Winter Depression Relief and Dietitians on Social Media: A Week in Well+Being

• Are you a chronic people pleaser? Here’s how to be nicer to yourself.
• Is it true that alcohol burns during cooking? The answer is yes surprise you.
• Consumer Reports has tips for drinking water. Here’s how to do it better taste.
• Exercising with flat feet? Here’s what you they should know.
• Seeing blood in the toilet is scary. here is What should I do about.

Breaking down the ads for influential dietitians

Did you know that the food industry pays dietitians to shape your eating habits?

The Washington Post found this out in a months-long investigation by the non-profit Ekamination newsroom. Our team identified numerous cases where popular dietitians on TikTok and Instagram promoted industry-friendly messages about aspartame and sugar, but it was often unclear who was paying for the ads.

Now the Federal Trade Commission scales. This week, the agency sent warning letters to two industry trade groups and a dozen influential dietitians, saying they should be more transparent about who pays for social media posts.

Influencers, especially people like dietitians and other medical professionals who are trusted by the public, need to take these warnings seriously, said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. We were disappointed to see this kind of influencer marketing.

An investigation by the Post and Examination found that American Beverage, whose membership includes Coca-Cola and Pepsi, paid a dozen nutritionists to make videos that tried to undermine the World Health Organization’s health warnings about aspartame, an artificial sweetener in many diet sodas. .

The investigation also found that the Canadian Sugar Institute paid at least a dozen dietitians to make videos urging people to give in to sugary cravings, mocking advice to cut back on sugar and urging parents to let kids eat as much candy as they want.

Here’s the full article on this week’s FTC action and some responses from the food industry and dietitians. And you can read the original investigation here.

8 things you can do to ease winter depression

Every year, millions of people, about 5 percent of Americans, deal with the lethargy and low mood of winter seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

What many of them don’t know is that the best time to prepare for winter depression is fall. Chelsea Conrad, news designer for The Post, created this beautifully illustrated guide based on expert tips for navigating the wintery US, collected by columnist Richard Sima.

Should You Take a Magnesium Supplement?

Q: I’ve heard that magnesium can be related to fatigue and mood symptoms. Should I start taking supplements?

ABOUT: The data on magnesium supplementation is overwhelming for some of the purported benefits that have been popularized on social media, including taking it for fatigue and mood symptoms. There are several clear circumstances in which magnesium supplementation is warranted.

To learn more, read the full story. Our columnist is Trisha S. Pasricha, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Use our Ask the Doctor form to submit a question, and we may answer it in a future column.

Here are a few things that brought us joy this week.

• This picture from the International Kite Festival it’s wonderful in spain.
• In Argentina, fans camped for six months to see Taylor Swift.
• here is there are 22 books our books columnist Michael Dirda would read again.
• As we begin planning for Thanksgiving, take a breath. They are here 7 things you don’t have to worry about it.

Want to learn more about snacks for joy? Our Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains. Iyou can too read this story like a comic book.

Let us know how we are doing. Email me at wellbeing@vashpost.com. You can too find us on TikTok.