Health

I am an Aries through and through—bold, ambitious, fiery, and confident.  Today, March 27, marks my 50th year on this planet, something I could never have imagined. I was diagnosed with an undetermined type of muscular dystrophy as a young child, and doctors told my parents I wouldn’t live to become an adult. My immigrant parents cried when they heard the news. Even though this news was devastating, they never treated me like a fragile egg about to break. In fact, as the first born child of three girls, I had a lot of responsibilities and expectations which only reinforced my Aries tendencies.While my parents always supported me, I knew at an early age that my life was different. And since they didn’t sugarcoat anything to me, I had a very clear sense that my time was limited. In my bedroo...

TOKYO — Health supplement products believed to have caused two deaths and sickened more than 100 people have been ordered to be taken off store shelves in Japan.The products from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., billed as helping to lower cholesterol, contained an ingredient called “benikoji,” a red species of mold.In addition to the products from Osaka-based Kobayashi, more than 40 products from other companies containing benikoji, including miso paste, crackers and a vinegar dressing, were recalled, starting last week, a government health ministry official said Wednesday.At least 106 people had been hospitalized, and many more are believed to have been sickened, although it’s unclear if all the illnesses are directly linked to benikoji (pronounced beh-nee-koh-jeeh).The ministry has put up a...

For all of 2020, Alex, a 28-year-old living in New York, followed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 guidance “religiously.” Then, in 2021, something began to shift. That spring, the CDC said it was okay for vaccinated people to ditch their masks in most places. But people were clearly still getting sick—including Alex, who got COVID-19 for the first time in late 2021 and later developed Long COVID symptoms.“There was this reckoning moment where it was like, ‘Maybe the CDC is not being totally honest with us about the situation,’” he says. “‘Maybe they’re trying to present it like we can go back to normal when we can’t.’”For Alex, who asked to use only his first name to protect his privacy, that feeling has only deepened. The virus killed roughly 1,000 peo...

Walking is often thought of as a mere mode of transportation: a way to get from point A to point B. Few of us consider the fact that it’s one of the most fundamental, accessible physical activities a person can do. What’s so great about walking? Walking might not be as impressive as holding a plank or doing mountain climbers, but “it’s considered a bodyweight exercise, because your large muscle groups are working to move the weight of your body,” says Dr. Marie Kanagie-McAleese, a pediatric hospitalist at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health and the leader of the Bel Air, Md. chapter of Walk With a Doc. As you walk, “your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves—even your abdominals, biceps, and shoulders—are all using oxygen to contract,” says Ali Ball, an exercise physiologist and outpat...

NEW YORK — U.S. health officials are warning of an increase in rare bacterial illnesses than can lead to meningitis and possible death.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert to U.S. doctors on Thursday about an increase in cases of one type of invasive meningococcal disease, most of it due to a specific strain of bacteria.Last year, 422 cases of it were reported in the U.S.—the most in a year since 2014. Already, 143 cases have been reported this year, meaning infections appear to be on track to surpass 2023, the CDC said. Most of the cases last year did not involve meningitis, though at least 17 died. The cases were disproportionately more common in adults ages 30 to 60, in Black people and in people who have HIV, the CDC said.The bacteria can cause a dangerous bra...

NEW YORK — The number of U.S. tuberculosis cases in 2023 were the highest in a decade, according to a new government report.Forty states reported an increase in TB, and rates were up among all age groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. More than 9,600 cases were reported, a 16% increase from 2022 and the highest since 2013.Cases declined sharply at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been rising since.Most U.S. TB cases are diagnosed in people born in other countries. Experts say the 2023 number is in part a combination of a surge in TB cases internationally—the World Health Organization said TB was behind only COVID-19 in infectious fatal diseases worldwide in 2022. And there are also increases in migration and post-pandemic international travel...

After weeks of fevered speculation, Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed on Mar. 22 that she was absent from the public eye not because she was having marital problems or growing out a bad haircut, but because she was being treated for cancer. She and her husband had, she said, "taken time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be OK." Even before her announcement, however, many cancer survivors who were also parents had already guessed at the truth. The silence and delay tactics looked familiar, because they had done the same thing when they got their own diagnosis. "When you hear cancer, you just think, 'Oh, my goodness, I'm going to die,'" says Shambi Broome of Columbia, S.C., who was diagnos...

Every day, itchy dogs shuffle into Elizabeth Falk’s veterinary office. Some can’t stop chewing their feet or scratching their bellies. Others have red, smelly ears, or rashes on their skin. All are intensely uncomfortable because of environmental allergies. “They’re sitting in the waiting room, and everyone else is backing away out of fear that it’s contagious,” she says. “It’s super busy helping as many as we can.” Until recently, Falk was a veterinary dermatologist at Cornell University Veterinary Specialists, where she saw about 15 allergic pets a day and was booked up to six months out. Demand is so high that in April, she’ll open her own pet dermatology practice. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] More and more dogs are suffering from atopic dermatitis, otherwise known as environmen...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common form of genetic heart disease worldwide. Researchers have estimated that up to 1 in 200 people have the condition, which is characterized by an abnormal thickening of the walls of the heart. This thickening can make it difficult for the heart to pump blood. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be a deadly disease, and there was a time when it was largely untreatable. But the last 20 years have witnessed a sea change in the condition’s management—a change that has led to an estimated 10-fold decrease in deaths.“Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has this reputation that it’s difficult to live with, and that the outlook is grim,” says Dr. Barry Maron, a cardiologist and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specialist at Beth Israel Lahey Health in Burlington, Mass. ...

If you've ever gone down the rabbit hole of health and wellness trends online, you've likely stumbled upon the so-called shadowy side of nightshades—vegetables that include tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and peppers. What’s made them suddenly newsworthy is that they’ve been singled out by self-proclaimed wellness experts and celebrity dieters as culprits behind a range of health issues, from arthritis to autoimmune disease flare-ups and indigestion.While there’s little scientific evidence for these claims, some people report feeling better after cutting nightshades from their diets. So before you start side-eyeing your salad, eggplant parmesan, and baked potato, it’s worth taking a closer look.Why have nightshades become so controversial (and where did that shady name come from, anyway)? S...