Sugary Drinks Linked to 34% Higher Anxiety Risk in Teens

Can Sugary Drinks Cause Anxiety in Teenagers?

Yes. A systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies found that teens who drink high amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages have a 34% increased risk of anxiety disorders compared to those who drink less. Seven of the nine studies showed a consistent positive link between sugary drink consumption and anxiety symptoms in adolescents.

Teen anxiety is on the rise, and researchers are looking for everyday factors that might play a role. This review, the first of its kind to focus specifically on sugary drinks and anxiety in adolescents, gathered evidence from nine separate studies to answer a simple question: does drinking soda, energy drinks, and other sweetened beverages make teens more anxious? The answer, across the majority of studies, was yes.

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Kefir Plus Fiber Beat Omega-3 for Inflammation in New Trial

Can Fermented Foods and Fiber Really Fight Inflammation?

Yes. A six-week randomized trial found that combining fermented kefir with prebiotic fiber reduced more inflammation markers than omega-3 supplements or fiber alone. The synbiotic group, those taking both kefir and fiber together, showed the broadest and strongest drops in key proteins tied to chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is a quiet driver of many serious health problems. It plays a role in heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers. Most people cannot feel it happening, but it shows up in blood tests as elevated proteins like IL-6 and TNF-alpha. Researchers at the University of Nottingham wanted to know which common dietary supplements do the best job of lowering these markers. They compared three options: omega-3 fatty acids, inulin fiber, and a synbiotic combination of fermented kefir with a diverse prebiotic fiber mix. The results suggest that the simplest kitchen staples may pack the most anti-inflammatory punch.

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Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to 47% Higher Heart Disease Risk

Do Ultra-Processed Foods Raise Your Risk of Heart Disease?

Yes. A study of nearly 4,800 U.S. adults found that people who ate the most ultra-processed foods had a 47% higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared to those who ate the least. This held true even after researchers accounted for age, sex, race, smoking, and income.

Ultra-processed foods are everywhere in modern diets. Sodas, packaged snacks, frozen meals, and processed meats fall into this category. On average, participants in this study got 26% of their total daily calories from these foods. That is roughly one out of every four calories coming from items that have been heavily changed from their original form, often loaded with added sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, and artificial ingredients.

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2-3 Cups of Coffee a Day Linked to 18% Lower Dementia Risk in 43-Year Study

Can Your Morning Coffee Actually Protect Your Brain?

Quite possibly. A landmark study published in JAMA followed 131,821 people for up to 43 years and found that those who drank 2 to 3 cups of caffeinated coffee per day had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared to people who drank little or none. Tea drinkers saw similar benefits at 1 to 2 cups daily. But here is the catch: decaffeinated coffee showed no protective effect at all, suggesting that caffeine itself may be doing something meaningful for the brain.

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Hidden Gut Bacteria Linked to Better Health Worldwide

Could a Hidden Gut Bacterium Be the Key to Better Health?

Yes. A massive global study of over 11,000 gut microbiome samples from 39 countries found that a little-known group of bacteria called CAG-170 shows up consistently in healthy people, and at lower levels in people with chronic diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and chronic fatigue syndrome. This is the first time a single bacterial group has emerged as a universal marker of gut health across so many different populations and conditions.

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Time-Restricted Feeding Cuts Crohn's Disease Activity in New Trial

Can Time-Restricted Eating Help Manage Crohn’s Disease?

Yes. The first randomized controlled trial of time-restricted feeding in Crohn’s disease found that eating within an 8-hour window for 12 weeks reduced disease activity by 40% and cut abdominal discomfort in half. Participants also lost weight, reduced visceral fat, and showed lower inflammation markers, all without changing what they ate.

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes pain, cramping, and digestive problems. Most treatments involve powerful drugs that suppress the immune system. But this new trial, published in the journal Gastroenterology, suggests something much simpler could help: just changing when you eat, not what you eat. Researchers at the University of British Columbia tested whether limiting meals to an 8-hour window each day could calm the gut inflammation that drives Crohn’s symptoms.

