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It's important to keep up with the medical news that affects your health and well-being. It's even better when the facts come directly from the more than 8,000 doctors and researchers at Harvard Medical School. There is no more trustworthy source of medical research articles and advice than the Harvard Health Letter.
The Harvard Health Letter puts you in closer touch with everything that’s happening right now in the ever changing field of medicine. New prevention strategies. New diagnostic techniques. New medications and treatments. Every issue focuses on how these developments can help you live a longer and healthier life.
In each eight-page monthly medical newsletter you'll discover the latest medical research articles on health issues like these:
- Six steps you can take now to help avoid Alzheimer’s Disease
- Which foods can lower your overall cancer risk
- How low does your cholesterol need to go
- Which three simple signs can help you identify a stroke in its earliest stage
- Which herbal supplements are safe and which are not
Who better than the physicians at Harvard Medical School to advise you on new ways to help your aching knees… what’s the best time of day to take your blood pressure medication…the pros and cons of entering clinical trials…why you shouldn’t jump to conclusions because a disease “runs in the family.”
The Harvard Health Letter covers a range of important health topics – nutrition, exercise, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, vision, memory, hearing, vitamins and supplements, managing your health care, back pain, knee pain, hip pain, foot pain – the list goes on and on.
We created the Harvard Health Letter to help you gain control over your own health, and live life to its fullest, healthiest potential. The information in each issue can make a positive difference in your life. Make the Harvard Health Letter part of your good health strategy. Subscribe today.
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Very reliable info. A trusted newsletter. As a nurse that's important. The info has to be factual. CMR
I appreciate your letters in two ways: one when they refer to a specific problem, like when you address back aches or heartburn (though they can be a little boring when they refer to some problem that I don't have), and second when they refer to healthy habits, like exercise or nutrition, specially when you help to demystified some common misinformation. I enjoy a lot both. Keep them coming!—LH, Greenville, SC
I enjoy your health letter because it contains everything I might need to convey to my children and their families, for which I thank you!! RK Cape Town South Africa
I find most of yours Health Letters helpful. The information you give helps me to understand the different health problems, teaches me how to improve or prevent them and helps me to feel more in control of my life. EN, Sydney , Australia
I have read the Health Letter for years, and I find it gives me intelligent and readable information on the issues. The mainstream media seems to go crazy over the Health News of the moment, never going beyond the first and most superficial examination of the information. I look to the Harvard Health Letter to keep me well informed. SN Albuquerque, NM
I like the fact that you address the current issues we read or hear about in the news--when it sounds iffy especially, we say, "We'll see what The Harvard Medical Letter says about it." ER Naperville Illinois
I'm skeptical of most information regarding health issues on the internet. The Harvard Health Letter is one of the very few that I trust. JPM Hansville, WA
Info from Harvard Health Publications gives me well-researched, comprehensive and reliable background to discuss medical issues with my physicians. On receipt of recent article on possible adverse effects of long-term use of Fosamax, I felt sufficiently informed to discuss this intelligently with my Gyn. Thank you! HRS, New York, NY
The letter gives me information in a timely fashion! Helps me to NOT make medical mistakes. At sixty one, it could mean my life! CE Forty Fort, PA
Multiple articles have helped me, especially those with reference to alternative health methods. I love the variety covered in the letter, many topics of which are useful in everyday life, like nutrition & microwave cooking; ear wax facts; exercise; topical pain relief; even tattooing! I appreciate the simpler, yet professional language of the material: easy to understand but inspires confidence in the facts. I am well-read in layman's medical literature, but I learn something from virtually every letter. SB, Lancaster, PA
I like the range of topics you discuss-- from the risk-benefits of cancer screening for older people to approaches to reduce flatulence. An article concluding that some ear wax is good was also enlightening. EH, Crofton, MD
Our subscription to the Harvard Health Letter was started in 1979. Your holistic approach over the recent years is most refreshing. The Q/A column is good. Because we have benefited from the General Newsletter, my husband and I have additionally subscribed to each - the Men's Health Letter and the Women's Newsletter. I have even given as a gift a year's subscription to the Women's Health Letter. Seldom is there an issue that I do not find pertinent advice and something that changes my thinking on my own personal health. SS Lompoc CA
