Heart disease is often linked to high cholesterol, obesity, or lack of exercise. However, there is mounting evidence that suggests that mental health plays a crucial role in cardiovascular well-being. Stress, anxiety, and depression can silently strain the heart, increasing the risk of serious complications.

A recent study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, showed that loneliness has a significant impact on proteins present in a person's blood. For the study, researchers used data from more than 42,000 participants to explore whether the 9.3% who reported social isolation and 6.4% who reported loneliness had different levels of proteins in their blood compared with those who did not. The researchers then studied data that tracked the health of participants over an average 14-year period.

"We found around 90% of these proteins are linked to the risk of mortality," Dr Chun Shen, Fudan University in China, who is also the lead researcher said. "In addition, about 50% of the proteins were linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke," he added.

Dr Shrey Kumar Srivastav, senior consultant at Sharda Hospital, said that subtle symptoms of heart disease, such as fatigue, shortness of breath, swelling in the lower legs, dizziness, and jaw pain, are often overlooked or attributed to stress and ageing. "Women, in particular, may experience atypical signs like extreme fatigue, indigestion, or upper abdominal pain instead of classic chest pain, leading to delayed diagnosis," he added.

Can Mental Health Issues Trigger Heart Diseases?

Chronic stress can trigger harmful cardiovascular effects, including elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, and inflammation—key contributors to heart disease. Anxiety and depression further impact heart health by disrupting sleep patterns, raising stress hormone levels, and encouraging unhealthy habits like poor diet and inactivity.

Mental health issues like depression and anxiety have a profound impact on the heart. They don’t just affect emotions but can increase inflammation and put extra strain on the cardiovascular system, warns Dr Srivastav.

Certain risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes, disproportionately affect women, making them more vulnerable to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, due to gender-specific symptom variations, heart disease in women often goes undiagnosed for longer.

Obesity is more prevalent in women than men and is a major risk factor for heart failure. Diabetes, too, has a greater impact on women’s heart health, yet diagnosis and treatment delays are common. Addressing this gap requires increasing awareness, training healthcare providers, and promoting early diagnostic tools,” explains Dr Srivastav.

How Can You Protect Your Heart?

A simple yet effective way to support heart health is by committing to a brisk 30-minute walk daily. Walking not only helps regulate blood pressure and manage weight but also improves circulation and reduces stress.

"Regular physical activity, paired with a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, significantly lowers cardiovascular risks," advises Dr Srivastav.

Heart disease can often go undetected until a major event occurs, making routine screenings essential.

- For women: Begin screenings around age 30 and continue with regular checkups.

- For men: Start screenings at age 35.

Health screenings, including blood pressure checks, cholesterol tests, and electrocardiograms (ECGs), are critical for early detection of silent heart conditions.

A group of leading Indian doctors and public health experts has urged the Centre to impose strict restrictions on junk food advertising and make warning labels mandatory on packaged foods high in fat, sugar and salt.

The appeal comes amid growing concerns over obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases in India.

The experts have asked Centre to immediately implement recommendations from the Economic Survey 2025-26, including a “watershed” ban on advertisements for high-fat, high-sugar and high-salt (HFSS) foods and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) between 6 am and 11 pm across media platforms.

The public statement was endorsed by several prominent health experts, including former WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan, founder of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Dr K Srinath Reddy; paediatrician Dr Narender Arora; chairman of Dr Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, Dr V Mohan; former AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria; endocrinologists Dr Anoop Misra and Dr Ambrish Mithal; cardiologist Dr Gurpreet S Wander; diabetologist Dr Shashank Joshi; public health policy expert Dr Chandrakant Lahariya; cardiologist Dr TS Kler; and Dr Arun Gupta, convener of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi).

Why Experts Are Seeking A Ban On Junk Food Advertising?

The experts argue that the problem does not lie in simply what people eat, but how unhealthy foods are marketed.

Junk food advertisements frequently use celebrities, influencers, sports sponsorships, cartoon characters and promotional offers to make products more attractive, particularly to children and adolescents, who get influenced easily.

“We are concerned that these junk foods are increasingly promoted through persuasive and misleading advertising strategies that encourage overconsumption,” the doctors said in their joint statement.

Dr Arun Gupta, convenor of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi), has previously warned that marketing plays a major role in driving consumption of unhealthy foods. He has argued that India’s current regulatory framework is not strong enough to stop misleading advertising of HFSS foods.

