This week’s must-reads:

• Want to run a fall marathon? It’s time to pick a training plan for your goals.
• How pregnancy may speed up the aging process
• How to age better than your parents
• How to start tai chi (with bonus cherry blossoms)

Getting ‘forever chemicals’ out of our drinking water

In a first, the Environmental Protection Agency has finalized national drinking water standards for “forever chemicals.” These are persistent, human-made chemicals that have been linked to cancer, low birth weights, high cholesterol and negative effects on the liver, thyroid and immune system.

You’ve probably seen these chemicals referred to as PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and which can persist in the environment for centuries.

Robert Bilott, a Cincinnati environmental attorney whose fight against forever chemicals has led to major class-action settlements against DuPont and 3M, said in a statement that PFAS are “the most toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative chemicals ever found in our nation’s drinking water supply.” (To learn more about Bilott, I highly recommend watching the fact-based movie “Dark Waters,” about his efforts to hold the chemical industry accountable for the harm these compounds can cause.)

Nearly every American has measurable amounts of PFAS in their blood, and close to half of the nation’s tap water has one or more types of PFAS, according to an estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey. EPA officials estimate that the federal rule will reduce PFAS exposure in drinking water for about 100 million people.

Beginning in 2027, water systems will need to tell customers if the utility detects certain PFAS listed in the federal regulation. Then, by 2029, the utilities will need to notify the public of a violation to one of the PFAS limits no later than 30 days after the water system learns of it.

So what should we do until then?

Until the new rules are in place, you can contact your municipal water system and ask if they’ve tested the system for PFAS. The utility company may have recent test results available online, or it may share the results of a recent survey with you directly. You can use this link to search for a water system’s annual water quality report through the EPA, by entering your state or county.

Anyone who relies on private wells will need to regularly test the water supply on their own. Testing from a private lab can be expensive, and some don’t look for PFAS, according to PFAS Exchange, a project led by the Silent Spring Institute and funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The EPA recommends anyone dependent on private wells work with state-certified laboratories that use the EPA’s testing methods for drinking water.

You can also buy an at-home water pitcher that contains a filter that can remove all or most PFAS in your drinking water. The Environmental Working Group tested several pitchers. You can read more about the winners in their report: EWG’s guide to PFAS water filters.

Read the full story here.

The surprising symptoms of kidney disease

This week, Eating Lab columnist Anahad O’Connor shared a fascinating conversation he had with former NBA star Sean Elliott. Elliott is famous for helping the San Antonio Spurs win their first NBA championship in 1999. But what many people don’t know is that just two months after the win, Elliott had a kidney transplant — a setback that threatened to end his career. Then less than a year later, he returned to the sport.

Elliott talks about the dietary changes he has made and offers other advice about kidney health. Kidney disease often isn’t diagnosed until it’s advanced. But I was particularly fascinated by some of the subtle and somewhat strange symptoms Elliott said he experienced:

“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 read the full conversation.

New rules for sensitive medical exams

I saw the news about patient consent forms now being required for pelvic exams. What should I know before my next appointment?

Exams of any sensitive area — which include pelvic exams in women, prostate exams in men and rectal exams in everyone — are the part of a doctor’s visit that no one looks forward to. Many dread them.

Federal guidelines have always required your doctor to explain these exams, the risks vs. the benefits and why they’re recommending doing them. This conversation is part of the informed-consent process, which previously could have been done verbally.

Now, new guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services state that hospitals have to get written consent. The guidelines, issued April 1, were effective immediately.

They apply to any hospital that receives reimbursement from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services — meaning most medical institutions. While exams under sedation are especially important, the guidelines also apply to situations in which you’re fully awake and seeing a provider in an outpatient setting, provided that location is within a hospital, a spokesman for HHS confirmed.

To learn more about your next pelvic exam — and what to do before, during and after your appointment — read our latest Ask a Doctor column from Trisha S. Pasricha, MD.

Find your animal-related joy snack!

In honor of National Pet Day, we’re sharing stories that brought us joy about our furry and feathered friends.

• 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 dog on your lap at the dentist? ‘Yes, please.’
• How my dog-walking business saved me
• Inside a 40-pound cat’s life: We chatted with Patches’s human
• These dogs ride a bus like humans, ‘and now the internet is in love’

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

Please let us know how we are doing. Email me at [email protected]. You can also find us on TikTok