An eruption of measles is spreading quickly in Kansas, with cases doubling in a week and spreading to three new counties, some with vaccination coverage among kindergartners at pitiful levels as low as 41 percent. Coverage of 95 percent or greater is thought to protect communities from onward spread of the extremely contagious virus.
In an update Wednesday, March 26, Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported 23 measles cases across six counties—up from 10 cases across three counties on March 21. The 23 people ill with the dangerous virus are mostly children, including six who are 0 to 4 years old, nine who are 5 to 10, three who are 11 to 13, three who are 14 to 17, and two adults between the ages of 25 and 44. Fortunately, none of the cases have been hospitalized so far, and there have been no deaths.
Twenty of the 23 cases were unvaccinated. One case was “not age appropriately vaccinated,” one was “age appropriately vaccinated,” and the remaining case’s vaccination status is pending.
A discredited anti-vaccine advocate who has no medical background and who has been disciplined for practicing medicine without a license will reportedly lead a questionable federal study on vaccines and autism—despite a large volume of existing research that has found no link between the two and despite a thorough debunking of claims that vaccines cause autism.
Late Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that David Geier has been hired as a “data analyst” by the Department of Health and Human Services, which is now headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent and fervent anti-vaccine advocate. Kennedy and Geier have both long touted the false claim that vaccines cause autism, despite the extensive evidence showing that they do not. In March, HHS directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reexamine the nonexistent link between vaccines and autism, using funds from taxpayers that could have been directed at other research.
David Geier earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in 2002. Since then, he has largely worked with his father, Mark Geier, also an anti-vaccine advocate who falsely blames vaccines for autism. In 2011, Mark Geier was stripped of his medical license by the Maryland State Board of Physicians for misrepresenting his credentials, failing to meet state and federal regulations on safety oversight, and allegedly putting the safety and welfare of autistic children at risk.
Research shows men are more likely than women to avoid—or delay—necessary medical care, even when their symptoms disrupt their lives or become chronic. An online survey conducted by the Cleveland Clinic of 1,174 men 18 years or older, found that 72% of men would rather do household tasks, such as cleaning the bathroom or mowing the lawn, than see a doctor.
Whether the reason is fear, denial, mistrust of the healthcare system, downplaying symptoms, or misguided masculinity, the repercussions of avoiding medical care become riskier—even potentially deadly—as men age. While many averagely healthy men can get away with skipping the doctor early in adulthood, age-related chronic conditions become more common once they hit middle age. This is especially the case when it comes to the risk and prevalence of cardiovascular disease, which is the top killer of men in the U.S., and why it’s critical to take new and unexplained health symptoms seriously.
“Don’t ignore your wellness, and don’t give your wellness, or your health, a three-month break,” says Dr. Steven Lamm, director of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Men’s Health at NYU Langone. Lamm also urges men to become familiar with their baseline numbers, including blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, which are essential for spotting current or future heart disease. It’s also critical to be aware of some of the lesser known symptoms of heart disease before they become an emergency.
Dr. Antonio Fernandez, medical director of the cardiac intensive care unit and preventive cardiology at Hartford Hospital, always reminds patients that timing is key.
“With some of the cardiac conditions, the symptoms can progress over time,” says Fernandez. “So, obviously, if there were to be a cardiac problem, catching that early would be better than waiting too long and then dealing with a more severe problem.”
Here are five symptoms that should prompt men to visit a doctor.
1. Unexplained fatigue
From parenting and working demanding jobs to keeping up with friends and hobbies to caretaking of aging parents—routine life is demanding and exhausting. It’s no surprise then that many men experience periods of higher levels of exhaustion. But if fatigue begins to feel extra crippling and chronic, it is most certainly time to seek out a professional since there’s a strong association with heart disease.
One study found that men with moderate-to-high levels of exhaustion had a 2.7-fold increased risk of heart attack within five years and a 2.25 higher risk within ten years. The study also found a strong correlation between high blood pressure and moderate-to-high levels of exhaustion in two-thirds of the cohort.
Additionally, says Lamm, fatigue is related to other serious conditions in men, and is especially associated with depression. Mental health is intrinsically tied to physical health and research finds that, in particular, depression is strongly associated with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. The good news is studies also find treating depression can directly affect heart attack risk since depression often worsens lifestyle habits that are related to cardiovascular disease such as eating a poor diet and consuming alcohol.
