CNN Health

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — To get screened for cervical cancer, patients in the United States may no longer need to put their feet in those awkward stirrups, brace for the uncomfortable speculum or even take the time off from work for an in-person doctor’s appointment. Soon, they will have the option to collect

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration has approved three new color additives from natural sources “that will expand the palette of available colors from natural sources for manufacturers to safely use in food,” the agency said in a news release. The three dyes are Galdieria extract blue, butterfly pea

By Kameryn Griesser, CNN (CNN) — Getting the shingles vaccine could do more than just prevent a painful red rash — it may also lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a new South Korean study of more than one million people published in the European Heart Journal. The highly common herpes

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — While cinnamon is a popular spice used added to many foods, it has a long history of uses in traditional medicine in many cultures. Today, cinnamon products are sold as dietary supplements to help with a variety of healthy conditions, including treating diabetes, promoting weight loss and relieving hay

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — A priceless treasure trove of biodata gathered from generations of Americans by Harvard University researchers may soon be lost due to additional funding cuts by the Trump administration, a leading nutrition researcher told CNN. The latest round of cuts to Harvard by the Trump administration will halt funding for

By Kaitlan Collins, Sarah Owermohle and Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — The White House announced Wednesday that President Donald Trump is pulling Dr. Janette Nesheiwat’s nomination to be surgeon general and replacing her with Dr. Casey Means. The news came the day before Nesheiwat’s Senate confirmation hearing was set to begin. “Casey has impeccable ‘MAHA’

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — More than 1,000 measles cases have been reported in the United States in 2025, according to a CNN tally. This is only the second year cases have been this high since the disease was declared eliminated in the US a quarter-century ago, and a large multistate outbreak continues to

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Eating about a dozen servings of ultraprocessed food each day could more than double your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. A single serving in the study was 8 ounces of diet or sugar-sweetened soda, a single hot dog, one slice of packaged cake, a

By Sarah Owermohle, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday unveiled a pilot program for the National Institutes of Health to tap into Medicare and Medicaid data in its search for the root causes of autism. The database — which HHS said will draw from insurance claims, medical records

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — The foods you pack in your kids’ lunch boxes may have an impact on whether they experience their first menstrual cycle too early, according to new research. Eating a more inflammatory diet was associated with a 15% greater chance of kids having their first period in the next month,

By Sarah Owermohle and Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration has named Dr. Vinay Prasad, a hematologist oncologist, to lead its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the division that oversees vaccines and biologic medicines. Prasad, a professor at the University of California San Francisco, became a harsh critic of

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Using marijuana during pregnancy is linked to poor fetal development, low infant birth weight, dangerously early deliveries and even death, according to a new meta-analysis of research. “The most striking finding is the increased risk of perinatal mortality — death either during the pregnancy or shortly after the pregnancy,”

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Kelly Spill didn’t cry when she was diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer at age 28. She held her emotions together when her surgeon told her that she might not be able to carry another baby — treatment with radiation can significantly affect fertility — and that she might

By Ian Kerner, CNN (CNN) — Do you walk around resenting your partner? Do you dread coming home from work as much as, if not more than, going to work? Are you too tired for date night, much less the sex that might follow? When you think of the future, does it feel like it’s

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new list of measures targeting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which contaminate nearly half the drinking water in the United States. But public health experts have concerns about what that list doesn’t include. “There are a lot of vague promises

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN (CNN) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is asking the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an agencywide “scientific process” on treating measles and other conditions with medications as well as alternative therapies such as vitamins, HHS said in a

By Meg Tirrell and Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that it aims to accomplish within four years a scientific feat that hasn’t been achieved for the past 45: the development of a universal flu vaccine that could protect against multiple virus strains with pandemic potential,

By Jen Christensen and Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released a 400-page review of treatment for gender dysphoria in children but did not disclose who authored or reviewed the report. The report follows several actions by President Donald Trump’s administration to halt gender-affirming treatment of

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Health and Human Services said it will require that all new vaccines be tested in placebo-controlled trials before they’re licensed for use, raising urgent questions about the system used to clear updated Covid-19 boosters each respiratory virus season. “Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, all new vaccines

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — As artificial food dyes are becoming increasingly restricted at state and federal levels, some manufacturers are looking to switch to natural dyes to color their food products. US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced in an April 22 briefing that the agency plans to work with

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — There is happiness, and then there is flourishing. And as new research has found, having one doesn’t always mean having the other, too. Flourishing indicates you’re living a good life, and it is more than individual happiness — it is evaluated from multiple dimensions, including health, financial security, meaning

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — Imagine your dad was a bully. If so, when you were a child, he might have withheld affection and warmth and been quick to be critical if things didn’t go his way. As an adult, you would find yourself being a people pleaser with the men in your life