Mandy Oaklander | August 03, 2026

Good afternoon! There’s some bad news today about the ongoing outbreak of Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that can contaminate fresh produce and cause days or weeks of severe diarrhea. Two people in Michigan have died from cyclosporiasis, reports Michigan’s health department. The disease is typically not fatal, but both people had “significant underlying health conditions,” and dehydration may have played a role.

Bigger picture, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is continuing its investigation into the unusually large outbreak, with more than 6,700 confirmed cases in 45 states.

TODAY’S TOPICS

Rethinking protein
Another reason to detest mosquitoes
Email us
Do flu shots work?

MORNING CHAT

Should you be eating less protein?

Protein is all the rage right now—but should you be eating less of it? Today, I wrote about a new scientific review finding that people and animals that ate moderate—not high—amounts of protein lived longer and were healthier than those that ate more. Other studies, however, have highlighted the health benefits of higher protein diets.

So, how much protein should you eat? I chatted with Matt Kaeberlein, a longevity scientist and molecular biologist (who was not involved in the new research), to make sense of the conflicting data. —Dominique Mosbergen

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Javier Zayas Photography—Getty Images

What is the evidence that protein restriction is beneficial for health?

We know that protein restriction can increase lifespan quite robustly in mice and rats. That’s been shown over and over again. But we need to be really careful to not take what we see in rodents in the laboratory and assume it’s going to work the same way in people.

In people, our understanding of how to optimize protein for the population or even for an individual is still really early.

How much protein would you recommend people eat, based on what the science says?

Way before people start worrying about how much protein they're eating, they should focus on the quality of their diet: eating a lot of whole foods, a lot of vegetables. If you're a meat eater—and I am—eat quality meat. Cut out the highly-processed stuff. Cut out the simple sugars. Start there, and don’t worry about protein.

Are there people who would benefit more from eating more protein than others?

It really depends on your goals, where you are in your life course, and what's going to be sustainable for you. Because we don't know what the optimum is for longevity or health, you should try to find a dietary pattern that first matches the goal of being high quality and then matches the goal of what keeps you satiated, what can you maintain, and what's sustainable.

PRESENTED BY

200+ Proven Ways to Make Money With AI in 2026

The next wave of millionaires will be people who figured out how to make AI work for them.

The window to get ahead is still open. But not for long.

Here are 200+ proven ways to make money with AI in 2026.

Sign up for Superhuman AI, the free daily newsletter read by 1M+ professionals, and get instant access to all 200+ ways to profit from AI this year.

Claim your free list

TODAY I LEARNED

Mosquitoes can make your dog sick, too

Leslie F. Miller—Getty Images

In my new piece for TIME, I asked mosquito experts what they do in the summer to protect themselves from the pests. They were quick to mention their pets.

Today I learned that mosquitoes can transmit heartworm, a potentially fatal parasite, to dogs. The monthly heartworm chew that you give your dog is protecting your pup from a disease that a single mosquito bite can set in motion. —Angela Haupt

PRESENTED BY

Support Your Skin on Your Weight Loss Journey

GLP-1s have transformed weight loss. But while you’re celebrating your progress, you may also notice changes to your skin, like volume loss and sagging. OneSkin’s OS-01 BODY MOISTURIZER is built to support skin resilience during GLP-1 use—smoothing skin, strengthening the barrier, and boosting resilience with the OS-01 Peptide™.

Save 15% with code BODY15

^{Explore the claims at}^oneskin.co

PLEASE ADVISE

Ask the health team

Have a burning health or wellness question? Wondering how to handle a tricky social situation? Email us at healthmatters@time.com, and we might tackle it in a future edition of the newsletter.

PRESENTED BY

The Cookware Behind 100+ Michelin-Starred Kitchens, Now in Brushed Copper

You've probably seen Made In Cookware® by now. They're the cookware brand used in 4,000+ professional kitchens and adopted by millions of home cooks.

Their 5-ply Stainless Clad line is what put them on the map, and now it comes in a limited-run Brushed Copper finish.

Shop Copper Collection

WHAT WE’RE READING

Neurologist Christopher Campos spent years diagnosing ALS. Then he was diagnosed himself, he reveals in a moving essay for STAT.
Millions of people are projected to lose health insurance this year. For KFF Health News, Julie Appleby examines why Affordable Care Act enrollment is plummeting.
Do flu shots work? To find out, Christopher M. Worsham and Anupam B. Jena did a natural experiment using data about kids' birthdays—and wrote about their promising findings for TIME.