An increasing body of research suggests that optimistic people are healthier and happier than those who are pessimistic. But even if you are a negative thinker, you can teach yourself to make happiness a habit. Dr. Richa Sood, a Mayo Clinic general internist, has tips on how you can become more optimistic.

Optimism is good for your health. But ...Read more

Lyme disease is caused by four main species of bacteria. Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii cause Lyme disease in the United States, while Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are the leading causes in Europe and Asia. The most common tick-borne illness in these regions, Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of an infected black-legged...Read more

Dear Healthy Men: A recent news release suggested that men with low testosterone levels may have improvement in sexual function and quality of life. How can I determine whether I can benefit and what questions should I ask my doctor?

A: Before we get into the details of the newly reported benefits of testosterone therapy -- including the scope ...Read more

For centuries, 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit was said to be the average, normal body temperature. It's not.

More recently, researchers have known normal body temperature is actually lower than 98.6 and can vary by gender, size, age, time of day and other factors. But now there's also new evidence that shows we've been cooling off since the 19th ...Read more

UnitedHealth Group's fourth-quarter profit beat expectations, led by its Optum health services that saw sizable growth from its business running clinics and outpatient medical centers.

UnitedHealth saw a profit of $3.54 billion during fourth the quarter, up more than 16% from the year-ago period. After adjusting for one-time factors, income of ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What is the difference between occasionally worrying that something is wrong with me and somatic symptom disorder? How can I stop worrying that I'm not as healthy as my doctor says?

ANSWER: A little worry over your health is normal. But for some people, fear and concern over symptoms can get out of control. These people can ...Read more

Dear Mayo Clinic: Why does my doctor want to know what supplements I'm taking, even if I don't have any health problems and don't take more than the recommended amounts?

A: It's important to tell your health care provider about any dietary supplements you take. Although you don't need a prescription for most supplements, that doesn't mean they ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- When the Democratic presidential debate turned to health care Tuesday, the candidates engaged in a now-familiar clash. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders unapologetically pushed their case for government-run "Medicare for All" as Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg warned that they were not being up front with voters about...Read more

With the 2020 election months away, President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is touting his health care record as a key reason voters should grant him another term.

Those talking points were distilled in a Dec. 31 social media post from Team Trump, the campaign's official Twitter account, and again in a post on Monday from the president's ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Deaths from boozing and bingeing more than doubled in the past two decades, as alcohol consumption per person rose 8%, with sharp increases in the rate for women and the middle-aged.

Men were three-quarters of the total but fatalities for women rose at a faster rate: 85% versus 39% for males, according to 1999-2017 research by the...Read more

Tens of thousands of people fatally overdose each year on opioids and other drugs. Sometimes medical examiners label them accidents, and sometimes they don't know what to call them.

But where humans waver, a computer program using a kind of artificial intelligence finds many are likely suicides -- possibly a third of them, according to a study ...Read more

Coffee is the go-to morning beverage for many people. But if you swapped out your morning joe for a cup of tea, it may lead to a healthier, longer life.

That's according to a recent Chinese study.

Chinese researchers found that drinking tea over a long period of time -- especially green tea -- had associated health benefits. The benefits were ...Read more

We're in the throes of the flu season, but with months left, doctors are emphasizing it's not too late to get your flu shot.

The flu vaccine remains the best form of defense against the flu, according to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta System Medical Director of Infectious Diseases Dr. Andi Shane and other doctors and experts here and across ...Read more

Lyme disease is caused by four main species of bacteria. Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii cause Lyme disease in the United States, while Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are the leading causes in Europe and Asia. The most common tick-borne illness in these regions, Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of an infected black-legged...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My tailbone has been hurting for the past few weeks. I have read that it takes a while to heal, but is there anything I can do in the meantime to lessen the pain? At what point would it be necessary to see my doctor?

ANSWER: Although tailbone pain can be uncomfortable, in most cases it will go away on its own within a few ...Read more

What "healthy" means to each of us is very different -- and is what we often discuss when developing recipes for, or talking about, eating to feel good.

More often than not the meals we manage are a hodgepodge of random bits of leftovers from recipe testing, foraged edible bric-a-brac from people bringing food into the offices, or completely ...Read more

In the United States, a legion of administrative health care workers and health insurance employees who play no direct role in providing patient care costs every American man, woman and child an average of $2,497 per year.

Across the border in Canada, where a single-payer system has been in place since 1962, the cost of administering health ...Read more