Aerobic exercise can improve key thinking skills for post-menopausal women

 Regular aerobic exercise – the kind that gets your heart pumping – can improve important thinking skills called executive functions, and the benefits appear especially strong for women after menopause, according to Rutgers researchers.

 

Executive functions help you plan, switch between tasks, stay focused and maintain independence. These skills often feel more difficult during and after the menopause transition.

 

Two-thirds of all Alzheimer’s disease diagnoses occur in women, and the hormonal shift around midlife creates a critical window to protect long-term brain health. Many women reduce consistent physical activity during and after menopause because of symptoms, stress or lack of clear exercise guidance for cognitive support.

Sharon Sanz Simon, an assistant professor of psychiatry with the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a core faculty member of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center within the Rutgers Brain Health Institute, led the study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

 

The researchers studied 93 healthy women ages 20 to 67, with 43% classified as post-menopausal.

 

“All participants began the study with below-average cardiorespiratory fitness levels and were not regularly exercising – making the results directly relevant to typical midlife and older women, not only those who are already active,” Sanz Simon said.

 

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two six-month programs: aerobic exercise or a stretching-and-toning program. The researchers measured cognitive performance to track changes in executive function across the trial timeline.

 

“Post-menopausal women who completed aerobic exercise showed greater improvements in executive function — measured through standardized assessments of task-switching speed and error management — compared to women in the stretching group and more than pre-menopausal women doing the same aerobic program,” Sanz Simon said. “We observed measurable cognitive gains at three months into the program, and those benefits continued to strengthen through the six-month trial period.”

 

Most women were able to stick with the program: about 8 in 10 completed at least three months and about 7 in 10 completed the full six months. The improvement was specific to executive functions. Other thinking skills, such as memory or processing speed, didn’t show the same gains in this study.

 

“Many women report easier time switching between tasks, better ability to plan and organize, improved focus and mental flexibility, and feeling sharper in daily activities,” Sanz Simon said.

 

Drawing on the results from the study, BHI experts outline a practical aerobic exercise approach: three to four one-hour sessions per week, sustained for at least three to six months. Each session includes a 10- to 15-minute warm-up and gentle stretching, followed by 45 minutes of continuous moderate aerobic activity. Suitable activities include brisk walking, light jogging, cycling, elliptical training, swimming or water aerobics, and dance-based cardio. Consistency matters more than the specific activity chosen. Gradual intensity progression is recommended.

 

A detailed, evidence-based toolkit translating these findings into clear steps — including intensity guidance, adherence strategies, and safety notes — is available from the Rutgers Brain Health Institute.

 

The study draws from a multi-institutional collaboration including Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry, the Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Institute for Aging Research, Columbia University’s Departments of Psychiatry, Biostatistics, Endocrinology, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Behavioral Medicine and Cognitive Neuroscience Division and the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research.

 

The researchers said further research will continue to unpack how lifestyle interventions can preserve cognitive health across the lifespan.

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Journal

Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease

DOI

10.1177/13872877261471900 

Keto diet has greater health benefits than other popular weight-loss diets,

A diet that severely limits carbohydrates but is high in fat has the greatest health benefits for people with obesity compared to a Mediterranean diet or a low-fat diet, according to a clinical trial publishing August 27 in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism. After following a ketogenic (or “Keto”) diet for four to five months, about 50% of a group of participants with obesity and prediabetes no longer met the criteria for prediabetes. 

“We know weight loss can improve metabolic health in people who are obese,” says Samuel Klein, the study’s corresponding author at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. “Our data suggest that if you have high liver fat content and prediabetes, reducing carbohydrate intake can have important therapeutic effects on metabolism beyond just weight loss alone.” 

It is estimated that some 40% of American adults have obesity. Healthcare providers commonly recommend low-fat, low-carbohydrate, or Mediterranean diets to promote weight loss, but it has been unclear if any of these diets provide additional metabolic benefits beyond weight loss itself, or if one offers greater health benefits than the others. 

The three popular diets differ significantly in their major nutrient composition. For example, a low-carbohydrate diet, also known as Atkins or ketogenic diet, severely restricts carbohydrate intake, while a low-fat diet can source as much as 70% of its energy from carbohydrates. A Mediterranean diet contains mostly plant-based foods, such as vegetables, olive oil, and nuts, with moderate amounts of fish and dairy, while a ketogenic diet can include foods high in saturated fat, including animal products. 

