Sulfites are chemicals that are often added to food and drinks to help keep them fresh. They act as preservatives, which means they stop food from spoiling too quickly. Sulfites also help prevent foods from turning brown or changing color and can slow the growth of bacteria and mold.

You’ll find sulfites in many common foods. They are often ...Read more

Oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast? Tuna or chicken on your salad? Every day you make lots of food decisions. Now, a growing body of research is showing that how often you opt for the highest-quality food choices can have a powerful influence on your health.

“We have to look beyond just carbohydrates, fats, and proteins,” says Teresa Fung, a ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: For my kids, the best part of back-to-school shopping is picking out a new backpack. While I want them to have backpacks they like, I also want to make sure they have features that support their backs. What should I look for?

ANSWER: The backpack is as much a part of school life as homework, pencils and recess. Kids use ...Read more

When is the last time you checked who you have designated as a life insurance beneficiary? If you can’t remember when, now is the time to check that you have, in fact, listed a beneficiary and that it’s the person you actually intended the policy to help.

Providing for loved ones upon your death remains a priority for many people. That’s ...Read more

Age-related blindness affects more than 5 million people worldwide and for years scientists have not been able to reverse the most common cause: age-related macular degeneration.

Until now.

A team of Stanford scientists created a Photovoltaic Retina Implant Microarray, or PRIMA, implant smaller than a sesame seed. The implant can be placed ...Read more

Dennis Schmidt started smoking as a teenager, when that was so unexceptional that his Catholic high school designated outdoor “senior smoking quarters,” where students in their final year could take cigarette breaks. He smoked a pack of menthols daily for nearly 40 years.

As a registered nurse at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center ...Read more

At the beginning of this year, Las Vegas insurance broker Harry Mex’s cellphone started ringing more than usual.

Clients were calling Mex after learning what they would have to pay for health insurance in 2026. Some said their monthly premiums had doubled or tripled even though their incomes had not changed. Others were facing higher ...Read more

About 200,000 low-income Arkansans could see major changes to their health coverage next year after the Trump administration recently informed state officials it will not renew a key Medicaid agreement with the federal government.

The decision by federal officials, citing authority granted under President Donald Trump’s signature tax-and-...Read more

Sen. Rand Paul said he doesn’t understand why people are demanding Sen. Mitch McConnell to release more details about his health condition as he continues his recovery.

McConnell, 84, was discharged from a rehabilitation center Aug. 6 after being hospitalized June 14. McConnell said in an Aug. 6 statement he will continue physical therapy ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — A Mercer County, Pennsylvania, woman is suing Taco Bell and Taylor Farms, accusing the companies of negligence after the Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker she bought at the fast food chain last month left her hospitalized with a cyclosporiasis infection.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court on behalf of Heather Kebert, also ...Read more

Brooke Green thought she needed a mammogram.

Green, a Democratic state representative in Idaho, knew that breast cancer ran in her family and she “just had an inkling” that she should be tested.

She was two weeks shy of the day her last remaining embryo would be implanted through in vitro fertilization. It was the one shot she had left to ...Read more

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — While rescue crews spent nearly two days searching for a 5-year-old girl swept out in a rip current off Treasure Island, Laguna Beach Fire Capt. Pat Cary spent dozens of hours with the grieving family, acting as their liaison, caring for them, and keeping them updated.

A safety officer with 15 years at the department, ...Read more

MACY, Neb. — Erica Carter is passionate about her job, and she has seven acres of flowers and vegetables to show for it.

Carter’s specialty is reeling in grants to support students in the Omaha Nation school district, where she is a finance manager. One paid for the garden that sits next to the district’s campus. Another allowed the ...Read more

The number of U.S. kindergartners starting school without being fully immunized continues to rise, as more families forgo the protective shots despite outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that the number of children who were fully up-to-date on their immunizations when ...Read more

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

How is deli meat made? – Arabelle, 17, Brooklyn, New York

If you’ve ever eaten a ham or turkey sandwich for lunch, then you’ve probably eaten deli meat. Sometimes ...Read more

You notice someone close to you has lost a lot of weight. You also notice that they’re skipping meals and talking more pessimistically about food and their body. You feel concerned but worry that commenting on their body might do more harm than good.

So what should you do? Where is the line between showing concern and being harmful?...Read more

Smoking and vaping continued to decline among middle school and high school students in 2025, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey, released in July 2026. This annual, school-based survey has been tracking smoking and other nicotine product use in American youth ages 11 to 18 since 1999....Read more

A child left in a hot car — or who gets into an unlocked vehicle unnoticed — can die of heat stroke very quickly. Tragically, dozens of U.S. children lose their lives this way each year. These deaths are preventable with some simple actions by parents and caregivers.

Here's what the American Academy of Pediatrics says about the danger of ...Read more