Category: Food & Wine

What’s the healthiest fish to eat? Here are 4 types dietitians recommend — and what they say you should avoid.

Yahoo! News

What’s the healthiest fish to eat? Here are 4 types dietitians recommend — and what they say you should avoid.

Lauren Manaker – October 3, 2024

Top down image of four salmon darnes on a white long oval serving ceramic plate on a wooden table. It rests on a bed of samphire. Lemon slices garnish the fish.
Salmon gets the stamp of approval from dietitians. But what other types of fish should you be eating? (Getty Creative)Catherine Falls Commercial via Getty Images

When it comes to healthy eating, you will be hard-pressed to find a health care provider who isn’t a fan of the tip to “eat more fish.” But, as a registered dietitian, I often remind clients that not every fish is considered a nutritional powerhouse. And while some types of fish are perfectly fine to eat frequently, others should be consumed with caution.

So what are the healthiest fish options you should be stacking on your plate, and what should you be skipping? Read on for the seafood scoop.

What are the health benefits of eating fish?

Many varieties of fish, particularly cold-water oily fish like salmon, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, “healthy” fats that support heart, brain and eye health.

Furthermore, fish is a source of high-quality protein while being lower in saturated fat, making it a smart choice for those seeking to maintain a balanced diet. It’s also packed with important nutrients such as vitamin D, selenium and iodine, which support immune function, bone health and thyroid regulation.

Regular fish consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of conditions such as coronary heart disease. Additionally, some data links fish consumption to improved mood and a reduced risk of depression among certain populations.

Despite the health benefits associated with regular fish consumption, many Americans aren’t eating enough. While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating 8 ounces, or about two servings, of seafood (which includes fish and shellfish) per week, it notes that nearly 90% of Americans don’t meet that target.

What’s the healthiest fish to eat?

While most fish are excellent additions to a healthy and balanced diet, some stand out as “best” choices for various reasons. Here are four to try.

Salmon

“One of the healthiest fish is salmon, as it is high in health-promoting omega-3 fats,” Melissa Mitri, a registered dietitian, nutrition writer and owner of Melissa Mitri Nutrition, tells Yahoo Life. “Salmon is very nutrient-dense, providing a generous amount of protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals in a small portion.” That includes vitamins such as B12 and D and minerals like selenium, which support immune function and bone health.

It’s worth noting that wild salmon contains more protein and potassium — which is great for managing blood pressure — than farm-raised varieties. “Salmon is also low in mercury, a heavy metal that can be toxic to the nervous system and various organs in large amounts,” adds Mitri.

Farmed trout

“Farmed trout is a healthy choice due to its rich content of omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart health and reduce inflammation,” according to Mascha Davis, a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of Eat Your Vitamins. “It is also a great source of high-quality protein, [which is] essential for muscle growth and repair. Furthermore, it provides important micronutrients, including vitamin D and selenium, which contribute to overall well-being.”

Davis notes that there have been concerns about fish farming, also known as aquaculture. But she points to “significant advances” in the practice that have made it “more sustainable and cleaner.” Says Davis: “In the U.S., numerous farmed trout operations grow fish in fresh spring water, provide high-quality feed and ensure ethical care for the fish.” One easy way to ensure your farmed fish choices are responsibly raised and free from antibiotics is to look for an Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) label on your product.

Sardines

Sardines are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids. They are a low-mercury fish option thanks to being small and low on the food chain, which limits their mercury accumulation compared with larger predatory fish. This makes them a safer choice for regular consumption, especially for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and young children.

Choosing sardines with bones (they are soft and edible!) provides an extra boost of calcium, contributing to bone health.

Atlantic mackerel

Mackerel contains essential nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids. It is also a good source of protein, B vitamins and minerals such as selenium and potassium.

Why eat Atlantic mackerel in particular? Compared with other types of mackerel, such as king mackerel, Atlantic mackerel has a notably lower mercury concentration, making it a more health-conscious option.

What fish should I limit?

By and large, most fish, particularly oily varieties, is great for you. But there are considerations that should be made when it comes to consuming fish raw, or eating a type with a high mercury level. (And, of course, anyone with a shellfish allergy should avoid anything within that group.)

High-mercury fish

Mercury is a heavy metal that can accumulate in fish tissue. Consuming high levels of it can lead to serious health issues, including neurological and developmental problems. According to the Food and Drug Administration, limiting mercury is crucial for children and anyone who might become pregnant or breastfeeding.

Some high-mercury fish to avoid or limit include:

  • Shark
  • Swordfish
  • Marlin
  • King mackerel
  • Tilefish
  • Bigeye tuna
Raw fish

Consuming raw fish can pose health risks due to potential contamination with parasites, bacteria or viruses often eliminated through cooking. These pathogens can lead to foodborne illnesses when consumed. Certain individuals, including pregnant women, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, should avoid eating raw fish due to their increased susceptibility to illness.

However, healthy people can generally eat raw fish safely if it is sushi grade, sourced from reputable suppliers and handled properly to prevent contamination. Moreover, certain fish, like salmon and tuna, are deemed safer to consume raw after being frozen at specific temperatures to kill parasites.

Eating too much fish

Eating fish is generally considered healthy. But consuming too much fish can lead to potential health risks, primarily due to the accumulation of mercury and other environmental contaminants in certain fish types. It is important to maintain a balanced intake by choosing fish lower in mercury, like salmon, sardines and trout, and following dietary guidelines to ensure a healthy, varied diet.

How can I get more fish into my diet?

Ready to reap the health benefits of eating fish? Here are some tips to help you hit that two-servings-a-week guidance. (And for anyone who doesn’t like the taste of fish, Mitri suggests starting with a “more neutral-tasting fish” like cod and going from there.)

