We hope all our readers have had a great and healthy week! Here are some selections from health news from around the world:

A lack of transparency

Thousands of chemicals blanket-approved for food contact in packaging, under the FDA’s “Generally Recognized As Safe” umbrella, have been found in humans.

This highlights a gap in the safeguarding system, because the GRAS classification is given when there’s no known significant association with disease—but in this case, a problem can occur when the build-up in the blood and brain cause problems much later.

Read in full: Thousands of toxins from food packaging found in humans – research

Learn more: We Are Such Stuff As Bottles Are Made Of (It’s Not Fantastic To Be Plastic)

Cafestol for weight loss?

Most coffee intervention studies use instant coffee. Which is understandable; they are scientists on a budget, not coffee shop baristas. But, instant coffee is low in some of coffee’s important compounds, such as cafestol—which as it turns out, can lower not only overall body fat, but also (importantly!) visceral fat.

Read in full: 12-week coffee compound study shows promising results for weight and fat reduction in at-risk individuals

Learn more: The Bitter Truth About Coffee (or is it?)

Doing something is better than doing nothing

While a lot of the bad news both locally and around the world can be infuriating and/or depressing, turning a blind eye may not be the best approach for dealing with it. This study was in teens, but it’s likely that the benefits are similar for other ages too:

Read in full: Racial justice activism, advocacy found to reduce depression, anxiety in some teens

Learn more: Make Social Media Work For Your Mental Health

A ray of hope!

Sometimes, the topic of sun and sunscreens can seem like “damned if you do; damned if you don’t”, with regard to the harmful effects of the sun, and in some cases, potentially harmful effects of some sunscreen chemicals. We’ve argued ultimately in favor of sunscreens in this tug-of-war, but it’s nice to see improvements being made, in this case, with lignin-based sunscreen (a plant-based by-product of the pulp industry).

Read in full: Researchers create high-performing, eco-friendly sunscreen

Learn more: Who Screens The Sunscreens?

All about the pores

Researchers have identified a protein, and from that, a stack of protein fragments, that are involved in the formation of large pores. This is important, as it’s pointing to a means of relief for a lot of inflammatory diseases.

Read in full: Scientists unravel the process of pore formation in cells

Learn more: Why Do We Have Pores, And Could We Not?

Getting to the bottom of Crohn’s

If you have Crohn’s, or perhaps someone close to you has it, then you’ll be familiar with the common medical refrain of “we don’t know”. While this honesty is laudable, it’s not reassuring. So, it’s good that researchers are making progress in understanding why many people with Crohn’s may respond differently not only to lifestyle interventions, but also to various relevant drugs—allowing doctors to prescribe the right treatment for the right person.

Read in full: Patient-derived gut organoids reveal new insights into Crohn’s disease subtypes

Learn more: Diet Tips for Crohn’s Disease

Another carotenoid that holds back Alzheimer’s

Phytoene is a carotenoid that is found in many red, orange, or yellow foods, including tomatoes, carrots, apricots, red peppers, oranges, mandarins and passion fruit, among others. Researchers have found that it slows the onset of symptoms associated with the formation of amyloid plaques, by 30–40%, and increases longevity by 10–19%:

Read in full: Carotenoid phytoene shows potential in slowing Alzheimer’s plaque formation and increasing lifespan

Learn more: Brain Food? The Eyes Have It! ← this is about a different carotenoid, lutein, found mostly in dark green leafy vegetables, but it’s best to enjoy both 😎

Take care!