Oreos as addictive as cocaine: How to kick your addiction

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Oreo cookies were found to be as addictive as cocaine in a recent study. Our bodies are wired to like sugary, fatty foods, but it's not a habit that can't be kicked, according to New York City Dr. Timothy Morley, whose work includes helping women use nutrition to regulate hormone health.

"The first step in curing a sugar or fat addiction is, like with any addiction, realize you have it," said Morley. "This is difficult because we don't generally think of food as being biologically addictive like a drug, but it can be."

A research team at Connecticut College in New London conducted an experiment on rats using a maze with rice cakes on one side and Oreos on the other. The rats were observed on both sides of the maze.

"Just like humans, rats don't seem to get much pleasure out of eating rice cakes," Joseph Schroeder, who led the research team, told UPI.com.   http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-oreo-cookies-addictive-cocaine-20131016,0,3166408.story#axzz2iWHf1jXH

The problem with taking too many vitamins

In November 1912 a party of three men and 16 dogs set out from a remote base in eastern Antarctica to explore a series of crevasses many hundreds of miles away.

Three months later just one of the men returned. His name was Douglas Mawson. His skin was peeling off and his hair was falling out. He had lost almost half his body weight. He recounted what Sir Edmund Hillary described as "the greatest story of lone survival in the history of polar exploration".

A month into their journey, one of the team, along with the tent, most of the provisions and six dogs plunged into a crevasse, never to be seen again. Mawson and the other surviving member, Xavier Mertz, started to return to base, surviving in part by eating the remaining dogs. After a few weeks Mertz developed stomach pains and diarrhoea. Then his skin started to peel off and his hair fell out. He died incontinent and delirious a few days later.

Mawson suffered similar symptoms. With the kind of understatement typical of his generation of polar explorers he described the skin of the soles of his feet peeling off: "The sight of my feet gave me quite a shock, for the thickened skin of the soles had separated in each case as a complete layer... The new skin underneath was very much abraded and raw."  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24563590

Diet Coke 'under pressure' as consumers grow wary of artificial sweeteners

Diet Coke, the country's No. 2 soda, may be losing some of its pop. 

During a conference call with analysts Tuesday, a Coca-Cola executive noted that Diet Coke was "under a bit of pressure" because of people's concerns over its ingredients, alluding to the growing wariness of artificial sweeteners in recent years. 

Steve Cahillane, who heads Coca-Cola's North American and Latin American business, noted that the issue wasn't specific to Diet Coke, but that many diet foods and drinks in the U.S. are facing the same concerns. 

"We believe very strongly in the future of Diet Coke," Cahillane nevertheless stressed, noting that the drink was still the No. 2 soda in the U.S, after knocking Pepsi from that perch in 2010. The company still sells twice as much regular Coke as Diet Coke.   http://www.nbcnews.com/business/diet-coke-under-pressure-consumers-grow-wary-artificial-sweeteners-8C11398178

5 Reasons for Your Teen to Eat Breakfast

You’ve heard it since grade school: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But with a morning of competing priorities, snooze buttons and questionable appetites, it’s easy to skip breakfast. It’s estimated that 12 to 34 percent of children and adolescents regularly miss the morning meal.

While teens aren’t always on board with what you say, they are easily influenced by their friends, and that includes breakfast behavior. A study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that teens are more likely to eat breakfast if their friends do, which is especially true in a social setting.

Eating a healthy breakfast (versus one that includes doughnuts or soda) can help your teen get more nutrition and even perform better at school. Need more? Check out these five reasons for your teen to eat breakfast this new school year.

Energy. Along with sleep and exercise, breakfast is one of the best ways to recharge your batteries. It’s the perfect opportunity to get energy-boosting carbohydrates like whole-grain bread, oatmeal and fruit. Create a breakfast with staying power using protein and carbohydrate combos like fruit and yogurt, whole-grain cereal with milk or a whole-grain waffle with nut butter. Breakfast is an ideal way to energize so there will be no sleeping in class!

- See more at: http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442477998#sthash.vxQtRc4c.dpuf

TIP of the DAY

To eat more whole grains, substitute a whole-grain product for a refined product – such as eating whole-wheat bread instead of white bread or brown rice instead of white rice.

Ask Well: Does Boiling or Baking Vegetables Destroy Their Vitamins?

