Red meat every day raises risk of dying, study shows
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(CBS News) Eating a diet heavy in red meat has been tied to added risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It shouldn't be surprising then that a new study found eating red meat every day appears to increase a person's chances of dying from a chronic disease by 12 percent.
PICTURES: 10 Ways Meat Can Make You Sick
For the study, published online in the March 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, Harvard researchers analyzed data from two dietary studies that tracked nearly 37,700 men and 83,600 women for 28 years.
The researchers found overall that there were 23,900 deaths, including 5,900 from heart disease and nearly 9,500 from cancer. When the researchers looked closely at dietary habits, red meat took the cake when it came to raising death risk.
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7 wacky celebrity diets and weight-loss tricks
When it's your job to look good, there's no telling what you'll do to get there. U.S. News, which publishes annual Best Diets rankings, has rounded up some of the wackiest celebrity diets and weight-loss tricks of recent years. Warning: Most of these don't reflect widely accepted guidelines for weight loss or a healthy lifestyle, and some are downright dangerous, even if they do provide fast results. From Angela Haupt at U.S. News, here are seven wacky weight-loss tips from celebs...
Natural or no-no's? 4 herbal supplements your doctor hates
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More than half of Americans have taken a dietary supplement, and it's easy to see why. Popping a pill is painless. Supplements don't require a prescription from a doctor. And there's always some hale bloke out there who will vouch for the miraculous health improvements he experienced while taking this or that herbal remedy.
Plus, herbals often seem safer than drugs and other treatments. If a supplement can be found on stores' shelves alongside healthy foods, it must be wholesome, right?
Wrong. Of the 30,000 products rated by the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, an independent research and publishing organization, less than one percent earned a top score for safety, effectiveness, and quality.
Unlike prescription medications, dietary supplements aren't reviewed or approved by the FDA before they go on sale. And, although manufacturers have been required to prove that new supplements are "reasonably expected to be safe" since 1994, a recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine found that this law is largely unenforced.
"Consumers have the idea that the people who are selling herbal remedies are doing it out the goodness of their hearts," says Lauren Streicher, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. But supplement makers are even more profit-driven than pharmaceutical companies, which are subject to FDA review, she says. "Does the FDA make mistakes? Yes. But they're the only protection we've got to make sure greed doesn't get in the way of science."
While most supplements will do more harm to your wallet than to your body, others are downright dangerous. From Anna Miller at U.S. News, here are four herbal supplements doctors love to hate.
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Safe diet pill? Vivus' Qnexa may be one of first
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(CBS/AP) Drugmakers have been trying to battle obesity for as long as Americans have been packing on the pounds. But they've lost as many battles as those trying to lose weight.
PICTURES - 8 little mistakes that bring big weight gain
For nearly a century, scientists have struggled to make a diet pill that helps people lose weight without side effects that range from embarrassing digestive issues to dangerous heart problems.
Continue »Why aren't you losing weight? 5 surprising sabotages
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Ask yourself these questions, and if you answer yes to any of them, you may have found your personal diet defeaters. Outwit them and you'll soon be back on track to a leaner, fitter you.
Continue »FDA panel backs previously rejected Qnexa
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(AP) A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration overwhelmingly backed approval for a highly anticipated anti-obesity pill from Vivus Inc., a drug which the FDA previously rejected due to safety concerns.
Continue »Gluten-free diets not always necessary: Study
Gluten-free foods
/ APPICTURES - Celiac disease symptoms: 8 red flags
Gluten intolerance causes celiac disease, a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. Celiac disease is diagnosed through blood and bowel tests. But some people not diagnosed with celiac disease can still experience discomfort after eating gluten, a condition which researchers refer to as nonceliac gluten sensitivity.
Continue »Vivus weight loss drug faces FDA concerns
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(CBS/AP) An experimental diet pill from drugmaker Vivus Inc. has federal health officials concerned.
Vivus, based in Mountain View, Calif., plans to convince experts of the drug's safety next week. It hopes to bring the weight loss drug to market for the first time in more than a decade.
