The Guardian Health

All the whey up! A dairy byproduct is now the star of the ‘proteinmaxxing’ boom – but is demand too high?

As GLP-1s drive the current protein craze, a supplement once only taken by powerlifters is now so popular US producers are struggling to keep upFor generations, the Meives family made cheese. Tony Meives’s grandfather, a Swiss immigrant, and his father both ran small cheese factories in Wisconsin, in the heart of America’s dairyland. “I worked in the cheese factory my whole life,” Meives says. “I have four world-class cheesemakers in my family.” But when it came time to inherit the family busine

health  Jul 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

Over-40s with obesity have normal-BMI cholesterol and blood pressure levels, study finds

Success of statins and blood-pressure drugs hailed as researchers find some people with obesity were ‘better off’Many adults who are obese have “indistinguishable” cholesterol and blood pressure levels compared with those with a healthy weight, largely because of the use of statins, according to a study.In some cases, people with obesity were “better off” than those of a healthy weight, researchers added. Continue reading...

health  Jul 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

Starmer’s goodbye gift to Britain: a US pharma deal that could be more lethal than Covid | Aditya Chakrabortty

This shadowy treaty on medicine imports will cost the NHS billions and take funding away from doctors, nurses, cancer scans and the restFor all the crowd noise and heavy-breathing match analysis, British democracy is a simple sport. We elect politicians to serve our interests. They direct the vital services that look after our families and communities, such as our healthcare and our schools. The entire political system rests on one basic premise: they work for us.Believe that, as I do, and this

health  Jul 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘It’s peak tick season!’ Should Charlie xcx really have been lolling around in long grass?

Harry Styles, Zoë Kravitz, Sarah Pidgeon … celebrities love stretching out on Britain’s lawns and meadows. But with the tick-borne Lyme disease on the rise, is it safe for any of us?Do we need to worry about ticks in the UK? How serious are the risks associated with the diseases they can carry? Should we avoid rolling around in long grass à la Charli xcx in the video for her latest single, Wink Wink?These are questions that have been circulating on social media this week, after the release of th

health  Jul 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

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

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 theirsThe physical fact of my abortion caught me off guard. I had been so accustomed to defending abortion as an abstract right – as a right to privacy, to healthcare, to autonomy – that when it came to having one, I was surprised by the brutality of it. Fasting for hours before. Clammy and light-headed, my hands freezing and da

health  Jul 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

A disease outbreak nearly cost this US poultry farmer everything. One more could wipe him out

As bird flu reshapes agriculture, small farms operate under strict rules. Just a single case could tank their businessJoshua Beebe often starts his day by cleaning the tires of trucks and cars entering his poultry farm.“We spray them off and scrub them with a brush. It’s a precaution; the goal is to eliminate as many potential avenues for a pathogen to enter as possible,” said the owner of Tardif Poultry Farm, located in the Connecticut countryside east of Hartford. Continue reading...

health  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

Author of England maternity care review ‘listened to wrong voices’, says adviser

Dr Bill Kirkup said section of Valerie Amos’s report criticising ‘normal birth ideology’ was removed before publicationThe author of a major inquiry into maternity care altered its final report to remove criticism of “normal birth ideology”, one of her expert advisers claims.Dr Bill Kirkup said Valerie Amos had “listened to the wrong voices” before a section outlining the potential risks of encouraging women to have a vaginal birth “disappeared” from the final version of her government-commissio

health  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

What’s really in a hotdog? Nutrition experts explain

Americans eat 50bn hotdogs every year, but experts say they’re also among the most highly processed foodsIn 1969, the late writer William Zinsser toured a hotdog factory and described his visit in Life magazine, opening with the lines: “I’ve often wondered what goes into a hotdog. Now I know and I wish I didn’t.”All these years later, his words still reflect our love/hate relationship with the humble wiener. We love eating them, but would rather not think about what’s in them. Continue reading..

health  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

When the right promotes heat-stress denial, ask yourself this: whose children’s lives is it willing to risk? | George Monbiot

The class politics of extreme heat are very real and very dangerous – but that doesn’t stop the billionaire press from peddling its agendaEvery time you think the idiocy has hit rock bottom, it discovers a new level. It turns out there’s an even deeper hole you can dig for yourself than climate-science denial: heat-stress denial. Across the billionaire press last week, columnists and leader writers minimised the health impacts of the heatwave, particularly in schools. Expect more of this next we

health  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

From the archive: Flour power: meet the bread heads baking a better loaf – podcast

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.This week, from 2019: The days of the mass-produced pappy white British supermarket loaf may be numbered. Meet the bread heads revolutionising the way we eatBy Wendell Steavenson. Read by Lucy Scott Continue reading...

