Every year, farm animals swallow an estimated 30 million pounds of antibiotics before we swallow them. Many of these medications are the very same type your doctor might prescribe—and health experts fear if these meds are used in animals, their ability to fight your infection will diminish. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to cut back on this barnyard drug problem. Here’s what you need to know about the ruling, and how to protect yourself in the meantime. Read the full article in Men’s Health.
Extra weight can cost you your health—and your savings. The bigger the number on the scale, the greater your health-care costs, according to a new Duke University study. And you pay a penalty for added pounds, even if you don’t qualify as overweight. Read the full article in Men’s Health. 
In most of sports’ recent doping scandals, there’s one thing no one questions: the substances used. But next month—on sports’ biggest stage—one known performance-enhancing drug will be allowed. In fact, you may have used it to boost your own performance as recently as this morning. 
You scope Amazon reviews before downloading a book to your Kindle. You wouldn’t dream of checking out a new bar without Yelping it first. But should you use online review sites like Vitals, ZocDoc, or Healthcare Reviews to choose a doctor?
We survived one polar vortex already. So before the next round of glacial temperatures approaches, take steps to protect yourself against these three lesser-known dangers. 
Stronger erections. Weight loss. Better sleep. There’s a pill for almost everything and everyone—except for people who take insulin for diabetes. But that could change within the next few years, according to a new paper from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in India. 
You might call it a beer belly, but really, your gut’s full of bugs. Trillions of tiny bacteria teem through your digestive system, serving important functions such as helping you break down food. Now, new research suggests people with colorectal cancer have fewer types of gastrointestinal germs. 
The numbers just don’t add up. Four in 10 people with at least one risk factor for type 2 diabetes—including obesity or high blood pressure—think they have no risk at all, finds a new survey by the American Diabetes Association. Even worse: 80 percent say they’re in good or excellent health. 
Oxycontin. Vicodin. Percocet. Opiates like these can make the agony of surgery or cancer more bearable. But potent painkillers come with serious risks—namely addiction and even death. And a new report finds more than half of hospital patients were given some opioid pain medications. 
Whether they come through a public service campaign or a pharmaceutical commercial, messages about depression always end the same: Talk to your doctor. But new research begs the question of whether or not that works.