It’s true that cooking methods alter the nutritional composition of fruits and vegetables, but that’s not always a bad thing. Several studies have shown that while cooking can degrade some nutrients, it can enhance the availability of others. As a result, no single cooking or preparation method is best, and that includes eating vegetables raw.   http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/ask-well-does-boiling-or-baking-vegetables-destroy-their-vitamins/?ref=health&_r=0

Child 'Cured' of HIV Remains Free of Virus, Doctors Report

A 3-year-old Mississippi girl apparently cured of HIV infection by aggressive treatment right after her birth remains free of the virus, her doctors report.

Early treatment with a combination of potent antiretroviral drugs appears to have kept the virus from successfully establishing a reservoir in the child's system, said immunologist Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who is part of the research team tracking the case.

Doctors are hesitant to declare the child fully cured, but in a case update reported in the Oct. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine they said that no actively replicating HIV has been found in her system by even the most sensitive tests available. The girl stopped taking HIV medication when she was 18 months old.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141833.html

Eating-Disorder Dilemma: When Overweight Turns to Dangerously Thin

As a 300-pound teenager, Joslyn Smith was told over and over that she needed to lose weight. So she did.  Through a rigorous regimen of eating very little, vomiting routinely and taking dozens of laxatives a day, in addition to exercising for hours, Ms. Smith eventually lost more than 100 pounds, one-third of her peak weight. Her body became so starved that it started eating her heart muscle, doctors told her, leading to an irregular heartbeat.

Ms. Smith represents what researchers say is a disturbing trend of young people considered overweight or obese who try to diet down to a healthy weight, but along the way develop a severe eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia.

"I learned that anything goes in order to lose weight" for long-term health, says Ms. Smith, 35, a former Washington lobbyist who now lives in Ithaca, N.Y. and works with eating-disorder advocacy groups.  http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303448104579149441503019798

Scientists Uncover Breast Milk's Potential Secret Weapon Against HIV

Experts have long suspected that breast milk may have the power to prevent babies from getting infected with HIV, and new research gives insight into why that might be so.

Researchers say they've discovered a component of breast milk that appears to kill the virus that causes AIDS, potentially preventing some babies from becoming infected by their mothers.

"Even though we have anti-retroviral drugs that can work to prevent mother-to-child transmission, not every pregnant woman is being tested for HIV, and less than 60 percent are receiving the prevention drugs -- particularly in countries with few resources," study senior author Dr. Sallie Permar, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Duke University, said in a university statement. "There is still a need for alternative strategies to prevent mother-to-child transmission, which is why this work is important."

According to UNICEF, an estimated 330,000 children worldwide in 2011 became infected by their mothers during pregnancy or birth.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141744.html

Bottle-Feeding May Raise Risk of Stomach Obstruction in Infants

 Bottle-feeding might increase the risk that infants will develop a common but serious form of stomach obstruction that causes projectile vomiting.

Researchers found that babies were at least twice as likely to suffer hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) if they were bottle-fed versus breast-fed, according to findings published online Oct. 21 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The risk also increased with the age of the mother, said study co-author Dr. Jarod McAteer, a surgical resident at the University of Washington in Seattle. Children of mothers older than 35 had a five to six times increased risk of pyloric stenosis.

"From a clinician's standpoint, it's just one more study that suggests that breast-feeding is important to the health of a newborn," McAteer said. "Much data beyond this study supports breast-feeding as a much better thing for the infant. Physicians should take it into account and consider whether it's an important enough factor to influence their counseling of patients."  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141747.html

Kids Who Exercise More May Get Better Grades

Getting regular daily exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity may also boost students' academic performance, according to a new U.K. study.

The more intense the exercise, the greater the impact on English, math and science test results, the study authors found. However, they couldn't explain the precise causes behind the connection.

"A number of suggestions have been put forward for why there is a link -- such as physical activity increasing time on task in the classroom, or having an impact on self-esteem," said study researcher Josephine Booth, a lecturer at the University of Dundee, in Scotland.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141749.html

Large study to examine if vitamin D prevents diabetes

Researchers have begun the first definitive, large-scale clinical trial to investigate if a vitamin D supplement helps prevent or delay type 2diabetes in adults who have prediabetes, who are at high risk for developing type 2. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study is taking place at about 20 study sites across the United States.

The multiyear Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) study will include about 2,500 people. Its goal is to learn if vitamin D — specifically D3 (cholecalciferol) — will prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in adults aged 30 or older with prediabetes. People with prediabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes.

