Category Archives: Wellness Live

From Honey To Coffee: Five Recipes To Make From The Dandelions In Your Garden

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Sometimes treated as a weed, dandelions can be key to a healthy backyard. Not only do they help to feed hungry bees, but their seeds can nourish birds – including rapidly-dwindling greenfinch populations – too.

So perhaps it’s not surprising we can benefit from eating the plant, too. Dandelions contain a range of vitamins, potassium, iron, antioxidants, and prebiotic fibre.

Some in-vitro research suggests it could reduce cell inflammation (chronic inflammation is linked to worse ageing), too.

Speaking to the Cleveland Clinic, registered dietitian Nancy Geib said their leaves are “probably the most nutritionally dense green you can eat – outstripping even kale or spinach”.

Which means we probably shouldn’t be asking if we should eat dandelions, but instead focus on how.

Just make absolutely sure the dandelions you’re eating haven’t been treated with weedkiller or other pesticides, and clean them thoroughly.

5 dandelion recipes

1) Fried dandelion heads

This Appalachian recipe is pretty simple; baste dandelion flowers in eggs before tossing them in seasoned flour and frying them.

Reviewers of its Allrecipes entry called the meal cheap, easy, and tasty.

2) Dandelion green salad

Younger, more tender leaves are sweeter and milder, and are probably best for beginners. These are delicious blanched and sautéd with garlic and herbs.

But older, more bitter leaves can bear seriously strong flavours, like intense salty and sweet notes (just make sure to blanch them before eating). Try them in a salad with feta, bacon, maple dressings, and other punchy accompaniments, or boil them in soups or stews.

Be careful to thoroughly wash dandelion greens, young or old, before eating them.

3) Dandelion pesto

Make it as you would a basil version: wash the leaves and blend them with pine nuts, oil, hard cheese, garlic, and salt.

Or, if you want a truly Italian finish, make it in a pestle and mortar.

4) Dandelion honey

Perfect for vegans and gastronomes alike, this recipe is essentially an infused syrup.

Boil the heads, after shaking them to remove any insects, with water and lemons. Let them sit to infuse for a couple of hours, strain the liquid, and then boil the flavoured water into a syrup with sugar (it thickens a lot as it cools).

5) Dandelion coffee

You read that right. The washed and dried roots of dandelions can be chopped small and roasted in an oven until dark brown and ground into a powder.

You can then turn that into a distinctly flavourful “coffee” by adding water.

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I’m A 41-Year-Old Single Mum. I’m Over Dating Men My Own Age.

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“Who are you waiting for tonight?” Jon, a bartender who has witnessed several of my dates over the years, asks. He tucks his shaggy hair behind his ear before handing a customer a cocktail, then situates himself in front of me and leans on the bar like an old friend, which, at this point, given I’m a regular at this brewery, he pretty much is.

Before I can answer him, my phone buzzes. I glance down and read the message quickly. “Just parked,” it says. I place it face down and look up to meet Jon’s curious gaze.

“Just some guy!” I shrug, taking a sip of my beer and drumming my fingers on the dark wood of the bar. “I don’t know. He seems cool. He’s a musician.”

Jon laughs. “Of course he is,” he says knowingly. He knows I have a soft spot for musicians. And younger men. “How old?” he grins.

I shake my head. “Mind your business.”

A few minutes later, I glance to my right and see the lanky 29-year-old I’ve been chatting with on a dating app through the large, garage-style windows. He’s walking quickly because he knows I’ve been waiting, even though I actually don’t mind sitting at a bar alone.

I like getting to a date early, ordering a drink, and settling in. Still, I find his hustle endearing. I watch him raise his hand to his mouth then release a cloud of smoke into the air before tugging the brewery door open.

He recognises me from behind right away. My long, wavy hair is usually a dead giveaway. I feel his presence behind me, turn my head slightly, and smile before he slides onto his stool.

I’m not often nervous on first dates because the truth is, I don’t care all that much how they go. Why would I? I’m not invested yet, so I’m not overcome by nerves. But not long after he sits down, I’m almost completely at ease. It feels like I’m talking to an old friend who happens to be cute, kind and, well, tall.

I’ve been on maybe a dozen first dates since one of the most brutal breakups of my life, and I haven’t been interested in anyone. But there is something refreshingly gentle about the way this man talks to me.