Also read: Why FSSAI Seized 18,000 Boxes Of Diageo Whisky, Vodka Bottles

Can Warning Labels Help?

The doctors have also called for mandatory warning labels on the front of unhealthy packaged foods.

Unlike a rating system that gives a product an overall score, warning labels are designed to immediately tell consumers when a food is high in sugar, salt or unhealthy fats.

The experts basically want that consumers should not have to turn the packet around, decode a long nutrition table or interpret marketing claims before understanding what they are buying. Dr K Srinath Reddy has previously backed the idea that nutritional information to be translated easily and quickly as soon as a consumer picks up a food product.

Children At The Centre Of The Debate

Also read: No More 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free': After UK, Northern Ireland Restricts Promotion Of Unhealthy Foods To Tackle Obesity

The experts have specifically called for restrictions on celebrity endorsements, influencer marketing, cartoon characters, child-directed promotions, buy-one-get-one-free offers and sponsorship of schools and sports activities by unhealthy food brands.

They cited NFHS-6 data that shows nearly one in three women and more than one in four men aged 15-49 are overweight or obese.

“Protecting children from the harmful impact of junk food marketing is a fundamental public health, child-rights, and preventive healthcare priority,” Dr Gupta and the other signatories said in their letter to the Centre.

The appeal comes ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on a public interest litigation concerning warning labels, putting the debate over how India regulates unhealthy food marketing.

Maharashtra Bans Junk Food Sale Outside Schools

Also read: No Junk Food Near Schools! Maharashtra FDA Bans Sale Of Foods & Drinks High In Fat, Salt & Sugar

This comes after Maharashtra Food And Drug Administration (FDA) has taken a significant step towards promoting healthy eating habits in children.

FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe recently announced that foods and drinks high in fat, sugar, and salt should not be sold within 50 metres of school premises.

"Within school premises and up to 50 metres from the school compound, the sale, advertisement and free distribution of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food items is completely banned by the FDA. It will be implemented strictly," Mundhe said.

The recent ban covers popular junk food items like vada pav, samosas, deep-fried snacks, chips, cold drinks, sugary beverages, chocolates and ice cream.

Mundhe said the state government had issued a compliance order on July 27 to enforce food safety and nutritional standards across educational institutions.

He also said that the move would affect nearly two crore students studying in around 1.08 lakh schools in Maharashtra.

Amid an ongoing food safety overhaul by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), around 18,000 boxes of Diageo whisky and vodka bottles have been seized from the company's unit in Bengaluru.

Diageo is the world's largest spirits maker and owns brands including Johnnie Walker, Baileys and Captain Morgan.

News agency Reuters, citing government sources, reported that the action was linked to the alleged lack of markings showing that the bottles were made using safe, food-grade recycled plastic.

Confirming the regulatory action, Diageo India said some of its bottles "have been quarantined by authorities until further direction."

What Did FSSAI Find?

According to a government memo, the FSSAI inspectors found that United Spirits' Bengaluru factory had recycled liquor bottles that carried only markings showing they were made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A second government memo stated that the bottles should have carried a government-mandated recycled PET symbol indicating that the material was food-grade.

"This raised serious food safety, misleading and misbranding compliance concerns regarding the safety of finished alcoholic beverages for consumers," the memo said. The seizure was made in the interests of public health, it added.

Which Bottles Were Seized?

Also read: From Liquor to Dabur to VKC Nuts, FSSAI Crackdown Puts Food Safety in Focus: Why It Matters

While most large bottles of Diageo drinks are made of glass, the action focused on plastic bottles used to sell the products in smaller quantities, typically 180 milliliters.

The seizure included:

• Products worth around $1.6 million

• Plastic material

• More than half a dozen brands, including DSP Black Deluxe Whisky

• Smirnoff Zesty Lime Triple Distilled Flavored Vodka

• VAT 69 blended Scotch whisky

What Did Diageo Say?

Diageo India stated that the liquor bottles were sourced from a recycler approved by FSSAI, and that mandatory tests had been conducted by the suppliers.

"Our products are completely safe for consumption ... We are engaging with FSSAI for further direction on this matter," Diageo India unit United Spirits told Reuters. The FSSAI did not respond to Reuters' questions about the seizure.

Diageo Faces Wider Scrutiny

Read More: Why Has FSSAI Banned The Sale Of Dabur India's Ghee, Honey & Other Products?

