I look like I've had Botox but it's just my new diet that cleared my wrinkles in 30 DAYS – I lost a stone & a half too
Janis Luize Rocha Leites, 30, had been vegetarian for two years, but says it left her feeling sluggish, spotty, and 'not my best self'.
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The San Diego make-up artist said: 'I wasn't happy with my skin or body. I had no energy.'
'My face would swell up, I had small red dots that looked like blemishes, and my hair was falling out.'
Fed up, Janis turned to the extreme carnivore diet, which is a zero-carb lifestyle that consists entirely of animal products.
Inspired by a friend whose glowing skin she envied, Janis did a full 30-day cleanse, eating only meat, salt and water.
'I noticed his skin and hair had completely changed,' she said.
'When he told me it was from the carnivore diet, I had to try it.'
In just one month, Janis says the changes were dramatic.
She was 20 lbs lighter and claims her skin had changed completely.
She also felt sharper, saying her brain fog had also cleared up.
Janis added: 'My double chin disappeared. My tummy looked lean. My periods became regular.'
I've lost 5 stone and learnt the truth about thin privilege and men are nicer to me but a restrictive diet isn't the answer
But the biggest shock was that her wrinkles had vanished.
She said: It felt like I had got Botox done.'
Her face was tighter and smoother but it was all natural.
She added: 'It felt like I was biohacking my body.'
Janis had also given up alcohol at the time, and believes the diet gave her body a full reset.
'The diet helps you with your cravings - I was a big sweet tooth but not anymore. ' she said.
'I feel like a total new person'
After the diet, Janis reported that her periods also stabilised.
She also believes the diet helped her fall pregnant in January 2025, although she admits there's no way to know for sure.
'I had said to my boyfriend, 'I'm getting more fertile ', I can't say it was 100% from the diet, but it felt like something in my body had changed.'
Now 23 weeks along, Janis has slightly adjusted her diet during pregnancy.
She now eats around 300g of meat a day, mainly red meat with some chicken or pork, plus scrambled eggs, bone broth, and the occasional piece of fruit or carbs to support healthy weight gain.
'I still feel amazing,' she said.
'I used to always feel bloated after eating vegetables, even when they were organic. Now, I feel so much lighter and more energised.'
And she doesn't plan to stop after the baby arrives.
Janis hopes to raise her child on a carnivore-based diet and plans to start them off with nutrient-rich bone broths.
'I've seen people talking about how it means they have no mood swings and sleep all the time', she said.
Best anti-ageing products
According to skincare expert, Shelly Woods, these are the must anti-ageing skincare products to keep in your skincare kit:
The Medik8 Gentle cleanser - features mild cleansing agents plus sensitive-friendly ingredients , which makes it optimised for gentle cleansing power.
Cera-C Pore Reducing Toner The Ordinary Buffet serum - tackles signs of ageing
CeraVe AM Facial Moisturising Lotion SPF30 - helps your skin retain moisture - and this layer of the skin can diminish with age
The Q+A Vitamin C Eye Cream - will brighten up and energise your under eyes
The Ordinary's Retinol Serum 0.2% Squalane - visibly firms and plump the skin
Read more on Shelly's advice here.
If you're after luxury anti-ageing products, Sensitive Lab offers an Eternalist A.G.E retinol and Serum
Hydropeptide sells a Lumapro-C serum which will brighten the skin and correct pigment
They also offer a Power Lift advanced ultra-rich moisturiser and a Firma Bright, Vitamin C booster.
These will help brighten and tighten your skin dramatically.
The Nimni night cream helps firm the skin through collagen production support.
E.S.K offer ageless micro-needle patches to help reduce fine lines
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The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
I traded booze for THC drinks. But are there hidden risks?