“This study aims to definitively answer the question: Can vitamin D reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes?” said Myrlene Staten, M.D., D2d project officer at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of NIH. “Vitamin D use has risen sharply in the U.S. in the last 15 years, since it has been suggested as a remedy for a variety of conditions, including prevention of type 2 diabetes. But we need rigorous testing to determine if vitamin D will help prevent diabetes. That’s what D2d will do.”  http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2013/niddk-21.htm

Paleo? Volumetric? DASH? Popular diet plans have pros and cons that should be weighed.

All you have to do is check out the diet books on bestseller lists to know that “healthy eating” can take many different forms.

“A healthy-eating plan is one that includes a wide variety of foods from each of the food groups,” says Tricia Psota of the National Institutes of Health. “Foods should provide a healthy balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat, as well as vitamins, minerals and fiber.”

But even a perfectly nutritious plan won’t improve your health if it costs too much, lacks flavor or is hard to follow because the meals take too long to prepare. Consumer Reports recently evaluated the pros and cons of five nutrition regimens.  http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-10-07/national/42784606_1_dash-diet-paleo-diet-mediterranean-diet

A Healthy Halloween Pumpkin Cupcake

Here in New England, when October rolls around, the leaves start changing their colors, local farmers’ markets change their autumn produce (apples, pumpkins, or squash anyone?), and kids develop a sweet tooth like no other time of the year. Yes folks, October means Halloween and lots of gooey, sticky, sugary sweets. If you’re planning a school or neighborhood party—with ghosts and goblins in attendance, of course—consider our better-for-you cupcakes instead of adding more gooey, sticky, sugary sweets to your kiddos’ diets!  http://www.parade.com/200579/mealmakeovermoms/a-healthy-halloween-pumpkin-cupcake/

Queensland researchers find women who drink 'moderately' during pregnancy can adversely affect their child's academic success

Researchers in Queensland and the UK analysed the self-reported drinking habits of more than 7000 parents-to-be during the first 18 weeks of pregnancy, and their children's performances in school tests at age 11.

Population health expert Rosa Alati, of the University of Queensland, said they found the more frequently women drank even moderate amounts of alcohol in a session, the more likely their children had adverse educational outcomes.

"These outcomes were found when mothers repeatedly consumed two 150ml glasses of wine, or two 375ml bottles of full-strength beer, in one sitting," Associate Professor Alati said.

A child's academic performance was judged by how well he or she did in the UK version of NAPLAN school tests.  http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-researchers-find-women-who-drink-8216moderately8217-during-pregnancy-can-adversely-affect-their-child8217s-academic-success/story-fnihsrf2-1226736659390

Beautiful but deadly: Latinos' curves put them at risk

Elma Dieppa wonders if her cousin Helen Casillas would still be alive today if she had been more aware of how her weight contributed to her diabetes.

"She refused to take care of herself by not watching what she ate or exercising," Dieppa wrote in a blog post honoring the woman she describes as the "life of the party" -- funny, beautiful and genuine.

Casillas died of a heart attack at age 44.

Although Casillas lived with diabetes for years and worked in the medical field, her perception of her own disease was skewed, Dieppa said. Casillas told her cousin that the doctor wanted to take an aggressive approach to her weight loss, but Casillas didn't believe she was obese.  http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/15/health/latino-cardiovascular-disparities/index.html?hpt=he_c1

Weight Watchers better than self-help for weight loss

Compared to going it alone, using the Weight Watchers diet program helps people shed extra pounds, says a new study.

What's more, the company-sponsored study found the more frequently people used Weight Watchers tools, the more weight they lost.

"The people who were most engaged were the people who did best in the program," Craig Johnston, the study's lead author from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-weight-watchers-self-help-20131014,0,631310.story

Concerns Over Mercury Levels in Fish May Be Unfounded

New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol suggests that fish accounts for only seven per cent of mercury levels in the human body. In an analysis of 103 food and drink items consumed by 4,484 women during pregnancy, researchers found that the 103 items together accounted for less than 17 per cent of total mercury levels in the body.  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130930211701.htm

Study finds restaurant industry takes one step forward, one step back in menu nutrition

Although a number of chain restaurants have announced healthy menu changes over the years, the overall calorie and sodium levels in main entrees offered by top U.S. chain restaurants assessed from 2010 to 2011 have remained the same, according to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The study, "Changes in the Energy and Sodium Content of Main Entrées in U.S. Chain Restaurants from 2010 to 2011," evaluated the nutritional content changes of more than 26,000 regular menu entrées in a year by 213 major U.S. chain restaurants nationwide. It also looked at entrées among restaurants that included children's menus.  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/266864.php

