T-Day Dinner, Post-Election: Experts Offer Tips to Keep Things Calm

Politics, especially the 2024 elections, can quickly turn the family Thanksgiving table into a battleground.

Steering clear of hot-button topics will not only help a big meal go down easier, it has health benefits as well.

Keeping the peace prevents a surge of fight-or-flight hormones that can disrupt sleep and cause headaches, infl...

Stroke Guidelines Updated, With Focus on Women and GLP-1s

Women, especially those who had high blood pressure during pregnancy or entered menopause before age 45, are among those with a greater risk for stroke.

They and other high-risk groups are the focus of new stroke prevention guidelines from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. 

The guidelines also sugge...

Vaping Immediately Changes Your Blood Flow

Even when e-cigarettes are nicotine-free, they have an immediate effect on blood vessels, a new imaging study shows.

"E-cigarettes have long been marketed as a safer alternative to regular tobacco smoking," said Dr. Marianne Nabbout, a resident at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who led new study to identify the effects of vap...

Yoga Helps Women Deal With the Mental Stress of Cancer

A cancer diagnosis can bring overwhelming stress and depression to women, but new research suggests yoga can help ease that emotional toll.

“A wellness intervention that integrates yoga and psychological tools may strengthen the connections among the mind, body and spirit, leading to a better and more meaningful quality of life,&rdq...

Illinois Study Finds Steep Rise in Serious Complications of Pregnancy

MONDAY, Nov. 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Chronic health problems like high blood pressure, gestational diabetes and obesity have fueled a troubling rise in maternal health issues and birth complications in Illinois, a new study finds. 

"These birth outcomes are worsening for all ages, reflecting the worsening pre-pregnancy healt...

Reaching Age at Which a Parent Died by Suicide Raises Risk in Adult Child

When people whose parents died by suicide reach that same age, their own risk often spikes, Danish researchers warn.

Reporting in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviors, the researchers looked at data on more than 470,000 Danes whose parents died between 1980 and 2016. Of those, 17,806 individuals had parents...

Could a Common Thyroid Medicine Weaken Bones?

New research suggests that a thyroid medication often prescribed to older Americans may be linked to a common problem in old age -- bone loss.

Levothyroxine is a synthetic hormone often prescribed to treat hypothyroidism. People with the condition don't make enough thyroxine on their own, which can cause weight gain, fatigue, hair loss an...

For Some, 'Tis the Season for Loneliness. Experts Offer Tips to Stay Connected

For many, the holidays are a time when you connect with others and share time with loved ones. But for some, the holidays are a painful exercise in loneliness.

While a Northwestern Medicine study published last spring found loneliness is more prevalent in both younger and older adults, those feelings intensify around the holidays, sai...

Taking a GLP-1 Medication? Here's Tips to Holiday Eating

So, you have managed to shed 30 pounds with the help of one of the new blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, but as the holidays near you worry about how to handle gatherings where decadent food will be served in abundance.

Luckily, one expert from Baylor College of Medicine has tips on how to enjoy holiday fare while on these medications, without over...

Bird Flu Virus in Canadian Teen Shows Mutations That Could Help It Spread Among Humans

In a development that health experts have warned might come, Canadian officials report that the bird flu virus isolated from a sick teen in Vancouver shows mutations that could help it spread more easily among humans.

At this point, there is no evidence that this particular mutated H5N1 virus has traveled beyond the one Canadian patient: A...

'10 Americas:' Health Disparities Mean Life Expectancy Varies Across U.S.

How long Americans can expect to live varies dramatically -- and the gap continues to widen.

A new report says health inequalities have, in essence, created 10 Americas.

These mutually exclusive populations are divided along familiar fault lines, including race, ethnicity, income and address. 

While life expectancy rose in...

Could a Vitamin Be Effective Treatment for COPD?

A daily dose of vitamin B3 reduced inflammation in the lungs of patients with COPD, Danish researchers report. 

"This is significant, because inflammation can lead to reduced lung function in these patients," said researcher Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, of the University of Copenhagen.

Patients with COPD -- the full name of which is...

Short-Term Hormone Therapy for Menopause Won't Harm Women's Brains

Four years of hormone replacement therapy to help women deal with menopausal symptoms causes no harm to the brain, even over the long term, new research shows.

"In the present study, approximately 10 years after 48 months of early menopausal therapy... the cognitive performance of women randomized to [hormone replacement therapy] did not d...

Woman Receives World's First Robotic Double-Lung Transplant

A 57-year-old woman with COPD has received the world's first fully robotic double lung transplant.

The breakthrough surgery was performed in October at NYU Langone Health in New York City by Dr. Stephanie Chang. Just a month before, Chang performed a fully robotic single lung transplant — the nation's first.

"This latest innova...

Flavored Vapes Behind Big Surge in U.S. E-Cigarette Sales

FRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — E-cigarettes flew off store shelves between 2019 and 2023, and 80% were in youth-friendly flavors like fruit, candy, mint and menthol.

In all, e-cigarette sales rose 47% over the period, according to a new report from the CDC Foundation and Truth Initiative that called on more states to restri...

Reading Beyond Headline Rare For Most on Social Media, Study Finds

Three out of four times, your Facebook friends don't read past the headline when they share a link to political content. 

Experts say that's somewhat surprising -- and downright scary. 

People who share without clicking may be unwittingly aiding hostile adversaries aiming to sow seeds of division and distrust, warned S. Shy...

Meds Like Ozempic Are Causing Folks to Waste More Food

America's kitchen trash bins are receiving more unwanted food as appetites falter among people taking GLP-1 weight-loss meds, a new study shows.

GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound all work by making food less desirable, and it's showing up in more food wasted at dinner tables, said a team led by Brian Roe, of Ohio State Uni...

Fibroids, Endometriosis Linked to Shorter Life Spans

FRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Two conditions common during women's childbearing years may increase their odds for serious illness and premature death, a large study shows.

Drawing on data from close to 111,000 women and three decades of monitoring, researchers linked endometriosis and uterine fibroids to a greater likeliho...

E. Coli Fears Spur Recall of 167,000 Pounds of Ground Beef

Over 167,000 pounds of ground beef are being recalled by a Detroit meatpacker after being linked to E. coli illnesses in restaurant goers.

The beef was shipped by Wolverine Packing Co. and used in restaurants nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Thursday.

"The problem was...

Nearly 160 Million Americans Harmed by Another's Drinking, Drug Use

Think of it as collateral damage: Millions of Americans say they have been harmed by a loved one's drug or alcohol use.

One in 3 adults who responded to a new nationwide survey said they had suffered "secondhand harm" from another person's drinking. And more than 1 in 10 said they had been harmed by a loved one's drug use. 

That...