If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission. Testing sex toys for a living is easily one of the coolest perks of my job, and whenever a new piece of tech lands in my hands, I’m here to give you the honest, unfiltered tea. My latest test drive? The SensOn S1 AI Sex Toy — and I definitely have some thoughts. Before we get into it, here’s why you can trust my review: I’ve been testing sex toys for years across various outlets, and I have hundreds of toys in my apartment that have either gone under extensive testing or are waiting to (stay tuned!). I hold a certificate from Sextech School, and as someone living with endometriosis and interstitial cystitis (IC), I’m pretty particular about what I recommend for people with pelvic pain.  Related story 13 Best Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Deals on Men’s Fall Wardrobe Staples, Gifts & More — All Under $100 That said, it’s important to keep in mind that pleasure is subjective. Not everything that works for me will work for you and vice versa. However, my notes can help you decide whether or not the SensOn S1 AI Sex Toy is worth your hard-earned cash. What is the SensOn S1 AI Sex Toy (and how does it work)? According to the product description, the SensOn S1 is a three-in-one, hands-free pleasure device that uses AI to sync in real-time with your voice, your breath, and interactive erotic stories. The SensOn S1 clicks together with its magnetic attachments, connects to a dedicated app, and gets you off via an interactive storyline with a sexy AI persona. (You can also remove the vaginal stimulator if you prefer, which is a great option for people who experience pain with penetration.) The toy itself features three separate parts: a clitoral stimulator, a vaginal stimulator, and two nipple clamps. It arrives in a box that looks like a spaceship or “The Bean” sculpture in Chicago. To use the toy, you have to download the SensOn App and turn on your Bluetooth. The setup After downloading the app, the instruction booklet tells you to hold the Core power button to turn it on and enter standby mode. The fit After getting the app up and running, I positioned the toy so the vaginal stimulator was comfortably inside of me.  Finding the ideal positioning required some adjustment during my first session. The clitoral intensity did get stronger if I squeezed my thighs together. Pros: Futuristic packaging and high-quality body-safe silicone Voice actors sound surprisingly realistic and genuinely sexy The modular design lets you remove the internal piece if you suffer from pelvic pain or dislike penetration Zero censorship on NSFW language if you enjoy explicit erotica Has a 7-day complimentary software trial After trial ends, it functions as a standalone toy, which includes its adaptive stimulation features. Cons: Complicated set-up Some content may be too explicit or detailed for some users. It can get quite graphic.  Clitoral and nipple attachments may have a learning curve. Requires a monthly subscription on top of buying the physical toy. What this includes: Continued access to the app-based software experience and content OK, what about the AI component? Where it gets interesting (and a bit unhinged). The app asks you to select your preferences, including exactly what you like and what you want to avoid. You can curate your mood by power dynamic (“MSub,” “FSub,” “MDom,” “FDom”), story setting, sexual genre, and emotional feel. You can even choose character traits like “non-human” or “forbidden.” One bizarre feature I did notice: the app restricts screenshots. When I tried to snap a few pictures of the category options for this review, a pop-up scolded me. I’m not sure whose privacy this is protecting, considering these are AI bots and not real people, but it’s worth mentioning. (Editor’s note: We did reach out to the brand, and SensOn responded, “As our community continues to grow and with the upcoming launch of new user-created characters, we have received similar feedback from users. We plan to remove this restriction as soon as possible and provide users with greater flexibility in sharing their experiences.”) Image courtesy of author Are the AI stories any good? The voices themselves are genuinely sexy, and contrary to my initial expectations, they are very NSFW. Usually, AI is heavily censored, but there’s no holding back on the F-word here, which was kind of fun. The idea of AI erotica that’s personalized is really interesting, and we’ll likely be seeing more of that. But the tech itself just doesn’t hold up, yet. I tried “chatting” with multiple AI personas. One female AI kept whispering “good girl” in my ear (I was wearing headphones), and I admit, it got me hot.  Some of the scenarios are a bit ridiculous, while others can be triggering, so just an FYI.  