Health Advice
/Health
/ArcaMax

States that enshrined Medicaid expansion in their constitutions could be in a bind
As Republicans in Congress consider cutting the federal share of Medicaid funding, states are weighing numerous options to scale back their programs. But voters in three states have significantly limited those options by enshrining Medicaid expansion in their constitutions — creating a potential budget disaster and a political challenge for ...Read more

Don't call it Pilates. Inside the exercise trend that's like 'if Pilates and bodybuilding had a baby'
LOS ANGELES — Sebastien Lagree would like to make one thing clear: "This. Is. Not. Pilates."
The global fitness entrepreneur is talking about the Lagree Method, his patented workout. You may be familiar: About 50 SoCal studios currently license rights to use Lagree equipment, many of which are in Los Angeles. Their door shingles boast his ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Minute: Become an organ donor and save lives
Becoming an organ donor is one of the most meaningful decisions you can make, offering the chance to save lives — whether after death or as a living donor. It is the ultimate gift, providing hope to those waiting for a second chance at life.
Recent advancements in transplantation are improving organ availability and helping patients, but more...Read more
Feeling unhappy? It may be because of your food choices
When 10 million people are brought together in one massive review of 14 studies, you're getting some pretty reliable health info. And that's what a 2024 meta-review did when it explored the association between eating ultra-processed foods and health problems. The result? The researchers identified 32 different conditions that can be linked to ...Read more
Diagnosis Needs To Be Made For Cause Behind High Ast Level
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 65-year-old male. On my recent semiannual checkup, my labs showed an AST level of 53 U/L and an ALT level of 62 U/L. I am concerned about nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In addition to losing weight, is 800 IU of vitamin E potentially beneficial? -- H.C.
ANSWER: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease ...Read more

Supreme Court sounds ready to back preventive care task force
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared ready during oral arguments Monday to uphold a nationwide preventive care coverage mandate created by the 2010 health care law, in a challenge from a group of Texas businesses objecting to coverage for an HIV preventive drug.
Several key justices questioned the reasoning behind a decision by the U.S. ...Read more

Colorado's first-in-the-nation sperm donor rules just took effect. Now lawmakers may roll some back
DENVER — Three months after Colorado’s first-of-its-kind sperm donor regulations went into effect, state lawmakers are weighing whether to unwind some of those requirements amid concerns that the new rules have chilled donations for would-be parents who need them.
But the proposal, House Bill 1259, is opposed by the former legislator who ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q and A: Securing your future: The importance of advance care planning
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My mom recently sat us down at the dinner table to talk about her wishes if something were to happen to her. She says we should all have advance directives made, but I feel like I'm too young to think about that. Who should have an advance directive? And what goes into it?
ANSWER: Kudos to your family for having those ...Read more

A call for comfort brought the police instead. Now the solution is in danger
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”
___
Overcome by worries, Lynette Isbell dialed a mental health hotline in April 2022. She wanted to talk to someone about her midlife troubles: divorce, an empty nest, and the demands of caring for ...Read more

Call 911 for heart attack or stroke symptoms, or just drive to the ER? What doctors say you should do
You're having chest pain, or you fear that your spouse is having a stroke – and you're thinking of just driving to a hospital instead of calling 911.
What do emergency department doctors think of that plan?
"I think it would be an extraordinarily rare situation where that's a good idea," said Dr. Eric Isaacs, director of the age-friendly ...Read more

Families of transgender youth no longer view Colorado as a haven for gender-affirming care
In recent years, states across the Mountain West have passed laws that limit doctors from providing transgender children with certain kinds of gender-affirming care, from prohibitions on surgery to bans on puberty blockers and hormones. Colorado families say their state was a haven for those health services for a long time, but following ...Read more

Ask the Pediatrician: How to help children build resilience in uncertain times
As parents, we want to protect our children from all discomfort. At the same time, we know that preparing them to deal with challenges is important. It builds their resilience and offers the best lifelong protection.
When parents know precisely the problem to face, they can make an action plan to help their child learn about and manage it. ...Read more

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.'s NIH slashed science funding across states that backed Trump
The National Institutes of Health’s sweeping cuts of grants that fund scientific research are inflicting pain almost universally across the U.S., including in most states that backed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
A KFF Health News analysis underscores that the terminations are sparing no part of the country, politically or ...Read more
Use coffee filters to reduce your lousy LDL cholesterol
Grabbing a cup of coffee at work is a time-honored tradition -- to boost your ability to concentrate on tasks at hand and to socialize for a couple of minutes with colleagues. In fact, one survey found that two-thirds of folks say they start their workday with a cup of coffee -- and most drink three cups at their desk or workstation.
I'm a huge...Read more
Patient Avoids Using A New Drug Due To Its Potentially High Risk
DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you offer any general advice on how patients should weigh the risks versus benefits when they are prescribed a drug that lists many potentially serious side effects? I once had a specialist suggest that I do a trial of a drug for a noncardiac issue, but my cardiologist cautioned me not to chance it because both my heart ...Read more

Young colon cancer patient finds success in treatment borrowed from other cancer
In 2023, Bret Hulick was in his second year of medical school at LECOM in Erie, analyzing the case of a 24-year-old colon cancer patient. The patient had to choose between an established therapy with a high likelihood of unwanted side effects or a newer experimental treatment.
For Hulick, though, it wasn't an academic exercise. He was the ...Read more

In rural Massachusetts, patients and physicians weigh trade-offs of concierge medicine
Michele Andrews had been seeing her internist in Northampton, Massachusetts, a small city two hours west of Boston, for about 10 years. She was happy with the care, though she started to notice it was becoming harder to get an appointment.
“You’d call and you’re talking about weeks to a month,” Andrews said.
That’s not surprising, as...Read more

RFK Jr. struggles to navigate frustrated supporters and a demanding boss
After the Senate voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, supporters of his “Make America Healthy Again” movement cheered at having a champion in the federal government.
Now the grumbling has begun. Some of Kennedy’s allies say he’s become almost inaccessible since his confirmation and complain that...Read more

What is listeria? Things to know about the bacteria and how to prevent infection
BALTIMORE — At least two cases of listeria have been linked to ice cream in the Baltimore metro area, prompting health and safety concerns.
Listeria is a bacterium that can contaminate food and cause serious, sometimes fatal infections, particularly in pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, according to ...Read more

Health department confirms Virginia's first measles case of 2025
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Virginia Department of Health confirmed the state’s first measles case of 2025 in a Saturday announcement.
The agency said a child 4 or under living in the state’s northwest health region contracted the disease after recent international travel.
“This first case of measles in Virginia this year is a reminder of ...Read more
Inside Health Advice
Popular Stories
- 6 vegetables you should always buy frozen
- Mayo Clinic Q & A: 7 strategies to build resiliency
- Measles misinformation is on the rise -- and Americans are hearing it, survey finds
- The ranks of Obamacare 'fixers' axed in Trump's reduction of health agency workforce
- Young colon cancer patient finds success in treatment borrowed from other cancer