  • Start with breakfast: Don’t limit fish to dinner. Add smoked salmon or trout to your morning scrambled eggs or avocado toast.
  • Experiment with tacos: Fish tacos are an easy and delicious way to add more fish to your diet. You can use grilled, baked or even canned fish as a filling.
  • Snack on fish: Sliced salmon with cream cheese on whole-grain crackers or tuna-stuffed cucumber boats provide a tasty and nutritious alternative to traditional snacks.
  • Include fish in soups and stews: This is an excellent way to enhance flavor and nutrition. Make a seafood chowder or add chunks of fish like cod or haddock to vegetable soup for a hearty meal.
  • Upgrade your sandwiches: Try a grilled fish sandwich with your favorite topping, or make a tuna melt for a quick and satisfying meal.

To maximize the health benefits of fish, opt for cooking methods like baking, grilling or steaming rather than frying your fish, which can add unhealthy fats. When seasoning or cooking, limit the use of butter and use healthier alternatives like olive oil or lemon juice to enhance flavor. Consider the overall composition of your meal by balancing your fish with a variety of colorful vegetables and whole grains, ensuring a well-rounded intake of essential nutrients and fiber.

Lauren Manaker is a dietitian and author.

🥗 Healthy eating

Catastrophic destruction covers 400 miles

ABC News

Hurricane Helene by the numbers: Catastrophic destruction covers 400 miles

Meredith Deliso – September 30, 2024

After making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday night as a major Category 4 hurricane, Helene has caused catastrophic storm surge, wind damage and inland flooding across a wide swath of the South.

Here’s a look at the storm by the numbers, as impacted communities continue to gain a fuller picture of the deadly destruction.

PHOTO: A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, N.C., Sept. 29, 2024. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
PHOTO: A drone view shows a damaged area, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, N.C., Sept. 29, 2024. (Marco Bello/Reuters)
Category 4

Helene was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend region on record, making landfall near Perry, Florida, as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds.

400 miles

Helene left a widespread path of destruction across the Southeast — from Florida’s Big Bend to Asheville, North Carolina, nearly 400 miles from where the storm made landfall.

PHOTO: A damaged 100-year-old home is seen after an Oak tree landed on it after Hurricane Helene moved through the area Sept. 27, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (Mike Stewart/AP)
PHOTO: A damaged 100-year-old home is seen after an Oak tree landed on it after Hurricane Helene moved through the area Sept. 27, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (Mike Stewart/AP)

MORE: Hurricane Helene live updates: 120 dead, including 35 in Asheville area

Over 130 dead

At least 132 people have been killed by Helene in six states — Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — the Associated Press reported Monday.

Forty people are dead in hard-hit Buncombe County, North Carolina, which encompasses Asheville, according to county officials. Another 600 remain unaccounted for in the county amid widespread power and cell service outages, officials said.

In Unicoi County in Tennessee, at least 73 people remained unaccounted for as of Sunday morning, local officials said.

More than 30 inches of rain
PHOTO: Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, NC, Sept. 28, 2024. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
PHOTO: Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, NC, Sept. 28, 2024. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Helene, and a separate system earlier in the week, dumped more than 30 inches of rain on North Carolina and produced the biggest local flooding in recorded history.

The flooding in western North Carolina surpassed records that stood for more than a century. The French Broad River in Asheville peaked at 24.67 feet, breaking the previous record of 23.1 feet from July 1916.

Elsewhere, Georgia saw a historic 11 inches of rainfall from the combination of Hurricane Helene and a storm earlier in the week.

PHOTO: Illustration (ABC News, NWS)
PHOTO: Illustration (ABC News, NWS)

MORE: PHOTOS: Hurricane Helene makes landfall in the South

15-foot storm surge

The storm surge was more than 15 feet above ground level in parts of Florida, including Keaton Beach and Steinhatchee, both in Taylor County, and Horseshoe Beach in Dixie County.

Record storm surge also hit the Tampa Bay area, with 7.2 feet reported in Tampa East Bay — beating a record of 4.56 feet set in 2023.

Over 20 reported tornadoes

There were more than 20 reported tornadoes across five states — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia — amid the storm.

In Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 15 people were injured — including four seriously — after a tornado tore through the city on Friday, the National Weather Service said.

PHOTO: Debris and smashed vehicles are scattered across a parking lot near Hing Ta Restaurant after a tornado hit Rocky Mount, N.C., Sept. 27, 2024. (City of Rocky Mount via AP)
PHOTO: Debris and smashed vehicles are scattered across a parking lot near Hing Ta Restaurant after a tornado hit Rocky Mount, N.C., Sept. 27, 2024. (City of Rocky Mount via AP)
400 roads closed in 1 state

In North Carolina, extreme floods washed away homes and bridges. At one point, authorities closed 400 roads, deeming them unsafe for travel, state officials said.

As of Monday, travel in western North Carolina should only be for emergencies, as hundreds of Helene-related road issues persisted, officials said.

In Florida, emergency responders had to bulldoze 4 to 5 feet of sand off roads in the wake of Helene, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday while updating that all state roads were expected to have reopened by the end of the day.

4 million customers

More than 4 million customers lost power across the South on Friday in the wake of Helene.

Nearly 2 million customers, from Florida to Ohio, were still without power as of Monday afternoon.

MORE: How to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene: Charities, organizations to support relief efforts

Thousands of rescues
PHOTO: An airboat transporting residents rescued from flood waters due to storm surge due from Hurricane Helene is seen Sept. 27, 2024 in Crystal River,Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA via Shutterstock)
PHOTO: An airboat transporting residents rescued from flood waters due to storm surge due from Hurricane Helene is seen Sept. 27, 2024 in Crystal River,Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA via Shutterstock)More

Thousands of successful rescue missions were reported in Florida, DeSantis said Monday.