Mark Zuckerberg, a billionaire, has said he avoids substances like caffeine because he likes 'rawdogging' reality. I, on the other hand, do not. I mean, have you seen reality lately? For most of my adult life, alcohol has been my preferred way to take the edge off. But, like a lot of other people, I got older and realized regular drinking was not doing me any favours. Last year, I experimented with 'intermittent sobriety', taking months off here and there. It helped, but it was also easy to slip back into bad habits. This year, I've jumped on the California-sober bandwagon, trading booze for the hemp-derived THC drinks that are rapidly growing in popularity. (THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the psychoactive component of cannabis.) I've never had any interest in smokable or edible THC in the past – as a green card holder, I reckon I should make that very clear to any immigration officers reading. But these new drinks have been a game-changer. The dosage is clearly marked and the effects are felt almost as quickly as alcohol thanks to a technology called nanoemulsification, which turns the THC into tiny water-soluble droplets that are more rapidly absorbed by the body than traditional edibles. Having a 5mg THC seltzer or infused cocktail in the evening scratches the 'I need to unwind' itch for me with seemingly no short-term negative effects, like a hangover. While I find THC doesn't deliver quite the dopamine rush alcohol does, low doses give me a relaxing warm fuzz, and have been great for my anxiety. Most importantly, it's helped me kick the alcohol habit; I've never felt healthier. Apart from the hefty price tag (one can costs $5-$7), these drinks feel a little too good to be true. So are they? The short answer is: sort of. First, their legality is a little … hazy. Marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law in the US, although some states have legalized it for recreational and/or medicinal purposes. But under the 2018 Farm Bill, any cannabis plant with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight is considered hemp and is no longer a controlled substance. This loophole has birthed a booming market: THC beverages are expected to be a $4bn industry by 2028, according to Euromonitor International. (Even comedian Seth Rogen has jumped in with his own line of drinks, called Houseplant.) Depending on the state, you might find these drinks in grocery or liquor stores. Some brands sell online, but while hemp-derived THC is federally legal, this is a grey area, and some states have imposed restrictions on products containing it. Whether birthing a THC product industry was an intention of the Farm Bill is unclear. 'Some independent attorneys argue it was,' says Hilary Bricken, a lawyer who specializes in cannabis. 'Others say absolutely not: the bill was meant to promote things like textiles, not consumer-facing drugs. But ultimately, it's enforcement, or the lack of it, that's allowed this market to develop the way it has.' 'There's no federal regulation unless a particular state steps in,' says Bricken. 'Some states, like Minnesota, regulate these products. Others, like California, have banned them entirely.' (In California, these unregulated hemp-derived THC products are banned, but THC products that comply with the state's cannabis regulations can legally be sold at cannabis dispensaries.) But there are other risks to be aware of. 'Practices vary wildly between operators,' says Bricken. 'For the consumer, it's hard to tell what's actually in the drink. There's no federal standard, so it's essentially dealer's choice on the operator side. While the original hemp might have tested under the 0.3% THC threshold, post-harvest it can be transformed in ways that technically still comply with federal law. But many believe that most of what's being sold is synthetically derived, and potentially contains toxic compounds.' Even in a best-case scenario where you're buying from a responsible operator, THC isn't as harmless as many believe. A recent study led by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco found people who regularly used marijuana in either smokable or edible form had reduced blood vessel function comparable to tobacco smokers. This is associated with a greater risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular issues. 'We saw a 42% reduction in vascular function in marijuana smokers and 56% in THC edible users,' said lead study author Leila Mohammadi. 'The effect was dose-dependent: the more someone used per week, the worse their vascular function.' Worryingly, even relatively small doses of 2.5mg multiple times a week seemed to have a harmful effect. The study didn't look at drinkable THC; a single can typically contains 2.5-10mg, though some products have considerably more. But Mohammadi notes there's no reason to think drinkable products would be significantly different. THC can also affect cognitive function, especially in adolescents, whose endocannabinoid systems – which interact with cannabinoids like THC and regulate critical bodily functions – are still developing. The long-term effects are complex, and research is ongoing, but one clearly documented risk of THC use in adolescence is in how the body handles fat, says Daniele Piomelli, a neuroscientist and leading cannabis researcher at the University of California at Irvine. 'In adolescents who use cannabis heavily, the fat in their bodies becomes dysfunctional. Normally, during times of stress or intense cognitive effort, the brain uses glucose for energy but can also tap into energy derived from fat. But frequent cannabis users often lose that ability,' notes Piomelli. That means they might find concentrating more difficult. 'There's a large body of evidence suggesting a link – not necessarily causation, but a strong association – between cannabis use in adolescence and increased risk of psychosis,' says Piomelli. And while these drinks are only supposed to be consumed by people over 21, adolescence for men is longer than women and 'really continues until 25 or 26'. Even if you're an old crone like me, there are risks. A low-dosage THC drink now and again probably won't do much harm, but it's easy to accidentally go overboard. 