Happy Monday!
Today, we're starting with a science-backed reset when your brain feels cluttered and exploring whether the calorie-counting era is finally ending.
We're also looking at why you might want to skip coffee on your next flight, the truth about turmeric supplements (a helpful spice or an overhyped pill), and what to do when you wake up wired at 3 a.m. Plus, how GLP-1 drugs are tacitly reshaping what Americans buy at the grocery store.
As always, we share women’s health and wellness news that’s evidence-based and thoughtfully explained.
Wishing you good health and happiness!
Nicolle Sloane
Editor
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STRESS SCIENCE
Take Five: A Science-Backed Reset
If your to-do list feels like it’s shouting at you, this is your reminder that clarity doesn’t come from doing more, but from doing less, more intentionally.
Research consistently shows that brief breaks outside, even a short walk past trees, can improve mood, reduce mental clutter, and restore focus. Add light movement like a stretch, standing up, and a few deep breaths, and the benefits compound.
Psychologists also note that mental fatigue is often caused less by workload and more by unfinished loops: unanswered texts, postponed decisions, and low-grade worry. Writing everything down — without fixing it — helps the brain stand down.
What helps most:
Step outside, even briefly
Write the list, then pick just one small thing on it to do
Move your body for 2–5 minutes
Let “good enough” be enough today
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is pause on purpose.
🍽️ WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
Is the Calorie Era Ending?
For more than a century, calories have been the dominant language of nutrition — counted, feared, weaponized, and marketed. But that grip is loosening.
As GLP-1 medications change how hunger works, and research increasingly focuses on nutrient quality, hormones, and brain biology, many experts now argue that calories alone were never a great proxy for health or for sustainable weight management.
Even major institutions are shifting. New federal dietary guidelines now emphasize food composition over strict calorie limits, warning for the first time about ultraprocessed foods. WeightWatchers — once synonymous with calorie counting — now prescribes GLP-1s. And doctors increasingly describe obesity not as a failure of willpower, but as a neurometabolic condition shaped by hormones, sleep, stress, and food environments.
Calories, of course, still matter, but counting them precisely doesn’t. Studies show people routinely miscalculate intake by hundreds of calories, and labeling requirements have barely dented consumption. Instead, many nutrition scientists now ask a different question: What do you want your food to do for you?
The shift has moved attention toward protein and fiber, nutrient density, blood sugar stability, satiety and fullness, and how food interacts with hormones and the brain.
The calorie isn’t gone. But it’s no longer the whole story, and for many women, that may be a relief.
“Calories count. You just shouldn’t be counting them because you can’t do it accurately.”
✈️ UP IN THE AIR
Worth Knowing Before Your Next Flight
Before you order coffee or tea at 30,000 feet, you may want to reconsider. A nonprofit analysis of more than 35,000 aircraft water samples from U.S. airlines found that onboard water quality can be inconsistent, with some samples testing positive for coliform bacteria—a marker of potentially harmful microbes.
The researchers recommend:
Choosing bottled water instead of tap water on board
Skipping coffee and tea, which are made using airplane water tanks
Avoiding sink water in lavatories, using hand sanitizer instead
While federal rules require regular testing and tank disinfection, enforcement is limited. Airlines say they meet all EPA standards, but some now serve bottled water by default.
The takeaway: No need to panic outright, but use this information to avoid exposure in settings where water systems are hard to monitor and easy to overlook.
💊 SUPPLEMENT REALITY CHECK
Turmeric & Curcumin: Helpful Spice or Overhyped Supplement?
Turmeric has been used for thousands of years as both food and medicine. Its active compounds called curcuminoids, especially curcumin—have well-documented anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The confusion starts when turmeric moves from the kitchen into high-dose supplement form.
