Measles could become endemic in the United States if routine childhood vaccination rates continue to decline, with up to 51 million illnesses over a 25-year period, according to a new study. Although the disease is endemic in some other countries – meaning it happens regularly within an area or community – it was declared eliminated in the US in 2000 because of vaccination efforts with the highly effective measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. More than 900 measles cases have been recorded in the US this year, according to a CNN tally using data from state health departments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.…
Author: Dr. William Hayes
Lately I find myself feeling stuck in a chronic state of stress, constantly worrying about my work, my kids’ futures and yes, the health of my retirement portfolio. Sound familiar? I didn’t always worry so much, but life has a funny way of piling on the pressures as we get older and take on more responsibilities. While my family is not in crisis now, it has gotten harder to manage this stress. Because my specialty is urology, I also care about what acute and chronic stress are doing to your bladder and hormones as well as your overall health. Difference…
The Trump administration announced Friday that it is not moving forward with a Biden-era proposal that would have expanded coverage of costly anti-obesity drugs to more than 7 million Americans on Medicare or Medicaid. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did not explain why it was not finalizing the proposal, which the Biden administration unveiled in November. However, the agency said in a statement that it may consider future policy options for anti-obesity medications “pending further review of both the potential benefits of these drugs including updated clinical indications, and relevant costs including fiscal impacts on stakeholders such as state Medicaid…
Harvard University received a letter from a federal task force Thursday outlining policy demands tied to nearly $9 billion in federal funding, a university spokesperson told CNN. “Harvard received the letter from the federal task force this afternoon,” the spokesperson said in an email to CNN. Among the demands outlined in the letter are the elimination of Harvard’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs and a ban on masks at campus protests, The Harvard Crimson, a student-run newspaper, and other outlets reported. The demands also include “full cooperation” with the Department of Homeland Security, which enforces immigration policy, and federal regulators to ensure “full compliance,” according…
In the wooded highlands of northern Arkansas, where small towns have few dentists, water officials who serve more than 20,000 people have for more than a decade openly defied state law by refusing to add fluoride to the drinking water. For its refusal, the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority has received hundreds of state fines amounting to about $130,000, which are stuffed in a cardboard box and left unpaid, said Andy Anderson, who is opposed to fluoridation and has led the water system for nearly two decades. This Ozark region is among hundreds of rural American communities that face…
While our ancestors relied on their senses to assess how they were doing, increasingly, we rely on gadgets. Today, if you’re curious enough, you can measure your heart rate, your step count, your exercise intensity, and your sleep quality—sometimes all on one sleek device. In the best cases, these devices offer a bridge between what you subjectively feel and what you can objectively measure. This is generally a really cool and amazing thing. Our subjective feelings and assessments matter, but they’re not always the most reliable. Us humans just aren’t particularly skilled at quantifying our experiences and behaviors with cold…
Are vegetable and seed oils “toxic”?! From TikTok to bestseller lists, vegetable oils—a.k.a. “seed oils”—are a big topic right now. To be fair, folks have debated the merits of vegetable oils dating back to when they first entered the marketplace. More recently, however, with the advent of the carnivore diet, vegetable oil hate has roared back into the socials. Maybe you’ve come across posts that refer to these cooking oils as “toxic sludge,” “motor oil,” “the hateful eight,” and “the biggest cause of chronic disease that nobody knows about.” The anti-vegetable oil logic goes something like this… Animal fats have…