CNN – Health

By Dana Santas, CNN (CNN) — Health experts universally recommend walking as one of the simplest, most accessible forms of exercise — and for good reason. Regular walks offer plenty of physiological and mental health benefits, research has shown. The activity can improve cardiovascular health, boost mood and energy, reduce stress and anxiety, and even

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration appears poised to continue with a plan to ban prescription fluoride supplements at a time when many experts say that access to the products has become especially important. Most US residents live in a community where fluoride is added to the public drinking

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — All menopause treatments containing the hormone estrogen are mandated by the US Food and Drug Administration to carry a black box warning on the label, stating that the treatments could increase the risk of strokes, blood clots, dementia and breast cancer. Now, that advisory may be going away. Last

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — Does the popular activity benchmark of walking 10,000 steps a day feel like too distant of a goal? Don’t worry, you can get health benefits just by moving a little more than you already are, new research has found. When possible, aiming for 7,000 steps a day is a

By Jacqueline Howard, Brenda Goodman, Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Health and Human Services has adopted a recommendation to remove thimerosal from all influenza vaccines distributed in the United States, even though there is no clear evidence of harm from the mercury-based preservative. On Wednesday, the department announced that HHS Secretary

By Brenda Goodman, Meg Tirrell, Sarah Owermohle, CNN (CNN) — A nonprofit anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said it is funding a lawsuit against him, in his capacity as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for failing to establish a task force to promote the development of safer

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Extremely high levels of toxic chemicals called PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been found in a small sampling of reusable menstrual pads and panties, according to a new study. “Whether we wear feminine hygiene products or not, we will all be exposed,” said senior study author Graham Peaslee,

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that it’s undertaking an initiative to reform the country’s organ donation system, after a federal investigation found that one organization in the Kentucky region began the process to take organs from people who may not have been dead. A

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Plant-based meats have an image problem. It’s not flavor or appearance. Look-alike beef burgers, chicken-like nuggets and faux pork sausages often cook like meat — some even bleed and sizzle in the pan — and are tasty enough to be gobbled up by climate-conscious carnivores. It’s not their role

By Sara Sidner, CNN (CNN) — Dr. Judith Joseph says joy isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a part of who we are. “We are built with that DNA for joy. It’s our birthright as human beings,” she told me recently. Joseph is a board-certified psychiatrist and researcher who has made it her mission to

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — Starting this fall, a cane sugar-sweetened version of Coca-Cola will be on store shelves, the company announced Tuesday. The news comes several days after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he had been speaking with the Coca-Cola Company about using “REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — A person died from pneumonic plague in Arizona last week, the first death from the disease in this region in nearly two decades. This death might bring to mind the bubonic plague, the form of the plague that killed millions during the Middle Ages. This latest case is not

By Kameryn Griesser, CNN (CNN) — Tossing and turning every night? Doing more physical activities throughout the week is a known way to improve sleep, but new research shows you don’t have to run a marathon or visit a gym to reap those benefits. Low-intensity, low-impact exercise can improve sleep and ease the symptoms of

By Kameryn Griesser, CNN (CNN) — It’s a Sunday evening, but your work for the week is already cut out for you. You throw your bedsheets in the wash, oil your scalp, smear on a clay mask, dry brush your legs and pour the tallest bottle of ice water imaginable. For this humid, three-hour labor

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two of his top aides in an abrupt shakeup of the leadership at the nation’s sprawling health department, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. Kennedy’s chief of staff, Heather Flick Melanson, and deputy chief of

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — Drugmaker Pfizer is warning doctors that it expects to run low on supplies of Bicillin L-A, a long-acting injection of the antibiotic penicillin, the preferred option for treating syphilis during pregnancy. The news – the latest twist in a drug shortage that began in 2023 – follows a July