Bile consists of water, electrolytes, cholesterol, and phospholipids. Your gallbladder stores it until you eat, then secretes bile into your small intestine to help you digest the fat in your food.
Bile helps your body break down fat by emulsifying it and making it more soluble for digestion. Once the digestive system has processed your food, the body either recycles or eliminates the by-products of stomach bile, like cholesterol.
Bile reflux occurs when bile backs up into your stomach and flows into your esophagus (the tube connecting your mouth and stomach). People who have had gallbladder or stomach surgery may have more of a predisposition to bile acid reflux.
Diagnosing bile reflux can be very challenging. It can cause uncomfortable symptoms, including the following:
Severe upper abdominal pain
Frequent heartburn (a burning sensation in the chest that can reach the throat and cause a sour taste in your mouth)
Nausea
Vomiting bile, which appears as a yellow-green fluid
Coughing or hoarseness
Unintended or unwanted weight loss
Treating bile reflux is complex, and the first step is usually to implement anti-reflux strategies, as bile reflux often occurs in conjunction with the reflux of stomach acid and other stomach contents. Doctors may prescribe several medications, including ursodeoxycholic acid, bile acid sequestrants, prokinetic agents, and baclofen. However, few studies have strongly supported the effects of these drugs, and it may take some trial and error until you find one that provides relief.
If medication doesn’t work for you, anti-reflux surgery can strengthen the lower esophageal sphincter to prevent stomach contents and bile from flowing the wrong way.
Making specific changes to the way you eat may help relieve some digestive discomforts, but it can’t completely treat bile reflux. Work with your doctor or a dietitian to ensure you’re eating foods that meet your nutritional needs while you undergo treatment for bile reflux.
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Fun fact: You do not need a box spring with a hybrid mattress. This is a recurring question I see, and pocketed coils in hybrids eliminate the need for one. Box springs were designed to give more support and elevate performance to traditional coil beds, which would align certain sections of coils to yield more support. Nowadays, you may actually void your warranty if you use a box spring with a hybrid mattress—be sure to check that fine print.
Our favorite hybrid we’ve tested is the Helix Midnight Luxe, which happens to be our top overall pick in our best mattresses guide. It also utilizes pressure-relieving foams and pocketed coils to provide targeted lumbar support.
Helix Sleep
Midnight Luxe with ErgoAlign
Another awesome hybrid mattress, the Nolah Evolution, seamlessly puts together some superb memory foam and pocketed coils, both of which counteract tension buildup for pressure points. I love it as an option for side sleepers for this reason, but it also works for back and stomach sleepers. The coils also make it easy to move around on, which is helpful for co-sleepers.
Innerspring
This is more of a history lesson than a type of mattress you want to shop for (unless you really love this kind of mattress; to each their own). “Traditional” innerspring mattresses are the firm-feeling beds you probably have early memories of, given that the makeup is just innerspring coils wrapped in a cover. It’s just as squeaky as you probably remember, too, as the coil type used involves connecting every coil to work as one unit.
These are Bonnell coils, and they connect both laterally and vertically. All to say, when you lie down and your weight is pressed into the mattress, all those coils act as “one for all and all for one” and simultaneously compress down. It’s not going to work wonders for pressure relief like modern hybrids will, but it is highly responsive, which means it’ll pop back into its original shape as you move around. So if you’re a sleeper who moves around between sleeping positions, coils are a good feature to have, so you’re getting near-instantaneous support.
Why aren’t traditional coils in the works with mattresses nowadays? According to Merwin, upgraded pocketed coils far outperform traditional ones. “Unlike traditional coils that are wired together and move as a unit, pocketed coils are encased individually, which allows each coil to respond independently to movement and pressure,” he said. “This design minimizes motion transfer, so when one person moves or gets out of bed, their partner feels far less disruption. It also provides more targeted support, contouring to the body in a way that improves spinal alignment and overall comfort.” While you can still find innerspring mattresses with traditional coils out there, they’re typically getting phased out in favor of hybrids. Truth be told, I’ve only tested less than a handful of them over the years. If you’re dead set on this mattress type, all power to you, and have fun on your personal mattress treasure hunt.
The Saatva Classic is one of those modern, rarer beds that rely on traditional coils in the secondary coil layer on the very bottom of the bed. This is to help with overall durability and support, which WIRED tester Nena Farrell has mentioned could be beneficial for those with back pain.
Memory Foam
We actually have NASA to thank for this one. If you google images of those early space missions, it’s no wonder that something was needed to keep astronauts from being jostled around inside rockets; hence, memory foam was born. It’s evolved quite a bit from those initial iterations, especially when Tempur-Pedic came onto the scene in the ’80s with a vision for it to become the basis of sleep products. Today, memory foam stands in a league of its own when it comes to the unique, compressive feel.
Memory foam is more of an umbrella term for all the iterations mattress brands have come up with today, but let’s refer to the mattress manufacturing expert for this one.
“Memory foam is produced by combining liquid polyurethane with various chemicals, like polyols and isocyanates, to enhance its viscosity and density,” says Merwin. Without whipping out the periodic table of elements and giving you a science lesson in the chemical components of this material, here’s the need-to-know: These compounds form a malleable foam that holds teeny-tiny bubbles within it. How it works is, as you lie on it, your body imparts heat onto the surface, flowing into these air pockets, which in turn allows it to become softer to contour around your body.
