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Environmental Nutrition: Nutrient-dense foods to add to your diet
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(Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.)
©2025 Belvoir Media Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The top 6 summer superfoods
Summer is arguably the best season for eating fresh produce, and it’s a top time to fill up on superfoods. Though it’s not an official scientific category, superfoods are noted by nutrition specialists as foods that are especially nutritionally dense, and offer multiple benefits in each serving. Superfoods can help with building a ...Read more

Should you be tested for inflammation?
Let’s face it: inflammation has a bad reputation. Much of it is well-deserved. After all, long-term inflammation contributes to chronic illnesses and deaths. If you just relied on headlines for health information, you might think that stamping out inflammation would eliminate cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia, and perhaps aging itself. ...Read more

Mayo Clinic Q&A: How to diagnose and support someone with post-traumatic stress disorder
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’m reaching out because I’m in a tough spot. A close friend rode out Hurricane Ian in Florida last year and it seems to me that he’s struggling now. He’s angry and jumpy, while being numb to what’s happening around him. He told me that he’s not sleeping well, especially when another hurricane is in the news. Is it ...Read more
American Health -- The Short of It
New findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine report that Americans live shorter lives than Europeans, regardless of their wealth.
To be sure, people with more wealth tend to live longer than those with less wealth, especially in the U.S., but when comparing all demographics, the wealthiest Americans have shorter lifespans on ...Read more
Calcium Score Remains Very High Amid Low Cholesterol Levels
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 85-year-old woman who is physically, mentally and socially active and in quite good health, except for osteoporosis issues. The only medications I take are Maxzide for blood pressure, rosuvastatin for cholesterol, and Prolia injections for osteoporosis. My most recent cholesterol readings were 119 mg/dL (total), 58 mg/...Read more
Keep the pressure steady -- blood pressure that is
Almost everyone deals with negative stress -- there's pressure in relationships with co-workers, friends and family, and often, related to finances. When you add the physical stress caused by smoking, excess drinking, diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea or certain medications to the mix, there's a good chance that over time your systolic (the top ...Read more
At high-risk for diabetes? Not if you do this
You're at high risk for Type 2 diabetes if you're diagnosed with prediabetes, are overweight or obese, have a family history of Type 2 diabetes, are physically active less than three times a week, have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD -- now called MASLD), or have had gestational diabetes or given birth to a baby who weighed over 9 ...Read more
Persistent Lower Back Pain Calls For Neurosurgical Intervention
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 70-year-old active dentist and pharmacist with chronic lower back pain. My MRI shows a compressed/extruded disc in contact with a specific nerve. It is extruded by 5 mm. I know that this is very common, and not all patients with compressed nerves are symptomatic. I have specifically located lower back pain and numbness in...Read more
Take heart -- with five ways to live younger longer
It's shocking that a recent study in Nature Medicine found that less than 10% of folks achieve healthy aging -- that is, living to age 70 without developing a chronic disease.
The most common chronic disease is cardiovascular disease (CVD). To avoid premature aging, you want to stay young at heart -- physically and emotionally. And according to...Read more
Immunity To Rubella Does Not Equal Immunity To Measles
DEAR DR. ROACH: I read a recent column of yours in which you said that everyone who is my age can assume we've had measles. I remember having measles when I was in the second grade but have a vague memory of my parents calling it German measles, which I believe is rubella. If a person has had either, do they have immunity to both types of ...Read more

On Nutrition: The science of salt
I have a weird habit of checking out food labels; it goes with the job. This one really grabbed my attention. It was on an electrolyte beverage and stated its case for the 1,000 milligrams of sodium in each 16-ounce can.
“Welcome to the Salty Rebellion,” the label reads. “The latest science reveals we’ve misunderstood salt. Electrolytes...Read more
Not All People Born Before 1957 Have Measles Protection
DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband and I read your column regularly and appreciate your attention to science and facts, especially when addressing issues related to infectious diseases and vaccines. I am writing today because I am deeply unhappy about the repeated messages in the press to those born before 1957 -- or sometimes 1955 --who, as you wrote...Read more
You can muscle yourself out of Type 2 diabetes
If you're at risk for Type 2 diabetes -- because of genetics and/or lifestyle choices -- do you do strength training? Chances are you don't. Overall, only about 35% of men and 27% of women get in two or more strength-building workouts a week, and one study found that 88% of folks with Type 2 diabetes do NOT do any resistance training.
That's a ...Read more

Nevada governor tackles doctor shortage, insurance red tape in health care plan
Gov. Joe Lombardo proposed reforming health care in Nevada in his final priority bill introduced Thursday — less than three weeks from the end of the legislative session.
Senate Bill 495, called the Nevada Healthcare Act, would tackle the state’s health care provider shortage, expand mental health services and streamline health care, ...Read more

Newsom's pitch as he seeks to pare down immigrant health care: 'We have to adjust'
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday proposed that California roll back health care for immigrants without legal status, saying the state needed to cut benefits for some to maintain core services across the board.
It’s a striking reversal for the Democrat, who had promised universal health care and called health coverage for ...Read more

Pain clinic CEO faced 20 years for making patients 'human pin cushions.' He got 18 months
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Federal prosecutors sought a maximum prison sentence of nearly 20 years for the CEO of Pain MD, a company found to have given hundreds of thousands of questionable injections to patients, many reliant on opioids. It would have been among the longest sentences for a health care executive convicted of fraud in recent years.
...Read more

Reducing mental health to buzzwords and online trends may do more harm than good
If you’ve been on Instagram recently, you may have seen Insta stories of giddy teens dumping water — which doesn’t even contain ice — on their friends in the name of #SpeakYourMIND. Influencers give pretty speeches in which they claim “mental health is important!” and give a cheerful thumbs-up of support.
According to its own ...Read more

Risks of psychedelic use aren't widely known. A Colorado campaign hopes to change that
DENVER -- When Liam Kelly first became interested in psychedelics as a teenager, they did so in a self-described “nerdy” way. Kelly, who uses nonbinary pronouns, would deeply research the drugs online to learn about their various effects and other people’s experiences. By the time they began attending college in Vermont, they were using ...Read more
Misunderstanding Ensues About Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 69-year-old woman. I'm in good health despite various events that happened last year (i.e., a hole in my stomach lining, a loss of consciousness, a platelet-rich plasma injection in my elbow, and shoulder surgery). Also, I have asthma and a history of eosinophilic pneumonia, although it's been a number of years since I ...Read more
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