Welcome to the May issue of The Highlight
We're thinking a lot about bodies this month. In our cover story, we ask: Should we get rid of menopause? It's not a hypothetical question — emerging research shows the potential of delaying, or even forgoing, menopause. We also have a look at how much protein you really need to eat, how much hair (and hair loss) is tied to confidence (or lack thereof), and new science around vaping.
The rest of the issue is devoted to the world around, not within, us. We dive into how men and women are diverging politically all over the globe, and also explore a policy solution that could bring about much-needed housing. Plus, how can we better trust each other? What exactly are animal instincts? And how can you compel the well-off people in your life to give away their money?
By Anna North
By Sigal Samuel
Why are men so much more right-wing than women now?
By Maia Mindel
Coming May 6
'I don't want romantasy, I want Heathcliff!'
By Constance Grady
Coming May 6
The secret to actually trusting each other
By Allie Volpe
Coming May 7
You're being lied to about protein
By Marina Bolotnikova
Coming May 7
A fight about stairs could reshape American cities
By Rachel Cohen
Coming May 8
The real problem with vaping
By Dylan Scott
Coming May 8
Losing my hair sucked. Trying to regrow it has been even worse.
By Maria Yagoda
Coming May 9
How does this bird know how to sew?
By Benji Jones
Coming May 9
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New York Post
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American tourist, 41, died after drinking psychedelic tea at spiritual retreat in Peru
An American tourist died after drinking a psychedelic tea that caused a 'breakdown' of several organs while he was on a spiritual retreat in the Peruvian Amazon, according to reports. Aaron Wayne Castranova, 41, died Monday after ingesting ayahuasca — a potent hallucinogenic plant brew banned in the US — during a shamanic ritual at La Casa de Guillermo ICONA, a hostel known for its 'spiritual tourism' in Loreto. The hypnotic elixir triggered a multi-organ 'breakdown' that caused the Alabama man's lethal spiral, according to Narciso Lopez, the regional prosecutor's forensic pathologist, the Daily Mail reported. Advertisement Aaron Wayne Castranova, 41, died Monday after ingesting ayahuasca during a shamanic ritual at La Casa de Guillermo ICONA. Hostel managers reportedly claimed Castranova failed to inform ceremony organizers he was on antibiotics, which may have caused the fatal reaction, ahead of the ritual in Santa Maria de Ojeda's indigenous community. The mind-altering concoction, long used by Amazonian tribes for spiritual and healing rites, has surged in popularity among tourists seeking transformative experiences or relief from their mental health struggles — despite warnings from the US Embassy in Peru about its adverse effects. Advertisement 'These dangerous substances are often marketed to travelers in Peru as ceremonial or spiritual cleansers,' the US embassy website states. 'However, Ayahuasca is a psychoactive substance dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a strong hallucinogen that is illegal in the United States and many other countries.' Officials said that several US citizens died or suffered severe physical and mental health crises last year after consuming the drug. Others were sexually assaulted, injured, or robbed while under its influences, the website cautioned. Advertisement The trance-inducing mixture, made from a vine and leaf containing the powerful psychedelic, can cause 'irreversible damage' and death, Lopez warned, according to Infobae, an Argentine online news outlet. Officials said that several US citizens died or suffered severe physical and mental health crises last year after consuming the drug. Talita Santana Campos Embassy officials noted it can also lead to psychosis, neurological diseases, insomnia, and persistent hallucinations. Advertisement Short-term effects include nausea, vomiting and increased heart rate. Castronova's death comes a year after Maureen Rainford, a British mother of three, suffered a similar fate after using the reality-shifting drug at a Bolivian retreat, the Daily Mail reported.
Bloomberg
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I find myself unhappily on trend. Young people everywhere are increasingly 'on the wagon' — to use the American idiom for sobriety from the 1920s, when the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution banned the production and sale of alcohol. The wagon in the expression was a public- service vehicle loaded with water to tamp down dust and grime on city streets; by extension, it described the clean and sober law-abiding citizens of America. According to some estimates, 39% of Gen Z say they have foresworn alcoholic drinks; about half of them imbibe such beverages only occasionally. Many have taken to non-alcoholic alternatives. I didn't set out to join that youthful bandwagon. Nevertheless, I have been alcohol-free since Jan. 20, 2025. Those of you who recognize that date as US Inauguration Day must get the coincidence out of your head. It just happened to be when I felt I'd had too much wine over the previous three months. Alas, my doctors agreed with me — because of decades of loving wine and champagne, not just those recent three months. And so, I've spent nearly 140 days looking at how to enjoy the brave new world of NA — a market that's gotten a huge boost in sales and creativity precisely because of health-focused Gen Z, a cohort that probably makes up 25% of the world's population. I am a late Boomer, but now I'm medically required to be young at heart.
