The People's Pharmacy

Only a few decades ago, most households had very limited ways of measuring their members’ health. There were thermometers to tell if someone had a fever. A bathroom scale could tell if you were losing or gaining weight. For quite a while, if you wanted to know about your blood sugar or your blood pressure, […]

Have you ever taken a package out of your mailbox on a hot day and noticed that it was warm to the touch? If the pouch contained a tee shirt or a pair of sneakers, you probably didn’t think much more of it. But millions of people get their medications by mail, and some medicines […]

If you tell your healthcare provider that you’re feeling anxious or depressed, chances are they will prescribe you a medication. Millions of people take anti-anxiety pills or antidepressants, and many find that the medicine makes life more bearable. But can you understand what makes your life meaningful? For that, you might need to tell your […]

No question about it, sunshine and heat can be stressful for your skin. This episode is all about solutions to summer skin problems. Sunscreens offer the promise of protection from sunburn, but are they as good as we think they are? Does sunscreen block vitamin D formation? Find out which sunscreen ingredients work best and […]

It’s way too hot, not just in the United States, but in other parts of the world as well. The temperature in Rome this week was 107 degrees Fahrenheit. It is anticipated that the islands of Sicily and Sardinia could reach as high as 118. Temperatures were also dangerously high in Athens, leading authorities there […]

You are probably familiar with adrenaline, the hormone that jolts through your body in an emergency. As a result, your heart beats faster and harder, your hands shake, your pupils dilate and your muscles are mobilized for fast action. This is extremely useful in a crisis. But what if your body goes into crisis mode […]

This week on our nationally syndicated radio show, our topic is evolution and the role of delicious flavors. We talk with Dr. Rob Dunn, ecologist and evolutionary biologist, about how the search for food with delicious flavors as well as high nutrient content might have shaped our behavior as we evolved. How Humans Define Delicious […]

Until 1994, when Congress passed legislation on dietary supplements, most people using herbal medicine made it themselves or got it from a friend or family member with a green thumb. Before that time, most stores selling herbs in tinctures, capsules and tea bags were small, and so were the companies supplying them. Now, though, the […]

If you are like us, you welcome the first warm days of the season with joy. And then you start to fret. How can you avoid tick bites? Many people recognize Lyme disease as a serious health threat from deer tick bites. However, fewer are aware that a bite from a completely different tick, the […]

Millions of Americans take dietary supplements, and most of us assume that they are safe. While that is probably a reasonable rule of thumb, there are some situations that require more vigilance. In particular, we need to beware of herb and drug interactions. Even your doctor may not know about the hidden harms. How Risky […]

Physical activity is a key pillar of good health. Fewer than a fourth of American adults move their bodies enough to keep them healthy. The rest of us may spend too much time sitting in front of a computer or television screen. We recognize we need more exercise. But just as we wouldn’t try to […]

Are you getting enough fresh air? More than a century ago, Florence Nightingale insisted that hospitals needed good ventilation to get lots of fresh air. That would keep patients from spreading dangerous respiratory infections like tuberculosis. Although she didn’t use the term, she was describing the concept of sick buildings. Over the last year and […]

For decades researchers have told us that beta amyloid accumulation in the brain causes Alzheimer disease (AD). The FDA has recently approved two new drugs, Aduhelm and Leqembi, based on this theory. There is a third drug, donanemab, waiting on the runway. All three medications are very good at removing amyloid plaque from the brain, […]

You may not have thought much about long illness, but chances are you know someone who is suffering with one. The CDC estimates that some chronic condition afflicts as many as one in six American adults. That could be more than 130 million people. What counts as a long illness? Now, as experts declare that […]

This week on our nationally syndicated radio show, we explore the ecology of our bodies, especially our skin. Our faces, our armpits and even our bellybuttons harbor a multitude of tiny animals that we don’t see most of the time. What are they doing on us? The Fascinating World of the Tiny Animals Living on […]