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Do Collagen Supplements Actually Work? Experts Give Us the Scoop

Do Collagen Supplements Actually Work? Experts Give Us the Scoop

Here’s the science behind those popular pills, powders, and gummies.

Despite what you may have heard, people with dark skin need to wear sunscreen, and shaving your hair won’t make it grow back thicker. In Myth Busters, we debunk common beauty misconceptions and set the record straight.

Most of us will do just about anything to get firmer skin, longer hair, and stronger nails. So it’s no surprise that when collagen supplements—in the form of powders, pills, liquids, and gummies—were marketed as being able to do things like plump up sagging skin, diminish wrinkles, and make our hair and nails healthier, they became popular fast. But if you think about it, how can something you ingest internally have such drastic effects on your external appearance? We’re already aware of topical creams and lotions that profess anti-aging properties, but

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Supplement
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Fitness experts urge gym-goers to ‘ease back’ into workouts

GRAND RAPIDS, mich — Now that gyms are open, you’re probably eager to jump right back into your usual routine, but fitness experts warn about doing too much, too fast.

After months of doing what she could at home and the outdoor workouts with her gym in Grand Rapids, Lindsay O’Donnell is ready to be back.

“I’m really excited to have a routine again,” she said.

But, if you’re not like O’Donnell and you’ve skipped working out since the Pandemic began, Tom Sullivan, Co-Owner and Coach at 616 Fit said it’s best to pump the brakes.

“Whatever you were doing before COVID, back before March, if you’ve taken time off, you are not going to have that back right away, it’s going to take time to earn that back,” he said.

As hard as that may be to accept, Sullivan said easing back in is the best way to avoid

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Fitness
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Why are Arizona casinos still open despite experts saying they’re high-risk during COVID-19 spike?

Plexiglas is placed around slot machines, gaming tables, and other areas at the Lone Butte Casino in Chandler on May 14, 2020. Casinos under the Gila River Indian Community were planning to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic with new safety measures on May 15, 2020.
Plexiglas is placed around slot machines, gaming tables, and other areas at the Lone Butte Casino in Chandler on May 14, 2020. Casinos under the Gila River Indian Community were planning to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic with new safety measures on May 15, 2020.

Movie theaters across Arizona are empty.

Gyms have locked their doors.

And restaurants are filled with taped-off tables, welcoming half of the customers they would usually see for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

But casinos, which operate on tribal land in Arizona, are open for business, despite health experts warning that customers are engaging in a high-stakes gamble: risking their health along with their money.

Casinos are the only business designated as high-risk by Arizona’s health department that remain unrestricted amid the recent COVID-19 spike in the state.

But some public health experts say they shouldn’t be. Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of public health at the

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Medicine
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Can You Get COVID Again? It’s Very Unlikely, Experts Say

Megan Kent near her home in Salem, Mass., on July 17, 2020. (Kayana Szymczak/The New York Times)
Megan Kent near her home in Salem, Mass., on July 17, 2020. (Kayana Szymczak/The New York Times)

The anecdotes are alarming. A woman in Los Angeles seemed to recover from COVID-19 but weeks later took a turn for the worse and tested positive again. A New Jersey doctor claimed several patients healed from one bout only to become reinfected with the coronavirus. And another doctor said a second round of illness was a reality for some people, and was much more severe.

These recent accounts tap into people’s deepest anxieties that they are destined to succumb to COVID over and over, feeling progressively sicker, and will never emerge from this nightmarish pandemic. And these stories fuel fears that we won’t be able to reach herd immunity — the ultimate destination where the virus can no longer find enough victims to pose a deadly threat.

But the anecdotes are just that

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Medicine
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Nearly 3,500 Public Health Experts Sign Letter Defending Fauci Amid White House Attacks

Nearly 3,500 public health experts sent an open letter to President Donald Trump amid a spate of attacks launched over the last two weeks at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, calling those seeking to undercut him a “dangerous distraction.”

