Donald Trump’s election win opens the door for vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to play a significant role in the administration and drastically change the nation’s public health practices.

The former presidential candidate emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he ...Read more

The results of some congressional races may foreshadow who will have outsize health policy influence in Congress next year.

Congress will face decisions over whether to renew premium marketplace subsidies, how to pay for federal health policy programs and whether and how to address pharmacy benefit manager practices, drug pricing and other key ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The results of some congressional races may foreshadow who will have outsize health policy influence in Congress next year.

Congress will face decisions over whether to renew premium marketplace subsidies, how to pay for federal health policy programs and whether and how to address pharmacy benefit manager practices, drug pricing...Read more

WASHINGTON -- In his victory speech Tuesday night, President-elect Donald Trump foreshadowed his health care agenda by giving a shoutout to a key supporter who has suggested pulling approved vaccines from the market, removing fluoride from the water supply and vastly overhauling the federal health agencies.

“We can add a few names, like ...Read more

When Pam McClure learned she’d save nearly $4,000 on her prescription drugs next year, she said, “it sounded too good to be true.” She and her husband are both retired and live on a “very strict” budget in central North Dakota.

By the end of this year, she will have spent almost $6,000 for her medications, including a drug to control ...Read more

A great alternative to rice, wild rice has more protein than most other whole grains and is a good source of nutrients like fiber, B vitamins, and magnesium.

The folklore

Wild rice looks like rice and is eaten like rice, but this crunchy, chewy whole grain is actually an aquatic grass that grows wild in lakes and rivers mainly in North America...Read more

Between regular workloads, busy school semesters, financial stress, and just trying to get dinner on the table, it’s easy to feel stressed on the regular — and avoid doing anything to get it back under control.

While there are several things you can do to try to manage stress on a regular basis, you might not realize the foods you eat — ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am trying to get into shape for summer, and one area that has always been challenging has been my upper arms. Recently, though, I began a workout routine, but a friend warned me about the risk of injuries. Do you have any advice to avoid problems?

ANSWER: Having well-defined, muscular upper arms often is the goal of anyone ...Read more

Pop quiz: what is salmonella? If you’ve ever had a run-in with this bacteria, you know it can cause a food-borne illness called salmonellosis, a form of food poisoning. But you may not know that salmonella bacteria sicken an estimated 1.35 million people and hospitalize 26,500 every year in the United States. What’s more, it kills more total...Read more

Health officials have detected highly pathogenic avian influenza in a flock of commercial turkeys in Sacramento County, the latest outbreak to hit the Central Valley’s poultry industry.

U.S. public health officials have been tracking sporadic cases of the avian influenza in wild birds, commercial poultry and backyard or hobbyist flocks for ...Read more

In 1964, Bob Dylan reportedly introduced the Beatles to cannabis, a seminal moment in the 60-year campaign to legalize marijuana. Before that, marijuana was hardly a part of mainstream American society, its use primarily associated with artists, bohemians and the so-called urban underclass.

Dylan sang, “Everybody must get stoned,” and the ...Read more

The moment Kirsten Dorsey realized she would deliver her second child and have open-heart surgery on the same day, her heart raced and her breath quickened.

But then, a sense of calm overtook her as she lay in her hospital bed in Connecticut. After weeks of uncertainty about her own health and her baby boy's well-being, Dorsey knew she was ...Read more

Becky Carroll was missing a few teeth, and others were stained or crooked. Ashamed, she smiled with lips pressed closed. Her dentist offered to fix most of her teeth with root canals and crowns, Carroll said, but she was wary of traveling a long road of dental work.

Then Carroll saw a TV commercial for another path: ClearChoice Dental Implant ...Read more

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Doctors at Mayo Clinic used a new catheter-based approach to draw out resistant pockets of infection that settle in the heart, known as right-sided infective endocarditis, without surgery. Unless treated quickly, the walled-off infections can grow, severely damaging heart valves and potentially affecting other organs as well...Read more

As the nation celebrates our 16 million living veterans, it is also important to know that the chance these heroes will end their own lives prematurely is still higher than among civilians.

Among veterans with PTSD, suicide is the fourth most common cause of death. Among veterans younger than 35, it’s second.

Over the past ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I'm about to turn 40, and I'm nervous about getting my first mammogram. I hear they can be uncomfortable or even painful. Is breast cancer screening really that important?

ANSWER: It can be a bit daunting at first, but breast cancer screening helps people live longer. Screening can catch cancer early, either in the ...Read more

KINGSTREE, S.C. — One morning in late April, a small brick health clinic along the Thurgood Marshall Highway bustled with patients.

There was Joshua McCray, 69, a public bus driver who, four years after catching COVID-19, still is too weak to drive.

Louvenia McKinney, 77, arrived complaining about shortness of breath.

Ponzella McClary ...Read more

On a sweltering afternoon in July 2020, Belinda Ramones got a call that her brother was in the hospital. The call was from a woman at the Florida landscaping business that he had joined that week, the Davey Tree Expert Co., Ramones said. By the time she arrived, she said, “My brother was swollen up from hands to toes.”

Two days later, her ...Read more

No matter if you need five hours of sleep or eight, the key is getting good, refreshing rest. According to Dr. Virend Somers, a cardiologist who specializes in sleep disorders, how much sleep a person needs varies from person to person. However, there are some simple tips that everyone can use to get better sleep.

Different people need ...Read more