Sarah Todd

Fights over Tylenol, SSRIs highlight the enduring lack of pregnant women in drug trials Shutting pregnant women out of clinical trials to protect them and their babies has had the opposite effect, experts say.

Pregnant women are excluded from many drug trials over concerns about the risks to the women and their babies. But as @lizzylawrence.bsky.social reports, the lack of data leaves the door open to confusion and misinformation.

www.statnews.com/2025/10/02/c...

Dr. Derrick Todd has been accused of abusing patients. He could have been stopped sooner. Hundreds of women allege Dr. Derrick Todd sexually abused them over a decade. A Globe Spotlight investigation found the state’s medical establishment missed key warning signs.

This is a difficult read, but so important -- hundreds of patients claim a doctor sexually abused them between 2011-2023, while his colleagues protected him and institutions dragged out investigations while allowing him to keep practicing.

apps.bostonglobe.com/metro/invest...

Sushi Is Bigger Than Ever in America. There’s One Main Reason.

Sushi to go is one of the fastest-growing segments in supermarkets, popular among both men and women and appealing to health-conscious types. (I've been known to partake in grocery store sushi myself!)

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/d...

What is perimenopause and how effective are treatments? The women's health market is flooded with apps, supplements and therapies that claim to treat the symptoms of perimenopause.

Enjoyed chatting with Here & Now about the perimenopause business boom:

www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

The Latest Little Luxury: Fancier, Fattier Butter Elsewhere in the grocery store, shoppers are on the hunt for bargains. But sales of high-priced premium butter are growing.

Sales of super-premium butter are on the rise, with one Vermont brand's flash sales of a $60-a-pound variety selling out within minutes. It's the allure of little luxuries: "a bit of a treat without going crazy," says one customer.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

“I’m not a reporter, but I’m still myself”: A longtime media reporter's shift to PR Plus: Building a brand and figuring out your journalistic identity

Journalists are supposed to develop personal brands. But sometimes it's hard to commit to a brand — or how we identify can change over time.

thewritethrough.substack.com/p/im-not-a-r...

Perimenopause is the new buzzword in the business of women’s health Perimenopause brings real symptoms and a booming market of supplements, apps, and therapies. What’s hype, what’s helpful, and what women need to know.

About a month ago, my best friend asked: "Why is everyone I know talking about perimenopause?"

For STAT, I dove into the zeitgeist around perimenopause (the run-up to menopause, which can last for years) and the businesses capitalizing on the moment.

www.statnews.com/2025/09/29/p...

FDA’s leucovorin approval could be a boon for supplement makers Parents may flock to a dietary supplement with the same key ingredient as leucovorin, which the FDA just approved for children with autism. But there are drawbacks.

Parents may flock to a dietary supplement with the same key ingredient as leucovorin, which the FDA just approved for children with autism. But there are drawbacks.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/l...

In dispensing advice on Tylenol and autism, Trump takes on a new role: doctor in chief Trump repeatedly and forcefully issued direct medical advice during his autism announcement, in ways that went beyond presidential precedent.

Trump repeatedly and forcefully issued direct medical advice during his autism announcement, in ways that went beyond presidential precedent.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/t...

USDA cancels survey tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food The Department of Agriculture said it will end a longstanding annual food insecurity survey. Experts say the move will obscure the effects of recent changes that will lead to people losing food aid.

The USDA is ending its food insecurity survey, which supporters say is essential to tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food on the table. Last year's 2023 survey showed a 3% increase from 2022 in food insecurity.

www.npr.org/2025/09/22/n...

Artists Sarah Cassidy and Akiva Leffert worked together to turn an abandoned New York City subway newsstand into a "dinosaur bodega" art installation, complete with dinosaur-themed magazines, snacks and a "cave for rent" advertisement.

Your Prenatal Vitamin Might Be Missing an Essential Ingredient Trendy brands are selling supplements that are missing the one ingredient shown to prevent major birth defects.

Ritual pre-natal vitamins are trendy — but they're missing folic acid, the key ingredient for preventing neural tube defects. Instead, they use another kind of folate. But "there haven’t been any clinical trials showing that methylfolate prevents neural-tube defects."

www.thecut.com/article/fola...

Ousted CDC director says Kennedy plans to change pediatric vaccine schedule Ousted CDC director Susan Monarez told lawmakers that her boss, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told her he plans to change the childhood vaccine schedule this month.

Ousted CDC director Susan Monarez says Kennedy told her he plans to change the childhood vaccine schedule this month: “He did not have any data or science to point to."

www.statnews.com/2025/09/17/c...

Surgeon general nominee Casey Means discloses financial ties to supplement industry Surgeon general nominee Casey Means earned hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting supplements, per new financial disclosure statements.

Surgeon general nominee Casey Means' ties to the supplement industry were already a cause of concern for some critics. New disclosures show how much money she made from promoting them (story by me and @isabellacueto.bsky.social):

www.statnews.com/2025/09/16/c...

How the myth that nicotine causes cancer is hurting public health The myth that nicotine causes cancer is hurting public health, researchers say.

A lot of Americans — including doctors — wrongly think nicotine causes cancer. Public health experts worry this myth is stopping people who smoke from switching to products that would reduce their risk of cancer and other diseases:

www.statnews.com/2025/09/10/n...