Like, wow! Okay! Tldr; the AI erotica component can get really filthy, really fast. It skews more graphic, and sometimes, even violent (yes), and that isn’t for everyone. The AI tech itself needs some work, but I imagine that as the toy learns from more usage and more time being on the market, it’ll adapt and evolve. It’s also very possible that after using it for a prolonged period of time, it will learn my preferences—that’s the goal, at least. A quick feature recap If you’re lost, that’s OK! I know there’s a lot of info in here. Here’s a quick breakdown of what the SensOn S1 is supposed to do:  Interactive experience: The SensOn S1 lets you choose which story you want to be a part of and lets you text and talk with your AI persona.  Multi-dimensional stimulation: The SensOn S1 is built so that you can enjoy hands-free vaginal, clitoral, and nipple stimulation.  Real-time audio decoding: The SensOn S1 transforms sound frequencies into synchronized physical responses. It also remembers your preferences from your previous

Every year, there are approximately 25,000 people in the U.S. receiving care to manage their Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the muscle and fat tissue behind the eyes, leading to symptoms like proptosis (bulging eyes) and diplopia (double vision). TED can look different from person to person, making it easy for people suffering from TED to dismiss or deprioritize symptoms, even while the disease may be leading to new symptoms and impacting daily life. SheKnows spoke with Jessie and Will, two people living with TED whose experiences underscore how differently TED can present and affect patients, and highlight the importance of early attention, reaching the right specialist, and most critically, advocacy. Related story From Solar Glasses to Pinhole Projectors, Here’s How To Watch the Eclipse Safely With Your Kids Jessie’s Story Note: Jessie is an actual patient who was compensated for her time. Jessie’s TED journey started back in 2021, a year after she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition frequently associated with TED. Jessie’s initial eye symptoms began with minor changes in vision and mild eye bulging that she noticed in the mirror. She initially wrote them off, attributing them to factors like mold in the school building where she worked, eye fatigue from screen time, or even her Graves’ disease. “It wasn’t major symptoms, just minor things,” Jessie recalls. “I was just having issues getting my eyes to focus due to double vision.” At the time, Jessie was working closely with her endocrinologist, but she didn’t know that up to 40% of patients with Graves’ disease may also develop TED. It wasn’t long until Jessie’s symptoms began to interfere with her career as a teacher, her family life, and taking care of her children. At the time, she was teaching English and experienced pain from staring at a screen all day, and, despite wearing prism lenses prescribed by her eye doctor to help manage eye misalignment and double vision, as well as blue light glasses, it “became so challenging just to do my job.” Jessie would often need to pause her teaching to close her eyes for a few seconds. But Jessie felt like the worst impact was the effect her TED symptoms began having on her family life. “We’re very active as a family,” she says. “Always on the go. But at that point, I had to lay down and tell the kids ‘no,’ or tell them ‘mom needs a break.’ I wasn’t feeling like myself…I couldn’t cook dinner because I had to lay down after dealing with eye pain all day. There was a lot of mom guilt.” Jessie’s turning point came after a night that should have been fun—she drove herself and two friends to a concert three hours away. But even after pulling over and resting her eyes, Jessie realized her double vision was still interfering with her ability to see clearly enough to continue driving safely. This impact on her daily activities became the reason she decided to share her eye symptoms with her thyroid specialist, and Jessie started the conversation at her next appointment. The doctor’s response was immediate. She informed Jessie about the link between Graves’ disease and TED, which requires its own treatment plan. Jessie’s doctor referred her to a TED Specialist—who instantly took notice of Jessie’s bulging eye and put her on a path toward a formal TED diagnosis. Jessie originally resisted the diagnosis, noting that she’d come across TED in her research but believed her symptoms were “too mild” to be that. However, she soon realized that the impact on her daily life was significant enough to take action. Will’s Story Note: Will is an actual patient who was compensated for his time. Will’s initial symptoms began around 2022, and included swelling around one eye that was so minimal he “almost disregarded it.” But disregarding the symptoms wasn’t easy to continue when the swelling became more noticeable, particularly to Will’s wife and others. Will’s wake-up moment came when someone he’d