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Opinion: Weight-loss drugs are great, but real food still matters

News Feed
Thursday, December 19, 2024

Groundbreaking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have understandably generated a lot of excitement, bringing hope to the hundreds of millions of people grappling with obesity. When combined with a healthier diet and exercise, these drugs, which suppress appetite, deliver an average 10% reduction in body weight that can be sustained for years.With more than two-thirds of adults in the United Kingdom and nearly three-quarters in the United States classified as overweight or obese — a health crisis that costs national economies billions of dollars annually — physicians and policymakers could be forgiven for embracing these drugs as a panacea. President Biden’s administration, for example, recently proposed requiring Medicare and Medicaid to cover the costs of weight-loss drugs, which would expand access for millions of Americans. But addressing obesity requires much more than a technological fix.We ultimately also must address the root cause of the global obesity crisis: our broken food system.The alarming rise in obesity over the past 30 years is not simply a byproduct of higher living standards or more sedentary lifestyles. The primary factor appears to be the transformation of our food environment, which has fundamentally altered both the types of food we consume and our eating habits.In recent years, scientists and health experts have increasingly focused on foods high in fat, sugar and/or salt, which drive unhealthy dietary habits. Companies have reshaped the food system to produce ultraprocessed, hyperpalatable and highly profitable foods, leading people to snack more, eat larger portions and prepare fewer meals themselves. In the U.K., for example, the snack market has boomed while the time spent preparing meals has sharply declined.These changes haven’t just fueled the rapid increase in consumption of salty, fatty, sweet foods. They have also led to a surge in meat consumption, especially in Europe and North America, where meat-heavy diets have become common.Beyond the heightened risk of heart disease and related health conditions, excessive meat consumption has had devastating effects on the climate and biodiversity. Research shows that animal-based foods generate twice the greenhouse gas emissions of plant-based alternatives. Just as health experts urge us to reduce our intake of salt, fat and sugar, climate scientists consistently emphasize the importance of curbing meat and dairy consumption to keep global warming within safe limits.In an effort to prevent a lasting change in people’s eating habits, the meat industry is seeking technological fixes to cut greenhouse emissions. For example, funding for research on cutting farm emissions — such as feed additives designed to reduce methane levels in cows’ burps — has increased markedly.Such solutions are particularly attractive to governments reluctant to introduce measures that influence consumer behavior. Fearful of opposition from the Big Food lobby and wary of accusations of overreach, policies like sugar taxes or meat taxes are deemed political hot potatoes to be avoided at all costs.But the overlapping crises our broken food system is fueling — from the billions of dollars spent each year on diet-related health problems to the environmental degradation pushing our planet to its limits — cannot be wished away or fixed with technological tweaks. Instead, what is needed is a major shift in dietary habits toward foods that nourish both people and the environment.To this end, the Eat-Lancet Commission — comprising the world’s leading nutrition and sustainability experts — advocates consuming a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins while reducing consumption of animal proteins, dairy and sugars. Taken together, these recommendations offer a clear blueprint for ensuring health and sustainability.It is unrealistic to expect consumers — conditioned by food environments designed for profit rather than human or environmental health — to drive this transition on their own. With unhealthy foods widely available and aggressively marketed, many consumers struggle to moderate their food intake, and in some cases they even develop addictive behaviors.Governments and food manufacturers must take proactive measures to reshape these environments, such as expanding the agendas of campaigns planned to take aim at reducing the consumption of salt, fat and sugar to also take aim at meat, thereby encouraging people to eat more plant-based whole foods and meat alternatives.Another potential solution would be to extend some nations’ bans on promotions for unhealthy foods to cover meat products. Requiring food companies to report on the types of food they sell, including salty, fatty and sweet foods and the ratio of plant-based to animal proteins, would also help. These measures would encourage businesses to prioritize healthier, more sustainable options over less nutritious ones.None of this is to suggest that the new generation of weight-loss drugs cannot benefit individuals living with obesity. For those trapped in a cycle of poor health, treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy could even save lives, and efforts to make these treatments widely available are a welcome step.But it is essential that we recognize that this approach merely interrupts one mechanism of obesity rather than eliminating the underlying pathology. Defusing the time bombs of ill health and environmental catastrophe requires fast, decisive action to remake our dysfunctional food system.Emily Armistead is interim executive director of Madre Brava, a research and advocacy group.

