I tried an anti-ageing guru's ‘fake fasting' plan. Did it work?
It's day one of my five-day fast and I'm serving up food I can't eat. It's typical that today of all days I'd make the best pasta I've ever made. 'I think this is the best pasta you've ever made,' says my partner, confirming my suspicions. 'Oh really?' I mutter, averting my eyes as everyone enthusiastically tucks in.
How have I got myself into this predicament? A scheduling error. It turns out that finding a whole working week to go without food isn't all that easy.
Fasting has become mainstream in recent years, and studies suggest it can be good for everything, from weight loss and better heart health, to reducing inflammation, enhancing brain function and improving the gut microbiome.
But the most fascinating thing
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The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Weight-loss drugs were said to be a game changer. Turns out the benefit might be thinner than thought
Common GLP-1 weight loss drugs - including Wegovy and Ozempic - may not work for everyone in a 'real-world' setting, Cleveland Clinic researchers said Tuesday. The reason is that patients may take lower dosages or discontinue their treatment, negatively impacting the ability to control blood sugar levels in those who are pre-diabetic. The findings may have implications for people considering using the drugs, that are taken by more than eight million Americans every year. They've offered an alternative to traditional and taxing weight loss methods, such as diets and fitness. 'Our study shows that patients treated for obesity with semaglutide or trizepatide lost less weight on average in a regular clinical setting compared to what is observed in randomized clinical trials,' Dr. Hamlet Gasoyan, a researcher with Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement. 'According to our data, this could be explained by higher rates of discontinuation and lower maintenance dosages used in clinical practice, compared to randomized clinical trial settings.' Gasoyan was the lead author of the study published on Tuesday in the Obesity Journal. A request for comment from the drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly was not immediately returned to The Independent. The study focuses on drugs with the active ingredients semaglutide and tirzepatide; they include the U.S. Food and Drug-administration approved type 2 diabetes medications Zepbound and Mounjaro. The authors studied their effects on weight loss and blood sugar regulation in a real-world setting. They noted that previous randomized clinical trials have shown the efficacy of those medications. The authors monitored the health of nearly 7,900 adults who were severely obese. Of those, more than 1,300 had pre-diabetes at the study's start and were at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes: a chronic condition that affects a person's ability to use insulin and keep blood sugar at normal levels. Participants took the shots between 2021 and 2023. The researchers sorted patients who discontinued their obesity medications into two groups: those who did it within just three months and by three months to a year. The study's follow-up period ended last December. The most common reasoning for discontinuation of treatment in the real-world setting was due to the steep cost of the drugs and insurance, side effects and shortages. Notably, since the study's, prices have started to fall. Of the participants, more than 20 percent discontinued their medications early and 32 percent discontinued their medications late. Furthermore, the authors noted than more than 80 percent had been on the lower dosages needed to sustain a therapeutic effect. For semaglutide, that's equal to or less than 1 milligram and equal to or less than 7.5 milligrams for tirzepatide. Following a year of treatment, the average weight reduction was 3.6 percent among participants who discontinued their treatment early, compared to 6.8 percent for those who discontinued their treatment late. But, those who did not discontinue treatment and were on the highest dosages necessary lost the most weight, at up to 13.7 percent with semaglutide and 18 percent with tirzepatide. Participants had higher odds of achieving 10 percent or greater weight reduction after one year of treatment if they did not discontinue their medications or did so late, were on the highest dosages needed for a therapeutic effect, received tirzepatide, and were women. Tracking the maintenance of blood sugar levels in those with pre-diabetes, the researchers said just a third of those who discontinued their treatment early experienced normal blood sugar levels compared to 41 percent who discontinued their treatment late and 67.9 percent who did not discontinue treatment. Lastly, the researchers observed that while patients who discontinued obesity medications lost significantly less weight compared to those who did not, their weight trajectories remained relatively stable. They said that would be the subject of additional research. 'Our findings about the real-world use patterns of these medications and associated clinical outcomes could inform the decisions of healthcare providers and their patients on the role of treatment discontinuation and maintenance dosage in achieving clinically meaningful weight reductions,' explained Gasoyan.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Takeaways from AP's report on financial interests of RFK Jr. adviser who runs wellness platform