met for the first time at a party pointed out the swelling. Will shared, “I was also running a restaurant so I was on social media all the time promoting, and a lot of people would make comments that affected my confidence.” At first, an eye specialist wasn’t able to identify what was causing his symptoms. Will’s eye bulging was subtle and primarily presented by swelling of the tissues around his eyes, so his symptoms were not initially recognized as TED. Because Will was a younger patient, and lab testing indicated that he didn’t have any thyroid dysfunction, like Graves’ disease, his symptoms were dismissed as temporary—which delayed his diagnosis and treatment. His experience reiterates the importance of connecting with a specialist who has experience diagnosing a rare condition like TED. Will accepted the outcome of that visit with the eye specialist, feeling almost relieved that he’d done the right thing by getting his symptoms checked and being told it was okay. “It’s something I wanted to hear,” Will told SheKnows. “And I just went on with my life.” After a period when his symptoms seemed to come and go, Will’s eye symptoms worsened. The swelling of the tissue around his eyes increased and his confidence continued to be affected. He also started to experience double vision, which made driving difficult and started to impact his daily routines. He began wearing non-prescription glasses in an effort to create a visual distraction so the swelling in his eyes was less noticeable. As Will’s symptoms worsened, Will’s wife pushed for more answers. She took the initiative to seek advice from friends in healthcare, identifying ophthalmologists with expertise and pushing firmly for specialist care. Her persistence directly led to a TED diagnosis and, ultimately, a recommended treatment. “My wife is my champion and willing to go the extra mile,” Will shared. The TED Specialist Will met with immediately recognized Will’s symptoms as TED. He informed him that, despite its name,

Carly Simon has Parkinson’s disease — and her first symptoms were masked by another common condition. The iconic singer revealed her diagnosis in a lengthy statement yesterday, published on People and other outlets. In it, Simon shares that “the problems began” with arthritis in both knees and one hip. She got all three joints replaced, but still had trouble getting around. “I assumed my difficulty walking was simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process,” the “You’re So Vain” singer said. Related story Leven Rambin Nearly Died During ‘Routine’ Endometriosis Surgery: ‘All of This So I Can Prepare to Have Kids’ But as she continued recovering from the surgeries, her mobility kept getting worse. It got to the point where she struggled with standing up from low chairs and deep couches. “Once seated, I could feel as though I had been swallowed by the chair and might remain there permanently,” Simon said. The final sign came when Simon experienced periods where she couldn’t walk without significant help. That, she said, was when she and her family “knew that something more was going on.” Simon underwent an evaluation at Mayo Clinic and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. The connection between arthritis and Parkinson’s is very real. In 2024, a group of researchers analyzed over 11,000 U.S. adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2020. They found that people with osteoarthritis (the most common form) had a 95% increased risk of developing Parkinson’s compared to people without. (People with rheumatoid arthritis actually have a reduced risk of getting Parkinson’s, possibly due to rheumatoid arthritis medications.) So, Simon’s experience moving from arthritis to Parkinson’s isn’t unique — and the symptoms of both condtions have considerable overlap. Where arthritis can cause joint stiffness, Parkinson’s can lead to rigidity and slowness, which can all feel similar. Arthritis symptoms can also mask the start of Parkinson’s, as in Simon’s case. Simon said she’s started medication to help manage them her mobility issues, but the disease is also affecting her mentally, bringing about an apathy she calls “particularly strange.” The singer described it in poetic terms: “It is not simply sadness or laziness. It is as though the part of the brain that sends out invitations to participate in life has temporarily misplaced the guest list.” This too is a common symptom of Parkinson’s, though we hear a lot less about it. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, about 40% of people with Parkinson’s experience apathy. The disease actually causes a drop in dopamine—the neurotransmitter that drives motivation—which can make it hard to keep up with routines and symptom management. Cue the vicious cycle of worsening symptoms and less willpower to address them. For Simon, who also revealed that she’d been diagnosed with skin cancer, the diagnosis and symptoms led her to withdraw from public life. But, she says, she hasn’t stopped living or working, even recording a new album set to come out in August. “Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape,” Simon said. “It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life.” Source link

