Top Health News
Baffling. Frustrating. Frightening. What It’s Like To Be Sued Over Medical Debt.
Patients’ experiences encapsulate breakdowns in a healthcare system that traps patients in debt. The industry’s key players blame one another.
Telehealth Booms as Demand for GLP-1s Surges and Questions Mount About Safety, Oversight
Many telehealth companies have emerged in recent years offering easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs as demand has exploded. Meanwhile, researchers and doctors are concerned that some of these online companies aren't properly screening or monitoring patients. “It gives a black eye to telemedicine,” one researcher said.
Gounder Gives Lowdown on Ebola, Peptides, and Colorectal Screenings
KFF Health News' editor-at-large for public health discussed peptides, colorectal cancer screening, and Ebola in TV appearances this week.
Budget-Strapped Montana Will Stress-Test Trump’s Medicaid Work Rules
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The Complex Relationship Between Sleep and Mental Wellness
You’ve probably experienced those nights when sleep feels impossible—your mind racing, your body tense, the clock mocking you as hours pass. Sleep disturbances affect nearly 70 million Americans, and for many, the struggle goes deeper than occasional restlessness. When sleep problems intertwine with mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, or trauma, finding rest becomes even more complicated. Sleep isn’t just about feeling refreshed. It’s fundamental to your emotional regulation, cognitive function, and physical health. When you’re dealing with mental health conditions, quality sleep often becomes elusive, creating a cycle that’s hard to break. Understanding how sleep medications work—and their potential impacts on your overall wellness—empowers you to make informed decisions about your treatment journey. Why Sleep Matters More Than You Think Your brain doesn’t shut down when you sleep. Instead, it enters a remarkably active state, consolidating memories, processing emotions, and clearing metabolic waste that accumulates during waking hours. During deep sleep stages, your brain essentially takes out the trash, removing toxins that can impair cognitive function. When you consistently miss out on quality sleep, the consequences ripple through every aspect of your life. Your immune system weakens, making you more susceptible to illness. Your emotional resilience diminishes, leaving you more vulnerable to stress and mood fluctuations. Decision-making becomes harder, reaction times slow, and your ability to regulate emotions deteriorates. For those managing mental health conditions, sleep deprivation intensifies symptoms. Depression deepens, anxiety heightens, and the tools you’ve developed for coping become harder to access. This is why addressing sleep... The post The Complex Relationship Between Sleep and Mental Wellness appeared first on Health and Natural Healing Tips.
7-Hydroxymitragynine: What You Actually Need to Know About This Kratom Extract
If you spend any time in herbal wellness circles, you’ve probably heard people buzzing about something called 7OH. It sounds like a chemistry formula—and honestly, it kind of is—but it’s worth understanding what’s behind the hype, especially if you’re someone who already uses kratom or is curious about it. So let’s break it down in plain language. What Is 7OH, Really? Kratom leaves contain dozens of alkaloids—over 40, actually. For a long time, most of the attention went to mitragynine, which is the most plentiful one in the plant. 7-hydroxymitragynine (that’s the full name behind “7OH”) is a different story. It’s a minor alkaloid, typically making up less than 2% of the leaf. But what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in strength. Here’s the thing that makes it interesting: 7OH binds to the same receptors in your body that manage pain and mood, but it does so much more aggressively than mitragynine. That’s why companies have started isolating it and putting it into tablets and liquid shots. It’s no longer a “cup of kratom tea” situation—it’s a concentrated extract, and that distinction matters. Why Does It Hit Differently? This part is actually pretty fascinating. When you drink regular kratom tea or take a powder, your liver naturally converts some of that mitragynine into 7OH as part of digestion. It’s a slow, partial conversion—your body only makes a little bit of it. When you take 7OH directly in a tablet, you’re skipping that whole process. You’re... The post 7-Hydroxymitragynine: What You Actually Need to Know About This Kratom Extract appeared first on Health and Natural Healing Tips.
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How Mindfulness Can Improve Mental Health
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A Celebration of Good Health!
Right to Try vs. Expanded Access: What Patients Need to Know
When facing a life-threatening condition with no approved treatment options, patients and their families often find themselves navigating complex regulatory pathways in search of experimental therapies. Two distinct routes exist for accessing investigational treatments outside of clinical trials: the FDA’s long-established Expanded Access Program, also known as compassionate use, and the newer Right to Try pathway created by federal legislation in 2018. Understanding the key differences, advantages, and limitations of these options is crucial for patients confronting difficult treatment decisions. The FDA’s Expanded Access Program has evolved significantly since its formal establishment in the 1980s during the HIV/AIDS crisis. This pathway requires a multi-step process: the treating physician must contact the drug manufacturer to request the investigational treatment; if the company agrees, the physician then submits an application to the FDA; and finally, an Institutional Review Board (IRB) must approve the treatment plan. While this process may seem bureaucratically cumbersome, the FDA approves approximately 99% of expanded access requests it receives, often within days or even hours for emergency situations. The Right to Try Act, signed into law in May 2018, emerged from a movement arguing that terminally ill patients should have direct access to experimental treatments without government oversight. Under this pathway, eligible patients can work with their physicians to request investigational drugs directly from pharmaceutical companies, bypassing FDA review and significantly reducing paperwork requirements. However, similar to expanded access, drug manufacturers remain under no obligation to provide their investigational products. Eligibility criteria represent one significant difference between these... The post Right to Try vs. Expanded Access: What Patients Need to Know appeared first on Health and Natural Healing Tips.
How to Boost Your Energy Levels During Menopause
One of the most challenging aspects of menopause for women is fatigue. So many women in their forties and fifties facing years of transitioning through menopause have so much on their plates. Many are still raising children, working, and caring for elderly parents. This is not to mention trying to maintain an active social life, engage in self-care, and keep a marriage alive. So, how do you keep those energy levels up when estrogen drops seem determined to keep them down? Here are some surefire tips. Address Serious Issues First Okay, before you can do anything else, you have to address the ongoing discomfort, aches, and pains you may be facing at this time. Perimenopause and menopause come with issues like frequent UTIs, vaginal dryness, which can cause painful intercourse and cramps. One of these problems is bad enough. If you’ve got multiple causes of agony, you can’t possibly be expected to jump up and race through your busy day with your usual zest for life. So, take care of those issues first. To help you get ahead of UTIs, you can take a UTI supplement. For vaginal dryness, try using a vaginal moisturizer. For migraines and other inflammatory aches and pains, try ginger and turmeric tea, Epsom salt baths, and a pain reliever like Ibuprofen if the pain is intense. Your goal is to get yourself to where you feel more balanced and well, so you can work on your energy. Exercise Daily The next step is to step... The post How to Boost Your Energy Levels During Menopause appeared first on Health and Natural Healing Tips.
