Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times Health Brief for Sunday, March 2, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some really unique topics of interest to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
A new study suggests that using a very popular artificial sweetener could significantly impact your heart health; a different study reveals that during the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on two separate medications to treat the virus but neither of them were FDA approved for that purpose; and if you eat yogurt as part of your daily routine, you might just be lowering your risk of developing a certain type of cancer.
Also, dozens of states are asking the federal government to put a stop to the counterfeit weight loss drug supply chain, and new research links the amount of time that children spend on their electronic screens with deteriorating eyesight.
Popular Artificial Sweetener May Impact Heart Health
A recent study finds that ingesting aspartame triggers higher insulin levels in mice, thus increasing the risk of heart attacks and stroke.The mice were fed food that contained aspartame every day for 12 weeks, in an amount which corresponds to people drinking about three cans of diet soda each day. When compared to mice who ate food without artificial sweeteners, the aspartame-fed mice showed much higher levels of both fatty plaques in their arteries, as well as inflammation.
Additionally, the researchers discovered a surge in the insulin levels of the mice after aspartame entered their systems, suggesting that there may be a connection between the artificial sweetener and heart problems.
In essence, aspartame—which is 200 times sweeter than sugar—“tricks” the body into releasing insulin by activating the sweet taste receptors in your mouth and gut as if it were really sugar.
The study’s author says their team now intends to confirm their results by conducting studies on humans—normal folks like you and me.
Meanwhile, one nutritionist points out that all artificial sweeteners come with potential risks or side effects, and that drinking water is always your best option. Another dietician says that the best options for sweeteners are real foods like maple syrup, honey, and fruit.
Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine Use Soared During COVID-19 Pandemic
Researchers from the University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA) and other institutions say that nearly 3 million prescriptions for ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were issued during the pandemic, soaring nearly 1,000 percent higher than pre-pandemic sales. They also say that the total cost of those prescriptions was nearly $275 million.Additionally, the report showed that usage of the two drugs was three times higher in people aged 65 and older when compared with people who were between 18 and 64 years old.
According to the UCLA study, which looked at more than 8 million insured patients across the United States, the use of hydroxychloroquine peaked in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the use of ivermectin increased dramatically throughout both 2020 and 2021.
However, as COVID-19-specific medications, including Pfizer’s Paxlovid, became more widely available over the next couple of years, prescriptions for both hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin dropped by 93 percent.
For their part, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not authorized the use of either hydroxychloroquine, which is an anti-malaria drug; or ivermectin, which is approved as an anti-parasitic medication for animals, for use to treat COVID-19. However, some studies have shown that using both of these medications led to positive outcomes for some people who took the drugs when they had the virus.
One of the study’s authors says the findings underscore what he calls an “urgent need” to combat misinformation and mistrust in scientific institutions. He says that greater transparency regarding scientific uncertainty, as well as public funding for clinical trials of new drugs, are good places to begin.
Eating Yogurt May Lower Risk of Specific Colon Cancer
New research shows that people who ate at least two servings of yogurt weekly had a 20 percent lower rate of developing a certain kind of dangerous tumor which is located on the right side of the colon.The study used a detailed questionnaire to track the consumption of both plain and flavored yogurt in more than 130,000 health care professionals for nearly five decades.
While the study did not find a strong enough link between either type of yogurt and overall colorectal cancer risk, there was a distinct reduction in the development of what are called bifidobacterium-positive tumors.
So you know, bifidobacteria are beneficial bacteria that are commonly found in yogurt. Among other benefits, they aid in the digestion of dietary fiber and help prevent infections. Meanwhile, low levels of these bacteria have been linked to a number of health issues, including celiac disease, obesity, and diabetes.
This bacteria found in yogurt may help fight harmful bacteria, improve gut health, strengthen immunity, and lower the risk of colorectal cancer, which is usually more common in older adults but has been rising in younger adults as well.
The study’s authors point out that it has long been believed that both yogurt and other fermented milk products are beneficial for gastrointestinal health, and they say this new study confirms what’s been believed for a number of years.