He’s nervous, but not overly so. And despite his nerves, he manages to laugh at my dumb jokes. He asks me about my writing career, my kids and my Stevie Nicks T-shirt.

Side note: He’s nearly a decade younger than me. But our conversation flows easily. It doesn’t feel forced. And by the end of the date, I’m fairly certain I’m going to see him again.

I didn’t always date younger men. In fact, just after my divorce at age 33, I actively avoided it, imagining that a dose of 40-something maturity was what I needed. I was a grown woman with kids, after all. I didn’t want someone I had to teach. I wanted someone I could learn from. Someone responsible, stable. A grown ass man, if you will.

Dating my own age or older (given I was early to marry and early to divorce) just made practical sense. Or so I thought.

I dated around. A lot. I kept an open mind, and I didn’t discriminate based on the usual criteria – job, height, religion. It was important to me to focus on genuine connection rather than checking boxes that, at the end of the day, don’t matter all that much.

But even with an open mind, and an open heart, more often than not I ended up deeply disappointed by the men I went out with, or sometimes even ended up dating. I did fall in love with an older man – once. But after that relationship imploded, while I continued to seek out what I thought were appropriately aged men for me, I started to feel a sense of hopelessness.

The men I was going out with might’ve been older, but they weren’t more evolved, and they definitely weren’t wiser. In fact, a lot of them seemed to be regressing, as if age and failed relationships had eaten them alive.

Many felt emasculated and emotionally destroyed by their own divorces or past relationships. And while almost all of them said they went to therapy (and even listed it on their dating app profiles), it didn’t show.

After dating them – or sometimes, just meeting them once – I suspected that they used therapy to make themselves feel better, rather than to actually change.

Age had just made them more set in their ways and that rigidity left me annoyed, hopeless and bored to death of hardened men who said they wanted love but were deeply self-involved.

Meanwhile, on the dating apps, men in their 50s seemed to have no qualms about advertising that they wanted a young, hot, “drama-free” woman. I started to ask myself why I couldn’t date younger.

"I have zero shame about the fact that I’d rather date men who are younger than me. In fact, I think more women should do the same," the author writes.

Photo Courtesy Of Sarah Bregel

“I have zero shame about the fact that I’d rather date men who are younger than me. In fact, I think more women should do the same,” the author writes.

Was I missing out on connections because I had my age filter set to 35+? Maybe. Maybe not. But dozens (hundreds?) of bad dates later, I decided it was worth looking into – even if only for the experience.

So, I started going on dates with younger men. They weren’t all great. Some lived with their parents or were downright toddleresque. But there were some good surprises, too, like that the younger men I was going out with wanted to try new things. They had a spark. They had confidence that was intact. They were fun and open-minded in a way I didn’t often see in older men.

Likewise, they were more interesting – and interested – and they weren’t afraid to show it. I felt like my confidence in dating had been restored.

Recently, the Netflix show Age of Attraction, which I happily binged, showcased older women dating younger men. While it’s more common in our culture to see older men dating younger women, the series also highlighted the opposite dynamic. And not so surprisingly, some of the women on the show expressed that they felt seen and cared for in a way they had imagined they might never experience again.

As I watched, I felt understood, and at the same time, like I better understood the dynamic I had been living.

While we’ve been led to believe it’s only men who prefer dating younger, two can play at that game. Anecdotally, dating younger guys may help older women who are still vibrant and full of life feel seen. But some researchers say that women are more satisfied when they have younger partners. And according to 2025 research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAs), both men and women experienced higher levels of satisfaction on first dates with someone younger. Therefore, it’s likely not lack of interest that keeps women from dating younger. It’s fear of judgement.

The end of my date with the younger musician, who did go on to become my boyfriend, was further proof. After he paid for dinner (without even making me reach for my wallet), I invited him back to my house for one more beer. We sat knee to knee on my couch, and my two dogs curled up on either side of us.

We listened to music and talked about concerts and politics before finally, I told him that 11pm was past my bedtime, and he had to go home. I walked him to the door, then stood on my tippy-toes as he hovered over me. A smile spread across my lips just before we kissed for the first time.

