9 Tips From Celebrity Chefs for Heart-Healthy Cooking

Cutting down on fat, cholesterol, and salt doesn’t have to mean skimping on flavor and fun. Top chefs weigh in on how to make your diet more heart friendly.

 

 

Eating foods that are good for your heart doesn’t have to be a punishment. Some of America’s top chefs are cutting down on fat, cholesterol, and salt without skimping on flavor and fun. Here are some of their best tips on how to make your diet more heart friendly.

1. Swap nonfat yogurt for sour cream.Using nonfat yogurt instead of sour cream in this recipe for Salmon Cakes With Creamy Ginger-Sesame Sauce cuts out 4 grams of fat and 2 grams of saturated fat, and doubles the calcium, says Ellie Krieger, a registered dietitian and host of the Food Network’s Healthy Appetite.

Homeopathic Remedies Can Be Harmful for Kids*

Homeopathic and other alternative treatments used in place of conventional medicine may be harmful to children and even have deadly consequences, a new study finds.

Researchers from Australia analyzed reports from pediatricians between 2001 and 2003 on the side effects from herbal remedies, naturopathic pills, vitamins and other alternative treatments, according to the Associated Press. They found 39 cases of side effects, many of them severe, and four deaths.

At issue is the lack of monitoring of alternative treatments as opposed to conventional ones, which are closely followed and regulated, said the study authors led by Alissa Lim of the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

Overweight at 9 Months: Baby Obesity Epidemic May Be Brewing*

The nation's obesity epidemic may have roots as early as infancy. At least that's what a new study out of Wayne State University suggests, pointing out that more than 30 percent of U.S. babies are overweight or obese at 9 months of age.

This latest long-term study of some 7,500 infants across the U.S. showed that 32 percent of 9-month-olds were overweight or obese and 34 percent were overweight or obese by age 2.

The research was published in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion. The children in the study were all born in 2001 and underwent weight and height measurements at both 9 months and 2 years of age. Researchers compared the data with standard growth charts developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Early Puberty May Increase Depression Risk in Girls * 

Girls who start puberty at an early age may be at increased risk of adolescent depression; at least that's what a new study out of the University of Bristol and the University of Cambridge suggests.

The research, published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, indicates that girls who start their periods before the age of 11-and-a-half are at highest risk of developing symptoms of depression by age 13 or 14.

Girls who begin menstruating after age 13-and-a-half have the lowest risk of depression, study authors say.

HIV and AIDS

What Is It?

 AIDS is one of the most serious, deadly diseases in human history.

More than 20 years ago, doctors in the United States identified the first cases of AIDS in San Francisco and New York. Now there are an estimated 42 million people living with HIV or AIDS worldwide, and more than 3 million die every year from AIDS-related illnesses.
AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV destroys a type of defense cell in the body called a CD4 helper lymphocyte (pronounced: lim-fuh-site). These lymphocytes are part of the body's immune system, the defense system that fights infectious diseases. But as HIV destroys these lymphocytes, people with the virus begin to get serious infections that they normally wouldn't — that is, they become immune deficient. The name for this condition is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Hepatitis B (HBV)

What Is It?

Hepatitis (pronounced: hep-uh-tie-tiss) is a disease of the liver. It is usually caused by a virus, although it can also be caused by long-term overuse of alcohol or other toxins (poisons).
Although there are several different types of hepatitis, hepatitis B is a type that can move from one person to another through blood and other bodily fluids. It can be transmitted through sexual intercourse and through needles — such as those shared by intravenous drug or steroid users who have the virus, or tattoo needles that haven't been properly sterilized. A pregnant woman can also pass hepatitis B to her unborn baby.

Chlamydia

What Is It?

Chlamydia (pronounced: kluh-mid-ee-uh) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. Although you may not have heard its name, chlamydia is one of the most common STDs. Because there often aren't any symptoms, though, lots of people can have chlamydia and not know it.
The bacteria can move from one person to another through sexual intercourse, and possibly through oral-genital contact. If someone touches bodily fluids that contain the bacteria and then touches his or her eye, a chlamydial eye infection is possible. Chlamydia also can be passed from a mother to her baby while the baby is being delivered. This can cause pneumonia and conjuntivitis, which can become very serious for the baby if it's not treated. You can't catch chlamydia from a towel, doorknob, or toilet seat.