Calley Means has built a following by railing against the U.S. health system, often hammering on alleged financial conflicts within the medical establishment. Means, a top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was hired as a White House adviser in March. He has used that position to accuse physician groups, federal agencies and government scientists of financial interests that bias their work. Means, however, has his own stake in the sprawling health system. He's the co-founder of an online platform that offers dietary supplements, herbal remedies, exercise equipment, light therapy lamps and other wellness products. The Associated Press found that Means' heated rhetoric against the medical mainstream dovetails with the interests of his company TrueMed, which features vendors who are prominent supporters of Kennedy's 'Make America Healthy Again' movement. Because of his status as a temporary government employee, Means is exempt from publicly disclosing his financial details. The AP reviewed more than two dozen interviews, speeches, articles and podcast appearances by Means both before and after he joined the government. Here are some takeaways from the AP's reporting: Attacking prescription drugs, promoting wellness alternatives Means' company, Truemed, helps users take tax-free money out of their health savings accounts, or HSAs, to spend on things that wouldn't normally qualify as medical expenses, such as meal delivery services and homeopathic products — remedies based on a centuries-old, debunked theory of medicine. As a top messenger for the administration, Means has been promoting a new government report that calls for scaling back prescription drugs for depression, weight loss and other conditions. By criticizing the use of drugs and other rigorously tested products, health experts say Means is furthering the interests of his company, which offers alternatives to traditional medicine. 'It reeks of hypocrisy,' said Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, a health researcher at Yale University. 'In effect, he is representing another industry that is touting nonregulated products and using his platform within the government to financially benefit himself.' In a written statement, Means said his government work has not dealt with matters affecting Truemed and has focused on issues like reforming nutrition programs and pressuring companies to phase out food dyes. 'Pursuing these large-scale MAHA goals to make America healthy has been the sole focus in my government work,' Means said. Undisclosed interests The full extent of Means' potential financial conflicts are unclear because of his status as a special government employee. Unlike presidential appointees and other senior officials, special government employees do not have to leave companies or sell investments that could be impacted by their work. Also, their financial disclosure forms are shielded from public release. 'It's a big problem,' says Richard Painter, former White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush. 'I think it's a loophole." Plugging products and business associates While promoting the administration's accomplishments, Means has not shied away from plugging his own brand or those of his business partners. When asked to offer health advice to listeners of a sports podcast, Outkick The Show, in April, Means suggested they read his book "Good Energy,' which he co-authored with his sister, Dr. Casey Means. He also recommended blood tests sold by Function Health, which provides subscription-based testing for $500 annually. The company was cofounded by Dr. Mark Hyman, a friend of Kennedy and an investor in Truemed, which also offers Hyman's supplements through its platform. Like dietary supplements, the tests marketed by Function Health are not clinically approved by the Food and Drug Administration. 'It ends up favoring these products and services that rest on flimsy grounds, at the expense of products that have actually survived a rigorous FDA approval process,' said Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official who is now president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Steering medical dollars into health savings accounts Means says he has not worked on issues impacting HSAs since joining the federal government. Federal ethics laws forbid government employees from taking part in decisions that could impact their financial situation. But before joining government, Means said the mission of his company 'is to steer medical dollars into flexible spending.' 'I want to get that $4.5 trillion of Medicare, Medicaid, everything into a flexible account,' he told fitness celebrity Jillian Michaels, on her podcast last year. Truemed collects fees when users and partnering companies use its platform. Means also founded a lobbying group, made up of MAHA entrepreneurs and TrueMed vendors, that listed expanding HSAs as a goal on its website. Means said in a statement that the group focused only on broad topics like 'health care incentives and patient choice — but did not lobby for specific bills.' Benefits of HSAs questioned Expanding HSAs has been part of the Republican health platform for more than 20 years. The tax-free accounts were created in 2003 to encourage Americans in high-deductible plans to be judicious with their health dollars. But HSAs have not brought down spending, economists say. They are disproportionately used by the wealthiest Americans, who have more income to fund them and bigger incentives to lower their tax rate. Americans who earn more than $1 million annually are the group most likely to make regular HSA contributions, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Most Americans with HSAs have balances less than $500. HSA expansions in Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' are projected to cost the federal government $180 billion over the next 10 years. 'These are really just tax breaks in the guise of health policy that overwhelmingly benefit people with high incomes,' said Gideon Lukens, a former White House budget official during the Obama and Trump administrations. ___
