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Leg cramps and digit spasms occur due to lactose intolerance

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 74-year-old woman who’s quite healthy (I am active and don’t take any medications), but I have a history of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). Recently, I experienced bad-smelling gas, leg cramps, and finger and toe spasms. I quit eating milk products, and my symptoms almost immediately disappeared. My question is: Do food intolerances increase with age? Also, can leg cramps and digit spasms be attributed to a food intolerance? — H.W. ANSWER: The most likely diagnosis is lactose intolerance. This is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme lactase, which is ...

From London’s tennis courts to California, aggressive taxes always disappoint

Last week, nearly every elite men’s tennis player skipped one of London’s marquee tournaments. Only one of the world’s top 10 showed up at Queen’s Club, the traditional Wimbledon warmup; stars including Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton were playing 300 miles away in Halle, Germany. A culprit was likely Britain’s tax code, which doesn’t stop at taxing prize money earned on British soil. It also taxes a slice of a player’s global endorsement income, prorated by how many days of the year they happen to spend in the UK. Fail to advance far ...

Dear Annie: When peace feels out of reach

Dear Annie: Although many years have passed since my husband died, I don’t feel any peace. There was no justice whatsoever. A young girl talking on her cellphone (cellphone records proved this!) lost control of her vehicle on a busy early morning on the highway. Four witnesses testified to her weaving erratically all over the narrow highway lanes. My husband’s vehicle went over the guardrail to avoid her. His vehicle dropped down an embankment approximately 40 feet below and landed on its roof. Firemen extricated him from his vehicle, and he was transported by ambulance to the ...

Interest in patriotic items surges ahead of 250th

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many Americans are looking to the past. Fifty years ago, the country celebrated its bicentennial, and commemorative items are still collectible. This celebratory redware pottery platter, featuring the dates ...

Fog of war: When political rhetoric meets strategic reality

One of the dangers of war is that political rhetoric often collides with strategic reality. President Donald Trump spent years vehemently criticizing former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, arguing that it failed to permanently halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions while providing the regime with economic relief and resources that strengthened its position throughout the Middle East. He called it one of the worst foreign policy agreements in modern American history. Millions of Americans agreed with him. The criticism was straightforward. Iran, many argued, received billions ...

Rural areas lag behind in cancer treatment and prevention – even as rich, urban areas increasingly leave dying from cancer in the rearview

Cancer in the United States experienced a dramatic turnaround in 1991. Prior to that year, cancer deaths had been increasing for decades, peaking at 215 deaths per 100,000 people, meaning about 1 in 4 deaths were attributed to cancer. Then it began to consistently decline, decreasing by 34% between 1991 and 2022. This amounted to an estimated 4.5 million fewer cancer deaths during that period. When the second-most frequent cause of death in the nation begins to decline, the effects are considerable. Improvements in cancer screening, treatment and prevention have led to increases in ...