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Green tea is a popular health trend, with many people sipping in hopes of deriving benefits from the brew. There’s nothing wrong with that, dietitians say — green tea is a healthy drink loaded with antioxidants. But the jury’s still out on many of its purported health benefits. “Clinical trials related to green tea are still in their early stages,” said Nancy Farrell Allen, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Fredericksburg, Va. “I say drink it, enjoy it. It’s not going to hurt, and it might have worthy benefits to it. But nutrition is a science, and it takes time for our understanding to evolve.” Green tea’s potential health benefits derive from catechins, which are powerful antioxidant compounds known as flavonoids, said Chelsey Schneider, clinical nutrition supervisor at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Cancer Center in New York City. One catechin in particular, known as EGCG, is found at higher levels in green tea than in either white or black tea, she said. “This compound can be even stronger than vitamin C and E, which are very, very strong antioxidants,” Schneider said. Antioxidants help prevent damage to cells. Green, black and white tea all come from the same plant, said Allen, who is a spokeswoman for the Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition. Green tea is made from the leaves of the mature plant, while white tea is… read on >

Many men need to do a better job of looking after their health, and it only takes a few simple steps, experts say. “It’s common for men to avoid going to the doctor until there’s a serious health concern,” said Dr. James Heckman, a primary care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “Staying healthy may just be a matter of changing habits.” Those habits start with regular doctor visits. “Seeing your doctor regularly means that you have a baseline for important screenings,” Heckman said in a medical center news release. “This includes everything from cholesterol to cancer screenings and osteoporosis.” Then, make sure you’re eating right. A diet low in fat and high in fruits and vegetables can help lower the risk of certain cancers, including prostate cancer. “For good prostate health, eat your fruits and veggies,” Dr. Aria Olumi, chief of urologic surgery at Beth Israel, said in the news release. Don’t smoke. Along with harming your heart and lungs, smoking is linked with roughly half of all bladder cancers. “Bladder cancer risk factors like age, gender, race and family history can’t be controlled,” Olumi said. “But quitting smoking can definitely lower your risk.” Get enough sleep. That means at least seven hours a night. And remember that mental health is connected to physical health. Protect it. Mental illness affects both… read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday gave its approval to Vyleesi, the second medication so far approved to help women with low sexual desire. In a news release, the FDA said that Vyleesi (bremelanotide) is a drug that would be administered by injection prior to having sex. It’s been specifically approved for premenopausal women with a condition known as acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). “There are women who, for no known reason, have reduced sexual desire that causes marked distress, and who can benefit from safe and effective pharmacologic treatment,” said Dr. Hylton Joffe, who directs the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research’s Division of Bone, Reproductive and Urologic Products. “Today’s approval provides women with another treatment option for this condition,” Hylton said in the news release. According to the agency, HSDD is not caused by any medical or psychiatric condition, relationship issues or drug side effects. Instead, women with HSDD have “previously experienced no problems with sexual desire,” the FDA said. “Generalized HSDD refers to HSDD that occurs regardless of the type of sexual activity, situation or partner.” The exact way in which Vyleesi helps stimulate sexual desire remains unclear, but it works on melanocortin receptors on cells, the FDA said. The drug is injected under the skin of the abdomen or thigh at least 45 minutes prior to… read on >

Ever wonder how your diet habits — good or bad — compare to others? Annual surveys done by the International Food Information Council Foundation detail positive changes that people are making and where improvement is still needed. People are, in general, hungry for more food information and get it from sources as varied as dietitians and government websites, but most rely on friends and family. That could explain why nearly 80% of last year’s respondents said they were confused by information overload and, at times, contradictory advice. People want to eat healthier, but aren’t always sure what to do. Know-how seems to come with age, as those over age 50 were far more confident in their choices and get more of their information from reliable sources compared with younger people. Just over one-third of the respondents in the most recent survey follow a set eating pattern. Most popular is intermittent fasting. (This is usually done in one of two ways — either eating during an eight-hour span each day followed by 16 hours of fasting, or fasting on two days each week.) Sixteen percent of people adhere to a low-carb approach, such as the Keto and Paleo diets. These diets have their fans, but also their critics who cite the unhealthy side effects of eliminating entire food groups. Not surprisingly, as people cut down on… read on >

(HealthDay News) — The keys to healthier snacking are moderation and choosing your munchies wisely, says the American Heart Association. The AHA recommends: Crunchy foods, such as apples, celery sticks, cucumbers, rice cakes, popcorn and nuts. Low-sugar drinks, such as sparkling water, fat-free milk and veggie juice. Filling foods, such as hummus, low-fat cheese and yogurt. Snacks to curb your sweet tooth, such as fruits, raisins and banana-nut bread. The AHA encourages people to mind nutrition labels when packing snacks. Always avoid added sugars and salt.

