Free Republic

A British woman credits in vitro fertilization (IVF) -- aided by daily breakfasts of sausage McMuffins to help carry her triplets to full term -- after failing for 10 years to get pregnant the old-fashioned way. Vegetarian Laura Dixon, 34, and husband Tim, 34, of Essex, tried three times with IVF to have a family, but was unsuccessful twice; the first attempt was abandoned and the second try ending in a heartbreaking miscarriage after eight weeks, SWNS.com reports. Laura was in her third round of IVF when she conceived and decided to boost her odds of carrying to full term...

Is sugar toxic and the cause of the obesity epidemic? Here’s a great new video called Toxic Sugar. It’s a recent segment from the major Australian science program Catalyst, on ABC. It’s arguably the best 18-minute introduction ever made on the true causes of the obesity epidemic. The program features the #1 enemy of the sugar industry: professor Robert Lustig. Also appearing: science writer Gary Taubes and obesity expert professor Michael Crowley. See it and then tell your friends. This needs to be seen by a lot of people

When mice were fed a diet that was 25% added sugars – an amount consumed by many humans – the females died at twice the normal rate and the males were less likely to reproduce and hold territory, scientists said in a study published Tuesday. The study shows "that added sugar consumed at concentrations currently considered safe exerts dramatic impacts on mammalian health," the researchers said in the study, published in the journal Nature Communications. "Many researchers have already made calls for reevaluation of these safe levels of consumption." "Added sugars" are those added during processing or preparation, not those...

(CNSNews.com) – As part of his ongoing campaign to transform New York City into what he calls “Fit City,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg is promoting “active design” for low-income housing developments being built there, including plans to prompt residents to use the stairs and rooftop gardens for growing “healthy” foods. In 2010, the Bloomberg Administration and other public and private sector groups issued the “Active Design Guidelines,” which promotes car-free neighborhoods, encourages “physical movement” inside buildings and “improves access to nutritious food.”The Center for Action Design was launched next as a resource for architects and developers who sign on to the...

LOS ANGELES – When Los Angeles school lunch bureaucrats realized their new menu of sushi and broccoli and beef with brown rice was roundly rejected by students last year, their attitude was try, try again. black bean mountainThis school year, they’ll be offering what they think are more tantalizing dishes such as taco salad and chicken and waffles. But the L.A. Daily News reports it will be potato and chive waffles with no sugar added, to stay in compliance with new federal lunch regulations championed by First Lady Michelle Obama. Students will also be dining on a “black bean mountain”...

It seems that not even Beyonce or new, lower-calorie options can convince Americans to drink more soda. Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. all sold less soda in the second quarter in North America, dashing hopes for the moment that splashy new marketing and different sweetener mixes could get drinkers back. Coca-Cola Co. said it sold 4 percent less soda in North America, while PepsiCo Inc. simply said its decline for the region was in the "mid-single digits." Dr Pepper sold 3 percent less of the fizzy drinks...

(CNSNews.com) – If food is love, then first lady Michelle Obama says we are “loving ourselves and our kids to death.” In remarks to the National Council of La Raza in New Orleans on Tuesday, Mrs. Obama remarked that healthy eating is first and foremost a “community issue.” “And see, that’s where it gets complicated, because that's where it gets personal and emotional,” she said. “Because the truth is, for so many of us, food is love. I mean, it is no coincidence. Applause for food is love.” “It is no coincidence that the kitchen is the central gathering place...

The drinks giant has launched Coca Cola Life, which is sweetened with sugar and the naturally occurring, no-calorie sweetener stevia. The new product features a striking green label and is packaged in the award-winning PlantBottle. This is made with 30% plant material and is fully recyclable. Coca Cola says the bottle “looks functions and recycles just like traditional PET plastic, but does so with a lighter footprint on the planet and its scarce resources”. The new drink has 108 calories in a 600 millilitre bottle - between classic Coke with 250 calories and the zero-calorie Diet Coke. “Coca-Cola Life is...

Half of men over the age of 60 who were studied posthumously were found to have prostate cancer even though they died of other causes, a new study out of Mount Sinai Hospital shows. The study shows that a large proportion of prostate cancer tumours are in fact not life-threatening, Dr. Alexandre Zlotta said Friday. Results show there should be an improved screening method which would detect the disease based on clinical significance and level of aggressiveness instead of screening for all forms of this cancer. The findings also say the common use of prostate-specific antigen testing for the disease...

In case you’re still shocked by the prosecutorial malfeasance in this country - most recently on display in Sanford, Florida – perhaps I can help. It is partially related to our dwindling interest in “Truth, Justice and the American Way.” Today we’re focusing on the “truth” part; apparently we’re to take it with a grain of salt from now on. Our Morton Salt Girl In order to continue we must concede to this basic truth: your government lies to you. Shocking, I know, butt true. They don’t lie with maliciousness, or at least they never use to; they just...

