A snapshot of the latest research on diet, exercise, and more

Here’s the latest research on ultra-processed foods, satiety, brain health, GLP-1s, and more.

Are ultra-processed foods addictive?

Do ultra-processed foods that are high in fat and sugar elicit an outsized dopamine response in the brain’s reward regions, similar to what’s seen with addictive drugs?

Scientists used a PET scan to measure brain dopamine release in 50 young adults 30 minutes after they drank an ultra-processed milkshake that was high in fat and sugar. The average brain dopamine responses were no different after the milkshake than before. Nor did the responses differ between people with or without excess weight, as some earlier studies had suggested.

What to do

Limit unhealthy  ultra-processed foods. There’s little evidence that they’re as addictive as abused drugs.

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Can the HPV vaccine help actinic keratoses?

Actinic keratoses—rough, scaly, reddish patches on the skin caused by the sun’s UV rays—are more likely to turn into squamous cell skin cancer in people who have multiple lesions. Can the HPV vaccine help?

Researchers randomly assigned 70 people with multiple actinic keratoses to get the human papillomavirus vaccine or a placebo vaccine. After a year, the number of lesions had dropped by 58 percent in the HPV vaccine group versus 41 percent in the sham group. (No cancers occurred in either group.)

What to do

If you get frequent actinic keratoses, ask your dermatologist about an HPV vaccine.

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Is butter healthier than plant oils?

Heard that butter is healthier than plant oils like canola, soybean, or olive?

Researchers tracked 221,054 people for roughly 33 years. Those who ate the most butter had a 15 percent higher risk of dying than those who ate the least. And those who ate the most plant-based oils had a 16 percent lower risk of dying than those who ate the least.

Every 2 teaspoons a day of plant oils was linked to an 11 percent lower risk of dying of cancer. Every 2 teaspoons of butter a day was linked to a 12 percent higher risk.

What to do

Replace butter with plant oils when possible. This kind of study can’t prove that they’re healthier, but replacing saturated fats (like butter) with unsaturated plant oils (all but coconut and palm) cuts the risk of heart disease in clinical trials. And seed oils don’t boost inflammation.

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Do beans make you feel fuller?

Does beef ward off hunger better than beans?

Scientists had 35 older adults eat a breakfast tortilla made with equal amounts (and calories) of black beans, red kidney beans, or beef on different days. (The Ontario Bean Growers funded the study.)

There was no difference in how full the participants felt, how much pizza they ate for lunch, or how much food they ate during the rest of the day.

What to do

Give beans a chance. Or mix them in with ground beef to save money and help protect the planet.

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Can yoga help your knee pain?

Can yoga match strength training in curbing knee osteoarthritis pain?

Researchers randomly assigned 117 people with knee osteoarthritis to 3 yoga or strength training sessions a week. After 12 weeks, the yoga group’s pain scores were no better or worse than the strength group’s (the study’s main outcome). But after 24 weeks, the yoga group reported less stiffness and pain and better function than the strength group.

What to do

Got knee arthritis pain? Give yoga a whirl.

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GLP-1 drugs to lower pancreatic cancer

Can GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide (sold as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound) lower the risk of pancreatic cancer?

Researchers compared 167,091 people who were prescribed GLP-1 drugs for type 2 diabetes to 1,468,965 people taking other diabetes meds. Over 5 years, the GLP-1 takers had roughly a 20 to 30 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer than those who were taking the other diabetes drugs. And GLP-1 takers had nearly a 60 percent lower risk than those taking insulin, possibly because insulin may boost the risk of pancreatic cancer.

What to do

It’s too early to know if GLP-1 drugs can help prevent pancreatic cancer. Stay tuned.

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Can a healthy lifestyle protect your brain?

Vascular dementia—caused by damaged blood vessels in the brain—occurs both by itself and in 50 to 80 percent of people with Alzheimer’s.

Can a healthy lifestyle help protect your brain’s blood vessels?

Scientists studied 365,782 people aged 50 or older. Each participant’s “Lifestyle Risk Score” was based on “Life’s Essential 8”—that is, on their weight, blood lipids (like cholesterol and triglycerides), blood sugar, blood pressure, diet, physical activity, smoking, and sleep patterns.

(Diet scores depended on servings per day of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, refined grains, fish, processed meats, and unprocessed red meats.)

After 14 years, those with the worst Lifestyle Risk Scores had a 40 percent higher risk of vascular dementia (but not Alzheimer’s) than those with the best scores.

What to do

This kind of study can’t prove that a healthy lifestyle protects your brain’s blood vessels. But whaddya got to lose? For more, go to heart.org/Lifes8.

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Should women and men be treated for bacterial vaginosis?

A third of premenopausal women get bacterial vaginosis, which often recurs within 3 months of treatment. Treating male partners can help.

Researchers randomly assigned 164 couples in which the woman had bacterial vaginosis to a 7-day antibiotic treatment for both partners or for only the women.

The trial was stopped early—after 150 of the couples had completed the 12-week followup—because the results were clear. An infection reoccurred in 63 percent of the women-only group but in only 35 percent of the partner group.

What to do

Got recurring bacterial vaginosis and a male partner? Ask your provider about treatment for both of you. 

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