Age isn’t just a number, no matter what anyone says. With it comes experience and new ways of looking at life. But for a lot of older men, whose lives or romantic relationships didn’t pan out the way they’d planned, their experiences haven’t exactly shaped them for the better. It hasn’t equipped them for partnership, love or even romance. It’s often done precisely the opposite.

And to be real, I have enough of my own battles, demons and stressors to fight. I don’t need a man I have to drag through life or who weighs me down or makes me feel heavier. I’d rather be with someone who lifts me up and makes me feel seen, or no one at all.

In the end, the musician and I went our separate ways, for reasons unrelated to age. Now I’m back to dating again at 41, which mostly just looks like staying open to connections, or scrawling my phone number for a cute, younger bartender while paying my tab, like I did last week. It looks like occasional swiping on men from around 25 to 40; I toggle the age limits sometimes.

I’m not opposed to dating older men again, but I have my guard up with them. Younger men still feel more confident, open and less fragile.

As a single mum in my 40s, I’m not exactly dating to marry. But I am dating with the intention of solid connections, and younger men have been refreshing where men my age and older were mostly frustrating.

I have zero shame about the fact that I’d rather date men who are younger than me. In fact, I think more women should do the same.

Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.

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Constantly Questioning Whether You’re A ‘Bad’ Person? Experts Say ‘Moral OCD’ Might Explain Why

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It’s common to have fears about being a “bad person”, but for most people, these are fleeting thoughts and not true fears about being immoral.

However, this isn’t the case for people who suffer from a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder known as moral scrupulosity or moral OCD.

For folks with moral OCD, these “Am I bad?” thoughts can become permanent, leading to guilt, worry and rumination.

According to Joshua Curtiss, an assistant professor in the applied psychology department at Northeastern University in Boston, moral OCD is “a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder that’s characterised by really intense, intrusive thoughts of being immoral, bad or unethical in some way”.

It’s all centred around the fear of being a “bad person,” added Erin Venker, the founder and executive director of the OCD and Anxiety Center of Minnesota.

This can also come out in someone’s relationship to religion, leading someone to worry that they are acting against their religion or offending God, said Meredith Hettler, the national director of the OCD and anxiety program at Newport Healthcare.

These kinds of thoughts can be debilitating and are very different than a quick worry about being “mean” or “bad.” Here’s what to know.

Moral OCD comes with compulsions

In OCD, compulsions are repetitive thoughts or behaviours that someone does in hopes of relieving anxiety. “And the compulsions are designed to neutralise or undo these types of thoughts or fears about being ‘bad,’” Curtiss said.

Compulsions look different depending on the type of OCD, but in the case of moral OCD, they could look like someone seeking reassurance from others to prove that they are “good” and not “bad”, according to Curtiss.

Perhaps after an interaction at work that made you feel like a “bad person”, you call your mum, tell her the story and gauge her reaction to determine whether you’re “bad”, Hettler offered as an example.

It could also look like “undoing behaviours,” Curtiss said, which means trying to do something really good to make up for any “bad” or “immoral” thoughts – like volunteering after thinking something mean about a neighbour.

It could also appear as rumination, so thinking about the same thing over and over again, worrying about it and seeking reassurance, even though the reassurance is “not going to be good enough,” Venker explained.

“It’s kind of like a hamster on the wheel. They’re not going anywhere, but they feel like they can solve the problem, but unfortunately, we can never solve the problem through OCD rumination, it only leads to more questions and more doubts,” Venker added.

OCD is often referred to as the “doubting disorder,” Hettler said. “OCD, no matter what the subtype is, is always looking for 1,000,000% certainty, which we all know we’re never going to get.”

While it's normal to occasionally wonder if you're a "bad" person, it can be concerning if those thoughts occupy you continuously.

J Studios via Getty Images

While it’s normal to occasionally wonder if you’re a “bad” person, it can be concerning if those thoughts occupy you continuously.

Moral OCD can lead to guilt and distress

Moral OCD is heavy. It can lead to guilt and “a questioning of one’s own character,” Curtiss said. “It’s almost as if you’re a judge, interrogating your own moral character in a way, as to whether you’re a good or a bad person.”

You almost put yourself on trial and overanalyse every moment, Venker added.

Constant, moral-based intrusive thoughts can be overbearing, overwhelming and distressing, Curtiss said.