health  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian Health

UK poll highlights fears about access to emergency contraception

Doctors say survey shows need for morning-after pill to be available at corner shops, petrol stations and supermarketsAlmost half of the UK population believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception on a Sunday, while nearly two-thirds think they would struggle after 10pm, according to a survey.The research, carried out by YouGov, found that only 7% of people believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception during the daytime on a weekday. Continue reading...

health  Jun 30, 2026

The Guardian Health

Frequent AI chatbot use linked to belief in anti-vaccine myths, poll finds

Poll finds use of AI tools for health advice is correlated with belief in vaccine falsehoods, such as shots causing autismAdults in the US who frequently seek out health advice from artificial intelligence chatbots are more likely to believe myths about vaccines, according to a poll released on Tuesday by health research firm KFF.The survey, which was conducted in May and polled a representative sample of 2,480 US adults, found that use of AI tools and chatbots correlated with belief in falsehoo

health  Jun 30, 2026

The Guardian Health

What does the Amos report reveal about maternity and neonatal care in England?

Amos review confirms patients received unacceptable care that led to stillbirths, serious injuries and maternal deathsDamning report on maternity care in England is a ‘watershed moment’Valerie Amos, a Labour peer and former diplomat, has published her long-awaited review into maternity and neonatal care across England. This is what we know: Continue reading...

health  Jun 30, 2026

The Guardian Health

I pushed myself too hard at the gym – and ended up in the hospital

Reckless exercise can lead to exertional rhabdomyolysis, a condition that has risen due to the popularity of high-intensity workoutsIn January 2025, I attended my first bootcamp class.I had spent the day hunched over my laptop, anxious and craving an intense workout that would dispel my worries. I booked the class at a nearby gym, and the five-star reviews promised the all-consuming exercise I wanted: “Militant style instructor, but very motivating,” read one. Another: “Hardest workout of my lif

health  Jun 30, 2026

The Guardian Health

England maternity commissioner role would be ‘fundamentally dangerous’, says campaigner

Founder of Maternity Safety Alliance says recommendation in Amos report will not solve wider cultural problemsThe appointment of a national maternity commissioner would be “fundamentally dangerous”, a bereaved mother who founded a maternity safety campaign group has warned.Emily Barley, whose daughter Beatrice died because of failings at Barnsley hospital in 2022, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the recommendation for a maternity commissioner in England in the Amos review was “not going

health  Jun 30, 2026

The Guardian Health

A US champion of ‘freebirthing’ always claimed there had been no maternal deaths linked to the movement. Is Stacey Warnecke the first?

Guardian investigation exposes full links between a US business linked to baby deaths around the world and Australian ‘birth keeper’ Emily Lal, the central witness at the inquest into the death of a Melbourne wellness influencerHow a Melbourne woman’s death is shining light on the dangers of non-medical births – Full Story podcastFind more from The birth keepers series hereDuring her time at the helm of a multimillion-dollar organisation linked to baby deaths around the world, Emilee Saldaya has

health  Jun 30, 2026

The Guardian Health

Transparency, standards and a new commissioner – but does the maternity review go far enough?

Amos review sets out recommendations for government, but falls short on systemic racism and traumatic birthsEngland to get powerful maternity commissioner after ‘shocking’ failingsThe findings of Lady Amos’ review into maternity and neonatal services across England, which state the system is ultimately no longer fit for purpose, are unsurprising. The systemic failures and inadequacies of these services have been uncovered in several reports already, including Donna Ockenden’s review of the “toxi

health  Jun 29, 2026

The Guardian Health

England to get powerful maternity commissioner after ‘shocking’ failings

Health secretary announces move after Amos review finds childbirth and neonatal care in need of ‘urgent reform’Analysis: Transparency, standards and a new commissioner – but does maternity review go far enough?A powerful maternity commissioner will be appointed to push through an urgent transformation of childbirth care in England after a major review concluded that it had multiple failings.Ministers have bowed to growing pressure by agreeing to recruit the UK’s first commissioner for maternity

health  Jun 29, 2026

The Guardian Health

Prejudice and misogyny are impacting maternity care | Letters

Readers respond to the findings of the Ockenden inquiry, which revealed that more than 500 mothers and babies came to harm or died as a result of inadequate care in NottinghamRhiannon Lucy Cosslett asks why women are so routinely ignored in their maternity care (Belittled, ignored or gaslit – now we know the true cost of not listening to pregnant women, 25 June). Our research on formal reports about women’s poor maternity care identifies various reasons why women are not listened to, and they al

health  Jun 29, 2026

The Guardian Health

Resident doctors in England accept government offer on pay and jobs

British Medical Association called off a strike at the last minute earlier this month to put the offer to membersResident doctors in England have voted to accept a new government deal on pay and jobs.It comes after the British Medical Association called off a strike at the last minute earlier this month to put the offer to members. Continue reading...

health  Jun 29, 2026