To understand the diets’ metabolic effects in people, Klein and his team conducted a clinical trial with 42 participants who had obesity, prediabetes, and fatty liver disease. The researchers randomly assigned them to one of three diet groups: a ketogenic diet, a Mediterranean diet, or a low-fat, plant-forward diet. The participants received all of their food from the research team and met weekly with a dietitian to help them adhere to their assigned diets.  

In the study, the ketogenic diet provided only 4% of calories from carbohydrates and 73% from fat. The Mediterranean diet had 50% of its calories from carbohydrates and 35% from fat. The plant-forward diet sourced 70% of calories from carbohydrates and 15% from fat. 

The team tailored each participant’s calorie intake so that everyone lost about 10% of their body weight, which took about four to five months.  

By the end of the trial, all three diets led to a significant reduction in the participants’ body fat. Their bodies also became more sensitive to insulin, improving their ability to regulate blood sugar.   

But the ketogenic diet produced the greatest improvements in several markers of liver and metabolic health. Participants’ liver fat decreased by an average of 67% in the ketogenic group, compared with 45% in both the Mediterranean and the plant-forward groups.  

When the team monitored the participants’ metabolic activities over 24 hours by testing their blood throughout, they found that the ketogenic diet group had the largest increase in glucagon, which is a hormone that promotes fat loss in the liver. That group also experienced the greatest reduction in blood insulin levels, which also reduces fat content in the liver, compared to the other two groups.  

“The most surprising finding was that participants in the ketogenic diet group didn’t experience an increase in blood fat or cholesterol levels despite consuming the most fat,” says Max Petersen, the study’s first author at Washington University School of Medicine. 

Following the weight-loss intervention, about 50% of participants in the ketogenic group no longer met the criteria for prediabetes, compared with 29% in the Mediterranean group and 7% in the plant-forward group. 

“GLP-1-based medications have revolutionized the therapy of obesity. We now have a very effective pharmacotherapy for achieving significant weight loss,” Petersen says. “But in addition, our study shows that the specific composition of the diet can give you added benefits.” 

Cell Metabolism, Petersen et al., “Effect of diet macronutrient content on the cardiometabolic response to weight loss: A randomized clinical trial” https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(26)00293-7 

The interpretation of the term ‘plant-based’ diet differs significantly among U.S. adults

 

 When referring to diet, the term “plant-based” has mixed interpretations among U.S. adults, and its meaning varies significantly among demographic groups, according to new research published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 

“The term plant-based has become popular in recent years and its meaning has never been clearly defined,” explained Dr. Anna Herby, nutrition education specialist at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and co-author of the study. “The greatest benefits of a plant-based diet stem from completely avoiding animal products. As dietitians who promote this healthful dietary pattern, we wanted to understand how people interpret the terminology in order to more clearly communicate about it.”

Key findings of the study include:

• 56% said “plant-based” means vegan—avoiding all animal products.
• 35% said it means eating abundant plant foods while still eating some meat, dairy and eggs.
• 7% said they didn't know.
• 2% gave another answer.

Interpretation also varied significantly by demographic group: 63% of adults ages 65-94 equated plant-based with vegan, compared with 51% of 18-to-34-year-olds.

The study analysis drew on the results of a survey of 2,202 U.S. adults conducted in July 2025 that was designed and executed by Morning Consult following the Best Practices for Survey Research of the American Association of Public Opinion Research.

“Defining ‘plant-based’ as excluding all animal products could make it easier for consumers to make confident decisions about food products by knowing that the term means there are no animal products,” said study co-author Shannon Menhardt, MS, a registered dietitian with the Barnard Medical Center. “A consistent definition could also make research findings and dietary recommendations easier to interpret and help provide clearer messaging for health professionals, patients, and the media.”

Xylitol may increase the risk of cardiovascular events

 Key takeaways 

• A long-term analysis studied the effects of the artificial sweetener, xylitol, on cardiovascular events in the general population. 
• High blood levels of xylitol were associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular events than lower levels. 
• Further studies on the safety of xylitol and other artificial sweeteners are warranted as they continue to be used in increasing amounts. 
   