In North Carolina, more than 200 people had been rescued from floodwaters amid Helene, Gov. Roy Cooper said Saturday. Over 150 rescues were performed in Buncombe County alone, officials said.

In Tennessee’s Unicoi County, 54 patients and staff were rescued via helicopter on Friday after getting trapped on the roof of a hospital amid swiftly rising floodwaters.

ABC News’ Melissa Griffin and Max Golembo contributed to this report.

Hurricane Helene left millions without power. Here’s how electricity outages can impact your health.

Yahoo! Life

Hurricane Helene left millions without power. Here’s how electricity outages can impact your health.

Kaitlin Reilly – September 28, 2024

You may want to toss the food in your fridge after a power outage, according to experts.
You may want to toss the food in your fridge after a power outage, according to experts. (Getty Creative)Olga Pankova via Getty Images

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways

Hurricane Helene killed at least 50 people and left more than 4.8 million utility customers without power in the Southeastern U.S. on Friday.

Though it is not often considered the top safety risk of hurricanes, power outages can have major implications for one’s health and pose an additional threat to those who are recovering from the natural disaster. Here’s what to know, and how to keep yourself and your family safe.

Heat-related illness

Power outages mean no ability to run an air conditioning system in one’s home, and widespread loss of power in a community means there are no public cooling centers to escape the heat.

This is particularly a problem during summer storms in hot, humid climates, such as Texas, which faced severe challenges when Hurricane Beryl hit in July 2024. The hurricane’s impact led to significant outages and resulted in multiple heat-related deaths.

If you are dealing with heat issues during a power outage, it’s important to stay inside and out of the sun as much as possible, stay hydrated and not exert yourself. If safe water is available (it’s possible for power outages to disrupt water purification and other means of maintaining usable water) you can dampen your clothes to keep cool in the absence of air conditioning.

Also, keep an eye out for signs of heat-related illness, such as headaches, dizziness, excessive sweating, rapid heartbeat, nausea and confusion, which may require medical attention.

Food safety

Health standards state that food must not be in the zone of 40°F to 140°F for more than two hours to avoid harmful bacteria from growing. When your power goes out, however, so does the cooling mechanism in your refrigerator, which keeps food safe at below that 40°F mark.

While your fridge will keep food cool for some time (the U.S. Department of Agriculture advises that a properly working fridge should keep food safe for approximately four hours after a power outage), the longer you go without power, the more likely it is that your food will spoil.

This is particularly a problem for people who are unaware of how long their power has been out. If you return home unaware that your food has spoiled due to a power outage in your now-working fridge, you may inadvertently put yourself at risk for foodborne illness. Experts previously told Yahoo Life that you are safest throwing away meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers after you learn of a power outage for this reason.

One trick in order to tell how long your fridge may have been without power is to keep a cup of frozen water in your freezer with a coin on top of the ice, Jill Roberts, a food safety expert and associate professor at the University of South Florida, told Yahoo Life. If it melts, the coin drops to the bottom — so, whether or not it re-freezes, you’ll know a little more about the inner workings of your fridge.

Medical devices

Some people rely on medical devices that are powered by electricity, such as CPAP machines for sleep apnea, insulin pumps for diabetes or nebulizers for respiratory conditions. When the power goes out, so too, can your ability to use these machines.

If you have a device that is compatible, keeping a portable battery charged and on hand during these scenarios can buy you time while you wait for the power to return. You may also want to consider a backup generator in your home for emergency scenarios.

It’s also important to keep information about your local hospitals and clinics nearby during a crisis, so you can reach out for assistance.

Medication

Many medications, such as insulin for managing diabetes, need to be kept at a cool temperature — which can be impossible when the power goes out. In this case, it’s important to have a plan in place for storing medications. This could include using coolers with ice packs, if you are able to freeze them in advance, in order to maintain the necessary temperature.

If you rely on medications that need to stay cool, it’s important to talk to your pharmacist or doctor about how long they can be safely stored without refrigeration and what steps to take if you lose power.

It’s also worth noting that, in an emergency situation, you may be able to get medication you need from a hospital or urgent care center should yours no longer be viable due to temperatures.

Scientists looked deep beneath the Doomsday Glacier. What they found spells potential disaster for the planet

CNN

Scientists looked deep beneath the Doomsday Glacier. What they found spells potential disaster for the planet

Laura Paddison – September 20, 2024

Scientists using ice-breaking ships and underwater robots have found the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is melting at an accelerating rate and could be on an irreversible path to collapse, spelling catastrophe for global sea level rise.

Since 2018, a team of scientists forming the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, has been studying Thwaites — often dubbed the “Doomsday Glacier” — up close to better understand how and when it might collapse.

Their findings, set out across a collection of studies, provide the clearest picture yet of this complex, ever-changing glacier. The outlook is “grim,” the scientists said in a report published Thursday, revealing the key conclusions of their six years of research.

They found rapid ice loss is set to speed up this century. Thwaites’ retreat has accelerated considerably over the past 30 years, said Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey and part of the ITGC team. “Our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster,” he said.

The scientists project Thwaites and the Antarctic Ice Sheet could collapse within 200 years, which would have devastating consequences.

Thwaites holds enough water to increase sea levels by more than 2 feet. But because it also acts like a cork, holding back the vast Antarctic ice sheet, its collapse could ultimately lead to around 10 feet of sea level rise, devastating coastal communities from Miami and London to Bangladesh and the Pacific Islands.

Photograph of the high cliffs of Thwaites Glacier taken from the British Antarctic Survey Twin Otter aircraft. - Rob Larter
Photograph of the high cliffs of Thwaites Glacier taken from the British Antarctic Survey Twin Otter aircraft. – Rob Larter

Scientists have long known Florida-sized Thwaites was vulnerable, in part because of its geography. The land on which it sits slopes downwards, meaning as it melts, more ice is exposed to relatively warm ocean water.