'The real problem is that, like many things in the US, we don't do moderation well,' says Piomelli. 'Some of these seltzers now contain up to 100mg of THC. That's enough to send even an experienced user to the hospital if they're not expecting it. Not because THC is deadly – you can't overdose fatally on THC, even if you tried. But the experience can be incredibly unpleasant and disorienting, and recovery might take a couple of days.' It doesn't help that the category is bringing in lots of inexperienced THC users, and dosage guidelines and risks often aren't made particularly clear. In states like New Jersey, you can find THC-infused beverages containing 25mg of THC (not a negligible amount!) in the grocery store, stocked next to seltzers and energy drinks. You can very easily imagine a scenario where someone downs one of these without knowing exactly what they're getting themselves into. If you are intrigued by these beverages, experts say education and a slow start are critical. Start with 2.5mg or less and work your way up incrementally. While it's hard to generalize about effects, Piomelli notes that 'for a person in their 20s to 40s, weighing anywhere from 50-80kg (110-175lbs), 10-20mg of THC per serving would be enough to produce a noticeable buzz – definitely not enough to cause a full-blown high for someone who isn't a regular user.' Sign up to Well Actually Practical advice, expert insights and answers to your questions about how to live a good life after newsletter promotion 'I always say: know before you go,' says Harvard neuroscientist Staci Gruber, who directs the longest-running study of medical cannabis use in the United States. 'What's your goal? Are you looking for mild relaxation or trying to manage chronic pain? Your intention should guide your choice of product.' Many of these THC drinks also include CBD, which is one of the main non-intoxicating components of cannabis, and alters the experience. 'Some research suggests CBD can mitigate some of THC's negative effects, like anxiety or paranoia,' Gruber explains. No matter the ratio, the dose of THC is what's really important. 'THC at low doses is often anxiolytic: it can reduce anxiety and make people feel more relaxed,' says Gruber. 'But at higher doses, it becomes anxiogenic – it can actually cause anxiety. The problem is, what counts as a 'low dose' varies widely from person to person.' THC may have its risks but, just asking for a friend: is going California-sober still healthier than drinking alcohol? After all, alcohol heightens the risks of at least seven types of cancer and the World Health Organization has said no level of consumption is safe. Unfortunately, scientists don't give black-and-white statements that affirm your life choices; they qualify things. And the answer to whether going California-sober is a harm-reduction strategy is: it depends. 'It really depends on the person,' says Ziva Cooper, director of the University of California at Los Angeles Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Factors like someone's age, individual vulnerability and what they're doing while intoxicated can influence the effects, as can frequency and dose of ingestion. 'Some people may have a family history of psychosis or mood disorders,' says Cooper. 'Others may be using very high doses regularly.' But there are risks either way: 'Some are associated with frequent use, and others with being a novice user. One unexpected risk we're now seeing is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome – basically, heavy users presenting to the ER with severe nausea and vomiting. That was completely off the radar a few years ago.' Cooper notes that scientific research is still lagging behind the market. 'We need better data, more funding and more research, especially because half the adult population is using cannabis products in some form now,' she says. Many THC startups, and their new users, are on a high, but they might be headed for a comedown. 'A lot of these hemp companies are acting like they're too big to fail, like they can't be touched,' says Bricken. 'Maybe that'll end up being true. But right now, nobody really knows how it will play out.' Hemp-derived THC is receiving a lot more scrutiny, and increased regulation – even possible prohibition – is on the horizon. Last month, a key US House committee approved a spending bill, championed by the representative Andy Harris, a long-term prohibitionist, that walks back the legal definition of hemp. The bill still has to pass the House and Senate. But if it does get signed into law, the loophole these hemp-derived THC drink companies rely on will close, and they will have to stop operating in their current form. Separately, Congress generally renews the Farm Bill, a mammoth piece of legislation that funds major agriculture and food programs in the US, every five years. The current bill, which contains the hemp loophole, expired in October 2023 and Congress has since passed two one-year extensions. While they could potentially extend for another year, there's a strong possibility that a new version will be debated later this year. When this happens, Bricken thinks, we'll see the hemp-derived THC loophole either get closed or distilled into some kind of regulatory framework. 'Hemp companies are scrambling to gain ground before anything changes,' notes Bricken. 'They're surprisingly well-organized from a lobbying perspective, and some factions in the alcohol industry support them. But prohibitionist groups are also lobbying hard.' Xander Shepherd, co-founder of THC aperitif brand Artet (his 86-year-old grandmother's art adorns the bottles), says that flux in this sector is nothing new: 'I've almost become numb to the constant changes, whether it's the Farm Bill or state-level regulations. I try to remind myself it's kind of like two steps forward, one step back. But overall, I really believe the industry is moving in the right direction.' While all of this is playing out, I'm going to continue sipping legal THC drinks – albeit with a little more caution than before. Going California-sober is clearly not the healthiest choice in the world but, speaking from a purely personal level, the highs currently outweigh the lows.
