Teresa Homsi

When I got my COVID and flu vaccines earlier this year, it didn’t just feel like a health-conscious choice, but a civic duty.  Over the last decade, we’ve increasingly seen how the rise in mis- and disinformation on social media platforms have fueled political polarization and vice versa. This has made even small, personal decisions like getting a flu shot take on some weighty political significance. There are many factors contributing to the rise of the anti-vax movement, including a lack of...

What does “do no harm” mean in the face of climate change?  That’s what we asked dozens of attendees during our 2nd Annual Climate and Health Conference in Grand Rapids last Saturday. The question inspired fruitful discussions about the line health professionals have to walk when we evaluate short-term, immediate health risks and consider the existential dread climate change presents, where we have no easy cures. The Hippocratic oath is a simple principle behind medicine, but like many...

As published in Planet Detroit on Aug. 8, 2025. By Teresa Homsi Food coloring bottles. Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons I used to think Red 40 was the cause of the mysterious migraines that led me to wake up multiple times a month unable to function. Artificial food dyes were one of the many theories behind the pain, along with dehydration, not enough food, too much sleep, too little sleep, overexertion and so on.But my headaches almost entirely disappeared after I moved to rural Michigan in...