted 31-21 on a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the measure, to agree to changes made to Senate Bill 140 by the House. That ...Read more

Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/TNS

After ambitious single-payer health care plans sputter, a new California bill tries an incremental approach

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

A new bill introduced in the California state Senate aims to lay the groundwork for a state universal health care system, proposing an incremental approach that departs from recent sweeping, and unsuccessful, efforts to reshape how Californians receive care.

Under the measure by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), California would begin...Read more