Staying Healthy Archive

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads promoting treatments for arthritis, cancer, heartburn, psoriasis, flagging memory, and more are all everywhere you look. All too often, the information shared is incomplete, biased, or confusing––here's what to watch out for and how to get the whole story when considering treatment options. 

Acts of kindness do more than make the giver and recipient feel good—they can also bolster psychological and physical health. Research suggests kindness can improve happiness and increase social connectedness as well as reduce anxiety and lower blood pressure. Evidence also suggests concentrating good deeds into shorter time periods enhances well-being more powerfully than spreading actions out. Kind acts can include complimenting people, running errands for a neighbor, making a donation to charity, and signing up to volunteer.

People often don't realize they are at high risk for falling until after they've taken a tumble. Studies have shown that maintaining optimal core and postural strength, good balance, and flexibility in the calves and hips are the best ways to prevent falls. At-home tests can help highlight weaknesses in these three areas that can then be addressed with a personal trainer or physical therapist.

Body mass index (BMI) uses weight and height to calculate whether a person is overweight or obese. However, it cannot determine the amount of visceral fat that lies deep inside the body. Two better methods are measuring waist size and determining waist-to-hip ratio.

Sepsis causes or contributes to an estimated 20% of all deaths worldwide. The condition begins with an infection that spreads and over activates the immune system, which releases damaging inflammatory chemicals that lead to organ failure. Any infection can trigger sepsis, but those that begin in the lungs, urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, or skin are more likely to do so. Older people are more susceptible to sepsis. The condition may be avoided by stopping bacterial or viral infections from occurring or worsening.

As people age, their teeth and gums can change. Examples include receding gums, shifting teeth, changing tooth color, and reduced tooth pain. These changes can be due to the wear and tear that comes with age, the development of disease, or natural changes in the components of tooth material. Dentists stress the importance of brushing and flossing teeth daily, getting teeth professionally cleaned twice a year, and talking to a dentist about solutions to dental problems.

The approach to certain blood tests appears to be shifting. Doctors might stop ordering routine vitamin D screenings for healthy people younger than 75; they might order a one-time combination of lipoprotein(a), C-reactive protein, and LDL (bad) cholesterol tests as a way to predict future heart problems; and they might rely less on standard ranges designated as "normal" in a complete blood count (CBC) test, and instead focus more on comparing someone's latest CBC results to previous CBC tests.

In a 2025 study of 40,000 coffee drinkers followed for a decade, those who drank coffee in the morning were 16% less likely to die during the study period, compared to those who didn't drink coffee. The benefit didn't appear among those who drank coffee throughout the day.