Free Republic

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a new initiative on Mar. 5, 2026, to encourage medical schools to expand their nutrition education programs in the upcoming fall as part of an agreement with the Trump administration. Secretary Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon reached the agreement as part of the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. Prior to the agreement, Secretary Kennedy spent months urging schools to expand their nutrition education programs, arguing that doctors are not well-versed in nutrition, which leads health professionals to treat chronic diseases with medication rather than preventing them through patients’ diets. A...

AFTER DONALD TRUMP was sworn in as president on January 20, 2025, he issued a flurry of executive orders that eventually saw online information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scrubbed from the Internet. Thousands of pages and datasets disappeared. Resources like “RSV Vaccine Guidance for Pregnant People,” “Preventing HIV with PEP,” and more, vanished. Suddenly, Americans could no longer turn to the nation’s premier public health organization for reliable information.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday revealed that childhood and teen obesity rates in the U.S. have reached record highs in recent years. The first report details how the CDC’s researchers found that 40.3 percent of adults 20 and older were found to be obese, which included 9.7 percent who have severe obesity and another 31.7 percent who are classified as overweight. This report was conducted between August 2021 and August 2023. Between 1988 and 1994, when the second report was being surveyed, researchers found that almost 23 percent of adults 20 years and older were...

Yunqing Jian, 33, first entered the country on a fraudulently obtained F1 student visa, the FBI says Fusarium graminearum creates "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice, and "is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year," according to the Department of Justice. It is also toxic to humans, and can cause vomiting, liver damage and "reproductive defects in humans and livestock." The affidavit, which said Jian has been attempting to smuggle the pathogen into the U.S. since she began post-doctoral studies funded by China in 2022, also accuses Jian of asking a third...

Fresh out of wisdom‑teeth surgery, one man took a look at his dogs and was certain he’d stumbled into the Mesozoic Era—an anesthesia mix-up that has millions howling. Tommy DiScipio, known on TikTok as @scipioskincare, recently shared a throwback clip filmed seven years ago after he arrived home from getting his wisdom teeth removed. Stbut I certainly ill heavily under the lingering effects of anesthesia, his brain began filling in its own storyline.

Modern smart watches can measure an array of health indicators. Step counts and heart rates sit at the simpler end, while VO2 max and blood-oxygen levels are mainly of interest to committed health nuts. The newest addition to the category is heart-rate variability (HRV).As its name suggests, HRV measures not how quickly the heart beats, but how regularly spaced those beats are. With heart rate a lower score is usually better, other things being equal, since it suggests a high level of cardiovascular fitness. When it comes to HRV, though, a higher number—that is, a more irregular pattern—is generally what...

BOURNEMOUTH, Great Britain, April 25, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Nurses are pushing for a policy change that would allow patients who cut and burn themselves to keep their blades and other implements with them in hospital settings. The BBC reported today on the request made by nurses in the Royal College of Nursing. Pointing to a pilot project undertaken by St. George’s mental health hospital in Staffordshire, the nurses say allowing self-harming such as cutting or burning to continue helps patients to deal with past mental trauma and reduces thoughts of suicide. St. George’s Hospital provides patients with cleaning equipment for...

Research led by Scott Duncan (Auckland University of Technology) and Melody Smith (University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau)In A Nutshell Play isn’t just for kids: Playful adults cope better with stress, feel more positive emotions, and report higher life satisfaction. Design matters: Cities and social norms often discourage adult play, but embedding playful spaces into everyday life could boost community well-being. It’s a mindset, not a toy box: Adult play is about curiosity and spontaneity, whether through humor, movement, creativity, or social interaction. Play strengthens relationships: It builds empathy, emotional intelligence, and even bridges generational divides. Somewhere along the...

The world’s largest public funder of biomedical research is in limbo. The National Institutes of Health has, in large part, managed to withstand the Trump administration’s attempts to slash its budget and upend how it distributes grants, thanks to decisions from the courts and Congress. But the agency now faces a growing vacuum in leadership in its top ranks — one that offers the administration a highly unusual opportunity to reshape NIH to its vision. Of the 27 institutes and centers that make up NIH, 16 were missing permanent directors as of Friday, when staff received news of the latest...

Must-See RFK Jr. Interview Explains It All. In a Heritage Foundation forum on Monday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explained without saying so why leftists hate him as they do. In laying out the accomplishments of his extraordinary first year, Kennedy attributed his success on several fronts to the man who selected him. Said Kennedy, “Trump understands the uses of power better than any president in history.” For years, as Kennedy explained, he has been troubled by the inarguable deterioration in the health of Americans, children in particular. Said Kennedy, “I prayed God would put me in a place where I...

