My family tried to eat fewer ultra-processed foods for five years. Here’s what we learned Cutting UPFs from our grocery list was expensive, laborious and time-consuming

My family tried to eat fewer ultra-processed foods for five years. Here’s what we learned

‘They’re gonna make me cry’: I competed at a speed puzzling championship You might think of puzzling as leisurely, but it’s now a sport. I entered a national competition and discovered a passionate community

Speed puzzlers train up to three hours a day to prepare for competitions, brushing up on techniques and building their muscles. “I like to do core exercises because your lower back hurts a lot,” says Yvonne Feucht, a Los Angeles camera operator.

www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

‘Not unique to war’: millions of Americans suffer from moral injury. What’s causing it? Psychologist Michael Valdovinos explains the condition, which is now acknowledged in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

"To experience moral injury is to be forced to act in ways or to witness actions that contradict your most deeply held convictions." www.theguardian.com/global/2026/...

‘I could barely think because it was so bad’: why Darcey Steinke wrote a book about pain Darcey Steinke wanted to write a book that wasn’t just about trying to get over pain. Her memoir, This Is the Door, explores how chronic pain changes us

Chronic pain remakes you - it can make you a smaller, more fearful version of yourself. At the same time, it can also make you more present and connected and grateful. I spoke to Darcey Steinke, whose book details her encounter with that very strange beast www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

RFK Jr’s pick to review Covid vaccines authored misleading research, experts say HHS says the MIT professor is ‘more than qualified’ to serve on the agency’s vaccine advisory panel and calls ‘attacks’ on him ‘politically motivated’

I wrote about the MIT professor who is leading a review of Covid-19 vaccine safety for Robert F Kennedy Jr's HHS. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Excruciating but worth it: How a decades-old cult dating book helped me find love Years of singlehood, dating apps and humiliating set-ups left me skeptical. But Calling in the One – surprisingly – worked

"I had trudged, reluctantly, through the sludge of dating apps, and begged friends to set me up, yielding humiliating results. I even paid a matchmaker $6,000 to try to circumvent the misery of dating when I could have just bought a Chanel bag." www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

I look at a stranger and see a friend. Am I a super-recognizer? I once even thought I had seen my late grandmother. Can science explain my overfamiliarity with strange faces?

"When I was in my mid-20s, I spotted my grandma through the window of a coffee shop. I was dumbstruck – she had passed away the year before. I stared for a moment, then reminded myself it couldn’t be her." www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

You should act your age – at least when it comes to exercise. Here’s why Adapting your fitness routine to your physical realities can help prevent injury from over-exercising

"I had been ignoring small signs of encroaching decrepitude: the popping and grinding in my right knee and hip joints whenever I stood up, bent down or took the stairs. Yet I kept stubbornly persuading myself that I was still a 'young' fiftysomething." www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

I tried to not procrastinate for a week. Here’s what helped the most Ploughing through my to-do list felt great until I hit a wall. Were we really meant to work without watching any vertical videos first?

"As I looked to the miserable grey skies, I realised I had come down with a severe case of the 'I don’t wannas'. I spent 20 minutes scrolling through the only distraction available on my phone. It was – and I’m sobbing with shame as I write this – LinkedIn." www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

How elder care can rupture sibling relationships: ‘I didn’t have much choice’ Guardian readers shared how caring for ageing parents with siblings tested – and sometimes broke – family bonds

“I got to see a side of my sister that I don’t particularly like ... It’s probably the same for her.”
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

Meet the 75-year-old powerlifter headed to the world championships Kate Evert started working out to appease her kids. Now, she’s confident in her strength and ability

I love Bluesky. I commented on someone’s post last week and mentioned I powerlift. A reporter from The Guardian US asked if I’d be willing to be interviewed. Here’s the result!. What an interesting life I lead!

www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

From Nazi Germany to Trump’s America: why fascist strongmen rely on women at home Fascist regimes pushed narratives of domestic bliss, yet relied on women’s unpaid labor. In the US today, ‘womanosphere’ influencers promote the same fantasies

From Nazi Germany to Trump’s America: why fascist strongmen rely on women at home

From Nazi Germany to Trump’s America: why strongmen rely on women at home Fascist regimes pushed narratives of domestic bliss, yet relied on women’s unpaid labor. In the US today, ‘womanosphere’ influencers promote the same fantasies

“There was a whole array of women’s magazines that glorified housewives” in Nazi Germany, says Claudia Koonz, professor emerita of history at Duke University. “It would be the equivalent of social media today.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

I stopped telling ‘little white lies’ for two weeks. This is what I learned Leaning on lies feels easy to get out of sticky social situations, but it can quickly become a nasty habit

🤫 www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

The silent epidemic: the pros and cons of screening for prostate cancer In the US, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men – but experts can’t agree about testing

"Now I am a prostate cancer survivor, whose prostatectomy in 2020 almost came too late. I didn’t know that in the US, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. One in eight will be diagnosed with it. One in 44 will die from it." www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

My daughter’s health was a mystery. The answer was on the other side of the world I connected with other moms worldwide, doctors and a geneticist – and identified the rare genetic disorder that connects us all

My daughter’s health was a mystery. The answer was on the other side of the world

I traded booze for THC drinks. But are there hidden risks? Giving up alcohol changed my life, but I wanted to know whether cannabis cocktails were too good to be true

“Practices vary wildly between operators,” says one expert. “For the consumer, it’s hard to tell what’s actually in the drink. There’s no federal standard, so it’s essentially dealer’s choice on the operator side." www.theguardian.com/global/2025/...

