Looking To Lose Weight? Whole30 Might Hurt Instead of Help

Those setting weight loss and healthy eating resolutions have undoubtedly heard of the newest dieting fad, Whole30. Known for being a month-long reset of eating habits, the diet is a restrictive one that focuses on eliminating “bad” food groups. Participants of Whole30 must eliminate grains, legumes, dairy, processed food ingredients (like MSG and sulfites), sugar, and alcohol. The rules are simple, don’t eat these food groups, don’t weight or measure yourself, and don’t cheat. The touted results from the month-long program are weight loss, clearing up of digestive and skin issues, subsiding…

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Like spicy food? If so, you might live longer

A study, by the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, has found that consumption of hot red chili peppers is associated with a 13 percent reduction in total mortality, primarily in deaths due to heart disease or stroke. Going back for centuries, peppers and spices were thought to be beneficial in the treatment of diseases, but only one other study, conducted in China and published in 2015, has previously examined chili pepper consumption and its association with mortality. So, this new study, published recently in PLoS ONE,…

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Can’t breathe after Chinese food? It might be the MSG

Can’t breathe after Chinese food? It mightbe the MSG A very satisfying feast of kung pao chicken, sweet-sour pork or just about any Chinese dish could, at times, be accompanied with a bout of headache, giddiness or rashes. It’s aptly called the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, but a doctor from Mahad, a four-hour drive from Mumbai, recently found out that the presence of ajinomoto salt -better known as mono sodium glutamate or MSG -in Chinese food could even lead to life-threatening swelling of tissues. A 23-year-old who had eaten triple fried…

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Diet Sodas Might Not Raise Diabetes Risk

Drinking colas and other sugary drinks is tied to an increased risk of so-called pre-diabetes, a precursor to full-blown disease, but diet soda is not, a recent study suggests. Previous studies on the link between diet sodas and diabetes have been mixed; some research pointing to a potential connection has suggested this relationship may be explained at least in part by soda drinkers being overweight or obese. In the current study, however, adults who routinely consumed at least one can of soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages a day were 46…

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Blood Pressure Spike Around Doctors Might Point to Heart Problem

Some older people who get what’s known as white coat hypertension – a spike in blood pressure at the doctors’ office – may have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, a study suggests. White coat hypertension is pretty common – lots of people get stressed out around doctors and it’s not unusual for this to result in high blood pressure readings for patients who have normal blood pressure outside the exam room, researchers note in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. When researchers examined data on…

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High Fever? It Might Be a Symptom of Dengue

Dengue in India Dengue has become, in recent years, an annual scare during the monsoon season in India. It is not uncommon to find newspapers and television channels full of stories on Dengue’s rising incidences. The statistics are equally concerning. In 2014, there were 40,571 reported cases of Dengue in India and 137 subsequent deaths. Dengue is spread by several species of mosquito of the Aedes type, principally A. aegypti. The virus has five different types;infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity…

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