But for the science enthusiasts reading this, Merwin’s got you covered: “The key ingredient is a polymer that creates an open-cell structure, which allows the material to respond to heat and pressure. This is what gives memory foam its signature contouring or ‘hugging’ feel. During the manufacturing process, the liquid foam mixture is poured onto a moving line, where it expands and solidifies into large foam blocks, which we call ‘buns.’ At a high level, it’s a blend of chemistry and precision that transforms raw materials into a high-quality product.”
To say it’s a natural fit for those who need pressure relief from their mattress may be a bit too on the nose, but it’s arguably the most standout feature of this material. It also lessens the feeling of movement for the most restless of sleepers, which also makes it an attractive option for couples. Arguably, the biggest issue that plagues memory foam is heat retention, since once the heat has entered into these air chambers, it turns into something akin to microscopic saunas that can make the overall mattress into a nightmare for those who sleep warm. This is where the various iterations of foam come into play, as some brands infuse elements like graphite, copper, gel, or more advanced cooling technology like phase-change materials into the foams that they use.
Three layers of foam make up the Bear Original, but its certifications and cooling cover are here to help dispel any rumors that circulate about the downsides of memory foam. You won’t find any eyebrow-raising chemicals here thanks to CertiPur-US and GreenGuard Gold certifications. Plus, you can add on a Celliant cover for a cooler feel.
Bear
Original Foam Mattress
The Nectar Premier is another memory foam option we’ve tested and liked, especially for side sleepers. Its foam layers are stacked so that you feel more pressure relief on top, but get more than enough support via a firmer foam layer at the bottom.
Nectar Sleep
Nectar Premier
Latex
The same stuff that goes into tires, balloons, and sports equipment can also be used for mattresses—and it’s the good stuff, too. Latex acts similarly to memory foam when it comes to pressure relief, but is far more reactive to you moving around. Think of a rubber band snapping back into shape when released; it’s pretty dang close to that. Many brands rely on organic rubber sap to create latex as we know it, and there are two categories of latex foam you’ll usually find with mattresses: Dunlop and Talalay. These names refer to the production process and resulting product, as liquid rubber is poured into molds, torched at high temperatures (called “vulcanization” and yes, I have to resist doing Spock’s “live long and prosper” hand signal every time), and flash-frozen to retain the feel. Dunlop is a firmer latex foam, and hence, firmer feel. Talalay yields a more plush feel. Latex is generally pretty even-keeled when it comes to temperature, too, keeping heat from accumulating within your mattress to maintain a nice, room-temperature feel.
WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson has applauded the organic latex construction of the Birch Luxe Natural, citing great support for the lower back region and good temperature regulation.
Birch
Luxe Natural Mattress
Smart Beds
Smart mattresses offer the ability to adjust their firmness level with the press of a button. They do this via internal air chambers or sensors that adjust coil firmness. To make your bed softer or firmer, you use a remote control or the brand’s accompanying app.
That’s not the only thing that sets this mattress type apart. Some are also outfitted with tech features such as sleep trackers and auto-adjusting pressure relief layers, as in the case of the Sleep Number p6 smart bed. Smart beds are becoming more refined as sleep tech evolves.
Great Job Julia Forbes & the Team @ WIRED Source link for sharing this story.
DALLAS – Nearly five years after Winter Storm Uri sparked widespread power outages and killed hundreds of Texans, officials and residents are once more girding for a round of severe winter weather that will blanket large parts of the state.
Dangerously cold temperatures from an arctic blast will descend upon the state beginning Friday morning, and with the cold come chances of wintry precipitation in the form of snow, sleet and freezing rain. That winter blast is expected to grip the state from Friday evening to early next week.
Officials don’t expect widespread power outages, though Texans could still see local power outages if ice or falling tree branches knock out power lines.
Officials this week have set about making preparations for the weather. Gov. Greg Abbott announced a series of steps state departments are taking that include working with local governments to update local warming center maps and monitor water and wastewater. State officials are also helping set up teams of firefighters, state patrol agents and the National Guard.
Additionally, crews with the Texas Department of Transportation began treating roadways on Wednesday to prevent them from accumulating ice, though state and local officials told Texans they should stay home during the worst of the winter weather if they can help it.
“If you don’t have to go outside, please don’t,” Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Is the Texas grid ready for ice and cold?
Years after Uri dropped record amounts of snow onto the state, left millions of Texans without power and killed at least 246 people, officials say Texas is better prepared to handle winter weather.
Perhaps the most crucial part of that preparedness is the stability of the state’s electrical grid. The grid, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, failed catastrophically during the February 2021 storm. Questions about whether the grid will hold up come up any time the state faces severe weather, hot or cold. Texans have grown particularly attentive to how the grid will hold up in a cold snap.
The grid is in better shape than it was in February 2021, state officials and energy experts have said. So far, the agency is projecting that Texas will have enough power to meet demand throughout the weekend.
“Based on expected weather conditions, ERCOT anticipates there will be sufficient generation to meet demand this winter,” the agency said in a statement.
