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Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Doctors at Cedars-Sinai develop AI-powered mental health ‘robot' therapist
Misty Williams checks into the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from time to time for treatment of debilitating pain from sickle cell disease, which causes red blood cells to stiffen and block the flow of blood. After pain medication and hydration are ordered, the 41-year-old Los Angeles resident makes an unusual request: access to a virtual reality headset with an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that can carry on a dialogue with her. With the headset on, Williams finds herself in a virtual garden, butterflies drifting around her. A humanoid robot greets her with a soothing female voice. 'Hi, and welcome. My name is Xaia, and I'm your mental health ally,' it says. 'How can I help?' After a session, Williams' pain eases and her mind is calmer. 'Mentally and physically, I feel more at peace,' Williams said. Xaia (pronounced ZAI-uh) is just one of many ways that artificial intelligence technology is barreling its way into the burgeoning sector known as digital health. Digital health startups using AI accounted for an estimated $3.9 billion in funding in 2024, or 38% of the sector's total, according to the digital health advisory firm Rock Health. Mental health was the top-funded clinical area, drawing $1.4 billion. Major medical institutions in Los Angeles are embracing the trend. UCLA Health is using AI to help doctors catch strokes faster, reduce hospital re-admissions and spend more time with patients by automating medical notes, said Paul Lukac, chief AI officer. Keck Medicine of USC plans to offer employees a commercial AI chat tool to support stress management, according to Dr. Steven Siegel, chief mental health and wellness officer. At Cedars-Sinai, Xaia — an acronym for eXtended-reality Artificially Intelligent Ally — was designed and programmed by Dr. Omer Liran, with ideas and research support from Dr. Brennan Spiegel and therapeutic input from clinical psychologist Robert Chernoff, in collaboration with the medical center's Technology Ventures. VRx Health, a for-profit company founded by Liran, holds an exclusive license from Cedars-Sinai to market Xaia commercially. Cedars-Sinai and several private investors hold equity in the company. A version like the one Misty Williams uses is available to the public via the Apple Vision virtual reality headsets for $19.99 a month. A VR version for the Meta headset is freely available only to researchers. A web and mobile version is accessible to licensed clinicians for tiered pricing between $99 and $399-plus per month, which allows them to invite patients to use the tool. Liran, a psychiatrist, said Xaia is designed to supplement, and not replace, the services of mental health therapists amid a national shortage of providers. 'Even if somebody needs to be seen once a week, they may only get seen once a month,' he said. The Xaia app draws from hundreds of therapy transcripts, both from real sessions and mock sessions created by experts to sound like an actual therapist. For example, if users tell Xaia they're struggling with a new cancer diagnosis, the robot might say, 'That must be very hard for you,' then ask how it's affecting their mood, and what they find themselves doing when they're overwhelmed. 'Trying to stay positive when things feel so heavy must take a lot of energy,' the chatbot says. 'When you notice yourself being pulled back into those difficult thoughts, what usually happens next? Do you find yourself withdrawing, or do you turn to anyone for support?' So far, Xaia has been used by about 300 patients across various research studies at Cedars-Sinai, including those focused on chronic pain, alcohol use disorder, and irritable bowel syndrome, said Spiegel, director of health services research at Cedars-Sinai. Many people with chronic illnesses also struggle with anxiety or depression, Spiegel said. Physical and emotional symptoms feed off each other, and tools like Xaia aim to help with both. The tool isn't covered by insurance yet, but billing codes for virtual reality therapy and digital health services do exist, and other hospitals like the Mayo Clinic are beginning to use them. VRx has an agreement to deploy Xaia at Mayo Clinic, according to VRx Chief Executive Gabe Zetter. Xaia isn't the only app of its kind. Woebot, a pioneering chatbot developed by psychologist Alison Darcy while at Stanford, used scripted conversations based on cognitive behavioral therapy to support users with anxiety and depression. Though it reached 1.5 million users, the company shut down the app in July. Darcy said the company is now focused on building new tools with large language models, since AI is moving faster than regulators like the Food and Drug Administration can keep up. In recent years, some emotional support chatbots have been blamed for deepening distress, including one incident in which a Florida teen died by suicide in 2024 after extended conversations with a chatbot. Such incidents underscore the risks of emotionally responsive AI tools, said Todd Essig, a psychologist and founder and co-chair of the American Psychoanalytic Assn.'s Council on Artificial Intelligence. 'Even after the most loving, empathic response, an AI doesn't care if you drive to the store or drive off a cliff,' Essig said. AI programs learn to mimic human responses, Essig said, so it's up to the people building them to set clear limits and ensure they don't cause harm. When built with ethical frameworks and used under clinical supervision, tools like Xaia can support genuine therapeutic progress, functioning more like digital journals — a modern twist on the paper workbooks given to patients decades ago, said Jodi Halpern, a professor of bioethics and medical humanities at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. But many emotional support chatbots that aren't clinically monitored are designed to mimic intimacy and build emotional bonds. 'People can experience the app as another,' Halpern said. 