Inflammation is a double-edged sword. When you have a sudden injury or infection, your body responds by calling immune cells to the site of the problem. It may become red, swollen and painful, but all that is supposed to be part of the healing process. What happens with chronic inflammation is more

One of the most basic pillars of health is good nutrition. A range of eating patterns might all be considered balanced diets, but in general people do better when they eat less processed foods and more whole foods. Vegetables and fruits play a starring role in at least two diets that have been studi

Millions of people are feeling apprehensive these days. The headlines are enough to make almost anyone feel anxious. People who are distressed may have a difficult time finding a therapist, however. There are too few, and consequently many are not taking new patients. Wait lists are long, often thre

Influenza usually starts in November, and cases increase throughout the winter, not fading until March or so. This year’s flu season is especially severe. An awful lot of people are suffering with fever, cough, congestion, body aches, headaches and other symptoms of influenza. Of course, flu is not

This week, we dig into the cooking oil controversy. For decades, we’ve heard that we should be using vegetable oils rather than butter, lard or other fats (possibly even olive oil). Oils from corn, soybeans, sunflower or safflower seeds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Consequently, people c

This week, our guest discusses how to prevent and treat a surprisingly common condition, chronic kidney disease. One in three Americans faces the risk factors for kidney disease; one in seven is actually living with the condition, although they may not be aware of it.At The People’s Pharmacy, we str

Do you know someone who has struggled for years to meet deadlines or manage their time? Perhaps you have a smart friend who just never did well in school (or possibly at work) because they couldn’t seem to turn papers (or reports) in on time. Such people might find a diagnosis of attention deficit h

When doctors talk about infections, they are usually referring to acute situations in which the immune system gets overwhelmed by a virus such as influenza or chickenpox. Infections also result from the interaction of bacteria with the immune system, as in the case of pneumonia or sepsis. These can

Do you worry about things you can’t see, smell or taste? Most of us don’t. Yet particles we can’t detect with our five senses are often present in the air we breathe. They have the power to make us sick. How can we achieve cleaner indoor air so that we have less chance of coming down with a serious

This week our guest is gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan. She explains how keeping our digestive microbiota in good health can help our immune systems fight off pathogens from the inside out.At The People’s Pharmacy, we strive to bring you up to date, rigorously researched insights and conversation

Diabetes is a serious metabolic disorder that affects close to 40 million Americans. Most of them have type 2 diabetes, which means their bodies produce insulin, but their cells are not very responsive to it. As a result, blood sugar builds up and people run the risk of cardiovascular complications

When the thyroid gland stops working efficiently, the effects resound throughout the entire body. That’s because this little gland controls metabolism in all our tissues. Before there was a treatment, thyroid disease was sometimes deadly. Doctors started prescribing natural desiccated thyroid derive

For decades, neurologists and pharmaceutical firms have been focused on amyloid plaque building up in the brains as the cause of Alzheimer disease. Drug companies have developed compounds to remove that plaque, and they have been successful. There are medicines, notably lecanemab and donanemab, that

Heart disease is still our number one killer, even though 50 million Americans have been prescribed a cholesterol-lowering statin. Cardiologists pay a lot of attention to cholesterol in all its variety: total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, VLDL. Even blood fats like triglycerides and lipoprotein a [Lp(a)] a

The guest for this episode is sleep expert and medical communicator par excellence, Dr. Roger Seheult. With his certification in sleep medicine, he will tell you why you need to get enough sleep, along with how much is enough. If you find you have trouble sleeping, what can you do about it? Dr. Sehe

Losing weight is hard. That’s probably why almost three-fourths of American adults are overweight or obese. On this episode, we speak with a distinguished doctor and former FDA commissioner who has personal experience struggling with the scale. In this discussion of popular weight-loss drugs like We

Do you love your hair the way it is? Many of us wish our hair were different–curlier, straighter, darker or lighter. But what people worry about most with their hair is when they lose it. Can you keep your hair from falling out? Why does hair loss affect some people, including women as well as […]

If you have ever suffered with sinusitis, you know how terrible it can make you feel. Breathing is difficult; smelling and tasting anything is impossible. What are the causes of sinusitis and what can you do about it? Joe and Terry talk with a leading physician who does research on how to treat sinu

This week, we start the show with an interview with epidemiologist Thomas Farley, MD, MPH. His essay in JAMA Health Forum (Aug. 8, 2025) describes why older Americans are dying of falls at an alarming rate.  Once you have a chance to hear why this problem is worse in the US than in comparable countr

Are you concerned about your bone health? Do you worry about osteoporosis? According to the CDC, more than 10 million Americans have low bone density that makes them more vulnerable to fractures. For many older people, a fracture can be devastating, reducing mobility and possibly even leading to dea

The statistics are shocking. At any given time, nearly one fourth of American adults are experiencing low back pain. Even worse, roughly one-third of the population will have to deal with chronic pain at some point in their lives. How does the brain react to pain? What can people with chronic pain d

For the last several decades, nutrition scientists have been debating the pros and cons of various dietary approaches. The Mediterranean diet has a lot of proponents, and we have interviewed some of them on The People’s Pharmacy. Dr. Barry Popkin and Dr. Walter Willett endorse olive oil, whole grain

Americans take a lot of medications. Luckily, the Food and Drug Administration only approves those that are safe and effective. However, the agency’s definition of “safe” includes medicines that can harm or kill some people, and the definition of “effective” covers some drugs that only work a little

In this episode, our guest is a dermatologist who wants us to consider sunlight’s health benefits. That is a minority opinion among dermatologists. Dr. Richard Weller tells us why vitamin D is overrated and not the most important aspect of sun exposure. At The People’s Pharmacy, we bring you the lat