Trump Administration Weighs Eliminating Funds for Hospitals Offering Gender Care to Minors
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is weighing cutting off funds to hospitals that it says provide gender-related treatments for children and teenagers, a move that would sharply escalate officials' scrutiny of such programs.
The potential for increased federal scrutiny on gender-related healthcare comes after a 30-day deadline passed Saturday for nine children's hospitals to respond to letters from Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator and celebrity physician known as Dr. Oz. The former heart surgeon and television host demanded data related to sex-reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and puberty blockers.
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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Research Says This Way Of Eating May Impact Your Fertility—Doctors Reveal The Truth
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Time-restricted eating (TRE) is having a moment in the sun, to say the least. The eating method—which involves consuming all your daily calories within a set number of hours—can help manage weight, but it may impact another unexpected aspect of your health: your fertility. New research has shown that TRE, a form of intermittent fasting (IF), may improve fertility for those with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A 2025 review in Metabolism Open examined three studies to determine the relationship between IF, fertility, and PCOS and found that IF helped those with PCOS achieve more predictable ovulation schedules, which can increase the likelihood of pregnancy. Plus, since fasting can help with weight loss, it can potentially improve fertility for those who are obese and may have hypertension and high cholesterol, which can negatively affect fertility, says Joshua Hurwitz, MD, an OB-GYN and reproductive endocrinologist at Illume Fertility in Connecticut. However, fasting can also lead to nutritional deficiencies, which may disrupt one's hormonal balance and decrease egg quality, according to a 2024 study in Cureus Journal of Medical Science that looked at the association between nutritional deficiencies and subfertility. "Human health should be optimal going into pregnancy, and that can be hard to achieve when you are in a caloric deficit,' says Brittany Brown, RD, the founder of Feeding Babies, Nourishing Souls in Nova Scotia, Canada. So, what's the real correlation between fasting and fertility? Experts weigh in on TRE and how it can affect your chances of conceiving. Meet the experts: Joshua Hurwitz, MD, is a board-certified OB-GYN and reproductive endocrinologist and partner at Illume Fertility in Connecticut. Brittany Brown, RD, is the founder of Feeding Babies, Nourishing Souls in Nova Scotia, Canada. Suzanna Chatterjee, MD, is an OB-GYN based in Russellville, Arkansas. Eve Feinberg, MD, is a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at Northwestern Medicine. Mel Spinella, RD, is a New York-based dietitian specializing in fertility and pregnancy nutrition and the founder of Well by Mel Nutrition. A 2023 study in Free Radical Biology and Medicine looked at older mice to see how intermittent fasting impacts reproduction, and found that one month of fasting every other day improved the quality of developing eggs. The fasting lowered the amount of free radicals, molecules that can interfere with cellular processes, including cell division and reproduction, says Brown. Still, Brown points out that this study was done in mice, and there's not enough evidence yet to claim that fasting could have the same effect on humans. 'Future research will hopefully uncover how this works, but for now, we need more data before making recommendations," she says. A 2021 study in the Journal of Translational Medicine looked at 15 women between the ages of 18 and 31 who didn't ovulate. They participated in time-restricted feeding for five weeks, and afterward, 11 of the 15 participants experienced improved menstrual regularity. Many people with PCOS produce high levels of insulin, which can lead to excess male hormones in the body (such as testosterone), preventing ovulation, Suzanna Chatterjee, MD, an OB-GYN based in Russellville, Arkansas explains. Eating stimulates insulin, so with fewer meal times, those with PCOS could experience fewer spikes of insulin, which could help manage those excess hormones. TRE may help restore ovulation and improve fertility outcomes without the need for medication for those with PCOS, adds Eve Feinberg, MD, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at Northwestern Medicine. Still, fasting won't help everyone with PCOS—in the aforementioned study, four of the 15 women with the condition didn't experience better menstrual regularity. So, more research is needed on the connection between PCOS and fasting. Those with obesity are predisposed to have conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes, which can 'impair natural fertility, as well as lower the success rates of fertility treatment,' says Dr. Hurwitz. 'Even a modest weight loss of 5 to 10 percent can improve ovulation and hormone balance.' Still, weight loss is only one piece of the puzzle. 