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C.D.C. Site Restores Some Purged Files After ‘Gender Ideology’ Ban Outcry

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C.D.C. Site Restores Some Purged Files After ‘Gender Ideology’ Ban Outcry

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention purged from its website thousands of pages that included terms such as “transgender,” “L.G.B.T.” and “pregnant person,” to comply with an executive order barring any material that promoted “gender ideology.”

By Monday, some of the pages had reappeared, in part in response to intense media coverage, backlash from the scientific community and concern for the public’s health, according to a senior official with knowledge of the matter.

The purge had also swept up vaccine information statements, which must be given to patients before they can be immunized; guidelines for contraception; and several pages on how race and racism affect health outcomes. Also removed was a database containing 20 years of H.I.V. data that doctors rely on to determine whether a pregnant woman lives in an area of high H.I.V. prevalence and should be tested for the virus in her third trimester.

Some of these resources were also reinstated, but the return was not entirely smooth. Charts and tables in the H.I.V. database could be reached through a Google search, for instance, but the C.D.C.’s own portal remained broken.

C.D.C. employees are “fully and completely implementing the executive order,” said a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. But “historical data, articles, and clinical guidelines continue to be available,” the official said. “That essentially is how this is being applied.”

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The shake-up accompanied two other directives also aimed at expunging information on certain topics. C.D.C. scientists were ordered late on Friday to withdraw any pending publications, at any scientific journal, that mention the forbidden terms, according to an email viewed by The New York Times.

Separately, a directive prohibiting C.D.C. employees from holding scientific meetings or communicating with other organizations or the public was indefinitely extended on Saturday, when it was expected to lapse, according to another email obtained by The Times.

“I am very fearful and I am very angry about what is happening right now,” said Dr. Ina Park, an expert in H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted infections at the University of California, San Francisco.

The directive also targeted pages on other government websites, including a webpage on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, under the aegis of the Health and Human Services Department. That provision forbids “discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), in covered health programs or activities.” It, too, was back online on Monday.

The C.D.C.’s recommendations are the bedrock of clinical practice in the United States. Every hospital’s procedural manuals are filled with the agency’s documents, and clinicians regularly refer to the recommendations, on the website or through the agency’s app.

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Now, however, searching for some terms leads to a dead link or to pages that have been stripped of key details, or the search yields a suggestion to explore another topic instead. For instance, a search for the word “abortion” suggests that the user “also try: adoption.”

Some pages — for instance, those on transgender health — were expected to remain absent because they might promote “gender ideology.”

“I have no idea what that term means,” said Dr. Richard Besser, who served as acting director of the C.D.C. in 2009.

“We’re not talking here about ideology — we’re talking about public health,” he added. “We’re talking about people whose lives are being put at risk.”

The disappearance of the pages is already affecting medical care. In Washington State, Dr. Tim Menza, a medical director for King County’s sexual health clinic, worried that hard-won progress against early syphilis in gay and bisexual men would be lost.

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Dr. Jessica Weyer, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Concord, N.H., said she could not guide her patients’ choice of contraception without access to the complex eligibility criteria. For instance, the guidelines for birth control include recommendations for patients with various medical conditions. They also list drug interactions that must be taken into account and give providers information on newer methods like vaginal rings.

“If a patient has high blood pressure or migraine headaches, I need to know what’s safe for her,” Dr. Alison Stuebe, an obstetrician-gynecologist in North Carolina, said.

The C.D.C. website is ostensibly being altered to comply with Mr. Trump’s executive orders on diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and “defending women.” But vaccine information statements and contraception guidelines are unrelated to those orders, Dr. Weyer said.

“This just seems like a purposeful removal of important information providing safe contraception, which I view as terrifying,” she said. “It sounds like they want to control women, not defend women.”

Although the executive orders did not mention race, several resources on structural racism and health disparities in certain communities also disappeared on Friday.

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In the United States, race and ethnicity are strongly linked to health. Black and Native American women are two to three times as likely as white women to die during pregnancy and after childbirth, and their babies face roughly twice the risk of dying before their first birthday. Diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases are also much more prevalent, and life expectancy is lower, among racial and ethnic minority groups.