Jess Fioretti and Deltra James have a few things in common. Both are moms — and both are living with stage four metastatic breast cancer (mBC). They know all too well the ups and downs that come with hair loss, surgery, and advocacy, but also the challenges of parenting tweens and teens. “In the past seven years, I’ve lived so much life,” James tells SheKnows, in a sitdown conversation with Fioretti. “I’ve moved. I’ve gotten my own place. I’ve fell in love again. I’ve put my girls in school. I’ve watched kids graduate. I’ve become a grandma. So much life has happened since I was told that I was dying.” James left an unhappy marriage after she was diagnosed with mBC at just 33 years old. For her, parenting her five girls through her diagnosis means being able to live her best life and do the things that bring her joy, despite the difficult situations. Fioretti knows what that’s like. She also knows that her daughters have learned a thing or two from her own cancer journey. One of those lessons? “In a challenging time, we can still live our lives,” Fioretti says. “Life throws us different things all the time: cancer, relationships, grieving, losing parents…. We have the ability to be resilient.” To hear more of Jess and Deltra’s conversation — from how their diagnosis changed the way they parent to the advice they’d give to the newly diagnosed — watch the full video above. Content was independently created by SHE Media with funding from Novartis Pharmaceuticals. For US audiences only. Source link

At any given moment, Katie Rabinowitz is living three or four lives. She’s a friend, sister, and daughter; a dog parent; a marathon runner — and she has stage 4 breast cancer. But while her diagnosis often plays a central role in her life, it doesn’t define her. “I think so many people have cancer or have an underlying health issue, and that becomes what people see about them,” Rabinowitz tells SheKnows. “But cancer is just one part of my life… It doesn’t dictate everything, and I kind of refuse to let it dictate everything.” In this video, Rabinowitz shares her experiences living with breast cancer and how her diagnoses — from first learning she had stage 0 breast cancer in 2021 to her subsequent diagnosis of stage 4 cancer in 2023 — changed her relationship to movement and strength. “I used to think of strength as powering through,” Rabinowitz says. “Strength to me now means advocating for yourself. It means showing up for your friends and family. It also means knowing when you have to say no to something,” she says. “It means knowing your own body well enough to know what it can do.”  Case in point: When Rabinowitz signed up to run the Philadelphia Marathon this past November, she hoped to cross the finish line, of course. But her top goal was getting to the starting line. “Showing up … that’s strength in and of itself. And if I can’t do this and I realize that halfway through, admitting that is also strong.” Hear Rabinowitz’s full, inspiring story in the video above. Content was independently created by SHE Media with funding from Novartis Pharmaceuticals. For US audiences only. Source link

Kristi Turner wouldn’t call her stage 4 cancer diagnosis a “blessing in disguise”—she, of course, wishes it had never happened. But it’s a reflection of her personality that she can’t help but focus on the bright spots that have littered her journey. And those have mostly included her son.  Turner was a 37-year-old single mother to a 9-year-old when she received the diagnosis that changed her life. She’d initially gone to the doctor complaining of persistent back pain, and left that first visit with a prescription for antibiotics. “She did see that my right breast was larger than the other, and she thought maybe it was just an infection,” Turner tells SheKnows. “I have cancer on both sides of my family, but I was 37 so she didn’t feel like I needed to worry about it at that moment.”  Related story Facing Breast Cancer As a ‘Sandwich Generation’ Caregiver But after a month on the medication, nothing had improved. One of Turner’s coworkers was married to a doctor, who squeezed Turner in between appointments and noticed something hard in her right breast. A biopsy showed breast cancer, and further imaging revealed it had metastasized to her lymph nodes and bones, leaving Turner with a diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer. “That was pretty devastating,” Turner remembers. “I couldn’t really fathom that this was actually happening to me and that so much of it had already spread through my body. All I was feeling was some back pain. I hadn’t really noticed my breast being larger, and it didn’t even cross my mind that it could be breast cancer — I was 37. So when I got my diagnosis, it was definitely life altering.”  