2. Chest discomfort
A feeling of pressure and squeezing in the chest is a serious indication that medical care is essential because chest pain and discomfort is one of the most common symptoms of heart attack in men. Chest pain and discomfort may occur during a heart attack because the heart is not getting enough oxygen-rich blood. Knowing this is reason enough to seek out care. However, chest pain and discomfort is often mistaken for a number of other condition including anxiety attacks and run-of-the-mill digestive problems.
“Don’t ignore and don’t go to sleep with chest pain, thinking that it’s reflux,” says Lamm. “Do not assume that your chest pain is due to hyperacidity. It can be a really important clue that you’re having a coronary. Do not go to sleep with chest pain, because you may not wake up.”
3. Swelling in lower extremities
Lower extremity edema, or swelling, is often a first sign of heart failure. Fluid builup in the lower legs, feet and hands—also known as pedal edema— occurs because the heart’s ability to pump blood is too weak, which causes the blood to settle and accumulate in tissue. Some research also finds that edema is a predictor of progressive heart failure.
Edema can be associated with other health conditions as well, including kidney disease, cirrhosis of the liver and thyroid disease. It can also be the result of too much sitting or consuming salty foods. However, if it becomes a chronic that’s reason enough to see a clinician, says Fernandez.
4. Change in exercise tolerance
We all have days when your energy level is not what it usually is, when a few flights of stairs leave you winded and your routine workout at the gym is barely tolerable. However, when you notice that exertion fatigue is more frequent and different than your normal baseline, it’s time to see a doctor.
“Don’t ignore shortness of breath or change in exercise tolerance, because it can be a very important signal that you’re blocking off your coronary arteries,” says Lamm.
Tracking your fitness performance with a smartwatch can help you monitor changes and raise red flags if there’s a sudden or gradual shift in your cardiovascular exercise levels. And it’s critical to take action if exercise intolerance is coupled with other symptoms such as lightheadedness and chest discomfort, says Fernandez.
5. Loss of morning erections
Men often avoid talking about their sexual health with doctors or seek out care if things seem to be off. However, one of the most important indicators of heart health for men is their ability to get and maintain an erection.
“Erectile dysfunction could be a sign of atherosclerosis, which is plaque built up in the arteries suggest people could have peripheral disease and develop lower extremity pain with walking,” explains Fernandez.
When assessing a patient’s overall cardiovascular health, one the first things Lamm asks about is their sexual function, specifically if they are regularly experiencing morning erections.
“To have an erection requires the orchestration of so many different organ parts, your brain, your nervous system, blood vessels, your hormones,” notes Lamm. “So once a man is no longer waking up with a morning erection, that is an indicator that there’s something off, especially in your forties.”
Failure to get and maintain an erection during sex can be related to a host of other factors include anxiety or relationship issues, though cardiovascular health should always be assessed, he says. However, loss of regular morning erections should always prompt a visit to your doctor for full cardiovascular evaluation, and it should not be delayed.
More heavy blows are landing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to reports Tuesday that reveal a wave of high-level departures from the country’s beleaguered health agency. The agency is also losing $11.4 billion in funding for responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was largely doled out to chronically underfunded state health departments.
This afternoon, the Associated Press reported that five high-level leaders are departing the agency, which was announced today during a senior staff meeting. The departures, which were described as retirements, follow three other high-level departures in recent weeks. Given that the CDC has two dozen centers and offices, the recent departures reflect a loss of about a third of the agency’s top management.
The departures announced today include: Leslie Ann Dauphin, who oversees the Public Health Infrastructure Center, “which serves as the connection point between the agency and state, local, and territorial jurisdictions, tribes. and CDC’s public health partners,” according to the CDC. Karen Remley, who heads the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, is also departing, as is Sam Posner, who heads the Office of Science, which provides scientific expertise across the agency and publishes the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Debra Lubar, who is the CDC’s Chief Operating Officer and runs the Office of Policy, Performance and Evaluation, and Leandris Liburd, head of the Office of Health Equity, are also leaving.
The H5N1 bird flu has spilled over to a sheep for the first time, infecting a domesticated ruminant in the United Kingdom much like it has in US dairy cows, according to UK officials.
