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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
What your blood quietly reveals about your eating habits
Blood and urine tests have been found to detect the amount of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) a person eats, according to new research. Using machine learning, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified hundreds of metabolites (molecules produced during metabolism) that correlated with processed food intake. The team developed a "biomarker score" that predicts ultraprocessed food intake based on metabolite measurements in blood and urine, according to Erikka Loftfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. Premature Death Linked To Certain Type Of Food, Study Reveals The researchers drew baseline data from 718 older adults who provided urine and blood samples and reported their dietary habits over a 12-month period, as detailed in an NIH press release. Next, they conducted a small clinical trial of 20 adults. For two weeks, the group ate a diet high in ultraprocessed foods, and for another two weeks they ate a diet with no UPFs. Read On The Fox News App "In our study, we found that hundreds of serum and urine metabolites were correlated with percentage energy from ultraprocessed food intake," Loftfield told Fox News Digital. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine. The Worst Foods To Buy In The Supermarket And The Better Choices Instead Large-scale studies investigating the health risks of ultraprocessed foods often rely on self-reported dietary questionnaires, which can be prone to errors, per the NIH. The new blood and urine test helps to reduce human error by using objective biomarkers, a growing area of interest among researchers. Loftfield added, "It was surprising to find that UPF-correlated metabolites are involved in numerous and diverse biological pathways, underscoring the complex impact of diet on the metabolome." Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat, industrially manufactured products, typically high in calories and low in essential nutrients," according to the NIH. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Chronic diseases, obesity and various forms of cancer have been linked to diets that are heavy in UPFs. Despite promising results, the researchers emphasized that the new method will require further validation before broader use. Since the current trial focused mainly on older adults, more research is needed across various age groups and diets, the experts said. "Metabolite scores should be evaluated and improved in populations with different diets and a wide range of UPF intake," Loftfield acknowledged. This method could potentially be used in future research to link the consumption of processed foods with chronic diseases, according to the researchers. For more Health articles, visit "For individuals concerned about ultraprocessed food intake, one practical recommendation is to use 'nutrition facts' labels to avoid foods high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium, as this can limit UPF intake and align with robust scientific research on diet and health," Loftfield article source: What your blood quietly reveals about your eating habits
Fox News
3 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
What your blood quietly reveals about your eating habits
Blood and urine tests have been found to detect the amount of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) a person eats, according to new research. Using machine learning, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified hundreds of metabolites (molecules produced during metabolism) that correlated with processed food intake. The team developed a "biomarker score" that predicts ultraprocessed food intake based on metabolite measurements in blood and urine, according to Erikka Loftfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. The researchers drew baseline data from 718 older adults who provided urine and blood samples and reported their dietary habits over a 12-month period, as detailed in an NIH press release. Next, they conducted a small clinical trial of 20 adults. For two weeks, the group ate a diet high in ultraprocessed foods, and for another two weeks they ate a diet with no UPFs. "In our study, we found that hundreds of serum and urine metabolites were correlated with percentage energy from ultraprocessed food intake," Loftfield told Fox News Digital. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine. Large-scale studies investigating the health risks of ultraprocessed foods often rely on self-reported dietary questionnaires, which can be prone to errors, per the NIH. The new blood and urine test helps to reduce human error by using objective biomarkers, a growing area of interest among researchers. Loftfield added, "It was surprising to find that UPF-correlated metabolites are involved in numerous and diverse biological pathways, underscoring the complex impact of diet on the metabolome." Ultraprocessed foods are defined as "ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat, industrially manufactured products, typically high in calories and low in essential nutrients," according to the NIH. Chronic diseases, obesity and various forms of cancer have been linked to diets that are heavy in UPFs. Despite promising results, the researchers emphasized that the new method will require further validation before broader use. Since the current trial focused mainly on older adults, more research is needed across various age groups and diets, the experts said. "Metabolite scores should be evaluated and improved in populations with different diets and a wide range of UPF intake," Loftfield acknowledged. This method could potentially be used in future research to link the consumption of processed foods with chronic diseases, according to the researchers. For more Health articles, visit "For individuals concerned about ultraprocessed food intake, one practical recommendation is to use 'nutrition facts' labels to avoid foods high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium, as this can limit UPF intake and align with robust scientific research on diet and health," Loftfield suggested.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
HHS budget proposal details significant cuts to National Institutes of Health, other agencies
A budget proposal for the US Department of Health and Human Services details extensive cuts to funding for the National Institutes of Health, part of an effort to consolidate the work of its 27 institutes into just eight while reducing the agency's budget nearly 40%. The proposed cuts to federal health agencies were first revealed in a preliminary memo from White House budget officials in April. A newly released Budget in Brief document for fiscal year 2026 lays out HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s plan to prioritize his Make America Healthy Again initiative with a $94.7 billion discretionary budget. The budget for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be slashed from more than $9 billion to just over $4 billion and funding for the US Food and Drug Administration cut from about $7 billion to just over $6.5 billion. However, some of the biggest changes will be felt at the NIH, where the budget document lists 2026 funding at $27.5 billion, down from nearly $48.5 billion in 2025. In the reorganized HHS, only three areas of the NIH – the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute on Aging – are set