Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times Health Brief for Sunday, March 9, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some really intriguing stories to share with you right now. And here’s what’s going on.
New research reveals troubling information regarding the contents found in our nation’s baby formulas; it turns out that children in U.S. schools eat less healthy meals than other kids around the world; and a new study shows the surprising way that cancer cells work in order to thrive in a person’s body.
Also, if you’re avoiding gluten due to stomach issues, you might actually be misdiagnosing yourself, and we’ll take a closer look at the link between an all-plant diet and your mental health.
US Baby Formulas Contain Troubling Amounts of Added Sugar
A new study which investigated the sugar content in 73 different infant formulas sold in the United States shows that nearly all of them contain mostly added sugars instead of the healthier lactose which is found in breast milk.The analysis found that up to 90 percent of the carbohydrates found in many formula products come from added sugars, which health authorities explicitly do not recommend for children under 2 years old.
One pediatric nutrition expert tells The Epoch Times that products with lactose are preferable for infants because it’s closer to breastmilk. She also says it is the carbohydrate that is most easily digested by infants, because that’s what their bodies are designed to handle.
For their study, researchers categorized these infant formulas into three types—standard, gentle, and lactose-free—based on the amount of milk sugar or lactose they contain.
The study found that the “standard” baby formulas had added sugars that surpassed desired lactose levels, with almost 60 percent of those sugars coming from added sugar itself. The other two formulas had an even greater percentage of their carbohydrates from added sugars.
Only five out of the 73 formulas investigated were found to contain a majority of lactose, the carbohydrate naturally present in human breast milk and therefore considered optimal for infants.
The study’s authors say that, in order to best promote healthy development in children, standard infant formulas should contain lactose as the only sugar. They also believe that a reliance on added sugars in infant formula may eventually lead to a child’s preference for sweet tastes, which can contribute to overfeeding as well as an increased chance of obesity later in life.
Bringing Real Food Back to US School Lunches
A few decades ago, many U.S. school cafeterias prepared meals from scratch for hundreds of students each day. Over the years, however, in many places, fresh ingredients like flour and eggs disappeared, only to be replaced by boxes of pre-packaged, processed foods.One nutritionist tells The Epoch Times that right now, most school lunches are “heat and serve,” and that only very rarely do they prepare “made-by-scratch” food for the students. Additionally, a pair of recent reports found that many school lunches in the United States still contain a large amount of processed foods, despite growing concerns about their impact on children’s health.
One recent study shows that children who eat high levels of ultra-processed foods have increased risks of obesity, insulin resistance, and mood disorders, while another analysis reported a correlation between diets high in processed foods and reduced cognitive function in children, including difficulties with memory, learning, and attention.
By the way, our nation struggles to provide fresh foods at schools for a number of reasons, including cost and strict food safety regulations that can make using fresh ingredients much more difficult.
However, despite these challenges, a number of concerned groups and parents are now pushing for healthier school meals and significant changes are already underway, including a shift back to made-from-scratch dishes and locally sourced ingredients.
Meanwhile, countries like Japan, Sweden, and France continue to prioritize fresh, minimally processed meals—an approach that some experts say contributes to lower childhood obesity rates and better long-term health.
Cancer Cells Cooperate to Survive, Study Finds
Researchers at New York University have just discovered that cancer cells actually work together in order to find nutrients in harsh environments.They’ve also identified one specific enzyme that enables these tumor cells to share resources when nutrients are scarce, and they’ve found that when this enzyme is blocked, cancer cells are unable to feed and die completely.
To find out whether cancer cells cooperate, the researchers tracked the growth of cells from different types of tumors in mice. They noted that cancer cells typically absorb amino acids in a competitive manner; however, when these cancer cells were starved of one crucial amino acid, it led them to collaborate in acquiring the resources they needed to survive.
By conducting additional experiments with skin, breast, and lung cancer cells, the researchers determined that a key source of nutrients for cancer cells came from what are called oligopeptides, which are pieces of small amino acids that act as messengers between cells.
They found that instead of just taking in those peptides, which are small proteins, cancer cells release a special enzyme that breaks those peptides into even smaller pieces. The process frees amino acids, which they can then easily use for energy, fueling their rapid growth.
However, when a drug called bestatin, which inhibits that enzyme, was applied to cancer cells, they became unable to feed on the small amino acids and died off completely.
They’re hoping that eventually, this new approach to cancer treatment will allow them to help patients under clinical care, as well as make more effective drugs to target the deadly disease.
Fructan Fans the Flames of Gastrointestinal Distress
If you’ve been avoiding gluten because it makes your gut feel miserable and you’re still struggling with bloating issues, you could actually be reacting to what are called fructans.So you know, wheat contains a number of substances that can cause unpleasant symptoms, and fructans are among them. They’re natural carbohydrates that are found in a number of plants, and many people with gastrointestinal complaints feel better when eating gluten-free simply because they are cutting out a major source of fructan.
By the way, foods with both gluten and fructan include wheat, barley, and rye. Meanwhile, gluten-free foods with fructan include fruit, vegetables, beans, and nuts.
One physician tells The Epoch Times that a sensitivity to gluten can result in symptoms in both your gut and immune system, including fatigue, eczema, brain fog, and joint pain. They also include a number of gut symptoms, such as bloating, gas, and more.
However, people with a fructan intolerance are limited to those gut symptoms alone. Additionally, symptoms caused by fructan typically take a few days to a couple of weeks to clear, whereas those sensitive to gluten might not notice any improvements for 21 days.
The doctor says that some tests are used to detect issues with wheat and gluten but they aren’t always reliable. She says that elimination diets remain the gold standard for diagnosing food sensitivities, which typically last for two to six weeks, and that it can be helpful to work with a professional to reintroduce foods slowly and monitor your reactions.
Does a Plant-Based Diet Affect Mental Health?
As plant-based diets gain popularity, more research is now linking them to deficiencies in nutrients that are critical for brain health and could cause physical problems as well.In particular, many studies suggest a strong link between avoiding meat and an increased risk of a number of mental health disorders. One study from five years ago found that people who avoid meat experience significantly higher rates of both anxiety and depression, and a pair of earlier studies backs up those findings.
According to one Harvard-trained psychiatrist, plant-based diets, especially vegan ones, often fail to provide key nutrients in forms that the body can easily absorb and use. She says that every one of these essential nutrients, however, can be found in meat, seafood, and poultry.
One recent systematic review of dozens of nutrient measurement studies found that vegans are more likely to be deficient in vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc, iodine, and some critical omega-3 fatty acids—all of which are essential for brain health.
The psychiatrist points out that if you have a deficiency in any of these critical nutrients, your mental health could suffer. She also says that even though some foods may contain these essential nutrients, especially plant-based sources, it doesn’t mean your body can always absorb them efficiently, making it harder to obtain key vitamins and minerals.
However, with careful planning, despite these challenges, it’s possible to meet your nutritional needs with a plant-based diet in a number of ways, including precise diets and the use of helpful supplements.
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 Dr. Mehmet Oz who said:
“True health care reform cannot happen in Washington. It has to happen in our kitchens, in our homes, in our communities. All health care is personal.”
Oz is an American surgeon, educator, author, and television personality who co-wrote the popular YOU series of health books and hosted The Dr. Oz Show (2009–22).
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.