Yet previously, relatively little was understood about the mechanisms behind its retreat. “Antarctica remains the biggest wild card for understanding and forecasting future sea level rise,” ITGC scientists said in a statement.

Over the last six years, the scientists’ range of experiments sought to bring more clarity.

They sent a torpedo-shaped robot called Icefin to Thwaites’ grounding line, the point at which the ice rises up from the seabed and starts to float, a key point of vulnerability.

The first clip of Icefin swimming up to the grounding line was emotional, said Kiya Riverman, a glaciologist at the University of Portland. “For glaciologists, I think this had the emotional impact that perhaps the moon landing had on the rest of society,” she said at a new conference. “It was a big deal. We were seeing this place for the first time.”

Through images Icefin beamed back, they discovered the glacier is melting in unexpected ways, with warm ocean water able to funnel through deep cracks and “staircase” formations in the ice.

Image of Icefin under the sea ice near McMurdo Station. - Rob Robbins/ITGC
Image of Icefin under the sea ice near McMurdo Station. – Rob Robbins/ITGC

Another study used satellite and GPS data to look at the impacts of the tides and found seawater was able to push more than 6 miles beneath Thwaites, squeezing warm water under the ice and causing rapid melting.

Yet more scientists delved into Thwaites’ history. A team including Julia Wellner, a professor at the University of Houston, analyzed marine sediment cores to reconstruct the glacier’s past and found it started retreating rapidly in the 1940s, likely triggered by a very strong El Niño event — a natural climate fluctuation which tends to have a warming impact.

These results “teach us broadly about ice behavior, adding more detail than is available by just looking at the modern ice,” Wellner told CNN.

Among the gloom, there was also some good news about one process which scientists fear could cause rapid melting.

There is a concern that if Thwaites’ ice shelves collapse, it will leave towering cliffs of ice exposed to the ocean. These tall cliffs could easily become unstable and tumble into the ocean, exposing yet taller cliffs behind them, with the process repeating again and again.

Computer modeling, however, showed while this phenomenon is real, the chances of it happening are less likely than previously feared.

The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica - NASA/Reuters
The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica – NASA/Reuters

That’s not to say Thwaites is safe.

The scientists predict the whole of Thwaites and the Antarctic Ice Sheet behind it could be gone in the 23rd Century. Even if humans stop burning fossil fuels rapidly — which is not happening — it may be too late to save it.

While this stage of the ITGC project is wrapping up, the scientists say far more research is still needed to figure out this complex glacier and to understand if its retreat is now irreversible.

“While progress has been made, we still have deep uncertainty about the future,” said Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the University of California, Irvine and part of ITGC. “I remain very worried that this sector of Antarctica is already in a state of collapse.”

Scientists warn grocery shelves may soon be missing pantry-staple food because of poor crop conditions: ‘Emphasizing the importance of sustainable farming’

The Cool Down

Scientists warn grocery shelves may soon be missing pantry-staple food because of poor crop conditions: ‘Emphasizing the importance of sustainable farming’

Susan Elizabeth Turek – August 22, 2024

Strawberries are synonymous with the start of longer days and warmer weather, served up on tables as part of popular summer desserts. But scientists are warning this popular staple may be harder to come by soon because of warming global temperatures.

What’s happening?

A study from the University of Waterloo predicts that strawberry yields could see a dramatic reduction of 40% if temperatures rise by just 3 degrees Fahrenheit. This potentially threatens an industry that brought in more than $3 billion to the United States economy in 2022, according to a media release from the university.

Farmers in California could be hit particularly hard by changes in the industry. The analysis notes that the Golden State grows more than 80% of the country’s fresh strawberries.

According to the release, the data model provided “the most accurate findings to date” after linking air temperature anomalies to strawberry yields.

Why is this important?

While it isn’t too late to lower average temperatures, the Earth has been warming at an accelerated rate since the preindustrial era. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 10 hottest years on record all occurred in the past decade.

It isn’t uncommon for extreme weather events to occur from time to time — and natural weather patterns such as El Niño and La Niña make them more likely to occur in certain regions. However, scientists overwhelmingly agree that supercharged weather events are one of the effects of warming temperatures primarily linked to the burning of dirty fuels such as coal, oil, and gas.

Watch now: These high-tech roads wirelessly charge your car as you drive

“This research shows how climate change can directly impact the foods we love, emphasizing the importance of sustainable farming practices to maintain a stable food supply for everyone,” Department of Systems Design Engineering postdoctoral fellow Dr. Poornima Unnikrishnan said in the University of Waterloo’s media release.

Other popular products that have become more scarce or expensive amid challenging weather conditions include chocolate, olive oil, and tomato-based items such as ketchup.

What can be done about reduced food yields?

The University of Waterloo researchers advocated for the continued adoption of sustainable farming practices to ensure there are no severe disruptions in the global food supply, and they believe their analysis can help.

“We hope the better understanding of the influence of rising temperatures on crop yield will help in the development of sustainable agriculture responses from the government and farmers,” Dr. Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam said in the media release. “There is an urgent need for farmers to adopt new strategies to cope with global warming.”

The Waterloo team also listed existing strategies that have been successful in varying climates, including drip irrigation (which more effectively delivers water to plants’ roots) and shading structures to protect crops from extreme heat.

Agrivoltaics is one such solution to the latter recommendation. Not only do the solar panels provide clean, low-cost energy to farmers, but they also aid crop productivity.

Cancer rates in millennials, Gen X-ers have risen starkly in recent years, study finds. Experts have 1 prime suspect.

Yahoo! Life

Cancer rates in millennials, Gen X-ers have risen starkly in recent years, study finds. Experts have 1 prime suspect.