A study to be presented at ESC Congress 2026 will show that high blood levels of the artificial sweetener, xylitol, were associated with increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.1

 

Artificial sweeteners are widely used to replace dietary sugar. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in the body as a byproduct of glucose metabolism and is present in some natural foods in very low amounts. Xylitol is also added – often in over 1,000-fold higher amounts – to artificially sweeten foods, beverages and oral care products. Despite its growing use, the long-term impact of xylitol on cardiovascular event risk has not been widely studied. 

 

“In previous studies, we showed that xylitol can enhance the ability of platelets to form clots,2” said presenter, Doctor Marco Witkowski from the Charité University Hospital, Berlin, Germany. “We also found that high blood levels of xylitol were linked to cardiovascular events in high-risk individuals over a 3-year period.2 Here we studied if xylitol increases cardiovascular events in a larger sample of the general population over much longer follow-up.” 

 

The research team looked at data from 17,710 participants in two prospective observational cohorts: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk.  

 

People with xylitol levels in the highest quartile were observed to have substantially higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (defined as death, myocardial infarction or stroke) than those with xylitol levels in the lowest quartile. 

 

Over a follow-up period of 6 years, the risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event was 57% higher in those with the highest levels vs. the lowest levels in the CLSA cohort after correcting for known cardiovascular risk factors (including age, sex, smoking status, lipid levels, diabetes and hypertension). 

 

Over a follow-up period of 30 years, the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events was 18% higher in those with the highest levels vs. the lowest levels in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort. 

 

Taken together with data from the middle quartiles, the results from both cohorts suggested a dose-dependent relationship: the higher the xylitol blood levels, the higher the cardiovascular event rate. 

 

Furthermore, the researchers showed that there was consistent increase in cardiovascular events with xylitol irrespective of baseline characteristics, such as age and sex. Doctor Witkowski also highlighted that the association was independent of underlying factors such as body mass index, hypertension, diabetes and lipid levels, which might predispose people to low-calorie products. 

 

“Artificial sweeteners are consumed by people who think they are healthier than sugar and they are generally regarded as safe by regulatory agencies,” noted Doctor Witkowski. “Our long-term findings in the general population highlight how little we know about the cardiovascular safety of xylitol and indicate that further studies are warranted, especially as the amount of xylitol in products continues to increase,” he concluded. 

 

Commenting on the findings, Professor Dan Atar, Member of the ESC Communication Committee, said: “Artificial sweeteners are widely embraced by modern society, and the safety ratings had been good and granted by regulatory authorities. In this observational work, however, it appears that xylitol has a negative long-term effect on cardiovascular events in the general population. As with all observational studies, causalities are difficult to infer, but this work shows that further studies are mandated into this societally important topic.” 

Hormone replacement therapy = lower Alzheimer's risk

See also:

Estrogen-based menopausal hormone therapy = lower Alzheimer’s risk

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may reduce the risk of dementia, particularly for certain groups of women - according to a study from the University of East Anglia and the University of Exeter.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) helps treat symptoms of menopause like vaginal dryness and hot flashes.

Researchers followed more than 180,000 postmenopausal women in the UK for this, the largest study of its kind to date.

They found that women who had used HRT had a 16 per cent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s (the main form of dementia) compared with those who had never used it.

The greatest reduction was seen in women who had undergone surgical menopause, with a 26 per cent lower risk of developing any type of dementia, compared with non‑users.

The study also found that women who naturally had lower lifetime oestrogen exposure, due to starting their periods late or early menopause, seemed to benefit more from HRT - with a 16 per cent lower risk of any type of dementia.

Prof Anne-Marie Minihane, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School and director of the Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging at UEA, led the study.

She said: “Dementia affects millions of people worldwide, with women making up almost two thirds of Alzheimer’s disease cases, the main form of dementia.

“As populations age, understanding how sex‑specific factors influence dementia risk is increasingly important.

“In addition to living longer, the reason behind the higher female prevalence is thought to be related to the effects of menopause on brain metabolism and the impact of the main genetic risk factor APOE4 being greater in women.

“We wanted to better understand how HRT could prevent dementia and to assess if particular groups of women may respond differently.”

How the research happened

Researchers analysed health data from the UK Biobank, tracking 183,450 postmenopausal women over an average follow‑up period of 13.3 years.

During that time, almost 4,000 cases of dementia were identified.

The study examined whether using HRT for at least one year was associated with the risk of developing dementia, and whether that relationship varied depending on biological and genetic factors.

The team also took into account other factors that could influence dementia risk and HRT use, such as age, socio-economic factors, other health issues and medication use.

