We all know a freshly baked potato is a healthier choice than a serving of packaged tater tots from the freezer. Why? Because, conventional wisdom says, the frozen tater tots come with additional calories: fat (from vegetable oil), salt, and even sugar. And that’s true. But a recent study suggests there may be another factor at play, something to do with ingredients like emulsifiers, stabilizers and dyes used in so-called “ultra-processed foods.”
For the study, 20 healthy adult volunteers stayed at an NIH facility for four weeks. For two weeks, volunteers were fed a diet of ultra-processed foods: meals like canned beef ravioli, chicken salad made with canned chicken, tater tots and hot dogs. Then for the next two weeks, they ate minimally processed foods: mainly fruits, vegetables and unprocessed meat. Each diet had essentially the same total amount of fat, sugar, salt, fiber, carbohydrates and protein, and the volunteers could eat as much or as little as they wanted.
The results: people took in about 500 more calories per day on the ultra-processed diet, and they gained weight and body fat. On the minimally processed diet, they ended up eating less and losing weight.
Researchers aren’t exactly sure what it is about ultra-processed foods that makes people want to overeat. But they say we shouldn’t wait to take action: these foods make up about 60% of the average American diet, and they’re linked to chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Find out what exactly is ultra-processed food and how you can cut down.
Your immune system protects your body from intruders. But it doesn’t necessarily distinguish between things that do you harm – like viruses or bacterial infections – and a donated organ that you depend on for survival. That’s why when a person gets an organ transplant, they must take immuno-suppressant drugs to prevent immune cells from attacking or “rejecting” the organ.
Leila Mirhaydari experienced kidney failure at age 27, and spent three years on nightly dialysis. A transplant in 2014 gave her the freedom to live a normal life. But after eight years, her immune system is attacking the organ. Mirhaydari suspects her body is rejecting the kidney as a result of trying to stretch out her immunosuppressant medication after she lost her job in 2020. Now, it’s time to say goodbye.
We’ve reported recently on how teenagers’ brains make them especially vulnerable to social media-driven mental health problems, including how some of them are even asking their parents to help them get off the apps. But pediatric psychiatrist Beatriz Luna says we should also pay more attention to the upsides of this time of life. "I want people to understand that adolescence is not a disease, that adolescence is an amazing time of development," she says.
During adolescence, the wiring of the brain is changing. Some synaptic connections are eliminated, while others are reinforced, or myelinated. This “use-it-or-lose it” process may be why adolescents tend to be interested in new experiences and taking risks. Research shows sex differences in cognition emerge during adolescence too. So get to know the teenage brain – it just might help you understand the adolescent(s) in your life.
Jay Comfort, a retired American expat who lives in Switzerland, had an emergency appendectomy on a visit to the U.S. last summer. His Swiss insurance company says it will pay about one fifth of Comfort’s bill – which is twice what the procedure would have cost in Switzerland. But $42,000 is steep, even by American standards. The reason may have to do with the trend of hospital consolidation in this country. KFF Health News and NPR investigate what’s behind the charges.
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