Eats « Weekly Gravy

The federal government recently stopped pandemic-related emergency food aid, leaving perhaps 2 million more Americans without enough to eat. Emergency allotments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, ended in March in all states that hadn’t already cut them. After this temporary increase in SNAP benefits ended, recipients experienced a 21% relative increase in food insufficiency, according to research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Food insufficiency means more than just not having enough food; it also means a poor quality diet. “To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to evaluate the association between changes in SNAP benefit amounts and food insufficiency,” said lead author Dr. Aaron Richterman, an instructor in the division of infectious diseases at the university. “This study shows the severe consequences of reducing SNAP benefit amounts at a time when inflation was causing rapid rises in food prices, and is especially important because of upcoming federal negotiations surrounding SNAP’s renewal in the Farm Bill at the end of September,” he explained in a school news release. SNAP distributes benefits to low-income families to buy food. About 10% of U.S. households may not have enough to eat without these benefits. To study what happened when federal officials ended the emergency allotments, researchers compared trends in states that ended them… read on > read on >

There are plenty of reasons to steer clear of sugary drinks, and new research highlights yet another one: Women who drink sodas and other sweetened drinks have a higher risk of developing liver cancer and chronic liver disease. Looking at data on nearly 100,000 women, researchers found that nearly 7% of women consumed one or more sugar-sweetened beverages daily. Those women had an 85% higher risk of liver cancer and 68% higher risk of chronic liver disease death compared to those who had fewer than three sugar-sweetened beverages a month. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and chronic liver disease mortality,” said study co-author Longgang Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Our findings, if confirmed, may pave the way to a public health strategy to reduce risk of liver disease,” Zhao said in a hospital news release. Researchers used data on the postmenopausal women from the large Women’s Health Initiative study. Participants reported their usual consumption of soft drinks or fruit drinks (not fruit juice), and then reported artificially sweetened beverage consumption after three years. The study followed the women for a median of more than 20 years (half more, half less). The authors looked at self-reported liver cancer incidence as well as deaths… read on > read on >

In the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic, a new study is pointing to a way to help school kids maintain a healthier weight: clean, accessible drinking water. The decidedly low-tech solution emerged in a study of 18 California elementary schools that serve largely low-income minority families. Researchers found that when they kicked off a “Water First” program — which included putting tap water stations in the schools — it made a difference in kids’ weight gain. At the nine schools where the program launched, the percentage of kids who fell into the overweight category held fairly steady over 15 months. In contrast, that figure rose by almost 4 percentage points at schools without the water program. Experts said the impact was striking, given that encouraging kids to drink water is just one simple step. “I think the fact that they were able to find this difference is pretty remarkable,” said Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. It’s generally tough to move the needle when it comes to kids’ weight, because it is influenced by so many factors, noted Schwartz, who was not involved in the study. Dr. Anisha Patel, who led the research, pointed to the relative simplicity of the tactic — which could have multiple benefits, including cavity prevention and keeping kids… read on > read on >

Early and gradual exposure to peanuts under medical supervision curbed infants’ allergies, according to a new study. While researchers had seen that peanut oral immunotherapy was well tolerated by toddlers, this research focused on an even younger age group. “We’ve seen how peanut oral immunotherapy is well-tolerated in toddlers, but there is limited real-world evidence available to demonstrate the benefits in babies,” said Dr. Sandra Hong, director of the Food Allergy Center of Excellence at the Cleveland Clinic. “We leveraged data from infants in our program to better understand the safety and efficacy of this treatment in children 12 months and younger.” The clinic’s Food Allergy Center of Excellence offers oral immunotherapy for babies, toddlers and young children who are allergic to peanuts. There, children under age 4 eat tiny amounts of peanuts in a step-by-step, controlled process. This study enrolled 22 infants between 7 and 11 months old. With an allergist and parent, the babies started on a daily dose of 18 milligrams of peanut protein in the form of peanut butter or peanut powder. That’s roughly twice the weight of a grain of table salt. Over six months, they were slowly given larger servings to consume until they reached a maintenance dose of 500 milligrams, the equivalent of two peanut kernels. Each of the 22 babies reached this milestone. More than half experienced… read on > read on >

