The Guardian Health

Misleading AI-generated doctors pose ‘huge danger to public safety’

Research shows AI accounts are gaining millions of views on TikTok by spreading dubious health adviceMisleading health claims online pose a “huge danger to public safety”, experts have warned, after research has shown that AI-generated doctors are gaining millions of views on TikTok by spreading dubious health advice.The British Medical Association council deputy chair, Dr Emma Runswick, flagged the risks posed by AI accounts that “peddle medical myths and promote so-called miracle cures”. Conti

health  Jul 27, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘It is comforting to be haunted’: how attitudes to abortion have changed through the ages – podcast

The abortion debate – the language of life, choice and rights – severs women, and their pain, from history. I don’t want to forget my abortion and I don’t want to forget theirsBy Erin Maglaque. Read by Lanna JoffreyRead the text version hereSupport the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpodAdapted from Presence: A Hidden History of the Female Body, published by Jonathan CapeThe summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order Continue reading...

health  Jul 27, 2026

The Guardian Health

How Palantir got into the NHS - podcast

The investigative journalist Lucas Amin reports on how the tech company Palantir won a £330m contract with the NHS … and what happened once its software was introducedHow did Palantir – sometimes described as ‘the world’s scariest company’ – start working with the NHS?The investigative journalist Lucas Amin shares the findings of his and his colleague Peter Geoghegan’s investigation into the tech company and its relationship with the UK’s public health service – and tells a story of controversia

health  Jul 27, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘Not standard’ for Taylor Farms to ask White House to delay cyclospora recall, ex-FDA head says

Scott Gottlieb responds to report that company contacted the White House seeking to delay a recall announcementFormer Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb said on Sunday that it was “not standard operating procedure” for Taylor Farms to ask the White House to intervene as the company prepared to announce a recall tied to a massive cyclospora outbreak.Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, Gottlieb was asked about a report from the Wall Street Journal that Taylor Farms contact

health  Jul 26, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘It was like something was crawling over me’ – the worrying rise of shingles among millennial women

Stress, the cost of living, long working hours and even excessive exercise have all been touted as reasons the illness is rising among women in their 30s and 40s. What can be done to help them?The “lightning strike” pain was like nothing Francine Jones had experienced before. “That is the only way I can describe it,” she says, of the stabbing in her torso that would occur every 10 minutes or so. “It was a really sharp, intense pain, as if someone was giving me an electric shock … it took my brea

health  Jul 26, 2026

The Guardian Health

Electrolyte lemonade to probiotic pop: do the new generation of ‘functional drinks’ live up to the hype?

They make grand claims about beauty benefits or extra energy – and even actor Gillian Anderson has her own brand. We investigate what they’re really doing – and put them to a taste testShow yourself some love. Fuel your focus. Life’s too good for bad energy. Find your calm in the everyday chaos. Live fit. No, not new-age slogans or something you’d find scribbled in neon on the wall of a cocktail bar, but marketing taglines slapped across cans of functional soft drinks. Walk into any supermarket

health  Jul 26, 2026

The Guardian Health

Family of former Vodafone manager found drowned call for ‘Adrian’s law’ to protect franchisees

Adrian Howe’s family believe that fears his deal would be financially ruinous led him to kill himselfThe family of a former mobile phone store manager who was found drowned days before his new Vodafone franchise was to open its doors is pressing the government to introduce a new franchising law in his name.The call comes a week after Vodafone settled a long-running legal claim filed by 62 of its former franchisees who alleged that the company “unjustly enriched” itself at their expense by up to

health  Jul 26, 2026

The Guardian Health

Millions of people are losing weight using GLP-1s. How do the drugs affect their love lives?

Prescribing doctors often warn of the medications’ potential side-effects – but unexpected impacts on romantic relationships are less understoodFor Jennifer, obesity was the obvious culprit for most of her problems.The litigation attorney told herself it was the reason why she wasn’t being invited to parties, and why she and her husband struggled with physical intimacy in their otherwise “solid” marriage.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

health  Jul 25, 2026

The Guardian Health

Former top US food safety official says Trump’s handling of cyclospora is ‘catastrophic’

Frank Yiannas, formerly of the FDA, calls for an independent review of federal response to illness causing explosive diarrheaDonald Trump’s former top food safety official has accused the administration of a near “catastrophic” mismanagement of the cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people in the US.There should be an independent review of the federal government’s response to the rash of illnesses caused by the spread of a parasite found on raw produce, according to Frank Yiannas

health  Jul 25, 2026

The Guardian Health

I tried so hard to become a salad eater. Now cyclospora is sending me back to burgers | Dave Schilling

Between the companies pushing junk food and the bacteria threatening our produce, eating right feels basically impossibleWhile war and conflict seem to be raging across the planet, the greatest weapon of mass destruction afflicting the United States today is, apparently, a salad – in the sense that fresh produce is now waging battle with our stomachs thanks to the cyclospora parasite. Cyclospora has infested an unknown amount of our food, causing thousands to suffer bowel movements that would ma

health  Jul 25, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘Ozempic face’ and hair loss: what evidence is there for weight-loss drug side-effects?

