Health

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — Scientists have detected microplastics — the tiny and pervasive fragments now found in our seas, drinking water, food and, increasingly, living tissue — in human semen and follicular fluid, according to new research. A small group of 25 women and 18 men participated in the research, published Tuesday in

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — For decades, researchers have been collecting samples from hundreds of thousands of women and tracking their health. The work has deepened our basic understanding of human health, but now the entire project is in danger. When nurses Patricia Chubb, 70, and her mother, Charlotte Mae Rohrbaugh, 98, joined the

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — Tuesday morning, the nation’s largest insurance company, UnitedHealthcare and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center announced they had reached a multi-year agreement that will allow some 19,000 UnitedHealthcare and Oxford health plan customers to remain in-network for their cancer care. The insurer and cancer center had been locked in a

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Last week, Tara Eacobacci had an appointment with her doctor that was devoted exclusively to the topic of health insurance. A major change to her prescription benefits meant the medication she was using to manage her weight – a treatment that had taken years of trial and error to

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — After working from home all day, your takeout order arrives and you start binge-watching your favorite show alone. Sounds ideal, right? Except doing this routinely could shorten your life. And that’s not because of the nutritional content of your dinner. It’s because having strong, positive relationships is one of

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — After recent moves by the US Department of Health and Human Services to restrict the approval and use of some vaccines — and signs that more changes might be coming — some states and private partnerships are scrambling to ensure that vaccines will still be available to those who

Personal essay by Mary Frances Ruskell, CNN Haarlem, the Netherlands (CNN) — The summer before sixth grade, my friend Lou and I discovered an empty lot with an abandoned dock on the lake in her neighborhood in Columbia, South Carolina. It was always magical there. We only went in the late afternoon to avoid the

By Brenda Goodman, Asuka Koda, Katherine Dillinger, Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN (CNN) — A startling new vision of vaccination in America is becoming clearer — one likely to involve fresh scrutiny of established science and practices, and limits on vaccines that have been studied for decades. The first meeting of new vaccine advisers to the US

By Karla Walsh, CNN (CNN) — Whether it’s stems and skins or past-their-prime protein and produce, you’re probably throwing a lot of perfectly good food in the trash. Such waste doesn’t come cheap. The average American throws away $728 worth of food per year, which adds up to nearly $3,000 for a family of four,

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — In the crusade to reduce chronic disease and neurobehavioral issues in the United States, synthetic food dyes are a hot target. California began paving the way for legislation against petroleum-based synthetic dyes a few years ago, based on health concerns including a potentially increased risk of cancer and neurobehavioral

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — At the start of an unprecedented meeting of vaccine committee of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency scientists who normally generate and interpret data to inform this group’s votes were in an unusual position: answering questions and countering statements that cast doubt on the safety

By Brenda Goodman, Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — A new slate of vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday to recommend that Americans receive influenza vaccines that are free of thimerosal even though there is no evidence of harm from the preservative. The closely watched vote was among the

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — A century ago, one of the biggest safety concerns about vaccines involved bacterial contamination. In 1916, four young children died in South Carolina after receiving typhoid vaccine that had been contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Twelve years later, 12 children in Queensland, Australia, died from tainted immunizations against diphtheria.

By Kameryn Griesser, CNN (CNN) — Sophia Kokolakis doesn’t always know what she’s having for dinner, even after she’s been to the store. A large paper bag brimming with food rides shotgun on the way home, but she has no clue what’s inside. The Toronto resident ordered the bag on Too Good To Go, an

By Meg Tirrell, Brenda Goodman, Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — At the first meeting of a controversial new group of vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the committee announced new plans to study established vaccine guidelines. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will create new work groups to study the

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Heart disease is the leading cause of death around the world. However, overall heart disease death rates over the past five decades dropped by 66% in American adults age 25 and older, according to a new study. Even better, deaths from heart attacks dropped by nearly 90%. “Over the

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — A presentation slated to be shared at this week’s meeting of vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed that a study in animals suggested that use of the vaccine preservative thimerosal can have “long-term consequences in the brain.” But the study doesn’t appear to

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — Routine vaccines have prevented the deaths of about 154 million children around the world over the past 50 years, a new study shows, but efforts have been slowing recently, allowing for the growth of some vaccine-preventable diseases. This backslide could lead to many more unnecessary illnesses and deaths without

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — When it comes to measuring weight, BMI is the acronym everyone loves to hate. Health professionals have long used body mass index as a quick screening tool to fast-track certain patients into a “code red” management plan — people whose weight puts them in danger of future health problems.