In the letter, which was organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the group calls the coronavirus pandemic “one of the greatest challenges the United States has faced in its history.” But the signatories, which include two previous heads of the Food and Drug Administration, a former U.S. surgeon general and a former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said they were troubled by efforts to smear Fauci, who they said has provided a clear voice to Americans during the health crisis.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, he has remained one of the world’s most trusted scientists on COVID-19, daily

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Health
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What “Self-Care” Means Right Now, According To Experts

These days, your energy is spread pretty thin. Between social distancing, sanitizing your groceries, supporting local businesses, showing up to protests, emailing politicians, signing petitions, and donating to campaigns, it’s likely your days are busier than ever. You’ve got an ever-expanding laundry list of “shoulds” to tackle. And in the shuffle, you’ve probably forgotten to find windows to take care of yourself. And no, “self care” is not all bubble baths and face masks. 

“I think of self-care in various domains such as psychological, physical, professional, and personal.” says Dr. Rebecca B. Skolnick, co-founder of MindWell NYC and a licensed clinical psychologist. Maybe it’s a long run, a midday nap between Zoom calls, an elaborate home-cooked meal, or a pint of Halo Top in bed. Particularly right now, as we are adapting to new ways of living every day, we simply can’t put “self care” in a box. And as

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Fitness
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As debate rages, many public health experts say children should return to school

BALTIMORE — In the raging national debate over whether to reopen schools, advocates on both sides are basing their arguments on a range of factors: political, economic and emotional.

But there is a growing consensus in the public health and scientific community that schools should resume in-person classes this fall — particularly in states such as Maryland, where cases have not spiked as they have elsewhere.

To be sure, these experts say safety precautions will be necessary to reopen schools. But they say an assessment of risks versus benefits points to the wisdom of reopening.

The latest available data suggests that children are less likely to become infected with the coronavirus and less likely than adults to develop severe cases. In addition, health experts say children appear not to spread the virus to family members and other adults as efficiently as flu and other common illnesses.

While public health experts

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Health
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How to Stay Safe While Taking an Uber or Lyft, According to Experts

Photo credit: Thomas Tolstrup - Getty Images
Photo credit: Thomas Tolstrup – Getty Images

From Prevention

  • This week, both Lyft and Uber announced new methods of making their transportation services safer for drivers and riders.

  • Lyft will provide vehicle partitions to all of its drivers, while Uber is stocking up some drivers with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.

  • Medical scholars say all activities come with some risk these days, but one said she recently took a rideshare to the hospital and “didn’t worry about it.”

It’s understandable that you’re probably a little more nervous these days about doing formerly normal stuff, like swimming in a public pool, go to the hair salon, or use a rideshare service. And, while there are risks associated with doing pretty much anything outside of your home, services like Uber and Lyft are trying to make the experience as safe as possible for you.

Case in point: Lyft just announced that the company is

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Medicine
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Many public health experts say children should return to school in the fall, particularly in states like Maryland

In the raging national debate over whether to reopen schools, advocates on both sides are basing their arguments on a range of factors: political, economic and emotional.

But there is a growing consensus in the public health and scientific community that schools should resume in-person classes this fall — particularly in states such as Maryland, where cases have not spiked as they have elsewhere.

To be sure, these experts say safety precautions will be necessary to reopen schools. But they say an assessment of risks versus benefits points to the wisdom of reopening.

The latest available data suggests that children are less likely to become infected with the coronavirus and less likely than adults to develop severe cases. In addition, health experts say children appear not to spread the virus to family members and other adults as efficiently as flu and other common illnesses.

While public health experts and some

… Read More
Medicine
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Will UConn play football this year? Public health experts unsure about fall sports during coronavirus pandemic

Currently, UConn football players are on campus in Storrs. They have been tested for COVID-19. They have passed through a modified quarantine period during which they remained in small groups. They have completed strength and conditioning workouts. They have begun on-field activities.

But no one knows for sure whether they’ll actually get to play.

Amid a raging pandemic, public health experts both nationally and in Connecticut have raised eyebrows about the idea of college sports this fall. Some say the games will be safe as long as schools implement proper protocols. Others wonder whether sports, particularly on college campuses, are worth the risk.

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and there is no way we can make the risk zero,” said Dr. Matthew Cartter, Connecticut’s state epidemiologist. “We have to ask ourselves as a society, are sports important that we’re willing to accept the risk that people involved in

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Health