Prof Minihane said: “We found that women who had used HRT were about 10 per cent less likely to develop dementia, and 16 percent less like to develop the Alzheimer’s disease form of dementia, than women who had never used it.

“But the protective association between HRT and dementia was not the same for all women.

Stronger benefits in specific groups

“We found that HRT is especially beneficial for women who have gone through a surgical menopause, for example after having their ovaries removed.

“In this group, those who used HRT were around 26 per cent less likely to develop dementia than women who didn’t use it.

“We also found that women whose bodies naturally produced less oestrogen over their lives - because they started their periods late or hit menopause early - seemed to get more help from HRT.

“Their risk of dementia was around 16 per cent lower with HRT.”

Genetics also played a role. The associations between HRT use and dementia were stronger in women who carry the APOE4 gene variant - a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

“This is really important because APOE4 carriers are typically considered at higher risk and have fewer established prevention options.”

Timing may matter

The age at which women started hormone therapy also appeared to influence outcomes. Those who began HRT between the ages of 46 and 56 experienced the greatest reduction in dementia risk.

This supports the so‑called “critical window” hypothesis, which suggests that hormone therapy may be more beneficial when initiated closer to the menopausal transition, rather than later in life.

The study did not find the same level of benefit when HRT was started outside this age range, reinforcing the importance of timing in hormone‑based interventions.

Implications for personalised care

“Our findings contribute to growing evidence that hormone therapy’s effects on brain health are complex and influenced by individual biological factors,” said Prof Minihane.

“While HRT has long been prescribed primarily to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats, this work suggests it may also play a role in long‑term cognitive health for some women.”

This research builds on a previous study from UEA, which found that HRT use is associated with better memory, cognition and larger brain volumes in later life among women carrying the APOE4 ‘dementia gene’.

The team say their latest results provide a foundation for more personalised approaches to HRT prescribing - taking into account menopause type, genetic risk, lifetime hormone exposure, and age at initiation.

Prof David Llewellyn, University of Exeter Medical School, said: “These findings represent a significant step forward. Rather than asking simply whether HRT affects dementia risk, we've been able to identify which women are most likely to benefit, and when. That's the foundation on which genuinely personalised approaches to women's brain health can be built.”

This research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Dr Amanda Collis, Executive Director for Research Strategy and Programmes at BBSRC, said: “This study provides valuable new insights into how menopause and the timing of hormone replacement therapy may influence dementia risk in women.

“The findings suggest that HRT could have greater protective benefits for some groups, highlighting the potential for more personalised approaches to prevention.”

‘Hormone replacement therapy and dementia risk among postmenopausal women: identifying responsive subgroups in the UK Biobank’ is published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia.

Heavy social media use tied to depression

 

Depression linked to 2.5 hours or more of daily scrolling

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Cincinnati

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UC Professor Hans Breiter and his research partners used a machine learning model to examine links between social media use and self-reported depression. 

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Credit: Andrew Higley

Social media use is a better predictor of depression than many other common factors such as one’s job and educational background or time spent on other activities such as playing video games, surfing the web or watching TV.

Meanwhile, researchers observed a correlation with self-reported depression in survey respondents starting at 2.5 hours of daily scrolling.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Northwestern University assessed 11 years of data from the annual Media Behaviors and Influence Study starting in 2014 and found that social media use was among the most important predictors of self-reported depression.

“When it comes to depression and social media, the argument is salient across scientific test after test of those 11 years,” corresponding author and UC Professor Hans Breiter said.

“It’s a damning picture. Social media is harmful for individuals across the lifespan. We should not subject ourselves to a product using addiction science to optimize our viewing time.“

The study was published in the Nature Portfolio journal Mental Health Research.

UC researchers collaborated with co-lead author and Professor Emeritus Martin Block at Northwestern University. While numerous studies have documented associations between social media use and negative outcomes such as mental health conditions, especially depression, none have used AI to show these relationships persist in adults.

Researchers examined 183,300 anonymized surveys from adults ages 18 to 70 from the Media Behaviors and Influence Study conducted annually since 2002 by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The survey asks 1,318 questions across topics and the respondent’s health across 31 measures, including self-reported depression.

They used a machine learning model that was evaluated with tools designed to ensure its accuracy and calibration. Using this model, they found an increasing relationship between social media use and depression.

