The Gary Null Show - 10-13-26
HEALTH NEWS New review identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research Dietitians Say Boiling Sweet Potatoes May Help Manage Blood Sugar Better Than Roasting or Baking Very severe long COVID linked to differences in lung and mouth microbiomes Using AI for just 10 minutes erodes your ability to persist at hard things Late-night snacking may affect liver health New review identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research Augusta University Medical College of Georgia, October 6 2026 (News-Medical) Nearly one-third of U.S. adults report sleeping less than seven hours a night, below the minimum amount recommended for most adults, while nearly one in five has trouble staying asleep most days or every day. At the same time, nearly one-third of Americans say they are seeking improved sleep from foods, beverages or nutrients. Pistachios have attracted researchers' attention because they naturally bring together several nutrients and plant compounds connected to sleep. Now, a new narrative review published in Nutrition Research Reviews identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research and explores how their nutrient profile may influence processes related to sleep quality, falling asleep, staying asleep and regulation of the sleep–wake cycle. Pistachios provide tryptophan, vitamin B6 and magnesium, which the body uses in the production of serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is involved in sleep regulation and is also used to make melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate the sleep–wake cycle. Pistachios also contain phytomelatonin, the form of melatonin produced by plants, although its absorption and effects from eating pistachios have not been established in people. Pistachios provide vitamin B6 and magnesium, which are involved in the production and function of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a brain chemical that helps quiet nerve activity and plays a role in regulating sleep. A one-ounce serving of pistachios provides about 71 milligrams of tryptophan, roughly 20% of the daily amount recommended for a 154-pound adult. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid the body uses to make serotonin, a brain chemical involved in sleep regulation, and melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate the sleep–wake cycle. The authors of this review concluded that pistachios could represent a promising wholefood intervention for improving sleep due to their unique combination of nutrients and bioactives, and map a clear path to additional research needed. Dietitians Say Boiling Sweet Potatoes May Help Manage Blood Sugar Better Than Roasting or Baking University of West Indies (Jamaica), October 10 2026 (Natural News) Boiling sweet potatoes may offer advantages for blood sugar management compared with roasting, baking, or frying. The report described boiling as the easiest cooking method and one that may help prevent large post-meal blood sugar spikes. The glycemic index, or GI, is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-containing foods by how quickly they raise blood sugar after eating. Boiling sweet potatoes may be better for blood sugar than baking or roasting, according to dietitians. The result is a sweeter, denser vegetable with a different effect on blood glucose than a boiled sweet potato. Researchers compared a baked or roasted potato to a raisin and a boiled potato to a grape. That moisture difference is one reason the two preparations behave differently in the body. Research on carotenoid retention suggests boiling generally preserves these compounds well compared with some higher-heat methods, though results vary by sweet potato variety and the antioxidant being measured. One study found that boiling unpeeled medium-sized sweet potato roots for 30 minutes resulted in a 14 to 59 percent reduction of total carotenoid content across four sweet potato cultivars. Other research on orange-fleshed sweet potato reported a true retention of all-tran