More on Perimenopause + Other Stories
We’ve corralled all the best wellness reads for the week—just in time for your weekend bookmarking. This week: more drama from the Monsanto lawsuit, LENNY’s (blessedly funny) insights on menopause, and the story of monoculture in the banana industry.
Yes, Your Sleep Schedule Is Making You Sick
As it turns out, there’s lots of research tying depression to disruptions in our circadian rhythms, whether it be short-term, like jet lag, or long-term, like insomnia. Richard Freidman’s investigation addresses both, with a fascinating proposal to other psychiatrists to incorporate sleep therapy into their practices.
Emails Reveal Monsanto's Tactics to Defend Glyphosate Against Cancer Fears
An important California lawsuit against Monsanto has uncovered the lengths to which the company has gone to produce research defending the safety of RoundUp (aka glyphosate) in the face of accusations that the product has been associated with cancer risk.
Humans Made the Banana Perfect—but Soon, It'll Be Gone
An easy-to-follow illustration of the political, biological, and culinary dangers of monoculture, as told by the story of one beloved fruit.
The Truth Is out There (About Menopause)
We totally relate to Jennifer Nadel, who compares her experience asking older women about menopause to asking them about childbirth. While the nitty-gritty details of the experience are acute when you’re in the experience, many women block them out as menopause drifts further into their memory. (For more on perimenopause, revisit our story with Maggie Ney on the subject.)
The Scientist Harnessing 'Toxic Fat'
Important insights about diabetes and the difference between white and brown fat from a researcher who got into the field on a quest to save his father, a man diagnosed with the disease in his 40s despite an unusually healthy diet and exercise routine.
Antibiotic Overuse Might Be Bad for Bees
A study out this week reveals new insights about the effect of antibiotics on the microbiomes of bees. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot we can learn about our own gut health in the process.