Author: Lance Garrison

If you own a dog and have ever searched the internet for advice on that dog, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered Zak George.Mr. George, a 45-year-old with 3.69 million YouTube followers, and the slightly goofy, hyper energy of a doodle mix, is the most popular dog trainer on the platform. He’s the most popular by a long shot: Cesar Millan, the dog whisperer, has 2.71 million. Those trying to deride Mr. George — and there are many — will often say he stopped being a dog trainer a long time ago; what he is now is a dog influencer.I’ve…

Surprise: Everyone has some belly fat, even people who have flat abs.That’s normal. But too much belly fat can affect your health in a way that other fat doesn’t.Some of your fat is right under your skin. Other fat is deeper inside, around your heart, lungs, liver, and other organs.It’s that deeper fat — called “visceral” fat — that may be the bigger problem, even for thin people. You need some visceral fat. It provides cushioning around your organs.But if you have too much of it, you may be more likely to get high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease,…

You pay close attention to your kids when they’re swimming or playing in the pool, splashing in the ocean. You make sure a lifeguard is on hand, and you never leave your little ones alone near any water — even the tub. And that’s the right thing to do. But there’s still more you can do to keep them safe: Learn the signs of danger after they’re out of the water and what to do.Health experts define drowning as trouble breathing after you get water into your airways. Sometimes that happens while swimming or bathing. But it can come from…

You can still live a full life with geographic atrophy (GA).Even though your vision may be different, GA doesn’t lead to total blindness. You can use your remaining vision and make certain adjustments to stay active and independent. How You May Feel at FirstIf you’ve been diagnosed with GA, it’s normal to struggle with feelings of sadness or worry.“My initial feelings were that of complete devastation,” says Jill Adelman, who lives in Turnersville, NJ, has GA, and advocates for people with vision loss through the BrightFocus Foundation. For Adelman, learning to accept a GA diagnosis took time. “Fortunately, the changes I’ve experienced…

This will be my last column for the year, and it will be more personal than most. It’s an effort to explain, to myself as much as to readers, why I can’t stop writing about Oct. 7 and its aftermath.A few weeks ago, my mother was watching footage of a Jewish student being taunted and mobbed by anti-Israel demonstrators at Harvard after he tried to film them. “I was born in hiding,” she told me. “I don’t want to die in hiding.”My mother was born in Milan in 1940, to a family that had fled the Bolsheviks in Moscow and…

With the right social support around you, managing life with geographic atrophy (GA) may be easier.GA can affect many of your daily activities, such as cooking, driving, paying bills, using your computer, and working. You might not be able to do everything the same way you used to. “Social support is critical to adapting, both logistically and emotionally,” says Sam Dahr, MD, director of the Retina Division with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.Why Connection Is Important It can be challenging to manage the emotions that come with GA.After being diagnosed with GA, some people feel depressed, anxious, or scared about losing…

Most people never give a thought to the health of their gallbladder. The pear-shaped organ does have an important job, collecting and storing bile — the fluid that helps the body digest fats. But unlike the heart, liver, and kidneys, the gallbladder isn’t necessary to keep the body healthy and functioning. Even when it isn’t working as well as it should and gallstones develop, most people are unaware that there is a problem.Yet in a small percentage of people, gallstones can trigger a variety of symptoms, such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and vomiting. When gallstone symptoms are frequent, recurrent,…

To the Editor: Re “Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism, by Definition?” (front page, Dec. 12):What is Zionism? To me, being a Zionist in 2023 means that I accept the right and the necessity of the survival of the Jewish people and the existence of a Jewish state that ensures their survival.Anything that undermines or threatens Israel’s survival also undermines or threatens the existence of the Jewish people and is, ipso facto, antisemitic.Philip B. BergerTorontoTo the Editor:I am a Jew by culture and ancestry, albeit a secular one. I abhor contemporary violence by both Hamas and Israel. Historically, however, I have found that…

If you’re a normal human being trying to read recent economic news, especially about inflation, you may be feeling confused right now. You may have seen reports that consumer prices are up 3.1 percent over the past year, which sounds bad; “core” inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was 4 percent, which sounds worse.Yet many commentators are saying that the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation is more or less done, and financial markets expect the Fed to reverse course soon, cutting interest rates instead of increasing them. How can this make sense?In a technical sense, it’s all about…

When Nina Beaty had a low-dose CT scan to check for lung cancer in 2014, she didn’t expect the radiologist to find anything. Although she smoked as a young adult for about 13 years, she’d kicked the habit more than 30 years ago and prided herself on living a healthy life. But since her mom was a lung cancer survivor, she decided to get screened.She was completely shocked when her radiologist called her a few days later and told her she had small-cell lung cancer. “I wasn’t surprised when my mom was diagnosed: She’d smoked four packs a day for…