The single sheep—a ewe—in Yorkshire, England, was confirmed infected after captive birds on the same property had tested positive for the virus, according to an announcement Monday. The ewe’s milk was found to be positive for the virus through a PCR test, which detected genetic signatures of the virus. The ewe also had H5 antibodies in its blood. At the time of the confirmation, the ewe had symptoms of the infection in the way of mastitis, inflammation of the mammary glands.
“We really want these results to be empowering for parents,” said CR’s manager of food safety research and testing, Sana Mujahid, in the report. “If you are just at the beginning of your formula journey, there are plenty of safer choices from major brands like Enfamil and Similac and smaller brands like Bobbie. If you are already giving your child one of the formulas on our list with comparatively higher levels of contaminants, there are several steps you can take.”
For the analysis, CR tested 41 types of powdered formula—established, newer, and popular store brands, as well as imported options—for a range of toxic chemicals, including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead. About half of the samples contained “potentially harmful levels” of at least one contaminant. But testers also found it “reassuring” that the other half were safe.
And the investigation has already led to some positive change by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which, after being informed of CR’s findings this week, announced a new initiative, called Operation Stork Speed, to strengthen its oversight of the formula industry, including with increased testing for contaminants.
“The FDA will use all resources and authorities at its disposal to make sure infant formula products are safe and wholesome for the families and children who rely on them,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Consumer Reports head of food policy called the FDA’s immediate response “encouraging,” adding that “we hope the FDA is provided adequate resources and staffing to actually follow through on their promises.”
What the infant formula investigation found
Arsenic
This naturally occurring heavy metal—which can also be the result of industrial manufacturing and fracking—is carcinogenic to humans, with the most toxic form called inorganic arsenic. CR’s testing measured both total arsenic and inorganic arsenic, finding the highest levels in brands EleCare Hypoallergenic and Similac Alimentum—both made by Abbott Nutrition, the company that exacerbated the COVID-related infant formula shortage of 2022 by issuing several recalls.
Rear view of young Asian mother groceries shopping for baby products in a supermarket. She is standing in front of the baby product aisle and have no idea which product to choose from
Abbott responded to CR in a statement, saying it had concerns about the methodology used, and that such contaminants “may be present in trace amounts in food products, including all brands of infant formula and even human breast milk.” Still, the levels found in the brand’s formulas exceeded those established as safe in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Arsenic in high levels, of course, is a poison,” Dr. Mark R. Corkins, professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, told Consumer Reports. “Over time, it increases your risk for certain cancers. So, long term, arsenic is a big concern.”
Added Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the State University of New York at Albany, “There is no excuse for having arsenic in baby food or formula. Absolutely none. The industry should be bending over backward to be certain it’s not there.”
Lead
Also natural but toxic, lead can contaminate food through the soil it’s grown in, as well as through water used for irrigation. It can have immediate neurological effects on babies and children if exposed, and has been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, behavior problems, and lowered IQ.
Because it’s pervasive in the environment, and difficult to get it completely out of water and food, CR expected to find it in almost all the formulas, and did. And while levels were below established limits of the FDA, experts believe they should be lower.
“We know that there is no safe level of lead exposure,” Hannah Gardener, a professor in the department of neurology at the University of Miami, who has researched heavy metal contamination in infant formulas, told CR. But to keep levels as low as possible, she added, “Manufacturers need to do many things to protect consumers, including rigorous and repeated testing of their products and disclosing the contamination levels to consumers.”
On the positive side, Mercury was not found in any of the formulas, and cadmium was found at levels too low to be concerning.
What parents can do
The good news here is that there are many safe choices out there—specifically, 21 deemed to be “top choices” by CR—such as Similac Advance, Emfamil Gentlease, and Earth’s Best Organic Dairy—and 10 “good choices,” including Similac 360 Total Care and Kendamil Organic.
Among the 10 “worse choices” are Similac Total Comfort and Target’s Up & Up Soy, both of which contained inorganic arsenic. (Find the entire list here.)
Though the brands tested are made by 14 companies, the U.S. market is dominated by just a handful, explained CR in its report. And about half of all formula bought in the U.S. is purchased through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—almost all of which is made by just two companies, Abbott, which makes Similac, and Mead Johnson, which makes Enfamil.
Both companies challenged CR’s findings when given a chance to respond, sending details comments and noting that trace levels of heavy metals in the food supply are not an issue that is unique to infant formula.