We ultimately also must address the root cause of the global obesity crisis: our broken food system.

Groundbreaking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have understandably generated a lot of excitement, bringing hope to the hundreds of millions of people grappling with obesity. When combined with a healthier diet and exercise, these drugs, which suppress appetite, deliver an average 10% reduction in body weight that can be sustained for years.

With more than two-thirds of adults in the United Kingdom and nearly three-quarters in the United States classified as overweight or obese — a health crisis that costs national economies billions of dollars annually — physicians and policymakers could be forgiven for embracing these drugs as a panacea. President Biden’s administration, for example, recently proposed requiring Medicare and Medicaid to cover the costs of weight-loss drugs, which would expand access for millions of Americans. But addressing obesity requires much more than a technological fix.

We ultimately also must address the root cause of the global obesity crisis: our broken food system.

The alarming rise in obesity over the past 30 years is not simply a byproduct of higher living standards or more sedentary lifestyles. The primary factor appears to be the transformation of our food environment, which has fundamentally altered both the types of food we consume and our eating habits.

In recent years, scientists and health experts have increasingly focused on foods high in fat, sugar and/or salt, which drive unhealthy dietary habits. Companies have reshaped the food system to produce ultraprocessed, hyperpalatable and highly profitable foods, leading people to snack more, eat larger portions and prepare fewer meals themselves. In the U.K., for example, the snack market has boomed while the time spent preparing meals has sharply declined.

These changes haven’t just fueled the rapid increase in consumption of salty, fatty, sweet foods. They have also led to a surge in meat consumption, especially in Europe and North America, where meat-heavy diets have become common.

Beyond the heightened risk of heart disease and related health conditions, excessive meat consumption has had devastating effects on the climate and biodiversity. Research shows that animal-based foods generate twice the greenhouse gas emissions of plant-based alternatives. Just as health experts urge us to reduce our intake of salt, fat and sugar, climate scientists consistently emphasize the importance of curbing meat and dairy consumption to keep global warming within safe limits.

In an effort to prevent a lasting change in people’s eating habits, the meat industry is seeking technological fixes to cut greenhouse emissions. For example, funding for research on cutting farm emissions — such as feed additives designed to reduce methane levels in cows’ burps — has increased markedly.

Such solutions are particularly attractive to governments reluctant to introduce measures that influence consumer behavior. Fearful of opposition from the Big Food lobby and wary of accusations of overreach, policies like sugar taxes or meat taxes are deemed political hot potatoes to be avoided at all costs.

But the overlapping crises our broken food system is fueling — from the billions of dollars spent each year on diet-related health problems to the environmental degradation pushing our planet to its limits — cannot be wished away or fixed with technological tweaks. Instead, what is needed is a major shift in dietary habits toward foods that nourish both people and the environment.

To this end, the Eat-Lancet Commission — comprising the world’s leading nutrition and sustainability experts — advocates consuming a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins while reducing consumption of animal proteins, dairy and sugars. Taken together, these recommendations offer a clear blueprint for ensuring health and sustainability.

It is unrealistic to expect consumers — conditioned by food environments designed for profit rather than human or environmental health — to drive this transition on their own. With unhealthy foods widely available and aggressively marketed, many consumers struggle to moderate their food intake, and in some cases they even develop addictive behaviors.

Governments and food manufacturers must take proactive measures to reshape these environments, such as expanding the agendas of campaigns planned to take aim at reducing the consumption of salt, fat and sugar to also take aim at meat, thereby encouraging people to eat more plant-based whole foods and meat alternatives.

Another potential solution would be to extend some nations’ bans on promotions for unhealthy foods to cover meat products. Requiring food companies to report on the types of food they sell, including salty, fatty and sweet foods and the ratio of plant-based to animal proteins, would also help. These measures would encourage businesses to prioritize healthier, more sustainable options over less nutritious ones.

None of this is to suggest that the new generation of weight-loss drugs cannot benefit individuals living with obesity. For those trapped in a cycle of poor health, treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy could even save lives, and efforts to make these treatments widely available are a welcome step.