Natalie Rahhal, Health and Wellness Writer – July 31, 2024

Rates of 17 cancers have been rising among each generation since the baby boomers, new research suggests. (Getty Images)
Rates of 17 cancers have been rising among each generation since the baby boomers, with more young people being diagnosed below age 50 than in the past, new research suggests. (Getty Images)

Experts are sounding the alarm as rates of 17 types of cancer in millennials and Gen X-ers have risen dramatically in recent years, a new study shows. For certain cancers, people born in 1990 face two-to-three times the risks that those born in 1955 did, according to the research published in the journal Lancet Public Health. The findings echo the recent worrying rise in young people developing colorectal cancer, but add more forms of the disease to the list of concerns.

It’s too soon to say what is driving the increase in what experts call “early onset” cancers, but they warn that it’s not just due to better screening; people are dying of these diseases at rates and ages not seen in their parents’ generations.

Here’s what to know about the generational risk of cancer and what you can do to reduce yours.

What did the new study find?

Researchers with the American Cancer Society (ACS) assessed rates of 34 different cancers among those born between 1920 and 1990, based on how many were diagnosed with or died of the disease from 2000 to 2019.

On average, the rates of 17 types of cancer, including pancreatic, breast and gastric cancer, have risen with each new generation since 1920, the study found. Previous ACS research had shown that rates of 11 cancers, including pancreatic, colorectal, kidney, uterine and testicular cancer, had been increasing among young adults. The new study added eight more types of cancer to that list:

  • Gastric cardia cancer (a cancer of the stomach lining)
  • Cancer of the small intestine
  • Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Liver and bile duct cancer
  • Non-HPV-associated oral and pharynx cancer (only in women)
  • Anal cancer (only in men)
  • Kaposi sarcoma (a cancer of the blood vessel lining and lymph nodes, only in men)

Rates doubled or even tripled for some of these cancers, including kidney, pancreatic and small intestine cancers, in people of either gender. For women, liver cancer incidence has increased two- to threefold since the 1920s. Even cancers that seemed to be in decline for baby boomers and other older generations — including some breast cancers and testicular cancer — are now a greater risk again to millennials and Gen X-ers, the study found.

More young people are dying of some of these cancers as well; mortality from colorectal, gallbladder, testicular and uterine cancers has increased over the generations, as has the fatality rate of liver cancer, but only for women. “That really stood out because the concurrent increase in mortality [and diagnoses] suggests that what we see is not just an artifact due to potentially more frequent screening and diagnosis,” lead study author and senior principal scientist of surveillance and health equity science with ACS, Hyuna Sung, tells Yahoo Life. “Instead, it indicates a genuine increase in risk, with the increases in incidence sufficient to outpace improvements” in diagnostics and treatment.

Why is this happening?

While the new study doesn’t answer why this is happening, Sung and other experts have a prime suspect in their sights: obesity. Ten out of 17 of the cancers that are becoming more common over the generations have been linked to obesity, the study authors noted.

Research to suss out exactly how obesity might contribute to or cause cancer is ongoing, but there are some leading theories, Timothy Rebbeck, professor of cancer prevention at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, tells Yahoo Life. “When someone is obese, a lot of things change in the body, including chronic inflammation that leads to years and years worth of damage to cells and tissues in the body, which can lead to cancer,” he explains.

According to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, it may not be a person’s body mass index (BMI) directly; rather changes to insulin sensitivity and an increase in certain hormones might fuel out-of-control cell growth and, in turn, lead to cancer.

Coinciding rises in obesity and cancer rates, especially among young adults, suggest that the problem may begin in childhood or perhaps even before people are born, says Rebbeck. “That process of damage to your cells is starting earlier and earlier, so if there’s a 20-year lag from this obesity exposure and it starts at age 10, it’s in your 30s or 40s when cancer risk arises,” he hypothesizes. The timelines also suggest there may be other early life environmental exposures, including factors like antibiotic use or diet that may alter your gut bacteria, which may influence a person’s cancer risk.

What you can do to reduce your risks

While the findings are alarming, experts say not to worry too much. Here’s why: “Cancers diagnosed before age 50 are still relatively rare,” Rebbeck says. Only about 350 out of every 100,000 cases of cancer diagnosed each year are found in people between ages 45 and 49, according to the National Cancer Institute. “It’s not something that people need to start panicking about … but we want people to be informed and start doing things that might have an impact,” says Rebbeck.

That just means making straightforward changes to live the healthiest lifestyle you can and reduce your cancer risks, experts say, by doing your best to maintain a healthy body weight, exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet low in ultra-processed foods and red meat and high in plants and fish like salmon, drinking minimally and not smoking. “None of these things are easy, but they are the things we can recommend,” Rebbeck says.

It’s also important to know your family history and see a health care provider if you notice any changes that could be early warning signs of cancer. For young people, there are “unique symptoms” of some cancers, such as colorectal cancers, including “fatigue, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, or unexplained weight loss, which are really considered red flags for early onset cancer,” says Sung.

New research suggests major change in China’s air pollution may have kick-started bizarre effects: ‘It will give us surprises’

The Cool Down

New research suggests major change in China’s air pollution may have kick-started bizarre effects: ‘It will give us surprises’

Leo Collis – July 30, 2024

In the global battle against harmful air pollution, China is both a leader in production and reduction.

According to the 2023 Global Carbon Budget, shared by Our World in Data, the country was responsible for annual carbon dioxide pollution of over nine billion tons from coal in 2022. The next highest polluter, India, was responsible for two billion.

However, government controls on dirty fuel industries have resulted in a 70% reduction in aerosol emissions over the last 10 years, as Yale Environment 360 detailed.

It’s a slightly confusing state of affairs. What’s more confusing, though, is how that aerosol reduction has impacted ocean warming.