What the Evidence Supports
Research suggests curcumin may:
Reduce chronic inflammation, a driver of conditions like arthritis and metabolic disease
Ease joint pain, with some studies finding effects comparable to NSAIDs for osteoarthritis
Support heart health by improving endothelial function and reducing oxidative stress
Calm gut inflammation, potentially benefiting IBS and IBD
Protect brain health, with early signals in Alzheimer’s research (though evidence is still emerging)
These benefits are most consistent when curcumin is used strategically rather than indiscriminately.
The Bioavailability Problem
Curcumin is poorly absorbed on its own. To address this, many supplements add black pepper extract (piperine) or other absorption enhancers, which can dramatically increase curcumin uptake. But the boost is a double-edged sword.
Real Risks to Know About
High-potency turmeric or curcumin supplements, especially those with absorption enhancers, have been linked to:
Gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, diarrhea, bloating)
Interference with iron absorption
Increased kidney stone risk
Rare but documented liver injury, which typically resolves after stopping the supplement
Importantly, these risks are not associated with cooking with turmeric but are tied to concentrated, enhanced supplements.
Who Should Be Careful (or Avoid Supplements)
Turmeric supplements may not be appropriate if you:
Have liver disease, gallbladder issues, kidney stones, or bleeding disorders
Take blood thinners, antidiabetics, antacids, immunosuppressants, or hormone therapies
Are pregnant or breastfeeding
Always loop in a healthcare provider before supplementing.
The Bottom Line
Turmeric is much safer, and arguably more beneficial, when eaten as food. Supplements can be useful in targeted cases (like inflammatory joint pain), but as we say all the time, more is not better, and “natural” doesn’t mean risk-free.
As one dietitian put it, turmeric is safer and more delicious in a curry than in a capsule.
If you do supplement:
Choose third-party tested brands
Be cautious with high-absorption formulas
Take it with food, not indefinitely
Stop if symptoms appear
🍎 APPLE OF THE DAY
Waking Up at 3 a.m.? Try This to Get Back to Sleep.
If you’re falling asleep fine but waking up wired around 3–4 a.m., you’re definitely not alone.
Sleep experts say these early-morning wakeups are common, especially in women, and often linked to a rise in cortisol, the body’s alertness hormone. Cortisol naturally starts climbing around 3 a.m. to prep us for the morning, but stress, anxiety, and perimenopause-related hormone shifts can make that rise feel like an alarm instead of a gentle nudge.
What’s likely behind it:
Stress and anxiety
Perimenopause/menopause (drops in estrogen + progesterone)
Alcohol, late caffeine, or irregular sleep schedules
Light, noise, or temperature disruptions
The fix isn’t “try harder to sleep,” but rather calming your nervous system in the moment.
Try this tonight if you wake up wired:
Don’t check the clock (it spikes anxiety)
Slow your breathing (4-7-8 or simple counted breaths)
Keep lights low and stimulation minimal
If you’re awake ~15 minutes, get up briefly and do something boring and calm (read, stretch), then return to bed
Bottom line:
3 a.m. wake-ups are often due to hormones and stress, not insomnia. Calming your body — not forcing sleep — is the fastest way back to rest.
What science is saying right now…
Researchers have created a new test that reveals whether antibiotics kill individual bacteria, a breakthrough that could improve the treatment of resistant and hard-to-clear infections.
For some people, cutting back on high-histamine foods may relieve bloating, fatigue, and skin issues, but it’s a restrictive approach that isn’t a fit for everyone.
The words we use every day may reveal personality struggles, as researchers have found that certain emotional and self-focused language patterns track with personality dysfunction.
Real-world spending data suggests Ozempic and Wegovy are reshaping how Americans eat, driving notable declines in grocery and fast-food purchases and potentially altering long-term food demand.
A Food and Drug Administration report identified PFAS in 1,700+ cosmetic products, leading groups like the Environmental Working Group to recommend avoiding ingredients containing “fluoro,” especially in daily-use items.
Measles isn’t just a childhood rash: falling vaccination rates are allowing a dangerous virus—one that weakens long-term immunity—to make a comeback in the U.S.
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