Harvard Health Content API

Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive condition triggered by gluten, a sticky protein found in grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. Celiac disease is typically diagnosed later in life, and occurs more often in women. Symptoms include intestinal distress, weight loss, rashes, fatigue, and nutrient deficiencies. Celiac patients must adopt a strictly gluten-free diet, which can be challenging after decades of eating gluten. Helpful strategies include creating gluten-free kitchen areas, buying naturally gluten-free items, and examining food labels.

Inflammaging is chronic, low-grade inflammation throughout the body that occurs with aging. It is believed to accelerate aging and contribute to more than half of all deaths worldwide by driving various age-related diseases such as arthritis, autoimmune conditions, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. People can combat inflammaging through healthy lifestyle measures such as exercising, eating healthfully, controlling weight, managing stress, prioritizing sleep, and limiting alcohol and smoking.

Itchiness of the breasts or nipples isn’t common, but can signal conditions both harmless and serious. Minor reasons for itchiness across the bra area include eczema, psoriasis, exposure to soaps or detergents, trapped moisture, and pregnancy and breastfeeding. More serious causes include infections, breast surgery, radiation treatment, and certain rare forms of breast cancer. Any skin changes on the breast that don’t improve over weeks should be evaluated by a doctor.

The BRAT diet — which stands for bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast — has long been recommended for people coping with diarrhea and vomiting. But adding oatmeal, cooked carrots, skinless chicken, and other bland foods is fine and provides nutrients needed to help people recover. People who have an upset stomach should avoid alcohol, caffeine, dairy products, sugary foods, and foods that are deep-fried, acidic, spicy, or high in fiber. They should also be sure to stay hydrated by drinking water, broth, diluted fruit juice, or weak, decaffeinated tea.

Shingles occurs when the dormant chickenpox virus reactivates, causing tingling, burning, and a painful, blistering rash. Shingles can affect anyone who has had chickenpox, with higher risk after age 50 and in people with weakened immunity. Diagnosis and treatment within three days of the rash appearing can shorten the illness and reduce severity. Most people recover completely from shingles, but there may be complications, such as post-herpetic neuralgia, which is pain that can be severe and long-lasting. Vaccination is the best way to prevent shingles and its complications.

Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests offer the potential to detect up to 50 types of cancer from a single blood draw. Most cancer deaths stem from cancers for which there is no screening test. MCED tests may find evidence of less common but more lethal types like ovarian and pancreatic cancer. But before considering one of these tests (which can be requested online), people should understand the limitations, including the high cost and possibility of false positive results.

Many people with atrial fibrillation (afib) — a rapid, irregular heart rhythm — need to control symptoms, such as the feeling that the heart is racing or fluttering. Medication options include drugs that slow down the heart or help restore its rhythm. Because afib can also increase the risk of blood clots that can lead to a stroke, many of these people also need to take clot-preventing medications.

Doctors have long prescribed drugs called beta blockers to all heart attack survivors. These drugs, which slow down the heart and lower blood pressure, include atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol). Growing evidence suggests that these drugs offer no meaningful benefit for people whose hearts still pump normally after a heart attack. Sometimes, however, a heart attack leaves the left ventricle (the heart’s main pumping chamber) unable to contract effectively. When that’s the case, beta blockers are still recommended.

An apolipoprotein B (apoB) test counts the number of LDL particles in the bloodstream as well as other particles that can contribute to clogged arteries and heart attacks. All of these so-called atherogenic particles carry a single apoB molecule but varying amounts of cholesterol. ApoB values are more closely linked to heart disease risk than LDL cholesterol. People with signs of an unhealthy metabolism—such as prediabetes, a big belly, or elevated triglycerides—are far more likely to have a high apoB.