Whether you got a tattoo on a whim or after much thought, that ink on your body is fairly permanent. Tattoo removal is possible, but it comes with risks, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates tattoo ink and pigment, as well as the laser devices used to remove them. State and local authorities typically oversee tattooing practices. The FDA has cleared several types of lasers for tattoo lightening or removal. They are to be used by or under the supervision of a health care professional. The process requires using the correct type of laser, understanding how tissue will react and knowing how to treat the area after the procedure. One challenge with removal is that tattoos are more than skin deep. The needle injects ink into the skin, penetrating the epidermis, or outer layer. And it also deposits a drop of ink into the dermis, the layer underneath. The cells of the dermis are more stable than those of the epidermis, which, the FDA said, means the ink will mostly stay in place for a person’s lifetime. Lasering is the most common method for removing or lightening tattoos, according to the FDA. Laser light energy shatters the tattoo ink into small particles, and the immune system clears these particles over time. Different types of lasers may be used depending on the… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new pill, called zuranolone, that may quickly ease severe postpartum depression and help millions of women regain their emotional equilibrium following childbirth. Taken as a pill once a day for two weeks, zuranolone (Zurzuvae) showed “rapid, significant and sustained” reductions in depressive symptoms when compared to a placebo, according to a recent study of nearly 200 women, the FDA said. These improvements occurred in as few as three days and were still evident 28 and 45 days later. That’s compared to the many weeks it typically takes for standard antidepressants to start taking full effect. “Postpartum depression is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition in which women experience sadness, guilt, worthlessness — even, in severe cases, thoughts of harming themselves or their child. And, because postpartum depression can disrupt the maternal-infant bond, it can also have consequences for the child’s physical and emotional development,” Dr. Tiffany Farchione, director of the Division of Psychiatry in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency statement. “Having access to an oral medication will be a beneficial option for many of these women coping with extreme, and sometimes life-threatening, feelings.” As many as 1 in 8 women in the United States develops depression just before or after giving birth. “Women report severe sadness or loss… read on > read on >

A Louisiana woman is suing the makers of two type 2 diabetes drugs used off-label for obesity, saying they failed to adequately warn about the risk of severe stomach problems. The lawsuit seeks “very significant” but unspecified compensation from the makers of both Ozempic and Mounjaro, said attorney Paul Pennock of the Orlando, Fla.-based firm Morgan & Morgan. Pennock filed the lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Jaclyn Bjorklund, 44, NBC News reported. The lawsuit against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly claims Bjorklund was “severely injured” after taking the two diabetes drugs, which are part of a new class of medication called GLP-1 agonists. Pennock said she is suffering “persistent” vomiting and severe gastroparesis, also known as stomach paralysis. Gastroparesis slows or stops food from moving out of the stomach and into the small intestines. It can be caused by underlying medical issues, including diabetes, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. Infections and some medication can also cause it. The GLP-1 agonists slow food’s movement and have been found to cause some GI issues in clinical trials. Those are listed as side effects on the drug labels. Both Ozempic and Mounjaro have the phrase “delays gastric emptying” on their prescribing information, though they don’t specifically use the word “gastroparesis,” NBC News reported. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said it was unclear whether the… read on > read on >

While demand for prescription stimulants is surging, a shortage of the drugs persists, so federal officials have stepped in and asked drug companies to ramp up production of the medications. Officials from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the joint request. “The FDA and DEA do not manufacture drugs and cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug or change the distribution of a drug,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and Drug Enforcement Administration leader Anne Milgram wrote in a letter issued Tuesday. “That said, we are working closely with numerous manufacturers, agencies and others in the supply chain to understand, prevent and reduce the impact of these shortages.” The agencies are also asking prescribers to carefully monitor their prescribing practices. “The lack of availability of certain medications in recent months has been understandably frustrating for patients and their families,” Califf and Milgram wrote in their letter. Reasons for the shortage include manufacturing delays by one drugmaker last fall. Meanwhile, demand for prescription stimulants for adults surged during the pandemic, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The FDA first announced a shortage of Adderall last October; that medication is commonly used for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The DEA limits the amount of… read on > read on >

All eyes are on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week as the agency weighs approval of a new pill that may quickly treat and ease severe postpartum depression. Approval of the drug could help millions of women regain their emotional equilibrium following childbirth. The FDA’s decision is expected by Friday. Taken as a pill once a day for two weeks, zuranolone showed “rapid, significant and sustained” reductions in depressive symptoms when compared to a placebo, or dummy pill, according to a recent study of nearly 200 women. These improvements occurred in as few as three days and were still evident 28 and 45 days later, said study author Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis. She is a professor at the Institute of Behavioral Science at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. As many as 1 in 8 women in the United States develops depression immediately before or after giving birth. “Women report severe sadness or loss of interest in pleasurable activities and relationships, have significant guilt, often about not being a good enough mother or partner, low energy, poor concentration and indecisiveness, loss of appetite and irritability,” Deligiannidis said. Many also say they feel overwhelmed and are anxious, especially over the baby’s well-being, she added. Some women may start to believe that their family would be better off if they were dead, she… read on > read on >

Elderly adults who start on a statin may see an even bigger drop in their “bad” cholesterol levels than their younger counterparts do, a new study suggests. The study, of nearly 84,000 Danish patients, found that those age 75 and up typically showed a stronger response after starting a low- to moderate-dose statin: Compared with the typical 50-year-old, their LDL cholesterol dipped by a few more percentage points. Researchers said the findings suggest that older patients could begin with a lower-dose statin, to minimize the chances of side effects. While statins are considered safe, they may cause problems like muscle pain or elevated blood sugar in some people. The odds of side effects generally go up with higher statin doses, and older adults are typically more vulnerable than their younger counterparts. So, starting at a lower statin dose could be “an appealing alternative” for older patients, said senior researcher Dr. Marie Lund, of the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen. She added, however, that there are additional things to consider — including an older person’s existing health conditions and the need for lowering the risk of a future heart attack or stroke. Statins are among the most widely used medications globally, spurred by studies showing that along with cutting levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, they help prevent heart attacks and strokes. But clinical trials generally include… read on > read on >