As a parent and particularly a single parent, one of her main concerns was her son. How would she explain the diagnosis to an elementary-age child? How would she juggle childcare with chemotherapy treatments? How could she guide her son through a major life change while still allowing him to feel the safety and security every child deserves?  But what’s surprised Turner most hasn’t been the difficulties of parenting with stage 4 breast cancer. Instead, it’s been the ways in which her diagnosis has brought her and her son closer together, and allowed them to see each other’s strength in new and remarkable ways.  Getting Comfortable With “The C Word” Early on, Turner was “really careful” about how much she shared with her son. “I didn’t really want to use the ‘C word.’ I didn’t want to scare him. Most people think of cancer and they think, ‘OK, she’s not going to make it.’ And so I really wanted to be careful with my words with him,” she says.  Another way she tried to protect her son was by using a cold cap. They’re insulated helmets worn during chemotherapy to narrow the scalp’s blood vessels and minimize how much medication reaches the hair follicles, preventing chemo-induced hair loss. “I thought, ‘If I can just save my hair, maybe I can look like things are normal for him and soften the blow,’” she says. But after she started chemotherapy, her son noticed that the normally active Turner was in bed more than usual. “He was asking, ‘Mom why are you so tired? Did you not sleep well last night?’ I just remember saying, ‘Oh honey, remember I got sick and that’s why grandma and grandpa were here a lot? It’s this disease called cancer, and it can be scary, but Mom has control over it and the doctors are really paying attention to it. But the medicine that’s fighting it is making me tired,’” she says. After 12 rounds of chemotherapy, there was no sign of active cancer cells in Turner’s body. But she had a lingering worry: that the cancer had spread to her brain, something her oncologist had mentioned was possible. She’d been asking for a brain scan, but her doctors kept putting her off, pointing to her lack of symptoms like headaches or blurred vision. But Turner was persistent, and eventually her oncologist helped her get a PET scan. Sure enough, she had four brain tumors.  A two-hour round of radiation successfully treated the brain tumors, and today her condition remains stable, with oral chemotherapy and infusions every three weeks. But by then — about a year after her initial diagnosis — Turner had become more open with her son, especially when it came to explaining new limitations (like why she wasn’t able to go skiing with him that winter) or symptoms. And “You could see just his brain working, trying to comprehend it,” she says. “I think he maybe grew up a little faster than most parents would want their child to. But he’s learned so much.”  Finding a Shared Strength Some of the lessons Turner has noticed her son has taken from the experience are bittersweet: While she’s often surprised and touched by her son’s empathy, at the same time she wishes he didn’t have to be so considerate. “He worries about my hands and feet, which really take a beating with the chemo pills,” Turner says. “He’ll be like, ‘Mom, remember you have to wear your gloves when you wash the dishes.’” Similarly, he’s learned self-sacrifice. “When I can’t take him somewhere because I have a doctor’s appointment, he’s very understanding,” she explains. “I really respect how he puts aside his own wants to be there for me, as much as I want him to be able to do whatever he wants.” Turner works hard to make sure her son — who’s now a preteen — has healthy outlets and sources of support outside of herself as well, including therapy. She also makes it a point to model advocacy, something she views as extremely important, considering the role it played in her own diagnosis. “It’s amazing how much you have to put forward for your own health care,” she says. One way she’s done that is by creating the support she wishes had been available to

