National Center for Health Research

02/03/2026

As hundreds of countertop workers fall ill with a deadly lung disease, lawmakers are moving to ban the victims from suing the manufacturers responsible.

A new report reveals a lung disease epidemic: "Engineered stone" releases deadly silica dust when cut. In California alone, nearly 500 workers have developed silicosis, an incurable lung disease.

The Conflict:
Health officials want to ban the dangerous stone to save lives.
Manufacturers want Congress to pass a bill that bans workers from suing them.

Advocates warn that granting legal immunity to corporations while workers are dying is a "death sentence."

We need to focus on preventing the dust, not preventing accountability.

Some safety experts want California to stop the cutting of quartz countertops saying it can't be done safely. Lawmakers, meanwhile, contemplate a ban on workers' lawsuits against quartz manufacturers.

02/03/2026

Looking pale? Don't be tempted!

A new study explains that artificial light from a tanning bed affects your skin differently than the sun. It causes a spike in DNA mutations deep inside your cells that natural sunlight typically doesn't create.

People who use tanning beds are developing cancer in places that typically receive less sunlight, like their torsos.

The study found that users had more hidden damage as well as disrupted "cancer-fighting" genes compared to those exposed to natural sunlight.

Your skin knows the difference between the sun and a tanning machine. Even if you don't burn, the machine is changing your DNA, which can be deadly.

Tanning beds not only increase melanoma risk but also inflict a molecular toll, causing a spike in DNA mutations within skin cells.

02/03/2026

A new study reveals that national health expenditures grew by at least 7% in 2024. But why are U.S. health care costs skyrocketing?

It’s not just the price tag of treatment.

This is primarily due to Americans using more prescription drugs and medical services than ever before.

Look no further than your TV screen. We are constantly bombarded with overly optimistic ads for products that didn't exist a few years ago and may not improve our health.

A prime example is the explosion of weight-loss GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, which most patients take for just a few months before it improves their health, but after it increases their healthcare costs and the cost to insurance companies.

Another example is newer, more expensive drugs for depression, which are no better than older, less expensive drugs -- which, in turn, are often less effective than exercise at improving mood.

We need to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, but the bigger challenge is reducing the unnecessary use of drugs and treatments that are widely sold on TV and social media.

Given all the attention to prices and insurer profits, it is important to note that those factors are not the main drivers of spending growth. The main driver of spending growth is greater volume and intensity of care.

02/02/2026

WARNING: The FDA has announced a recall for "Silintan" capsules manufactured by 123Herbals.

Marketed as a treatment for joint and body aches, these "herbal" supplements were found to contain meloxicam, a potent anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is not legally allowed in dietary supplements.

FDA warns that taking these tainted capsules can lead to "serious life-threatening events," including:
-Heart attack and stroke
-Blood clots
-Gastrointestinal bleeding
-Acute kidney injury

This is not the first time 123Herbals has been caught selling an herbal supplement with dangerous, hidden ingredients.
If you have Silintan, stop using it immediately.

Silintan is a dietary supplement marketed as a treatment for joint and body aches. According to a recent analysis by the FDA, however, all lots contained undeclared meloxicam, creating an increased risk of adverse events.

01/31/2026

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it will no longer calculate the monetary value of lives saved, hospital visits avoided, and lost workdays when setting rules for dangerous air pollution.

Under its new policy, the Trump EPA will consider the costs to corporate polluters while ignoring the value of human health benefits.

What about data showing that cleaning up pollution delivers up to $77 in health benefits for every $1 spent? What about the known dangers of PFAS, lead, microplastics, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals? What about lives lost?

RFK, you were an environmental lawyer focused on consumer safety for decades -- what are you doing to stop this travesty?

By refusing to count these benefits, the administration will justify weaker safety rules that help polluters and harm our health and safety.

The change means the EPA will focus rules for two pollutants only on the cost to industry, part of a realignment under President Trump toward a business-friendly approach.

01/30/2026

CEOs were grilled on January 22, 2026, in a congressional hearing on health insurance affordability, highlighting deep flaws in the current system.

Here is what the hearing told us:

Skyrocketing Costs: Patient witness Ellen Allen testified that her monthly premium jumped 323% this year from ~$500 to nearly $2,000.

