Consumer News: Why auto and homeowners insurance keeps getting more expensive

A ketogenic diet produced improvements in liver fat and blood sugar

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• A controlled clinical trial found that three very different diets produced similar weight loss and improved overall metabolic health.

• Participants following a very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet saw larger reductions in liver fat and greater improvements in blood sugar control.

• The study was small and highly supervised, so researchers have not established whether the results can be maintained under everyday conditions.

Dieting sort of seems old-fashioned now that people trying to lose weight are flocking to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, but researchers have found a diet that might have added health benefits.

New research has found that a very low-carbohydrate diet may provide additional benefits for people with obesity, prediabetes and fatty liver disease.

In a randomized clinical trial, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis compared the effects of three diets with sharply different proportions of carbohydrates, fat and protein.

All three helped participants lose about the same amount of weight. However, the ketogenic diet produced greater improvements in liver health and blood sugar control, the researchers reported. The findings were published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The researchers recruited 55 adults with obesity, prediabetes and excess fat in the liver. Participants were randomly assigned to follow one of three diets for approximately five months:

• A very low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet;

• A high-carbohydrate, low-fat, plant-forward diet; or

• A Mediterranean diet with a more balanced mix of carbohydrates and fat.

The study was more tightly controlled than most diet research. Participants received all their food from the researchers and met with a dietitian each week, making it easier for them to stick to their assigned eating plans.

Weight loss helped every group

Participants in all three groups lost approximately 10% of their starting body weight. Muscle insulin sensitivitythe ability of muscle cells to respond to insulinimproved by about 50% across the three groups.

Because those improvements were similar despite the diets different compositions, researchers said weight loss itself appeared to be the main factor improving insulin resistance in muscle.

Weight losseven just a moderate amountis universally beneficial in people who are metabolically unhealthy, said Max Petersen, an assistant professor of medicine at WashU Medicine and the studys first author.

The results differed when researchers examined the liver, however.

Liver insulin sensitivity improved two to three times more among people on the ketogenic diet than among participants following either of the other diets. The ketogenic group also reduced liver fat by 67%, compared with a 45% reduction in the Mediterranean and plant-forward groups.

That difference could be important for people with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, commonly called fatty liver disease. The condition can progress to liver inflammation, scarring and cirrhosis.

Blood sugar also improved

The ketogenic diet produced the largest improvement in glucose control. Average 24-hour blood sugar levels fell 20% from the start of the study in that group, compared with 8% in each of the other groups.

Daily insulin levels declined 74% among participants following the ketogenic diet. By comparison, insulin fell 44% in the Mediterranean group and 27% in the plant-forward group.

Half of the ketogenic-diet participants no longer met the criteria for prediabetes at the end of the trial. That compared with 29% of people following the Mediterranean diet and 7% of those on the high-carbohydrate diet.

What consumers should know

The findings do not mean a ketogenic diet is the best choice for everyone. The trial included only 55 people with a specific combination of obesity, prediabetes and fatty liver disease. It also lasted about five months and provided participants with all their mealsconditions that may be difficult to reproduce at home.

Strict ketogenic diets can also be difficult to sustain and may require adjustments for people taking diabetes or blood-pressure medications. Consumers considering a major reduction in carbohydrates should consult a doctor or registered dietitian, particularly if they have diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease or another chronic condition.

The broader conclusion may be more encouraging: All three diets improved metabolic health when they produced meaningful weight loss. But for people with obesity and fatty liver disease, the study suggests that carbohydrate intake could influence some health outcomes independently of the number on the scale.

Its a case of AI preventing a scam instead of causing one

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• U.S. customers can ask Alexa for Shopping whether an email, text message or phone call actually came from Amazon.

• The AI-powered tool compares the communication with Amazons records and returns one of three answers: verified, not from Amazon or unable to verify.

• Consumers should still avoid clicking suspicious links and contact Amazon through its app or website when there is any doubt.

Weve told you how AI is making more dangerous and effective. But heres a case where AI might expose a scam.

Amazon is giving shoppers a new way to investigate suspicious messages before clicking a link, sharing personal information or sending money, using its AI assistant.

The company has introduced an Alexa for Shopping feature that can verify whether an email, text, WhatsApp message or phone call actually came from Amazon. The tool is launching in the United States, with plans to expand to other regions.

The feature addresses a common problem for shoppers. Scammers frequently impersonate Amazon in messages claiming there is a delivery problem, an unauthorized purchase, an expired Prime membership or a refund waiting to be collected.

Those messages often pressure recipients to respond immediately, click a link or call a telephone number controlled by the scammer. Amazon said about 360,000 customers contact its customer service department each year to ask whether a communication is genuine.