They say when it rains, it pours. For Jessica Fioretti, it poured, then it typhooned. Less than two years after she lost her father to lung cancer, and with two little kids in tow, Jessica was diagnosed with early-stage, hormone-positive, HER2-negative invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). IDC is the most common type of breast cancer and accounts for approximately 80 percent of all breast cancer cases in females.  When caught early, it is highly likely to respond well to treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Related story How a Stage 4 Breast Cancer Diagnosis Brought Me & My Son Closer Than Ever But less than four years after Fioretti underwent all three treatments, her cancer returned. As Fioretti worried about cognitive changes she’d begun to notice in her mother, she felt a lump in her armpit. An ultrasound and biopsy later, doctors found that her cancer had returned. A PET scan then showed metastasis to her liver, part of her chest, and some surrounding lymph nodes. Shortly after that, she learned it had also metastasized to her entire spine, her skull, her clavicle, ribcage, pelvis, and sacrum. Fioretti, already part of the ‘sandwich generation’—middle-aged adults simultaneously caring for aging parents and growing children—suddenly found herself not just a caregiver, but a person who also needed care. Two Diagnoses As Fioretti managed her own diagnosis and cared for her two daughters, she also took on the role of caregiver for her mother. “When I was diagnosed with [metastatic breast cancer], that is kind of around the time when we were noticing changes around my mom,” Fioretti tells SheKnows. “She was getting progressively worse…. She was needing more assistance, and not realizing her own limitations. She wanted me to be there at the drop of a hat, and that was hard for me to do.”   Not only because Fioretti had her own appointments to attend and medications to manage, but because she also had two children depending on her. “I remember being in the parking lot of my daughter’s dance studio waiting for her, and I got a call from my mom that she’d fallen.” Because Fioretti’s mom lives 30 minutes away, she couldn’t pick up her daughter and help her mom at the same time, so she had to call the local police department. About a year after Fioretti’s diagnosis, her mom’s condition got even worse, and the doctor determined that she was “exhibiting a specific type of dementia and Alzheimer’s type features.” For Fioretti, there was some relief in finally getting a name and explanation for what was happening. Time For Caregiving And Time For Self-Care Between her mother’s diagnosis and her own appointments, medications, and hospital visits, Fioretti realized she needed support. “My mental health really took a toll in the beginning,” Fioretti admits. Fortunately, thanks to the long-term care insurance policy her parents had purchased years prior, Fioretti was able to hire aides and companions to help her mom throughout the day. “Initially, I felt such guilt,” she notes. “As much as I want to do things for her and be there for her, I have to remember I have to take care of myself and remind her that I do have this diagnosis and it’s something that’s not just physically demanding but mentally demanding.” For Fioretti, part of navigating her own diagnosis while caregiving for her mom meant letting go of the reins. “And part of being okay with that is how I learned to have self-care for myself.” She realized if she can allow people to help with her mom, maybe it was okay to allow people to help her, especially when her body is telling her to rest. “I’ve been more okay with sitting with [the idea that] ‘well today, I can’t do it and everyone’s going to have to figure it out’.” She notes that, “[F]or me, now going through my own diagnosis and really realizing you have to take a step back, you have to focus on yourself. I have to give myself time to focus on my own healing if I’m going to survive living through stage four cancer.” Advocating For Herself; Advocating for Her Mom and Family Focusing on her own healing means advocacy—asking questions when she has them, demanding answers rather than allowing herself to be rushed out the door, and ensuring her concerns are heard. “I want to be an active participant in the treatment and decision-making,” Fioretti says. That self-advocacy has translated into Fioretti’s caregiving as well, for both her mother and her children. “Learning to advocate for myself did help me in turn advocate for my mom,” she says. “It gave me empowerment to advocate for my mom, and for my kids as well.” Fioretti remembered visiting a doctor when her mom needed hip surgery. The doctor was well-regarded, but Fioretti felt rushed and dismissed throughout the visit. “Normally, I wouldn’t have spoken up,” Fioretti says, “but I took more of a stance.” She spoke up and made sure the doctor answered her questions, and made sure her mom received the time and attention she deserved. Ultimately, it’s not about the doctor’s time or ego, Fioretti realized. “This is your health and your loved one’s health.” Focusing On Healing — And Community When it rains, and it pours, and it typhoons, the hardest thing to focus on is often yourself—especially when, like Fioretti, you’re the mom, and the daughter, and the one who’s always “created the calm to the chaos.” “But we don’t have to take on that responsibility all the time,” she says. She urges others like her, especially those in the “sandwich” generation, to prioritize their health and lean on support. “Finding community has been some of the best healing and therapeutic intervention that I’ve had,” Fioretti notes. “Even when you have family and close friends, talking to people, even strangers who are going through what you’re going through, is just so comforting. It helps me be a better parent, be a better daughter,