Vertical Integration: Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) challenged the practice of insurers acquiring physician practices and pharmacies. She noted that if a car insurer owned the repair shops, regulators would immediately flag it as a conflict of interest.

Rampant Denials: Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) cited data showing that some insurers denied nearly 1 in 5 in-network claims last year.

Zero Accountability: When Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) asked CEOs if their "executive" pay is penalized when a patient is harmed by a wrongful denial, not a single hand was raised. Do lower staff get penalized? Does anyone?

The hearing made one thing clear: The current system is incentivizing profits over patient health.



Watch the full hearing for yourself, linked below!

The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee (established 1795) in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with ...

01/30/2026

Football fans love the big hits on Sunday, but many want to keep players safe from CTE brain damage. New evidence confirms the risks.

A new NIH study analyzed the brains of over 600 former players. Researchers found NO link between early (Stage 1 or 2) CTE and mood/behavior changes, but late-stage CTE increases the chances of dementia by 450%

If we want to protect the players we cheer for, we have to stop ignoring the long-term cost of repetitive head impact.

Study provides clearest evidence to date to link severe CTE to dementia risk.

01/29/2026

Our January 2026 NCHR News Digest is out!

We explain why the new food pyramid is dangerous, why we oppose calling ZYN "safer than ci******es," share our new article on safe ways to prevent insomnia, and more!.

Biennial Reports, Monthly Digests, and Annual Newsletters To learn about the many projects and activities of The National Center for Health Research, click our publications below: Newsletter Issues To see previous annual newsletters, click here. Fall 2025/Winter 2026 Newsletter Fall 2024/Winter 2025...

01/29/2026

Your dog feels like a member of your family, so you're tempted -- but does your dog want a winter coat?

We all love seeing a pup in a cute sweater, but most healthy, active dogs don't need extra layers unless it is below 32°F.

Dogs lose the most heat through their paws and bellies, not their backs.

In fact, if a sweater gets wet in the rain or snow, it can actually make your dog colder and increase the risk of hypothermia because it traps the moisture against their fur.

Our health research center agrees: Skip the wool sweater and try waterproof booties or "musher’s wax" for their paws instead.

The inside scoop on whether jackets and other garments help keep dogs warm in winter

01/28/2026

FEMA was designed to help all Americans recover from disasters—whether it was a hurricane, flood, or fire.

But today, the agency is being used to punish "blue states" by withholding critical aid from families who have lost everything.

President Trump has refused to release federal funds to help survivors of last year’s destructive wildfires in California. Instead, he has signed an executive order that allows homes to be rebuilt without state safety requirements that protect families from future disasters.

We agree with state officials and fire survivors: safety regulations save lives. We need the President to stop playing politics with disaster relief and actually help these families rebuild.

New Trump order pushes federal takeover of LA wildfire rebuilding, allowing permit bypass and launching a federal audit of California disaster spending.

01/27/2026

Why do some people risk their lives to save strangers? It might be how their brain is wired!

We often wonder why some people jump in to rescue strangers or donate organs to people they’ve never met.

According to Abigail Marsh, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Georgetown University, the answer might lie in the physical structure of their brains.

Marsh studies "extraordinary altruism." One of her most striking findings is that altruistic kidney donors tend to have a larger-than-average amygdala, the part of the brain that is critical to processing emotions.

In contrast, the amygdala is smaller in people with psychopathic traits. They have difficulty recognizing fear and distress in other people.

Is altruism learned or coded in our biology? Or does that part of the brain develop differently depending on how we think and behave?

One striking finding is altruistic kidney donors tend to have a larger amygdala, a part of the brain critical to processing emotions.

01/27/2026

Why does Health Secretary RFK ignore decades of established science?

The U.S. has mandated folic acid be added to flour since 1998, reducing serious neural tube birth defects (such as spina bifida) by 40% for most groups of women.

However, this policy did not help some Hispanic families, because many Latinas eat more corn tortillas than bread. That's why they do not get enough folic acid to prevent these birth defects.

California, along with Alabama and other red States, is now requiring folic acid in corn masa flour to fix this deadly disparity.

RFK Jr.’s response to preventing birth defects? He calls it "insanity” and claims the state is "waging war" on children. Why? Where is he getting his misinformation?



https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/01/10/california-tortilla-folic-acid-latino/