The Hearty Soul Articles

Discover our latest insights, stories, and perspectives

12 min read Health

In recent decades, we have come to realize the powerful effect that consuming excess sugar can have on our health. For this reason, non-nutritive sweeteners have blasted onto the scene. From “zero-calorie” soft drinks to diet snack bars and keto-friendly baked goods, alternatives like sucralose, aspartame, stevia, and erythritol have flooded the market. They promise...

12 min read Health

“Christmas food comas” are almost a festive tradition. Someone leans back, rubs their stomach, and declares defeat. The phrase sounds dramatic, but for most people, it describes a short-lived crash after overeating. Dr Fuad Jafarov, a gastroenterologist with the ACIBADEM group, says most post-meal bloating and sluggishness come from overindulgence. People eat more, drink more,...

11 min read News

Headlines in mid-December 2025 suggested the FDA was considering its strongest label language for COVID-19 vaccines. Yet follow-up reporting indicated that FDA leadership had no plans to add a boxed warning, or “black box,” warning. That swing is significant because a boxed warning is a high-impact signal to clinicians and patients. It can change how...

11 min read News

For millions of Americans, managing high blood pressure, their daily medication is a lifeline; a crucial component in protecting their long-term heart health. It is precisely because of this profound trust in the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals that the recent FDA blood pressure medication recall is deeply unsettling. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

5 min read Food and Drink

For a long time, fats were considered detrimental the a healthy diet. In the 1970s and 80s, fad diets like the Scarsdale and grapefruit diets were all the rage. There was a new market of low-fat food products (which typically contained more sugar and carbohydrates). Researchers later questioned the potential drawbacks of severely restricting all...