Health Advice
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Is your heart in the game? Doctors says the Super Bowl can break it
It’s Super Bowl Sunday — a time for football and fun. Health experts, however, are warning that being too invested in 2025’s big game could hurt the heart.
“There are behaviors that can be associated with the Super Bowl that are not heart-healthy,” cardiologist Dr. Tamara Horwich told the American Heart Association. “You might think...Read more
Wash, dry, enroll: Finding Medicaid help at the laundromat
SUITLAND, Md. — At a SuperSuds Laundromat just south of Washington, D.C., a steady stream of customers loaded clothes into washers and dryers on a recent Sunday morning, passing the time on their phones or watching television.
Amid the low hum of spinning clothes, Adrienne Jones made the rounds in a bright yellow sweatshirt, asking customers ...Read more

Outcry as NIH plans $4 billion cut to reimburse scientists
WASHINGTON — The National Institutes of Health plans to cut billions of dollars in reimbursements to medical researchers, a move scientists warn could jeopardize their work in advancing cures for diseases.
The agency, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, announced late Friday it was lowering the maximum “indirect cost rate�...Read more

During fires, LA burn centers braced for crisis that never came
LOS ANGELES — When the fires erupted Jan. 7, burn centers across the Los Angeles region braced for an influx of patients, updating one another on the beds and staff available for critically injured people.
The Eaton and Palisades fires would ultimately claim at least 29 lives. Dozens of people would visit hospitals to seek care for minor ...Read more

Research points to potential solutions to reduce scratching-related inflammation
PITTSBURGH — If you were to accidentally dip your thumb into boiling water, the searing pain would instantly trigger a response in your brain, urging you to pull away immediately. Not only would this reflex protect you in the moment, but it would also create a lasting memory — one that warns, "Don't do that again!"
So why doesn't our brain ...Read more

Editorial: Managing health records shouldn't be this maddening
The U.S. health-care system exchanges tens of millions of patient records a day. Thanks to recent technological advances, the ability to analyze such large amounts of data has improved markedly.
Why, then, are patients still filling out clipboards of redundant information, or juggling multiple passwords and portals to make a doctor’s ...Read more

CDC reports more than 90 sick on board Royal Caribbean ship out of Tampa
More than 90 people have been reported ill on board a Royal Caribbean ship sailing out of Tampa, Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
An outbreak of an unknown illness with primary symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting has stricken 89 of 2,164 passengers as well as 2 of 910 crew on board the Radiance of the Seas, according to a ...Read more

Measles outbreak mounts among children in one of Texas' least vaccinated counties
A measles outbreak is growing in a Texas county with dangerously low vaccination rates.
In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles. Since an estimated 1 in 5 people with the disease end up in the hospital, the two cases suggested a larger outbreak.
As of Feb. 7, there were nine confirmed and ...Read more

Maryland lawmakers want limits on pricey prescriptions, say health care system is 'failing us'
BALTIMORE — For most of her life, Erica Miller suffered from a medical condition she didn’t know she had.
When she finally got a diagnosis and treatment, the cost of her medication varied wildly month-to-month from as low as $45 to as high as $600 — even with insurance. She couldn’t afford the care she needed.
Maryland lawmakers want ...Read more

Seed oils are toxic, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – but it’s not so simple
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is expected to clear the final hurdles in his confirmation as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, and a host of health influencers have proclaimed that widely used cooking oils such as canola oil and soybean oil are toxic.
T-shirts sold by his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign now include ...Read more

Community health centers caught up in funding freeze
WASHINGTON — Funding delays have pushed several community health centers nationwide to close or cut back on staff, citing issues accessing federal funding.
The financial problems, the centers say, appear to stem from last week’s temporary domestic funding grant freeze and the implementation of new executive orders.
“We will do everything...Read more

Trump executive orders aimed at health equity, DEI worry Philadelphia health researchers
At Bryn Mawr College, Cindy Sousa researches how trauma, violence, and climate change affect low-income communities, immigrants, and refugees, with the goal of improving health care and social supports in underserved communities.
But Sousa is worried about the future of her work following a flurry of executive orders that she and many of her ...Read more
Maryland's health secretary is resigning; Moore names Biden official Meena Seshamani as nominee
Maryland Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott will leave her role at the end of February after a tumultuous two years and will be replaced by a former Medicare official from President Joe Biden’s administration, Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday.
The state’s health agency had faced tough questions and federal lawsuits related to its handling of ...Read more
Female genital mutilation is a leading cause of death for girls where it’s practised – new study
Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) is a deeply entrenched cultural practice that affects around 200 million women and girls. It’s practised in at least 25 African countries, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia and among immigrant populations globally.
It is a harmful traditional practice that involves removing or ...Read more

Influenza surge overcrowding Michigan emergency rooms
DETROIT — Emergency rooms across the state are overcrowded and patients are waiting longer than usual due to an influx of influenza.
Charles Gibson, chief medical officer for Corewell Health in West Michigan, and Matthew Sims, director of infectious disease research for Corewell Health in Southeast Michigan, said at a virtual news conference ...Read more

Anti-LGBTQ+ policies harm the health of not only LGBTQ+ people, but all Americans
In 2024, state legislatures introduced an all-time record of 533 bills targeting LGBTQ+ populations. These policies create a patchwork of legal landscapes that vary widely between and within states, affecting aspects of everyday life ranging from how kids learn and play to where adults live and work.
All of these policies have ...Read more

Across the South, rural health care has become 'trendy.' Medicaid expansion has not
WALHALLA, S.C. — Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a small primary care clinic run by Clemson University draws patients from across the region. Many are Hispanic and uninsured, and some are willing to travel from other counties, bypassing closer health care providers, just to be seen by Michelle Deem, the clinic’s ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Minute: What to do for a healthier heart
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association. Heart disease refers to a range of conditions, of which many can be prevented or treated by making healthy lifestyle choices.
The average heart beats 100,000 times per day, circulating blood and oxygen throughout the body.
Dr. Demilade ...Read more
Shake up your Super Bowl party for a win-win mix of health and fun
Traditionally, the Super Bowl is a celebration of extremes – the best teams, the fanciest stadiums and fans who sit at home eating the biggest buckets of anything-but-healthy food.
But the NFL is hardly resistant to upending tradition. Players and coaches change teams, teams redesign uniforms and owners rewrite the rules. What if you applied ...Read more
For California farmworkers, telehealth visits with Mexican doctors fill a gap
SALINAS, Calif. — This coastal valley made famous by the novelist John Steinbeck is sometimes known affectionately as “America’s salad bowl,” though the planting and harvesting is done mostly by immigrants from Mexico.
For Taylor Farms, a major global purveyor of packaged salads and cut vegetables, that’s made it a logical place to ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Research points to potential solutions to reduce scratching-related inflammation
- During fires, LA burn centers braced for crisis that never came
- Wash, dry, enroll: Finding Medicaid help at the laundromat
- Measles outbreak mounts among children in one of Texas' least vaccinated counties
- University of Minnesota study reveals high costs, red tape facing cancer survivors