Ibtihaj Muhammad makes history, despite early elimination
August 11th, 20160 RIO — Ibtihaj Muhammad made history in her Olympic debut for Team USA becoming the first American to wear a hijab during competition at the Olympics.The New Jersey native viewed her presence as an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than herself."I feel like this is a great opportunity and a great moment for Team USA to even...
Michael Phelps’ purple circles spotlight ‘cupping’ trend
August 11th, 20160 RIO — It wasn't just Michael Phelps' big win on Sunday that had people talking about the U.S. swimming star. It was also the dark purple circles on his shoulders.Phelps, who won the 19th Olympic gold medal of his career on Sunday and helped the U.S. men's team to victory in the 4x100 meters freestyle relay, is one...
McDonald’s to remove corn syrup from buns
August 4th, 20160 McDonald's Corp will replace corn syrup in hamburger buns with sugar this month and has removed antibiotics that are important to human medicine from its chicken months ahead of schedule, it said on Monday, moves that are part of its drive to target increasingly health-conscious consumers. The fast food company also said it eliminated...
Ice Bucket Challenge credited with ALS breakthrough
August 4th, 20160 The Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral two years ago, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, has helped identify a new gene behind the neurodegenerative disease ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers say. The challenge involved people pouring ice-cold water over their heads, posting video on social media and donating funds for...
Millennial hookup culture is not real
August 4th, 20160 People may think of millennials as being one right swipe away from a quick hookup, but a new study suggests many 20-somethings are actually having less sex than their parents did back in the day. "The misperception that millennials have a hook-up culture may be driven by the most promiscuous members of the generation, who are now able...
Netherlands, Latvia lead world in height
July 29th, 20160 If you want to see a tall population of men, go to the Netherlands. Tall women? Latvia. And in the United States, which lags behind dozens of other countries in height, the average for adults stopped increasing about 20 years ago. That's the word from researchers who analyzed a century's worth of height data from 200 countries....Doctors urged to check pregnant women for Zika
Health officials are strongly urging doctors to ask all pregnant women about a possible Zika infection at every checkup. So far, there have been no confirmed cases of a Zika infection from a mosquito bite in the United States, although officials expect mosquitoes will start spreading it in Southern states. All U.S. illnesses have been...
Pediatricians encourage sex ed at doc’s office, home and school
July 21st, 20160 Children and adolescents should receive age-appropriate and evidence-based education about sex and sexuality from pediatricians, schools, professionals and parents,according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. In the U.S., according to the AAP, about one in three adolescents does not receive any information on sexuality from...
The murky role of mental illness in extremism, terror
July 21st, 20160 After family members of the driver who slammed a truck into a holiday crowd in the French city of Nice said he suffered from depression, questions have been raised again about the links between mental illness, extreme ideology and mass violence. Mental illness cannot be blamed for terror attacks, experts say. The overwhelming majority...Butter not tied to heart disease
Despite decades on the list of "bad" fats that harm the heart, butter, on its own, is not linked to increased risk of heart disease after all, according to a recent analysis of existing research. Eating more butter was even weakly tied to a lower risk of diabetes, the authors found. Some people hold that butter is a "villain" while...GOP platform draft calls pornography ‘public health crisis’
Republican delegates unanimously adopted an amendment to their draft platform Monday morning that called pornography "a public health crisis" and a "public menace" that is destroying lives. The language went further in its condemnation of porn than the 2012 GOP platform, which condemned child pornography and encouraged the enforcement...
Vermont becomes the first state to label GMOS
July 8th, 20160 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined other Vermont leaders Friday to celebrate the state's newly implemented law requiring labels on genetically modified food and blast proposed federal legislation that could pre-empt the state requirement. Vermont became the first state Friday to require the labeling of food...
Heroin use at 20-year high
July 1st, 20160 A heroin "epidemic" is gripping the United States, where the cheap supply has helped push the number of users to a 20-year high, increasing drug-related deaths, the United Nations said on Thursday. According to the U.N.'s World Drug Report 2016, the number of heroin users in the United States reached around one million in 2014, almost...
