What's Coming Up This Summer, Plus Some Exciting Plans for Fall
A taste of what's in store: “hydration multiplier” powders, sunscreen avoidance, a new feature, and more
Hello and happy summer!
I’m away this week on a much-needed vacation, but I wanted to take a moment to let you know about what’s in store here for July and August. I’ll be slowing down a bit over the next two months, thanks to preschool/camp closures and a special project I’m working on (which I’ll hopefully be able to announce in the fall), but we’ve got some great stuff planned for you in the meantime. See how much you can fill in on your bingo card :)
I’m especially excited about a few summer-specific Q&As looking at whether you really need those “hydration multiplier” powders I’ve been seeing everywhere lately, and what’s behind the wellness trend of avoiding sunscreen (or DIYing your own). I’ve been delving into the research and finding some fascinating things, and I can’t wait to share these pieces with you soon.
We’ll also be debuting a new feature that I hope will become a somewhat regular occurrence, which very much involves YOU. I’ll share more about that when we launch in August, and I think it’s going to be really fun and a good conversation starter.
Plus, I’ve handpicked a few of our most popular and useful pieces from the archives to help you navigate some of the perennial wellness trends that just keep popping up, from “hormone balancing” and period diets to protein loading, Andrew Huberman’s dubious protocols, and more.
There’ll be fewer interviews this summer to make room for more of those fan-favorite pieces, but we’ll be back to our regular interview schedule in the fall, and I’ve already got great conversations queued up through October that I think you’re going to love. My guests and I are delving into ultraprocessed foods, self-acceptance with a disability or chronic illness, weight-inclusive medical care, parenting in a landscape of surveillance and misinformation, and more.
Throughout the summer I’ll continue doing biweekly link roundups, including my quick takes / deeper dives (though they’ll likely tend more toward the former than the latter). If there’s anything in wellness/diet-related news that you’d like my thoughts on, you can send it in here or comment below.
By the way, speaking of quick takes and deeper dives: the take/dive in my last roundup got such great feedback and felt important enough to share with a wider audience that I decided to remove the paywall. It’s about why I don’t use A.I. in my writing, research, or illustration, and it really seemed to resonate with paid subscribers, so I hope it’ll spark some ideas and conversation for everyone else, too.
Finally: I know this email is mostly about looking ahead, but if you haven’t caught up on the podcast in a while, I highly recommend checking out our top 5 pieces from so far this year:
I hope you’re having a great summer so far, and I can’t wait to share all this cool stuff with you in the months ahead. Meanwhile, I’ll be back in a couple days with the next link roundup!
Warmly and slowly,
Christy
Would you please take a listen to NPR's "How a glucose monitor can help tame blood sugar spikes and crashes" from tonight's All Things Considered (6/30/25)? Aside from sounding like a really cheery CGM ad, it's rife with "healthy fats" and "giant spikes" and "deep crashes." I figured out about a million years ago that the reason I can't eat a muffin for breakfast (even a high-fiber, homemade "healthy" muffin) is that I am hungry in an hour. I would like to know the ACTUAL BGL numbers (I suspect they're between 70 and 150) and whether this "study" included anyone who did not self-select (or want to lose weight). We know the "researcher" works for the CGM manufacturer... is (or has) anyone else doing (done) double-blind versions of this work? We also know NPR works for Diet Culture - Michaeleen Doucleff, who I know was once a serious scientist, sounds like a young Allison Aubrey, who cannot stop talking about weight. NPR has thrown a bone at their own coverage of weight and health in a 2023 defense called "Journalism's coverage of weight and size," but this is a woefully inadequate refusal to self-analyze. I was raging on my ride home, wishing I had someone to talk to about it. Yesss, people have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies.. but should marketing be covered as health news? Thanks, as always.
Looking forward to your thoughts on electrolyte supplements. I take them for chronic migraine but unsure if they help or are mostly a waste of money.