Medical News Today
an hour ago
- Medical News Today
Slowing aging: Psilocybin helps extend life span in human cells by over 50%
Psilocybin is a chemical that is found in a wide variety of mushrooms known for their euphoric and hallucinogenic effects. Over the past few years, there have been a number of studies investigating the use of psilocybin for the treatment of mental health disorders and medical conditions. A new study says psilocybin may help delay aging by increasing the cellular life span of human skin and lung cells by more than 50%. Scientists also reported evidence psilocybin may help protect the body from age-related diseases through several health-protecting qualities, via a mouse is a chemical that is found in a wide variety of mushrooms. Also known as 'shrooms' and 'magic mushrooms,' psilocybin is known for its euphoric and hallucinogenic effects. Over the past few years, there have been a number of studies investigating the use of psilocybin for the treatment of mental health disorders such as treatment-resistant depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders, as well as medical conditions like migraine, Alzheimer's disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and Parkinson's disease. 'The overwhelming majority of what we know about psilocybin is from clinical outcomes (with >150 clinical trials ongoing or completed) and impacts on the brain,' Louise Hecker, PhD, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, told Medical News Today. 'Psilocybin is well known for its hallucinogenic properties. However, we know very little about what it does otherwise, particularly its impact systemically on the rest of the body.'Hecker is the senior author of a new study recently published in the journal npj Aging that has found indication that psilocybin may help delay aging by increasing the cellular lifespan of human skin and lung cells by more than 50%. Scientists also reported evidence psilocybin may help protect the body from age-related diseases, such as neurodegeneration, heart disease, and cancer through several health-protecting qualities, via a mouse helps extend life in cells by over 50%For this study, researchers first used a cellular aging model of human lung cells to see how psilocin — the active ingredient in mushrooms that causes hallucinogenic effects — would impact them. Scientists reported that psilocin helped to extend the cellular lifespan of human skin and lung cells by more than 50%.'The significance is that psilocin-treated cells do age, however they age at a slower rate, while maintaining the properties of 'young' cells longer,' Hecker, who was an associate professor at Emory University at the time of the study, said. When moving to a mouse model, Hecker and her team also discovered that mice at the equivalent of 60-65 human years given psilocybin lived longer than those who did not receive it. Additionally, these mice displayed healthier features, such as fewer white hairs and hair regrowth.'We designed this experiment with the clinical relevance in mind — wouldn't it be great if we could give an intervention to elderly adults that helps them to live healthier longer?,' Hecker explained. 'Our study suggests that this is possible.'Psilocybin helps maintain telomere length, helping with agingAccording to researchers, their findings suggest that psilocybin assists with slowing aging by reducing oxidative stress, improving DNA repair responses, and maintaining the length of telomeres. Telomeres are the 'end caps' of chromosomes. By helping to preserve telomere lengths, the researchers believe this may help protect the body from age-related diseases like heart disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer. 'Psilocybin appears to reduce the 'wear and tear' that accompanies aging. Although psilocybin is well-known for its psychedelic effects, our study suggests that psilocybin has potent impacts on the entire body. Psilocybin holds great potential for promoting healthy aging — this is just the starting point, as much more research is needed.'— Louise Hecker, PhD'We need to better understand its mechanisms of action, in particular how it works outside the brain to impact systemic aging and other processes,' Hecker said. 'More research is needed to optimize dosing/frequency protocols as well as monitor for the potential of adverse effects before it is ready to be used clinically as an anti-aging agent.'More studies needed to translate findings to humansMNT spoke with Jack Jacoub, MD, a board certified medical oncologist and medical director of MemorialCare Cancer Institute at Orange Coast and Saddleback Medical Centers in Orange County, CA, about this study. 