Teen checkups should include suicide risk screening
July 1st, 20160 Suicide is among the leading causes of death in U.S. adolescents and while it's not entirely preventable, doctors can minimize the risk by asking the right questions during routine checkups, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. Pediatricians should ask about mood disorders, use of drugs and alcohol, suicidal thoughts, bullying,...
It’s official; coffee doesn’t cause cancer
June 23rd, 20160 Go on, have another cup. Coffee is now off the list of things that could possibly cause cancer. Experts convened by the World Health Organization's cancer research arm declared last week that there isn't enough proof to show that the brew is linked to cancer. But in the same report, they warned that drinking "very hot" beverages of......
Teen marijuana use in Colorado found lower than national average
June 23rd, 20160 DENVER — Marijuana consumption by Colorado high school students has dipped slightly since the state first permitted recreational cannabis use by adults, a new survey showed on Monday, contrary to concerns that legalization would increase pot use by teens. The biannual poll by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment...
New York City to provide free tampons in schools, shelters
June 21st, 20160 "They're as necessary as toilet paper"NEW YORK — New York City is on track to become the nation's first city to require free tampons and sanitary pads in public schools, homeless shelters and jails after lawmakers approved the idea Tuesday amid a national discussion of the costs of having a period.The proposal, which Democratic Mayor......
Doctors: Start school later to aid sleep-deprived teens
June 17th, 20160 The American Medical Association urged starting school later in the morning for teenagers, so they can get enough sleep. In a new policy adopted on Tuesday, the AMA said middle and high schools should start at 8:30 a.m. at the earliest because research has shown that puberty is accompanied by a biological shift in circadian rhythm...
Kroger partners with Detroit health system on better eating program
June 2nd, 20160 DETROIT - Henry Ford Health System, a six-hospital system headquartered here, and Kroger on Wednesday announced a new partnership designed to answer common dietary health questions and help consumers eat and shop healthier. Henry Ford LiveWell Wednesdays debuts June 1 at all 126 Kroger stores...
White House scraps FDA plan to restrict flavored e-cigarettes
June 2nd, 20160 WASHINGTON - A White House office deleted language in a recently introduced tobacco regulation that would have removed flavored e-cigarettes from the market until they had been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, an edited version of the document shows. On May 5, the FDA announced a final rule...
Michigan urges residents to spread fun, not germs
May 27th, 20160 LANSING — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is encouraging residents to maximize the health benefits of swimming with healthy and safe habits. In the past nine years, 100 residents have reported pool-related chemical illness while swimming. It's important to keep sweat, pee and poop out of swimming......
Adult smoking rate in the U.S. falling fast
May 27th, 20160 The nation seems to be kicking its smoking habit faster than ever before. The rate of smoking among adults in the U.S. fell to 15 percent last year thanks to the biggest one-year decline in more than 20 years, according to a new government report. The rate fell 2 percentage points from 2014, when about 17 percent of adults in a large...
Chain restaurants required to post calorie counts by May 2017
May 26th, 20160 WASHINGTON — Restaurant owners will have an extra five months to post the calorie counts of the food they sell under a new federal deadline of May 5, 2017. The national calorie disclosure rule is part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as Obamacare and aims to help consumers battle the bulge since Americans eat and drink......
Michigan starts campaign against mental health stigma
May 19th, 20160 DETROIT — One in five young people between the ages of 14 and 24 will experience mental illness. Left untreated, it can cause bigger problems later on. With May being National Mental Health Awareness Month, the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) have teamed up to...
Addicts using deadly doses of anti-diarrhea medicine to get high
May 19th, 20160 An increasing number of people are coping with their opioid withdrawal by using large doses of Imodium, an over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medicine, to get high. This can have fatal consequences, according to a new study. Loperamide, known as Immodium, is an opioid drug, meaning that it's part of the same family of substances as......