Health

The benefits of dietary fiber extend beyond digestive health, as dietary fiber-derived metabolites produced by gut microbiota can influence immune function. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are secondary metabolites produced by the gut microbiota through the fermentation of dietary fibers. Notably, soluble dietary fibers such as inulin and pectin can be metabolized by gut bacteria into SCFAs, including butyrate. They act as important signaling molecules that reduce inflammation and balance the immune system.

Strength training has long been seen as something you mainly do to build muscle or look good. But a new study adds to a growing body of evidence showing that lifting weights does far more than change how we look. It may help us live longer—even if you don’t spend hours each day in the gym.

Many of us would like to keep our brains sharp as we get older. That has helped create a growing market for “brain-health” supplements. These include fish oil capsules and postbiotics, the beneficial, nonliving compounds and byproducts produced by “good” gut bacteria (probiotics) when they digest dietary fiber or prebiotics.

Fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are debilitating conditions, and patients can feel misunderstood and abandoned, in addition to experiencing a wide range of physical and mental symptoms. Several psychological and biological theories have been proposed to explain why the conditions occur, but there is no agreement on whether any one theory is true.

New research examining almost 4,700 e-scooter-related emergency department presentations in the state of Victoria found injuries among children ages 2 to 14 rose from 64 cases in 2022 to 263 in 2025, even though children younger than 16 are prohibited from riding e-scooters on roads.

New research has found that every year almost 400,000 Australians fail to access cardiac rehabilitation programs following conditions like a heart attack, despite strong evidence that doing so significantly reduces the risk of dying from another cardiac event.

Drinking fruit juice and sugar-sweetened beverages from childhood through adulthood may be linked to an increased risk of developing high blood pressure as an adult, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

A recent study from researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at the University of California San Diego developed and validated a new way to measure changing social norms around cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure in the United States over the past three decades. The findings are published in the journal BMJ Public Health.

You probably know fruit and vegetables are good for you, and most of us don’t eat enough of them.

Studies of alcohol’s effects on health have offered contradictory findings, with some suggesting a glass of red wine a day is beneficial and others saying even a drop of booze is too much. A new review attempting to clarify the risks finds more than 60 diseases, based on the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases, are 100% attributable to consuming alcohol. But the review also finds that some of the damage can be slowed or reversed by cutting down or quitting drinking.

Getting enough exercise is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Yet many people around the world are not active enough. Around 1 in 3 adults fail to meet the recommended levels of physical activity, while 4 in 5 children ages 11–17 do not achieve the recommended average of 60 minutes a day.