SEATTLE, June 19 (UPI) -- Seattle-based coffee chain Starbucks said it will label the calories of items on menu boards at U.S. stores next week, ahead of federal regulations. "Menu labeling is yet another step to extend our commitment to wellness, ensuring our customers and partners -- employees -- have the information they need to make informed decisions and understand all the ways that they can customize their Starbucks beverages to be within their desired calorie range," Mary Wagner, senior vice president of Global Research & Development at Starbucks, said in a statement. Starbucks will post calorie counts to accompany...

(Reuters) - The American Medical Association joined the effort to discourage consumption of sugary drinks on Wednesday with a pledge to work to get them off U.S. government food aid programs for the poor. The nation's largest physician group said removing the sugary beverages from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would help reduce weight-related health problems. "The AMA is working to improve the nation's health care outcomes, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which are often linked to obesity," said AMA President Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven said in a statement. The group's stance came a day after mayors in 18 cities,...

MAN REPLACED 90 PERCENT OF HIS MEALS WITH DRINK MIXTURE KITCHEN DAILY 6/17/13 The 24-year-old, who has difficulty finding time to shop and cook as a software engineer in Atlanta, researched what nutrients his body actually needed to get from food. He then created Soylent, which, according to Fox News, is a "drink mixture of vitamins and minerals which includes calcium, potassium, zinc, vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K." Rhinehart began swapping his daily meals for his Soylent formula. We caught up with Rhinehart to talk about his new diet.

Michael Bloomberg and his battle against bulging waistlines are targeting new villains: sweet tea, energy drinks and fruit juices. New York City’s health department launched a series of TV and bus ads on Monday that warn people about the high sugar content in drinks that are seemingly healthy. The ads cost about $1.4 million and are part of a “pouring on the pounds” campaign that dates back to 2009, The Daily Mail reports. One of the television ads shows a young boy happily slurping on a juice box. The scene takes a dramatic turn when it flashes to what appears...

In 2011, a North Carolina blogger named Steve Cooksey began an advice column on his website where he gave his opinion to readers asking nutritional questions. But because dietitians and nutritionists are required to have a license there, the state board informed him that his advice was criminal and worked to shut him down. Cooksey is now engaged in an ongoing legal fight. The case is extreme, but some worry that similar action could happen in Michigan, which also requires strict licensing for those providing certain health information. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, dietitians and nutritionists are...

Children are impressionable, and McDonald’s has managed, in the majority of cases, to make children prefer McDonald’s over all other fast food choices. Some people have decided that McDonald’s marketing is to blame for the fact that kids eat French fries and not fruits and veggies. Or, at least, the claim to believe McDonald’s possesses such awesome powers. And they even pretend that they think children are somehow wise leaders in society. Thus, from MSNBC and Morning Joe:“Nine-year-old Hannah Robertson doesn’t want a Happy Meal. She wants a healthy meal. And she’s not shy about saying it: Hannah took her...

The federal Affordable Care Act, better known as “ObamaCare,” may provide activists and government a little-known wedge to advance their obesity agendas through regulated health-care providers — specifically America’s nearly 3,000 non-profit hospitals. One organization, The STOP Obesity Alliance, recently identified this wedge as a way to have such hospitals embrace its core convictions, including one principle which questions the role of personal responsibility as a cause and a solution to obesity.Community Health Needs Assessments. Section 9007 of the Act requires non-profit hospitals, as a condition of maintaining their tax-exempt status, to conduct Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs). These documents, which...

HHS:'Telework' Gives Gov't Employees More Time for 'Planning and Preparing Healthy Meals' May 17, 2013 By Terence P. Jeffrey (CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it wants as many as 20 percent of its workers to "telework," use an "alternative work schedule," or do both, in order to "reduce green house gas emissions," decrease "employee stress," and give these government workers more time for "planning and preparing healthy meals." So says one of the HHS "performance measures" detailed in an appendix to the department's latest strategic plan. HHS's performance measure "4.D.05" says: "Increase the percent...

First Lady Michelle Obama has expanded her anti-obesity campaign to museums, enlisting them to offer “healthy food options,” and change their menus. Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative is now calling for museums, zoos, gardens, science and technology centers to “join the call to action,” to decrease obesity among children. The first lady is recruiting these institutions to join the “Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens” project because of their power to “influence real and sustained behavior change” on the eating habits of kids. “With their impressive reach and great potential for impact, museums and gardens can launch community efforts to create...

Public School 244 in Queens, New York has become the first public school to have an all-vegetarian menu. Sounds wonderful, right? A school is offering only healthy choices to students to instill a life-long habit of eating healthy. I am sure there will be other schools that follow. We know the statistics of obesity among our youth in this country and schools are stepping up to educate our kids and help create healthy patterns; except the only part is that they are not educating. Education is the process of giving tools to a student, imparting knowledge and letting students reason...