'Not everyone who is overweight will have trouble conceiving,' and vice versa, he adds. Plus, studies on TRE's effectiveness as a weight loss tool are conflicting. A 2021 study in Nutrition & Diabetes, which followed 78 men and women with obesity, found subjects had 'meaningful weight loss' after following a TRE plan for eight weeks. But a 2023 study of 547 adults over six months in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that TRE did not help subjects lose weight. So, more research is needed. Experts say those with PCOS and those who are obese may benefit from TRE. But for the general population, there are other better ways to improve one's fertility, such as exercising and eating healthy, balanced meals. 'Eating enough, especially nutrient-dense foods throughout the day, is essential for a healthy menstrual cycle,' as well as ovulation, says Mel Spinella, RD, a New York-based dietitian specializing in fertility and pregnancy nutrition and the founder of Well by Mel Nutrition. Brown also advocates for a more natural, eat-when-you're-hungry approach to mealtimes for those who are actively trying to conceive—even for those with PCOS—and particularly once pregnancy is possible or confirmed. 'Reliable and consistent energy intake is essential for reproductive health, especially in the early moments of pregnancy,' she says. She says that her female clients generally find more success conceiving when they follow less restrictive diets that focus on consuming healthy foods. Plus, the research on fasting and fertility is still in the early phases. 'Ultimately, there is a need for large-scale, long-term randomized control trials to truly understand the long-term impacts of TRE on fertility,' Spinella says. When it comes to intermittent fasting, there are a ton of different schedules breaking down when to eat, from the more flexible 14:10 (14 hours of fasting and 10 hours of eating), to the more restrictive 20:4 plan (20 hours of fasting and four hours of eating). Brown says intense schedules like 20:4 can make it difficult to meet daily nutrient needs, which are essential before getting pregnant. Meanwhile, a 12:12 approach is more flexible and easier to follow for success. For instance, eating only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. might naturally reduce late-night snacking on ultra-processed foods without being overly rigid. However, Dr. Chatterjee recommends following a 16:8 schedule, particularly for women with PCOS who are hoping to regulate their cycle. Before beginning any fasting schedule, it's always recommended that you check in with your medical provider to see what they think, Dr. Hurwitz says. At the end of the day, everyone is different and 'there's no one-size-fits-all answer,' to how your body will feel during your fertility journey, Brown says. The way you eat is totally up to you and what will make your body feel best. 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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The Clever Coffee Hack Brain Experts Swear By for Better Focus and Energy
The Clever Coffee Hack Brain Experts Swear By for Better Focus and Energy originally appeared on Parade. If you start your morning with a cup of coffee or tea to wake yourself up, you aren't alone: 85% of people in the United States have some form of caffeine every single day, and out of that, 70% of us consume it in the a.m. that actually isn't a great idea, psychologist and sleep expert Dr. Leah Kaylor, Ph.D, MSCP, tells Parade."Drinking caffeine right after waking can interfere with your natural cortisol cycle," she explained. "It's like revving an engine that is already in overdrive."And you know what you're at risk for if you do that? A crash! (Or, at least a trip to a metaphorical mechanic.) If you rely on caffeine for energy and focus, there are ways to use it even more effectively. Find out what neuroscientists and neurologists say about how to use your daily cup of joe (or oolong!) to maximize the brain benefits—and maybe even wrap up your work early so you can actually relax once it wears off.🩺SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week💊 First things first: How exactly do coffee, tea, energy drinks or other caffeine sources impact us overall?"Caffeine can temporarily increase alertness, help concentration and improve mood. It can also help in pain relief," , assistant professor of radiology and biomedical imaging, biomedical engineering, statistics and data science at Yale School of Medicine, tells us. "For example, some over-the-counter migraine medications contain a combination of standard pain relievers (aspirin and acetaminophen) and caffeine. There is some evidence that mild caffeine use is associated with reduced risk of degenerativebrain diseases." "Caffeine blocks the action of the sleep molecule adenosine, which promotes sleepiness," , neuroscientist, sleep expert and head of sleep research at Wesper, adds. "It also raises our blood pressure slightly, and increases our cortisol levels slightly, which help us feel energized and focused. Caffeine has also been shown to be rich an antioxidants and clinical studies have shown that consuming caffeine is neuroprotective and may even offer modest improvements in longevity."To quote the late, great Billy Mays: But wait, there's more!Related: According to , neuroscientist and founder of Manifest Wellness, caffeine also increases dopamine activity (which can improve your mind, increase your motivation and just generally make you feel good), releases