Author: Reporter

Winter is settling in across much of the U.S., erasing the freshness and vibrancy of months past. But the chilly season doesn’t have to usher in weeks of lifeless, colorless dinner plates. Dieticians and food experts say winter is a great time to experiment with your food, try out underappreciated seasonal produce, and cook a healthy meal for loved ones. “Embrace the cold, embrace the winter and appreciate the bounty,” said Kristen Rasmussen, a culinary dietician and chef who teaches at the University of California Berkeley. Here are tips from nutrition experts on how to “winterize” your meals. ANY...

U.S. life expectancy jumped last year, and preliminary data suggests there may be another, much smaller, improvement this year. Death rates fell last year for almost all leading causes, notably COVID-19, heart disease and drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released in December. That translated to adding nearly a year the estimated lifespan of Americans. Experts note it is part of a bounce-back from the COVID-19 pandemic. But life expectancy has not yet climbed back to prepandemic levels, and the rebound appears to be losing steam. “What you’re seeing is continued improvement, but...

Nearly all of the world’s 35,000 online pharmacies are being run illegally and consumers who use them risk getting ineffective or dangerous drugs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on ” notorious markets.” The report also singled out 19 countries over concerns about counterfeit or pirated products. In addition, it named about three dozen online retailers, many of them in China or elsewhere in Asia that it said are allegedly engaged in selling counterfeit products or other illegal activities. The report says 96% of online pharmacies were found to be violating the law, many operating without a...

For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City. But in September, the town’s supervisor used his emergency powers to stop the practice. The reason? A recent federal judge’s decision that ordered U.S. regulators to consider the risk that fluoride in water could cause lower IQ in kids. “It’s too dangerous to look at and just say ‘Ah, screw it. We’ll keep going on,'” said the town supervisor, Ed Lachterman. Yorktown isn’t alone. The decision to add fluoride to drinking water rests...