Health Articles

Your source for credible, expert-driven insights to help you live a healthier life.

Swimming lessons save lives: What parents should know
Fitness

Swimming lessons save lives: What parents should know

Before going any further, here's the main thing parents should know about swimming lessons: all children should have them. Every year, over 4,500 people die from drowning in the United States — and, in fact, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4.

Claire McCarthy, MD | June 27, 2024 | Harvard Health
Read Full Story

General

Wildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health
Wildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health
Wynne Armand, MD | June 5, 2025
Harvard Health

As wildfires become more frequent due to climate change and drier conditions, more of us and more of our communities are at risk for harm. Here is information to help you prepare and protect yourself and your family.

Read More
How is metastatic prostate cancer detected and treated in men over 70?
How is metastatic prostate cancer detected and treated in men over 70?
C.W. Schmidt | May 27, 2025
Harvard Health

National guidelines on prostate cancer screening with the PSA test are set by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). This independent panel of experts in preventive and primary care recommends against screening for prostate cancer in men older than 70.

Read More
Salmonellais sneaky: Watch out
Salmonellais sneaky: Watch out
Maureen Salamon | May 7, 2025
Harvard Health

Pop quiz: what is Salmonella? If you've ever had a run-in with this bacteria, you know it can cause a food-borne illness called salmonellosis, a form of food poisoning. But you may not know that Salmonella bacteria sicken an estimated 1.

Read More
Two jobs may lower the odds of dying from Alzheimer's disease — but why?
Two jobs may lower the odds of dying from Alzheimer's disease — but why?
Robert H. Shmerling, MD | May 6, 2025
Harvard Health

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating disease. Despite decades of research, science has not pinned down causes or discovered highly effective treatments.

Read More
Can a routine vaccine prevent dementia?
Can a routine vaccine prevent dementia?
Robert H. Shmerling, MD | April 29, 2025
Harvard Health

It's fairly common for a medical treatment to cause side effects: think headache, upset stomach, sleepiness, and occasionally more severe side effects. Far more rarely, a side effect provides an unexpected benefit.

Read More
Healthier planet, healthier people
Healthier planet, healthier people
Wynne Armand, MD | April 21, 2025
Harvard Health

Everything is connected. You've probably heard that before, but it bears repeating.

Read More
Respiratory health harms often follow flooding: Taking these steps can help
Respiratory health harms often follow flooding: Taking these steps can help
Parham Azimi, PhD | November 9, 2022
Harvard Health

Heavy rains and sea level rise contribute to major flooding events that are one effect of climate change. Surging water rushing into buildings often causes immediate harms, such as drowning deaths, injuries sustained while seeking shelter or fleeing, and hypothermia after exposure to cold waters with no shelter or heat.

Read More
What is prostatitis and how is it treated?
What is prostatitis and how is it treated?
C.W. Schmidt | March 25, 2025
Harvard Health

Prostatitis, or inflammation of the prostate, is more common than you might think — it accounts for roughly two million doctor visits every year. The troubling symptoms include burning or painful urination, an urgent need to go (especially at night), painful ejaculations, and also pain in the lower back and perineum (the space between the scrotum and anus).

Read More
Are you getting health care you don't need?
Are you getting health care you don't need?
Robert H. Shmerling, MD | August 5, 2024
Harvard Health

Ever wonder if every medical test or treatment you've taken was truly necessary? Or are you inclined to get every bit of health care you can? Maybe you feel good about getting the most out of your health insurance. Perhaps a neighborhood imaging center is advertising discounted screening tests, your employer offers health screens as a perk, or you're intrigued by ads touting supplements for a seemingly endless number of conditions.

Read More
A low-tech school vacation: Keeping kids busy and happy without screens
A low-tech school vacation: Keeping kids busy and happy without screens
Claire McCarthy, MD | January 27, 2025
Harvard Health

School vacation coming up? Wondering how to spend that time? Given how tiring holidays can be — especially for parents who are working — it's understandable why children are often allowed to spend hours with the TV, tablet, or video games. After all, happy, quiet kids make for happy parents who can finally get stuff done — or relax.

Read More
Measles is making a comeback: Can we stop it?
Measles is making a comeback: Can we stop it?
Robert H. Shmerling, MD | June 13, 2025
Harvard Health

Has the recent news about measles outbreaks in the US surprised you? Didn’t it seem like we were done with measles? In the US, widespread vaccination halted the ongoing spread of measles more than 20 years ago, a major public health achievement. Before an effective vaccine was developed in the 1960s, nearly every child in the US got measles.