“Abbott has a multi-step quality process in place for heavy metals to ensure that levels satisfy all relevant regulatory requirements in all countries we serve,” Abbott Nutrition vice president Dr. Hakim Bouzamondo, told CR, adding that he disagreed with the use of California’s extra-conservative metrics to assess risk.
A Mead Johnson spokesperson described the company’s “stringent testing protocols” and told CR that the company is “committed to providing the highest levels of quality and safety for all our infant formula products as is evidenced by the fact that parents and pediatricians have trusted our infant nutritional products for nearly 120 years.”
When it comes to reaching the major life milestones of getting married and becoming a parent, up to a half of Americans think there is no one ideal age at which they should be achieved.
But those who do think there’s a right time say the sweet spot for both marrying and having a first child is around the age of 26 or 27.
On average, consensus on the best age to get married was 26.5, with around a quarter (23%) saying it should be between 25 and 29 and one in 10 saying it’s between 20 and 24 or 30 and 34. Still, about half of those surveyed said there is no best age to get married.
That tracks with the reality on the ground, as young adults in the U.S. are reaching key milestones later than in the past, according to a previous Pew report, from 2023. For example, it found, only 22% of 25-year-olds were married in 2021, compared with 63% in 1980. Further, a record 25% of 40-year-olds in the U.S. had never been married as of 2021.
The same pattern held when it came to having children: Just 17% of 25-year-olds in 2021 had a child, compared with 39% in 1980. Further, many adults in the U.S. do not have children, and a 2024 Pew survey found that almost half of adults under 50 who don’t already have kids think it’s unlikely they ever will.
To have children, respondents to the latest survey believe the average best age is 27.3—which is just about the average age (27.4) that an American woman gives birth for the first time, according to federal data.
But four in 10 say there is no best age to have a first child, and the next-largest share (28%) say the best age is between 25 and 29. Very few say it is ideal to have a first child before age 20 or at 35 or older.
The findings are on par with the results of another Pew milestones survey, also released this week, of over 23,000 adults in 18 countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, and Turkey. It found on average across the countries that people believed it was best to both get married and have a first child at around 26 years old—but ranging from 21.2 in Bangladesh to 28.9 in Argentina. Interestingly, in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, South Africa and Tunisia, roughly 10% of adults or more say the ideal age for marriage is 35 or older.
In the U.S., opinions on the ideal ages for each milestone differ based on political party, age, income, and whether or not religion is important.
Democrats and those who lean Democratic generally say higher ages for marriage and children, compared with Republicans and Republican leaners. And while adults under 30 recommend getting married and having kids later in life than those ages 65 and older do, there was no difference in the ideal ages given for marriage between men and women. When it comes to having kids, women think it’s best to do so at a slightly younger age (27) than men think (27.6).
High-end earners, meanwhile, say it’s best to get married and have a child later in life than lower-income respondents believe—27 vs. 26.2 for marriage and 28.7 vs. 26.2 for having kids. And those in the U.S. who place a high value on religion say it’s best to marry and have a child at a younger age compared with those not concerned with religion—25.7 vs. 27.1 for marriage and 26.4 vs. 28 for becoming a parent.
When deciding where to live, you might consider many factors: climate, proximity to loved ones, safety, school districts, and more. But there could be another feature to take into account: a city’s healthiness rating.
How long you live and how many years of good health you have are directly linked to where you live. A community’s access to health care, proximity to green spaces, and availability of healthy food retailers factor into its rates of longevity, chronic diseases, and mental health conditions. Access to quality food, for example, makes healthy eating easier, while being surrounded by green spaces can help promote mental well-being and encourage outdoor physical activity.
If a city’s healthiness is a top priority for you, you can now take into account a ranking of America’s healthiest places to live, from research and data company Niche.
Using data from more than a dozen sources including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Census, and they’re own surveys, Niche evaluated cities based on the following:
Physical inactivity: The rate of adults (at the county level) who do not report any leisure-time physical activity.
Obesity: The rate of adults (at the county level) who have a body mass index of 30 or higher.
Access to doctors: The proximity (per square mile) to and the availability (per capita) of physicians’ offices.
Access to mental health providers: A measure of both the proximity to (per square mile) and the availability (per capita) of mental health practitioners.
