What you eat, smell and swallow

Sunday · 7:44 AM ET · Better Habits. Healthier Habitat.

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Welcome back to The Nest
Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, a good reminder that how you feel deserves as much attention as how many steps you take.

A line to carry
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
MLK (Submitted by Noah Falk)

In today’s digest, we’ll be discussing:

With World Mental Health Day this weekend, a small new study offers an interesting clue about the link between what we eat and how we feel. UC San Francisco researchers asked 20 adults with depression to cut their ultra-processed food intake by more than 85% for four weeks, then compared those weeks with four weeks on their usual diet.

After the switch, participants showed moderate to large improvements across three different measures of depression, and their anxiety scores improved modestly. They chose and bought their own food with guidance from the research team, so the change happened in everyday life rather than in a lab kitchen. Everyone in the study also had a high BMI and at least one metabolic condition, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

The researchers suspect the gut may be part of the story: ultra-processed foods may damage the gut lining and fuel low-grade inflammation that can affect the brain. The study was small and preliminary, and a larger trial is planned, but it adds to growing evidence that diet is one more lever for mental health, not a replacement for treatment.

Takeaway: You don't need a perfect diet to start. Swap one ultra-processed staple this week, like a packaged snack or a sugary drink, for a whole-food option, and keep any treatment you're already on.

“Trans fat” is one of the scariest phrases on a nutrition label, and for good reason when it comes from partially hydrogenated oils. But a new review suggests the trans fats that occur naturally in milk, yogurt, butter and cheese are a different story. Researchers pooled 22 studies from Europe, Canada and the United States and found that dairy trans fats did not appear to raise the risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

The evidence came from two directions. In 10 controlled trials, people ate dairy foods with naturally boosted trans fat levels, between 1.3 and 13.2 grams a day, and showed no meaningful changes in blood lipids compared with people eating regular dairy. In 12 long-term studies, some lasting more than two decades, people with higher blood levels of dairy trans fats were not more likely to develop heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular death or diabetes.

Trans fats occur naturally in the milk of cows, sheep and goats, while the industrial kind is created when oils are partially hydrogenated, and that is the type long tied to heart disease. The researchers say the distinction could help clear up confusing labels and reassure people who enjoy dairy as part of a balanced diet.

Takeaway: A small amount of trans fat on a yogurt or cheese label is not the red flag it seems. Keep dairy as part of a balanced diet, and save your label-reading energy for added sugar.

Sleep often gets harder in midlife, especially for women in their 40s and 50s. A small new study from Kyushu University in Japan tested a simple bedtime ritual: 12 women ages 35 to 60 spent two weeks breathing in the scent of hinoki root oil, an essential oil made from the roots of the Japanese cypress tree, and two weeks with an unscented control.

Each night, they put three drops of oil in a paper cup, inhaled for 10 seconds, then left the cup about a foot from their face. By day 13, they reported feeling less sleepy on waking and more recovered from fatigue, and their smartwatches showed fewer nighttime awakenings. Brain-wave readings after one week also pointed to a smoother slide into deeper sleep.

The study was small, so it is a promising signal rather than proof, and researchers still need to work out the best products and doses. But it adds to the idea that a calming, consistent scent may be one gentle tool in a midlife sleep routine.

Takeaway: If midlife sleep has been rocky, try pairing a scent you find calming with the same wind-down routine every night for two weeks.

Which fruit can interfere with certain prescription medications?

A. Pineapple

B. Grapefruit

C. Watermelon

D. Blueberries

Answer below ↓

Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed medicines in the world, and they can wipe out beneficial gut bacteria along with the harmful ones. A new study published in Nature suggests that what you eat during treatment may make that damage better or worse, and sugar appears to be a key factor.

Researchers tracked 9,419 meals eaten by 173 hospitalized blood cancer patients while sampling their gut microbiomes every day. For every additional 100 grams of sugar eaten in the 48 hours before antibiotic treatment, they saw an additional 21% drop in gut bacterial diversity. Sugary diets combined with antibiotics were also linked to more Enterococcus faecium, a species tied to infections that can be hard to treat, and experiments in mice showed the same pattern.

The researchers think the harmful bacteria that survive antibiotics may use dietary sugar to expand. The study involved very sick patients, and clinical trials are still needed to see whether cutting sugar improves outcomes, but the team says temporarily reducing sweets during and after antibiotics is a simple step worth exploring.

Takeaway: The next time you're prescribed antibiotics, take them exactly as directed and use the week as a cue to ease off sweets and sugary drinks, which may help limit the disruption to your gut.

🩸 A startup just raised $36 million to make glucose monitoring needle-free. Sava is developing a noninvasive glucose monitor that could change how people track their metabolic health.

💪 Creatine is having a midlife moment. In a 12-week study of 64 adults ages 45 to 65, taking 10 grams of creatine a day added about 2.4 pounds of lean tissue even without exercise, and pairing it with training boosted strength further.

🏡 The gym is now a real estate amenity. Gym access is the top lifestyle factor shaping where Gen Z chooses to live, with 32% willing to pay more to live nearby, and developers are adding fitness centers and wellness-focused districts to keep up.

👟 NOBULL wants to be more than your training shoe. Now valued at $1 billion, the brand is expanding into nutrition and content and moving into pop-ups and specialty retail, with apparel sales up more than 100%.

🪥 Your toothbrush now has a camera. Dyson's new $499 CameraJet spots the gaps between your teeth in real time and fires a jet of mouthrinse into them while you brush, analyzing 28 images per second and coaching you through the app.

Cici McGuane is a functional nutrition specialist and founder of Core Nutrition, bringing together nutrition science, herbal therapy, and a whole-body approach to wellness. With a master's degree in Functional Nutrition and Herbal Therapy, a background in personal training, and published research in clinical nutrition, Cici brings a unique perspective to understanding how food, lifestyle, and overall health are connected. Her work reflects a passion for looking beyond quick fixes and helping people make informed, meaningful changes to their well-being.

Why follow: Cici offers a refreshing blend of scientific knowledge and holistic thinking, making the world of functional nutrition easier to understand. She's a great follow for anyone curious about nourishing their body, understanding their health more deeply, and building habits that last.

Follow them here:

Instagram @corenutritionfl ↗
Website corenutritionflorida.com ↗

B. Grapefruit

Grapefruit can change how certain medications are absorbed or broken down, sometimes increasing or decreasing their effects. It's particularly important to check for interactions with certain cholesterol and blood-pressure medications.

Try this week:
Take a quick look at your medications and supplements for potential food interactions. Grapefruit isn't the only food that can affect how certain medications work.

Fruit
🍎 Apples · 🍐 Pears · 🍇 Grapes · 🥝 Kiwi · Cranberries · Pomegranates

Vegetables
🎃 Pumpkin · Winter squash · 🍠 Sweet potatoes · 🥦 Broccoli · Brussels sprouts · Cauliflower · 🥬 Kale · Swiss chard · 🥕 Carrots · Beets · Parsnips · Turnips · 🍄 Mushrooms · 🧄 Garlic

_{Seasonal availability may vary by region and growing conditions.}

If this brought a little calm or clarity to your Sunday morning, send it to someone who would appreciate it too.

If this week’s quote resonated with you, reply with one of your favorites.

We’ll choose one reader submission for next week’s line to carry.