Health Advice
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Score a bonus with these video gaming tips: Extra life in the real world
In video games, all players usually need to do to stay healthy is to drink the occasional healing potion or perhaps grab a floating heart. Avoiding zombies and killer aliens helps, too.
In real life, deadly monsters may be less common, but maintaining health is trickier. Luckily, it doesn't take a secret hack to stay well while playing, experts...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q & A: Why a fluttering heart could lead to stroke
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I've been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. I've read that it puts me at greater risk of stroke. Can you tell me more about this?
ANSWER: You may not have known you had atrial fibrillation (AFib) until your condition was discovered during a physical examination. For others, AFib can have life-altering symptoms that affect ...Read more

With cancer the leading cause of death for firefighters, 1 Bay Area fire department is partnering with biotech to improve the odds
Every day, firefighters are exposed to cancer-causing chemicals from the scorched aftermath of forest fires, the melting pot of kitchen cleaning supplies in burning homes, and abandoned polyurethane appliances and bags in homeless encampment blazes.
Cancer has jumped to the leading cause of death among firefighters; they have a 9% greater risk ...Read more
Healthy carbs promote healthy aging
You know that a glazed donut loaded with refined carbs and sugars isn't doing anything to improve your daily nutrition. But what's the impact of such a routine over three decades? That's what researchers from Tufts and Harvard wanted to know. So, they analyzed data from the Nurses Health Study that looked at the nutritional habits and health ...Read more
Understanding How PSA Tests And DREs Help To Identify Cancer
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 53-year-old healthy male, and I always request to check my PSA levels each year. My 57-year-old brother's new doctor denied his request for a routine PSA check on their initial visit. She said that the test now produces more false positives and unnecessary procedures and surgeries, so she said "no" and wouldn't order it.
...Read more

If US halted fluoride, kids' cavities would grow by millions, study says
Fluoride — it’s in your toothpaste, your drinking water and now the occasional legislative bill. Two U.S. states have already decided to stop adding it to their water supplies — a trend concerning local dental experts.
Now, a new study has discovered what banning the mineral on a larger scale could mean for children and their parents. The...Read more

Ask the Pediatrician: Can asthma be predicted?
One in every 10 kids in the United States has asthma, a chronic breathing condition that can affect nearly every part of their lives. Asthma is one of the main reasons kids miss school and a leading cause of childhood hospitalization.
Research shows that a family history of asthma increases the chances that your child may develop it too. Early ...Read more

NASA-inspired low-vibration belt lowers bone fracture risk
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For some, Osteoboost might initially evoke TV informercials for gadgets that promise to shock people’s abdominal muscles into six-pack formation while they sit, or mid-20th century contraptions that professed to jiggle away fat without exercise.
But this device, a low-vibration belt that resembles a fanny pack, received ...Read more

Immunotherapy boosts chemotherapy in combating stage 3 colon cancer
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Colon cancer is the third most prevalent form of cancer in the U.S., and while screening has helped detect and prevent colon cancer from spreading, major advancements in treating colon cancer have lagged.
Now, new research led by Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center found that adding immunotherapy to chemotherapy after ...Read more
Cool it! Reduce the risk of Alzheimer's-related inflammation
Overall, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. -- and the fifth-leading cause among Americans age 65 and older. That's because AD is associated with complications related to progressive brain damage such as life-threatening dehydration and malnutrition, respiratory problems, emotional turmoil, infections, ...Read more
Sleep Inertia Occurs After Going Back To Sleep For An Hour
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a reasonably healthy 76-year-old woman. I eat a healthy diet, avoid processed sugar, and work out usually twice a week, plus one day with a personal trainer. I am a breast cancer survivor. I drink 5 ounces of wine with dinner on weeknights and slightly more on the weekends. I am in bed around 11:30 p.m. every night and ...Read more

Two patients faced chemo. The one who survived demanded a test to see if it was safe
JoEllen Zembruski-Ruple, while in the care of New York City’s renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, swallowed the first three chemotherapy pills to treat her squamous cell carcinoma on Jan. 29, her family members said. They didn’t realize the drug could kill her.
Six days later, Zembruski-Ruple went to Sloan Kettering’s urgent ...Read more

'Life of Chuck' review: It's a wonderful, apocalyptic life in Stephen King land
“The Life of Chuck,” a slick but ickily grandiose reminder to take your dance lessons while you can, also reminds us that every generation gets its own variations on “It’s a Wonderful Life” — movie fantasies designed for affirmation and comfort, while unnerving us a little.
There’s a third reminder, too: One person’s eyeroll is ...Read more

On Nutrition: Processed or ultra-processed?
When I hear the term “ultra-processed” food, my mind goes directly to what I see in most convenience stores. Sodas, energy drinks, candy bars, pastries and cheese puffs come to mind. These items contain more than their fair share of sugar and/or salt and are sorely lacking in essential nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals and ...Read more
The Proper Amount Of Rest Depends On The Person At Hand
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a retired and active 73-year-old who plays tennis and regularly goes to the gym. I often take long naps and sleep for 2 or 3 hours. At night, I often sleep 4 or 5 hours. My understanding is that someone in my age range should be getting 7 hours of sleep. If I take a 2-hour nap, and at night I sleep 5 hours, am I getting ...Read more
The off-color problems with green drinks
Green juice drinks are the toast of social media sites where influencers extol the latest nutrition fads. These beverages are often made from celery, kale, chard, spinach, wheatgrass, parsley, dill and mint, and sometimes with whey protein -- then sweetened with fruits or added sugar.
If you rarely eat whole green vegetables, juicing them may ...Read more
Urinary tract infection drug recalled. Tablets could be tainted and deadly
Three lots of a drug designed to treat various urinary tract infections have been recalled because the white round tablets might have black spots from microbial contamination.
The spotting of spots “was reported in a product quality complaint,” Amneal Pharmaceuticals said in its FDA-posted recall notice about Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim ...Read more

Review: 'The Life of Chuck' is an apocalyptic, soul-seeking puzzle that's missing a few pieces
How narcissistic to believe you're living in the end times. The thought might cross your mind — I'm guilty of it, sure — but it can be chased off by imagining how it felt to witness the Dust Bowl or the French Revolution or the fall of Tenochtitlan. "The Life of Chuck," a sentimental jigsaw puzzle by Mike Flanagan ("Doctor Sleep") from a 50-...Read more

Ballad Health's hospital monopoly underperformed. Then Tennessee lowered the bar
Despite years of patient complaints and quality-of-care concerns, Ballad Health — the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly — will now be held to a lower standard by the Tennessee government, and state data that holds the monopoly accountable will be kept from the public for two years.
Ballad is the only option for hospital ...Read more

Native Americans hurt by federal health cuts, despite RFK Jr.'s promises of protection
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation leaders took turns talking with the U.S. government’s top health official as they hiked along a sandstone ridge overlooking their rural, high-desert town before the morning sun grew too hot.
Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, paused at the edge with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. ...Read more