What’s happening?

According to analysis published by PNAS and shared by Yale Environment 360, improvements made in reducing air pollution by China have led to warming effects in the Pacific Ocean.

The decline in smog particles has offered less shading protection from the sun’s rays, which has increased the rate of ocean warming and set off a chain reaction of atmospheric events.

Watch now: Climate expert explains why there’s ‘no question’ human activity causes global temperature changes

As Yale Environment 360 detailed, aerosols can deter around a third of the warming that’s caused by greenhouse gases — which are different from aerosols as they trap heat rather than shade it.

Why is ocean warming concerning?

Since 2013, the Pacific Ocean has been witnessing a warming event known as “The Blob,” which periodically increases water temperatures between California and Alaska by as much as seven degrees Fahrenheit.

This has led to toxic algal blooms, reductions of fish stocks, sea lion displacement, and the forcing of whales into shipping lanes in the hunt for food, among other issues, according to Yale Environment 360.

The analysis suggests that the aerosol reduction in China is at least partly responsible for “The Blob.” Despite these negative effects, cutting the production of aerosol is still an important factor in curbing overall air pollution.

“Aerosol reductions will perturb the climate system in ways we have not experienced before,” atmospheric scientist at Texas A&M University Yangyang Xu, who was not involved in the study, told Yale Environment 360. “It will give us surprises.”

What can be done about rising ocean temperatures?

As Fred Pearce of Yale Environment 360 noted: “To be clear, nobody — but nobody — suggests that we should stop the cleanup of aerosols. The death toll would just be too great.”

The World Health Organization says that outdoor air pollution was responsible for 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019, and aerosols are a key contributor to that statistic.

With that in mind, Michael Diamond from Florida State University, an expert on aerosols and climate, has suggested that reducing methane immediately would mitigate against the warming created in the absence of aerosols.

According to NASA, around 60% of the world’s methane pollution is caused by human activities. Agriculture, landfills, and burning dirty energy are among the leading producers of this harmful gas, which is 28 times more potent in terms of planet-warming potential than carbon dioxide.

So, cutting our consumption of meat and dairy, keeping as many items from heading to landfills as possible, and ramping up the production of electricity from renewable sources are essential to keep methane levels down. If we can do that, we can offset the unusual heating effects that cleaning up aerosols is having on our oceans without compromising human health.

Want to earn extra money through a side hustle? Here’s why 1 in 3 Americans do it.

USA Today

Want to earn extra money through a side hustle? Here’s why 1 in 3 Americans do it.

Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY – July 27, 2024

The gig economy is still big in the U.S. and growing.

More than a third (36%) of U.S. adults are working a side hustle – earning money in addition to their main source of income – according to a new Bankrate survey. They are earning more than they did last year, with the average side hustler making $891 a month, up from $810 last year.

Though the number of respondents who said they had a side hustle was down slightly from last year’s 39%, it is way up from 2019 when Bankrate first started surveying respondents about their extra gigs, Ted Rossman, Bankrate senior industry analyst, told USA TODAY. By comparison, in 2019, 19% of respondents said they had a side hustle.

“More people are side hustling because of inflation and because of high interest rates,” Rossman said. “Technology has made it easier as well. A lot of people are doing work from home and things online and via various mobile apps.”

Updated numbers are not widely available, but in 2018, Marketdata estimated the gig and side hustle market at $2.58 trillion. That year, analysts thought 36% of the U.S. workforce of 160 million already had an extra gig job. That number was forecasted to grow by more than 50% by 2027 to 83 million Americans working a side hustle.

And then Covid happened.

More than a third of Americans, or 36%, are working a side hustle, such as dog walking, according to a new Bankrate survey.
More than a third of Americans, or 36%, are working a side hustle, such as dog walking, according to a new Bankrate survey.

The number of people who picked up a side hustle spiked during the pandemic, said Bryce Colburn, lead editor covering small businesses for USA TODAY/Blueprint, a personal finance content partner to USA TODAY.

Colburn, whose journalists have written several stories about side hustles, said that while he can’t say the side hustle industry grew directly because of COVID-19, the spike in the number of people who had side hustles during and after the pandemic is pretty clear.

“Remote work has definitely been a huge factor in the growing of side hustles,” Colburn said. “We now have technology to do remote work, which then means that now if you’re home, you also can work on other things.”

Who is doing side hustles?

All ages are taking on side hustles, but more millennials and Gen Zers seem to have side hustles, Colburn said.

Colburn’s observation matches results from Bankrate’s study: Gen Zers (ages 18-27) had the highest number of people with a side hustle (48%) compared with millennials (ages 28-43) with 44%. Among Gen Xers (ages 44-59), 33% had an extra job, while 23% of baby boomers (ages 60-78) said they had a side gig.

Parents of children under 18 are more likely to have a side hustle (45%) than adults without children (36%) or those with adult children (28%), according to the survey.

Some workers may even be doing their side hustle during their remote full-time job, Colbun said.

Here’s some more highlights from Bankrate’s study:

  • More people started side hustles after 2022: More than half or 52% of side hustlers started less than two years ago.
  • Side hustlers spend their money differently: 37% use some of their money from gigs on discretionary spending; 36% use the extra cash for day-to-day expenses; 31% put some money into savings; and 20% use the income to pay down debt.
  • Side hustling isn’t temporary: 32% of respondents think they’ll always need an extra job to pay the bills.
How much are people making from side hustles?

Nearly two-thirds of side hustlers, or 63% in the Bankrate survey, said they are making more than $100 a month, and more than 1 in 4 respondents, or 28%, are making more than $500 a month.

Younger generations and men are more likely to have a side hustle, and make more. Millennial side hustlers report making an average $1,129 a month, and Gen Zers make $958. Gen Xers make $751 and baby boomers make $561 a month.