Moral OCD feeds on a fear of being cast out socially

Moral OCD, and OCD as a whole, is embedding the self-protective part of our brains, according to Venker.

“Humans are wired to care about belonging, safety, morality, social acceptance, all of those things,” Venker added. Centuries ago, if you were rejected and kicked out by your group or village, you were put directly in harm’s way.

Moral OCD feeds off this inherent fear and the possibility of “rejection, shame, or even just losing one’s identity as being a good person,” she said.

Modern cancel culture amplifies this vulnerability in many folks with moral OCD, Venker said, in the form of “public call outs [and] constant exposure to other people’s opinions.”

This is not the same as having a fleeting thought about your morals

A one-time thought about being immoral isn’t the same as having moral OCD.

“Moments of self doubt are very, very normal and very human … everybody has intrusive thoughts,” Venker said.

“The difference is, OCD is a neurological condition … it’s like our brains are almost stuck on a highway loop, and they can’t get off the highway,” Venker said. Someone who does not have moral OCD can find an exit on the highway, so to speak, and rationally understand that one thought doesn’t make them a bad person, she added.

“People with OCD, they don’t get the all-clear signal, and so they feel like they have to obsessively try to figure out or make the right decisions in order to prove they are a good person or to find certainty that they are a good person,” Venker said.

The other defining factor of moral OCD versus a one-off moment of self-doubt is that OCD is looking for 100% certainty, Hettler said. Even if all of the people in the world tell someone with moral OCD that they’re kind and good, “there’s never going to be a thing that someone can say or do that’s going to fully stop this process forever and always,” Hettler added.

Moral OCD can disrupt a person’s daily life

Folks with moral OCD also experience something called “thought-action fusion,” Curtiss said. “It’s the belief that, in this case, thinking a bad thing is the equivalent of doing it.”

For example, someone with thought-action fusion believes that thinking about cheating on their partner is the same as doing it. “And it brings the stakes up that much higher,” Curtiss said.

Additionally, a common differentiator between someone having a mental health disorder and not is “both the amount of extreme levels of distress it causes and amount of interference it causes in someone’s life.”

Moral OCD disrupts someone’s life and takes up a lot of time. Someone with moral OCD may go to the grocery store, leave and worry they accidentally didn’t pay for something in their cart, which would make them “bad” and a thief. This could lead them to check the receipt again and again and even go back inside and insist on paying for the item again, Curtiss said. This is very different than a moment of self-doubt followed by reassurance.

Here’s what to do if you are struggling with these kinds of thoughts

If you think you may have moral OCD, experts told HuffPost the best next step is to reach out to a mental health professional who is trained in OCD treatment.

Not all mental health professionals are trained to treat OCD, so, instead of going to just anyone you find in your neighbourhood, experts recommend looking for a provider via the International OCD Foundation database.

It’s common for moral OCD to get missed and treated improperly. “The treatment for OCD is really, really important, because regular talk therapy can actually make OCD worse,” Hettler said.

Exposure and response prevention therapy is the gold standard treatment for OCD, said Venker, and, for some, treatment may also include medication.

“Moral OCD is definitely something that is under-appreciated among the general population, but it can be very distressing, very interfering,” Curtiss said.

As you seek treatment, be kind to yourself and know that there are trained professionals who specialise in helping people get past the limiting thoughts that come with moral OCD.

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I tried the UK’s ‘saltiest’ sandwich – here’s what I learned

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Health correspondent James Gallagher absorbs more than the recommended daily limit in just one meal to find out how salt affects our bodies.

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What we know about the Reading Meningitis B cases

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Two people ill with meningitis in Reading have been confirmed as pupils at two schools

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Who is James Murray, the new health secretary replacing Wes Streeting?

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What are the most pressing priorities for the new minister in charge of health?

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Is cannabis safe after 65? Stanford experts reveal 5 risks older adults should know

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As cannabis use grows among older Americans, Stanford Medicine experts are warning that today’s marijuana products are far more powerful than many people realize, and they may come with significant health risks.

Eloise Theisen never expected to become a specialist in medical cannabis. Now a geriatric nurse practitioner focused on cannabis therapy at Stanford Medicine, she first turned to cannabis herself after a severe car accident left her with chronic pain that other treatments failed to relieve.

