Study: U.S. alcohol deaths have doubled since 1997

A separate study shows that binge drinkers are also ordering more rounds.

  • From 1997 to 2017, alcohol-related deaths among Americans aged 16 and older doubled from 35,914 to 72,558.
  • From 2011 to 2017, the average number of drinks consumed by binge-drinkers rose from 472 to 529.
  • A 2018 study showed that people who consume six or more drinks per week are more likely to die early.
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Sugar causes 'major changes' to brain’s reward systems, study says

The results suggest eating too much sugar can lead to a drug-like dependence.

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  • The study involved feeding pigs sugar water, in addition to a regular diet, for 12 days.
  • After 12 days, the researchers observed major changes in the pigs' dopamine and opioid systems.
  • The results also suggest that eating too much sugar can raise our tolerance for other substances.
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Is love an addiction?

Love triggers the same regions of your brain as cocaine addiction.

  • Studies have shown that romantic love, while often positive, activates basic brain regions that are also triggered by cocaine addiction.
  • Stalking, clinical depression, and even suicides have been attributed to love addictions.
  • For better or worse, everybody at some time in their life has been or will be addicted to love.
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A new study shows the neurological reason for obesity and how to combat it

It's all about the feeding window.

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  • A study at the University of Virginia Brain Institute links the brain's pleasure center with our biological clock.
  • The easy availability of high-calorie foods has created a long feeding window each day, leading to an increase in obesity.
  • To combat this trend, closing the feeding window, as with intermittent fasting, is proving important for optimal health.
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The 2020s: The decade of psychedelic breakthroughs?

Clinical studies are underway. How we treat them moving forward matters.

Photo credit: Joe Amon / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images
  • Michael Ehlers, a former executive at Biogen and Pfizer, has assumed an advisory role with Field Trip, a psychedelics research organization.
  • Ehlers has followed the science of psychedelics for more than a decade and is excited by the potential for therapeutic applications.
  • MDMA and psilocybin have been granted breakthrough therapy status by the FDA, signaling a shift in the future of mental health treatment.
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