The gender pay gap is also alive in the gig economy: Only a slightly higher percentage of men (38%) have side hustles compared with women (33%), but men make an average of $1,034 a month, while women average $735 a month.

A food delivery worker looks at his mobile phone while carrying items to be delivered at a mall in Beijing on July 10, 2024.
A food delivery worker looks at his mobile phone while carrying items to be delivered at a mall in Beijing on July 10, 2024.
Why are people taking side hustle jobs?

High inflation and rising housing costs, in addition to regular monthly bills and the desire to travel and save money, are causing more people to look to side hustles, Rossman said. “Americans are still finding that one job isn’t enough. The cost of living has risen sharply in recent years,” he said.

But Rossman said he also takes with a grain of salt the study statistic saying 32% of people with a side hustle felt they’d always need it to make ends meet.

“Most of these people are relatively new to it, and yet they’re saying they think they need to do it forever,” he said, since more than half have had a side hustle for two years or less. “Maybe things won’t be as bad as people fear.”

Still, “it’s very much a spending story,” he said. “Last year, it was all about day-to-day expense … “This year, it’s more fun spending and ‘I’m going to side hustle to take a nice vacation or splurge on some electronics’ or something like that.”

Colburn said his reporters were surprised to find that while many side hustlers said they were doing the extra job because they needed the money, “50% of people say that they’re doing it for fun and not for money.”

Side hustles: Why do women look for freelance, gig jobs? Avoiding the ‘old boys network’ at the office.

What are some of the best side or most popular gigs?

Side jobs that involve e-commerce, such as eBay or Etsy or using social media to funnel people to an e-commerce platform are popular, Colburn said.

Meanwhile, some of the easiest side hustles, according to Blueprint, are house sitting, dog walking, freelance work and grocery delivery. Blueprint also suggested some side jobs to avoid, such as online survey taker, ride-share driver and mystery shopper, saying they may not pay enough for the time invested.

Colburn also said it’s important for side hustlers to understand how their taxes are affected by their extra gigs.

A lot of people don’t realize that they have to pay taxes on anything more than $400 earned from a second job or that a successful side gig could push you into a higher tax bracket, he said.

Rossman said he believes the number of people doing side hustles will continue to grow, especially as the workforce continues to change and people either choose to job-hop or can’t maintain job stability.

Some people may also turn their side hustle into a passion project or even their next full-time job, he said.

Rossman gave a final bit of advice: if you are going to do a side hustle, walk before you run.

“I think a side hustle is a great way to drum up some extra money, maybe pay off credit card debt,” he said. “But be wary of things that require a big upfront investment. Sometimes they can be an outright scam … other times it’s maybe a multilevel marketing thing where you have to stock up on a bunch of inventory.

“Explore it first, take it for a test drive … prove out the concept before you dive headlong into it.”

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. 

Recycling Is Broken. Should I Even Bother?

Every little bit helps. But doing it wrong can actually make matters worse.

By Winston Choi – Schagrin – June 17, 2024

A colorful illustration of two hands holding a jumble of household items including a can, a magazine, a wine bottle and a shampoo bottle. The background is hot pink and the items are framed by a green “chasing arrows” recycling symbol.
Credit…Naomi Anderson – Subryan

Recycling can have big environmental benefits. For one thing, it keeps unwanted objects out of landfills or incinerators, where they can produce potent greenhouse gasses and potentially hazardous pollutants.

Even more important, recycling allows us to extract fewer resources. The amount of energy required to recycle aluminum, for example, is less than 5 percent of the energy needed to mine new ore from the ground. Similarly, the more paper we recycle, the fewer trees we cut down.

But recycling rates in the United States have remained stubbornly flat for years. And, in some cases, they’re dismal. Just 10 percent of plastics are actually recycled. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of tons of recyclable waste are exported, often to developing countries.

It’s no wonder a lot of readers have asked us whether individual efforts make any difference at all. To answer that question, it helps to understand how the system works and how people use it.

The way the system is set up, recycling is a business. And our recyclables — metals, paper, and plastics — are commodities.

When you throw something into the blue bin, whether it’s recyclable or not, it gets carted off to a sorting plant where it runs along a conveyor belt and gets grouped with similar items. Then, the recyclable stuff is bundled. The process is labor-intensive.

One of the biggest challenges is that companies don’t want their material contaminated with things they don’t recycle or can’t recycle. The more random stuff that goes into a sorting plant, the more work facilities need to do to weed it out. And that increases costs.

Once that’s done, if the plant can find a buyer at a price that makes sense, the bundles will be shipped off to a recycling plant. Sometimes a local one, and sometimes one as far away as Africa or Southeast Asia. If they can’t, everything goes into a landfill or gets incinerated.

Recycling metals makes a lot of sense from an economic perspective, for the reasons outlined above. It’s just a lot cheaper than scraping ore from the ground. And, metals like aluminum can be endlessly recycled.

It also makes environmental sense. Mining contaminates soil and waterways. Recycling aluminum cans requires just a small fraction of the energy and water that mining does.

And recycling paper helps keep forests intact. Paper packaging accounts for around 10 percent of global logging, according to the forest conservation group Canopy. We save water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions when we recycle compared with products made from new pulp.

With glass and plastics, however, things start to get complicated.

Although intact glass is endlessly recyclable (the process has been around since Roman times) it often gets crushed or damaged on its way to sorting facilities, lowering its quality and sometimes rendering it unusable.

And “plastics” is an umbrella term for a seemingly endless number of different compounds with different chemicals and additives that can determine every attribute from color to stiffness.

That’s a problem for recyclers. Different kinds of plastic can’t be melted down together, so they have to be painstakingly, and expensively, sorted by color and composition.

