I had my first colonoscopy when I turned 50. It wasn’t fun, but I did what I was told and I believed the common line that it was something I needed to endure. The prep was unpleasant, but I kept good reading material with me all day for those frequent trips to the bathroom. The…
Dying Patients With Rare Diseases Struggle to Get Experimental Therapies
At 15, Autumn Fuernisen is dying. She was diagnosed at age 11 with a rare degenerative brain disorder that has no known cure or way to slow it down: juvenile-onset Huntington’s disease. “There’s lots of things that she used to be able to do just fine,” said her mom, Londen Tabor, who lives with her…
How Artificial Sweeteners Destroy Your Gut
After years of investigation about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, I wrote a book, “Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health,” and published it in 2006. Since then, I’ve been warning the world about the ever-growing evidence that artificial sweeteners can damage your health in many ways. Now,…
Rates of Eating Disorders Surge Amid Pandemic
Doctors are seeing a surge in eating disorders across the country as people try to cope with the stress and anxiety induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jennifer Wildes, an associate psychiatry professor and director of outpatient eating disorders program at the University of Chicago Medicine, says she’s “absolutely seeing massive increases.” Patients are waiting 4…
Doctors Weigh Prescribing Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug
As physicians and health policy experts debate the merits of Aduhelm, the first new drug approved for Alzheimer’s disease in 18 years, patients want to know: “Will this medication help me—and how much?” Doctors explaining the pros and cons of Aduhelm won’t have a definitive answer. “On an individual basis, it will be absolutely impossible…
Hospital Prices Are Supposed to Be Transparent Now
A colonoscopy might cost you or your insurer a few hundred dollars—or several thousand, depending on which hospital or insurer you use. Long hidden, such price variations are supposed to be available in stark black and white under a Trump administration price transparency rule that took effect at the start of this year. It requires…
Nearly Half of US Cosmetics Contain This Toxic Chemical
Cosmetics and personal care products have often tested positive for toxic chemicals. Now, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Notre Dame has found that more than half of common U.S. cosmetics tested contain high levels of industrial compounds associated with various health conditions, including cancer. One chemical found in an “alarming”…
CDC Reports 51 Percent Increase in Suicide Attempts Among Teen Girls
Beth Palmer was 17 and dreaming of becoming a singer in March 2020 when the United Kingdom went into lockdown because of COVID-19. One month later, she was dead. “She was a wonderful, wonderful daughter. She was just funny, she lit up the room,” said Mike Palmer, Beth’s father. “She was so affectionate and loving…
Device Makers Have Funneled Billions to Orthopedic Surgeons Who Use Their Products
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin was little more than a decade out of Harvard Medical School when the sales of his spine surgical implants took off. Chin has patented more than 40 pieces of such hardware, including doughnut-shaped plastic cages, titanium screws, and other products used to repair spines—generating $100 million for his company, SpineFrontier, according…
How the COVID Response Is Priming the Next Pandemic
“Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time,” declares the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And while antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) took a backseat to the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem hasn’t gone away. Antibiotic resistance (AR) refers to bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is a broader term…
-
Recent Posts
-
Archives
- May 2025
- April 2025
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- September 2013
- July 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- December 1
-
Meta