The Harvard Health Letter has helped me to understand several health issues of concern to myself an to others and has been a useful tool to having better communications with my Doctor (s) with respect to health issues that develop over time as well as the Letter has been useful in helping to guide others toward relevant information related to their needs. I would like to see more information published regarding a more nutritional approach to wellness, although you do publish some. My acquaintances and I are mostly looking for old non-medicinal remedies that have been proven to work over the years. I have known several individuals who have live to be over 100 and used non-traditional remedies in spite of and/or traditional medicines (i.e. a woman who was born with an enlarged heart, expected to live to age 35, lived to 106, and died peacefully in her sleep). Many remedies she shared with me over the years really worked well - wish I had taken better notes, as well as Yoga benefits and how, if done, really do "cure" certain medical issues. Is there anyone on your staff who could address these issues? (I realize the controversy that would be involved, but there are also controversies in traditional medical approaches, but judging from what I have seen over the years, if it works for the individual either way (traditional or Non-traditional) it is certainly worth a try. Thank you for considering my request. I subscribe to Harvard Health, Mental Health, Women's Health and Health and find each one very useful on the particular issues addressed. C.S. Stratford, CT
There have been so many articles that I have found helpful for myself, colleagues and family members. I am forwarding info from your newsletter to people all of the time. The info is very useful and helpful. UD, Pomona, NY
I am so very impressed with the four Harvard Health newsletters that I receive. I receive a couple of others from other institutions, and they're OK, but yours are superior -- perfect language usage (well, except for the couple of times you slipped, using "healthy" instead of "healthful), no typos, clear layout, quiet humor. Thank you! L.A., Binghamton, NY
I am so very impressed with the four Harvard Health newsletters that I receive. I receive a couple of others from other institutions, and they're OK, but yours are superior -- perfect language usage (well, except for the couple of times you slipped, using "healthy" instead of "healthful), no typos, clear layout, quiet humor. Thank you! L.A., Binghamton, NY
Whenever I or family or friend has a new medical issue, I work through my filed issues, back a decade or more, to pull articles on the issue. The information has always been helpful and often provided graphics and information more clearly than any other source. GS, Toronto, Ontario
Thank you. This publication has changed my life, for the better.
Articles in the January 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Measuring how fat we are
- Changing the cardiovascular prevention game
- Do PPIs have long-term side effects?
- What's up…and what's not
- By the way, doctor: What should an exam for skin cancer include?
Articles in the February 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Learning to walk: A graduate course
- A new way for TMJ
- Getting a leg up on sciatica
- By the way, doctor: Why two anti-inflammatories?
- By the way, doctor: Is there any drawback to hyaluronic acid capsules?
Articles in the March 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Generic and brand-name drug inconsistencies
- Additional information about vaccines
- Additional information about CT scans
- Additional information about cutting health care costs
- 12 ways to cut health care costs
- In brief: The shoulds - and the shouldn'ts - of getting your shots
- All the pretty pictures
- Weighing on our minds
- By the way, doctor: What might have caused my sister and brother-in-law's pulmonary embolisms?
Articles in the April 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Putting the joie de vivre back into health
- The Whipple procedure
- Vitamins: Benefit of the doubt vs. doubts about benefit
- By the way, doctor: Can cutting calories help my memory?
- By the way, doctor: Should I be concerned about omega-3 fats and bleeding?
Articles in the May 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- By the way, doctor: Diabetes treatment
- By the way, doctor: Hammertoe woes
- By the way, doctor: Plugged-up feeling in an ear
- By the way, doctor: Tremors
- By the way, doctor: Ginkgo biloba and dementia
- Editor's note
- By the way, doctor: Children and soy milk
- By the way, doctor: Screening for pancreatic cancer
- By the way, doctor: PET-CT scans for finding breast cancer
- By the way, doctor: A very fishy diet
Articles in the June 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Getting out the gluten
- Calcium curious
- The principles of conservative prescribing
- By the way, doctor: Will Levitra overcome the problems caused by finasteride?
- More questions about calcium answered
- Alternatives to taking pills
Articles in the July 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Angina
- Time to put some muscle into it
- Nutrition's dynamic duos
- By the way, doctor: Emergency care for chest pain
Articles in the August 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Editor's note
- Coming out of its shell
- Overdoing acetaminophen
- Special section: Feet: How your feet work - and three steps for keeping them healthy
- Special section: Feet: Agonies of the feet: Four common foot problems
- Special section: Feet: A guided tour down the foot aisle
- By the way, doctor: Flip-flops - how bad are they?
- By the way, doctor: A second bunion operation?
- By the way, doctor: Switching from heels to flats
- Selected nutrients in selected seafood
- Update on acetaminophen
Articles in the September 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- His and hers heart disease
- Counting every step you take
- Whiplash
- By the way, doctor: Cinnamon as treatment for diabetes?
