An 8-year study among individuals 35 and older revealed a link between sugar substitutes and brain health. Those using artificial sweeteners showed a 62 percent faster decline in overall thinking and memorial skills. There was a 173 percent faster decline in verbal fluency, compared to non- or low users. The products tested included Aspartame, Erythritol, Sorbitol, Saccharin, Acesulfame K, Xylitol, and Tagatose. High-purity Stevia is an FDA-approved sugar substitute considered the safest. In spite of that, black coffee with no additives (perhaps except for cinnamon) is healthier, but if one needs a sweetener, regular table sugar is safer to use than artificial sweeteners. One teaspoon of table sugar has about 16 calories (4 grams of carbohydrates). Not that many calories, even for diabetics, drinking 1-3 cups of coffee a day.
Red meat and cancer
Our individual baseline lifetime risk for colon cancer is about 4 percent, without any added risk factors. Among red meat eaters, daily consumption of 50 grams of processed meat increases it by 18 percent. Processing meats “involves unhealthy transformation through salting, smoking, curing, not just cooking on your grill,” especially with super high heat, which makes even non-processed red meat carcinogenic. All ultra-processed food items and unhealthy and increase our risk for various illnesses, including cancer.
Soft drinks and depression
“Soft drink consumption is linked to a higher risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) and more severe symptoms in women, potentially due to alterations in the gut microbiome,” a new study showed.
Drinking soft drinks was associated with a 16.7% increased risk for MDD and more severe depressive symptoms in women. “This link was significantly mediated by changes in the gut microbiome, particularly an increased abundance of the bacterium Eggerthella, which explained 3.8% of the effect on diagnosis and 5.0% on symptom severity.” Consumption of soft drinks of any kind increases the risk for the development of metabolic syndrome, especially among our youngsters.
As underscored in my book “Let’s Stop ‘Killing’ Our Children” (amazon.com), parents have the serious responsibility to prevent their children from consuming soft drinks of any variety (as early as after infancy) to preempt the development of an “addiction” to this dangerous “liquid candy.”
Cannabis and lung cancer
A study at the Marie Lannelongue Hospital in Paris, France, revealed that cannabis use is associated with aggressive lung cancer. “We observed a high prevalence of cannabis use in this group of young patients with highly lethal lung cancer. 38% were cannabis smokers, with an average consumption of four joints per day over a median period of 26 years.”
The study reported “other lung conditions among cannabis smokers included more emphysema, including bullous emphysema, which increases the risk for pneumothorax. Pulmonary function tests revealed greater damage in gas diffusion than in tobacco smokers, even though their exposure to tobacco was similar. The study also found that cannabis smokers had a higher incidence of poor-prognosis cancers, such as poorly differentiated carcinomas and sarcomatoid carcinomas.”
Hair-loss drug and suicide
A commonly used hair-loss drug, finasteride, can cause depression and increase the risk for suicide, according to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. A public warning has been issued to this effect. Losing life is certainly more concerning and vital than losing hair.
Long COVID among MDs/RNs
Hundreds of thousands of physicians, nurses, and first responders have been infected by COVID-19 since 2020, and are now suffering from symptoms of Long COVID. Of the 1678 US healthcare workers studied, there were 7.7 percent (about 129) with Long COVID, and in another study in March 2023, the prevalence was 9.44 percent (445 cases). In the UK, 18 percent of workers were out due to this complication. Long COVID could be debilitating and disabling for a long time.
This is why we must prevent COVID-19 at all costs. Timely vaccination, boosters for new strains are important. Long COVID is a serious complication of the viral infection. Complication from the vaccines is a fraction of one percent, 100 times less than complications from the COVID-19 infection.
COVID-19 is still with us. While the number of cases is down (because more than 80 percent of the US population has been vaccinated), the hospitalization rate for the week ending October 4, 2025, was 8,500 nationally. For the week ending on September 20, 2025, COVID-19 accounted for 0.8 percent of all deaths in the United States.
If you have had your booster within the past 6 months, consult your physician about the new COVID-19 vaccine, and vaccines for influenza and RSV, especially if you are a senior. Remember, it’s best to stay away from COVID, especially Long COVID.
Beta blockers for women
New clinical research has found that beta blockers, like Propranolol, significantly reduce stress and anxiety among women. This is now considered the “go-to pills” for these debilitating conditions among women. To find out if these sanity-saver pills, consult with your healthcare provider.
Diet and the brain
A new study posted in the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health suggests a link between physical and cognitive symptoms of depression and a low-calorie diet for men and people with high BMI. There were 28,525 adult men in the study, which showed 2508 had self-reported depression following a low-calorie diet compared to those not on any special diet.
“The study low-calorie diet doesn’t always mean a healthy diet. Focusing on calories alone could omit nutrients that contribute to proper brain function, particularly for men, whose nutritional needs are greater… A low-calorie diet can contribute to depressive symptoms. Monitoring patients’ diet plans and emotional state can help ensure they are getting the proper nutrients for optimal health.”
This confirms what common sense has been warning us all along.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, US senator, and later a presidential candidate, Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, Astronaut Gus Grissom, pugilist Muhammad Ali, David Letterman, distinguished educators, scientists, etc. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com. On Amazon.com, search for “Where is My America?” Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
