FEATURED STORIES

A jury awarded a California woman $417 million on August 21, 2017 after she developed ovarian cancer as a result of using Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder for decades as part of her regular feminine hygiene routine. The award includes $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages.
Los Angeles resident Eva Echeverria, 63, said she had used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder since she was 11. She stopped using the product in 2016, after reading about another woman who had also developed ovarian cancer as a result of using the powder.

The news is awash with fire and brimstone warnings about plastic pollution, both on land and at sea. To help battle back against the trillions of pieces of plastic littering the planet, the National Park Service put a policy in place in 2011 encouraging national parks to end the sale of bottled water. It wasn’t an outright ban, but 23 out of 417 national parks went on to restrict bottled water sales. In mid-August 2017, the Trump Administration reversed the Obama-era policy.

Doctors usually advise people with multiple sclerosis (MS) not to exercise for fear that it could exacerbate the illness, but a recent study out of Denmark suggests that resistance training may slow down the progression of MS by slowing brain atrophy and, in some cases, enhancing brain volume. [1] [2]

Fracking giant Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. is suing Dimock, Pennsylvania resident Ray Kemble and his attorneys for $5 million after Kemble accused the gas driller of polluting residential wells in Pennsylvania. Cabot alleges that Kemble and his lawyers extorted the company through a “frivolous” lawsuit. [1]

Obesity always makes headlines for being one of the biggest health threats in the U.S. (as well as globally). But according to a recent study, loneliness and social isolation may be even more deadly than obesity or than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Lack of social connection can be so deadly, in fact, that the feeling of loneliness is a stronger predictor of mortality than obesity. [1]

If you’re a longevity enthusiast, I’ve got some news for you. After all of these years, aging itself is on its way to be officially classified as a disease. Of course, it’s taken decades of improving life expectancy and survival rates due to better living standards and lifestyles, but it is most likely worth the wait.
Why?

Oh, America. You were doing such a good job of cutting your sugar intake, but you’re back to drinking too many sugary beverages. Statistics released by the CDC in January show that after a decade of falling consumption, Americans of all ages are consuming the same amount of sugary drinks as they were in 2009-2010, which is when the last time the CDC published comparable data. [1]

A new study in Translational Psychiatry suggests that women who are exposed to air heavily polluted by vehicle exhaust and other sources of fine particulate matter have a significantly higher risk of developing dementia.

A survey released by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that more people in the U.S. use opioid painkillers than tobacco, highlighting the tragic opioid crisis gripping the country. [1]

Stevia, a highly-popular natural sugar substitute, may be good for more than just sweetening your coffee. Tests conducted by a Connecticut professor and her students showed that Stevia effectively treated Lyme disease. [1]
Professor Eva Sapi, chairwoman of University of New Haven’s Department of Biology and Environmental Science, and her students found that the liquid, whole-leaf Stevia extract prevented the tick-borne bacteria better than other antibiotics, including doxycycline, cefoperazone, and daptomycin.