- By the way, doctor: Should I have seen a doctor sooner for a dog bite?
Articles in the October 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- H1N1 and its descendents
- Game on
- Platelet-rich plasma therapy
- By the way, doctor: Cut off from toenail fungus medicine too soon?
- By the way, doctor: Why three blood thinners at once?
Articles in the November 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Napping may not be such a no-no
- The male face of osteoporosis
- A sport for all seasons
- Side effects: Minor can add up to major
- Anticholinergic cognitive burden scale
- By the way, doctor: Why did my doctor prescribe steroids?
- By the way, doctor: Can the brain grow new neurons?
Articles in the December 2009 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- The top 10 health stories of 2009
- Regaining control of your bladder
- Vitamin's value to be D-termined
- By the way, doctor: Is the difference between the two blood pressure numbers important?
- More on toenail fungus
- More on strengthening the pelvic floor
Articles in the January 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Cold comfort
- Human growth hormone
- A SAD story: Seasonal affective disorder
- Vitamin E: Separate and unequal?
- In Brief: Getting well after Bell's
- In Brief: Low-carb dieting: Slimmer but sadder?
- By the way, doctor: Should my father go back to taking Coumadin?
- References for “Human growth hormone”
- References for “A SAD story: Seasonal affective disorder”
- References for “In Brief: Low-carb dieting: Slimmer but sadder?"
- Active ingredients in selected cold medicines
- Excerpts from Vitamin C and the Common Cold by Linus Pauling
- References for “Vitamin E: Separate and unequal?”
- Light therapy for conditions other than seasonal affective disorder
- References for “Cold comfort”
- References for “In Brief: Getting well after Bell’s”
Articles in the February 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Moisturizers: Do they work?
- Too much of a good thing
- Nutrition: Conversation with an expert
- HDL: Good and brainy
- Heads in the game
- By the way, doctor: Should I continue to take Fosamax?
- By the way, doctor: Will Boniva make my bones weaker?
- References for “Moisturizers: Do they work?”
- References for “Nutrition: Conversation with an expert”
- References for “Too much of a good thing”
- Occlusive ingredients in moisturizers
- References for “Heads in the game”
- References for “HDL: Good and brainy”
Articles in the March 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Pain relief, opioids, and constipation
- Finding ovarian cancer early
- A recipe for long life and good health: Mediterranean eating
- Do we really need all that calcium?
- Tattoos: Leaving their mark
- By the way, doctor: Is Vytorin safe?
- By the way, doctor: Can I get a pill to help me quit smoking?
- A recipe for long life and good health: Mediterranean eating
- Finding ovarian cancer early
- Pain relief, opioids, and constipation
- References for “Do we really need all that calcium?”
- References for “Pain relief, opioids, and constipation”
- References for “A recipe for long life and good health: Mediterranean eating”
- References for “Tattoos: Leaving their mark”
- References for “Finding ovarian cancer early”
- Do we really need all that calcium?
- Tattoos: Leaving their mark
- By the way, doctor: Is Vytorin safe?
- By the way, doctor: Can I get a pill to help me quit smoking?
Articles in the April 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- You don't have to take a pill
- Olfaction subtraction
- Our pet causes
- By the way, doctor: Is that too much vitamin D?
- By the way, doctor: Why is my mitral valve leaking?
- Test Web Extra
- References for “Our pet causes”
- References for “You don’t have to take a pill”
- References for “Olfaction subtraction”
- Other pet-related diseases
- New finding: Purrrvention
Articles in the May 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Editor's note
- By the way, doctor: Microwave cooking and nutrition
- By the way, doctor: What is burning mouth syndrome?
- By the way, doctor: How much Imitrex is too much?
- By the way, doctor: Should I get the cervical cancer vaccine?
- By the way, doctor: Do birth control pills disguise menopause?
- By the way, doctor: Are the guidelines for taking statins different for women?
- By the way, doctor: Why does skin wrinkle after being underwater?
- By the way, doctor: Is it okay to take a stool softener long-term?
- By the way, doctor: HGH after surgery
- By the way, doctor: Minimally invasive knee replacement
- By the way, doctor: Do I need to go to the ER after fainting?
- By the way, doctor: Cancer of the small intestine
- By the way, doctor: Tamoxifen versus aromatase inhibitors
- By the way, doctor: Calcium supplements and heart attack risk
- By the way, doctor: Celebrex and bleeding
Articles in the June 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- When walking makes your legs hurt
- A good old age
- Masculinity and men's health
- Brushing up on brushing
- By the way, doctor: Should I back off from getting my blood sugar down?