'Cell aging is a key feature to overall health and illnesses and cancer,' Jacoub said. 'And so there's a lot of therapies now that are looking at things like senescence, which is normal cell aging, how to slow it down, and how to repair the damage that happens with aging. Sometimes issues related to cancer are due to the inability to repair damage, and it becomes a cancerous cell.' Jacoub commented that while this was a very interesting and notable observational study, it's a big leap right now to say these findings will translate to human illnesses, including cancer. 'It's too general right now to say anti-aging — that's an incredible umbrella. For it to really make an impact, and for you to see it available and recommended, it's going to need to be advanced further, obviously in humans, but then in particular areas to be able to say, yes, there really is merit to this, we should be recommending this to patients, etc.' — Jack Jacoub, MD'Like for example, could it help repair injury quickly?,' Jacoub continued. 'That would be (an) interesting thing to observe and study. And so let's say it's stroke patients, heart attack patients, whatever it might be — is there some role there to use it and accelerate healing from events like that? (And) a good one would be cellular repair. Can you recover and heal faster if you took this? That would be an example of it.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Man who shed 85lbs in under a year shares easy changes he made to lose the weight
A man who shed 85lbs in under a year has revealed the simple changes that he made to lose the weight. Ethan Noblesala, 32, from New York City, said his weight began to soar while he was working 'long hours' and averaging very little sleep as the CFO for a startup company. Food became a 'comfort and a convenience' for him, and he confessed that he didn't put much thought into how his lifestyle was affecting his body. 'I didn't really think about how it impacted my body. I wasn't tracking anything, and I wasn't fueling myself intentionally,' he explained during an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail. '[Food] was used as a way to network from happy hours to unhealthy late night meals.' At his heaviest, he weighed 235 pounds, and he struggled to do 'simple tasks' such as 'go up a flight of stairs or tie his shoes.' But everything changed in November 2023 after he was diagnosed with prediabetes. '[That] scared me. It made everything real,' he explained. 'I didn't want to head down a path that would only get worse with age. 'I wanted to feel better, move more freely, and be in control of my health.' He decided it was time to turn his life around, and he went on to lose a whopping 85 pounds in under a year. He explained to the Daily Mail that he started by focusing on 'small but consistent changes' like drinking more water, walking every day, and prioritizing sleep. 'I didn't do anything extreme overnight,' he dished. 'But over time, it snowballed.' Then, he revamped his diet - swapping out processed food for whole ingredients. He also started tracking his food intake and staying on a calorie deficit. While he loved playing sports as a child, staying active had fallen to the backburner due to his busy work schedule. But after he began to lose weight he got into playing pickleball, which reignited his love of fitness. 'As I got more confident, I added strength training and built a daily movement habit,' he continued. 'I also built a system to keep myself accountable... I completely restructured how I think about health. 'Now, I live an active lifestyle. I move every day, eat to fuel my body, and surround myself with people who also want to move and prioritize health.' As for the key to his success, he believes it was 'accountability and consistency.' 'I found ways to stay motivated, track my progress, and celebrate the small wins,' the fitness guru added. He said he now feels so much better both physically and mentally. 'I have more energy, I sleep better, and my mental health has improved significantly,' he gushed. 'I feel like I have control over my life again. That transformation gave me the clarity and purpose to build something that can help others do the same.' Ethan - who now weighs 150 pounds - recently co-founded WeFit Labs, 'a fitness platform that uses competition and community to help people stay on track with their health goals.'