But it is essential that we recognize that this approach merely interrupts one mechanism of obesity rather than eliminating the underlying pathology. Defusing the time bombs of ill health and environmental catastrophe requires fast, decisive action to remake our dysfunctional food system.

Emily Armistead is interim executive director of Madre Brava, a research and advocacy group.

Read the full story here.
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Dear Doctor: Sun exposure is the primary cause of thinning skin

"Could I take vitamin K or increase my platelets to limit this happening?"

DEAR DR. ROACH: I thought you could help with a stubborn problem. I am a healthy and active 78-year-old woman who, I admit, likes to look younger than my age. The problem is my skin, especially on my hands and arms; I get these bruises that look unsightly and take a while to resolve. I hear it is from age-related thin skin. My friends of this generation also complain about these red spots or bruises. They don’t hurt.Could I take vitamin K or increase my platelets so as to limit their happening? I’ve read not to take aspirin or any pain reliever. Is there any medicine to take to help my blood coagulate better or make my skin thicker? -- S.M.ANSWER: This common problem is called solar purpura, and it is largely the sun causing the damage to the skin, thinning it with age. Avoiding the sun and moisturizing your skin diligently can reduce the risk of this happening. Once it’s happened, these measures are still important for preventing it from getting worse.You should still avoid the sun and moisturize to prevent the condition from worsening. One study showed that bioflavinoid supplements helped reduce new bruises. These aren’t particularly expensive, but you can also get them through food, specifically citrus and other fruits.Vitamin K deficiency causes clotting problems, but taking more vitamin K doesn’t help. Aspirin does reduce the effectiveness of platelets, but if you are prescribed it (for blockages in the heart, for example), you should definitely keep taking it. Occasional ibuprofen has little effect on platelets, and acetaminophen (Tylenol) has none.DEAR DR. ROACH: For years, I have been plagued by a chronic nasal drip. It’s usually most present in the mornings, though it seems to be intermittent during the day. I frequently have to wipe or blow my nose. I thought it might be due to allergies, so I have been taking a Zyrtec tablet every morning. But it doesn’t seem to have any effect.I talked with my primary care physician about this, but he didn’t have any recommendations. I don’t know what is going on or how to stop this. Do you have any recommendations? -- R.M.ANSWER: An antihistamine like Zyrtec is a reasonable thing to try as allergic rhinitis often responds to antihistamines. (We just love our Latin and Greek names, and “rhinitis” comes from the Greek roots for “inflammation of the nose.”) Since an antihistamine didn’t work, it seems likely that you might have nonallergic rhinitis, and a nasal spray like ipratropium is usually effective for this.I also recommend azelastine nasal spray, which is now available over the counter as “Astepro.” There are some steps you can do to help your environmental risk, such as reducing dust and avoiding excess dryness.I warn people against the habitual use of nasal decongestants like Afrin, which should only be used for a day or two -- never more than three. Once the body gets used to it, nasal congestion will worsen every time a person tries to go without it.If the nasal spray doesn’t do the job, I’d recommend an evaluation by an expert, such as an otorhinolaryngologist, who may need to look for nasal polyps, laryngopharyngeal reflux, and other less-common causes.Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.(c) 2022 North America Syndicate Inc.All Rights Reserved

Ashland Earth Day celebrants find ways to help the planet, say ‘hang in there’

Ashland is a year-round Earth Day with "people who are creating organic, local, sustainable food, drink and music," said A Street Block Party participant Emily Simon.

