NewsFeed

April 21, 2025

Ultra-Processed Foods Don't Trigger Dopamine Overload

Researchers conducted a study on 50 healthy volunteers who consumed an ultra-processed milkshake high in fat and sugar, then measured dopamine levels 30 minutes later. The results showed little change in dopamine levels, contradicting the idea that people can easily become hooked on such foods like narcotics or alcohol. Experts Dr. Eleanor Bryant and Wasim Hanif suggest that food addiction is more likely a behavioral response to stress, anxiety, and poor self-esteem rather than a neurological response to food ingredients.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14632237/addicted-food-cigarettes-drugs-diabetes-fat-sugar-processed.html

April 21, 2025

UTSW Study Cuts Dementia Risk by 15% in China

Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center conducted a study on 17,407 patients with untreated high blood pressure in rural Chinese villages. They were given medication and intensive healthcare coaching, which led to a 15% reduction in risk of all-cause dementia and a 16% decrease in general cognitive impairment. Experts, including Dr. Julia Dudley from Alzheimer's Research UK and Dr. Richard Oakley from the Alzheimer's Society, are calling on the government to introduce policies to reduce salt, sugar, and calories in processed foods and lower the NHS Health Check eligibility age in England from 40 to 30 to promote good brain health and tackle dementia.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14632051/blood-pressure-cut-dementia-risk-15-cent-prevent-mental-decline.html

April 21, 2025

WHO Funding Cuts Threaten Gaza's Fragile Healthcare System

The World Health Organization (WHO) faces significant challenges due to funding cuts, which will impact its ability to deliver aid to communities in need. Hanan Balkhy, WHO's regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, highlighted areas such as Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen where healthcare institutions are already struggling. In Gaza, nearly two years of conflict have left the territory severely damaged, with many hospitals functioning and public health conditions dire.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40358675/us-aid-cuts-strain-response-to-health-crises-worldwide-who

April 21, 2025

Manosphere Lures Teenagers with False Sense of Control

The manosphere is a online community where masculinity is debated and defended, often distorted, by self-proclaimed experts such as life coaches and ex-MMA fighters. It presents itself as a path to self-improvement but is actually built on hierarchy, fear, and suspicion of vulnerability. The space offers young men a sense of control and certainty in a confusing world, which can be compelling for anxious or lonely teenagers like the author, who at 13 was influenced by its ideology.

https://channelnewsasia.com/commentary/netflix-adolescence-manosphere-teen-son-father-parenting-5071856

April 21, 2025

Microdosing with Magic Mushrooms Reduces Anxiety, Stress

Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms or LSD is gaining popularity among health-seekers who claim it reduces anxiety, stress, and depression, providing access to joy, creativity, and connection. This practice involves taking a very small dose of the substances, significantly less than what would induce a full-blown psychedelic experience.

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3307279/why-people-microdose-magic-mushrooms-and-lsd-mental-health-and-what-science-says?module=top_story&pgtype=section

April 21, 2025

HHS Unveils Plan to Ban Synthetic Food Dyes

US Health and Human Services to unveil plan to remove synthetic food dyes from US food supply, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary set to provide details on Tuesday in Washington, DC.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/rfk-jr-is-set-to-cut-synthetic-food-dyes-from-us-food-supply

April 21, 2025

California Limits Non-Medical AI Claims Decisions

California's new law, SB 1120, sets forth specific requirements for the use of AI in insurance claims processing. A key provision of the bill restricts non-physician professionals from making determinations of medical necessity, limiting this authority to licensed physicians or healthcare professionals.

https://www.law.com/therecorder/2025/04/21/ai-isnt-your-doctorwhy-medical-necessity-cant-be-overruled-by-algorithms/

April 21, 2025

Lancaster Mayor Suggests Free Fentanyl for Homeless

Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris sparked outrage during a city council meeting when he suggested giving homeless individuals free fentanyl to address the crisis, interrupting a resident who opposed the plan to house them at an abandoned golf course near a residential neighborhood. The mayor's statement was met with criticism from the audience, with one resident labeling it "not kind".

https://nypost.com/2025/04/20/us-news/socal-mayor-r-rex-parris-says-he-wants-to-purge-homeless-population-by-giving-them-all-the-fentanyl-they-want/

April 21, 2025

Telangana Woman Buried Husband Alive in Her Home

A woman in Telangana electrocuted her husband, whose body she then buried in a secluded area of her home in the Kukatpally Housing Board Colony. The police exhumed the body for an autopsy at the Gandhi hospital mortuary after receiving information about the incident.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/southern-states/telangana/woman-electrocutes-husband-and-buries-body-in-secluded-place-in-kphb-colony-1874215