calories

In a new analysis of studies involving more than 406,000 patients, researchers found that people who substitute artificial sweeteners for sugar – even the natural kinds – actually gained weight, instead of losing it. [1]
Published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the study looked at the long-term effects of artificial sweeteners on heart health, weight, stroke incidence, and blood pressure levels.
The researchers wrote:

U.K. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered restaurants, pubs, and cafes to make their food and drink healthier by cutting sugar content, and to shrink the size of desserts. [1]
It’s all part of Britain’s plan to combat obesity.
Hunt met with more than 100 major food chains, including McDonald’s, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Starbucks, and Pizza Express, and warned them that each restaurant’s performance would be monitored and that a public campaign would name any violators. 
Hunt said:

Ramen noodles are cheap, easy to make, and they taste good, which is why so many college kids live on them in school. I know I did. You can buy a whole box of them for just a few bucks. Between instant noodles, Lucky Charms, and cappuccino, I ate like I had a death wish in college. And though indulging in the occasional cup of noodles won’t kill you, but living on them could shorten your life.

McDonald’s has been in the news a lot this month, thanks to big changes the fast-food company is making to several of its menu offerings.
The company began making these changes more than a year ago, when it replaced margarine with real butter in its Egg McMuffins, and added kale and spinach to the iceberg lettuce in its salads. (Those kale salads wound up being higher in calories than McDonald’s famous Big Macs, though.) [1]

When you think of superfoods, you probably think of pomegranates, pickles, kombucha, turmeric … most of that good stuff. But that if someone suggested to you that milk from a big, disgusting insect most people try to kill was the source of the next big superfood?
If you’ve spent your life stomping on cockroaches (or running from them screaming, like I do), this story might not appeal to you, but here goes nothing.

It is no secret that obesity is on the rise in the west, with a new study finding that 10 percent of UK parents are giving their toddlers adult-sized portions instead of those appropriate to their age. Needless to say, this is likely a contributing factor in the increasing waistlines of children across the western world.
The alarming research also found that almost 80 percent of children ages 1 to 4 are getting more food than they need. This, while other children don’t know when their next meal will come, or where it will come from.

Over the next 2 years, you’re going to notice big changes in the nutrition labels that grace food packaging. One of the biggest changes – and perhaps the most important – will be the addition of added sugar.

Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, and a new study finds that all of those fast-food commercials you see on TV that are clearly aimed at young children are working, and they are compounding the obesity problem.
According to Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University researchers, kids who watched television channels that aired fast-food commercials were more likely to eat at fast-food restaurants with their families.

According to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control, 17% of children between the ages of 2 and 9 years old are obese. There are numerous reasons for this, with a new report put out by the agency shedding light on why so many kids are packing on pounds – the consumption of fast food. [1]

When prepared right, artichokes can be delicious – this is no secret. But what many people aren’t aware of is that the spiny globes (actually called “globe artichokes”) pack quite a nutritious punch. Below you will learn of 8 artichoke health benefits that will keep you coming back for that delicious heart.