- References for June 2008 Harvard Health Letter
Articles in the July 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Cancer screening as we age
- Hospice care
- Egg-cellent news for most, but not those with diabetes
- In Brief: Smokers: The formers versus the nevers
- In Brief: Trans fat, au naturel
- By the way, doctor: Should I stop taking a stomach acid blocker?
- By the way, doctor: Is it okay to switch from Avodart to finasteride for BPH?
- References for July 2008 Harvard Health Letter
Articles in the August 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Hair today, more hair tomorrow?
- Surviving the Medicare maze
- The sunshine D-lemma
- By the way, doctor: Should my daughter get a breast cancer gene test?
Articles in the September 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Editor's note
- Why we should exercise - and why we don't
- Can a gadget get you going?
- Meet the METs
- Good for the mind, but how about the body?
- The gender divide
- Let's talk to an expert
- Active commuting: It's a win-win-win - and more victories may be in store
- Why is exercise protective against cancer?
- Glossary of exercise terms
- A Web-based way of tracking your physical activity level
Articles in the October 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- By the way, doctor: Can I take a pill instead of B12 injections?
- Virtual hitchhiker's guide to the medical universe
- Should you get the shingles vaccine?
- The election-year physical
- Drug-herb interactions
- By the way, doctor: Does a colonoscopy reach the ileum?
- Links to Web sites mentioned in “Virtual hitchhiker’s guide to the medical universe”
Articles in the November 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- What is normal?
- Got an ear full? Here's some advice.
- Rubbing it in
- Fishing out some answers
- By the way, doctor: How can a stress test be wrong?
- By the way, doctor: What is the healthiest amount of sleep?
Articles in the December 2008 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- The top 10 health stories of 2008
- What's up…and what's down
- The no-name cancer
- By the way, doctor: Is ankle fusion my only option?
Articles in the January 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- The handiwork of good health
- Lung cancer: Not just for smokers
- Do you worry too much?
- By the way, doctor: Could postherpetic neuralgia affect my face if I didn't have a rash there?
- By the way, doctor: Should I quit drinking tea to avoid getting kidney stones?
- The emotional side of Alzheimer's disease
Articles in the February 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Back surgery: to have or not to have
- 12 things you should know about pain relievers
- The dish on fish
- By the way, doctor: B vitamins and homocysteine
- By the way, doctor: Celiac disease and thin bones
Articles in the March 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Air ambulance services take off
- Reaching for the anti-salt
- Pancreatic cancer: An update on a 'stealth' cancer
- Toenail fungus: Drill to kill
- In Brief: Sing along for health
- In Brief: Of pets and pounds
- By the way, doctor: Can you tell me about the tests for liver and muscle side effects from statins?
- Vitamin E gets an F
- Air ambulance services with long-range jets that are certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (
Articles in the April 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- 9 tips for your health and the planet's
- 'Never been the same since'
- Protecting hearts, saving minds?
- Niacin into the void
- In Brief: Could estrogen help colon cancer patients?
- In Brief: Patient, manage thyself (but coaching may be available)
- By the way, doctor: What can be done for sudden hearing loss in one ear?
- Diagnosing delirium
Articles in the May 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- A better hearing aid?
- Is fructose bad for you?
- Tests for breast cancer
- By the way, doctor: Can exercise and diet cure diabetes?
- By the way, doctor: Does asthma go away?
Articles in the June 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Meat in the hot seat
- A more D-manding diet
- Who needs to be taking aspirin for cardiovascular protection?
- The not-soy-good results
- In Brief: Tai chi gives immune system a boost
- In Brief: Cocoa beats tea
- In Brief: Prescription fish oil
- By the way, doctor: Does grapefruit juice affect aspirin?
- By the way, doctor: Should I worry about this irregular heartbeat?
Articles in the July 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- In search of the safe suntan
- In Brief: Blood pressure checks at the barbershop
- In Brief: Mint conditions
- Hormone therapy: The risk-benefit tightrope
- Duct tape, warts and all
- An update on the "old man's friend"
- More on niacin: No flush, no good
- By the way, doctor: Must I take aspirin?
Articles in the August 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- The shingles vaccine: Why hasn't it caught on?
- Betting on beta blockers
- Migraine as a withdrawal symptom
- Taking silver could give you the blues
- In Brief: Exercise without losing weight
- By the way, doctor: Why aren't drugs safe when they are approved?
- By the way, doctor: Should I get the prostate cancer test I've heard about?
Articles in the September 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Time to fatten up our diets
- Cataract surgery update: Taking a look at the lenses
- Thyroid hormone: Slim fast, but will it last?