That’s owing to two factors, said Matthew Boms, executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, an industry trade group. For one, there’s more power on the grid than there was in 2021, and most of that new generation is in the form of solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage, Boms said.
“That’s a gigantic change,” Boms said. “We didn’t really have battery storage on the grid during Winter Storm Uri, and now we have thousands of megawatts of batteries. That’s a huge asset when we have this kind of winter event.”
Texas lawmakers also forced natural gas plants to harden their facilities against severe cold, Boms noted.
Natural gas is the backbone of Texas electricity, especially during extreme cold. More than half of the state’s power comes from natural gas. When gas production freezes, power plants lose fuel and shut down. At the same time, winter storms drive up demand for both heating and electricity. If gas facilities aren’t running, the electricity simply can’t be generated.
After Winter Storm Uri in 2021, the Texas Legislature directed the Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees the state’s oil and gas industry, to strengthen how the state prepares natural gas facilities for weather emergencies and power outages. That directive led to the creation of the Critical Infrastructure Division, which focuses on identifying key natural gas facilities as critical and making sure they’re ready for all-weather emergencies, including winter storms. This designation also ensures these facilities receive power first in hopes it will prevent blackouts like those from Winter Storm Uri.
The agency inspected more than 7,400 natural gas facilities last year, the agency said.
Are cities and other utilities prepared?
Just because there’s more power on the grid doesn’t mean there won’t be any power outages, officials caution. The storm brings a strong chance of ice for most of the state, which can build up on power lines and tree branches, causing lines to break and people to lose power. Utilities said Wednesday they have crews at the ready to restore power as quickly as possible.
Mark Bell, president of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, which represents companies like Oncor, El Paso Electric and CenterPoint Energy, said his members were ready.
“In areas that will be affected by the winter storm, electric generating companies and utilities are implementing their emergency operations plans, mobilizing staff, re-checking weatherization measures, procuring needed fuel and equipment, among other activities,” he said.
Even a thin layer of ice can add several hundred pounds of weight to a power line, causing it to sag and break. Ice buildup can even bring down utility poles.
“In a worst-case scenario with ice loading, you’ll get a domino effect with poles,” said Chester Brown, an operations director for Xcel Energy in Amarillo. “One finally gives up and breaks, and then you’ll have a whole string of poles that could break it at a certain time.”
The year before Uri, a winter storm brought heavy ice to the Panhandle, bringing down power lines and causing widespread power outages. Xcel in the years since has continually replaced poles with ones made of stronger material, Brown said.
That ice buildup was a key factor in leaving tens of thousands of Austin households and businesses without power in the wake of a severe winter storm in early 2023.
That’s a tough problem to fix, officials and experts said Wednesday. Cities and utilities in the past several years have tried to beef up their vegetation management to pare tree branches to prevent them from falling on power lines during severe weather.
The most straightforward solution, officials have said, would be to bury above-ground power lines. But doing so would be enormously costly. Burying Austin’s city-owned network of above-ground power lines would cost $50 billion, according to a city-commissioned estimate published last year. Instead of burying every power line, utilities in Houston and Austin have focused on burying lines in places most at risk of power outages, Homs said.
“If you did it everywhere, that would cost tens of billions of dollars and ultimately raise electric bills,” Homs said.
Austin Energy, the city’s publicly owned utility, doesn’t expect widespread power outages, General Manager Stuart Reilly told Austin City Council members this week, though the utility continues to monitor the situation and prepare for the ice storm, KUT reported.
“A lot can move between now and Friday night, and so we’ll just keep an eye on it,” he said. “But so far, the predictions aren’t for the worst-case scenario.”
Other preparations abound. In Dallas, officials will open up facilities at Fair Park, the site of the State Fair of Texas, to shelter folks experiencing homelessness from the cold. If the city sees widespread power outages caused by the storm, officials plan to open up additional facilities for people to get warm and charge their phones, they said Wednesday.
Those facilities didn’t have backup power to open as warming centers during Uri, Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said Wednesday. In the years since, the city drew down federal dollars to outfit them with generators in the case of severe cold weather, she said.
What’s next?
Abbott is expected to hold a news conference on Thursday with several other state officials, including Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Texas Department of Public Safety Colonel Freeman Martin, Texas Department of Transportation Executive Director Marc Williams, and Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Pablo Vegas.
— Camila Beraldo Maia contributed.
Disclosure: CenterPoint Energy, El Paso Electric Company and Oncor have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Great Job Texas Tribune, Joshua Fechter And Alejandra Martinez & the Team @ KSAT San Antonio for sharing this story.
Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales leaves the courtroom as the jury goes back to deliberate during his trial at the Nueces County Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Sam Owens/AP | Pool The San Antonio Express-News)
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A Nueces County jury on Wednesday acquitted former Uvalde CISD police officer Adrian Gonzales of all charges in the first criminal trial tied to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.
After the verdict was read, several family members of the victims appeared visibly upset in the courtroom, some wiping away tears.
Jesse Rizo and his wife Juanita Cazares-Rizo listen to the prosecution and defense deliver their closing statements to the jury on the 11th day of the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Sam Owens/AP | Pool The San Antonio Express-News)
The verdict ends the first attempt to hold a law enforcement officer criminally responsible for the delayed police response to the massacre, in which nearly 400 officers waited more than an hour to confront the gunman.
