A new online resource aims to help health care providers turn a growing body of research on nutrition and health into effective care for patients. The Food is Medicine Toolkit brings together the latest evidence, practical guidance, and operational tools to support clinicians and health system leaders looking to integrate nutrition-based interventions into care.

With colorectal cancer a growing concern among younger people, the American Cancer Society has endorsed two new types of stool tests to encourage people to get screened, while also recommending a limited role for new blood tests that many patients find appealing.

Better heart health before the pandemic was linked to a lower risk of severe COVID-19 events, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Adults with the highest heart health scores at the beginning of the pandemic were nearly half as likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 when compared to those with the lowest scores.

Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s have identified a potential new way to relieve chronic pain linked to neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic condition best known for causing tumors to grow along nerves. The new findings suggest that pain in NF1 may begin before tumors appear and may be driven by abnormal signaling from Schwann cells, which normally support and protect nerves. The abnormal signaling produces excess glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a protein that can heighten pain signaling.

Chikungunya (“to become contorted” in the Kimakonde language, named after the characteristic joint ache) is classified as one of the neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization. It’s caused by a virus spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Symptoms include high fever, muscle and back pain, headache, fatigue, nausea, and skin rash.