Mandy Oaklander

Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. She writes and edits health news.

Recent Articles

Addicted to Coffee? It's Probably in Your Genes

A new genetic explanation for your caffeine cravings

By Mandy Oaklander

Smoking and Drinking Raise Your Risk for Oral HPV

Research sheds new light on HPV risk factors

By Mandy Oaklander

Chemical Found in Plastics Linked to Asthma

Bisphenol A, or BPA, lurks in the plastics of all kinds of consumer goods, from can linings to plastic bottles—but its influence doesn’t end with the product. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can leach...

By Mandy Oaklander

Teenage Girls Given Choice of Free Contraceptives Get Far Fewer Abortions

Girls allowed to choose between free contraceptive methods had 76% fewer abortions than their peers in the general population — and most chose IUDs

By Mandy Oaklander

The New HPV Vaccine Could Be 90% Effective

An even more effective vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer, may be on the horizon, according to new research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Merck announced that it’s investigating...

By Mandy Oaklander

People Without Friends Have Worse Outcomes After Heart Attack

The importance of friends for heart health

By Mandy Oaklander

Italy Was Right All Along: Fat In Olive Oil Repairs Failing Hearts

Yup, the Mediterranean diet seriously starts today

By Mandy Oaklander

Study Links Childhood Obesity With Early Antibiotics Use

A potential unintended consequence of the broad-spectrum drugs

By Mandy Oaklander

Here's Why Europe Is OKing Fecal Transplants

Yes, it's what you think it is. And health authorities hope it will help patients with a common hospital-acquired bacterial infection

By Mandy Oaklander

For Social Anxiety, Therapy Beats Antidepressants

For the estimated 7% of people who suffer from social anxiety disorder, antidepressants are often the first line of defense. But a new meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)...

By Mandy Oaklander

The Reason You Make Unhealthy Choices

Self love isn’t just for hippies and millennials. If you’re trying to stick to a diet or scrape together the motivation to get to the gym, it might be for you, too.So finds a new...

By Mandy Oaklander

Waist Size Linked to Breast Cancer, Study Finds

Trading in smaller skirt sizes for bigger ones is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, finds a new study published in BMJ Open.But it’s what underneath the skirt—an expanding waist—that counts.Research already suggests...

By Mandy Oaklander

Why Cutting Soda Calories Isn’t Such a Sweet Idea

Civil rights and soda might not seem like a classic combination. But yesterday, as major soda brands announced their goal to reduce beverage calories in the American diet, it seemed to make sense to Wendy...

By Mandy Oaklander

Are Diabetes Rates Really "Leveling Off"?

For the first time in several decades, we’re starting to see a slowing of new diabetes diagnoses, suggests new data published in JAMA.The study authors examined data collected from more than 600,000 adults between ages...

By Mandy Oaklander

We Drink More Alcohol When We Exercise

First we sweat, and then we swig: A new Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Health Psychology finds that people tend to drink more alcohol on days they’ve exercised.The study looked at 150 adults...

By Mandy Oaklander

Pregnant Women and the Flu: Why Influenza Is More Dangerous for Expectant Moms

Immune responses are enhanced during pregnancy, study finds

By Mandy Oaklander

Early Deaths Could Fall By 40% in the Next 20 Years

According to researchers writing in The Lancet, we’re doing a good job of reducing the number of premature deaths—those occurring in people under 70. And if current trends continue with some improvements, such early deaths...

By Mandy Oaklander

One Dose of Antidepressant Changes the Brain, Study Finds

One dose of antidepressant is all it takes to change the brain, finds a small new study published in the journal Current Biology.The study authors took brain scans of 22 healthy people who weren’t depressed...

By Mandy Oaklander

Your Dreams Get More Bizarre as the Night Goes On

As the night wears on, your dreams escalate in weirdness, finds a small new study published in the journal Dreaming.For two nights, the researchers outfitted 16 people with a sleep-monitoring eyelid sensor and head sensor,...

By Mandy Oaklander

Bad Posture Makes You Sad and Afraid, Study Finds

Science has a long history of proving that how we arrange our muscles affects how we feel about ourselves. Even the Botox we inject comes with the happy side effect of less depression, one study...

By Mandy Oaklander
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