Posted on: May 12, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

Gum Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease: The Inflammation Link

Your mouth and kidneys may be more connected than you think. In fact, gum disease (periodontitis) and chronic kidney disease may fuel each other in a harmful cycle. When gums stay inflamed, harmful oral bacteria and inflammatory compounds can enter the bloodstream, stressing blood vessels and adding to body-wide inflammation. At the same time, chronic kidney disease can weaken immune defenses and keep the body in a low-grade inflammatory state,…

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Posted on: May 9, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

Pomegranates may help tired immune cells act young again

Thanks to modern health practices, we’re living longer than ever. But with that longer lifespan can come a host of issues that make aging feel like a tough slog. One reason? Your immune system ages right along with the rest of you. As we grow older, the immune system naturally begins to undergo a process known as immunosenescence. That means the body’s defenses become less sharp and less flexible. Too…

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Posted on: May 8, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

How Eating Healthy Might Be Raising Your Lung Cancer Risk

Smoking is nowhere near as popular as it was in decades past. The rate of U.S. adults who smoke has plummeted 74% since 1965 to 11.6% as of 2022, suggesting that the battle to get people to quit smoking (or never start) is all but won. That should mean lung cancer rates have dropped accordingly, right? Overall, that’s true. Since peaking in 1984, the rate of new cases of lung…

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Posted on: May 7, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

Olive oil: Brain health or cognitive decline

It’s easy to think of memory loss as something that happens “later.” But the changes that affect brain health can begin years before they become obvious. And researchers are paying closer attention to one surprising influence: the gut. Your gut and brain are in constant communication, which means the foods you eat every day may shape memory and thinking more than you realize. One food that has come to the…

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Posted on: May 6, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

The surprising strategy that could reverse AFib

One of the more common conditions I encounter in my clinical practice is Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). AFib is a very irregular, often rapid heartbeat that can be associated with palpitations, reduced exercise capacity, and fatigue.  In some cases, it causes no symptoms at all.  But whether symptomatic or not, AFib can increase our risk of developing a stroke — and that’s what makes the rhythm dangerous. For decades, doctors have treated AFib…

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Posted on: April 28, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

Are Cleaning Sprays Safe for Your Lungs? Study Suggests Caution

Most of us don’t think twice about using cleaning sprays on a kitchen counter or bathroom sink. It feels like a simple way to keep our homes safe. But new research suggests that habit may come with an unexpected downside, especially for your lungs. The concern isn’t obvious, and most people have never heard about it. Scientists are now warning that a class of common disinfectant chemicals may be more…

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Posted on: April 24, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

Get breathless a few minutes daily to lower your risk of 8 major diseases

I’m not exactly a couch potato. But I’ll admit it—I’m no fan of structured exercise. So this research came as welcome news. It suggests you don’t need long workouts to protect your health. In fact, just a few minutes a day of the right kind of movement — enough to leave you out of breath — may go a long way toward lowering your risk of serious disease. Higher intensity…

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Posted on: April 24, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

This common vitamin may influence alzheimer’s risk years before symptoms appear

For many people, vitamin D is still seen as a “bone health” nutrient — important for calcium absorption and for promoting the bone density necessary to avoid osteoporosis. But research over the past decade has made it clear that vitamin D’s role goes far beyond the skeleton. It also plays a critical part in brain health, influencing inflammation, nerve function, and even long-term cognitive decline. Like problems with bone health…

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Posted on: April 23, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

Why aging and lung inflammation make respiratory infections dangerous

Getting older doesn’t just raise your risk for respiratory infections — it may actually change how your lungs respond to them in a dangerous way. If you’re 65 or older, your chances of being hospitalized from respiratory infections as a result of flu or COVID are significantly higher. Worse, the risk of dying from these illnesses rises sharply with age. Now, researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)…

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Posted on: April 21, 2026 Posted by: Michele Lee Comments: 0

What aldosterone and nitric oxide reveal about hypertension

High blood pressure isn’t always just about lifestyle. For years, the focus has been on salt, stress, weight and exercise — and those factors do matter. But researchers are now uncovering another piece of the puzzle that can quietly keep blood pressure elevated, even when someone is following medical advice closely. In some cases, the issue may come down to how the body regulates certain hormones that control fluid balance…

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