When she later returned to work in an oncology clinic, she noticed many patients were already using cannabis or considering it, often without guidance from medical professionals.

“I found that our patients were going to use it whether their providers approved of it or not,” Theisen said. “Many of our patients were older, and they had risks that needed to be evaluated and addressed before they started using cannabis.”

Cannabis Use Is Rising Among Older Adults

Both medical and recreational cannabis use continue to increase across the United States, including among adults over 65. Yet researchers still have major unanswered questions about how cannabis affects the body and brain, partly because marijuana remains federally illegal, making some kinds of research difficult.

Many older adults use cannabis in hopes of easing chronic pain, insomnia, or anxiety. However, Smita Das, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford Medicine, said there is still no broad medical agreement that cannabis effectively treats these conditions.

Experts say older adults face unique risks from regular cannabis use. These include higher chances of heart disease, certain cancers, addiction, cognitive problems, and dangerous medication interactions. Today’s cannabis products are also much stronger than the marijuana many people encountered decades ago, increasing the risk of accidental overuse.

Stanford Medicine specialists shared five important things older adults should know before using cannabis.

1. Today’s Cannabis Is Much Stronger Than It Used To Be

Medical marijuana is legal in 40 states and the District of Columbia, while recreational cannabis is legal in 24 states and D.C. Although regular use among seniors remains relatively uncommon, it is rising quickly. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 7% of adults over 65 reported recent cannabis use in 2023, compared with less than 5% in 2021.

Many older adults may not realize how dramatically cannabis potency has changed. In the 1970s, marijuana typically contained between 1% and 4% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound responsible for the drug’s psychoactive effects. Today, legal cannabis flower averages around 20% THC, and some strains contain as much as 35%.

Other cannabis products can be even more concentrated. Oils, edibles, and concentrates may contain THC levels approaching 90%. Synthetic marijuana products such as spice or K2 are even stronger and have been linked to heart problems. These products are illegal in California and many other states.

“We’re trying to catch up in our understanding of how that drastic of an increase in the psychoactive ingredient is impacting the brain and the body,” said Claudia Padula, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

The increased strength of cannabis products may also help explain a rise in accidental overconsumption among older adults. A Canadian study comparing emergency room visits before and after nationwide legalization found that cannabis poisoning cases among adults over 65 nearly tripled.

“There are so many different formulations and so many different strengths,” Das said. “This is really not the cannabis of the ’70s.”

2. Cannabis May Raise Risks for Heart Disease and Cognitive Problems

Although cannabis research is still developing, several studies have linked regular cannabis use to cardiovascular disease.

Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and the Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor of Medicine & Radiology, said this is especially concerning for older adults because heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States.

Wu’s research team found that THC triggers inflammation in blood vessels in animal studies. Epidemiological research has also connected cannabis use with several forms of heart disease in humans. According to these studies, regular cannabis use is associated with a 29% increase in heart attacks and a 20% increase in stroke risk.

While those risks are lower than the risks linked to heavy tobacco or alcohol use, Wu noted that many cannabis users also smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or both. Combining these substances may further increase cardiovascular danger. Smoking cannabis has also been associated with lung cancer and cancers of the head and neck.

Wu said smoking and vaping cannabis appear to promote more inflammation than edible products, although edibles are not risk free.

“There is no safe amount of cannabis. Low doses and occasional use are still associated with vascular inflammation,” he said. “Abstinence is the safest option for heart health.”

Theisen also watches for other complications in older patients using cannabis, including dizziness, confusion, falls, and worsening cognitive issues such as dementia.

Older adults metabolize cannabis more slowly than younger people, meaning the drug can stay in the body longer and its effects may last longer than expected. Slower metabolism also increases the chances of interactions with prescription medications.

One example involves cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabis compound. CBD can interfere with enzymes responsible for breaking down medications such as blood thinners. This may raise drug levels in the body and increase the danger of bleeding after an injury or fall. In some cases, cannabis may also reduce the effectiveness of medications.

3. Cannabis Can Be Addictive

A widespread belief about cannabis is that it is not addictive, but Das said research suggests otherwise.

Studies indicate that roughly 30% of regular cannabis users may develop cannabis use disorder. Like other substance use disorders, the condition is diagnosed based on how strongly the drug affects a person’s daily life. Signs may include withdrawal symptoms, needing larger doses over time, or cannabis interfering with relationships and responsibilities.