Information on racial disparities is crucial for helping health care providers to focus on the groups most at risk, said Linda Goler Blount, president of the Women’s Black Health Imperative, an advocacy group. During the Covid pandemic, she noted, health researchers discovered that pulse oximeter devices, which measure blood oxygen levels, “didn’t work on people with dark skin.” That disparity might have contributed to higher death rates among communities of color.

“If we can’t collect data by race, ethnic identity and gender identity, we’re going to see mortality rates increase,” Ms. Blount said.

Mr. Trump’s orders purged more than 8,000 web pages across more than a dozen U.S. government websites. In some cases, the executive orders also targeted the work of private citizens.

A memo to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which publishes papers from both government and academic researchers, gave employees until 5 p.m. on Friday to scrub the agency’s publication, Patient Safety Network, of terms including “transgender,” “nonbinary,” “L.G.B.T.” and “gender identity.”

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Among the roughly 20 research papers that were taken down was one from 2022 detailing how clinicians can better identify emergency room patients at risk of suicide. The paper’s lead author, Dr. Gordon Schiff, is the director of quality and safety for the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care; he is not a government scientist. The paper was flagged for a single line: “High risk groups include male sex, being young, veterans, Indigenous tribes, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (L.G.B.T.Q.).”

Dr. Schiff said he was shocked by the new administration’s “extreme censorship.” “This whole idea that the risk factors or commentary should be based on political ideology rather than data and truth is a pretty scary prospect,” he said.

Some experts are exploring the legality of the administration’s deleting content from federal websites and papers written by C.D.C. scientists. But in the case of Dr. Schiff’s paper, the administration clearly crossed the line, said Larry Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Center on Global Health Law.

“To me, that’s classic viewpoint censorship in violation of the First Amendment,” Mr. Gostin said.

“While the administration may be able to silence government health officials carrying out their official duties, it cannot drag private scientists into its web of censorship,” he added. “And all that censorship for expressing a single word with which the government objects.”

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Eating common dairy food every day may slow biological aging, study suggests

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Eating common dairy food every day may slow biological aging, study suggests

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A simple lifestyle adjustment could potentially slow down the body’s biological aging process, according to new research.

The study, published in the journal Aging, investigated how a diet change and easy exercise regimen affected men between the ages of 50 and 74 over a three-month period.

Researchers designed a clinical trial involving 48 overweight men in Japan. Over a 12-week period, half of the participants followed a strictly structured wellness routine, while the other half maintained their usual habits.

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For the intervention group, the routine required consuming 100 grams of plain yogurt every day.

This group also received individualized dietary counseling that advised them to curb overeating, avoid excessive snacking and cut out sugary drinks.

A simple lifestyle adjustment could potentially slow down the body’s biological aging process, according to new research. (iStock)

They were also instructed to walk or use a stepper machine for roughly 30 minutes a day, at least three days each week.

To measure the impact of these changes, the scientists collected blood samples from all participants before and after the study, and also analyzed DNA for chemical changes that act as indicators of cellular age.

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Specifically, they used a measurement tool called DunedinPACE. Rather than assessing a person’s chronological age in years, this tool calculates the precise rate at which an individual’s body is currently aging.

The men who consumed the probiotic yogurt, adjusted their diets and exercised showed a statistically significant reduction in their pace of aging compared to the control group, the researchers said.

The anti-aging benefits cannot be attributed to any single component on its own due to the variety in the study, the researchers noted. (iStock)

On average, the speed of their biological aging slowed by approximately 2.2%. This reduction is roughly comparable to the slowing of biological aging observed in a previous two-year U.S. study, in which participants reduced their daily calorie intake by 25%.

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This reduction in aging speed happened independently of weight loss , meaning it did not directly correlate with changes in the participants’ body mass index or the exact number of exercise sessions they logged.

The researchers also recorded a noticeable improvement in a specific DNA marker that is linked to kidney function.

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Because this study combined three distinct factors — probiotics, diet and exercise — the authors concluded that the anti-aging benefits cannot be attributed to any single component. Instead, the slowed aging rate appears to be the result of a combined effect.

