Calcium

• The marketing of dietary supplements has been quite effective, with 77% of Americans reporting feeling that the supplement industry is trustworthy.
• A 2024 study found that approximately 1 in 10 adolescents have used nonprescribed weight loss and weight control products, including dietary supplements.
• The unregulated market of dietary supplements is setting consumers up to be misled and potentially seriously harmed by these products.

The wild west

• Some of these products are labeled as dietary supplements but are anything but.
• Products containing kratom, a substance with opioidlike effects, which are sold over the counter in many gas stations, claim to be herbal supplements but are mislabeled.
• Under a 1994 law, dietary supplements are classified as food, not as drugs.

The FDA is cracking down

• In August 2021, the FDA cracked down on some of these weight loss products because of the presence of undeclared drugs.
• While the FDA may take further action beyond the recalls, the agency acknowledged that it is not able to test every weight loss supplement for contamination with drugs.
• Some weight loss supplements may have FDA warnings on them.

Eating disorders

• People who have eating disorders often suffer related health issues such as bone loss, osteoporosis and vitamin deficiencies.
• Diet pill and supplement use has also been associated with increased risk for developing eating disorders and disordered eating, as well as low self-esteem, depression and substance use.
• While dietary supplements do not solely cause eating disorders or disordered eating, they are one contributing factor that may be addressed with preventive measures and regulations.

The allure of protein powders and fitness supplements

• Protein powders and other fitness supplements also have wide appeal.
• But a growing problem in boys is the use of fitness supplements such as protein powder and creatine products, a compound that supplies energy to the muscles.
• Protein powders make claims of building lean muscles, while creatine boasts providing energy for short-term, intense exercise.

Possible solutions

• One proposed regulation by researchers at Harvard University includes taxing dietary supplements whose labels tout weight loss benefits.
• Another policy recommendation involves banning the sale of dietary supplements and other weight loss products to protect minors from these underregulated and potentially dangerous products.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• The worrying findings, based on temperature records contained in sea sponge skeletons, suggest global climate change has progressed much further than previously thought.
• Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming.
• To date, estimates of upper ocean warming have been mainly based on sea-surface temperature records, however these date back only about 180 years.
• Earth may in fact have already reached at least 1.7°C warming since pre-industrial times – a deeply troubling discovery.

Getting a gauge on ocean heat

• Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface and absorb an enormous amount of heat and carbon dioxide.
• Global surface temperatures are traditionally calculated by averaging the temperature of water at the sea surface, and the air just above the land surface.
• This makes it more difficult to accurately reconstruct stable baseline ocean temperatures.
• But what if there was a way to precisely gauge ocean temperatures over centuries in the past?

Studying a special sponge

• But they grow at a much slower rate and can live for many hundreds of years.
• This means sclerosponges can provide a detailed diary of sea temperatures, down to a resolution of just 0.1°C.
• We studied the sponge species Ceratoporella nicholsoni.

• We looked at temperatures going back 300 years, to see whether the current time period which defines pre-industrial temperatures was accurate.
• The sponge records showed nearly constant temperatures from 1700 to 1790 and from 1840 to 1860 (with a gap in the middle due to volcanic cooling).

What does this mean for global warming?

• It shows human-caused ocean warming began at least several decades earlier than previously assumed by the IPCC.
• Long-term climate change is commonly measured against the average warming over the 30 years from 1961 to 1990, as well as warming in more recent decades.
• Add to that the average 0.8°C global warming from 1990 to recent years, and the Earth may have warmed on average by at least 1.7°C since pre-industrial times.
• Read more:
  'Australia is sleepwalking': a bushfire scientist explains what the Hawaii tragedy means for our flammable continent

We must act now

Our revised estimates suggest climate change is at a more advanced stage than we thought. This is cause for great concern. It appears that humanity has missed its chance to limit global warming to 1.5°C and has a very challenging task ahead to keep warming below 2°C. This underscores the urgent need to halve global emissions by 2030.
Malcolm McCulloch receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

• Silk®'s new range of Greek-style, plant-based yogurt introduces Canadians to a new protein option fortified with 12 grams of Canadian pea protein per serving
  TORONTO and BOUCHERVILLE, QC, Feb. 5, 2024 /CNW/ - Danone Canada's Silk® continues to forge a plant-based revolution with the launch of its new protein plant-based yogurt featuring Canadian pea protein.
• Silk® also introduces an improved recipe, new flavours and sizes for its current range of coconut plant-based yogurts.
• With this launch, we are proud to announce our use of Canadian pea protein to create a great tasting, high in protein product that supports local sourcing and production".
• This new product line will be made entirely with Canadian pea protein.

• This year, America's #1 plant-based brand1 is making its debut at the Big Game to show people how starting your day with Silk can make you feel good.
• To bring its debut campaign to life, Silk partnered with Jeremy Renner – the action hero actor who has made a superhuman comeback – alongside his daughter Ava.
• Through a fun morning routine filled with moves, grooves and stunts, Renner demonstrates how incorporating Silk into your diet can help anyone, anywhere, feel "planty" good.
• "I'm excited to make my Big Game debut alongside Silk and my daughter, Ava," said Renner.