Joe Bianculli participated in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and 55 years later, he was handing out environmental-action information to throngs of people attending Ashland’s first Earth Day A Street Block Party. Biancelli, who lives in Ashland and volunteers for Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands (“KS Wild”), said on Tuesday, “We had high hopes for saving the planet and we still have high hopes. It’s getting tougher and tougher every year, but we all have to hang in there.”The ecologically focused event in the historic Railroad District stretched for blocks along A Street, past the Ashland Food Co-op and Masala Bistro to the KS Wild open house, where Biancelli handed out stickers that read “Love where you live, defend what you love” in the front yard as the bluegrass band Eight Dollar Mountain performed in the backyard.About 1,000 people attended the free outdoor event organized by Karolina Lavagnino of Wild Thyme Productions.People chatted in line to order from the Tacos Libertad food truck in the parking lot used year round by customers of Get ‘N Gear second-hand outdoor equipment and clothing stores. Near an outdoor display of used kayaks and bikes for sale, volunteers of Ashland Devo explained the group’s mission: to cultivate grit, resilience and camaraderie in youth through the sport of mountain biking. Board member Moneeka Settles said Earth Day is simple: It’s a chance to “gather together and celebrate Earth.”Across A Street, in a lot next to the Ashland Yoga Center, Suzee Grilley was leading Elbow Room Taiko drummers, who captivated a large crowd with their rhythmic sound and dramatic movements around barrel-shaped drums.“We always celebrate Earth Day,” said Grilley. “We feel a lot of our music expresses a communing with nature, and the sprits that animate nature, from the trees, to the sky, to the water, to the earth itself, to human beings and animals.”She said the drums the group play reflect nature. “Every one of our drums is made of wood, skin and metal, and crafted with love and prayer by an artisan,” she said.Vince DiFrancesco of the Siskiyou Mountain Club, which works to maintain more than 400 miles of backcountry trails, welcomed people to his booth set up between the Grange Co-op and Ace Hardware.DiFrancesco sees Earth Day as a time for public service. “It’s about getting out and doing work on public lands to keep them open for recreation for everybody,” he said. Nearby, musician Gatore Mukarhinda drummed a heartbeat and sang a love song to Mother Earth. “She says, ‘take care of me,’” he said.Aubrey Laughlin of Talent, who had recently volunteered for Siskiyou Mountain Club trail work, said the idea for Earth Day was about “looking out for the next generation and connecting with each other, the place we live and our community.” Marie DeGregorio of Medford, who also attended the street party, said the day reminds people that “the planet needs help and we are stewards.”Party goer Susan Cox of Ashland agreed. To her, the day means “taking care of the planet, and each one of us doing our part as best we can and keeping it happy.” Yu Kuwabara of Ashland, who rode his bike to the event, said “Earth Day is a celebration of getting outside and enjoying the community.” Plenty of people rolled into the event on bikes, and Piccadilly Cycles provided free bike valet parking in front of its store.People gathered around booths displaying handmade jewelry and vendors selling treats like vegan- and gluten-free Plant Baked cookies, donuts, blueberry limoncello squares and cinnamon swirl loaves.Bloomsbury Books, a landmark independent bookstore on Ashland’s East Main Street, had a pop-up shop with nature-focused books. Earth Day is a day to learn about the environment, said bookstore co-owner Megan Isser. “Come read,” she said, gesturing to a table with copies of books, including “Garden Guide for the Rogue Valley,” published by the Jackson County Master Gardener Association with support from the Oregon State University Extension Service. Adults tasted small-batch wines from Circadian Cellars at the Ashland Recycled Furniture store, and mocktails by Hummingbird Heart Co. in a lot near Fourth Street.Creekside Strings fiddlers kicked off the event around 4 p.m. with traditional tunes in front of La Baguette Music Cafe, well known for its weekly jazz sessions. The event ended there too at 7:30 p.m. after a performance by folk duo Jenika Smith and Simon Chrisman.To block party participant Emily Simon, the best place to be on Earth Day was in Ashland, where she lives and supports sustainable businesses year round. “It’s such a wonderful event to be out here with our neighbors,” she said, “and celebrating the Earth with people who are creating organic, local, sustainable food, drink and music.”Upcoming Earth Day events:ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum hosts its annual Earth Day celebration 3:30-7 p.m. Friday, April 25, with activities highlighting the science of sustainability at 1500 E. Main St. in Ashland (541-482-6767). Parking is limited and people are encouraged to walk, bike, carpool or use public transit.Pollinator Project Rogue Valley holds its spring native plant sale 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, April 27, with five growers offering a large selection of plants (listed here) native to the southern Oregon bioregion in the parking lot behind The Pollination Place at 312 N. Main St., Phoenix.See more events statewide at oregonlive.com.Here is Oregon: Southern Oregon— Janet Eastman covers design and trends. Reach her at 503-294-4072, jeastman@oregonian.com and follow her on X @janeteastman.

