Food is a powerful part of community and medicine. It has the potential to build connections, elicit nostalgia, spark joy, mark celebration and promote healing. It also plays a role in determining whether the health care system is inclusive and equitable. I study the challenges that older adults and their family caregivers face in the U.S. health care system, especially […]
Research shows that people’s ability to stand on one leg is an indicator of health and that getting better at standing on one leg can add to fitness and potentially lifespan. Being able to stand on one leg is linked to increased levels of physical activity and decreased risk of falls and is associated with both quality and length […]
Humans rely on our senses to tell us about the world. Which way is that waterfall? Is it day or night? Is that food fresh or spoiled? Such questions are harder to answer if our sensory systems can’t detect the sound of rushing water, the shimmer of moonlight or the odor of spoiled milk. Prior […]
Many people with rheumatoid arthritis avoid exercise for fear that it may make their arthritis worse. While it may be hard to exercise with arthritis, staying as active as possible has actually been shown to reduce pain and improve symptoms. This is because our bodies are designed to move. Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects approximately 400,000 adults […]
School mask mandates in Wayne and Oakland counties remain in place, but similar orders have been rescinded for schools in six other Michigan counties as local health officers worry that language in the state budget could cost them important funding or lead to a court battle. Language in the budget, which went into effect Friday, […]
Different people taking the same drug can have markedly different responses to the same dose. While many people will get the intended effects, some may get little to no benefit, and others may get unwanted side effects. As a pharmacist who researches the safety and effectiveness of drugs, I know there are several reasons why this occurs, including individual physical […]
The summer of 2021 was devilishly hot across much of the U.S. Just five minutes in an attic guest room with no air conditioning could be enough to leave a person drenched in sweat and lightheaded, as one of us discovered during a heat wave in Washington state. It’s the kind of heat where it’s […]
Between the ages of 20 and 55, most adults gain between 0.5 and 1kg a year, which could see some people become overweight or obese over time. This weight gain isn’t usually the result of overeating large amounts of food. Instead, it’s usually caused by eating a small amount – around 100-200 extra calories – more than is needed each day. The […]
An Adams County judge says a health care employer cannot terminate employees who aren’t complying with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The mandate has health care workers having to prove they are vaccinated or submit to weekly tests. If not, they aren’t allowed to work. Attorney Thomas DeVore filed the lawsuit in Illinois’ Eighth […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture adjusts Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits to reflect changes in food prices once a year. The government agency will take two other factors into account when it increases those benefits, which help people buy food, on Oct. 1, 2021. One is an unprecedented update of the Thrifty Food Plan – an estimate of the minimum cost of […]
A cold shower in the morning is a pretty unpleasant way to start the day. Yet many have been tempted to take up the habit because being immersed in cold water has many purported health benefits, both physical and mental. Cold showers were first administered for health reasons in the early 19th century when doctors designed […]
The big idea A new combination treatment for HIV can strengthen a patient’s immune response against the virus even after they stop taking traditional medications, according to a study published in the journal Science Immunology we co-led at the Amara Lab at Emory Univeristy. People with HIV take a combination of HIV medications to reduce the amount of virus […]
