Sometimes it’s difficult for parents to get their child to take necessary medication. One expert who spends part of her workday guiding parents through this challenge offers some suggestions to make the ordeal easier. Emily Glarum, a child life specialist at the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, offers these tips: Be honest, practice…  read on >  read on >

Eating lots of ultra-processed foods may dramatically increase your risk for dementia, according to a new study by researchers in China. Ultra-processed foods are high in sugar, fat and salt, but low in protein and fiber. Sodas, salty and sugary snacks and desserts, ice cream, sausage, deep-fried chicken, flavored yogurt, ketchup, mayonnaise, packaged bread and…  read on >  read on >

A growing number of younger American adults are dying of heart failure, with Black Americans being the hardest-hit, a new study finds. Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart muscle cannot pump blood as well as it should, leading to symptoms like fatigue, breathlessness and swelling in the legs. The condition is…  read on >  read on >

Eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables is common advice, but many Americans eat few of these nutrient powerhouses, according to a new study. This includes adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are less likely to eat fruits and veggies than similar people without the disease, said researchers from the University of Virginia (UVA)…  read on >  read on >

They are called “forever chemicals” because they linger in the human body and can contribute to the risk of everything from cancer to childhood obesity. Now, new research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) finds they also exact a huge financial toll, costing the U.S. health system billions every year. “Our findings add to the…  read on >  read on >

Intermittent fasting might help people with type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar levels, a new study has found. People with diabetes who restricted their eating to within a daily 10-hour window wound up with blood sugar levels in the normal range for about three hours longer than when they ate whenever they pleased,…  read on >  read on >

About 30% of adults around the world have a buildup of fat in the liver, a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Now an international team of researchers has linked that condition to a heightened risk of heart failure. NAFLD, as it is called for short, is increasing rapidly because of rising rates of overweight…  read on >  read on >