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Blood Tests for Alzheimer's: A New Study Shows 83% Accuracy

Can a Simple Blood Test Detect Alzheimer’s Disease?

Yes. A multinational study of 605 participants across Latin America found that blood tests measuring three key proteins detected Alzheimer’s disease with 83% accuracy and frontotemporal dementia with 88% accuracy. When combined with brain scans and cognitive tests, accuracy rose to 89% for Alzheimer’s and 95% for frontotemporal dementia.

Right now, diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease usually requires expensive PET brain scans or painful spinal taps. These tests cost thousands of dollars and are not available in many parts of the world. This study shows that a simple blood draw could do much of the same work, and it holds up across populations with wide genetic and racial diversity.

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Time-Restricted Feeding Cuts Crohn's Disease Activity 40%

Can Meal Timing Help Control Crohn’s Disease?

Yes. A randomized controlled trial published in Gastroenterology found that eating within an 8-hour daily window reduced Crohn’s disease activity by 40% over 12 weeks. Participants also lost weight and showed lower blood markers of inflammation compared to a control group on a normal eating schedule.

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes pain, cramping, and digestive problems. Most treatments focus on medication. But this study asked a different question: could simply changing when you eat make a difference?

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Sleep-Aligned Extended Overnight Fasting Improves Nighttime

Can Timing Your Last Meal Around Sleep Improve Heart and Metabolic Health?

Yes. A Northwestern Medicine study found that stopping eating at least three hours before bedtime and extending the overnight fast by about two hours lowered nighttime blood pressure by 3.5% and heart rate by 5%. The intervention also improved how the body handles blood sugar during the day.

This 7.5-week study included 39 overweight or obese adults aged 36 to 75. Researchers aligned the fasting window with each person’s natural sleep-wake cycle, a key factor in heart and metabolic health. Participants did not change how much they ate, only when they ate. The study was published February 12, 2026 in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (American Heart Association).

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Just 5 Weeks of Brain Training May Protect Against Dementia

Can a Few Weeks of Brain Training Really Protect Against Dementia?

Yes. A landmark 20-year NIH-funded trial found that older adults who completed five to six weeks of “speed of processing” brain training, plus booster sessions, had a 25% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who received no training. It was the only type of cognitive training in the study to show a lasting protective effect.

The study followed over 2,000 adults aged 65 and older from the ACTIVE trial (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly). Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine tracked dementia diagnoses through Medicare records over two full decades. The findings were published February 9, 2026 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions.

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New Pill Cuts LDL Cholesterol by 57% in Major Trial

Can a Daily Pill Replace Cholesterol Injections?

Yes. In a phase 3 trial, a once-daily pill called enlicitide lowered LDL cholesterol by 57.1% at 24 weeks. That matches the results of injectable PCSK9 drugs that have been available for years, but in a simple pill you take by mouth.

For millions of people who struggle to control their cholesterol with statins alone, PCSK9 inhibitors have been a game-changer. The problem is that the current options, drugs like evolocumab (Repatha) and alirocumab (Praluent), require injections every two to four weeks. Many patients skip doses or avoid them entirely because of the needle. Enlicitide could change that by putting the same type of treatment into a daily pill.

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Parkinson's disease as a somato-cognitive action network disorder

Could a Newly Discovered Brain Network Explain Parkinson’s Disease?

Yes. A large international study of 863 patients found that a brain network called the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) is central to Parkinson’s disease. When treatments targeted this network directly, symptom improvement more than doubled compared to targeting other brain areas.

Parkinson’s disease has always been hard to explain. It starts with sleep problems and digestive issues. Then it moves to tremors, stiffness, and trouble walking. It even affects thinking and motivation. No single brain region can account for all of that, and that has puzzled researchers for decades.

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