Research into GLP-1 medications is not always robust but complaints such as digestive problems are well knownWeight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have boomed in popularity, and so have reports of myriad side-effects. This week researchers have suggested GLP-1 medications could be associated with hair loss.It can be hard to keep tabs on which of these unintentional outcomes have been the subject of expert scrutiny and which remain little more than hearsay. We take a look at some of the mo

health  Jul 25, 2026

The Guardian Health

Judge rules FDA restrictions on mifepristone are arbitrary and capricious

Abortion medication ruled to be safe as judge orders Trump administration to consider overturning restrictions A federal judge upheld the safety of the abortion medication mifepristone and ordered the Trump administration to examine and consider overturning restrictions on the drug as barriers to abortion access mount across the country.Robert S Ballou, a US district judge in Virginia, ordered the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) on Friday to reconsider mifepristone restrictions, which the j

health  Jul 24, 2026

The Guardian Health

Is strength training secretly just diet culture? – Stateside with Kai and Carter

After years of trying to be skinny, Guardian reporter Madeleine Aggeler did a 180 and decided to 'bulk'. Bulking, or gaining weight on purpose to get stronger, challenged everything she had been taught about her body, and transformed her relationship to food. Madeleine speaks to Carter Sherman about her owns body image struggles, and they discuss why strength training and weightlifting has become so popular for women. Is this actually healthy, or just an extension of toxic diet culture? Continue

health  Jul 24, 2026

The Guardian Health

Migraines are so much more than just banging headaches | Letters

Until migraines are recognised as a multi-system condition, sufferers will continue to be dismissed, writes Sarah Khan. Plus a letter from Rab HallettThank you for your article about migraines – a maligned, misunderstood condition (The truth about migraines: what causes them – and how to find relief, 19 July). But framing it around the headache understates what it is: a systemic neurological event in which head pain is only one component.For me, until perimenopause, the head pain

health  Jul 24, 2026

The Guardian Health

My advice to new Tate director – show us more art | Brief letters

Empty galleries | Cooking real food | Enigma of Alan Turing | DIY desperation | Futility rooms One thing that the new director of Tate could do (Jessica Morgan named new Tate director – with ‘big pay cut’ to take job, 22 July) is display a lot more of the art they have in store. There are acres of Tate Modern and (to a lesser extent) Tate Britain that are empty. No one wants a display like the Royal Academy summer exhibition. But having spent a fortune on extending Tate Modern, they could at lea

health  Jul 24, 2026

The Guardian Health

13 surprising reasons you’re always dog tired – and what to do about it

Feel lethargic even after a full night’s sleep? From not enough fibre to too much sitting, experts explain why your get up and go has got up and goneThe very air you breathe could be an issue. “Close the door, shut the window, add a partner and a heater, and by 3am a typical bedroom sits at 1,500 to 2,500 parts per million of carbon dioxide,” says Dr Jemma King, author of Sleep First: Sleep Smarter, Think Sharper, Feel Better. “Research shows that above 1,000 ppm sleep efficiency drops, deep sle

health  Jul 24, 2026

The Guardian Health

I spent years trying to get smaller. Until I decided to get bigger

‘Bulking’, or gaining weight on purpose to get stronger, challenged everything I was once taught to do with my bodyI had been casually lifting weights for a few years when several things changed in quick succession.First, my boyfriend proposed. Continue reading...

health  Jul 24, 2026

The Guardian Health

One year, 17 towns, dozens of voices: what we heard along the coast of England and Wales

Reporting from some of the poorest seaside towns revealed how young people have been left isolated – but remain resilient and full of hopeIf you were asked to summon up images of the coastline of England and Wales, you might think of sunny days, buckets, spades and carefree holidays. But for many young people growing up by the sea, decades of evidence tell a very different story. For them, rather than a picture-perfect horizon full of hope, the sea has become a boundary that swallows up opportun

health  Jul 24, 2026

The Guardian Health

The only way to stop petrol pump thieves | Brief letters

Fuelling up | Child health | Burnham spirit | DIY disasterI was once visiting Massachusetts in the US and forgot to take my card into the gas station before filling up (‘A guy did a runner in a Jaguar’: the petrol theft scandal – and the garage owner struggling to stop it, 21 July). After some loudspeaker remonstration, I took my card in, apologising that I’d forgotten as we don’t do that in the UK. The owner almost fell on the floor laughing. “How do you stop people stealing gas?” he asked. “We

health  Jul 23, 2026

The Guardian Health

Risk of Parkinson’s disease may increase with prolonged exposure to road traffic noise

Pioneering study linking noise pollution to progressive brain disease finds 3% increase in risk for every 11.5dB rise in noise levelsLong-term exposure to road traffic noise is associated with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, the biggest study of its kind has found.Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder in which parts of the brain become damaged over time, affecting movement and balance. Continue reading...

health  Jul 23, 2026