Stress may be getting to your skin, but it’s not a one-way street
Are you stressed out? Your skin can show it. Studies show that both acute and chronic stress can exert negative effects on overall skin wellness, as well as exacerbate a…
Health & Fitness
173 posts
The art of a heartfelt apology
If you’ve been stuck mostly at home with one or more family members over the past year, chances are you’ve gotten on one another’s nerves occasionally. When you’re under a…
How is treatment for myasthenia gravis evolving?
Myasthenia gravis (MG) — a medical term that translates as “serious muscle weakness” — is a rare neuromuscular disease. An estimated 30,000 to 60,000 people in the United States have…
Sleep, stress, or hormones? Brain fog during perimenopause
Often when people think of perimenopause, irregular periods and hot flashes come to mind. But some women may notice another symptom: brain fog. You’re reading a letter and suddenly realize…
Black peer support: A role in mental health recovery
It’s been a troubling year for millions of Americans, marked by public reckonings over inequities in justice, health care, and most certainly mental health care. None of these inequities are…
What’s new in the updated asthma guidelines?
In 2007, The Sopranos was a hit TV show, patterned jeggings were a fashion trend, and the National Institutes of Health–sponsored National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) published the…
Women, alcohol, and COVID-19
Excessive alcohol use is a common response to coping with stress. Alcohol use increased following the September 11th terrorist attacks and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The COVID-19 pandemic is following…
Do vitamin D, zinc, and other supplements help prevent COVID-19 or hasten healing?
The appeal of safe, natural treatments is undeniable. It’s true for age-old conditions such as the common cold, and for new diseases, especially if they have no known cure. So…
An emerging treatment option for men with recurring prostate cancer after radiation therapy
Prostate cancer is often a multifocal disease, meaning that several tumors can be present in different parts of gland at the same time. Not all of these tumors are equally…
Want to improve your memory? Get a good night’s sleep!
There are few things that are as beneficial for your memory as having a good night’s sleep. Let’s understand why. If you’re tired, it’s hard to pay attention, and memory…
Can fitness counter fatness?
In a recent study, researchers attempted to answer the very question posed in the title of this post. Before delving into the findings of this study and how it fits…
Summer camp: What parents need to know this year
It’s time to make summer plans, and for many families, those plans include summer camp. After the year we’ve had, the idea of getting out of the house, being active,…
Harvard Health Ad Watch: Mitochondria do a lot for you — what can you do for them?
Ever see an ad for a product that sounds awesome and wondered if it was really that good? That happened to me recently. “How are you taking care of your…
Simple, low-cost, low-tech brain training
We’re all looking for ways to boost our brain power. And fortunately, there are plenty of simple, low-cost, low-tech ways to help sharpen cognition. “Low-tech, mentally stimulating activities, especially ones…
School reopening? What parents need to know and can do
It’s amazing how something as ordinary as going to school can become frightening and overwhelming during a pandemic. While some children have been attending school throughout the pandemic, most have…
Fully vaccinated against COVID-19? So, what can you safely do?
Congrats on getting your COVID-19 vaccine! You qualify as fully vaccinated two weeks after your second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, or two weeks after your single dose…
Omega-3 fatty acids and the heart: New evidence, more questions
My patients commonly ask me whether they should try one supplement or another. Often my answer is equivocal, because for most supplements we just don’t have enough evidence to give…
Beyond CBD: Here come the other cannabinoids, but where’s the evidence?
In the span of a few years, the component of cannabis called CBD (cannabidiol) went from being a relatively obscure molecule to a healthcare fad that has swept the world,…
Zero weight loss from zero calorie drinks? Say it ain’t so
Are you trying to cut back on calories by making the switch from regular soda to diet soda? Do you prefer carbonated water with a bit of flavor, such as…
Returning to sports and physical activity after COVID-19: What parents need to know
While most children and teens who have COVID-19 recover completely, sometimes the virus can have lasting effects. One of those effects can be damage to the muscle of the heart…