Your brain on fats and sweets

RJ Hamster

2 years ago

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we look at why ultra-processed food is so addicting and dangerous, explore the world’s largest cave, discover the secret behind transparent frogs … and see the best wildlife pictures of the year.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL/GETTY IMAGES

More than half the food Americans eat is ultra-processed, often optimized to hit fat and sugar sensors to release dopamine (like the candy, above).

That’s like nicotine to a cigarette smoker—engineered to harm. “We don’t realize that these are really killing people,” says psychologist Ashley Gearhardt. How can we fight back? The first step, experts say, is being aware of these foods’ precise effects.

Read the full story here.

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID GUTTENFELDER, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Do these 6 Viking myths hold up? Related: A Viking ship burial reveals two powerful women (Above, reenactors stage a Viking-age battle in Wolin, Poland.)

These 5 cities vanished without a trace—until recently

After years of failures, cancer vaccines are showing promise

King Herod’s legendary Pleasure Palace—and his tomb—have been discovered after being lost for centuries

How one artist creates intricate suits of armor for cats (and mice)

Scientists just mapped Hawaii’s volcanic underbelly in stunning detail

To save Yosemite’s bats, scientists need help finding them

The new year once started in March. Here’s why

How fentanyl kills—and how Narcan saves lives

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAIME CULEBRAS

Secrets in the blood: Medical researchers have been searching for the “Holy Grail of hematology” for decades—and now they may have found it in translucent glass frogs (above, a female glass frogs with eggs). In a recent study, scientists found that glass frogs become more transparent as they fall asleep by siphoning 89 percent of their blood into their livers. The ability to condense their blood without creating clots could lead to advances in human medicine, Nat Geo reports.

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

PHOTOGRAPH BY L. RENEE BLOUNT, @URBANCLIMBR

Where’s this cave? It’s a four-day hike through 90 percent humidity and leech-filled jungles to reach the world’s largest known cave. Only a limited number of travelers can visit each year. When photographer L. Renee Blount arrived, who created the image above featured on our Instagram, she said her days were filled with awe. Know where the cave is? Click here for the answer.

Related: Follow one photographer’s epic trek to this cave

WHERE’S THE LARGEST CAVE?

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID DOUBILET

Simply the best: This year, senior Nat Geo photo editor Alexa Keefe selected 21 of her favorite wildlife pictures from 2022. Her goal? To show how the wild world intersects with our own. For example, the photo she selected above is from a story on how coral reefs in the Philippines are exceptionally vibrant—both despite and with help from humans.

BEST OF THE BEST

This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Sydney Combs, and David Beard. Have an idea or a link? We’d love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. Thanks for reading.

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