Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: Some cancers less common with GLP-1 medications

A retrospective cohort study of 80K adults found GLP-1 users had a lower overall cancer risk, especially for meningioma, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. The exception: a slightly elevated — but not statistically significant — risk of kidney cancer (HR 1.38; 95% CI 0.99–1.93; P = 0.4). Longer-term follow-up is still needed to clarify safety.

2: Pesticide in the Womb, Problems in the Brain

This cohort study of 270 youths (ages 6–14) found that higher prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) — one of the most widely used insecticides worldwide — was linked to alterations in brain structure, function, and metabolism on MRI. CPF exposure was also tied to poorer fine motor performance, pointing to lasting developmental effects.

3: Wellness Training Helps Healthcare Workers Thrive 

This RCT of 2,315 healthcare professionals found that a “Healthy Minds Program” designed to strengthen wellness skills reduced distress and boosted well-being for several months. With burnout rates high worldwide, such training may help support HCPs and sustain their ability to provide care.

Breastfeeding and Puberty’s Clock

What babies eat in their first months may influence when puberty begins, and it’s raising new questions for researchers.

What happened: A recent South Korean study found that children who are breastfed might be less likely to experience early puberty.

Why it matters: The study tracked the diets and development of over 300,000 children under the age of 6 from 2007 to 2020. The researchers found that boys who were fed formula had a 16% risk of early puberty, while girls had a 60% chance. Early puberty, or central precocious puberty, is a growing global concern and can lead to several health problems in adulthood, like heart disease, cancer, and mental health challenges.

But: The goal isn’t to criticize new moms, it’s to spark a conversation about parental support. The researchers suggest that more robust leave policies, along with workplace accommodations like private breastfeeding spaces and lactation support, could make the early months easier for parents and help them feel truly supported.

In Canada, parents can take up to 12–18 months of maternity and parental leave, but many return to work while still breastfeeding. Challenges such as low milk supply, irregular shifts, long commutes, and limited access to private pumping spaces can make it difficult to continue, often leading parents to supplement with formula.

Most Canadian parents, about 91%, start out breastfeeding, but only 38% manage to do so exclusively for 6 months, according to 2024 Statistics Canada data. Those who stop earlier often cite difficulties like insufficient milk supply, challenges with breastfeeding itself, or babies weaning on their own.

However, when it comes to early puberty, breastfeeding is just one piece of the puzzle. The study didn’t consider genetic factors, and other influences — like physical activity, diet, and sleep — also affect when puberty begins.

Bottom line: The study hints at a link between formula feeding and early puberty, but it doesn’t prove it causes it. Still, it highlights the need for more research and it sparks an important conversation about supporting parents as they navigate those early months.

Hot Off The Press

1: ⏱️ An Ontario family is calling for “Finlay’s Law” to cap pediatric wait times and set safe staffing ratios after their 16-year-old son died following an 8-hour ER wait. In February 2024, Finlay was triaged quickly but sat for hours as his oxygen dropped; by the time he was seen, he had pneumonia and sepsis. His parents say overcrowded ERs are costing lives and want lawmakers to prove it doesn’t have to happen again.

2: 🥩 A Canadian study of nearly 16,000 adults found animal protein wasn’t linked to higher death risk — and may even lower cancer mortality. Researchers tracked usual diet patterns and found plant protein had little effect, while higher meat intake offered a modest protective edge. As we covered last month, hot dogs and bacon are still on the watchlist. But animal protein overall looks less concerning here.

3: 💸 Canadians could soon see relief at the checkout after Ottawa dropped tariffs on dozens of US imports: from orange juice and peanut butter to sneakers, cosmetics, and coffee pods. Tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminum remain, but it’s a rare win for wallets in 2025 — small businesses get a break and consumers finally catch one too.

4: 🚭 Canada’s Task Force on Preventive Health Care has released new adult smoking-cessation guidelines — and for the first time, cytisine makes the list. Alongside behavioural and other drug therapies, the low-cost plant-derived pill could become a new front-line tool for helping patients quit. It’s a rare addition in a field where updates don’t come often.

Notable Numbers 🔢

$9,000 CAD: the going price for seeds from a prehistoric Wollemi pine in a retired UK couple’s garden. They bought the sapling for $130 back in 2010. Now the “dinosaur tree,” thought extinct for 90 million years, could yield tens of thousands more if every cone produces. Proof that money really can grow on trees.

1,000: the age of an Italian castle near Milan now listed for $5.3M CAD. Medieval fortifications, a portico, and the ghost of a moat included — a reminder that old real estate can still deliver serious curb appeal.

14,899: the number of electronic devices searched at US borders between April and June 2025 — up 21% from the quarter before. Smartphones, tablets, and laptops are all fair game, meaning your data may get more scrutiny than your luggage.

Postcall Picks ✅

👂 Listen: to the newest episode of the Funny Medicine Podcast. This week, the hosts dive into the flesh-eating bacteria outbreak and how it’s spreading.

🤑 Save: on glasses with Eye Buy Direct's BOGO sale!

✈️ Travel: to the most pedestrian-friendly places in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records — like Fes, a city in Morocco that doesn’t allow cars (just the occasional donkey).

🍨 Eat: homemade sorbet that’s easy to make and delicious — just dragon fruit, mango, coconut, and a little sugar, no ice cream maker required.

😂 Laugh: at the oldest trick in the book, now hospital approved.

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