Search Results for: risk guidelines

Can You Recover From a Cold Without Reaching for Medication?

[This is part II of my deep dive into integrative medicine. You can read part I HERE] There’s something you should know about me: I…

Dec 31, 2025

Inside the FDA’s Quiet Move to Weaken Drug Approval Standards

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to reduce the default number of clinical trials it will require to approve new drugs, a shift…

Dec 17, 2025

What to Know About Supplements

2020 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows supplements are part of daily life for more than half of U.S. adults. But…

Nov 14, 2025

Clinical Trials and Side Effects

Discover how the FDA clinical trial process works and what its limitations mean for your safety and the effectiveness of drugs in everyday use. Each…

Oct 27, 2025

Heart Damage: The Silent Cost of Beating Breast Cancer

Melodie Henderson once had the stamina to dance with her husband all night. By 2021, though, she found herself gasping for air, resting through songs,…

Oct 22, 2025

Can I Take Amiodarone (Pacerone) and Atorvastatin (Lipitor) Together?

A torvastatin (Lipitor, Atorvaliq) was the most commonly prescribed medication in the U.S. in 2023. It belongs to a group of drugs called statins, which can help lower…

Oct 8, 2025

Drug Recalls in America: How They Work, Where They Fail, and How You Can Protect Yourself

On June 27, 2024, Mary Louise Cormier, age 91, was admitted to the MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital Emergency Department in Brunswick, Maine, after showing signs of lethargy…

Aug 27, 2025

How Much Vitamin D Do I Need? The Debate Behind Supplement Guidelines

A 54-year-old man returned from a two-week trip to Southeast Asia to his home in Canada with a mysterious ailment. His serum calcium and creatinine levels,…

Aug 5, 2025

What Is Step Therapy? And Why It Might Delay Your Medication

Navigating the healthcare system to get the care you or a loved one needs can be challenging. Just when you think you’ve cleared the hardest…

Jul 21, 2025

Medical Journals Have Flaws, But Government Oversight Isn’t the Fix

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has floated an old idea as a new proposal – he wants to ban…

Jun 13, 2025

Rethinking Statins: Inside the Fierce Debate Over Cholesterol and Heart Health

On clear winter mornings, Steve Kaplan hikes up a nearby ski hill in California at Lake Tahoe, before the resort opens to ski back down…

May 23, 2025

The PPI Debate: Are Heartburn Drugs Like Prilosec and Nexium Linked to Dementia?

Most of George Grossberg’s patients have lists of medications as long as his arm. So it takes the geriatric psychiatrist no small amount of time to…

May 9, 2025

Are Melatonin Supplements Safe for Kids?

In January 2024, a former church daycare director in Cumberland, Indiana, was convicted of neglect and reckless supervision for giving melatonin gummies to more than…

May 1, 2025

Why Is Hormone Therapy Still So Misunderstood?

Jen McDornan-Fish, a 51-year-old writer from Sacramento, first noticed mild hot flashes and occasional irritability eight years ago. She recognized these as early signs of…

Apr 10, 2025

The FDA’s New Drug Ad Rules Are Here. Will They Actually Change Anything?

On May 20, 2024, a new set of rules designed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve clarity in medication advertising went into effect. The…

Mar 3, 2025

Did the FDA Really Stop Side Effect Reporting for Abortion Drugs?

At the end of January, I watched the senate hearing for the confirmation of Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr. (RFK Jr.) to be Secretary  of Health and Human…

Feb 18, 2025

Digestive Issues: A Guide to Gut Health and Medications

As the engine that turns our food into the fuel we need—and gets rid of what we don’t—our digestive tract is critical to sustaining life.…

Jan 13, 2025

Inside the FDA Drug Development Process: The Limits of Clinical Trials in Preventing Side Effects

Each year, a select group of novel new drugs enter the U.S. market. In 2023, 55 new drugs were approved—adding to the more than 20,000 prescription drugs already in…

Dec 13, 2024

Ways to Lower High Blood Pressure Without Relying on Drugs

If you have hypertension — high blood pressure — you may think that the only way to control it is to take a drug. But…

Nov 23, 2024

Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction: How to Protect Yourself From This Side Effect

Stacey Harder, an author in Melbourne, Australia, has struggled with anxiety related to early traumas for most of her life. Eventually, she decided it was…

Oct 8, 2024