Health
For a better night's sleep, try eating more of these foods, researchers say
Fruits and veggies are an important part of a balanced diet — and also balanced sleep.
A new study from Finland looked into how fruit and vegetable consumption in Finnish adults impacted sleep duration.
The research considered data from the National FinHealth 2017 Study, which involved 5,043 adults over the age of 18.
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These respondents reported their dietary consumption as well as their sleep habits, the latter of which was compared across three sleep categories: short, normal and long.
Compared to normal sleepers, short sleepers consumed 37 fewer grams of fruits and vegetables per day, while long sleepers consumed 73 fewer grams per day.
Consuming more fruits and veggies helps to support the right amount of sleep, a new study has found. (iStock)
The study concluded that there is a “consistent pattern where deviation from normal sleep duration was associated with decreased [fruit and vegetable] consumption.”
These findings suggest the need for “considering sleep patterns in dietary intervention,” researchers added.
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“Further research, including longitudinal studies, is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying these associations,” the study noted.
Study co-author Timo Partonen, M.D., a research professor at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in Helsinki, Finland, reacted to his findings in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
The study found that sleeping fewer than seven hours per night or more than nine hours per night was associated with reduced fruit and veggie consumption. (iStock)
Sleeping fewer than seven hours per night or more than nine hours per night was associated with reduced consumption of fruits and vegetables, he noted.
“The key takeaway is that shortage of sleep coincides with an unhealthy diet,” Partonen said. “This means that weight-watching programs need to pay attention to sleep habits as well … as it may ruin or promote the outcome.”
“The key takeaway is that shortage of sleep coincides with an unhealthy diet.”
While the study took into account each person’s chronotype (classifying people as an “early bird” or “night owl”), the impact of this trait on the link between sleep duration and fruit and veggie consumption was “minimal,” the researcher said.
Partonen identified this study as “cross-sectional by design,” which means the researchers were not able to analyze any “causal relationships.”
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Based on these findings, people should eat more fruits and vegetables daily to get better sleep, he recommended.
“Sleep, nutrition and physical activity form a unity,” he said. “A positive change in one of these is reflected in a positive change in the other two.”
The study findings highlight the need to consider sleep patterns during dietary intervention, researchers said. (iStock)
New Jersey-based dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade also reacted to these findings, telling Fox News Digital that it is “not surprising that increasing your dietary intake of fruits and vegetables may improve both sleep quality and quantity.”
She added, “Fruits and vegetables contain a variety of nutrients that can support healthy sleep. Some fruits, such as tart cherries and bananas, contain melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.”
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Eating these fruits may increase melatonin levels in the body, which will promote better sleep onset and quality, according to the dietitian.
Embracing a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can also help increase antioxidant intake, she said, which can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.
Sleep may improve as these factors are reduced, Palinski-Wade added.
Multiple fruits and veggies contain nutrients that support better sleep, a nutritionist said. (iStock)
Dark, leafy greens like spinach and kale are good sources of magnesium, a nutrient that can also help support sleep, the dietitian said.
“Diets lacking in magnesium have been found to increase the risk of insomnia, so it makes sense that eating a magnesium-rich diet may improve sleep,” she added.
Fruits and veggies like spinach and tomatoes also contain an amino acid called tryptophan, which is a “precursor to serotonin,” a neurotransmitter involved in producing melatonin and aiding in sleep regulation, according to Palinski-Wade.
“By increasing your dietary intake of tryptophan, you can promote relaxation and improvements in falling and staying asleep,” she said.
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As colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a new report reveals some surprising shifts in the incidence of the disease.
Although rates of CRC have been declining among seniors, those 65 and under are facing a rise in diagnoses, according to a report titled Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2026, from the American Cancer Society.
Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new colorectal cancer cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, states the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The disease is rising fastest among adults 20 to 49 years old, at a rate of 3% per year.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. (iStock)
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. Although that age group is eligible to receive routine screenings, just 37% do so.
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The report also revealed that rectal cancer is on the rise, now accounting for about one-third (32%) of all CRC cases — an increase from 27% in the mid-2000s.
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“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger generations of men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release.
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. (iStock)
“We need to redouble research efforts to understand the cause, but also circumvent deaths through earlier detection by educating clinicians and the general public about symptoms and increasing screening in people 45-54 years.”
It is projected that 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and that the disease will cause 55,230 deaths, per the report.
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More than half of CRC cases can be linked to high-risk behaviors, the researchers said. Those include lack of nutrition, high alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.
“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%. (iStock)
“The report also shines a light on the crucial importance of continued funding for research to help discover new therapies to treat the disease and advance patient care.”
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When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%, the report stated.
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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.
Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.
Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.
A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)
The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.
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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.
Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.
“People should not panic.”
The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.
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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.
“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”
The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)
Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.
While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.
That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.
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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.
The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)
Study limitations
The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.
“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.
The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.
Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.
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