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A study based on online Google searches suggests surging U.S. interest in microdosing psychedelics, such as psilocybin, as rules around the use of such drugs begin to relax. But the safety of these drugs isn’t entirely clear, said study lead author Dr. Kevin Yang. “As public interest in using psychedelics and cannabis for health grows, it’s crucial that the medical community conducts studies to establish a strong evidence base for their safety and efficacy,” said Yang, a psychiatry resident physician at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. ‘Magic mushrooms’ have long been used recreationally to get high, but in recent years numerous studies have suggested that the fungus’ active ingredient, the hallucinogen psilocybin, might have some therapeutic effects if used in smaller doses (“microdosing”) under controlled conditions. According to a UCSD news release, people who microdose take “‘sub-perceptual’ doses of psychedelics, often over prolonged periods, with users claiming it improves cognition, mood and overall health without causing the intense hallucinogenic effects of higher doses.” Already, eight U.S. states have had cities or counties decriminalize this type of psychedelic use, and two states, Colorado and Oregon, have legalized psychedelic-assisted therapy and decriminalized psychedelics statewide. Those moves come at the same time that another recreational drug, cannabis, has gained mainstream acceptance and has been legalized in 24 states. So what is the current… read on > read on >

People largely date and marry people in their own “league,” as far as beauty is concerned, a new review finds. Men and women are fairly accurate at rating their own physical attractiveness, and they tend to choose mates who have similar views of their own beauty, researchers report. For example, fellows who rated themselves as attractive tended to date ladies with similar self-ratings, researchers reported recently in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. These results come from more than two dozen studies involving nearly 1,300 opposite-sex couples dating as far back as 1972. In the studies, members of couples were asked to rate their own physical attractiveness. Their pictures were then shown to strangers, who provided an outside rating on their beauty. People’s own assessment of their attractiveness largely tended to align with the rating provided by a stranger, results show. “The fundamentals of what humans consider to be attractive across cultures and across time are pretty consistent,” said lead researcher Gregory Webster, a professor of psychology at the University of Florida. The review also allowed researchers to track how these self-ratings change at different points in long relationships. Some studies focused on young dating couples, while others involved long-married spouses. Among people who had been together longer, men were more accurate at judging their own attractiveness, researchers found. That might be due to the… read on > read on >

Parks and lakes aren’t just good for your soul — new research suggests they also appear to protect your arteries. Living near green space and “blue” water space lowers a person’s odds of hardened arteries in middle-aged urban dwellers, researchers found. For every 10% increase in access to green space, the odds of having coronary artery calcification decline by 15%, on average, according to findings published June 27 in the journal Circulation. “Our findings provide quantitative evidence supporting environmental policies to enhance the accessibility and quality of residential blue and green spaces,” said researcher Dr. Lifang Hou, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Artery calcification occurs when calcium forms plaques on the walls of arteries. These plaques can combine with blood clots to clog the arteries, causing heart attacks and strokes. For the study, researchers tracked nearly 3,000 men and women from four cities for 25 years, from 1985 to 2010. The participants hailed from Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland, Calif. The research team compared CT scans taken at age 50 of calcium deposits in people’s arteries with their access to parks, water bodies and other natural spaces. That access was measured using the people’s long-term residential addresses. Black people living in poor neighborhoods especially benefitted from exposure to green space and open water, researchers found.… read on > read on >