Alcohol consumption: The rate of adults (at the county level) who report heavy drinking (a weekly average of eight or more drinks for women or 15 or more drinks for men) or binge drinking (consuming in a single occasion four or more drinks for women or five or more drinks for men in the last 30 days).
Smoking: The rate of adults (at the county level) who smoke “most days.”
Percentage of population under age 65 without health insurance.
Drug-related deaths: Number of drug poisoning deaths per 100,000 population.
Premature death rate: Years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population (age-adjusted).
Here is how the healthiness of America’s cities measured up.
10 healthiest places
Berkeley, Calif.
Cambridge, Mass.
Irvine, Calif.
Bellevue, Wash.
Seattle, Wash.
Torrance, Calif.
San Francisco, Calif.
Boulder, Colo.
Pasadena, Calif.
Sandy Springs, Ga.
Berkeley claims the top spot for the third year in a row, while Cambridge jumps up to the second spot from number five last year, and Irvine is bumped to three from second place in 2024.
Living a healthy lifestyle can be a financial burden, but Berkeley residents have a median household income of $108,558, according to the U.S. Census—which is over 25% more than the national median household income of $80,610.
Additionally, only 3.3% of Berkeley’s population does not have health insurance, compared to 9.5% across the U.S. And while the U.S. has an obesity rate of 40.3%, Berkeley’s is nearly half that, at 23.2%. Residents also have ample opportunity to stay physically active: the Northern California city boasts over 50 parks, numerous gyms, and adult sport leagues.
The race for more data is dominating the wellness industry. More people are tracking their sleep, monitoring their glucose levels, and analyzing their step count as a way to optimize, or even gamify, their health. Now, even more data is available to assess how your genetics match up with your partner.
Last week, the five-year-old startup Nucleus Genomics launched a genetic matching feature— “multiplayer mode”—so future parents can assess how their DNA aligns, and their combined risk for passing on a range of conditions.
“We look at a couple’s DNA, and we calculate their risk of passing down over 900 different conditions to their children,” 25-year-old founder and CEO Kian Sadeghi tells Fortune in an exclusive interview about the announcement. “We really believe in building tools that let people have agency over their health and over that of their family as well. We’re really uncovering these sort of invisible risks.”
The company, which has a team of genetic experts on staff, was founded by Sadeghi who dropped out of college to launch the startup in honor of his cousin who, as a teenager, died in her sleep from a genetic condition she didn’t know she had.
“Most physician-ordered genetic tests stop at conditions where there’s a family history, or that are more prevalent,” Sadeghi says. “These miss critical variants that parents could pass down to their children because parents or doctors have to choose what they want to see, at a stage when you usually don’t know what to look for.”
With the new partner matching test, Sadeghi isn’t insinuating that he is breaking up couples if their genetics don’t perfectly align. “As a parent, you really should have the choice and information ahead of time. Decide what you want to do, because to me, it’s all about individual liberty. It’s all about choice. It’s up to the couple,” he says, adding that with more information, couples may make other reproductive decisions. “That’s what we’re really all about. We’re about enabling and empowering families with information. We’re not about circumventing or stopping families.”
The company, which raised $14 million in series A funding this year, is an “outlier” in the field, says Sasha Gusev, a statistical geneticist and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical who is not associated with the company. Gusev views Nucleus as an offering that does genetic predictions, like 23AndMe, and includes rare disease screenings (usually a company offers one or the other). “What 23andMe was doing was sequencing a sample of the genome, which included some known, rare variant disease mutations, but not all of them,” he says. “Whereas a whole genome platform gets you every single mutation that an individual carries. The genomic data is the superset of everything you can use, and it’s now not that expensive anymore.”
However, while “rare disease screening is of real clinical importance,” Gusev says partner matching and prediction tests are not.
“Most people are screening whether they themselves [are at risk] because they can go and do something about it,” he tells Fortune. “This idea of partner screening before even having kids is relatively new and is not a use that has been offered. We are many steps away from where this is real and actionable.”
Gusev adds that it’s not clear whether a future child could inherit the gene they are predisposed to and, if they did at some time years down the road, there could be new treatments that improve someone’s outcomes. “The further you move the measurement away from the reality, from when it actually is an individual, the more complexities creep into that decision and can modify the eventual outcome,” he says.