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The reduction in aging speed happened independently of weight loss, the study found. (iStock)

The researchers also acknowledged clear limitations of the study, including its small sample size and short duration. Also, the participant pool was restricted to overweight men of a single nationality.

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More research is needed to determine whether these short-term biological shifts can translate into permanent, long-term health benefits, the study stated.

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Your resting heart rate could reveal more about your health than you think, doctors say

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Your resting heart rate could reveal more about your health than you think, doctors say

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The simple act of noting how fast your heart is beating while you’re at rest may be the key to measuring your overall health.

Resting heart rate is defined by Mayo Clinic as the number of times your heart beats each minute while you’re awake, calm and not moving. 

A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults. A slower resting heart rate means the heart does not have the work as heard to pump blood through the body — something typical of someone who is more fit.

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Athletes who are very fit may have a resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute, according to Mayo Clinic.

Your resting heart rate can vary due to a variety of factors, including age, physical activity levels, sleep health, smoking, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, stress, anxiety, hormones, body type and certain medications.

A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults, according to medical experts. (iStock)

But a resting heart rate that’s often too high or too low may signal a health issue.

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A high resting heart rate, even if it’s slight, is usually a sign that something else may be going on in the body, such as anemia, an infection or a thyroid problem, according to Cleveland Clinic.

A high resting heart rate, even if it’s slight, is usually a sign that something else may be going on in the body. (iStock)

If your heart rate is regularly above 100 beats per minute, this is a sign to talk with your heart care provider. 

The same advice applies if you are not a trained athlete and your resting heart rate is frequently below 60 beats per minute.

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Talk to your doctor if other symptoms such as fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath occur.

How to measure your heart rate

You can check your own heart rate by tracking your pulse on your wrist or neck. The best time of day to measure resting heart rate is first thing in the morning, says Mayo Clinic. 

Place your index and middle fingers inside the wrist below the thumb, to feel the radial artery; or, do so on the side of the neck, to feel the carotid artery.

Place your index and middle fingers on the side of the neck, to feel the carotid artery — and count how many beats per minute. (iStock)

Count the number of times your pulse beats in 15 seconds, then multiply this number by four to calculate beats per minute.

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Wearable devices can also detect and track resting heart rate, although this may not always be accurate.

How to lower your heart rate

If your resting heart rate is higher than normal, there are a few ways to work toward lowering it.

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Vigorous exercise is “the best way” to lower your resting heart rate and increase the heart’s aerobic capacity and max heart rate, according to Harvard.

For those who don’t exercise regularly, it’s important to work your way up in difficulty when following a new workout routine.

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Vigorous exercise is “the best way” to lower your resting heart rate, Harvard Health says. But it’s vital to work your way up carefully.  (iStock)

Some medications, such as beta blockers, can also lower heart rate. In the same way, managing stress through holistic methods such as meditation or yoga can also help. 

Cleveland Clinic also recommends cutting back on harmful substances such as drugs and alcohol, which can dehydrate you and raise your heart rate.

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Adequate sleep can also help bring your heart rate down, in addition to maintaining a healthy weight.

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Cardiologist Tamanna Singh, M.D., shared with Cleveland Clinic that lowering your heart rate takes time as various lifestyle changes kick in.

Managing stress through holistic methods such as meditation or yoga can help lower your resting heart rate,

“Just like building your biceps and triceps, it takes time for your heart to become stronger,” the doctor said.

Singh recommended focusing on heart rate patterns rather than dialing in on just the number. 

Take note of how your heart rate changes after eating certain foods, when you’re dehydrated or after you’ve begun a new exercise or stress management routine.

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“If you notice that your heart rate is consistently over 100, mention it to your doctor, especially if you’ve tried making lifestyle changes and they don’t seem to be working,” she said. 

“Your resting heart rate isn’t the be-all, end-all of your health, but it’s definitely a marker that you should pay attention to.”

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GLP-1 Users’ Guide to Protein Snacks: Here’s What a Dietitian Actually Recommends

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GLP-1 Users’ Guide to Protein Snacks: Here’s What a Dietitian Actually Recommends


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Best Protein Snacks for GLP-1 Users: Dietitian Top Picks




















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