Prosecutors had argued Gonzales, one of the first officers on scene, failed to act quickly enough to stop or delay the shooter. Defense attorneys said Gonzales never saw the gunman and acted reasonably given the limited information available to him at the time.
During closing arguments earlier Wednesday, attorneys on both sides told jurors their verdict would send a message to law enforcement officers across Texas — though they disagreed sharply on what that message should be.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell urged jurors to hold Gonzales accountable, arguing that officers are trained to move toward gunfire without waiting for backup.
“We cannot continue to let children die in vain,” Mitchell said, asking jurors to return a guilty verdict.
Defense attorney Nico LaHood urged jurors to reject what he described as an effort to single out one officer for systemic failures.
Defense attorney Nico LaHood delivers a closing statement to the jury on the 11th day of the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Sam Owens/AP | Pool The San Antonio Express-News)
“Send a message to the government that it wasn’t right to concentrate on Adrian Gonzales,” LaHood told the jury. “You can’t pick and choose.”
A key point of disagreement centered on timing. Prosecutors said Gonzales waited roughly three and a half minutes before entering the school hallway. The defense said there were fewer than two minutes between Gonzales’ arrival and the shooter entering the fourth-grade classrooms where the victims were killed.
Gonzales was charged with 29 counts of child endangerment — one count for each of the 19 children who were killed and the 10 who were injured but survived. The jury found him not guilty on all counts.
The trial had been moved from Uvalde County to Corpus Christi after defense attorneys argued Gonzales could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde.
Former Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who investigators have described as the incident commander during the response, is awaiting a separate trial on charges connected to the shooting.
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Alycin Berry’s husband had just started a new job in early 2018 when the couple started to dig into his benefits. The amount they’d have to pay for health insurance, they realized, was “ridiculously expensive” — more than they could reasonably afford.
Neither Berry, a stay-at-home mom, nor her husband had any major health conditions. They didn’t use medical care often. She had just had her first child and hoped to get pregnant soon with another. She just wanted to make sure they could get coverage for her maternity care.
The couple looked for something cheaper, ultimately settling on a health care sharing ministry. They would contribute hundreds of dollars per month, which was still less than the insurance premium. With major medical bills, participants in the ministry paid upfront, seeking discounts medical providers often offer to people who don’t have insurance. The health care sharing ministry would reimburse them after the fact.
The benefits weren’t as generous as health insurance, but the ministry fit better in Berry’s family budget. The organization advertised its maternity benefits, specifically, and more broadly promised coverage for hospital visits and surgeries. There were stipulations: To enroll, members had to sign a declaration that they would align their lifestyles with its Catholic values. Those religious views played out in policy too: The health share wouldn’t cover a pregnancy conceived through in vitro fertilization, for instance. But Berry, a Catholic herself, wasn’t worried.
“It did feel like it was comparable to health insurance if not better than health insurance. They pitched it that way,” she said.
Then she tried to use it.
In 2019, Berry, now 37, miscarried at home, her first of three lost pregnancies. After visiting a doctor for follow-up care, Berry sought reimbursement from her health share. She was eventually able to get payment, but doing so required reams of paperwork, she said, including verifying that her pregnancy was conceived without fertility treatment. The process took several months.
“It was kind of like, ‘What? This is crazy. We’re grieving this loss, we’re jumping through hoops to get this miscarriage care covered,’” she recalled.
Ministries like the one Berry joined are part of a constellation of alternatives to health insurance, cheaper and less regulated than those covered by the Affordable Care Act, and with far fewer consumer protections. Now, as Congress struggles to make a deal to extend subsidies for plans offered via the health law’s individual marketplace, those alternatives could see a surge in interest and enrollment.
Tax credits used to help lower what consumers pay for marketplace insurance, which covered about 25 million Americans last year. But those credits expired at the end of 2025. Without them, marketplace premiums skyrocketed — many are more than doubling.
Final figures won’t be available for months, but preliminary government data suggests that enrollment in health insurance has fallen as a result, down by at least 1.4 million. A December survey from KFF, the nonpartisan health policy research, polling and journalism group, found that 1 in 4 marketplace enrollees said they would go without insurance if their premiums doubled. And historical trends suggest that some will try to fill in the gaps with skimpier but cheaper alternatives, including ministries like the one Berry used.
“Whenever the costs go up, it’s just a golden marketing opportunity for sellers of anything other than comprehensive coverage to make the pitch they have a more affordable option,” said JoAnn Volk, a research professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Health Insurance Reforms, who has studied these organizations extensively. ”Health care sharing ministries are one of those.”
Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance is required to cover particular sets of benefits, including preventive care, maternity, mental health. Plans cannot impose lifetime caps on coverage. They can’t discriminate against preexisting conditions. They must spend at least 80 or 85 percent of premiums on medical care, depending on the type of plan. Insurance offerings that could violate those requirements face government scrutiny or even penalties.