Read More
Supporting a loved one with prostate cancer: A guide for caregivers
Supporting a loved one with prostate cancer: A guide for caregivers
C.W. Schmidt | February 26, 2025
Harvard Health

Looking after a loved one who has prostate cancer can be overwhelming. Caregivers — usually partners, family members, or close friends — play crucial roles in supporting a patient's physical and psychological well-being.

Read More
Flowers, chocolates, organ donation — are you in?
Flowers, chocolates, organ donation — are you in?
Robert H. Shmerling, MD | February 8, 2024
Harvard Health

Chocolates and flowers are great gifts for Valentine's Day. But what if the gifts we give then or throughout the year could be truly life-changing? A gift that could save a life or free someone from dialysis? You can do this.

Read More

Mental Health

Think your child has ADHD? What your pediatrician can do
Think your child has ADHD? What your pediatrician can do
Claire McCarthy, MD | January 30, 2025
Harvard Health

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is the most common neurobehavioral disorder of childhood. It affects approximately 7% to 8% of all children and youth in the US.

Read More
Should you be sleepmaxxing to boost health and happiness?
Should you be sleepmaxxing to boost health and happiness?
Eric Zhou, PhD | March 6, 2025
Harvard Health

If you've been on TikTok lately, you know it's hard to avoid countless influencers touting a concept called sleepmaxxing. Their posts provide tips and tricks to get longer, better, and more restorative sleep.

Read More
A muscle-building obsession in boys: What to know and do
A muscle-building obsession in boys: What to know and do
Maureen Salamon | May 12, 2023
Harvard Health

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.

Read More

Nutrition & Diet

What can magnesium do for you and how much do you need?
What can magnesium do for you and how much do you need?
Robert H. Shmerling, MD | June 3, 2025
Harvard Health

In the world of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and supplements, magnesium seems to be having a moment. Perhaps it’s long overdue: in many ways, magnesium has been overlooked, underappreciated, or even forgotten.

Read More
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
Matthew Solan | April 26, 2024
Harvard Health

An F may mean failure in school, but the letter earns high marks in your diet. The two biggest dietary Fs — fiber and fermented foods — are top priorities to help maintain healthy digestion, and they potentially offer much more.

Read More
Less butter, more plant oils, longer life?
Less butter, more plant oils, longer life?
Francesca Coltrera | April 23, 2025
Harvard Health

Not such good news for butter lovers like myself: seesawing research on how healthy or unhealthy butter might be received a firm push from a recent Harvard study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Drawing on decades of data gathered through long-term observational studies, the researchers investigated whether butter and plant oils affect mortality.

Read More
Can saw palmetto treat an enlarged prostate?
Can saw palmetto treat an enlarged prostate?
C.W. Schmidt | April 16, 2025
Harvard Health

Marketed as a natural remedy for an enlarged prostate, saw palmetto is a top-selling dietary supplement. It's extracted from berries that grow on saw palmetto palm trees, which are native to the southeastern United States.

Read More
Celiac disease: Exploring four myths
Celiac disease: Exploring four myths
Julie Corliss | November 6, 2024
Harvard Health

Celiac disease is a digestive and immune disorder that can keep the body from absorbing necessary nutrients. "Our conception and awareness of celiac disease has evolved over the past few decades, but there are still aspects that remain poorly understood," says Dr.

Read More

Fitness & Exercise

Counting steps is good — is combining steps and heart rate better?
Counting steps is good — is combining steps and heart rate better?
Robert H. Shmerling, MD | April 17, 2025
Harvard Health

Have you met your step goals today? If so, well done! Monitoring your step count can inspire you to bump up activity over time. But when it comes to assessing fitness or cardiovascular disease risk, counting steps might not be enough.

Read More
Stepping up activity if winter slowed you down
Stepping up activity if winter slowed you down
Heidi Godman | March 4, 2024
Harvard Health

If you've been cocooning due to winter's cold, who can blame you? But a lack of activity isn't good for body or mind during any season. And whether you're deep in the grip of winter or fortunate to be basking in signs of spring, today is a good day to start exercising.

Read More

Welcome to Shastho360

By continuing to use our site, you acknowledge and agree to our Terms of Service.