norepinephrine (which can help sharpen your attention and concentration) and stimulate the release of acetylcholine (which can improve verbal and working memory). "Together, the combination of adenosine inhibition and neurotransmitter enhancement contributes to caffeine's well-documented benefits on mental performance," he says. "These include faster processing speed (how quickly your brain can take in and act on new information), improved memory recall (especially for short-term and working memory tasks), enhanced reaction time (which is why caffeine is often used in sports or high-stakes cognitive tasks) and generally helps different regions of the brain communicate more effectively and adaptively. In essence, caffeine doesn't just wake you up—it temporarily fine-tunes your brain's operating system." That all sounds glorious, right? Still, we should all proceed with some caution, because we're all different and so are our brains, bodies and individual reactions to caffeine. You can have too much of a good thing, and it can reverse the benefits. "In the short term, caffeine gives us energy by releasing adrenaline which increases heart rate, blood pressure, releases sugar stores from our liver and makes our muscles and brain produce more energy so that our body and brain to work more effectively and efficiently," , neurologist at VSI in Reston, Virginia, says. "However, excessive and chronic cortisol elevations are stressful and deleterious for our bodies and brain and cause fatigue by increasing inflammation through stress response, lower pain threshold, disrupt sleep, cause anxiety and worsen focus and memory."Related: It's all about the timing, and other experts pretty universally agreed with Dr. Kaylor: While most people start sipping their java just minutes after waking, it may actually be better for them to wait a bit."There are two times that caffeine are beneficial and both of these times depend on the natural flow of your circadian rhythm (basically, your internal 24-hour biological clock)," Dr. Rohrscheib says. "While most people prefer to consume caffeine upon awakening, clinical research has shown that consuming caffeine from mid to late morning is most beneficial." Wait, what?! "This is due to a natural decline in cortisol levels around this time can lead to sleepiness and low energy levels," Dr. Rohrscheib explains. Other experts agree. Dr. Maniscalco tells Parade, "Most people wake up with a natural surge in cortisol, a hormone that helps us feel alert and regulates our energy. This surge, known as the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), typically peaks about 30 to 45 minutes after you wake up. If you consume caffeine during this window, your body is already producing its own 'natural espresso,' and adding more stimulation can be redundant or even counterproductive."Related: "Instead, research and expert opinion suggest waiting about 90 to 120 minutes after waking," Dr. Maniscalco continues. "For someone who gets up around 7:00 a.m., that means having your first coffee around 9:30 a.m., when cortisol levels are naturally declining and caffeine has a more noticeable, cleaner effect."He adds, "I'm not saying this is easy (I struggle many days!), but the longer you can wait after you wake up, the more effective—with fewer side effects—coffee will be."The other ideal window for many people is at or right after lunch, according to Dr. Rohrscheib. "The second time to consume caffeine is early to mid-afternoon, at approximately 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.," she says. "This helps to reduce the completely normal mid-afternoon slump that occurs when our circadian rhythm pressures us to rest. Consuming caffeine in this time window often gives us the energy and alertness to get through the rest of our day without affecting our sleep later."Related: Because everyone and their schedules are different, your mileage may vary with this. Dr. Akkerman says to ask yourself these questions regarding timing your caffeine intake: When are you most active? When is your blood pressure the lowest? Do you work a night shift or a day shift? Another consideration (and perhaps the most important), according to internist and Big Bold Health founder , is when you go to bed. "Caffeine has a half-life of six hours, which means that half of the caffeine you consume at 3 p.m. is still actively influencing your circadian rhythm and sleep opportunity at 9 p.m.," Dr. Perlmutter advises. "Generally speaking, cutting out caffeine consumption around 2 PM is a good idea to protect quality sleep. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine and should consider stopping consumption earlier in the day. Those with anxiety, jittery symptoms or issues with gastrointestinal sensitivity may want to be more careful with caffeinated beverages." Up Next:Dr. Ella Akkerman, MD Dr. Leah Kaylor, Ph.D, MSCP Dr. Jamey Maniscalco, Ph.D Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, Ph.D Dr. Dustin Scheinost, Ph.D, BS The Clever Coffee Hack Brain Experts Swear By for Better Focus and Energy first appeared on Parade on Jun 30, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Trump says more nations want to expand ties with Israel under Abraham Accords
All times eastern FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage WATCH LIVE: DOJ announces largest coordinated healthcare fraud effort in dept's history