Researchers analyze nutritional value of foods marketed to children through online games

n a new study from Michigan State University, researchers classified the foods marketed to children through advergames (free online games) as those meeting or not meeting nutrition recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM). After identifying 143 websites that marketed foods to children aged 2 to 11 years, they found that that a large number of foods with low nutritional value are being marketed to children via advergames.   http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/266740.php

Body fat tied to heart risks in normal-weight adults

New evidence suggests older adults with a healthy weight but high percentage of body fat are at increased risk of heart-related diseases and death.

Looking at data on 1,528 people with a normal body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight in relation to height - researchers found one in five men and nearly one in three women had a body fat percentage above what is considered healthy.

The study builds on previous research showing some people with a healthy weight may still be carrying around too much fat. Excess body fat has been linked to a higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

"Just because someone has a normal BMI does not necessarily mean they are metabolically normal," said lead researcher Dr. John Batsis, a geriatrician at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, referring to the body's ability to process fats and sugars.

The researchers analyzed data from national nutrition surveys, looking specifically at normal-weight adults who were 70 years old, on average.

A total of 902 of the participants died during the following13 years, including 419 of cardiovascular disease.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141060.html

Omega-3s not tied to women's mental sharpness

Women who consume plenty of omega-3 fatty acids may not have better thinking and memory skills as a result, according to a new study.

Some researchers have suggested that fatty acids found in fish and fish oil supplements might protect against memory loss.

But studies trying to test that theory have been "all over the place," said Dr. Jennifer G. Robinson from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, senior author of the new report.

"There's nothing really convincing, (in) one direction or the other," she told Reuters Health.

To address the uncertainty, she and her colleagues analyzed data collected as part of the large Women's Health Initiative trial focused on hormone replacement therapy.

For the new study, they compared women's fatty acid levels to their performance on six years' worth of thinking and memory tests.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141015.html

No link between celiac disease and autism: study

There's no link between celiac disease and autism spectrum disorders, a nationwide study from Sweden says.

People who were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the study were no more likely to be diagnosed with celiac disease than people without an ASD.

Dr. Jonas Ludvigsson, the study's lead author, said the finding offers one less thing to worry about for people with either celiac or ASDs.

"To them, this is good news," Ludvigsson, of Sweden's Karolinska Institute, said.

Some researchers have reported on single cases of people who were diagnosed with an ASD and who were then diagnosed with celiac disease.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141017.html

DASH Diet Softens Stiff Hearts

When hypertensive patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) follow a sodium-restricted diet, several key factors that contribute to their heart failure improve, a pilot study found.

• When hypertensive patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) follow a sodium-restricted diet, several key factors that contribute to their heart failure improve.
• Note that in the current study, the DASH diet was associated with improved ventricular-arterial coupling, as well as reduced arterial stiffening.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/HFSA/41865

Parenting Tied to Mortality Risk in Diabetes

Having a child diminished mortality risk over the study period, but for people with type 1 diabetes, women benefited more than men, researchers reported here.

In an analysis of data from Finland, having at least one child reduced the risk of death for both men and women with diabetes and those who did not have the condition (P<0.01), but diabetic men did not garner the same extent of the protective benefit when compared with healthy men, Lena Sjoberg, MD, of the University of Helsinki in Finland, and colleagues reported at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting here.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/EASDEndo/41856

Vitamin D Alone Doesn't Boost Bone Health, Study Says

Calcium supplements improve bone health in postmenopausal women, but vitamin D supplements provide no benefit in women with normal vitamin D levels, a new study finds.

"These findings suggest that vitamin D supplements over the recommended dietary allowance do not protect bone health, whereas calcium supplements do have an effect," study lead author Dr. John Aloia, of Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.

For the study, published Sept. 24 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the researchers examined bone turnover in 159 postmenopausal women. Bone turnover is the body's natural process for breaking down old bone. Young people produce enough new bone to replace what is lost, but bone mass in women begins to decline after age 30, and this loss speeds up after menopause.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140953.html

Weight loss tied to knee arthritis benefits

Intensive weight loss together with regular exercise did more to ease knee arthritis than exercise alone for overweight and obese adults in a new U.S. study.

Knee inflammation, pain and functioning all improved more among people who cut back on calories in addition to working out, researchers found.