Those requirements don’t exist for health care sharing ministries, and there is no regulatory body tasked with overseeing them. Health care sharing ministries work on a theoretical sharing model: members pool resources, and the ministry decides what health expenses to cover. Ministries or health shares are usually religious, and allowed to deny coverage if it doesn’t align with their stated values. That in practice means significant limitations for women and queer people: Ministries typically don’t cover contraception or pregnancies that are not conceived by a heterosexual couple. Many won’t cover injuries or illnesses they deem the result of immoral choices — including drug and alcohol use, which is more common among LGBTQ+ people. And ministries often exclude coverage for mental health needs, another area where LGBTQ+ people and women are more likely to require care.
The Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, a trade group that represents the vast majority of these groups, declined to comment.
Enrollment in these ministries has soared since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, more than 15 years ago. The health law, which required individuals to have insurance, included an explicit carveout for these ministries. People wouldn’t be subject to the mandate if they used a ministry, so long as it existed prior to 1999. The idea was to accommodate small religious cost-sharing arrangements, which at the time only counted maybe 200,000 members.
A 2023 report published by the Colorado Department of Insurance identified at least 1.7 million people across the country using ministries for their health coverage, though the authors said that was likely an undercount. Many of these arrangements instructed members to first ask medical providers for charity care — free or discounted treatment, which is reserved for those who don’t have health insurance, typically lower-income people — before submitting bills for reimbursement. A report that same year from the Government Accountability Office suggested that a disproportionate share of participants are from low-income households. National data is difficult to come by because no federal body tracks health care sharing ministries.
“There’s an ongoing affordability crisis in health care that is being made worse by the lapse of this extra premium help, so people are looking for options,” said Katie Keith, who heads the Center for Health Policy and the Law at Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute. “People don’t realize what they’re getting. It’s the marketing materials, it’s the way these are being advertised. Some brokers sell ministries, and people don’t understand that it is not a typical health insurance product.”
Thirty states have explicitly passed laws saying ministries aren’t the same as insurance and don’t need to be held to the same standards, freeing them from some government scrutiny. Some lawmakers have made an effort to regulate individual ministries. Both Massachusetts and Colorado have passed laws requiring ministries to share data on their enrollment, finances and marketing with the state insurance departments.
Washington state’s insurance commissioner blocked one ministry from selling its products in the state, arguing that the company was selling illegal insurance that did not cover particular preexisting conditions. The state of California has entered a settlement with a ministry accused of “creating, operating and selling sham insurance.” The Department of Justice has settled with another one, based in Missouri, that was accused of fraud.
In one 2020 class action, three plaintiffs alleged that their health share had falsely represented itself as insurance and then refused to pay for medical expenses it had promised to cover, including one who said she could not receive reimbursement for bills related to pregnancy and childbirth. (The lawsuit was closed when the health share declared bankruptcy.) A report from NBC News identified four families who struggled to receive reimbursement for their pregnancy-related medical bills.
In some cases, members pay their medical costs upfront with the promise of reimbursement from their ministry. Receiving payment can be straightforward. But if it isn’t denied completely, it can also resemble Berry’s experience — taking months of back-and-forth.
Pregnancy is of particular concern. In its 2023 report, the GAO found that every health care sharing ministry it reviewed required new members undergo a waiting period before qualifying for pregnancy-related health coverage. A 2018 review from the Commonwealth Fund, which studies health policy, found that many large ministries only covered pregnancy-related costs under particular circumstances, including requiring members wait a set number of months, that pregnancies be conceived in wedlock, or that members be enrolled in more expensive cost-sharing options.
The costs of childbirth are steep. An analysis by KFF, the nonpartisan health policy research, polling and journalism organization, found that a privately insured birth costs more than $20,000, with about $2,700 in out-of-pocket expenses. Someone without insurance or seeking future reimbursement could pay less than that; hospitals and health providers typically charge less for people who are uninsured.
By the time Berry got pregnant, in the fall of 2021, she was able to avoid that risk. After years of negotiating for reimbursements, a process that often took months, she and her husband decided that January to switch to insurance.
Still, seeking payments to cover the maternity expenses she’d incurred before changing — particularly an approximately $4,000 global fee from her birth center — took more than a year of emails and phone calls, per communications she shared with The 19th.
Her experience since switching to health insurance has been far simpler, she said, adding that she would never recommend the health share to anyone else. Since leaving her health share, she has joined several Facebook groups devoted to sharing experiences from others who have navigated health shares like hers. She’s spoken to many who struggled to receive reimbursement for much larger maternity bills.
“The way they marketed it was this is an alternative to insurance and so it seemed like it was just a different way to get the same kind of coverage — and obviously that’s not true,” she said.
Great Job Shefali Luthra & the Team @ The 19th Source link for sharing this story.
Choosing the “least expensive” healthy food options could cut dietary emissions by one-third, according to a recent study.
In addition to the lower emissions, diets composed of low-cost, healthy foods would cost roughly one-third as much as a diet of the most-consumed foods in every country.
The study, published in Nature Food, compares prices and emissions associated with 440 local food products in 171 countries.
The researchers identify some food groups that are low in both cost and emissions, including legumes, nuts and seeds, as well as oils and fats.
Some of the most widely consumed foods – such as wheat, maize, white beans, apples, onions, carrots and small fish – also fall into this category, the study says.
One of the lead authors tells Carbon Brief that while food marketing has promoted the idea that eating environmentally friendly diets is “very fancy and expensive”, the study shows that such diets are achievable through cheap, everyday foods.