Scammers thrive when customers cant easily verify whether a message is real, Scott Knapp, Amazons vice president of worldwide buyer risk prevention, said in the companys announcement.

How the verification works

Customers can describe the communication to Alexa for Shopping, including who appeared to send it, when it arrived and what it said.

For example, a shopper could ask:

• Did Amazon send me a text about a delivery problem yesterday?

• Is this email about my Prime membership real?

• I received a call about an Amazon refund. Did that come from Amazon?

The system uses artificial intelligence to compare those details against Amazons record of communications sent through its own systems. It also examines the sender information, content, timing and formatting.

Alexa then provides one of three responses. It may confirm that the communication came from Amazon, report that it does not match an official communication or say that it does not have enough information to verify it.

Amazon said the tool will confirm that a message is genuine only when it is completely certain. When it cannot reach a conclusion, it may ask the customer to supply more details or use another verification method.

Messages submitted through the feature are also reported to Amazons customer protection and enforcement team. The company said those reports can help it identify new scam tactics and take action against the people behind them.

Dont rely on appearance alone

The feature could be helpful because fraudulent communications have become increasingly convincing. Criminals can copy Amazons colors, logos and formatting while disguising email addresses and phone numbers.

Consumers should nevertheless continue to treat unexpected messages cautiously. A message that creates a false sense of urgency, requests payment with gift cards or asks for a password or one-time security code should be considered a major warning sign.

Amazon says it will not ask customers to provide their password, one-time passcode or sensitive personal information over the phone. It also will not demand payment by telephone or email.

When a message cannot be verified, consumers should avoid replying or using any link or telephone number contained in it. Instead, they should open the Amazon app or type Amazon.com into a browser and check their orders and account directly.

People who do not use Alexa for Shopping can forward a questionable communication to verify@amazon.com. That service is available worldwide and does not require an Amazon account. Amazon also offers a verification form through its customer service website.

Earning six figures sounds like you've made it, but today's home prices and mortgage rates tell a different story

• $100K may not be enough: Redfin estimates buyers now need to earn about $109,800 a year to afford the typical U.S. home.

• Upfront costs add up: A 15% down payment on a $434,100 home is about $65,000, and that doesn't include closing costs.

• Location changes everything: A six-figure salary can provide solid buying power in some areas but fall far short in expensive markets.

Panda Express has an admirable way of measuring whether some of its employees are succeeding.

The company's co-founder and co-CEO Andrew Cherng told NBC News that he keeps track of how many Panda Express managers earn at least $100,000 a year, and whether they're able to buy a home.

It's definitely a worthy goal, especially as he uses it as a gauge for his own success. There's just one problem: In 2026, even a $100,000 salary may not be enough to afford the typical American home.

Here's what the numbers actually look like.

$100,000 isn't quite the homebuying salary it used to be

Redfin recently calculated that an American needs to earn about $109,800 a year to afford the typical U.S. home for sale. That's roughly $10,000 more than Panda's six-figure benchmark.

Redfin defines "affordable" as spending no more than 30% of income on the monthly housing payment and assumes a 15% down payment.

Meanwhile, the median existing home sold for $434,100 in July, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Mortgage rates, of course, aren't helping. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.66% as of Aug. 27, according to Freddie Mac. A year earlier, it was 6.56%.

That means earning $100,000 certainly doesn't make homeownership impossible. But it no longer automatically puts a typical home comfortably within reach.

Then there's the cash you need before getting the keys

The monthly mortgage payment is only half the story.

Consider a $434,100 home. A 15% down payment would be about $65,000. Put down 10%, and you're still looking at more than $43,000.

And then come closing costs. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says they typically run another 2% to 5% of the purchase price, separate from your down payment.

On a $434,100 home, that's roughly $8,700 to $21,700.

Suddenly, a buyer earning $100,000 could need tens of thousands of dollars in cash before making their first mortgage payment.

Pro tip: Don't make your savings goal simply "the down payment." Estimate the down payment, closing costs, and moving expenses. Then leave yourself an emergency fund for the inevitable expense that shows up after you get the keys.

Your $100K salary isn't the only number lenders see

Two people earning exactly $100,000 can have dramatically different homebuying power.

Why? Because of debt.

Mortgage lenders look at your debt-to-income ratio, or DTI, which compares your monthly debt obligations with your gross monthly income.

Fannie Mae guidelines generally cap DTI at 36% for manually underwritten loans, although borrowers who meet certain requirements can go as high as 45%. Loans run through Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system can allow up to 50%.

So a $600 car payment, $400 in student loans, and $300 in minimum credit-card payments can eat into the mortgage payment you can qualify for.

