This week’s Top Ten takes a Valentine’s detour into love’s power over your body, finds hidden treasure in Spain ... and examines how to protect yourself from bird flu as food prices rise. Plus, swimming with Bob the Flamingo; watching a body bloom when it takes a break from meat; and learning how too much sugar affects you for life.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA FRAZZETTA, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION 

Going meat-free for just a few weeks can trigger surprising changes, from gut bacteria shifts to lower cholesterol. But the key to reaping the benefits isn’t just what you cut out—it’s what you add in.

Related: A great high-protein diet, without the meat

BEN SCOTT 

How do these super ants survive? This extraordinary interactive goes inside a wood ant colony to see it through the seasons. What’s that being sprayed in the moving image above? 

A. Formic acid to keep predators away
B. Liquid gushes from underground movement
C. Urine, as a repellent
D. None of the above 

Today’s Soundtrack: Your Love Is My Drug, Ke$ha

Today’s newsletter was edited and curated by David Beard and produced by Amanda Williams-Bryant. Let us know if you have suggestions, and/or sign up here to get our upcoming Photo of the Week!