Meanwhile, a separate Nature Food study found that reforming the policies that reduce taxes on meat products in the EU could decrease food-related emissions by up to 5.7%.
Costs and emissions
The study defines a healthy diet using the “healthy diet basket” (HDB), which is a standard based on nutritional guidelines that includes a range of food groups with the needed nutrients to provide long-term health.
Using both data on locally available products and food-specific emissions databases, the authors estimate the costs and greenhouse gas emissions of 440 food products needed for healthy diets in 171 countries.
They examine three different healthy diets: one using the most-consumed food products, one using the least expensive food products and one using the lowest-emitting food products.
Each of these diets is constructed for each country, based on costs, emissions, availability and consumption patterns.
The researchers find that a healthy diet comprising the most-consumed foods within each country – such as beef, chicken, pork, milk, rice and tomatoes – emits an average of 2.44 kilograms of CO2-equivalent (kgCO2e) and costs $9.96 (£7.24) in 2021 prices, per person and per day.
However, they find that a healthy diet with the least-expensive locally available foods in each country – such as bananas, carrots, small fish, eggs, lentils, chicken and cassava – emits 1.65kgCO2e and costs $3.68 (£2.68). That is approximately one-third of the emissions and one-third of the cost of the most-consumed products diet.
In comparison, a healthy diet with the lowest-emissions products – such as oats, tuna, sardines and apples – would emit just 0.67kgCO2e, but would cost nearly double the least-expensive diet, at $6.95 (£5.05).
This reveals the tradeoffs of affordability and sustainability – and shows that the least-expensive foods tend to produce lower emissions, according to the study.
Dr Elena Martínez, a food-systems researcher at Tufts University and one of the lead authors of the study, tells Carbon Brief this is generally true because lower-cost food production tends to use fewer fossil fuels and require less land-use change, which also cuts emissions.
Ignacio Drake is coordinator of the fiscal and economic policies at Colansa, an organisation promoting healthy eating and sustainable food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Drake, who was not involved in the study, tells Carbon Brief that the research is a “step further” than previous work on healthy diets. He adds that the study “integrates and consolidates” previous analyses done by other groups, such as the World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Food group differences
The research looks at six food groups: animal-sourced foods, oils and fats, fruits, legumes (as well as nuts and seeds), vegetables and starchy staples.
Animal-sourced foods – such as meat and dairy – are typically the most-emitting, and most-expensive, food group.
Within this group, the study finds that beef has the highest costs and emissions, while small fish, such as sardines, have the lowest emissions. Milk and poultry are amongst the least-expensive products for a healthy diet.
Starchy staple products also contribute to high emissions too, adds the study, because they make up such a large portion of most people’s calories.
Emissions from fruits, vegetables, legumes and oil are lower than those from animal-derived foods.
The following chart shows the energy contributions (top) and related emissions (bottom) from six major food groups in the three diets modelled by the study: lowest-cost (left), lowest-emission (middle) and most-common (right) food items.
The six food groups examined in the study are shown in different colours: animal-sourced foods (red), legumes, nuts and seeds (blue), oils and fats (purple), vegetables (green), fruits (orange) and starchy staples (yellow). The size of each box represents the contribution of that food to the overall dietary energy (top) and greenhouse gas emissions (bottom) of each diet.
Energy (top) and emissions (bottom) contributions from different food groups within the three diets modelled by the study. Each column represents a different diet (left to right): lowest-cost, lowest-emission and most common items. The boxes are coloured by food group: animal-sourced foods (red), legumes, nuts and seeds (blue), oils and fats (purple), vegetables (green), fruits (orange) and starchy staples (yellow). Source: Bai et al. (2025).
Prof William Masters, a professor at Tufts University and author on the study, tells Carbon Brief that balancing food groups is important for human health and the environment, but local context is also important. For example, he points out that in low-income countries, some people do not get enough animal-sourced foods.
For Drake, if there are foods with the same nutritional quality, but that are cheaper and produce fewer emissions, it is logical to think that the “cost-benefit ratio [of switching] is clear”.
Other studies and reports have also modelled healthy and sustainable diets and, although they do not exclude animal-sourced foods, they do limit their consumption.
A recent study estimated that a global food system transformation – including a diet known as the “planetary health diet”, based on cutting meat, dairy and sugar and increasing plant-based foods, along with other actions – can help limit global temperature rise to 1.85C by 2050.
The latest EAT-Lancet Commission report found that a global shift to healthier diets could cut non-CO2 emissions from agriculture, such as methane and nitrous oxide, by 15%. The report recommends increasing the production of fruit, vegetable and nuts by two-thirds, while reducing livestock meat production by one-third.
Dr Sonia Rodríguez, head of the department of food, culture and environment at Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health, says that unlike earlier studies, which project ideal scenarios, this new study also evaluates real scenarios and provides a “global view” of the costs and emissions of diets in various countries.
Increasing access
The study points out that as people’s incomes increase, their consumption of expensive foods also increases. However, it adds, some people with high income that can afford healthy diets often consume other types of foods, due to reasons such as preferences, time and cooking costs.
The study stresses that nearly one-third of the world’s population – about 2.6 billion people – cannot afford sufficient food products required for a healthy diet.