“Much of the published research has focused on younger populations, single datasets or broad measures of screen time. We need studies that distinguish social media from other digital activities and examine whether the same associations appear across different populations and years,” co-lead author and UC Research Associate Vikram Suresh said.

Researchers observed a correlation with self-reported depression among respondents who spent at least 150 minutes on social media per day. They observed the same result in each of the 11 years studied.

“Mental health and happiness are about engaging the world and having purpose, not passively watching something for hours,” Breiter said.

UC doctoral student and study co-author Johnathan Avant said people long have suspected that excessive social media use could have negative health effects.

“You can see trends on social media where they talk about the mental health toll it has on them,” Avant said.

Researchers found that social media increasingly became a bigger predictor of depression during the 11 years studied, eclipsing many other factors like TV viewing or web surfing.

UC senior research associate and co-author Nicole Vike said consumption of social media has changed over the years.

“Initially, social media was a social outlet with people you knew,” Vike said.

Now, people typically consume content made by strangers, she said.

“It’s crazy how addictive it can be. Look at chronically online content creators,” Vike said. “They often have to take a monthslong hiatus from being online for their mental health.”

The study was supported with grants from the Office of Naval Research and a donation from UC alumnus Jim Goetz.

While the $300 billion industry has become ubiquitous in daily life, UC’s senior research associate and co-author Sumra Bari said there are ways people can limit time spent on social media like setting timers, turning off notifications and fully logging out of accounts after every session to make it harder to scroll again out of habit.

But it might be unrealistic for people to simply turn it off, she said.

“There is a lot of social pressure to stay connected and be out there. So being aware of the risks as early as possible is important,” she said.

Professor emeritus Block noted, “Social media is a common marker of our cultural age much like the automobile was more than a century ago. But social media has an important negative effect through its association with depression, much like the automobile is associated with injuries from crashes and pollution.”

Breiter said their findings suggest it’s in society’s best interest to find ways to mitigate the harms of today’s deeply online culture.

“This is a wake-up call,” he said.

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Journal

npj Mental Health Research

DOI

10.1038/s44184-026-00237-y 

Consuming dairy products can increase prostate cancer risk

 

 Ahead of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September, a new survey finds that just 20% of men know that consuming milk and other dairy products can increase the risk of prostate cancer. After learning about the increased risk, 66% said they are likely to avoid dairy products.

The survey, conducted by Morning Consult for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine among 1,102 U.S. men, also found that only 20% of men have received information from a healthcare professional regarding the link between nutrition and prostate cancer risk.

“Physicians and other healthcare professionals need more education on the dangers of dairy products and the benefits of a plant-based diet for prostate cancer,” says Noah Praamsma, MS, RDN, a dietitian and nutrition education coordinator with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

High intakes of dairy products, including milk and cheese, increase the risk for prostate cancer, according to a meta-analysis that included 32 studies. In one study, those who had one or more servings a day of skim or low-fat milk had a 19% increased risk of prostate cancer, compared with those who rarely consumed it. In another study that followed 3,612 men for 8-10 years, men consuming the most low-fat dairy (about 3 servings per day) were more than twice as likely to develop prostate cancer than men who had the lowest dairy intake (less than 1 serving per day).

Milk and other dairy products may also increase the risk of prostate cancer mortality. In a meta-analysis of 11 studies that encompassed more than 700,000 participants and assessed dairy intake and cancer mortality rates, male participants who consumed the most whole milk increased their risk of death from prostate cancer by as much as 50%, compared with those who consumed the least amount. 

Given the prostate cancer risk associated with dairy products, 76% of men surveyed support requiring warning labels on dairy products to inform people about prostate cancer risk.

“The good news is that most men surveyed knew that consuming fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans can help protect them against prostate cancer,” adds Praamsma, “and research shows that consuming a 100% plant-based diet is the most beneficial.”

The Adventist Health Study-2 found that men who followed a vegan diet had a 35% lower prostate cancer risk than those following a nonvegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, or semi-vegetarian diet. A study of more than 2,000 men with prostate cancer found that those who ate the most plant-based foods had a 56% lower risk of prostate cancer progression and a 59% lower risk of prostate cancer recurrence compared with those who ate the least.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society’s 2024 annual report, as well as the second most common cause of cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 333,830 new cases of prostate cancer in the United States in 2026 and 36,320 deaths from prostate cancer.