Even though cannabis addiction rates are lower than those for alcohol, Das said many health care providers may not routinely ask older adults about cannabis use.

“I’m noticing that older adults may not necessarily be disclosing cannabis use to their providers unless specifically asked. This isn’t a population we traditionally think about in terms of using cannabis,” Das said. “If someone comes to me for another reason such as depression or alcohol use disorder, I might be the first person who has asked them about their cannabis use.”

For people struggling to cut back or quit, Das said speaking openly with a doctor or addiction specialist is important. Treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy have been shown to help.

“Empowering individuals by helping them understand the criteria of a substance use disorder can then help them decide, ‘Is this something I want to talk about?'” Das said. “On the clinician side, we can do a lot to make substance use part of the conversation. What are they using the cannabis for? And if somebody wants to stop using, we need to stick with them through the difficult part of stopping.”

Padula is also studying how the brain reacts to environmental cues in people with cannabis use disorder and other addictions. Using functional MRI scans, her research has found that people who relapse after treatment often show heightened sensitivity to drug-related signals in their surroundings.

4. Cannabis May Help Some Conditions, but Research Remains Limited

Research suggests that different age groups use cannabis for different reasons.

In a 2017 study led by Padula involving medically licensed cannabis users at a San Francisco dispensary, adults ages 18-30 were more likely to use cannabis for boredom or social situations. Middle-aged users commonly reported insomnia as a reason for use, while adults ages 51-72 often used cannabis for cancer, chronic pain, or other long-term medical conditions.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved cannabis itself for medical treatment. However, it has approved two cannabis-related compounds for specific uses. CBD is approved for certain forms of childhood epilepsy, while dronabinol, a synthetic cannabis compound, is used to treat nausea and appetite loss in patients with cancer or HIV/AIDS.

Cannabis compounds have also shown benefits for muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis. Some countries approve cannabis for that purpose, although the United States does not.

CBD products are now widely marketed for pain, sleep problems, anxiety, and substance use disorders, but evidence supporting many of these uses remains limited.

Research on cannabis for chronic pain has produced mixed findings. Some studies report pain relief, but researchers have also observed large placebo effects. Das helped develop a statement from the American Psychiatric Association opposing cannabis as a psychiatric treatment because there is currently no evidence showing it effectively treats psychiatric disorders.

Theisen sees the issue somewhat differently in her work with palliative care patients facing life-limiting illnesses. Many of these patients use cannabis to manage cancer-related symptoms, including pain, and often want alternatives to opioid medications, which can cause serious side effects and addiction. Research has shown that chronic pain patients who use cannabis sometimes reduce their opioid use.

Theisen also said many patients appreciate the sense of well-being cannabis can provide.

“THC has gotten a bad rap over the years, but in very small doses it can be therapeutic,” she said. “There’s also a lot of stigma around its effects of euphoria. In our patients who may have months to a few years to live, still being able to experience joy is really important.”

5. Doctors Say Honest Conversations Matter Most

While experts may disagree about how medically useful cannabis is, they agree on one thing: older adults should talk openly with health care providers before using it.

Theisen said she would rather patients discuss cannabis with a medical professional than rely on advice from dispensary staff or experiment on their own.

During the early years of legalization, she frequently heard stories of patients accidentally consuming extremely high doses of THC edibles because they did not receive proper instructions.

“Patients would sometimes end up in the emergency department, or they would not want to take it again because they thought, ‘This isn’t going to work for me,'” she said.

Reliable information about cannabis can still be difficult to find. Doctors can help patients evaluate whether cannabis is appropriate, discuss possible alternatives, and identify risks related to existing medical conditions or medications.

“Your primary care physician will know the constellation of your medical conditions and other medications you might be on,” Padula said. “Talking to your doctor and letting them know not only what you’re prescribed, but what you’re using recreationally, will help formulate a way to do it in as safe a manner as possible.”

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Scientists discover vitamin B2 may help cancer cells survive

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Vitamin B2 is essential for human health, but new research suggests it may also help cancer cells stay alive.