In low-income countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, 75% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, says the study.
In middle-income countries, such as China, Brazil, Mexico and Russia, more than half of the population can afford such a diet.
To improve the consumption of healthy, sustainable and affordable foods, the authors recommend changes in food policy, increasing the availability of food at the local level and substituting highly emitting products.
Martínez also suggests implementing labelling systems with information on the environmental footprint and nutritional quality of foods. She adds:
“We need strategies beyond just reducing the cost of diets to get people to eat climate-friendly foods.”
Drake notes that there are public and financial policies that can help reduce the consumption of unhealthy and unsustainable foods, such as taxes on unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. This, he adds, would lead to better health outcomes for countries and free up public resources for implementing other policies, such as subsidies for producing healthy food.
Separately, another recent Nature Food study looks at taxes specifically on meat products, which are subject to reduced value-added tax (VAT) in 22 EU member states.
It finds that taxing meat at the standard VAT rate could decrease dietary-related greenhouse gases by 3.5-5.7%. Such a levy would also have positive outcomes for water and land use, as well as biodiversity loss, according to the study.
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Treatment focuses on relieving symptoms, reducing flare-ups of the disease, improving quality of life, and correcting lifestyle habits that may worsen the condition.
To slow the progression of the disease, it’s not only important to stop smoking and avoid exposure to lung irritants, but also to take medications and vaccinations, and to follow a healthy lifestyle.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Pulmonary rehabilitation, which can improve your well-being, may include:
While not comprehensive, the list below notes some of the main types of COPD treatment.
Bronchodilators
These medicines can help relieve coughing and shortness of breath by relaxing your airways. When the airways are relaxed and open, it’s easier to breathe. Bronchodilators come as inhalers in both short- and long-acting forms: short-acting for alleviating acute attacks, and long-acting for sustained relief.
Short-acting bronchodilators, such as beta 2 agonists and antagonists (also known as anticholinergics), work quickly — usually 3 to 5 minutes after first inhaling. But they wear off in a few hours.
Examples include:
albuterol
levalbuterol
terbutaline
Long-acting inhalers, which can also be beta 2 agonists or anticholinergics, provide relief for many hours, but the effect may be slower. Long-acting bronchodilators are taken daily, even when you feel well.
Examples include:
formoterol fumarate (Perforomist)
salmeterol xinafoate (Serevent)
Steroids
Doctors often treat acute COPD exacerbations with steroids — either in pill form or via inhaler — to reduce inflammation in the airways, but inhalers are used in combination therapy and oral medications for only short periods of time. The Pulmicort Flexhaler (budesonide) is a well-known example of an inhaled steroid.
Combination Inhalers
Some inhalers combine bronchodilators and steroids. Common examples include the Advair Diskus (fluticasone-salmeterol), Breztri Aerosphere (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate), Trelegy Ellipta (Fluticasone furoate, umeclidinium, and vilanterol), and Symbicort (budesonide and formoterol) inhalers.
Additional Medications
Other medicines may be prescribed to treat COPD, including:
roflumilast (Daliresp), to relax airways and decrease inflammation
ensifentrine (Ohtuvayre), an inhaled medication that works as a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory while also helping to clear mucus from the lungs
dupilumab (Dupixent), an injectable biologic therapy for certain adults with poorly controlled COPD who have high levels of eosinophils, white blood cells that can cause inflammation in the lungs and trigger breathing problems
theophylline (Uniphyl, Theo-24), an older and less-expensive oral bronchodilator
Antibiotics, which are sometimes prescribed to treat acute exacerbations or pneumonia
Vaccinations: Patients with COPD should be fully vaccinated to decrease the risk of Influenza, Pneumonia, Covid, Pertussis, shingles, etc.
COPD Medication Prices
Here are some price ranges for COPD medications without insurance, but with pharmacy coupons for both generic and brand-name versions.
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Apple may be developing its own AI wearable, according to a report published Wednesday by The Information. The device will be a pin that users can wear on their clothing, and that comes equipped with two cameras and three microphones, the report says.
Should the rumored device come to market, it would mark another sign that the AI hardware market is heating up. This news follows comments made Monday by OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, who told a Davos crowd that his company will likely announce its highly anticipated first AI hardware device in the second half of this year. Additional reporting suggests that the device may be a pair of earbuds.
Apple’s device is described as a “thin, flat, circular disc with an aluminum-and-glass shell,” which engineers hope to make the same size as an AirTag, “only slightly thicker.” The pin will also have two cameras (one with a standard lens and another with a wide-angle) for pictures and video, as well as a physical button, a speaker, and a Fitbit-like charging strip on its back, according to the report.
Apple may even be in the process of trying to accelerate development of this product to compete with OpenAI’s. The pin could potentially be released in 2027 and involve 20 million units at launch, the report notes. TechCrunch reached out to Apple for more information.
But it remains to be seen if consumers want this kind of AI device. Two Apple alums previously founded Humane AI, a startup which also sold an AI pin. Humane’s pin also included built-in microphones and a camera. However, it floundered upon release, and the company had to shut down operations and sell its assets to HP within two years of its product launch.
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Canine Classmates began in 2006 as a program designed to support at‑risk children who struggle with reading. Since then, it has expanded to Canines in the Courthouse, an initiative where dogs provide comfort for traumatized victims while they prepare to testify, offering support both before and after testifying.
