Between Saturday's
This week: beta-blockers after heart attacks, how small nudges boost movement, the hidden toll of ultra-processed food, and AI’s role in fighting misinformation
Health doesn’t just live in hospitals or prescriptions — it unfolds in the quiet patterns of daily life. The medications we continue or stop, the little nudges that push us to move, the food choices that seem harmless but shape our bodies, even the way we sift truth from noise in a digital world — all of it matters. Science keeps reminding us that health isn’t one decision, but a collection of small ones, repeated over time.
Here are four studies that caught my eye this week.
Caught My Eye…
• Beta-blockers still matter after a heart attack — but not for everyone
For decades, beta-blockers were automatically prescribed after a heart attack. But medicine evolves. A new pooled analysis of over 10,000 patients shows that people with mildly reduced heart function (an ejection fraction of 40–49%) lived longer and had fewer repeat heart attacks if they stayed on beta-blockers.
Interestingly, those with fully normal heart pumping (over 50%) didn’t see the same benefit. That means the old “one-size-fits-all” approach may be fading. Treatment decisions are shifting toward tailoring care based on individual heart function.
• The PEARL trial asked a simple question: can gentle notifications change how much we move?
In this large study of Fitbit users, researchers tested four approaches: no nudges, random nudges, fixed-time nudges, and personalized nudges guided by reinforcement learning. The clear winner was personalization. People who received nudges tailored to their routines and patterns walked significantly more steps than all the other groups.
What makes this powerful is scalability. The entire intervention came through app notifications — no gyms, no coaches, just smart timing and behavioral science woven into daily life.
The lesson? Behavior change isn’t just about discipline or willpower. Small, well-timed cues can nudge us into healthier routines. And when technology is designed thoughtfully, it can help us move a little more each day without feeling forced.
• Ultra-processed food may hit more than your waistline
In a tightly controlled study, healthy young men were fed diets that were nearly identical in calories and nutrients — except one was ultra-processed, the other minimally processed. The ultra-processed diet group gained more body fat and had lower levels of male sex hormones.
This adds weight to concerns we sometimes gloss over: it’s not just how much we eat, but what kind. Processing matters. And the effects can ripple beyond metabolism — affecting hormones, fat storage, overall health.
Curious to learn more? I covered ultra-processed foods in this Short Dive.
• Fighting health misinformation with explainable AI
From miracle cures on social media to viral health myths, misinformation spreads faster than science. A new project is testing AI tools that don’t just flag false claims but also pull up trustworthy studies alongside them. The system hit a 95% success rate in finding solid evidence and did reasonably well in judging misinformation.
What stands out is the focus on explainability. Black-box AI systems may be accurate, but if people don’t understand why a claim was labeled false, skepticism grows. Research in psychology shows that people are more likely to update their beliefs when corrective information is paired with clear reasoning rather than blunt contradiction. In that sense, explainable AI is not only a technical achievement but a behavioral one — it acknowledges how humans process trust and persuasion.
The real frontier may not be detection itself, but the design of systems that can make science legible and transparent. In a world where misinformation thrives on emotional appeal, clarity and explanation may be our strongest antidotes.
Until next Saturday,
Summaya
Detailed Readings
Beta-Blocker Therapy Following MI the Focus of Late-Breaking Research at ESC Congress 2025
Ultra-processed diet decreases male sex hormones, new study suggests
Safeguarding Patient Trust in the Age of AI: Tackling Health Misinformation with Explainable AI