Also: Plastics, if recycled at all, are usually “downcycled” into garden furniture or plastic fiber for insulation, after which it’s no longer recyclable. Recycling plastics again and again isn’t usually possible.

The result is that manufacturers often opt for new plastic, made from the plentiful byproducts of oil and gas, because it’s cheaper and easier.

One way to improve recycling is to regulate what can be sold in the first place. Almost three dozen countries in Africa have banned single-use plastics. And 170 countries have pledged to “significantly reduce” the use of plastics by 2030.

Another way is with technology, said Cody Marshall, the chief system optimization officer at The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit organization. More sorting plants are adopting better optical scanners that can detect a greater variety of plastics. (That technology is improving, but it’s still imperfect.)

When you do buy things, consider whether you can recycle the packaging. When choosing drinks, metal containers are generally better than plastics. When you shop online, you can sometimes ask for less packaging, as with Amazon’s “frustration-free” option. And remember the first two Rs: reduce and reuse.

Although these are small things you can do, the reality is that recycling’s challenges are systemic.

So, is it worth the effort?

In theory, every item you recycle can keep resources in the ground, avoid greenhouse gases and help keep the environment healthy. And that’s all good.

“The value is in displacing virgin materials,” said Reid Lifset, a research scholar at Yale’s School of the Environment.

But here’s the critical part: Don’t wish-cycle.

Follow the instructions provided by your local hauler. If you throw in stuff they don’t want, the effort needed to weed it out makes it less likely that anything will get recycled at all.

Freedom’s Just Another Word for Not Paying Taxes

By Paul Krugman, Opinion Columnist  – June 10, 2024

An American flag being flown upside-down next to the flag of the Heritage Foundation.
Outside the Heritage Foundation in Washington on May 31.Credit…Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press

After Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, the Heritage Foundation — a right-wing think tank that has, among other things, produced the Project 2025 agenda, a blueprint for policy if Trump wins — flew an upside-down American flag, which has become an emblem for support of MAGA in general and election denial in particular.

This action may have shocked some old-line conservatives who still thought of Heritage as a serious institution, but Heritage is, after all, just a think tank. It’s not as if upside-down flags were being flown by people we expect to defend our constitutional order, like Supreme Court justices.

Oh, wait.

But Heritage’s embrace of what amounts to an attack on democracy is a useful symbol of one of the really troubling developments of this election as it heads into the final stretch. Heritage presents itself as a defender of freedom, but its real mission has always been to produce arguments — frequently based on shoddy research — for low taxes on rich people. And its tacit endorsement of lawlessness illustrates the way many of America’s plutocrats — both in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street — have, after flirting with the crank candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., been rallying around Trump.

Why would billionaires support Trump? It’s not as if they’ve done badly under President Biden. Stock prices — which Trump predicted would crash if he lost in 2020 — have soared. High interest rates, which are a burden on many Americans, are if anything a net positive for wealthy people with money to invest. And I doubt that the superrich are suffering much from higher prices for fast food.

Wealthy Americans, though, are surely betting they’ll pay lower taxes if Trump wins.

Biden and his team have offered fairly explicit guidance about their tax agenda, which would directly raise taxes on high-income Americans and also raise corporate taxes, which would indirectly be mainly a tax on the wealthy. These measures wouldn’t produce taxes at the top remotely comparable to what they were during the Eisenhower years, when the top marginal income tax rate was 91 percent and large estates could face inheritance taxes as high as 77 percent. Still, Biden’s plans, if carried out, would make the rich a bit less rich.

Trump has been far less explicit, but he clearly wants to retain his 2017 tax cut in full, and his allies in Congress are committed not just to tax cuts but to starving the Internal Revenue Service of resources, which would allow more wealthy Americans to evade the taxes they legally owe.

So billionaires aren’t wrong in thinking they’ll pay less in taxes if Trump wins. But why aren’t they more concerned about the bigger picture?

After all, even if all you care about is money, Trump’s agenda should make you very worried. His advisers’ plans to deport millions of immigrants (supposedly only the undocumented, but do you really believe many legal residents wouldn’t get caught up in the dragnets?) would shrink the U.S. labor force and be hugely disruptive. His protectionist proposals (which would be very different from Biden’s targeted measures) could mean an all-out global trade war. If he’s able to make good on them, his attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve risk much more serious inflation than anything we’ve experienced in recent years.

Beyond all that, Trump will almost certainly try to weaponize the justice system to go after his perceived enemies. Only someone completely ignorant of history would imagine himself safe from that kind of weaponization — even if Trump considers you an ally now, that can change in an instant.

And if you’ve been following Trump’s rantings, you know that his rhetoric is getting less rational and more vindictive by the week. Yet his support among billionaires seems if anything to be consolidating.

So what’s going on? Here’s what I think, although it’s admittedly speculative.

First, America’s oligarchs probably believe that their wealth and influence would protect them from the arbitrary exercise of power. Trump and company might turn corrupt law enforcement and a cowed judiciary against other people, but surely not them! By the time they realized how wrong they were, it would be too late.

As I’ve written before, the superrich can be remarkably obtuse and ignorant of history.

Second, at some level I don’t really think it’s about the money. How much difference does it make to a billionaire’s quality of life if he has to settle for a slightly smaller superyacht? At the top of the pyramid, wealth is largely about status and self-importance; as Tom Wolfe wrote long ago, it’s about “seeing ’em jump.”

And when politicians don’t jump, when they don’t treat the very wealthy with the deference and admiration they consider their due, some of them become enraged. We saw this when many Wall Streeters turned on President Barack Obama — after he helped bail them out in the financial crisis — because they felt insulted by his occasional criticisms.

Biden is hardly a class warrior, but he clearly doesn’t worship the superrich. And all too many of them are turning to Trump out of sheer pettiness.