Author: wfhjqk
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A muscle-building obsession in boys: What to know and do
By the time boys are 8 or 10, they’re steeped in Marvel action heroes with bulging, oversized muscles and rock-hard abs. By adolescence, they’re deluged with social media streams of bulked-up male bodies. The underlying messages about power and worth prompt many boys to worry and wonder about how to measure up. Sometimes, negative thoughts…
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How healthy is sugar alcohol?
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. Many contain familiar low-calorie sugar substitutes like aspartame or sucralose instead of sugar. And as…
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What color is your tongue? What’s healthy, what’s not?
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then consider the tongue a sort of check-engine light for the body. The tongue’s appearance gives doctors an idea about certain aspects of your health, and its color is an important clue. What should your tongue look like? The tongue should have a rounded, symmetrical shape.…
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Concussion in children: What to know and do
Concussion is one of the most common injuries to the brain, affecting about two million children and teens every year. It is a particular kind of injury that happens when a blow to the head or somewhere else on the body makes the brain move back and forth within the skull. It’s possible to get…
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Harvard Health Ad Watch: New drug, old song, clever tagline
It’s not often that a new drug comes along that could help nearly a quarter of the adult population. But when it does, you can bet you’ll see ads for it on TV and the Internet. That’s the case with Veozah (fezolinetant), a medicine for hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause that was…
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Tick season is expanding: Protect yourself against Lyme disease
In parts of the United States and Canada, warming temperatures driven by climate change may be contributing to a rise in tick-borne illnesses. Ticks are now thriving in a wider geographic range, and appearing earlier and sticking around later in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. That means we need to stay vigilant about…
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When — and how — should you be screened for colon cancer?
Colon cancer is the second-deadliest form of cancer after lung cancer. If recent messages about colon cancer screening have left you a little confused, that's understandable. In August, the American College of Physicians (ACP) released updated guidance for colon cancer screening that differs from other major organizations, including recommendations from the American Cancer Society (ACS)…
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Dog bites: How to prevent or treat them
Each year, more than 4.5 million dog bites occur in the United States. Despite what you might assume, most of these incidents don’t happen when an unfamiliar dog attacks someone in a park or another outdoor location. Instead, most dog bites are inflicted by a pet dog in a home. Here’s advice for avoiding these…
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A bird flu primer: What to know and do
A bird flu strain that began circulating in 2020 continues to evolve globally and locally within the United States. If you’re wondering what this means, understanding the basics — what bird flu is, how it spreads, whether foods are safe, and prevention tips — can help. More information will come in as scientists learn more,…
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Moving from couch to 5K
Need a little motivation and structure to ramp up your walking routine? Want to wake up your workouts but not quite ready for a mud run? Consider trying a couch-to-5K program. Dr. Adam Tenforde, medical director of the Spaulding National Running Center at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and a sports medicine physician at Mass General…
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