Pro tip: Ask a lender to run the numbers before you're ready to buy. Find out whether putting another $10,000 toward your down payment or eliminating a monthly debt would improve your buying power more.

Where you live changes everything

There's another huge flaw in treating $100,000 as a universal homeownership benchmark: your ZIP code.

In some parts of the country, six figures can still provide plenty of buying power. In the San Francisco Bay Area, $100,000 obviously doesnt come close to affording the typical home, which requires a salary close to $445,000.

But consider Phoenix, which is a much more typical example. Redfin's latest analysis found that a household needs to earn about $118,500 a year to afford the typical Phoenix-area home.

That's nearly $20,000 more than Panda's $100,000 benchmark.

And Phoenix isn't alone. In Dallas, Redfin puts the required income at about $118,900, while Austin buyers need roughly $132,600, and Denver buyers need about $157,100.

Meanwhile, $100,000 can still be enough in markets like Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

The lesson isn't that someone earning $100,000 shouldn't try to buy a home. It's that "I make six figures" and "I can afford a house" are often no longer the same statement.

How does $100K compare with other fast-food managers?

Panda Express isn't the only fast-food chain where managing a restaurant can turn into a six-figure career.

In-N-Out Burger has long had a reputation for paying its store managers well. Current Indeed estimates put the average In-N-Out store manager salary in California at about $116,800 a year. That's considerably more than managers typically make at some other major chains.

Chipotle says its general managers have the potential to earn about $93,100 in base pay and bonuses, while employees who advance to its "Restaurateur" position can reach about $116,100 in base pay, bonuses, and equity benefits.

At Taco Bell, meanwhile, Indeed currently estimates average general manager pay at about $58,200 a year, although compensation can vary considerably because many restaurants are operated by franchisees.

The comparison puts Panda's $100,000 milestone into perspective.

A six-figure salary is still exceptional for a fast-food restaurant manager. But even workers who climb into that relatively elite income bracket can discover that today's housing market has moved the goalposts.

And for many of the managers who make closer to $60,000, buying a typical U.S. home can be considerably harder.

The bottom line: When deciding whether you can afford a home, don't use salary alone as the determining factor. Instead, its smart to start with the home prices where you actually live, then plug in today's mortgage rate, add taxes and insurance, and work backwards to determine the income and savings you'll really need to make it happen.

New research finds hormonal differences among coffee drinkers too

• People who drank more coffee had lower levels of body fat and visceral fat despite having similar BMIs.

• Higher coffee intake was associated with differences in metabolism and sex hormones, particularly among men.

• The study found associations, not proof, that drinking coffee directly causes these changes.

For many people, coffee is simply part of the morning routine. But new research from the University of Oulu in Finland suggests that how much coffee people regularly drink may be linked to several markers of metabolic health and to differences in sex hormones.

The study found that people who reported drinking more coffee tended to have less total body fat and visceral fat, along with more skeletal muscle mass, even though their body mass index (BMI) was similar to that of people who drank less coffee. Higher coffee consumption was also associated with lower levels of certain branched-chain amino acids, which have previously been linked to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes when chronically elevated.

"Coffee is consumed by millions of people every day, yet we still know surprisingly little about how it relates to our metabolism and hormones, researcher Luca Verroest said in a news release. What stood out in our findings was a distinct hormonal signature that didn't disappear even after we took into account BMI and lifestyle factors, with several of these associations differing between men and women.

How researchers studied coffee drinkers

Researchers analyzed data from 2,264 people who were part of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. All of the participants were 46 years old when the data was collected in 2012, and 47% were men.

Participants reported how many cups of coffee they typically drank each day. Researchers grouped them into non-coffee consumers, people drinking one to two cups daily, moderate coffee consumers drinking three to four cups, and high coffee consumers drinking five or more cups per day.

The researchers then compared coffee consumption with measurements including body composition, blood glucose and insulin, cholesterol, metabolites, and sex hormones. They also adjusted their analyses for factors including BMI, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.

What the findings could mean for coffee drinkers

The researchers found some notable differences between people who drank more and less coffee.

In men, higher coffee intake was associated with a more favorable glucose-insulin profile, as well as higher levels of total and bioavailable testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). At the same time, free testosterone and the free androgen index were somewhat lower.

Women showed fewer hormonal associations, although higher coffee consumption was linked with higher SHBG and lower measures of free androgens. The researchers also found that higher coffee consumption was associated with lower levels of branched-chain amino acids in both men and women.

Theres an important catch, though: This was a cross-sectional observational study, meaning researchers looked at existing patterns rather than assigning people to drink a certain amount of coffee. So the findings cannot establish that coffee itself caused the differences.

The researchers say future studies will need to determine whether coffee drives these changes and which compounds might be responsible.