From Trash to Treasure
How Chicago’s expanded composting program — and efforts throughout the city — cut waste and costs Seeing your trash hauled away each week may feel like a relief — out of sight, out of mind. But it shouldn’t be. Once trash lands in a landfill, it doesn’t disappear. It continues to take up space, and […]
Leveling the Playing Field
Protecting women athletes from unique injury risks Fact checked by Derick Wilder Title IX, signed into federal law in 1972, guaranteed women equal opportunities in sports. But leveling the playing field has revealed important ways in which female athletes differ from their male counterparts. Female athletes are more at risk for certain injuries, says Mary […]
In Formation
Step into fun and fitness with line and square dancing Fact checked by Shannon Sparks When Joan Johns learned that her continuing care retirement community in Evanston was offering a line dancing class, she wasted no time signing up. “It pulled the string on a memory from a long, long time ago when I went […]
Nutrition at a Glance
Fact checked by Jim Lacy Eating for a Healthy Microbiome For Ariella Wilson, a dietitian nutritionist in Chicago, the gut microbiome is an inner universe, “right inside your digestive system,” she says. Instead of stars and planets, it contains trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that help digest food, fight illness, and regulate mood. Our […]
Our Top 10 Stories of 2024
One of the best things about the new year is reviewing our most-read articles from the previous year. This exercise gives us an opportunity to find out what our readers most wanted to read, to remind ourselves of the health events that unfolded, and to review our breadth of coverage and our writers’ talents. […]
Visionary Ophthalmologist
Eye doctor and team from Loyola Medicine improve people’s sight in rural Guatemala Fact checked by Shannon Sparks Before a recent trip to Guatemala, Charles Bouchard, MD, current chair of Loyola Medicine’s ophthalmology department, went shopping. He went to a Dollar Tree store with a $300 donation from a patient and a purpose. “I […]
Male Friendship
Men often avoid developing deep friendships, but the benefits are clear Fact checked by Derick Wilder When Milan Bagel lost his wife of 55 years, he didn’t have any male friends to confide in about how lonely he felt without her. That was five years ago. More recently when Bagel, who is now 87, […]