Category: Health

A new large-scale study suggests that the MIND diet, which blends elements of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, could play a significant role in reducing the risk of dementia—even for people who begin following it later in life. The findings were presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting and are based on data from nearly 93,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 45 and 75. Participants were tracked over decades as part of a long-term health study starting in the 1990s. Researchers found that individuals who consistently adhered to the MIND diet had a 9% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those with low adherence. But even more striking was that people who improved their diet over time saw up to a 25% reduction in their risk—suggesting it’s never too late to make beneficial changes. The MIND diet, short for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, focuses on foods known to support brain health. These include leafy greens, berries, nuts, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, and olive oil. At the same time, it recommends limiting red meat, butter, cheese, sweets, and fried or fast food. One of the unique aspects of this study was its diverse participant base. Researchers found that the positive impact of the diet was particularly notable among African American, Latino, and white participants, who saw about a 13% reduction in dementia risk. However, the benefits were less clear among Asian American and Native Hawaiian groups, prompting questions about how cultural and genetic factors may influence dietary outcomes. The study’s authors emphasized that diet is just one of many lifestyle factors that can affect brain health, but it’s an important one—especially considering how simple changes to daily eating habits can have long-term benefits. While the MIND diet has been studied before, this research is among the most comprehensive to date. It reinforces previous findings while also showing that people can still make a meaningful impact on their brain health by adopting the diet even in middle or later adulthood. Overall, the research highlights a hopeful message: whether you’re 45 or 75, changing how you eat may help protect your brain as you age. In a time when dementia and Alzheimer’s cases are on the rise, this adds to a growing body of evidence that prevention may start on the plate.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has officially approved Moderna’s latest COVID-19 vaccine, named mNEXSPIKE, for use in individuals aged 65 and older, as well as those 12 and up who have underlying medical conditions that put them at greater risk of serious illness. This next-generation vaccine showed improved performance in clinical trials, where it outpaced the original Moderna formula in effectiveness—particularly among older adults. The updated version is designed to offer broader protection, with enhanced immunity tailored to newer variants of the virus. Unlike earlier emergency authorizations, this approval follows newer FDA guidelines that require more robust data before allowing widespread distribution, especially for healthy adults under 65. Moderna has said it plans to make the vaccine available ahead of the 2025–2026 respiratory virus season. In addition to improved efficacy, the mNEXSPIKE vaccine also comes with practical benefits. It can be stored in standard refrigerators, simplifying logistics and making it easier to distribute globally, particularly in areas with limited cold-chain infrastructure. Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel, highlighted the vaccine’s importance in reducing severe cases and deaths, especially given that COVID-19 still caused tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S. last year. The company will continue offering its existing products, including the original Spikevax and a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), alongside this new option. With this approval, healthcare providers will have a new tool in their arsenal to protect vulnerable populations as COVID-19 remains an ongoing public health concern.

Meet my patient Mrs. L. R. She’s 98 years young and has never suffered a day of serious illness in her long life. She was referred to me by her primary care physician to assess her heart condition because she had developed swelling in her legs, known as edema. When we first met in the clinic, I noted there was no accompanying family member, so I asked how she got to the medical center. She’d driven herself. I soon learned much more about this exceptionally vibrant, healthy lady who lives alone, has an extensive social network, and enjoys her solitude.

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Not long before the 2024 election, Dr. Casey Means wrote a letter to her Good Energy newsletter subscribers with a health-related wishlist for the next Administration.

In it were priorities that echo those of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services: investigating toxins in the food supply, incentivizing healthy food purchases with food stamps, replacing factory farming with regenerative farming.

“More than anything, I would like to see our future White House rally Americans to be healthy and fit,” wrote Means, a physician who President Trump nominated on May 7 for U.S. Surgeon General. Trump discarded his first pick, Dr. Janette Neshiewat, a day before she was scheduled to appear before a Senate committee.

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Should killing nature be an international crime?

“From the Pope to Greta Thunberg, there are growing calls for the crime of ‘ecocide’ to be recognised in international criminal law — but could such a law ever work?” the BBC asked in a recent article.

Some courts have granted legal standing to sacred rivers, trees and landscapes and legal rights to non-human primates.

Numerous jurisdictions have ruled in favour of nature with respect to:

Pollution and other forms of destruction of nature

Trade in endangered species

Destruction of national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas and natural monuments

Before Dr. Manisha Deka became pregnant at age 38, she knew little about the benefits of lifting weights. 

“I have always been active, but I focused on exercises like running on the treadmill, yoga and Zumba classes,” said Deka, a specialist in internal medicine in India. “Those were the exercises that women tended to do at the time.”

Then she had a complicated pregnancy, which required her to stay in bed. “Once I gave birth and tried to stand up, I noticed that the muscles in my legs had lost all their strength,” Deka said. “I had to re-learn how to move, walk and climb stairs.” 

Some TikTok videos about health and fitness are hard to resist. People describe how they lost weight by eating only raw fruits and vegetables for a month or by substituting protein powder in place of flour or sugar. How many people take these recommendations to heart? What happens if they do?

Jason Wood was one of them. “I would sprinkle [protein powder] on top of a peanut butter sandwich or a yogurt just to make what I was eating seem healthier,” he said.

But Wood’s practice of adding protein powder to make his foods healthier wasn’t healthy. Eventually, Wood was diagnosed with orthorexia, an obsession with nutrition. Orthorexia is an eating disorder that differs significantly from better-known eating disorders like bulimia — bingeing and vomiting the food afterwards — and anorexia — not eating at all.

It is heart-breaking, and at the same time, it feels good, like everything together makes it feel like being in a nightmare; a kind of daze — This is how Sufia Easel describes the feelings behind her art. It is a layered emotion drawn from personal struggles with anxiety and depression, a theme that runs quietly but powerfully through her work.

Sufia Easel graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Development Alternative (UODA) in 2018. After working two jobs, she decided to fully focus on her passion: painting, and building a small business selling merchandise based on her artworks.

“Only my closest friends and a few family members knew about my IVF journey. I kept it private to avoid judgment, the whispers calling me ‘defective’ for not conceiving naturally. In India, I saw women in their 50s enduring the same gruelling treatments, all longing to hold a child. People do not understand our pain; they only expect us to have children, as if that’s our sole purpose.”

The food scene in the city is as diverse as its people and just as expressive. And by expressive, I mean deeply personal. Food here is not just something we eat — it’s something we are! In Dhaka, you don’t need to scale hills or cross rivers to taste the country’s rich regional delicacies. You just need to be hungry. Why? Because, no matter where you are from, there’s probably a corner that smells of your childhood.

This is the metropolis’s secret superpower. For a city that’s relentlessly fast, loud, and crowded enough to make anyone consider monastic life, it has a surprisingly tender culinary soul. It doesn’t just feed you — it reminds you who you are.