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Vaccine sceptic RFK Jr disbands government advisory committee on immunisations
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US Health Secretary and a prominent vaccine sceptic, has dismissed all 17 members of a committee that issues official government recommendations on immunisations. In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Mr Kennedy claimed that 'retiring' the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) was necessary to help rebuild trust in vaccines and ensure 'unbiased' health recommendations. 'The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine,' he said, adding that he wanted to 'ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible'. The move – which some committee members found out about via the media – has been widely criticised by public health experts and scientists, who point to Mr Kennedy's long track record questioning the efficacy and safety of vaccines, sometimes based on dubious science. 'We have just watched politics bury science,' said Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. 'If you look at [Kennedy's] accusation that he's doing this because of growing problems with vaccine trust – well, that's kind of like an arsonist complaining that so many houses are on fire,' Dr Osterholm said. 'He's the one that's been seeding these doubts for the last decade.' Since he became the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mr Kennedy has taken a number of controversial decisions related to vaccines – including from bypassing ACIP to issue new Covid vaccine guidance, to stopping adverts for seasonal influenza shots and cancelling a $766 million contract with Moderna to develop a bird flu jab for humans. Now, Mr Kennedy has claimed the ACIP needs a complete overhaul because members have too many conflicts of interest, and are immersed 'in a system of industry-aligned incentives and paradigms that enforce a narrow pro-industry orthodoxy'. But his move appears to directly contradict promises given during his confirmation hearings. Bill Cassidy, a Republican Senator from Louisiana who is also a doctor, said he only voted for the appointment after Mr Kennedy committed to maintain ACIP 'without changes'. 'Of course, now the fear is that the Acip will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,' Mr Cassidy wrote on X on Monday. 'I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case.' In a statement, Dr Bruce A Scott, executive director of the American Public Health Association, added that Mr Kennedy's move would help drive an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases, at a time when vaccine coverage is declining across America. 'Today's action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,' Dr Scott said. 'Rapid destruction' of critical oversight The committee is attached to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and included 17 experts – including epidemiologists, infectious disease doctors, vaccine experts and paediatricians – who typically serve overlapping four-year terms. Eight of the members were appointed in January 2025. But it has been in flux since Mr Kennedy assumed office, with its first meeting delayed by the department, before the Health Secretary announced new Covid-19 recommendations in a video posted on social media – unilaterally changing the guidance without an ACIP consultation. Still, retiring all panellists – and deleting a webpage listing the members – has come as a shock to some. Dr Noel Brewer, a professor in public health at the University of North Carolina who was a member of the ACIP, told the Telegraph his removal was 'very unexpected,' given he was meant to serve for three more years. He added that he heard about it only when 'received a copy of the Wall Street Journal article from a journalist', and later received an email confirming it at 5:48pm. 'The most immediate impact of this action is to destroy trust among healthcare providers in ACIP,' said Dr Brewer, a behavioural scientist who specialises in research about why people do or don't get vaccinated. 'The top priority right now is to restore trust in ACIP recommendations. If that is not possible, then it is time for medical organisations to create an alternative vaccine advisory committee for the nation.' On this, there has already been some progress. Earlier this year, CIDRAP launched the Vaccine Integrity Project, which aims to facilitate conversations and offer advice about US vaccine policy – almost like a version of ACIP that's not aligned to the government. 'When I started the vaccine integrity project, there were a lot of doubters that anything of major consequence would happen… [especially after] Kennedy promised in his Senate hearings that he would not take vaccines away from anyone,' said Dr Osterholm. 'Well, look at all this change. 'We are watching the very rapid destruction of critically important vaccine evaluation oversight efforts of the US government, both at the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] and the CDC. These are committees that have performed marvellously well.' He added: 'It's terribly significant. The real victims are the public, specifically young children, who are going to face a very different world of vaccine preventable diseases than even a decade ago… I don't know what happens next, but it doesn't bode well.'