'But it's not actually giving them real-life experiences with other humans that are important for developing the healthy, mutually empathic curiosity that people need to participate in complex human relationships.' Halpern noted there is a difference between clinically approved mental health tools and those with no oversight. She and others are supporting a California bill sponsored by state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista) that would require companies developing mental health chatbots or apps to disclose whether their tools are clinically validated, regulated by the FDA or rely on generative AI. Liran said he and his partners are aware of the limitations and have built in guardrails to keep the chatbot from saying anything harmful or inappropriate. For example, one arm of the AI generates the response, and another instantly double-checks it to make sure it's safe before letting it through to the user. 'We're not just opening it up to the public,' Liran said, pointing out that the guided therapy version on mobile and desktop is available only through a licensed clinician right now and Cedars is testing Xaia in multiple studies. 'We're trying to be very careful.' In a 14-person study, patients using Xaia with mild or moderate anxiety or depression opened up about a variety of topics, including a mother who passed away and fear of being laid off. For a patient who had been having night sweats since a breakup, Xaia asked to hear more about what made the relationship feel unresolved and how it affected the patient. Some of the patients still preferred the nuance and responsiveness of a human therapist, but the medical literature suggests patients are warming up to the idea of a nonhuman therapist. In a study published in PLOS Mental Health in February, participants were asked to compare responses written by licensed therapists and those generated by ChatGPT. Not only did many struggle to tell the difference, they consistently rated the AI's replies as more empathic, culturally sensitive and emotionally engaging. Xaia's creators see the tool as an extension of the patient-therapist relationship. It's the kind of thing that might be useful if someone needs mental health support in the middle of the night or between sessions. 'We still need therapists — humans — to look other humans in the eye to have conversations about vulnerable topics,' Spiegel said. At the same time, 'it's not practical to simply bury our head in the sand and say we shouldn't do this, because AI is everywhere,' he said. 'We'll be brushing our teeth with AI before long.'
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Should you be ‘fibremaxxing'?
Corral said inspiration for her videos tended to strike when she was eating things, like her fibre-rich pudding. 'I try to eat it often,' she said, 'so I can make videos'. Elsewhere, fibremaxxing proponents are talking up the health benefits of a fibre-rich diet, citing common foods you most likely already have in your house that are packed with fibre and talking about how it's the rare food trend that is about what you should add to your diet, rather than what to cut out of it. Fibremaxxing is, essentially, a catchy Gen Z-style label for a niche trend, and the origins of the term remain unclear. (Corral said she first heard the term on the social media platform X, where she follows other wellness creators.) But it ties into a broader movement of social media users who routinely call for increased fibre consumption. That message has been driven by a coalition of health-conscious content creators, dietitians with online followings and people pushing their own gut health products. As with many other trends, too much of a good thing has the potential to be a problem, with experts cautioning against going overboard. But most participants, at this point, are simply adding more fibre to their meals with intention, giving the fibremaxxing trend a rare accolade among internet fads: a seal of approval from nutrition experts. 'This is a fun trend to see happening,' said Emily Haller, a registered dietitian. Most people do not eat enough fibre, which is good for your gut, heart and brain, she said. 'A lot of times we see people obsessing about things that really don't move the needle in terms of health,' Haller said, 'whereas eating more plants and ingesting more fibre is going to have a positive health benefit.' Fibre-rich diets are linked to numerous health benefits, including healthier guts and longer lives. And it's a very satiating nutrient, meaning it can help you feel fuller longer, which can help with weight loss, said Kate Mintz, a registered dietitian at UCLA Health. 'Many people don't get enough fibre, but it's just important to be thoughtful about how you're doing it so that it's not too much too fast,' Mintz said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Nicole Stock ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
New York Times
08-07-2025
- Health
- New York Times
What are the Health Benefits of Sunshine?
Q: I've heard two conflicting things about sun exposure — that you should avoid it and that it's good for you. What should I believe? For decades, many doctors have said that less is more when it comes to sun exposure. Ultraviolet light from the sun can age the skin and cause skin cancer, and people can get vitamin D from food or supplements instead. But in recent years, some scientists have questioned this thinking after research suggested that moderate sun exposure may, at least in certain contexts, have some benefits. And that vitamin D supplements may not always be a good substitute. 'The 'never go outside without S.P.F. 50' approach treated sun exposure as if it were universally harmful,' said Dr. Lucy McBride, an internal medicine physician in Washington, D.C. But 'moderate, thoughtful sun exposure,' in accordance with your risk factors, she added, 'may offer benefits we're still discovering.' Sunshine has a bright side. It's undeniable that the sun's rays can damage your skin in ways that result in premature skin aging and cancer, said Dr. Elizabeth Ko, an internal medicine physician at UCLA Health who has written about the health effects of sun exposure. But researchers have also identified a handful of potential, if limited, associations between sun exposure and health benefits. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What is meal sequencing? Health experts explain whether the rising diet trend works.
