The plant milk shake-up: Pea and pistachio join oat and almond
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The plant milk shake-up: Pea and pistachio join oat and almond

For the longest time, your milk choices were whole, 2%, 1%, and fat-free (or skim). Today, refrigerator shelves at grocery stores are crowded with plant-based milks made from nuts, beans, or grains, and include favorites like almond, soy, coconut, cashew, oat, and rice. Yet the fertile ground of the plant-milk business continues to sprout new…

Screening at home for memory loss: Should you try it?
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Screening at home for memory loss: Should you try it?

It is estimated that worldwide there are more than 55 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia, and this number is estimated to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050. There are simply not enough neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, neuropsychologists, and other specialists to diagnose these individuals with…

Can vitamin D supplements prevent autoimmune disease?
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Can vitamin D supplements prevent autoimmune disease?

You don’t have to look far to find claims that taking vitamin D supplements is great for your health. It’s supposed to be good for everything from preventing cancer and dementia to avoiding infections and heart disease. Unfortunately, many supposed benefits of vitamin D supplements remain unproven. Yet, millions of people take vitamin D regularly,…

Comparing traditional and robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer
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Comparing traditional and robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer

An operation called a radical prostatectomy has long been a mainstay of prostate cancer treatment. Offered most often to men whose cancer has not yet begun to spread, it involves removing the entire prostate gland, and can be performed in different ways. With the traditional "open" method, surgeons remove the prostate through an 8-to-10-inch incision…

Should you be tested for inflammation?
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Should you be tested for inflammation?

Let’s face it: inflammation has a bad reputation. Much of it is well-deserved. After all, long-term inflammation contributes to chronic illnesses and deaths. If you just relied on headlines for health information, you might think that stamping out inflammation would eliminate cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia, and perhaps aging itself. Unfortunately, that’s not true. Still, our…

Sex, drugs, and depression: What your doctor needs to know
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Sex, drugs, and depression: What your doctor needs to know

For many of us, a trip to the doctor’s office produces anxiety: What do my blood results mean? Will my doctor think this bump is cancer? The physical exam can make us feel vulnerable and may involve mild discomfort, so we may shower, shave, and put on better-than-average clothes before heading out for our physical…

Snooze more, eat less? Sleep deprivation may hamper weight control
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Snooze more, eat less? Sleep deprivation may hamper weight control

Weight loss once was considered a simple calculation: eat less and move more to create a calorie deficit. Now, basic differences between people — in genetics, health conditions, body type, and more — are also thought to play a role in how challenging it is to lose weight. Yet research suggests that some factors may…

Paths to parenting: Choosing single parenthood through pregnancy
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Paths to parenting: Choosing single parenthood through pregnancy

Depending on your age and generation, you might not remember a time when single parenthood wasn’t considered a conscious choice for women. Yet years ago, women most often became single mothers due to divorce, the death of a spouse, or an accidental pregnancy. Today, if you’re considering becoming pregnant and having a child on your…