Research points to a very long list of benefits from exercise, from improving your overall health to easing stress and enhancing mental well-being. But a landmark study in the journal Circulation highlights a negative, yet specific, concern. While health factors like obesity and diabetes are known heart attack triggers, data from 12,500 people in 52 countries pointed to two other risk factors to be aware of: exercising at a very high level of physical exertion; and anger or emotional distress. Either can double the risk of a heart attack. And when combined, they’re even more dangerous, tripling the risk. So, while you might take a walk around the block to cool off when you’re angry, it’s not the time to bench press 300 pounds at the gym. Does this mean you should never challenge yourself with strenuous workouts? Not necessarily. For an external trigger such as exercise to bring on a heart attack, there probably needs to be an existing problem, like cholesterol build-up in your arteries, researchers explained. Regular activity is associated with heart benefits, according to the American College of Cardiology. The person who faces a risk from exercise is more likely to be someone out-of-shape who jumps into vigorous exertion suddenly. That’s a reminder that the best approach is to start slow, and increase duration and intensity at a slow yet steady… read on >

Americans are eating as much processed meat as they did two decades ago, and have not increased the amount of fish they consume. That’s the bad news from new research on dietary data, which also found one-quarter of U.S. adults eat more than the recommended amount of unprocessed red meat, and less than 15% eat recommended amounts of fish/shellfish. The good news comes from another finding: Americans are eating a bit less beef and more chicken than they used to, and for the first time, consumption of poultry exceeded that of unprocessed red meat. “Despite strong evidence linking processed meat with cancer risk, consumption of processed meat among U.S. adults didn’t change over the study period [1999-2016],” noted lead investigator Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, from Tufts University’s School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. “While factors other than health [e.g., social, cultural and economic] can influence Americans’ food choices, the lack of widespread awareness of health risks associated with processed meat may have contributed to the lack of consumption change,” she added in a news release from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The researchers analyzed data gathered between 1999 and 2016 on the eating habits of U.S. adults, 20 and older. Over those 18 years, consumption of processed meats stayed about the same, 182 grams/week in 1999 and 187 grams/week in 2016. The… read on >

Cigarette use fell in most countries over the past three decades, but increased in some nations, notably China, a new global study says. Researchers analyzed data from 71 countries that represent 85% of the world’s population and account for more than 95% of global cigarette use. While overall cigarette use declined, there were significant differences between countries. About 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) of cigarettes were smoked in China in 2013, more than Russia (0.36 MMT), the United States (0.28 MMT), Indonesia (0.28 MMT), Japan (0.20 MMT), and the next 35 highest consuming countries combined. The United States and Japan had reductions of more than 0.1 MMT over a decade, while Russian consumption plateaued, and Chinese and Indonesian consumption rose by 0.75 MMT and 0.1 MMT, respectively. The study was published June 19 in The BMJ. A second study in the same issue of the journal looked at global cigarette use after adoption of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a 2003 international treaty meant to reduce tobacco use. It found that wealthy and European countries had a decrease in annual consumption of more than 1,000 cigarettes per adult, but low- and middle-income and Asian countries had an annual increase of more than 500 cigarettes per adult. The findings “should motivate greater implementation of proven tobacco control policies” and “encourage more assertive… read on >

You know how important getting enough restorative sleep is for facing each new day refreshed and ready to take on the world. Now research suggests that your sleep position may have an impact on brain health, too. For a study done on animals, researchers used dynamic contrast magnetic resonance imaging to see the brain’s glymphatic pathway. That’s the system that clears waste and other harmful chemicals from the brain, much like the way the lymphatic system clears waste from organs. The researchers found that brain waste was cleared most effectively when sleeping on one side rather than on the back or stomach. This means that side sleeping could help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other brain-based diseases. That’s because a buildup of brain waste likely plays a part in these illnesses. Many people naturally sleep on their side already. The researchers hypothesize that humans have adapted to this position over time precisely because it helps rid the brain of the waste that builds up during waking hours. While they caution that this type of MRI study needs to be done on people to confirm their initial findings, if you’re a tummy or back sleeper, you may want to consider readjusting your sleep position. Four out of 10 people sleep not only on one side, but also in the fetal position, with torso hunched… read on >

You don’t have to adopt a total vegetarian lifestyle to improve your health. You can get some of its advantages simply by replacing some of the animal proteins in your diet with plant-based ones. This can be an especially important switch for people who have even one risk factor for heart disease, like smoking, excessive drinking, being overweight or being inactive. Researchers looked at 30 years of data from 131,000 participants in the landmark Nurses’ Health Study and compared the outcomes of eating different types of protein for a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The investigators found that swapping just a small amount of animal-based protein — processed red meat in particular — with plant-based protein cut the risk of early death from all causes. And the greater the swap, the greater the benefits. On the other hand, the researchers found that eating a diet high in animal protein was associated with a higher risk of death from heart disease. Nuts, legumes including beans and lentils, and even whole grains all contain some protein and can be quite filling. But rather than a radical shift in eating, which could be hard to maintain long-term, make small swaps on a consistent basis so that the changes will stick. Some ideas: Use beans to replace some of the ground beef in recipes. Have oatmeal with chopped… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Is Green Tea a Fad or a Real Health Boost?

5 Ways Men Can Take Charge of Their Health

FDA Approves Second Drug to Help Women With Low Libido

How Does Your Diet Stack Up?

Health Tip: Snack Healthier

How Working Out in Anger Can Put You at Risk

Still Too Much Processed Meat, Too Little Fish in U.S. Diets

Global Efforts to Cut Smoking Show Mixed Results

The Health Benefits of Sleeping on Your Side

How to Pack More Plant Protein Into Your Everyday Diet