I cannot personally vouch for the content below. I simply collected Freeper recommendations and asked GROK to organize them. Some may find it useful. You may add recommendations in the comments, and I will try updating, but I have other projects in the works (e.g., military tables of honor for FR) and I know I will be slow to get to this update.Last Updated: 7/1/2025This directory organizes user-suggested medical information from forum discussions into categories for easy navigation. It includes doctor directories, treatment protocols, online pharmacies, natural remedies, detox methods, warnings, and research articles. Note: This is not medical advice;...

For the week ending Dec. 27, the CDC reported that nearly 1 in 10 outpatient visits nationwide — 8.2% — were for flu-like illnesses. That’s the highest logged since the CDC started tracking such visits in 1997. The flu has accounted for more than 11 million illnesses this season and 120,000 hospitalizations.

A short-term oat-based diet appears to be surprisingly effective at reducing the cholesterol level. This is indicated by a trial. The participants suffered from a metabolic syndrome—a combination of high body weight, high blood pressure, and elevated blood glucose and blood lipid levels. They consumed a calorie-reduced diet, consisting almost exclusively of oatmeal, for two days. Their cholesterol levels then improved significantly compared to a control group. Even after six weeks, this effect remained stable. The diet apparently influenced the composition of microorganisms in the gut. Although the test subjects in the current trial were not diabetic, they suffered from...

Abnormal clumps of proteins like α-synuclein, amyloid beta and tau are associated with neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, but a waste removal mechanism called the glymphatic pathway can clear these proteins and other metabolic byproducts from the brain. Now, a team is exploring whether intentionally raising and lowering blood levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) through rhythmic CO2 exposure or controlled breathing might boost the glymphatic system's effectiveness and improve brain health. Sephira Ryman, Ph.D. led studies to evaluate how intermittent breathing of CO2 could be used to dilate and constrict brain arteries and drive the movement of cerebrospinal...

There was the pregnant woman who missed her medical checkup, afraid to visit a clinic during the Trump administration’s sweeping Minnesota immigration crackdown. A nurse found her at home, already in labor and just about to give birth. There was the patient with kidney cancer who vanished without his medicine in immigration detention facilities. It took legal intervention for his medicine to be sent to him, though doctors are unsure if he's been able to take it. There was the diabetic afraid to pick up insulin, the patient with a treatable wound that festered and required a trip to the...

Surprise medical bills have bludgeoned most Americans. In fact, about half of insured Americans face unexpected charges every year. In 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act, which banned out-of-network billing rates for some services. It also entitled patients who aren’t using health insurance to a “good faith estimate” of out-of-pocket costs before receiving care. But there’s a catch that stacks the deck against patients and taxpayers: final bills within $400 of the original estimate are legally collectible. After stinging GOP losses in November, health care “affordability” is all the rage. Voters are frustrated that every other medical appointment brings...

An outbreak of deadly bacteria at a Bay Area homeless encampment has sparked urgent calls for action in Los Angeles, with officials warning the disease may already be circulating in the city. The bacterial disease leptospirosis was found in rats at encampments in the hippie college town of Berkeley, leading health officials there to issue an urgent warning to the homeless to clear out. Officials told them to relocate at least a third of a mile from the “red zone” encompassing several square blocks as soon as possible. The warning comes as authorities attempted remove the encampment last year but...

Scientists have uncovered how exercise helps aging muscles regain their ability to repair themselves, shedding light on why physical activity remains one of the most effective ways to preserve strength and mobility later in life. The team found that exercise helps restore a critical balance in muscle cells that is disrupted with age. Strong, healthy muscles are essential for movement, metabolism, and overall vitality. From midlife onward, muscle function gradually declines. At the center of muscle health is a growth pathway known as mTORC1, which regulates protein production and muscle tissue maintenance. As muscles age, this pathway can become overactive,...

Bobby Kennedy on President Trump’s health: “He's got a he's incredible health. Dr Oz looked at his medical records and said he's got the HIGHEST testosterone level that he's ever seen for an individual over 70 years old. I know the President will be happy that I'll repeat that.”

In South Africa, manufacturers of pineapple juice and other pineapple products discard thousands of tons of pineapple leaves every year, with most ending up in dumpsites. The leaves are seen as agricultural waste and usually treated as useless. However, they can be converted into something that solves real-world problems - a powerful resource for both environmental protection and security. This involves turning them into a special kind of nanoparticle. (Nanoparticles are very tiny materials, no bigger than 0.0001 millimetres.) Read more: Tiny technology that can find pollution in South Africa's water and trap it I’m part of a team of...