Also known as riboflavin, vitamin B2 cannot be produced by the body and must come from food sources such as dairy products, eggs, meat, and green vegetables. Once absorbed, the vitamin is converted into molecules that help protect cells from oxidative damage and support other important biological functions.

Scientists at the Rudolf Virchow Centre (RVZ) at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have now discovered that this protective effect may come with a serious drawback. Their findings show that vitamin B2 metabolism can also shield cancer cells from destruction.

“Vitamin B2 plays a crucial role in protecting cancer cells from ferroptosis, a special form of programmed cell death,” says PhD student Vera Skafar. She is part of the research team led by José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, Professor of Translational Cell Biology. The study was published in Nature Cell Biology.

How Vitamin B2 Helps Cancer Cells Survive

Programmed cell death is one of the body’s natural defense systems. It allows damaged or dangerous cells to die in a controlled way without triggering inflammation in nearby tissue. Ferroptosis is one type of this process and has been linked to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and other serious conditions.

Ferroptosis occurs when iron-driven damage to cell membranes overwhelms a cell’s antioxidant defenses. Cancer cells often avoid this fate by strengthening systems that protect them from oxidative stress.

The new study found that vitamin B2 metabolism plays an important role in these protective defenses. According to the researchers, this means that blocking riboflavin-related pathways could make tumors more vulnerable to ferroptosis and easier to destroy.

Researchers Test a Possible Cancer Therapy Strategy

A protein called FSP1 was central to the team’s investigation. The protein helps healthy cells avoid unwanted cell death, and vitamin B2 supports its activity.

Using genome editing and cancer cell models, the researchers found that cancer cells became much more sensitive to ferroptosis when vitamin B2 was limited.

The team believes this process could eventually be used as a cancer treatment by shutting down vitamin B2 metabolism in tumors and triggering cancer cell death. However, there is currently no inhibitor specifically designed for that purpose.

To explore the idea further, the researchers tested roseoflavin, a naturally occurring compound produced by bacteria that has a structure similar to vitamin B2.

Roseoflavin Successfully Triggered Ferroptosis

In laboratory experiments using cancer cell models, the researchers found that roseoflavin was able to trigger ferroptosis even at low concentrations.

“It turned out that roseoflavin triggers ferroptosis in low concentrations,” says the group leader, “our experiments show the feasibility of this concept.”

The findings suggest that targeting vitamin B2 metabolism could become a promising new approach for future cancer therapies based on ferroptosis.

Next, the RVZ research team plans to develop more effective inhibitors of vitamin B2 metabolism and test them in preclinical cancer models.

Potential Implications Beyond Cancer

Friedmann Angeli says the importance of ferroptosis extends beyond oncology.

“Ferroptosis is not only relevant to cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that it also contributes to pathological processes in neurodegenerative diseases and in tissue damage following organ transplantation or ischemia-reperfusion injury.”

Because of this, understanding how vitamin B2 metabolism influences ferroptosis could eventually help scientists better understand a wide range of diseases involving excessive or insufficient cell death.

The research was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the priority program “Ferroptosis: from Molecular Basics to Clinical applications” (SPP2306).

The work was also conducted as part of the DeciFerr (Deciphering and exploiting ferroptosis regulatory mechanism in cancer) project led by Professor Friedmann Angeli. Since May 2024, the project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) through an ERC Consolidator Grant worth nearly two million euros.

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The brain’s “feel good” chemical may be secretly fueling tinnitus

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Scientists have uncovered new evidence that serotonin, a brain chemical best known for helping regulate mood, may also worsen tinnitus, the persistent ringing or buzzing sound that affects millions of people worldwide. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tinnitus can range from mildly irritating to severely distressing. For some people, the nonstop noise creates anxiety and disrupts daily life. Researchers estimate that as many as 14% of people globally experience the condition, with many cases considered severe.

A team from Oregon Health & Science University and Anhui University in China studied mice and found that increasing serotonin levels in the brain also increased behaviors associated with tinnitus.

Serotonin and Tinnitus Connection

The findings could have important implications for people living with tinnitus, especially those taking antidepressants that affect serotonin levels, said co-senior author Laurence Trussell, Ph.D., professor of otolaryngology in the OHSU School of Medicine and a scientist at the OHSU Vollum Institute and Oregon Hearing Research Center.

