You’re in for your annual physical and you hear the words “pre-diabetes” or “diabetes,” based on an elevated A1C value in your blood test. This pivotal indicator has suddenly got your attention. But rest easy. Dr. David Nathan, faculty editor of the Harvard special health report Healthy Eating for Type 2 Diabetes, offers hope and help for getting things back under control.

Dr. Todd Ellerin is on the front lines of infectious disease containment and mitigation as the director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health in Weymouth, Massachusetts. He’s an instructor at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. We spoke to him this week to get an update on the rapidly developing story surrounding the coronavirus Covid-19

In this return engagement, Harvard professor Lawrence S. Friedman describes the primary gut problems we may be heir to, from ulcers to colorectal cancer. He is the faculty editor for the Harvard Health Publishing special health report Sensitive Gut.

The handy euphemism for an enlarged prostate gland—which constricts the urethra and makes it harder to void—is weak stream. It’s just one of the conditions tackled each year in Harvard’s annual Prostate Disease Guide. Here, Editor-in-chief Dr. Marc Garnick explains some possible steps if you’re experiencing the first subtle signs of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

You feel alive, energetic, at the peak of your game. Don’t you wish you could bottle it? For those of us who would like to boost our energy level, maybe you can. In this wide-ranging podcast, Dr. Anthony Komaroff, faculty editor of the special health report Boosting Energy and the editor-in-chief of Harvard Health Letter tells us there are lifestyle changes you can make today that will beat back fatigue and jump-start your energy….the elixir of life.

If you find losing weight difficult, don't worry about how much you consume. Instead concentrate on eating quality foods like fruit and vegetables, lean animal or plant-based proteins and healthy fats. Then apply the portion control strategy of using smaller plates, smaller glasses and earlier eating times. These ideas come from Dr. Scott Butsch, faculty editor for the Harvard special health report Lose Weight and Keep it Off. 

Finding healthy, satisfying mental stimulation is one key to establishing a cognitive reserve, an essential component in staving off cognitive decline. But, as Harvard neurologist Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone describes, playing the same computer game over and over won't help. It's important to "cross-train" the brain with a variety of fun, challenging mental activities. Dr. Pascual-Leone is the faculty editor for the Harvard Health Publishing special health report A Guide to Cognitive Fitness....

Home blood pressure monitoring is an easy way to spot trends and establish targets, especially if you want to measure the effectiveness of your anti-hypertension medications. And you can use that information to gauge how well you’re doing on important dietary changes. Dr. Randall Zusman, faculty editor of the Harvard special health report Controlling Your Blood Pressure, joins us for an encore performance.

There was a time when a diagnosis of prostate cancer meant a rush to perform radical prostatectomy to remove the prostate and the tumor along with it—with all the ensuing complications of incontinence and erectile dysfunction. To counter this rush to surgery, Harvard oncologist Marc Garnick, editor in chief of Harvard’s annual prostate disease guide, describes a program of active surveillance of certain slow-growing cancers that leave a man’s urological function intact. Not everyone qualifies...

Most of the time your digestive tract toils silently in the background, routinely taking in nourishment and expelling waste. But here’s a key takeaway: Your brain is a critical part of maintaining this smoothly running system. Here to explain is Harvard professor Dr. Lawrence S. Friedman, faculty editor the special health report Sensitive Gut.

All of us at one time or another are concerned about excess pounds. If shedding those pounds is part of your New Year's resolution, take heart that it's not all about the calories you take in. It's also about simple achievable changes you can make today that will improve your chances of success. We talked to Dr. W. Scott Butsch, faculty editor of the Harvard special health report Lose Weight and Keep it Off to learn about easy changes you can start today that will last all year. 

Clouded vision caused by cataracts is another consequence of aging. But surgery, while always serious, is becoming routine. And there's the side benefit of replacing your foggy lense with a corrected intraocular implant. Harvard professor Dr. Deborah Jacobs explains the procedure. She's the faculty editor for the Harvard Medical School Guide Clearing the Fog of Cataracts.