There's always a new trendy diet plan. But how effective is meal sequencing, actually? To answer that question, we first need to get to the bottom of why you're interested in meal sequencing. While some medical experts are hopeful that it could help with some conditions, there isn't much evidence to suggest that this practice works in the ways that everyone may want. Registered dietitian Jamie Nadeau shares all the details you need to know about the efficacy of meal sequencing when it comes to controlling blood sugar, losing weight and more. Noted: Eating these foods after working out can improve recovery and rebuild muscle Meal sequencing is a diet strategy sometimes suggested by doctors to patients, often those with type 2 diabetes, who need help with balancing their blood sugar. "Meal sequencing involves eating vegetables and protein-rich foods first," Nadeau explains. The theory is that beginning a meal with non-starchy vegetables before moving on to protein, fat and then carbohydrates may help prevent blood sugar spikes, improve feelings of satiety after eating and help reduce inflammation, according to UCLA Health. How to have a balanced diet: What you should and should not be eating and how much Some research has suggested that meal sequencing could potentially be the most beneficial for those with diabetes to help stabilize blood sugar, but experts say more research needs to be conducted, both in cases of those who are diabetic and those who are not. And if you're hoping to use meal sequencing as a form of "nature's Ozempic," nutrition experts say this isn't the life hack you're hoping for. "Generally there isn't enough research to support this being a solid strategy," Nadeau says. "As with most things, there are no quick fixes to achieving a healthy diet and lifestyle." If you feel like eating your veggies first at dinner, go for it. But Nadeau recommends those in search of a new diet plan stick with simple, tried and true nutrition practices. "The strongest research shows that you can improve your health by eating a balanced diet with fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats, along with staying active and engaging in healthy lifestyle choices," she adds. "I recommend focusing on overall balanced meals with adequate protein and fiber, practicing eating mindfully and honing in on hunger and fullness." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to do meal sequencing, and whether experts say it works
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Is Samantha Ruth Prabhu's 'meal sequencing' hack the real deal for blood sugar? Expert breaks it down
When actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu revealed how rearranging her meals stabilized her blood sugar, fans began calling it a 'game‑changer.' But is this trending 'meal sequencing' diet hack truly effective—or just another wellness fad? Upon discovering erratic glucose spikes despite clean eating, Samantha turned detective with her tracking device. She noticed that eating her plate in a specific order—vegetables first, protein next, carbs last—helped smooth out her readings. Experts dubbed this method 'food sequencing,' and suddenly, it was trending among health circles. The Science Behind the Sequence The concept isn't new. UCLA Health explains that consuming fibrous vegetables and protein before refined carbs can slow carbohydrate absorption and prevent sharp insulin surges. Particularly for those with Type 2 diabetes, research supports the stability this approach provides. — BrainMDHealth (@BrainMDHealth) Control Sugar, Control Disease Refined carbs like white rice and sugary snacks trigger fast blood sugar spikes. Immune‑boosting whole foods—think beans, legumes, leafy greens—release energy gradually and blunt glucose surges. A 2022 study cited by Nadeau even linked eating veggies first to improved HbA1C levels in diabetes patients over five years. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like AC Installation & Repair from Certified Pros Search7 Learn More The order of eating also influences fullness. Protein-first meals boost GLP‑1, a satiety hormone, delaying stomach emptying. Fiber further enhances this effect, reducing overeating. As registered dietitian Jamie Nadeau notes, natural anti‑inflammatory foods help manage chronic low‑grade inflammation that often accompanies poor diets. Expert's Verdict: Effective—but Not a Silver Bullet Acoording toa report from USA Today, dietitian Jamie Nadeau cautions against overselling the hack. 'Generally there isn't enough research to support this being a solid strategy,' she tells us. While meal sequencing may aid blood sugar control , it doesn't replace holistic diet and lifestyle habits. 'No quick fixes,' she reminds readers, especially those hoping for a shortcut to 'nature's Ozempic.' You Might Also Like: Samantha Ruth Prabhu shares one simple trick that fixed her spikes in blood sugar levels UCLA Health supports this view, adding that while meal timing can help, the strongest health gains still come from balanced eating, activity, and mindful nutrition. Should You Try It? If pairing your fork and knife in a veggie‑first order sounds manageable, go ahead. But experts stress that this technique is a small piece of a much larger wellness puzzle. The core pillars remain consistent: whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, and lifestyle balance. So next time you fill your plate, consider this question: Could a little shift in comfort food order help you age better, feel fuller, and keep blood sugar in check? Maybe so—but only when it joins forces with a well-rounded diet and healthy habits. You Might Also Like: Want to live longer? Forget expensive experiments; longevity doctor reveals simple secrets to a healthier, happier life