People Don't Give a Shit About Seed Oils C-store cults, Whoop for poop, vegan protein water

"The reality is no one is going to care about seed oils or tallow if the product or meal is costing them 3x the price of what is readily available out there." www.snaxshot.com/p/people-don...

I’m one of the Ph.D. students caught up in the cancelation of ‘diversity’ grants. I’m heartbroken I’m one of the Ph.D. students caught up in the cancelation of ‘diversity’ grants. I’m heartbroken

"I couldn’t help but think it was exactly what the Trump administration wanted me to do: erase the background that is so important to me, and to my science."

www.statnews.com/2025/09/05/n...

Can anyone get a Covid shot if they want one? No Can anyone get a Covid shot if they want one? It's not that simple.

RFK Jr said at today's hearing that he's not taking away access to Covid shots. But as @matthewherper.bsky.social explains, pharmacies in 16 states are now restricting access:

www.statnews.com/2025/09/04/c...

Kennedy faces off with senators, doubles down on autism-vaccine link at hearing HHS Secretary will testify before the Senate today following an upheaval at the CDC. Follow STAT's live updates for key moments and analysis.

This hearing is pretty extraordinary, including RFK claiming that he fired ex-CDC director Susan Monarez because "I asked her if she was a trustworthy person and she said no"

www.statnews.com/2025/09/04/h...

At the farmers market, slashed benefits threaten MAHA’s food-as-medicine goal Regenerative agriculture. Organic produce. But less government help to buy healthy food. Welcome to the Chambersburg, Pa., farmer's market.

SNAP cuts went into effect Labor Day, giving poor Americans less money to spend on the food the MAHA movement emphasizes is so necessary to health. @isabellacueto.bsky.social spoke to people on SNAP at a farmer's market ahead of the cuts:

www.statnews.com/2025/09/03/w...

Why new wellness-branded energy drinks have health experts worried The $22 billion energy drink industry is tapping into the aesthetics of health and wellness to reach new demographics and continue its exponential growth.

I wrote about the popularity of energy drinks among teens and young adults earlier this year, and how wellness branding is creating more confusion over the drinks' contents:

www.statnews.com/2025/05/13/e...

Britain Moves to Ban Sale of Energy Drinks to Children

The UK plans to ban the sale of energy drinks to kids under 16 over concerns about the health effects of high doses of caffeine, joining a number of other countries with bans in place:

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/w...

As reports of ‘AI psychosis’ spread, clinicians scramble to understand how chatbots can spark delusions Psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health providers are scrambling to understand the emerging phenomenon of "AI psychosis."

"Most providers did not see any patients with AI-aided psychosis before the spring, which lines up with the April release of ChatGPT 4.0, which its makers and users alike suggested was too agreeable, or 'sycophantic.'"

Fascinating, by @rosebroderick.bsky.social:

www.statnews.com/2025/09/02/a...

Kraft Heinz to Break Up Its Food Businesses

Kraft Heinz is separating its profitable business in sauces & condiments (Heinz ketchup, Philadelphia cream cheese, etc) from its struggling grocery business (Oscar Meyer, Kraft Singles, Lunchables)

One big factor is consumers' turn away from highly processed foods

As MAHA turns 1, a fired-up movement is still figuring out how to fulfill its promises "That is so brilliant. Why didn’t we think of this before?" As MAHA turns 1, STAT examines the growth of the movement and takes stock of its challenges.

“We talk about it as a unified movement, but it’s not": One year into MAHA, @isabellacueto.bsky.social unpacks the movement's impact and simmering tensions:

www.statnews.com/2025/08/25/r...

Culinary medicine pioneer David Eisenberg: ‘If you know how to make one stir-fry, you can make 1,000’ Culinary medicine pioneer David Eisenberg reflects on 25 years of teaching Americans and physicians to cook as a way of fighting chronic disease

This spoke to me, from @sarah-todd.bsky.social's Q&A with David Eisenberg on @statnews.com: "What if workers had 15 minutes a day where they ate delicious food and nobody looked at a phone and nobody spoke?"

www.statnews.com/2025/08/18/c...

g'awwww

My @statnews.com colleagues racked up 8 Murrow awards for their incredible reporting. Huge congrats, @ericboodman.bsky.social @katiepalmer.bsky.social @usha.bsky.social @tarabannow.bsky.social @caseyross.bsky.social @bobjherman.bsky.social @lizzylawrence.bsky.social

www.rtdna.org/2025-nationa...

Laid Off: A Reporter During Union Negotiations "Thanks to the union, we were able to get several more weeks of severance for everyone."

It's hard to explain how close the Quartz newsroom was and still is. Read @hannakozlowska.bsky.social on what it was like to bargain on behalf of the Qz union during pandemic layoffs that affected about half the staff — and subscribe to her very good newsletter:

laid0ff.substack.com/p/laid-off-a...

Inside the American Medical Association's sudden strategy shift in Washington The AMA has shifted from a behind-the-scenes lobbying strategy to more forceful public advocacy against President Trump's health care policies.

AMA has stayed largely quiet as the Trump administration roils the state of science in the U.S. Now the largest group representing physicians is changing course: “We have to stand up for science,” CEO John Whyte tells @theresagaff.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/08/13/a...