If your morning routine revolves around on a fresh cup of coffee (or two), you’re in luck. Experts have long known that coffee drinkers tend to live longer and face lower risks of various chronic illnesses. However, researchers haven’t always understood exactly why that is until now. A recent study from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) published in Nutrients shows that coffee might activate a specific cellular switch that helps your body fight off stress, damage, and aging. Related story Teen Cannabis Use Might Double the Risk of Severe Mental Health Disorders How Coffee Protects Your Body From Cellular Damage  The researchers discovered that specific compounds found in brewed coffee can activate NR4A1, a nuclear receptor in the body. This receptor acts as a “nutrient sensor” that controls how your genes respond to stress and tissue damage, said Texas A&M professor and study co-author Dr. Stephen Safe, according to Science Daily. To see how coffee plays a role, the research team tested these compounds on cells in laboratory models. They found that coffee physically binds to the receptor, changing how the cells behave. In these models, it successfully reduced cellular damage and even slowed the growth of cancer cells. When researchers removed the receptor from the cells, the benefits went away with it.  Does Decaf Coffee Have the Same Benefits? You might assume caffeine is the magic ingredient doing all the heavy lifting, but the research says otherwise. While caffeine is famous for waking you up, it doesn’t do much for your biological defense system. Other natural elements in the plant (specifically polyhydroxy and polyphenolic compounds like caffeic acid) handle the cellular repair. These beneficial compounds are present whether the coffee is caffeinated or not, which might help explain why decaf coffee offers similar health perks to regular coffee. Long-Term Coffee Health Benefits and Disease Prevention According to the Mayo Clinic, drinking coffee is generally associated with a lower risk of dying from any cause. Research shows that regular coffee consumption may also be tied to a lower risk of several serious conditions, including: Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome Liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer Kidney stones and gallstones How Much Coffee Should You Drink a Day? That said, you probably shouldn’t start downing back-to-back espresso shots. Consuming too much caffeine can trigger headaches, a rapid heart rate, anxiety, and acid reflux. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advises anyone who’s pregnant, nursing, or trying to conceive to stick to a maximum of 200 milligrams daily, which is about a standard 12-ounce mug. High coffee intake (five or more cups a day) might lower bone density in certain women, but adding more calcium to your diet offsets the risk. But for the average healthy adult, this new research is the perfect excuse to enjoy your daily brew guilt-free. Source link

If you’re raising a teenager right now, you’re probably worried about their grades, their friends, their screen time, and, naturally, whether they’re experimenting with drugs. Weed has always been on that list, but a new study published in JAMA Health Forum shows it may be much more dangerous for a growing brain than experts realized. Researchers tracked more than 463,000 adolescents (ages 13 to 17) through their mid-twenties. They found that those who admitted to using cannabis in the past year had a higher risk of developing bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders later on. Related story Elle King’s Autism Diagnosis Proves It’s Never Too Late to Find Answers: ‘Everything Makes So Much Sense Now’ In fact, for teens who used cannabis, the risk of developing psychotic and bipolar disorders roughly doubled. This Isn’t the Weed You Remember  If you’re a millennial parent, you probably remember that infamous “Above the Influence” anti-drug PSA where a teenager literally melts into the couch after smoking weed. Back then, those commercials felt pretty dramatic. But the reality is that the cannabis products on the market today are exponentially stronger than the stuff we grew up hearing about.  