My favorite summer activities officially kick in when the calendar flips to May. It's prime time for open water swimming, running, cycling, hiking, and anything else that gets me outside and moving. Yet, my first step is to get my

Continue ReadingStrong legs help power summer activities: Hiking, biking, swimming, and more

If you spend time outdoors — which we all should do, for all sorts of reasons — you are likely to encounter biting bugs. Most of the time the bites are just a nuisance. But besides the fact that sometimes

Continue ReadingBugs are biting: Safety precautions for children

Nantucket, a beautiful, 14-mile-long island off the coast of Massachusetts, has a 40-point resiliency plan to help withstand the buffeting seas surrounding it as climate change takes a toll. Perhaps we can all benefit from creating individual resilience plans to

Continue ReadingLife can be challenging: Build your own resilience plan

If you are trying to cut back on added sugar — and you should, because excess sugar increases risks for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease — you might be tempted by products advertised as low sugar, no sugar, or sugar-free.

Continue ReadingHow healthy is sugar alcohol?

Before the pandemic, talking to a therapist or psychiatrist on a video call was novel. Now it’s fairly common. One recent analysis, for example, found that video appointments within the massive Veterans Affairs Health Care System jumped from about 2%

Continue ReadingVirtual mental health care visits: Making them work for you

You’ve probably heard the news: Cicadas are coming. Or — wait — they’re already here. And are they ever! Due to an unusual overlap of the lifecycles of two types (or broods) of cicadas, trillions of cicadas are expected to

Continue ReadingThe cicadas are here: How’s your appetite?

When a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test produces an abnormal result, the next step is usually a prostate biopsy. A biopsy can confirm or rule out a cancer diagnosis, but it also has certain drawbacks. Prostate biopsies are invasive procedures

Continue ReadingNew urine test may help some men with elevated PSA avoid biopsy

As wildfires become more frequent due to climate change and drier conditions, more of us and more of our communities are at risk for harm. Here is information to help you prepare and protect yourself and your family. How does

Continue ReadingWildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health