Conspiracy theories exploded across social media after President Donald Trump’s plane abruptly turned around mid-flight due to an electrical issue aboard Air Force One, a rare incident involving one of the most closely monitored and meticulously maintained aircraft in the world.
The White House said the mid-air reversal was the result of a mechanical problem. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president transferred to a different plane at Joint Base Andrews and flew on to Switzerland for Wednesday’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
But the unusual nature of the turnaround, combined with Trump’s combative foreign policy rhetoric and his rambling, strained appearance once he finally surfaced publicly, fueled a wave of speculation that quickly spread online.
For many viewers, disbelief centered on the aircraft itself.
“Is it totally, utterly and completely suspect that Air Force 1 turned around mid-flight? Absolutely,” one Threads user wrote. “That plane is the most meticulously maintained in the history of aviation. There has never been a reported incident necessitating a turnaround. Just does not happen. Period. Something else is going on.”
Others echoed that skepticism, framing the delay as too convenient given the political moment Trump was walking into. “He doesn’t want to go there because no one likes him. It’s that simple,” another user posted. Another added, “Something’s off here.”
Some users speculated that the issue may have involved Trump’s health. “Or medical emergency that can’t be handled in the plane’s medical suite,” one person wrote.
More elaborate theories suggested the electrical issue was exaggerated or used as a ruse.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if the ‘minor electrical fault’ was engineered or simply used as an excuse,” a Threads user claimed, alleging that Trump’s handlers were working to limit his exposure to prolonged, unscripted interactions. “Anything to avoid him sitting at a table with others to eat or discuss things,” the user added, asserting that aides “know he’s lost capacity to fulfill his duties.”
The timing of the delay only intensified the scrutiny. Trump’s Davos appearance came amid escalating international backlash over his aggressive foreign policy, particularly his threats to impose tariffs on European nations and NATO allies unless they supported a U.S. deal to purchase Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Trump has since walked back his plans to impose tarriffs.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney added to the tension just a day earlier in his own Davos speech, warning that relations with Washington were reaching a breaking point. “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said. “Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons.”
Viewers noted Trump wasn’t eager to “walk into humiliation” after Carney “got them all fired up.” .
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition… The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy,” Canadian PM Mark Carney tells Davos summit.
But he adds: “We should not allow the rise of hard power to blind us to the fact that the… pic.twitter.com/rrCZbS700k
After the Air Force One delay, Trump ultimately boarded a smaller backup aircraft and continued on to Switzerland more than an hour behind schedule.
The secrecy around Trump’s plane transfer — as no photos of the president boarding the new aircraft have been made public — only fueled more online chatter.
One Threads user shared a CNN update confirming Trump was back in the air, prompting another to reply, “Oh good. I want him there all tired and cranky… see how unhinged his speech will be. It will be entertaining regardless.”
Another commenter went further, speculating wildly about Trump’s condition. “He is probably hooked up on stimulant IVs right now… to keep him awake long enough to read through his speech without falling asleep,” the user wrote, adding, “I’m getting my popcorn ready.” There is no evidence to support that claim.
The prediction wasn’t far off. When Trump finally appeared at Davos, he opened his remarks by saying he was addressing “friends and a few enemies,” immediately setting a confrontational tone.
Viewers quickly circulated clips of the speech, focusing on moments they described as rambling and difficult to follow.
Once on stage, Trump’s speech drew a mixture of disbelief, laughter, and shock from attendees.
Julia Binder of Switzerland’s IMD Business School told Agence France-Presse (AFP), “I expect the worst. From what we know from Trump, he always needs to have all the attention and he needs to have a shocker message. And shock he did.”
Trump is slurring at Davos.
This isn’t “mean tweets” or “policy differences” anymore. It’s cognitive decline in real time with nuclear codes attached.
In overflow rooms, according to CBS 19, attendees laughed and gasped during his remarks. And nervous laughter erupted when Trump said he was asking for “a piece of ice,” meaning Greenland — which he repeatedly referred to as “Iceland.”
Some were stunned when Trump alleged, “Canada lives because of the United States,” after accusing Prime Minister Carney of being ungrateful, or when he mocked French President Emmanuel Macron for wearing sunglasses after suffering a burst blood vessel. “He’s a nutcase,” one attendee muttered while exiting.
Online reactions zeroed in on Trump’s worn-down appearance and slurred delivery. Others pointed to his eyes and posture, saying he appeared exhausted and strained as he spoke.
The Republicans Against Trump X account posted, “The entire world just watched an old, low-energy, confused man ramble incoherently and attack our allies in his Davos speech this morning. The president of the United States is an international laughingstock.”
Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson added, “‘Oh, no, this is going great,’ said no one watching Trump at Davos. Senile, mentally ill, reckless, and practically drooling on his speech, this is a ramblefest of grievance and revisionism.”
While there is no indication that anything other than a mechanical issue caused the Air Force One delay, and no confirmation of any medical emergency, the episode highlights how deeply distrust has taken root around Trump’s presidency. His hostility toward allies, cloudy communication from his administration, and history of erratic public performances have created conditions where even routine explanations fail to quiet suspicion.
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