“People with tinnitus should work with their prescribing physician to find a drug regimen that gives them a balance between relief of psychiatric symptoms like depression and anxiety, while minimizing the experience of tinnitus,” Trussell said. “This study highlights the importance of clinicians recognizing and validating patient reports of medication-associated increases in tinnitus.”

The medications discussed in the study include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly known as SSRIs. These antidepressants are widely prescribed for moderate to severe depression and anxiety because they raise serotonin levels in the brain.

Researchers have long suspected serotonin played a role in tinnitus, but the exact mechanism remained unclear.

“We’ve suspected that serotonin was involved in tinnitus, but we didn’t really understand how,” said co-author Zheng-Quan Tang, Ph.D., of Anhui University in China. “Now, using mice, we’ve found a specific brain circuit involving serotonin that goes straight to the auditory system, and found that it can induce tinnitus-like effects. When we turned that circuit off, we were able to ameliorate the tinnitus significantly.

“This gives us a much clearer picture of what’s going on in the brain — and points toward new possibilities for treatment.”

Tang began the project while working as a postdoctoral scholar in Trussell’s laboratory.

Brain Circuit Linked to Ringing Ears

The new work builds on earlier research published in 2017.

In the latest study, scientists used optogenetics, a technique that uses fiber optics and light to activate specific brain cells. By targeting neurons that produce serotonin, the researchers were able to trigger activity in regions of the brain involved in hearing. They then measured how the mice responded using a modified auditory startle test.

“When you stimulate these serotonergic neurons, we can see that it stimulates activity in the auditory region in the brain,” Trussell said. “We also saw that animals then behaved as if they were hearing tinnitus. In other words, it’s producing symptoms that we would expect to be experienced as tinnitus in humans.”

According to the researchers, the findings match reports from some patients who say their tinnitus becomes more intense while taking serotonin-boosting medications such as SSRIs.

Future Tinnitus Treatments

“Our study suggests a delicate balance,” Trussell said. “It may be possible to develop cell- or brain region-specific drugs that steer the elevation of serotonin in some brain regions but not others. In that way, it may be possible to separate the beneficial and important effects of the antidepressant from the potentially harmful effects on hearing.”

Trussell’s research was supported by the National Institutes of Health through award RO1DC004450. The authors noted that the findings and conclusions are solely their responsibility and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the NIH.

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‘He Has The Numbers’: Wes Streeting Allies Insist He Will Run In Labour Leadership Contest

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Wes Streeting will definitely run in the upcoming Labour leadership contest, his allies have told HuffPost UK.

It is the first confirmation that he plans to mount a bid to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Supporters of Starmer have claimed that the former health secretary – who resigned with a ferocious attack on the prime minister yesterday – does not have enough support from Labour MPs to mount a challenge.

Under Labour Party rules, any candidate must have the support of at least 20% of its MPs to make it onto the ballot paper. At the moment, that is 81 MPs.

Starmer allies have claimed that Streeting currently only has 43 names, leaving him well short of the number required.

They said that was why he did not formally trigger a contest when he quit the cabinet, as had been expected.

But a source close to Streeting told HuffPost UK: “He has the numbers and will be a candidate when there’s a contest.”

In his resignation letter, Streeting stopped short of saying he would challenge the PM.

But he said: “It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism.

“It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach and I hope that you will facilitate this.”

A leadership contest appears inevitable, despite Starmer insisting he “won’t walk away” from No.10.

Cabinet ministers, including home secretary Shabana Mahmood and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, have personally told the PM to set out a timetable for his departure.

More than 90 Labour MPs have so far publicly called on him to quit, while four junior ministers have also resigned from the government.

Andy Burnham kicked off his own attempt to be the next PM when it was announced that Labour MP Josh Simons is standing down to let the Greater Manchester mayor stand in his Makerfield seat.

Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) is not expected to block Burnham’s bid to be the party’s candidate in the resulting by-election.

However, he faces a huge challenge to see off Reform UK and be elected the new MP for the constituency.

If Burnham wins, he is expected to immediately challenge Starmer, triggering a full leadership contest.

Others who could throw their hats into the ring include former deputy PM Angela Rayner, defence secretary John Healey, energy secretary Ed Miliband, Mahmood, Cooper and junior defence minister Al Carns

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

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