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The Academy Award-winning actress’ health and wellness e-commerce startup, Goop, is no stranger to criticism. Since its inception in 2008, Goop has achieved widespread success, raising almost $20 million in venture capital. At the same time, it has also faced widespread criticism, threats of legal action, and a surge of backlash to much of the marketing and advertising materials published on the company’s various platforms.

As a recent article on BuzzFeed highlights, Goop is the subject of a new set of investigations being conducted by the consumer watchdog group Truth in Advertising (“TINA”) regarding some of the claims made in the company’s advertisements. From the Rose Flower Essence Tincture, which is marketed as a tool to help combat panic attacks, to the concept of “Earthing,” allegedly advertised as a treatment for insomnia, TINA is calling out a handful of these products and treatments, requesting that Goop either provide scientific evidence for their various claims, or amend their marketing materials to clarify what exactly these products are medically proven to accomplish.

Amidst the endless reports and studies that have been coming out in recent years regarding the opioid epidemic and the various problems caused by certain treatments for chronic pain, a recent article in The New York Times delves into an alternative remedy that has helped its author get through his own struggles. By exposing his own personal journey through the chronic pain that has plagued several years of his life, the author is helping to shine a light on another, and oftentimes less prescribed, method of recovery. This method calls on the patient to forgo the usual “props” of braces, assisted seats, and pills and instead focus on conscientious breathing and other forms of meditative thought. While this method would not be an effective form of recovery for all patients struggling with chronic pain, it does at least provide another option for those who have not yet found relief through other means of treatment.

A recent article written in a joint effort by The New York Times and ProPublica highlights some of the struggles that more and more Americans are dealing with when they go to the pharmacy to fill their prescriptions. Today, generic drugs are still largely the products preferred by insurance companies and, therefore, by the patients who rely on their insurance companies to help cover much of the costs paid for their prescriptions.

However, many drug companies who produce original brand name versions of these drugs have begun employing strategic methods of combating their generic-producing competitors. Many such methods include offering discounts to insurance companies and middleman drug sellers for favoring their brand name products over generic versions. Discounts, however, rarely trickle down to the patient who is then forced to pay more money out-of-pocket for brand name prescriptions. Check out the article to find out more about how to combat paying more money for your prescriptions and to get a better understanding of the oftentimes convoluted world of prescription drugs.

Earlier this month the commission tasked with combating America’s opioid crisis recommended that the president declare a national state of emergency related to this crisis. Over the last few years, the opioid problem in the United States has grown exponentially worse, and the number of annual drug-related deaths has officially surpassed the number of deaths claimed by the H.I.V. epidemic at its highest point.

To help generate more widespread understanding of this epidemic, its history, and the steps being taken to combat it, The New York Times has recently published an article that answers several foundational questions concerning America’s leading cause of death for those under the age of 50. The article usefully breaks down the differences between opioids and opiates, illustrates the areas of the country in which the crisis is at its worst, and helps explain why the problem has grown so much in recent years. Aside from answering the basic questions surrounding the opioid epidemic, the article goes on to explore the complexities of proposed remedies to the solution, including the pros and cons of a plan that focuses on prevention versus one that targets treatment.

As group exercise classes become more and more popular, doctors have started noticing a troubling trend among their patients who engage in these oftentimes intense forms of exercise. The condition is known as rhabdomyolysis, and it most often occurs when overworked muscles begin to die and tear apart at a rapid level. The side effects include excruciating pain in the muscles and joints, as well as darker colored urine, nausea, and extreme fatigue.

Healthcare providers have started to observe that among the recent uptick in patients with rhabdomyolysis, the most common thread appears to be patients who begin new exercise routines at high intensity rates without giving their muscles time to prepare for the amount of wear and tear they will likely experience. And as the popularity of group exercise classes such as SoulCycle, P90X, and CrossFit grow, the more likely people are to experience this previously extremely rare phenomenon. Check out this recent article in The New York Times to learn more about this condition and how you can help prevent it from happening to you.

It seems that every day the news is filled with heated debate and muddled conversation regarding the ongoing issues surrounding health care policy in the United States. Politicians, economists, and even large percentages of the general public are weighing in on the topic, and the dialogue surrounding health care seems to grow louder with each passing day.

Health care policy is so widely debated because not only is it one of the more complex and intricate market economies in this country, but it also affects such a wide array of people. A recent article in The New York Times aims to help clarify many of the more confusing elements of the current health care system in the United States. The author explains the intricacies of “externalities,” deconstructs the negative consequences of adverse selection, explores the factors that lead customers to over-consume health care products, and much more. Ultimately, this article serves as a great tool in helping to understand the perplexing and decisive market of health care.

As the United States economy struggles to hold onto its comparatively low unemployment rate of 4.4%, many companies are also struggling to find applicants who can pass routine drug tests during the interview process. A recent article in The New York Times shines a light on the consequences of more widespread drug use within the labor force. The combination of many states decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, or allowing more widespread access to medical marijuana, along with the ongoing opioid epidemic has put a lot of strain on employers who require clean drug test results from their applicants.

While this particular article focuses primarily on factories and mills in the Midwest, it is apparent that these issues are emblematic of a larger conflict that the nation as a whole will have to grapple with in order to maintain a strong workforce.

This remarkable article from the Washington Post reflects an American tragedy. The profile of this family shows the undercurrent of social, economic and personal dysfunction that impact individuals, communities and our nation. For those of us who work with patients and with individuals who apply for disability benefits, little in this article surprises. But it is rare to see such a candid portrayal of the individuals involved, in their own words.