Tai Chi appears to improve sleep, and as a result reduces inflammation and boosts the immune systems of breast cancer survivors, a new study says. The ancient Chinese martial arts practice relies on slow, precise movements performed as the person breathes deeply and focuses attention on the body. This mind-body practice appears as good as or better than cognitive behavioral therapy in helping breast cancer survivors deal with the aftermath of their disease, researchers reported recently in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. About 30% of breast cancer survivors suffer from insomnia, twice the rate of the general population, researchers said in background notes. For this study, researchers analyzed blood samples from 90 Los Angeles breast cancer survivors who underwent weekly Tai Chi or cognitive behavioral therapy sessions lasting two hours for a three-month period. Both Tai Chi and cognitive behavioral therapy produced similar decreases in insomnia among the participants. But the blood samples, taken over 15 months, revealed that Tai Chi led to significant and sustained reductions in inflammation, compared with cognitive behavioral therapy. Tai Chi participants also experienced increases in antiviral activity within the immune system, although cognitive behavioral therapy produced even better improvements. These could help reduce the risk of breast cancer recurring in survivors, researchers said. “Effective treatment of insomnia has potent impacts on the immune system,” said lead researcher Dr.… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to one of America’s biggest bakeries, asking the company to stop claiming there are allergens such as sesame or nuts in products when in fact they are not there. In a statement released Tuesday, the FDA said that Bimbo Bakeries, which includes brands such as Sara Lee, Oroweat, Thomas’, Entenmann’s and Ball Park buns and rolls, has included known allergens such as sesame, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts in their ‘Contains’ ingredients list — even though “those ingredients were not included in the product formulations,” as determined by FDA inspections conducted in late 2023. For example, Bimbo products such as Brownberry brand Whole Grains 12 Grains and Seeds RTE bread loaf product listed the three types of nuts as ingredients, even though they were not actually there. And Sara Lee brand Artesano Brioche, Delightful Multigrain, Artesano Golden Wheat and Artesano Smooth Multigrain all listed sesame as an ingredient, even though no sesame was present. Why would companies like Bimbo run erroneous ingredients lists? The FDA does require that food manufacturers list any potential allergens on packaging ingredients lists. However, properly separating known allergens such as nuts or sesame in one part of a baking plant from other areas can be labor-intensive and expensive. So, some companies work around the regulation by claiming the allergens are in most or… read on > read on >

Specific types of gut bacteria appear to be linked to compulsive eating, a new study reports. Researchers found that one type of gut bacteria — the Proteobacteria family — is abundant in people and mice with an addiction to food. Other types of gut bacteria are decreased in food-addicted people and mice, including Blautia bacteria and bacteria belonging to the Actinobacteria family, researchers say. What’s more, food addiction decreased in mice when they were fed prebiotics that caused Blautia levels in the gut to rise, said researcher Elena Martin-Garcia, a professor of medicine and life sciences at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. These results suggest the “potential protective effects of increasing the abundance of Actinobacterial and Bacillota against the development of food addiction,” Martin-Garcia said. Blautia belongs to the Bacillota family. For the study, researchers used a food addiction scale to diagnose the condition in mice and humans. The scale measures persistent food-seeking, motivation to obtain food and compulsive behavior. They found that mice with food addiction had higher levels of Proteobacteria and lower levels of Actinobacteria and Blautia. Those same trends were seen in 88 humans, researchers said. “The findings in both mice and humans suggested that specific microbiota could be protective in preventing food addiction,” Martin-Garcia said. “In particular, the strong similarities in the amount of Blautia underlined the potential beneficial effects… read on > read on >

Exposure to air pollution as a child increases an adult’s risk of bronchitis, a new study warns. Young adults with bronchitis symptoms tended to have been exposed during childhood to two types of air pollutants, researchers found: Particle pollution from dust, pollen, wildfire ash, industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust. Nitrogen dioxide from gasoline engines. Bronchitis occurs when the large airways of the lungs become inflamed, causing severe coughing spells that bring up mucus or phlegm. Wheezing, chest pain and shortness of breath are other symptoms. “Our results suggest that childhood air pollution exposure has more subtle effects on our respiratory system that still impact us in adulthood,” said researcher Dr. Erika Garcia, an assistant professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. “Reducing air pollution would have benefits not only for current asthma in children but also for their respiratory health as they grow into adulthood,” Garcia added in a university news release. Air pollution has been consistently associated with lung ailments among children, and childhood lung problems are consistently associated with lung issues as adults, researchers said in background notes. However, few studies have explored the effect of childhood air pollution exposure on adult lung health, whether or not kids suffered lung problems, researchers said. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, researchers… read on > read on >

