All posts tagged: Eating

What’s Eating ‘Putin’s Brain’?

What’s Eating ‘Putin’s Brain’?

Published by Sam Flores

No Russian thinker has worked harder than Aleksandr Dugin to rationalize the invasion of Ukraine. Long before it started, Dugin came up with a whole philosophical system, known as “neo-Eurasianism,” to explain why Russia, the  country with the largest landmass in the world, would need to steal land from its neighbors and kill many thousands of people in the process. His books and lectures on the subject earned him the nickname “Putin’s brain.” That overstates his closeness to the Russian president. But his views reflect the mood among the war’s cheerleaders in Moscow, how firmly they support the conflict, and how they try to justify it to themselves (and everyone else.) Judging by Dugin’s most recent pronouncements, they have run out of cogent stories to tell. When Dugin attempted to explain the war’s rationale last week to Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian social-media influencer with millions of followers, he could not make any sense of it. Even a softball question—“What is worth fighting for today?”—led the philosopher down a spiral of inanity so bizarre that Sobchak, …

Astronomers observe six red dwarf stars ‘eating’ Earth-like planets

Astronomers observe six red dwarf stars ‘eating’ Earth-like planets

Published by Jenni Sidey

A young red dwarf can look calm from a distance. But buried in its light may be the chemical remains of a wrecked world. That is the picture emerging from a new analysis of stars in open clusters, where astronomers found some of the clearest evidence yet that certain young stars may swallow nearby rocky planets. The clue is lithium, a fragile element that should vanish early in these small stars, yet in a handful of cases is still sitting in plain view. The stars in question are red dwarfs, the smallest and coolest stars in the universe, and by far the most common. They are dim compared with the Sun, but their interiors run hot enough to destroy lithium soon after they form. That makes any later detection of lithium stand out sharply. “We found that a few of the red dwarf stars we studied contained lithium, a chemical element that should not be there,” lead author Professor Robin Jeffries of Keele University said. “Therefore even a small amount of lithium stands out clearly …

New AI model finds a cheaper path to healthier eating

New AI model finds a cheaper path to healthier eating

Published by Jenni Sidey

Breakfast cereal bowls, deli sandwiches, pizza dinners, soups, yogurt plates. Most people do not eat from a blank slate, they eat from habit. That is part of what makes nutrition advice so hard to follow. It is also part of what a new artificial intelligence system tried to solve. Rather than designing ideal meals from scratch, researchers at the University of California, Davis built a model around the meals people already eat. The goal was simple: keep meals recognizable. Then, see whether a very small number of ingredient swaps could make them better aligned with dietary targets. The researchers also looked for ways to make the meals less expensive at the same time. The answer, at least in a computational test, was yes. Using national U.S. dietary survey data, Trevor Chan and Ilias Tagkopoulos developed a framework that generated realistic breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals based on common eating patterns. Then, the system searched for one-, two-, or three-item substitutions that improved nutrition. In the study, published in PLOS Digital Health, those limited changes improved …

People Who Listen To Bad Music Eat More Sugar, Says Study

People Who Listen To Bad Music Eat More Sugar, Says Study

Published by Jenni Sidey

People tend to get very defensive about their playlists. Some love bubbly, upbeat pop tunes, and some are more drawn to dark, intense alternative music. Each has their own opinion about what constitutes good music, but it seems that the music they dislike might actually have a notable effect on the brain. People who listen to music considered bad may prefer high-sugar foods, even when presented with healthier options. While researchers don’t suggest that hearing bad music suddenly makes you reach for sweets, it could show that both habits are linked to comfort, mood, and quick dopamine hits. A recent study found that listening to bad music makes you crave sugary foods more. The study, conducted in Austria and published in the food science journal Appetite, yielded some curious results. Jonas Potthoff and Anne Schienle, the authors of the study, set out to determine whether “self-selected liked versus disliked music affects desire to eat, visual attention to foods of varying sugar content, and subsequent food choice in a buffet-like context.” Suwatchai Wongaong | Shutterstock After …

Eating ultraprocessed foods may be linked to rise in binge eating

Eating ultraprocessed foods may be linked to rise in binge eating

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore There’s a lot we know is risky about eating ultraprocessed foods. Cookies, candies, fries and smoked meats have been tied to risks to heart, brain and immune health in studies conducted in recent years. Now, a new 50-year analysis from the University of Michigan ties these foods to binge eating that can raise blood sugar, blood pressure and levels of harmful cholesterol that lead to artery blockages. A whopping 70 percent of foods people ate during binge episodes were ultraprocessed, research from 1973-2023 revealed. Just 15 percent were minimally processed, such as fruits and vegetables, and it was rare that people only binged minimally processed foods. The findings point to a “major blind spot in eating disorder research,” the Michigan authors suggest in a related release. The foods in binge eating episodes have largely been ignored when studying the disorder. “Binge …