The latest seizure comes after FSSAI banned the sale of select whisky and rum products from major liquor companies, including Diageo India's United Spirits, after finding artificial or "nature-identical" flavoring that allegedly violates Indian food standards.

The affected products include:

• United Spirits' Antiquity Blue

• Royal Challenge Whisky, manufactured in Madhya

• Inbrew's Bagpiper Deluxe

• Old Cask Deluxe XXX

• Three variants of Old Monk, produced by Mohan Rocky Springwater in Maharashtra

FSSAI said laboratory tests found that certain products manufactured by United Spirits, Inbrew Beverages and Mohan Rocky Springwater contained external artificial or nature-identical flavoring substances intended to recreate the taste and aroma of whisky or rum, instead of relying on traditional production methods.

According to the regulator, natural flavoring substances are permitted in alcoholic beverages, but manufacturers cannot add whisky flavor to whisky or rum flavor to rum.

"There is no internationally recognized manufacturing practice whereby rum flavor is added to rum or whisky flavor is added to whisky," FSSAI said in its statement.

The regulator added that these practices could bypass proper maturation and reduce reliance on ingredients traditionally used to develop flavor, including molasses, malt and grapes

FSSAI classified the tested products as "sub-standard due to the presence of external artificial or nature-identical flavors in the product."

FSSAI Steps Up Food Safety Checks

The food standards regulator has stepped up enforcement across packaged foods, edible oils, sweeteners and high-caffeine beverages, energy drink makers, including PepsiCo, with the drive gathering pace since July.

In recent weeks, FSSAI has acted against or scrutinized products and companies over misleading claims, hygiene and food-safety violations, non-compliant ingredients, labelling issues and failure to meet prescribed standards.

July 2026 was the hottest month in the US in more than a century of official temperature records, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The Lower 48 states recorded an average temperature of 76.89°F (24.94°C) — 3.3°F (1.8°C) above the 20th-century average — narrowly surpassing the previous July record set in 1936, when severe drought and extreme heat devastated large parts of the country.

The record followed weeks of intense heatwaves, prolonged extreme temperatures and widespread wildfires.

Overnight Temperatures Soar in US

Daytime maximum temperatures averaged 89.5°F, making July the sixth-warmest month on record for daytime temperatures.

Overnight temperatures averaged 64.2°F, the highest recorded in any month and 3.7°F above the average. They were also 0.7°F hotter than July 2022.

Scientists attributed the record heat to climate change. A Climate Central analysis using data from 1970 to 2024 found that climate change has contributed to hotter summer nights and made extreme heat more frequent, longer-lasting and intense.

Which US States Recorded the Highest Heat?

“Much-above-average” temperatures were recorded across the interior of West, Southwest, Rockies, northern Plains, upper Midwest and parts of the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

Thirteen states had one of their five warmest Julys. Wyoming recorded its hottest month on record, 0.9°F above its previous record.

Alaska was 0.9°F cooler than its 1925–2000 average, while Hawaii was 0.6°F warmer than its 1991–2020 average.

Heat and Drought Hit Large Parts of US

High temperatures coincided with below-average precipitation across several regions, including the northern Rockies, northern Plains, upper Midwest, Northeast, southern Plains, Mississippi Valley, central Gulf Coast and Southeast.

About 48.5% of the mainland US and Washington, DC, were in drought as of Tuesday, according to the US Drought Monitor. More than two-thirds of Puerto Rico were also in drought.

Wildfire smoke blanketed parts of the US as major fires burned across Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

UK, France Brace For Fifth Heat Wave of 2026

The UK and France are bracing for the fifth heat wave of the season, following repeated bouts of extreme heat across Europe since May.

France’s Météo-France is warning of temperatures approaching 40°C (104°F) in southeastern France from Tuesday.

In the UK, an amber heat-health alert for most of England will begin Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to reach 36°C (96.8°F) later this week.

Heat Death Toll In US And Europe

Extreme heat has been linked to more than 25,000 deaths across Europe in 2026, while at least 70 deaths have been directly linked to major July heat domes in the US.

• A Washington Post analysis counted at least 70 US deaths linked to major July heat domes as of late July, but said the figure was likely an undercount.

• A preliminary analysis estimated 20,390 excess deaths across Europe during the June 2026 heatwave.

• By early August, Bloomberg data put Europe’s 2026 heat-related deaths above 25,000.

• France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during the June heatwave, according to health authorities.