ChatGPT, write my wedding vows: are we OK with AI in everyday life? Artificial intelligence has entered the personal chat. What does that say about human relationships?

"One person anonymously told me that he used ChatGPT while writing his father of the bride speech; another wished OpenAI had been around when he had written his vows because it would have 'saved [him] a lot of time'" www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...

RFK Jr’s new vaccine panel votes against preservative in flu shots in shock move Decision to restrict thimerosal in immunizations could impact future vaccine availability on a global scale

RFKJr’s handpicked ACIP may have approved a new RSV monoclonal for infants but they rejected hearing evidence on thiomersal by scientists and instead opted to hear from an anti-thiomersal lobbyist nurse practitioner before voting to only approve flu shots if they don’t contain thiomersal.

‘Our fantasy of love has to do with need and dependency’: Melissa Febos on her year of celibacy Febos’s life flourished while taking a year off sex and dating. In a new memoir, The Dry Season, the author explores the strong hold romance had on her

Talked to @melissafebos.bsky.social about her year off sex and dating, "a collective derangement that we have around love and sex" and her new memoir THE DRY SEASON www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...

‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides

When warnings of Insectageddon were issued a few years ago, there was widespread denial. Less so now. It's devastating. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Hi Lila! I'm an editor at the Guardian and was wondering if you'd want to write a piece about this for us - I'm estelle.tang@theguardian.com if you want to get in touch. Thanks!

‘Death is not a mystery’: what happens to your body when you’re dying? Experts say knowing more about death – or ‘death literacy’ – can actually help quell fears of dying

I loved FX's DYING FOR SEX - and, related, have developed a strong urge to kick @robdelaney.bsky.social in the balls. But one of my favorite scenes featured a hospice worker explaining to a terminally ill patient what happens to your body when you're dying. www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

Every time I meet someone new, I worry they’ll find my scarred face hideous You don’t have to fix a single thing about your face to find love, writes advice columnist Jessica DeFino

"Back when I was on the apps, I’d upload slightly unflattering photos of myself: an up-close, no-makeup selfie; a wide shot in a muumuu the size of a small circus tent. I wanted to meet men who weren’t primarily interested in looks."
www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

Does everything feel broken but weirdly normal? There’s a word for that Large-scale systems are crumbling, yet daily life continues. The Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help when dysfunction is the status quo

“What you are feeling is the disconnect between seeing that systems are failing, that things aren’t working … and yet the institutions and the people in power just are ignoring it and pretending everything is going to go on the way that it has" www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...

Donate to Support Polygon Workers and the Vox Media Union, organized by Ashok Selvam On Thursday, May 1, Vox Media announced the sale of beloved video game s… Ashok Selvam needs your support for Support Polygon Workers and the Vox Media Union

Nearly all of Polygon was laid off last week after Vox sold the company. Donate if you can! www.gofundme.com/f/support-po...

People who don’t ask me questions drive me crazy. Why are they like that? ‘Non-askers’ can come across as selfish – but there might be personal and societal reasons for their lack of curiosity

you know when you are talking to someone and they ask you NO QUESTIONS AT ALL? why do they do that??? @sarahmiller.bsky.social asked around www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

Australian with working visa detained and deported on returning to US from sister’s memorial Man who says he had previously left and re-entered the country multiple times alleges border officials called him ‘retarded’ and boasted ‘Trump is back in town’ When Jonathan returned from the US to Australia for a two-day trip to scatter his sister’s ashes, he packed only two changes of clothes, leaving enough space in his small bag to carry the empty ashes urn to his home in the US. The trip was so brief he didn’t even pack a laptop charger. The Australian says he was detained and deported when returning from the memorial in March, despite holding a working visa still valid for more than 15 months. He has been living on the US east coast for seven years – where his American partner, apartment, work studio and clients remain. Continue reading...

Australian with working visa detained and deported on returning to US from sister’s memorial

ABC, Please Let Doctor Odyssey Sail On TV’s most wholesome and horny medical drama deserves at least one more season.

pls don't cancel doctor odyssey, the only representation for people with covid trauma and intimacy issues www.vulture.com/article/doct...

The US right is coming for disabled people. Here’s why that threatens everyone Trump’s administration is dismantling disability rights and education. History has shown this can be a warning sign for all civil liberties

Thanks so much to @theguardian.com for having me, and especially @estelletang.bsky.social for her fastidious edits. www.theguardian.com/global/2025/...