Average THC levels in California cannabis flower, for example, now sit above 20%. Some cannabis products (e.g., edibles, oil, etc.) have more than 95% THC. Even with those sky-high potency levels, cannabis is still the most commonly used illicit drug among teens in the U.S. Around 8% of eighth graders are currently using it, and by the time they reach their senior year, that number jumps to 26%. Effects Occur in as Little as Two Years One of the most concerning details from the study is the timeline. Researchers found that, on average, the teens reported their cannabis use roughly 1.7 to 2.3 years prior to receiving an official psychiatric diagnosis. Since the study followed these kids for years, it gives us strong evidence that using cannabis during adolescence can actively contribute to mental illness down the line. This doesn’t just apply to kids who are smoking every single day. Researchers looked at any self-reported cannabis use within the past year. Even after adjusting for other substance use and prior mental health issues, the heightened risk for severe psychiatric disorders remained. How to Talk to Your Teen About Marijuana Use You can’t monitor your teens 24/7, but you can change how you talk to them about this stuff. Dr. Lynn Silver, one of the study’s co-authors, noted the importance of viewing teenage cannabis use as a major health concern instead of a harmless phase.   “The evidence increasingly points to the need for an urgent public health response — one that reduces product potency, prioritizes prevention, limits youth exposure and marketing, and treats adolescent cannabis use as a serious health issue, not a benign behavior,” she explained, per Science Daily. Have the awkward conversations. Give your teens the evidence-based facts about what high-potency THC does to a developing brain, and keep the lines of communication open. Source link

When it comes to celebrity pregnancy announcements, we usually just get the glossy highlight reel. But Law & Order star Odelya Halevi is keeping it honest about how overwhelming pregnancy hormones feel. The 37-year-old actress, who plays Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun on the hit series, just revealed that she is expecting her first child (a baby girl due in December) with her husband, Aaron Mazor. While Halevi is overjoyed to become a family of three, she recently admitted that the sudden emotional shifts caught her off guard. Related story Leven Rambin Nearly Died During ‘Routine’ Endometriosis Surgery: ‘All of This So I Can Prepare to Have Kids’ “The thing that I wasn’t fully prepared for was how amplified and intense my emotions would be,” Halevi told People. “I barely recognized myself. Almost like having a split personality.” For Halevi, the breaking point came during a move into a newly renovated apartment during her first trimester. Despite being excited about the move, she admitted she suddenly, and irrationally, “hated everything about it.” “I knew it wasn’t rational,” she continued. “I knew I had been counting down the days until we moved in, and I knew I was overreacting.” Then, the movers accidentally broke a houseplant she had nurtured for four years. “I cried hysterically, like I had lost a loved one,” she recalled. “Then I started laughing because I realized how dramatic I was being, but I still couldn’t stop crying.” While it sounds funny in hindsight, that level of emotional whiplash is a very real physiological response. During the first trimester, estrogen and progesterone levels skyrocket. To put it in perspective, a woman produces more estrogen during a single pregnancy than she will throughout the rest of her entire life. This rapid hormonal shift alters how the brain’s neurotransmitters (specifically serotonin) regulate mood. Add in the effects of that progesterone, which relaxes the uterus but triggers intense fatigue and brain fog, and the emotional volatility makes perfect sense.  Halevi’s candidness is a much-needed reminder that morning sickness isn’t the only hurdle in early pregnancy, and feeling overwhelmed by your own emotions is just biology doing its job.  On top of the emotional whiplash, the actress is dealing with some specific food cravings (which is to be expected). Halevi said she first suspected she was pregnant after helping herself to chocolate in the producers’ office, a move she noted was very unlike her. Now, she’s obsessed with eating oatmeal topped with date syrup and a frozen banana. “I just figured I was eating more of the foods I already loved. But then the other night, I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep after my oatmeal with date syrup and a frozen banana, and I caught myself thinking, ‘I cannot wait to wake up tomorrow so I can eat this again,’” she said. “I never liked oatmeal before I got pregnant.” Despite the mood swings and the newfound oatmeal obsession, Halevi says that feeling her daughter kick for the first time made all the challenging side effects worth it. “I can’t wait to meet my little girl,” she shared. “I already feel like I know her in some ways, and I’m so excited to finally see her face, find out who she looks like, and get to know what I can only imagine will be a big personality.” Source link