When it’s time to add solid food to a baby’s diet, is it best to spoon feed purées – the conventional approach – or to allow the baby to feed herself soft finger foods? New CSU research offers useful guidance for parents considering the two options, especially those worried about whether recently popularized baby-led weaning provides sufficient nutrition.

A new review and meta-analysis by researchers from Tufts University pulls together the best available evidence on how non-nutritive sweeteners affect health, suggesting a link between artificial and other low-calorie sweeteners and blood sugar control.

Creatine is best known as a supplement for athletes, but a new systematic review asks whether the molecule that fuels muscle might also lift mood. Researchers at the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto examined five randomized controlled trials of creatine monohydrate in people with mood disorders. Two of the five suggested that creatine, added to standard treatment, reduced depressive symptoms. The other three found no clear benefit. The compound was well tolerated, with only mild digestive system side effects reported. The authors conclude that larger and more balanced trials are needed before creatine earns a place in psychiatric care.

Cortisol dysregulation drives metabolic, psychiatric, and inflammatory disorders. This review synthesizes evidence on integrative strategies—nutrition, sleep, exercise, mind-body therapies, and adaptogens (Withania somnifera, Rhodiola, Panax)—that restore HPA balance. Complementary modalities (acupuncture) show adjunctive benefit. An integrated model combining biomedical, lifestyle, and traditional approaches offers evidence-based pathways for stress-related disease management.