Trump Administration Plans Ban on More Synthetic Food Dyes

By I. Edwards HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, April 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The Trump administration is expected to take new steps to remove...

TUESDAY, April 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The Trump administration is expected to take new steps to remove artificial food dyes from the U.S. food supply, officials say.This follows a major move by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January, under former President Joe Biden, to ban red dye No. 3 in food, drinks and some drugs. That action came more than 30 years after research linked the dye to cancer in animals.Now, federal officials appear ready to go even farther. Kennedy has been an outspoken critic of petroleum-based synthetic dyes, which are used to make foods and drinks look more appealing to consumers.In March, Kennedy supported a new West Virginia law banning some of these dyes. It made West Virginia the first state to take such broad action. Studies have linked some food dyes to behavior and learning issues in children, CNN reported.More than half of U.S. states, including both Republican- and Democrat-led ones, are pushing to restrict these ingredients, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).In a March email to CNN, the National Confectioners Association said while states have a role to play in the nation's food system, "the FDA is the rightful national regulatory decision maker and leader in food safety." Some of the association's members sell products that contain artificial dyes.John Hewitt of the Consumer Brands Association also urged the FDA to take the lead, saying the agency should “aggressively acknowledge its responsibility as the nation’s food safety regulator.”Artificial dyes such as red No. 3, red No. 40, green No. 3 and blue No. 2 have been linked to cancer or tumors in animals. Others, like yellow No. 5 and yellow No. 6, may contain cancer-causing chemicals. Even tiny amounts of yellow No. 5 can cause restlessness or sleep problems in sensitive children, CNN reported.Marion Nestle, a well-known food policy expert, welcomed the plan.“Non-petroleum substitute dyes are available and used widely in other countries by the same companies that sell products here," she said. "Companies have been promising to get rid of the petroleum dyes for years. The time has come.”In public health terms, “this is low-hanging fruit," Nestle added. "I want to see RFK Jr. take on ultra-processed foods, a much tougher problem and a far more important one.”Most of these dyes are used in low-nutrition foods like candy and soda, but they may also appear in less colorful products, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says.People who want to avoid these dyes can check ingredient labels on food and drink packaging, CNN said.SOURCE: CNN, April 22, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Mission to boldly grow food in space labs blasts off

The mission will explore new ways of reducing the cost of feeding an astronaut.

