5 mins read

A mop, a broom and a calmer mind. Why some find mental health benefits in everyday tasks

NEW YORK | Amid spring cleaning season, it can be easy to dismiss housework as drudgery, so dreaded or anxiety-inducing that it’s best delegated to others if at all possible. But experts from Zen monks to psychologists say there are mental health benefits to be found in such manual chores as sweeping, mopping and clearing […]

5 mins read

A proposed additive ban could change New York’s pizza and bagels, some say for the better

NEW YORK | After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough in his family’s Brooklyn pizzeria, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a distressing discovery: A key component of their thin-crust pies, bromated flour, contained a suspected carcinogen already banned in much of the world. So, in the back kitchen of Lo Duca Pizza, […]

5 mins read

You should be dancing, yeah. Moving to music offers all kinds of benefits as you age

TUCSON, Ariz. | Carol Ross can’t stop smiling at dance practice as she shouts out the steps of a routine to members of her tap and jazz troupe for women age 50 and older. “I’ve been dancing my whole life, it’s the best,” said Ross, who founded the Rodeo City Wreckettes group 23 years ago […]

7 mins read

When should you get a mammogram? Conflicting advice makes it hard to know

WASHINGTON | Deciding when to get routine mammograms is confusing. Some health groups recommend women begin at age 40 or 45 while another recently opted for age 50. They also differ on whether yearly or every other year is best. The conflicting advice is at least partly because guidelines for breast cancer screening are designed […]

4 mins read

The condition PCOS is now called PMOS. What to know about the name change and what it means for care

A hormonal condition affecting 1 in 8 women around the world just got a new name in hopes of improving care. It Is now called polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome instead of polycystic ovary syndrome. Researchers and supporters of the change said the old name, often shortened to PCOS, is inaccurate. It reduced a complex hormonal […]

4 mins read

Pediatricians group finds kids of all ages need regular recess for physical and mental health

Recess isn’t just a fun break for grade schoolers. It’s crucial to good health and good grades for kids of all ages. That’s the message from a leading pediatricians group, which just released the first new guidance in 13 years about this unstructured time at school and how it needs to be protected. The updated […]

8 mins read

Cosmetic interventions are booming. Many say ethical conversations are lagging

LOS ANGELES | Shula Jassell is insecure about the size of her chin and has periodically considered getting filler to make it bigger. But when the 25-year-old from Southern California gives serious thought to the idea of repeatedly having to get the cosmetic procedure — it only lasts about a year — she wonders if […]

8 mins read

Cosmetic interventions are booming. Many say ethical conversations are lagging

LOS ANGELES | Shula Jassell is insecure about the size of her chin and has periodically considered getting filler to make it bigger. But when the 25-year-old from Southern California gives serious thought to the idea of repeatedly having to get the cosmetic procedure — it only lasts about a year — she wonders if […]