Yahoo
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RFK Jr. will ‘end the war' against alternative medicine at the FDA, from stem cell therapy to chelation. Here's what to know
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. doubled down on his support for non-pharmaceutical health treatments during a recent podcast appearance, saying, 'We're going to end the war at the FDA against alternative medicine.' Speaking on the Ultimate Human podcast with host Gary Brecka, a 'renowned Human Biologist, biohacker, and longevity expert,' according to the website, Kennedy said he would fix the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's bias against the following: stem cell treatments, chelating drugs, vitamins and minerals, amino acids, peptides, and hyperbaric chambers. 'Our position is that the FDA has a job: Just do the science on these kinds of issues and then tell the public what they've learned from the science … but don't tell physicians what they can and cannot prescribe,' he said. And as far as the patients go, he said, 'If you want to take an experimental drug … you ought to be able to do that.' RFK Jr. added, 'We don't want to have the Wild West. We want to make sure that information is out there. But we also want to respect the intelligence of the American people' to decide what treatments will benefit them the most. He acknowledged that, with this approach, there will be 'charlatans' as well as 'people who have bad results' from various alternative treatments. 'But ultimately,' he said, 'you can't prevent that either way, and leaving the whole thing in the hands of pharma is not working for us.' Brecka called Kennedy's pronouncements 'music to my ears.' Below, what you need to know about the alternative therapies RFK Jr. is advocating for. What is it: It's a way to repair diseased or injured tissue in the body using stem cells—cells that can self-renew or become other types of tissues—typically grown in a lab, manipulated, and then be implanted into the patient. What it does: Though it's considered to be largely experimental, the FDA does permit stem cell therapies for blood and immune disorders. Leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and multiple myeloma, for example, are also often treated this way, with bone marrow treatments, which are backed by decades of science. Other types of the treatment are still in clinical trials, while more and more wellness centers are offering the treatment for unapproved reasons, using cells drawn from the patient's body and injected back in without manipulation for everything from autism and ALS to Parkinson's and better skin, according to the New York Times. Kennedy told Brecka that he received the treatment for his voice disorder, spasmodic dysphonia, and that it helped him 'enormously,' but that he had to go to Antigua to access it. Risks: For starters, wellness clinic treatments cannot guarantee they are using actual stem cell, reported the Times. And improper injections can lead to a host of terrible consequences—clots, infections, blindness, and even the formation of tumors, which the FDA warned of in 2021. What it is: Chelation involves the use of certain chemicals to remove toxic heavy metals, such as mercury and lead, from the body; all FDA-approved chelation therapy products require a prescription and can only be used safely under the supervision of a healthcare practitioner. What it does: Some alternative medicine practitioners offer chelation therapy, through pill or injection, as a way to treat Alzheimer's, autism, diabetes, high blood pressure, or Parkinson's disease, all of which are unapproved and risky. Children's Health Defense, founded by Kennedy, has written about chelation as a way to treat autism, which compares 'autism with mercury poisoning' due to childhood vaccines that contained the preservative thimerosal (largely mercury) before it was removed in 2001. Some flu shots still contain the preservative, but, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 'There is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines.' Risks: The FDA warns specifically about using chelation therapy for autism, and notes, 'Chelating important minerals needed by the body can lead to serious and life-threatening outcomes.' While minor risks may include fever, headache, muscle pain, and nausea or vomiting, severe reactions range from heart failure and kidney damage to respiratory failure and seizures, according to the Cleveland Clinic. What they are: Dietary supplements in almost every letter of the alphabet, from A to zinc, are over-the-counter pills or liquids that contain nutritional boosts of vitamins and minerals. What they aim to help: Vitamin and mineral supplements aim to fill in with necessary nutrients that a person is not getting through food—though nutritionists believe that healthy food is the best source of such vitamins and minerals. Studies have found supplements may help with practically any issue under the sun—energy, heart issues, cognitive function, gut health, sleep, and more. Risks: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates supplements, but doesn't approve them for safety or effectiveness before they are sold to the public. Some may cause liver damage and toxicity, while others may just be a waste of money. What it is: Amino acids are often referred to as the 'building blocks of proteins,' needed for building proteins, hormones, and neurotransmitters. are compounds that play many critical roles in your body. You need them for vital processes such as building proteins, hormones, and neurotransmitters. Amino acids are concentrated in protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, and soybeans, and foods that contain all nine essential amino acids are called complete proteins. Peptides are short proteins, and come in the form of hormones such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and creatine and collagen. What they aim to help: Amino acid supplements may help with various issues—such as L-arginine for blood flow and inflammation; tryptophan for mood and sleep; and valine, leucine, and isoleucine to help with energy and athletic performance. Taking collagen supplements may help strengthen nails and bones, while people take creatine for boosting workouts and building muscle growth. Risks: Side effects of taking either can range from toxicity and gastrointestinal issues to effects on brain function muscle protein balance. Creatine may cause muscle cramps and digestive problems (and may not have many benefits), while tryptophan may cause dizziness, headache, or nausea. And again, as with all supplements, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates them, but doesn't approve them for safety or effectiveness before they are sold to the public. What it is: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a medical-grade, FDA-approved chamber lets you breathe pure oxygen—as opposed to everyday air, which is just 21% oxygen mixed with nitrogen. Hyperbaric oxygen is also highly pressurized, thereby allowing the lungs to take more in. Home chambers (used by folks including Lebron James, LeAnn Rimes, and Mayim Bialik), as well as those offered in many wellness clinics, do not deliver 100% oxygen. Instead, they use regular air that is 30% more pressurized than normal for what's known as 'mild hyperbarics.' What it aims to help: The FDA has been regulating HBOT chambers since 1976, and has officially cleared 13 medical conditions—such as decompression sickness, burns, radiation injury, and certain wounds—for such treatment. But it's used off-label for many other reasons, including concussions, traumatic brain injury, long COVID, age reversal, stroke recovery, fibromyalgia, and improved brain function, many of which are being looked at in ongoing clinical trials. Risks: For medical-grade chambers, risks include ear and sinus pain, middle ear injuries, temporary vision changes, and lung collapse, which is rare, according to the FDA. For mild hyperbarics, risks include potential exposure to toxic oils from some compressors, carbon dioxide buildup that brings a risk of hypoxia inside the chamber—or, according to some experts and a body of inconclusive evidence, that the treatment may simply be ineffective. This story was originally featured on
