Relieving winter depression and social media nutritionists. week at Well+Being

This week’s must read.

• Are you a chronic people pleaser? Here’s how to be better for yourself.
• Is it true that alcohol burns when cooking? The answer is can surprise you
• Consumer Reports advises on drinking water. Here’s how to make it taste better.
• Exercising with flat feet? That’s what you are need to know
• Seeing blood in the toilet is scary. Here what to do about that.

The pressure of “influencer” advertising by nutritionists

Did you know that the food industry pays nutritionists to shape your eating habits?

That’s what The Washington Post learned during a months-long investigation with the nonprofit news outlet Examination. Our team found a number of cases where popular nutritionists on TikTok and Instagram promoted industry-friendly messages about aspartame and sugar, but it was often unclear who was paying for the ads.

Now the Federal Trade Commission is weighing in. This week, the agency sent warning letters to two industry trade groups and a dozen nutrition influencers, saying they need to be more transparent about who pays for social media posts.

“Influencers, especially people like dietitians and other medical providers whom the public trusts, should take these warnings seriously,” said Samuel Levin, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We are disappointed to see this type of influencer marketing.”

An investigation by the Post and Examination found that American Beverage, which includes Coca-Cola and Pepsi, paid for dozens of food influencers to make videos that sought to undermine the World Health Organization’s health warnings about the artificial flavors of many diet sodas. about the sweetener.

The investigation also found that the Canadian Sugar Institute paid for videos by at least a dozen nutritionists encouraging people to give in to sugary cravings, mocking advice to reduce sugar intake and urging parents to let their kids eat as much candy as they want.

Here’s the full article on this week’s FTC action and some reactions from the food industry and nutritionists. And you can read the original investigation here.

8 Things You Can Do to Ease Winter Depression

Each year, millions of people—about 5 percent of Americans—deal with the listlessness and low mood of winter seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

What most of them don’t know is that the best time to prepare for winter depression is in the fall. The Post’s news designer Chelsea Conrad created this delightfully illustrated guide based on expert tips for navigating winter SAD gathered by columnist Richard Sima.

Should I Take Magnesium Supplements?

Q: I’ve heard that magnesium can be linked to fatigue and mood symptoms. Should I start taking supplements?

A: The data on magnesium supplementation is weak for some of the purported benefits that have been shared on social media, including taking it for fatigue and mood symptoms. There are a few distinct circumstances where magnesium supplementation is warranted.

Read the full story to learn more. Our columnist is Trisha S.

Use our Ask the Doctor form to submit a question and we may answer it in a future column.

Here are a few things that brought us joy this week.

• This picture from the International Kite Festival It’s wonderful in Spain.
• Fans in Argentina camped out for six months to see Taylor Swift.
• Here There are 22 books our book columnist Michael Dirda will read again.
• As we head into Thanksgiving planning, don’t hold your breath. They are here 7 things you don’t have to worry.

Want to learn more about “happiness” snacks? Our brain matters columnist Richard Seema explains: Y:you can too read this story as a comedy.

Please let us know how we are doing. Me too wellbeing@washpost.com. You can too find us on TikTok.