The Thin Line: GLP-1 Drugs and the Rise of Disordered Eating

The Thin Line: GLP-1 Drugs and the Rise of Disordered Eating

Published by Jenni Sidey

“It’s like anorexic heroin to my brain.” –40-year-old male with a long-standing history of anorexia who relapsed after purchasing a GLP-1 medication. Weight loss medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists work by suppressing hunger signals. They have been a remarkable treatment for those who suffer from obesity and its health consequences, such as diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea. However, because of the easy accessibility, heavy promotion, and emergence of online weight loss platforms, many users are obtaining these prescriptions for non-medical indications. Last year, one of my middle-aged female patients decided she wanted to fit into a high-fashion dress for her high school reunion. In addition to frequent gym visits, she bought off-label Ozempic from a doctor in Dubai, where her daughter lives. When I saw her several months later, she was emaciated. Her once small frame now looked like she was suffering from a debilitating illness—her bones stuck out, her skin sagged, and her cheeks were hollow. Today’s Washington Post reported the experience of a 27-year-old woman with a history of anorexia as a …

Eating beef every day may not be as bad for your health as first thought

Eating beef every day may not be as bad for your health as first thought

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Eating beef every day may not be as harmful as once thought. Red meat has long been tied to risks to cardiometabolic health, including heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. The conditions affect more than 160 million Americans, including over 36 million living with Type 2 diabetes. However, having 6-7 ounces of beef every day – a slightly smaller portion than a typical ribeye steak – does not affect risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, researchers at Indiana University say. “Results from this gold standard randomized controlled trial build on existing scientific evidence that shows eating beef as part of a healthy dietary pattern supports heart health and does not adversely impact measures of blood sugar regulation or inflammation,” Kevin Maki, an adjunct professor in the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, said in a statement. “When beef is consumed as …

Are Eating Disorders Contagious? The Bad and the Good News

Are Eating Disorders Contagious? The Bad and the Good News

Published by Jenni Sidey

This is a question that was asked of me at a recent school event. I’ll admit, my first instinct was to smile, charmed by the phrasing and touched by the genuine curiosity behind it. Of course not, I thought. Eating disorders aren’t infectious the way viruses are. You can’t catch one from a sneeze. But as I sat with the question a little longer, I realized I had completely missed what was actually being asked, and what a remarkably insightful question was being asked. Although eating disorders aren’t contagious in the infectious sense, they do spread. They move through social networks, quietly and powerfully, in ways that mirror contagion more closely than most people realize. A large study of over 700,000 teenagers found that having just one classmate diagnosed with an eating disorder increased a student’s own risk by 9%. Having more than one raised that risk to 18%, within the first year alone. These aren’t trivial numbers. They tell us something important about how eating disorders travel through communities, and it is something that …

The Real-Life Diet of Chace Crawford, Who Would Rather Touch His Toes Than Have Massive Muscles

The Real-Life Diet of Chace Crawford, Who Would Rather Touch His Toes Than Have Massive Muscles

Published by Jenni Sidey

I like to work out in the morning, but I used to do all fasted workouts. That does not work for me anymore. I just don’t have it. I don’t have the proper energy. I feel way better eating before a workout and eating a little something right after, even if it’s small on both ends. I’d rather just eat some food, get the metabolism going, have a pint of water. Then usually by that time it’s been an hour, maybe an hour and a half, and I’ll have the first coffee. It’s changed a lot with anxiety as well. [Coffee] is like anxiety juice, right? It’s not supposed to! There’s all the chemistry with the adenosine, and they say you want to let your body process the adenosine naturally, whatever. I’ve heard all that, I believed it, but I don’t really care. I just go by how I feel, and if I’m drinking a cappuccino or a black coffee on an empty stomach and then going to the gym, I’m going to feel too …

Eating a diet rich in four key nutrients is linked to a lower likelihood of depression, study finds

Eating a diet rich in four key nutrients is linked to a lower likelihood of depression, study finds

Published by José Betancourt

A recent study published in the journal Nutritional Psychiatry suggests that consuming higher amounts of specific dietary nutrients, like fiber and folate, is associated with a lower likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms. The findings provide evidence that everyday dietary choices might play an underlying role in supporting mental health and managing mood. This research adds to a growing scientific interest in how the foods we eat might help reduce the risk of mental health conditions. Depression is a highly prevalent mental health condition that affects hundreds of millions of people globally. The economic and personal impacts of depression are massive, leading to lost productivity and steep healthcare costs. Current pharmacological and psychological treatments do not work adequately for everyone experiencing depression. Because standard therapies leave a gap in care, scientists are actively searching for complementary strategies to prevent and manage the condition. In recent years, the scientific community has shown increased interest in nutritional psychiatry. This is an area of study that examines how dietary habits and specific vitamins or minerals affect brain health. Even …