This week’s must-reads:

• Want to run a fall marathon? It’s time to select a training plan for your goals.
• How being pregnant might velocity up the aging process
• How to age higher than your parents
• How to start tai chi (with bonus cherry blossoms)

Getting ‘forever chemicals’ out of our consuming water

In a primary, the Environmental Protection Agency has finalized nationwide consuming water requirements for “forever chemicals.” These are persistent, human-made chemical compounds which have been linked to most cancers, low delivery weights, excessive ldl cholesterol and destructive results on the liver, thyroid and immune system.

You’ve most likely seen these chemical compounds known as PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and which might persist within the surroundings for hundreds of years.

Robert Bilott, a Cincinnati environmental lawyer whose combat towards without end chemical compounds has led to major class-action settlements towards DuPont and 3M, mentioned in a press release that PFAS are “the most toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative chemicals ever found in our nation’s drinking water supply.” (To be taught extra about Bilott, I extremely suggest watching the fact-based film “Dark Waters,” about his efforts to carry the chemical trade accountable for the hurt these compounds could cause.)

Nearly each American has measurable quantities of PFAS of their blood, and close to half of the nation’s faucet water has a number of varieties of PFAS, in line with an estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey. EPA officers estimate that the federal rule will scale back PFAS publicity in consuming water for about 100 million folks.

Beginning in 2027, water programs might want to inform clients if the utility detects sure PFAS listed within the federal regulation. Then, by 2029, the utilities might want to notify the general public of a violation to one of many PFAS limits no later than 30 days after the water system learns of it.

So what ought to we do till then?

Until the brand new guidelines are in place, you may contact your municipal water system and ask in the event that they’ve examined the system for PFAS. The utility firm might have latest take a look at outcomes obtainable on-line, or it might share the outcomes of a latest survey with you instantly. You can use this link to search for a water system’s annual water high quality report by the EPA, by coming into your state or county.

Anyone who depends on non-public wells might want to frequently take a look at the water provide on their very own. Testing from a non-public lab may be costly, and a few don’t search for PFAS, in line with PFAS Exchange, a challenge led by the Silent Spring Institute and funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The EPA recommends anybody depending on non-public wells work with state-certified laboratories that use the EPA’s testing strategies for consuming water.

You can even purchase an at-home water pitcher that accommodates a filter that may take away all or most PFAS in your consuming water. The Environmental Working Group examined a number of pitchers. You can learn extra in regards to the winners of their report: EWG’s guide to PFAS water filters.

Read the total story here.

The shocking signs of kidney illness

This week, Eating Lab columnist Anahad O’Connor shared an enchanting dialog he had with former NBA star Sean Elliott. Elliott is known for serving to the San Antonio Spurs win their first NBA championship in 1999. But what many individuals don’t know is that simply two months after the win, Elliott had a kidney transplant — a setback that threatened to finish his profession. Then lower than a yr later, he returned to the game.

Elliott talks in regards to the dietary adjustments he has made and presents different recommendation about kidney well being. Kidney illness usually isn’t recognized till it’s superior. But I used to be significantly fascinated by a few of the refined and considerably unusual signs Elliott mentioned he skilled:

“The first symptom was trouble getting out of bed. I was lethargic all day. I had lost my appetite and didn’t want to eat. But I thought I was just depressed because we had lost in the playoffs.

I also had a ton of swelling and water accumulation in my legs, called edema. It was so bad that if you pressed your fingers into my legs, it would leave an indentation for 10 minutes. It was as if my legs were made out of clay.

The other thing I noticed is that when I would urinate, my urine would foam up. By the time I finished urinating, it would look like a bubble bath. It was really bizarre. I’ve been told that was because I was spilling protein into my urine.”

I encourage you to learn the full conversation.

New guidelines for delicate medical exams

I noticed the information about affected person consent varieties now being required for pelvic exams. What ought to I do know earlier than my subsequent appointment?

Exams of any delicate space — which embrace pelvic exams in ladies, prostate exams in males and rectal exams in everybody — are the a part of a health care provider’s go to that nobody appears to be like ahead to. Many dread them.

Federal pointers have at all times required your physician to clarify these exams, the dangers vs. the advantages and why they’re recommending doing them. This dialog is a part of the informed-consent course of, which beforehand may have been accomplished verbally.

Now, new pointers from the Department of Health and Human Services state that hospitals should get written consent. The guidelines, issued April 1, had been efficient instantly.

They apply to any hospital that receives reimbursement from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services — which means most medical establishments. While exams below sedation are particularly necessary, the rules additionally apply to conditions through which you’re totally awake and seeing a supplier in an outpatient setting, offered that location is inside a hospital, a spokesman for HHS confirmed.

To be taught extra about your subsequent pelvic examination — and what to do earlier than, throughout and after your appointment — learn our latest Ask a Doctor column from Trisha S. Pasricha, MD.

Find your animal-related pleasure snack!

In honor of National Pet Day, we’re sharing tales that introduced us pleasure about our furry and feathered mates.

• Stray pigeon flies to animal shelter, is adopted out, will wear diaper
• Cupid the peacock was shot with an arrow. Neighbors united to help him.
• A canine in your lap on the dentist? ‘Yes, please.’
• How my dog-walking enterprise saved me
• Inside a 40-pound cat’s life: We chatted with Patches’s human
• These dogs ride a bus like people, ‘and now the internet is in love’

Want to know extra about “joy” snacks? Our Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains. You can even read this story as a comic.

Please tell us how we’re doing. Email me at wellbeing@washpost.com. You can even find us on TikTok