The greatest benefits were seen among those who lost the most weight, and they tended to be the ones who combined diet and exercise.

"While both the exercise and the diet interventions separately were beneficial, the combination of the two was superior in virtually every outcome," Stephen Messier, who led the study at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said.

Extra weight is known to raise the risk of knee osteoarthritis, which happens when cartilage around the joint breaks down, causing inflammation, pain and stiffness.

One review found that being overweight doubles a person's risk of knee osteoarthritis, and being obese quadruples it (see Reuters Health story of April 15, 2011 here: http://reut.rs/dQl0ZZ).  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140975.html

Health Tip: Do You Need Frequent Cholesterol Screenings?

High cholesterol increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says current guidelines recommend that adults 20 or older be screened every five years.

But the agency says you may need more frequent cholesterol screenings if:

• You are a woman 50 or older, or a man 45 or older.
• Your total cholesterol is 200 mg/dL or higher.
• Your HDL (good) cholesterol is below 40 mg/dL.
• In addition to having high cholesterol, you have other risk factors for heart disease or stroke, such as high blood pressure or being overweight.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140818.html

Weight-Loss Surgery Can Improve Long-Term Diabetes Control, Study Says

Weight loss surgery can benefit overweight patients with type 2 diabetes for up to nine years after the procedure, according to a new study.

Long-term follow-up showed that patients continued to have improvements in their diabetes, as well as a reduction in risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the researchers reported.

"Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious complications such as heart and kidney disease," said lead investigator Dr. Stacy Brethauer, a bariatric surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Bariatric & Metabolic Institute in Ohio. "Only about half of diabetics in the United States currently have acceptable control of their blood glucose level."

"Our study, however, shows that 80 percent of the diabetic patients still control their blood glucose five years after their bariatric surgery," Brethauer added in a clinic news release. "Additionally, nearly one-third of gastric bypass patients had normal blood glucose levels off medication for over five years after surgery."  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140827.html

Eating, Swallowing Exercises May Aid Throat Cancer Patients

Throat cancer patients appear to benefit from continuing to eat and doing swallowing exercises while undergoing radiation treatment or chemotherapy, researchers say.

Radiation treatment can interfere with a person's ability to swallow, but performing swallowing exercises can help patients prevent weakness that can occur after periods of not swallowing.

The new study included nearly 500 patients treated for throat cancer between 2002 and 2008. Of the 58 percent of patients who followed swallowing exercises, 74 percent were able to maintain eating at the end of their treatment, the investigators found.

In addition, eating and doing swallowing exercises during the treatment period were linked to better long-term diets after treatment ended and less time relying on a feeding tube, according to the study, which was published online Sept. 19 in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140829.html

Gene discovery could lead to new types of HIV treatments

Scientists have identified a gene which they say may have the ability to prevent HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from spreading after it enters the body.

In an early-stage study in the journal Nature, researchers said the gene, called MX2, appears to play a key role in how HIV is controlled in human cells, so using it could lead to the development of new, less toxic treatments that harness the body's natural defenses and mobilize them against the virus.

Although there are many more years of research ahead, Mike Malim, who co-led the research at King's College London, described the finding as "extremely exciting" and said it advanced scientists' understanding of how the HIV virus interacts with the immune system.

"Until now we knew very little about the MX2 gene, but now we recognize both its potent anti-viral function and a key point of vulnerability in the life cycle of HIV," he said in a statement about the study, published on Wednesday.

Some 34 million people worldwide are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS - the vast majority of them in poor and developing countries.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140809.html

Vitamin B Supplements May Guard Against Stroke

Taking vitamin B supplements may help reduce your risk of stroke, a new review shows.

Previous research has yielded conflicting findings about whether taking vitamin B supplements affects the risk of stroke and heart attack. Some studies have concluded that taking vitamin B supplements may actually increase the risk, according to the review authors.

They analyzed the findings of 14 clinical trials that included a total of nearly 55,000 people. All of the trials compared vitamin B supplement use with a placebo or very low-dose vitamin B.

The participants were followed for a minimum of six months. There were a total of nearly 2,500 strokes among the participants in the studies, all of which showed some benefit of taking vitamin B.

Overall, vitamin B supplements reduced the risk of stroke by 7 percent, but did not appear to reduce the severity of strokes or the risk of death from stroke, according to the review, which was published in the Sept. 18 online issue of the journal Neurology.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140788.html