Nucleus does not predict phenotypes (observable traits), but does include IQ predictions in their list of conditions tested, which Gusev says is more concerning. “It echoes concerns about eugenics. Screening going beyond disease to screen for the type of person, the type of child you want from a personality perspective can have serious ramifications for our society,” he says.
The company’s site says that “researchers are still in the early stages of understanding how genetics impacts IQ.” While Sadeghi says the technology used will only get more robust, he adds, “We don’t currently provide predictions for future babies on anything outside of hereditary disease.”
“Preconception testing is pretty standard of care … we stand for using technology to empower couples,” Sadeghi tells Fortune when asked about the concern of eugenics. “It has nothing to do with eugenics … When the public understands genetic medicine as a proxy for eugenics, everyone loses.”
Despite Sadeghi saying phenotype reporting is not part of the process, TechCrunch reported that Neurolink Genomics investor and Founders Fund partner Delian Asparouhov shared that there could be “phenotype reporting” in the future as more people use the model and it gets more accurate.
When asked by the TechCrunch reporter if phenotype matching was a function of modern day eugenics, Asparouhov made a joke, “miming the same hand motion that Elon Musk performed following President Trump’s inauguration” and said “My heart goes out to you.”
When Fortune asked Sadeghi about Asparouhov’s comments and gesture, he said “I personally wasn’t in and cannot comment on what was said or alluded to. Regardless, we do not agree with any comments likening genetic tests to eugenics or any of its implications … We stand for expanding access to technology and information, and in turn, empowering people to make their own decisions about their own health and that of their family.”
Nucleus’ general offering includes an individual swab test for $399 and claims to give users genetic risk assessments on over 900 conditions, including cancer, heart disease, cognition, and focus. For example, your age and genetic information may indicate your risk for a heart condition is higher than average. In addition to the cost of the test, members can pay an additional $99 fee for hour sessions with a genetic counselor.
As genetic testing becomes more popular and companies like 23andMe have come under fire for data privacy violations, Sadeghi also says his customer’s health data isn’t shared with third parties and that the company is HIPPA compliant with all samples analyzed in a U.S. laboratory.
“It’s like going to your doctor’s office,” he says.
When nutrition expert Tim Spector reaches for yogurt, he always goes for the full-fat variety. That might come as a surprise given that full-fat dairy has long been viewed as the unhealthier option, due to its higher saturated fat content. Eating too much saturated fat can raise cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease, the American Heart Association warns. But Spector, co-founder of nutrition startup ZOE, cautions that there are other reasons to skip the low-fat version of your favorite yogurts.
Artificial sweeteners and added sugar
One of Spector’s main issues with low-fat yogurt is that it often contains artificial sweeteners and added sugar and flavors.
“They’ve just substituted fat with cheaper starch from corn and added all sorts of flavorings and glues to make it feel like it’s still got that milk fat in it,” Spector told Fortune.
Artificial sweeteners like sucralose and acesulfame potassium, which are commonly found in low-fat, light, and non-fat yogurts, have been associated with a range of health issues, including a potential link to a slightly higher risk of cancer. The FDA and other health organizations, however, consider these artificial sweeteners safe for most people in small amounts.
Added sugar found in low-fat yogurt can pose another concern—the American Heart Association states that added sugar has no nutritional benefit, and only increases caloric intake and can contribute to overweight or obesity. They recommend that men consume no more than 36 grams of added sugar per day, and women no more than 25 grams. Some low-fat yogurts have as much as 14 grams of sugar—40% of men’s daily added sugar limit, and over half of women’s—in a 4.5-ounce serving.
Additives aside, the processing of low-fat yogurt can sometimes degrade the quality of the yogurt, Spector said, removing beneficial fat-soluble vitamins from the yogurt.
One study revealed that fat-soluble vitamins like A and D are removed along with the fat during the processing of low- or non-fat yogurt, but they are often added back in to restore the nutritional value. But because those vitamins are fat-soluble, the body may have more difficulty absorbing them in the absence of fat.
Full-fat yogurt will keep you satisfied
Full-fat foods are more satiating and will help keep you fuller for longer because the fat takes longer to digest. That also means you’re less likely to overeat later.
As always, it’s important to take a big-picture view of your overall diet. Full-fat yogurt is just one component. Spector emphasizes that a balanced, plant-forward and fiber-focused diet with a mix of healthy fats, lean protein, and even full-fat dairy, is the way to go.
