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Daily Edition • Friday, June 26

You May Be Sharing More Microbes Than You Think

Two people brushing their teeth at separate sinks in a bathroom. One person holds a toothbrush, while the other is out of focus.

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Sharing Cooties: When couples move in together, they expect to share living space, a bed, and expenses. But they’re also sharing a lot more than they probably realize. A new study has found cohabitating partners share a significant portion of their oral and gut microbiomes, as well — and how this happens is one part sweet and one part stomach-turning.

The Study: The researchers gathered and analyzed microbiome DNA from 430 people in 207 households in Italy and Fiji. They found cohabitating romantic partners share 44% of their oral microbiome and that people who live together, regardless of their relationship, share 19% of their gut microbiome, as well.

The Takeaway: We do literally swap saliva when we kiss. Oral bacteria strains are passed through kissing, as well as sharing food and dishes. There’s no sugarcoating how the gut-microbiome sharing happens: It’s from being in proximity to each other’s fecal matter. Gross, yes. Harmful? Probably not. Experts say we have trillions of gut bacteria, and only about one in one billion species can make you sick.

Keep in Mind: This is very preliminary research. Humans have lived together throughout history, and microbiome sharing could be an important survival mechanism.

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The Energy Drink Is Getting a Workday Rebrand

C4 Smart Energy drink can in peach mango flavor, surrounded by ice and other cans, highlighting its natural energy benefits.

Courtesy: C4

Energy drinks used to have a pretty narrow image: loud cans, louder marketing, and a “more is more” approach to stimulation. But a new wave of functional drinks is aiming for something different: steady alertness, mental focus, and a cleaner fit for the workday.

C4 Smart Energy is a good example of where the category is headed. It’s made with 200mg of naturally derived caffeine from tea leaves, and it’s designed to support energy and alertness without sugar, calories, carbs, or artificial colors.

Think of it less as a pre-workout and more as a productivity drink for the modern schedule: work, errands, studying, planning, or the part of the day when your coffee has officially stopped pulling its weight.

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Cognitive Health

Reading vs. Audiobooks: Is One Better for Your Brain?

A person with headphones walks through a narrow pathway lined with tall concrete structures.

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You Should Know: Reading a book and listening to one are not quite the same in a cognitive sense. Both activities stimulate the brain and require you to interpret language, but listening bypasses the visual processing systems that are so important for reading. As such, reading naturally engages more neural networks than listening to audiobooks. And because it’s a slower, and often more intentional, activity, reading typically lends itself better to information retention.

Going Deeper: This doesn’t necessarily mean that audiobook listening isn’t as good for your brain as reading. What really matters here is how engaged you are with the material, researchers explain. If you’re listening to audiobooks as background noise while you do chores, for instance, it may become a passive experience wherein you don’t truly take in the story. That said, audiobooks can bring inflection and emotion to content that not everyone gleans from reading.

Takeaway: Reading is a valuable (and fun!) way to improve and maintain cognitive health. But audiobooks stimulate many of the same neural pathways as reading, and many people find it easier to stay engaged with them.

Bottom Line: When it comes to reading versus audiobooks, one doctor says the most important thing is “staying intellectually curious and consistently engaging with meaningful content.”

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Nutrition & Food

How the GLP-1 Boom Is Reshaping Grocery Aisles

A grocery store aisle displaying a variety of beverages and breakfast items, with visible price tags.

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The Trend: Maybe you’ve noticed more, somewhat strange, high-protein versions of foods that were never really marketed that way before — like instant mashed potatoes, frozen meals, and ice cream — suddenly lining grocery store shelves. Ever since GLP-1 medications took off, food brands have been scrambling to rework products to appeal to that growing market.

What People Are Saying: By the end of 2025, one in eight American adults reported using one of these weight-loss drugs that greatly suppress appetite. Research published in the Journal of Marketing Research found that households with someone taking a GLP-1 cut grocery spending by an average of 5.3% within six months of starting treatment. While grocery stores are seeing growing interest in protein-focused products, junk food brands are taking the biggest hit, as GLP-1 users eat less of it overall.

What to Know: The result is a deluge of new products slapping terms like ‘GLP-1 friendly’ and ‘protein’ on labels without any real medical definition behind them. So, if you’re on one of these medications, the best strategy is to favor whole foods like meat, seafood, eggs, and yogurt rather than those “protein” mashed potatoes with dubious merits.

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Quick Picks

Gut Feeling — What vitamins are good for gut health?

Fueled + Focused — Everyone is using this drink to drive performance in the gym.*

Slow Rise — This is the best bread for steady blood sugar.

Breathe Outtttttt — Can breathing like this help you make a decision?

Bug Off! — This is how to repel mosquitoes naturally.

^*Indicates a brand partnership

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What We're Cooking

Crispy Air Fryer Halloumi Bites

Golden, crispy potato dumplings arranged on a green plate, with one being lifted by a fork.

Courtesy: Serious Eats

Serves: 4 | Cook Time: 20 minutes

These crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside halloumi bites are equal parts savory and sweet — and they’re also protein-packed. The airfryer does most of the work here, just be sure to cut the halloumi into small chunks for maximum browning. When they’re out, drizzle the cheesy squares with honey for a gooey appetizer that works on its own or can elevate any plant-based dish or salad.

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This, Not That

Tin Toast

Canned sardines, a slice of grilled lemon, creamy sauce, and assorted slices of bread on a wooden board.

THIS

A person holds a chocolate snack bar while sitting outdoors.

NOT THAT

Tannis Sullivan/Unsplash, Webster/Unsplash

This: Canned fish on toast
Not That: Another protein bar lunch

Tuna, sardines, or salmon on toast with lemon, hot sauce, or avocado gives you protein, healthy fats, and real-meal energy with almost no cooking. It’s pantry food that punches way above its weight.

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Here’s How To Fix Your 3 P.M. Slump

Not every energy drink needs to feel like it was designed for a weight room. C4 Smart Energy is made for focus-forward energy, with 200mg of naturally derived caffeine from tea leaves, zero sugar, zero calories, and bold flavors like Blood Orange Yuzu and Peach Mango.

It’s an easy upgrade for the workday, study session, or anywhere your second coffee starts to feel like the wrong tool.

Learn More

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HEALTHY HABIT

Take a Sunlight Lap

Step outside for a short lap around the block, the office, or even the parking lot. A few minutes of daylight and movement can help break up screen-heavy days.

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Final Thought

Golden hour light casts shadows on rocky terrain and desert flora in a stunning landscape.

One must not hold one’s self so divine as to be unwilling occasionally to make improvements in one’s creations.”

– Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven: The Man and the Artist

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