PICTURES - 6 weight-loss supplements to avoid
In the past two years, the Food and Drug Administration has rejected pills from all of the three small drugmakers with such offers: Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. and Vivus. All three companies are in the process of resubmitting their products.
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Heart Attack Grill owner responds to incident
A man - not the man who suffered from heart attack symptoms - eats a burger from the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas.
/ CBS(CBS) The Heart Attack Grill saw its name in action yesterday when a diner suffered a heart attack at the restaurant. The man was eating a 6,000-calorie Triple Bypass Burger at the Las Vegas branch of the restaurant, HealthPop reported. Moments later, he was wheeled out of the restaurant after a waitress - dressed as a nurse, as part of the restaurant's gimmick - called 911.
At the restaurant, owner Jon Basso calls himself "Dr. John" and his waitresses "nurses." Diners wear hospital gowns. The restaurant's slogan is "A taste worth dying for."
Overeating may double odds of memory loss in elderly
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(CBS) Can stuffing your mouth clog your brain? A new study suggests overeating may double the risk for memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older.
Alzheimer's disease: 7 things that raise your risk
The study - to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in April - involved over 1,200 dementia-free people between ages 70 and 89. Of those, 163 people had MCI. Participants filled out a questionnaire about the amount of calories they consumed daily.
Continue »America's sodium problem: Not from salty snacks?
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(CBS/AP) Americans get too much sodium, according to a new government report. That fact may not come as a shock to a fast food nation, but what's surprising is where the sodium comes from.
Sodium overkill: Top 10 culprits in U.S. diet
For the report - released Feb. 7 - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled a list of the top 10 sources of sodium in the U.S. diet. These 10 foods were found responsible for 44 percent of all sodium consumed, HealthPop reported.
Green tea linked to less disability in elderly
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(CBS) Is green tea the elixir of immortality? The brew has long been thought to have health benefits ranging from improving mental alertness to treating stomach disorders to preventing various cancers. A new study looked at whether green tea consumption minimizes frailty and disability in the elderly.
PICTURES - Want to live to 100? What experts recommend
Green tea has been linked to a lower risk for diseases that cause functional disability, including stroke, cognitive impairment, and osteoporosis. The new study examined the direct connection between green tea consumption and functional disability in elderly people.
Continue »Overeater? 8 tricks to feel full quick
It's not just what you eat that can make you more satisfied - it's how you eat, too. Try these tips from our friends at Health.com to feel fuller longer...
H2O some more
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Drink two 8-ounce glasses (16 ounces total) of water before each meal. It will fill up your stomach and trim up to 60 calories per meal.
More from Health.com: 16 little ways to lose big pounds
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Colorado mulls toughest trans-fat ban in country
(CBS/AP) The thinnest state in the country might be getting even thinner.
Colorado is mulling a trans-fat ban in school cafeterias that would be the toughest in the country.
PICTURES: F as in Fat: Top 15 fattest U.S. states
A Colorado House committee is slated to hear a bill Thursday to forbid any trans-fat in school food - not just the food served through regular cafeteria lunches. That includes vending machines, after-school bake sales and popular "a la carte" items on lunch lines such as ice creams or pizza would have to be produced without artery-clogging trans fats. If approved, Colorado's trans-fat ban would take effect next school year.
Continue »Grumpy grub: 10 foods that ruin your mood
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It's been said that you are what you eat. Is something you're eating causing your bad moods?
Dr. Drew Ramsey, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City and Tyler Graham, former health and environment editor of O: The Oprah Magazine, may have an answer. They're the authors of "The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood, and Lean, Energized Body." According to these two, every day foods that play a big role in the "modern American diet" are proven time and again to expand our waist lines, but what's less obvious are that these foods are depriving our brains of nutrients and in some cases physically changing them to affect our mood.
What are some common meals and snacks turning us into curmudgeons without us even realizing it? Keep clicking to see 10 foods that might ruin your mood.
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