Let’s file this under unsurprising news: many American adults report drinking more since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to a survey on alcohol use in the time of COVID-19. If you’re among them, you might want to start 2022 on a healthy note by joining the millions who abstain from alcohol during Dry…
It’s winter, as a glance outside your window may tell you. COVID-19 is circulating at record levels across much of the country. Keeping our immune systems healthy has taken on new importance, as many of us hope to ward off flu and winter colds as well as worrisome variants of the virus that causes COVID-19,…
The Biggest Loser was a popular reality television show that ran on NBC for over a decade starting in 2004. In it, participants with obesity competed with each other through intense physical challenges and ate a reduced-calorie diet to see who could lose the highest percentage of body weight. Prior findings from studies of The…
All parents want their children to be successful in life — and by successful, we mean not just having a good job and a good income, but also being happy. And all parents wonder how they can make that happen. According to Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, it’s less about grades and extracurricular activities,…
Editor’s note: First in a two-part series on postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Click here for part two. This past February, a 57-year-old firefighter came to my cardiology clinic after experiencing a strange set of symptoms. A few weeks earlier, he had gotten COVID-19. Predictably, he lost his sense of smell, developed a low-grade fever,…
Breathe. Count to 10. Take a walk. These strategies have long been advised to help you pause and rethink your reaction when you’re seeing red and an inch away from exploding. Under normal circumstances — maybe a little stress at home or at work — those strategies can be useful. But you may find they’re…
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a neurologic disease that damages nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, causing widespread muscle wasting and weakness. It strikes without warning, usually beginning between the ages of 55 and 75. As it worsens, ALS disables a person’s ability to move, speak, eat, or breathe….
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on so many people in so many ways. For babies born during this pandemic, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that the damage has potential to be lifelong. The first three years of life are crucial for brain development. And it’s not just the health of babies that…
Some things are not debatable. Rain falls from the sky. Elevators go up and down. Orange traffic cones are orange. But because we interpret the world through our experiences, a lot isn’t so definitive. The boss might say, “Good job,” and we wonder why they didn’t say, “Great job.” We see someone looking in our…
How well are you protecting yourself against heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death? A check of five important numbers can give you a good idea. “For my patients, I typically look at their blood pressure, blood sugar, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides values, and their waist circumference,” says Harvard Heart Letter editor-in-chief Dr. Deepak…