Closing out our three-podcast series on the science of happiness, Dr. Ronald D. Siegel discusses the health benefits of living in the moment. If you're new to this kind of mindfulness practice, all you need to start is a bit of gratitude. Dr. Siegel is the faculty editor for the Harvard special report Positive Psychology. Click the link to learn more. 

Here’s a tactical approach to managing blood pressure that will put you back in control. Harvard’s Dr. Randall Zusman explains that, with time and diligence, home blood pressure monitoring, plus steady improvements in diet, may help restore blood pressure to normal values without medication. Dr. Zusman is the faculty editor for the Harvard special health report Controlling Your Blood Pressure.    

There is solid, scientific evidence that being happy leads to direct health benefits. So that begs the question: How can we brew some of this magic potion that nurtures human wellness? Dr. Ronald D. Siegel, faculty editor for the Harvard special health report Positive Psychology shows us the way.

Here’s the essential Harvard guide to taming the annual onslaught known as gastro esophageal reflux disease, GERD for short. Your instructor is Dr. Lawrence S. Friedman, faculty editor for the Harvard special report Sensitive Gut. The good news: There are a host of remedies available for this holiday scourge.  

The threshold for high blood pressure has moved from 140/90 to 130/80, and this change means millions of Americans are now considered "hypertensive." If you fall into this category, or you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure for a while, you'll want to hear Dr. Randall Zusman's helpful overview. Future conversations with Dr. Zusman, faculty editor for the Harvard report Controlling Your Blood Pressure, will focus on home blood pressure monitoring, dietary changes, and medications...

Positive psychology shows us the clear connection between happiness and wellness. In this first of three podcasts, Harvard professor Dr. Ronald D. Siegel explores the science of human flourishing, and how finding your happy place can add years to your life. In future podcasts, Dr. Siegel, faculty editor for the Harvard report Positive Psychology,  will show us how we can actually create happiness through simple mindfulness exercises.  

The link between heart health and brain health is clear and unbreakable. For optimum brain health, start working on cardiovascular wellness. It's as easy as portion control, and a walk around the block. We talked to Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, faculty editor for the Harvard online course A Guide to Cognitive Fitness.

We’ve all been hit with flu symptoms at one time or another, and the aches, fever and chills can last for days, with a cough often lasting much longer. Here’s Harvard Health Publishing Chief Medical Editor Dr. Howard LeWine to give us an update on what’s shaping up to be an especially difficult flu season. He’s a faculty editor on the Harvard Medical School guide Cold and Flu.

Swelling, skin ulcers, varicose veins in our legs might mean our health generally could need a closer look. Harvard's Dr. Rob Shmerling, faculty editor for a new report called Healing Leg Pain,  explains this important health bellwether. 

It's estimated 80-percent of us suffer from some kind of back ailment, ranging from sciatica and nerve pain to muscle spasms. But Harvard professor Dr. Jeffrey N. Katz says there are some things you can do to ease pain and aid treatment well before surgery becomes necessary. It's part of our new online course on back pain.  

Your body heals when it's injured through the process of inflammation. But when the inflammation response goes unchecked, it can cause a wide variety of disease across all body systems. Harvard's Dr. Rob Shmerling explains. He's the faculty editor of the Harvard Medical School Guide Understanding Inflammation.

Harvard neurologist Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone offers the six pillars of cognitive fitness, and describes how all of us can develop cognitive reserve. His encouraging take? Declining brain health is not an inevitable part of aging. 

We've been told for years it's wise to dial back on the consumption of red meat, especially processed red meat. But a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggested red meat can now be considered less of a risk. And heart burn sufferers were dismayed to learn Zantac was pulled from store shelves because of a possible cancer link. To learn more we turned to Harvard experts Kathy McManus and Heidi Godman.