Mission to boldly grow food in space labs blasts offBBC NewsArtwork: The experiment will orbit the Earth for three hours before returning to Earth and splashing down off the coast of PortugalSteak, mashed potatoes and deserts for astronauts could soon be grown from individual cells in space if an experiment launched into orbit today is successful.A European Space Agency (ESA) project is assessing the viability of growing so-called lab-grown food in the low gravity and higher radiation in orbit and on other worlds.ESA is funding the research to explore new ways of reducing the cost of feeding an astronaut, which can cost up to £20,000 per day.The team involved say the experiment is a first step to developing a small pilot food production plant on the International Space Station in two years' time.Lab-grown food will be essential if Nasa's objective of making humanity a multi-planetary species were to be realised, claims Dr Aqeel Shamsul, CEO and founder of Bedford-based Frontier Space, which is developing the concept with researchers at Imperial College, London."Our dream is to have factories in orbit and on the Moon," he told BBC News."We need to build manufacturing facilities off world if we are to provide the infrastructure to enable humans to live and work in space".NASAAstronauts enjoy eating in zero gravity, but the freeze-dried food itself is not much fun to eatLab-grown food involves growing food ingredients, such as protein, fat and carbohydrates in test tubes and vats and then processing them to make them look and taste like normal food.Lab-grown chicken is already on sale in the US and Singapore and lab grown steak is awaiting approval in the UK and Israel. On Earth, there are claimed environmental benefits for the technology over traditional agricultural food production methods, such as less land use and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. But in space the primary driver of is to reduce costs.The researchers are doing the experiment because it costs so much to send astronauts food on the ISS - up to £20,000 per astronaut per day, they estimate. Nasa, other space agencies and private sector firms plan to have a long-term presence on the Moon, in orbiting space stations and maybe one day on Mars. That will mean sending up food for tens and eventually hundreds of astronauts living and working in space – something that would be prohibitively expensive if it were sent up by rockets, according to Dr Shamsul.Growing food in space would make much more sense, he suggests."We could start off simply with protein-enhanced mashed potatoes on to more complex foods which we could put together in space," he tells me."But in the longer term we could put the lab-grown ingredients into a 3D printer and print off whatever you want on the space station, such as a steak!"Lab-grown steak can be produced on Earth, but can it be created in space?This sounds like the replicator machines on Star Trek, which are able to produce food and drink from pure energy. But it is no longer the stuff of science fiction, says Dr Shamsul.He showed me a set-up, called a bioreactor, at Imperial College's Bezos Centre for Sustainable Proteins in west London. It comprised a brick-coloured concoction bubbling away in a test tube. The process is known as precision fermentation, which is like the fermentation used to make beer, but different: "precision" is a rebranding word for genetically engineered.In this case a gene has been added to yeast to produce extra vitamins, but all sorts of ingredients can be produced in this way, according to Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Director of the Bezos Centre."We can make all the elements to make food," says Dr Ledesma-Amaro proudly."We can make proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fibres and they can be combined to make different dishes."The brick-coloured "food" is grown in a small biorector, a mini-version of which has been sent into space A much smaller, simpler version of the biorector has been sent into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the ESA mission. There is plenty of evidence that that foods can be successfully grown from cells on Earth, but can the process be repeated in the weightlessness and higher radiation of space?Drs Ledesma-Amaro and Shamsul have sent small amounts of the yeast concoction to orbit the Earth in a small cube satellite on board Europe's first commercial returnable spacecraft, Phoenix. If all goes to plan, it will orbit the Earth for around three hours before falling back to Earth off the coast of Portugal. The experiment will be retrieved by a recovery vessel and sent back to the lab in London to be examined.The data they gather will inform the construction of a larger, better bioreactor which the scientists will send into space next year, according to Dr Ledesma-Amaro.The problem, though, is that the brick-coloured goo, which is dried into a powder, looks distinctly unappetising – even less appetising than the freeze-dried fare that astronauts currently have to put up with.That is where Imperial College's master chef comes in. Jakub Radzikowski is the culinary education designer tasked with turning chemistry into cuisine.Kevin ChurchImperial College's master chef has the job of making lab-grown chemicals into delicious dishesHe isn't allowed to use lab grown ingredients to make dishes for people just yet, because regulatory approval is still pending. But he's getting a head start. For now, instead of lab-grown ingredients, Jakub is using starches and proteins from naturally occurring fungi to develop his recipes. He tells me all sorts of dishes will be possible, once he gets the go-ahead to use lab-grown ingredients."We want to create food that is familiar to astronauts who are from different parts of the world so that it can provide comfort."We can create anything from French, Chinese, Indian. It will be possible to replicate any kind of cuisine in space."Today, Jakub is trying out a new recipe of spicy dumplings and dipping sauce. He tells me that I am allowed to try it them out, but taster-in-chief is someone far more qualified: Helen Sharman, the UK's first astronaut, who also has a PhD in chemistry.Kevin Church/BBC NewsBritain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman and I taste test what might be the space food of the futureWe tasted the steaming dumplings together. My view: "They are absolutely gorgeous!"Dr Sharman's expert view, not dissimilar: "You get a really strong blast from the flavour. It is really delicious and very moreish," she beamed."I would love to have had something like this. When I was in space, I had really long-life stuff: tins, freeze dried packets, tubes of stuff. It was fine, but not tasty."Dr Sharman's more important observation was about the science. Lab-grown food, she said, could potentially be better for astronauts, as well as reduce costs to the levels required to make long-term off-world habitation viable.Research on the ISS has shown that the biochemistry of astronauts' bodies changes during long duration space missions: their hormone balance and iron levels alter, and they we lose calcium from their bones. Astronauts take supplements to compensate, but lab-grown food could in principle be tweaked with the extra ingredients already built in, says Dr Sharman."Astronauts tend to lose weight because they are not eating as much because they don't have the variety and interest in their diet," she told me."So, astronauts might be more open to having something that has been cooked from scratch and a feeling that you are really eating wholesome food."

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