PFAS 'Forever Chemical' Pesticides Found on Nearly 40% of California Produce

Five Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 12, challenging state-level waivers that restrict SNAP benefits from being used to purchase soda, candy, energy drinks, and other prepared desserts. The plaintiffs, from Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia, argue the restrictions create confusion at grocery checkouts and make it harder for families to manage their food needs and health conditions.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice and law firm Shinder Cantor Lerner, contends that the USDA exceeded its legal authority by approving 22 state waivers without following proper procedures, including seeking public input or establishing an evaluation methodology. The complaint states that the department acted "without reasoned decision-making" in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The USDA told Newsweek it would "not comment on pending litigation."

The case sits at the intersection of nutrition policy and food access, with supporters of the restrictions arguing they promote healthier diets among program participants, while opponents contend that limiting food choices for low-income Americans is paternalistic and fails to address underlying barriers to healthy eating, such as food deserts and limited access to affordable produce. The outcome could shape federal nutrition assistance policy for millions of Americans who depend on SNAP benefits.

Research from the University of Toronto has found that young people who use pre-workout supplements are more than twice as likely to report sleeping five hours or less per night compared to non-users, raising concerns about the growing popularity of these products among teenagers and young adults. The study, published in ScienceDaily on March 9, analyzed data from the Canadian Study of Adolescent Behaviors, examining participants between the ages of 16 and 30.

Lead author Kyle T. Ganson, assistant professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, noted that pre-workout supplements commonly contain between 90 and 350 milligrams of caffeine per serving — significantly more than a can of cola (approximately 35 mg) and up to three times the caffeine in a cup of coffee (roughly 100 mg). Health guidelines recommend that adolescents sleep 8 to 10 hours per night, while young adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours, yet many young Canadians already fall short of these targets.

The research team is calling on health professionals, including pediatricians and family physicians, to proactively discuss pre-workout supplement use with young patients. Practical harm-reduction strategies include avoiding these supplements 12 to 14 hours before bedtime. The findings also strengthen calls for tighter regulatory oversight of dietary supplements marketed to young consumers, as many view them as harmless fitness products despite their high stimulant content.

A study from Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has found that pregnant women who more closely followed the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet had babies with healthier birth weights, longer gestational duration, and a lower risk of preterm birth. The prospective analysis used data from 1,431 mother-infant pairs in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, making it one of the first studies to evaluate the planetary health diet specifically during pregnancy.

Lead author Leyre Notario Barandiaran and her team used a machine-learning approach called Self-Organizing Maps to identify real-world dietary patterns within the cohort. They identified three distinct patterns: a plant-based pattern, a saturated fat-rich pattern, and an animal and added sugar-rich pattern. The latter two were associated with poorer outcomes, including lower birth weight and higher preterm birth risk, compared to the plant-based pattern.

The findings are notable because there have been concerns that the Planetary Health Diet — which emphasizes plant-forward eating and limits animal-source foods — might not provide adequate nutrition during pregnancy, when nutrient demands are elevated. Instead, the results suggest that greater adherence to this dietary pattern was associated with improved perinatal outcomes. Because the EAT-Lancet framework integrates human health goals with environmental sustainability, the study provides evidence that a diet designed to benefit the planet may also support healthy pregnancies.