to be preserved. Institutes researching childhood illnesses, mental health, chronic disease, disabilities and substance abuse would be shuffled into five new entities: the National Institute on Body Systems, National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Disability Related Research and National Institute of Behavioral Health. But even the surviving institutes won't be spared cuts: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had a budget of more than $6.5 billion in 2025 but will receive just over $4 billion in 2026. The National Cancer Institute, which received more than $7 billion for 2025, will get about $4.5 billion next year. And the National Institute on Aging will see its budget cut from $4.4 billion to less than $2.7 billion in 2026. The proposed NIH budget assumes a 15% cap on indirect costs that research institutions can charge the government, itself a highly controversial change that has been blocked in the courts. The new document also details plans for the Administration for Healthy America, a new agency created under Kennedy that will consolidate divisions such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration and several parts of the CDC. The new AHA is set to receive $14 billion in the 2026 budget. The 2026 HHS budget 'reflects the President's vision of making Americans the healthiest in the world while achieving his goal of transforming the bureaucracy,' the document says. At the NIH, restructuring 'will create efficiencies … that will allow the agency to focus on true science, and coordinate research to make the best use of federal funds.' But expert groups were more critical of the proposal. The NIH cuts 'would have far-reaching and irreversible consequences not only to the entire biomedical research enterprise, but also to the millions of Americans who rely on advances in biomedical research to safeguard and improve their health and their very lives,' Dr. Stephen Jameson, president of the American Association of Immunologists, said in a statement Friday. The agency supported hundreds of thousands of jobs in 2024 and contributed nearly $100 billion in economic activity across the US, Jameson said. 'Undermining NIH support threatens both local economies and our national competitiveness on the global scale.' Research!America, a nonprofit that advocates for science and innovation, said it was 'alarmed' by the budget proposal. 'If the proposal is enacted, Americans today and tomorrow will be sicker, poorer, and die younger,' President and CEO Mary Woolley said in a statement. 'American research has a proven track record of increasing survival, reducing the burden of illness, and creating jobs. Cutting research funding helps no one; instead, it hurts everyone.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Castle Biosciences, Inc. (CSTL) Unveils Largest Real-World Melanoma Risk Study at ASCO 2025
Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL) has announced new data to be presented at ASCO 2025 showing that its DecisionDx-Melanoma test is linked to a 32% reduction in mortality risk for patients with cutaneous melanoma compared to those who were untested. The findings come from the largest real-world study of gene expression profile testing in melanoma, analyzing over 13,500 patients in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute's SEER Program Registries. A doctor using a microscope in a lab, conducting research on cancer treatments. Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL)'s Dx-Melanoma test, which evaluates a 31-gene expression profile, offers significant, independent risk stratification beyond traditional AJCC staging, helping clinicians make more precise, personalized treatment decisions. According to lead author Dr. Merve Hasanov, the test enables more accurate mortality risk predictions based on a patient's unique tumor biology, allowing for better-tailored care. These results further affirm the test's association with improved patient survival and its potential to guide risk-aligned management strategies. DecisionDx-Melanoma has been ordered more than 200,000 times and is supported by over 50 peer-reviewed studies, underscoring its growing role in melanoma care and its impact on patient outcomes. While we acknowledge the potential of CSTL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CSTL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: Two impassioned pleas from Californians who've benefited from experimental treatments
To the editor: Guest contributors Euan Ashley and Rachel Keranen made a compelling case for NIH grant funding as a valuable, proven investment ('Slashing NIH research guarantees a less healthy, less wealthy America,' May 28). I'm living proof that this is true. At 74, I live each day under the shadow of Alzheimer's. My mother began losing her memories in her late 60s, and I am genetically predisposed to the same fate. Yet today I remain mentally sharp, perhaps thanks to an experimental weekly dose of 6 mg of rapamycin. This drug isn't approved for Alzheimer's, but in my case, it seems to be working. I've seen firsthand how promising therapies can offer precious extra time of clarity. Still, I worry every day that the benefits will stop, that side effects will emerge or that others won't qualify for these trials at all. That fear is crushing and it's shared by millions of Americans who carry the same genetic risks. We've waited far too long for progress. It took decades for today's experimental drugs to reach human testing, and many never make it to approval. Barriers to clinical trials and off-label access leave families scrambling for hope. I urge our lawmakers to act now: Increase federal investment in Alzheimer's research, streamline compassionate-use pathways for experimental treatments and ensure Medicare and Medicaid cover innovative therapies. We cannot afford to slow down. Every day of delay costs precious memories and precious lives. Brian Valerie, Dana Point .. To the editor: The cutbacks in research funding have hit me hard as I worry about cancer patients in the United States who will ultimately pay the price. I have already heard from patients whose clinical trials have been shut down, impacting one 4-year-old childhood leukemia patient who will now likely lose his life. I was a cancer patient fighting an incurable form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma from 2006 until 2018. Diagnosed at the age of 46, I was in continuous treatment until age 58. My son was in kindergarten when I was diagnosed and spent his entire K-12 years with a sick mom. In 2012, when I was on my fifth treatment line, I heard about a phase 1 clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute of a breakthrough individualized therapy called CAR T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy) for my type of cancer. The trial included only 17 patients, but the results were astonishing. Seventy-five percent of patients achieved long-term complete remission. I was determined to stay alive to receive CAR T therapy and in 2018, I was able to enroll in a phase 2 clinical trial of this therapy at UCLA. In just one month, it put me in a complete remission, something that none of my six previous therapies accomplished. On July 16, I will celebrate my seven-year CAR T birthday and thank my lucky stars for the NIH and the research funding that saved my life. And that little boy who was in kindergarten when I was diagnosed is now 25 years old. Laurie S. Adami, Los Angeles This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