As psilocybin mushrooms become the most popular psychedelic in the United States, some states have started to ease regulations on its recreational use. Now, a new report warns that the federal government will have to decide whether to follow suit. RAND, a nonprofit research group, stresses in the report that if efforts to expand the recreational supply of psychedelics don’t go well, the fallout could put a damper on potential medical uses. “Based on what happened with clinical research on psychedelics after the 1960s, this is not an idle concern,” lead author Beau Kilmer, a senior policy researcher, said in a RAND news release. Indigenous groups that consider psychedelics spiritual medicines could also be affected, study co-author Michelle Priest, an assistant policy researcher at RAND, warned. The popularity of psychdelic mushrooms now far outpaces that of other mind-altering drugs such as ecstasy (MDMA), the new report reveals. It includes results of a December 2023 survey of almost 3,800 U.S. adults who were asked about their use of various substances, including psychedelics. Twelve percent said they had used psilocybin at some point, and 3.1% had done so in the past year. The report estimated that 8 million U.S. adults used psilocybin last year. Still, use is typically infrequent, the survey found — 0.9% of respondents said they had used psilocybin in the past month, compared to… read on > read on >

Youth sports are important for the development of children and teenagers, but there’s no sure way to ensure a youngster doesn’t get hurt while competing. That’s why it’s important for parents to spot and appropriately respond to their children’s sports injuries, Dr. Eileen Crawford, an orthopedic surgeon with the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, said in a news release. “Various types of injuries can happen with any sport, but some injuries are more commonly associated with specific activities,” she said. Contact or collision sports usually cause traumatic injuries like ligament tears and broken bones, Crawford said. On the other hand, sports like swimming, rowing and running tend to cause repetitive use injuries. Meanwhile, gymnasts and pitchers are more likely to suffer bone or cartilage damage due to repeated high stress on their joints. “While these are the common types of injuries we see in these sports, it doesn’t mean that they are the only injuries that occur in a given sport,” Crawford said. Proper conditioning, stretching and warming up can help prevent sports injuries, she said. Children also can protect against injury by working on their core strength, balance, flexibility and proper form. “While it isn’t the fun part of participating in youth sports, it can make it easier to avoid or bounce back from injuries,” Crawford said. “Exercises that keep the… read on > read on >

It’s a nasty cycle: Chronic migraine sufferers who use too much pain medication sometimes get smacked with rebound headaches. But new research suggests that a medication commonly used to prevent migraines may also help fend off rebound headaches. The study of 755 people with chronic migraine — meaning 15 or more headache days a month with migraines on eight or more — found that those who overused pain meds had fewer headache days when taking the migraine prevention drug atogepant (Quilipta). “There is a high prevalence of pain medication overuse among people with migraine as they try to manage what are often debilitating symptoms,” explained study author Dr. Peter Goadsby, from King’s College London. “However, medication overuse can lead to more headaches called rebound headaches, so more preventive treatments treatments are needed.” Two-thirds of the participants, who reported their headache and medication history, met the criteria for medication overuse. That means they took pain relievers such as aspirin, acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on 15 or more days a month; migraine drugs called triptans or ergots for 10 days or more; or any combination for 10 days or more. On average, participants reported 18 to 19 migraine days a month and using pain meds on 15 to 16 days. For 12 weeks, they were given 30 milligrams (mg) of atogepant twice daily; 60 mg… read on > read on >

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Americans’ Interest in Microdosing Psychedelics Is Growing

Not ‘Out of Your League’: Folks Tend to Marry People as Attractive as They Are

More Green Spaces, Lakes Bring Fewer Hardened Arteries

Tai Chi Can Benefit Breast Cancer Survivors in Many Ways

FDA Warns Top National Bakery to Stop Listing Allergens in Products When They Aren’t There

Scientists Spot Which Gut Germs Trigger Compulsive Eating

Childhood Exposure to Air Pollution May Trigger Bronchitis Years Later

Magic Mushroom’s Psilocybin Is America’s Most Popular Hallucinogen

Sports Injuries: Your Guide to Helping Your Child Heal

Migraine Prevention Med Might Stop ‘Rebound’ Headaches, Too