38 Attorneys General Urge FDA to Offer Protection From Fake Weight Loss Drugs
A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 38 states is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect consumers from fake versions of weight loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, and to take “decisive action” against the bad actors who are making and selling them.They say that there are a number of ways the FDA can intervene, from inspections to enforcement actions, to help put an end to the illegal trade. Additionally, they say that a federal response is needed because many of these counterfeit drugs are shipped into the United States from China, Turkey, and India.
The attorneys general say that demand for legitimate versions of these medications has “sky-rocketed,” and that a combination of high costs and supply shortages has created an opportunity for wrongdoers to “cash in” by creating and selling counterfeit versions.
They also point out that these fake meds might contain contaminants, other unknown drugs, or dangerously high levels of active ingredients that can lead to serious side effects for consumers and in some cases, even hospitalization.
In a letter to the FDA, they say that without any prescriptions, retailers are illegally selling the ingredients used to make the medications directly to consumers, who don’t have adequate knowledge regarding how to use them safely. They also claim that some pharmacies are producing these medications on their own, cutting corners in pursuit of profits.
They’re asking the FDA to work alongside federal partners like the Department of Homeland Security to intercept these counterfeit drugs, warn the sellers to stop supplying them directly to consumers, and ramp up action against any pharmacies that are acting illegally.
Screen Time Linked to Increased Risk of Nearsightedness in Children
A recent study shows that even one hour of screen time per day significantly increases the risk of developing nearsightedness for children. The researchers also found that spending a second hour each day watching screens is associated with a greater than 20 percent chance of someone developing this condition.The analysis looked at data from 45 different studies that involved more than 300,000 people and a variety of digital devices, including smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, computers, and TV sets.
The results suggest that daily screen time should be limited to less than one hour in order to potentially reduce the risk of children developing nearsightedness, which is also known as myopia.
Meanwhile, one optometrist tells The Epoch Times that concentrating on close objects for an extended period of time can put significant stress on your eye’s focusing system. She says that looking at anything closer than 22 inches away from your face could eventually influence the shape of your eye, causing it to elongate and make distant objects appear blurry.
Over time, she says this could even lead to changes in how the eye grows. In order to reduce this risk in children, she recommends encouraging them to spend more time outdoors, because exposure to natural light and focusing on a variety of distances could help prevent nearsightedness.
Additionally, to help relieve the strain of prolonged work in front of a screen, she advises following what’s called the “20-20-20 rule”—which means taking a 20-second break and looking at something 20 feet away every 20 minutes.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for this week’s edition of The Epoch Times Health Brief.
Just a reminder—you can reach out to us anytime via email with your thoughts, comments, and suggestions, and you’ll find us at [email protected]. You can also leave comments for us on The Epoch Times app, which you can download for free on either Google Play or the App Store.
And don’t forget the Health Brief Motto: We’re portable, affordable, our blood pressure is in check, and we’re always on-demand.
And now, as we do each and every week on this program, we share with you a very notable quote and this one comes to us from Jimmy Buffett who said:
“Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been.”
Buffet was an American singer, songwriter, author, businessman, and philanthropist, and we all have a favorite Jimmy Buffett song.
Now, before we shut the studio down and head out to enjoy another perfect Sunday, a couple of Health Brief extras:
The Surgeon General says smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy.
Therefore, if you’re a smoker, give it a shot and make every effort to quit smoking right away. Nobody likes a quitter, except in the game of smoking.
Also, from time to time, we like to remind you that we all know there are tons of fast food drive-thru restaurants all over the planet, but it’s just as easy to drive by as it is to drive through—please eat healthy.
And finally, whether it’s texting, calling, navigating, or something else, using your cellphone while driving can be dangerous. In fact, our partners with AAA say that texting and driving can have the same consequences as drinking and driving: deaths and injuries. Please stay safe—put the phone away while you’re driving.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times Health Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times Health Brief program was written today by David Ross.
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Enjoy the remainder of your day, please stay healthy, and we'll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times Health Brief.
For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.