- Music to their ears it is not
- By the way, doctor: I quit, so why am I coughing?
- By the way, doctor: Can you tell me more about cellulitis?
Articles in the October 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Prescriptions for confusion
- How you can limit your gas production
- Radon revisited
- In Brief: Cranberry juice and warfarin: Okay together?
- In Brief: Selenium: Maybe this mineral isn't such a gem after all
- In Brief: Something to sink your teeth into: Sugarless gum
- In Brief: Seat belts: A crash course in staying healthy
- By the way, doctor: What can I do about my snoring?
Articles in the November 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Bipolar disorder
- How to lower your risk for colon cancer
- In Brief: Great expectations
- In Brief: Giving pneumonia the brush-off
- In Brief: You don't smoke it, but it's still tobacco
- In Brief: Cholesterol: Beyond good and bad, there's big
- By the way, doctor: Should I worry about giant platelets?
- By the way, doctor: Is it okay for me to take L-arginine?
Articles in the December 2007 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- The top 10 health stories of 2007
- To catch a thief may stop a heart
- Screening to prevent stroke
- By the way, doctor: Should I get a partial knee replacement?
Articles in the November 2006 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- Preventing bedsores
- Metformin: Now or later?
- Hot stuff has the right stuff
- Is overweight okay?
- When arteries get inflamed
- Giving cancer its walking papers
- By the way, doctor: Can I repair sunburned skin?
- By the way, doctor: What can be done about a growing heart?
Articles in the December 2006 issue of Harvard Health Letter include:
- The top 10 health stories of 2006
- Leafy, green, healthful - but contaminated
- In Brief: Attention to detailing
- In Brief: RNA interference: Silencing of the genes
- Anesthesia: Numbed by choices
- By the way, doctor: Should I worry about my diabetes leading to Alzheimer's?
- By the way, doctor: Ginkgo biloba: What's the verdict?
From the editors of the Harvard Health Letter. The following are links to online information mentioned in past issues of Harvard Health Letter or to extra information we couldn't fit into the printed version.
December 2009
November 2009
August 2009
June 2009
March 2009
- Generic and brand-name drug inconsistencies
- Additional information about vaccines
- Additional information about CT scans
- Additional information about cutting health care costs
September 2008
- Active commuting: It's a win-win-win - and more victories may be in store
- Why is exercise protective against cancer?
- Glossary of exercise terms
- A Web-based way of tracking your physical activity level
February 2008
- References for “Moisturizers: Do they work?”
- References for “Nutrition: Conversation with an expert”
- References for “Too much of a good thing”
- Occlusive ingredients in moisturizers
- References for “Heads in the game”
- References for “HDL: Good and brainy”
January 2006
- Selected references for blood pressure and headaches
- Excerpt from Theodore Janeway’s study of high blood pressure and headaches, “A Clinical Study of Hypertensive Cardio
- Selected references for hangover cures article
- Selected references for patient safety article
- Selected references for gallstones and gallbladder surgery article
- Selected references for New Year’s resolutions article
October 2008
July 2008
June 2008
April 2008
- References for “Our pet causes”
- References for “You don’t have to take a pill”
- References for “Olfaction subtraction”
- Other pet-related diseases
- New finding: Purrrvention
March 2008
- References for “Do we really need all that calcium?”
- References for “Pain relief, opioids, and constipation”
- References for “A recipe for long life and good health: Mediterranean eating”
- References for “Tattoos: Leaving their mark”
- References for “Finding ovarian cancer early”
January 2008
- References for “Human growth hormone”
- References for “A SAD story: Seasonal affective disorder”
- References for “In Brief: Low-carb dieting: Slimmer but sadder?"
- Active ingredients in selected cold medicines
- Excerpts from Vitamin C and the Common Cold by Linus Pauling
- References for “Vitamin E: Separate and unequal?”
- Light therapy for conditions other than seasonal affective disorder
- References for “Cold comfort”
- References for “In Brief: Getting well after Bell’s”
April 2007
March 2007
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
- Female life expectancy at 65 in selected countries
- An under-the-tongue alternative to EpiPen
- More on stings and ACE inhibitors
- Life expectancy gains in the United States, at age 65
- Life expectancy gains in the United States, at birth
- Links to tinnitus Web sites
- Links to Web sites related to hearing and hearing loss
- Male life expectancy at 65 in selected countries
- Life expectancy gains in the United States, at age 75
- References to articles about Beethoven’s hearing problems
June 2006
May 2006
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