Архив рубрики: Здоровье Америка

Getting enough fiber is crucial for optimal health, yet more than 90% of Americans don’t. Federal dietary guidelines recommend 25–34 grams of fiber per day for adults, depending on age and gender—but the average American adult eats only about 8 grams a day, “which is far below recommended intake regardless of age or sex,” says Dr. Michelle Hughes, medical chief of quality and safety for digestive health at Yale New Haven Health and Smilow Cancer Hospital.

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Should people seek to fill that gap with fiber supplements? Here’s what experts say you should know about supplementing this essential nutrient.

What is fiber, anyway?

Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that your body can’t digest. It’s found in plant foods, and “instead of being broken down and absorbed like other carbs, fiber moves through the digestive system, adding bulk to stool, feeding beneficial gut bacteria, and slowing the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream,” says Bree Phillips, a re..

Various chemicals, from those in plastics to food additives, have made headlines lately for their potential roles in triggering diseases. Pesticides are unique among chemicals, though, says Melissa Perry, an environmental epidemiologist and dean of George Mason’s College of Public Health. “They’re deliberately manufactured to kill things.”

By poisoning weeds, pesticides clear the way for farmers’ crops to thrive. But their deadly design may undermine human health, too. A recent report by a new federal advisory board, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission chaired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calls for further investigation of pesticides’ effects to determine if their use should be limited.

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Some evidence does suggest that long-term exposure could lead to cancer and several other serious health problems. More research is needed to better understand these risks, but in the meantime, experts recommend simple, practical steps to re..

The Trump Administration has added to the confusion surrounding the U.S.’s shifting patchwork of abortion laws by rescinding Biden-era guidance that directed hospitals to provide abortions in emergency situations, even in states where abortion is restricted.

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The decision, announced on Tuesday, does not change the federal law that was at the heart of the Biden Administration’s guidance: the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding—which is most of them—to provide stabilizing treatment to patients experiencing medical emergencies or transfer them to a hospital that can.

The Trump Administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said in a press release that it “will continue to enforce EMTALA, which protects all individuals who present to a hospital emergency department seeking examination or treatment, including for identified emergency medical conditions that place the ..

Trying to talk to someone stuck on their phone is such a universal experience, there’s a name for it: “phubbing,” short for “phone snubbing,” or ignoring someone in favor of a phone. “Everyone hates it, but everyone has also done it,” says Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and author of the upcoming book 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. “When someone phubs you, you feel like you’re not important—that whatever is on their phone is more important than you.”

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Phubbing negatively affects mental health, relationship satisfaction, and overall well-being.That’s why it’s worth speaking up about digital distraction. “It’s challenging and awkward, but we should be doing this,” Twenge says. “We need to be confronting this situation.”

Here’s exactly what to say when the person you’re trying to talk to won’t get off their phone.

“I’ve got a group chat that’s blowing up right now, but I’d rather talk to you without..

Good news for coffee lovers: A new study suggests drinking a cup—or several—each day could be linked to long-term health benefits.

The study, presented on Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando, found that roughly 3,700 women who met researchers’ criteria for “healthy aging” typically consumed an average of 315 mg of caffeine per day when they were between the ages of 45 and 60, mostly from drinking coffee. And for the women in that group of “healthy agers,” each extra cup of coffee per day was associated with a 2-5% higher chance of faring well as they aged, up to five small cups per day.

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“We found that women who consumed moderate amounts of caffeinated coffee in midlife were more likely to age in good health,” Sara Mahdavi, an adjunct professor in the University of Toronto’s department of nutritional sciences who led the research, told TIME in an email. “That’s not to say coffee is a cure-all, but for those w..

Hot days can feel unbearable without a strong air-conditioning system. Yet many of us take these essential devices for granted. “The only time people pay attention to their air conditioner is when it’s not working,” says Jeffrey Siegel, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto who researches ventilation and indoor air quality.

That’s a mistake: Taking good care of your AC can help ensure it provides sufficient air flow, controls humidity, is energy efficient, and lasts as long as possible. “An air conditioner that’s not well maintained will not provide the same level of comfort” as one that is, Siegel says.

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Here’s how experts suggest tuning-up your AC so it works optimally.

Change the filter

There’s no universal equation that determines exactly how often you need to change your AC filter, which traps airborne particles like dust, pollen, and other pollutants. Manufacturers typically advise replacing it every three months, and t..

Measles cases in the U.S. have been rare in recent decades, thanks to a strong childhood vaccination program. But a few cases inevitably pop up each year as travelers bring the virus in from other countries and infect unvaccinated people, primarily children.

Those cases are no longer blips. Now that the measles vaccination rate is dropping precipitously across the U.S.—due in part to anti-vaccine sentiments—cases are rising. So far in 2025, 14 outbreaks have been reported in 33 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (By comparison, in 2024, there were just 16 outbreaks reported during the entire year.)

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Scientists may now have a new way to catch cases. For the first time, researchers have posted national information on where the measles virus is showing up in wastewater.

Wastewater surveillance is a useful public-health tool because it provides an objective glimpse into where a given virus is causing infecti..

Childhood vaccination rates against measles, mumps, and rubella have been declining in much of the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study has found.

The study, which was published in JAMA on June 2, analyzed measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination rates by county where data were available. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University collected county-level data on MMR vaccination rates for kindergarteners from each state’s health department website for the school years before the pandemic (2017-2018) and after (2023-2024). In states where that data were not available, researchers analyzed the most comparable data instead.

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Of the 2,066 counties in 33 states that researchers analyzed, 78% of them reported a decline in vaccination rates. Researchers found that the county-level mean vaccination rate decreased from almost 94% before the pandemic to about 91% after the pandemic—falling well below what public-health experts generally co..

You probably won’t see a tick as it clings to a blade of grass, but it can see you. The tiny parasites are opportunists that spend their days waiting for humans, dogs, and other mammals to brush against them so they can latch onto exposed skin and feed on blood. As the climate warms and tick populations proliferate, there’s a good chance that in many parts of the U.S., you’ll get intimately acquainted with one this summer.

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Most people who get bitten by a tick will be perfectly fine, says Michel Shamoon-Pour, a molecular anthropologist at the Binghamton University Tick-borne Disease Center in New York. But a small percentage develop serious symptoms related to Lyme disease and other illnesses, including anaplasmosis and babesiosis. “The best thing you can do is avoid a tick bite—and, if you find a tick, remove it quickly and safely,” Shamoon-Pour says. “That’s the closest we get to not having to worry about diagnosing or treating an infection. Just put..

Вы, вероятно, не увидите клеща, когда он вцепится в травинку, но он может видеть вас. Крошечные паразиты — это оппортунисты, которые проводят свои дни в ожидании, когда люди, собаки и другие млекопитающие прикоснутся к ним, чтобы они могли присосаться к открытой коже и питаться кровью. Поскольку климат становится теплее, а популяция клещей растет, велика вероятность, что во многих частях США вы сможете поближе познакомиться с одним из них этим летом.

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По словам Мишеля Шамун-Пура, молекулярного антрополога из Центра по борьбе с клещевыми заболеваниями Бингемтонского университета в Нью-Йорке, с большинством людей, которых укусил клещ, все будет в полном порядке. Но у небольшого процента людей развиваются серьезные симптомы, связанные с болезнью Лайма и другими заболеваниями, включая анаплазмоз и бабезиоз. “Лучшее, что вы можете сделать, — это избежать укуса клеща, а если вы обнаружите клеща, удалите его быстро и безопасно”, — говорит Шамун-Пур. “Это сам..