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While growing up, many children may have heard "clean your plate" or been denied candy. But how do parental attitudes toward food affect a child's weight? Denying certain foods to children or pressuring them to eat every bit of a meal are common practices among many parents. But researchers at the University of Minnesota found parents who restricted foods were more likely to have overweight or obese children. And while those who pressured children to eat all of their meals mostly had children of normal weight, it adversely affected the way those children ate as they grew older, according to the study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. Good news, java junkies: Researchers have found the more coffee you drink, the more you may be protecting yourself against skin cancer. According to a new report published in the journal Cancer Research, drinking more caffeinated coffee could lower your chances of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer. A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee began weighing evidence Wednesday on whether dye additives in food affects behavior in children. The panel listened to testimony from doctors and scientists who contend that studies, although small in many cases, do show that some kids begin to show signs of hyperactivity once they are exposed to certain dye mixtures. The question is, should the FDA committee urge the agency to strengthen its regulation of these ingredients? According to the experts who testified, European companies already are dropping dyes including Blue #1, Yellow #5, Green #3 and others and substituting natural dyes for them. But the United States still allows artificial dyes, mostly for aesthetic reasons, not for taste. The federal government plans to unveil new dietary guidelines Monday that urge people to eat less salt, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman said Monday. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius plan to formally unveil the guidelines at 10 a.m. The guidelines, which are updated every five years, recommended that those over 51, African Americans and people with a history of hypertension, diabetes or kidney problems limit their salt intake to a little over a half a teaspoon. For everyone else, the daily recommendation remains at 2,300 milligrams - about one teaspoon of salt. Read Feds: Eat less salt Younger women and children should limit the amount of tuna they eat and pregnant women should not eat tuna at all, because of mercury levels found in the canned and packaged fish, says new report in the January 2011 issue of Consumer Reports. Albacore or white tuna usually contains far more mercury than light tuna, according to Consumer Reports , and canned tuna is the most common source of mercury in our diet. In order to test current levels, investigators for the periodical tested 42 samples from cans and pouches of tuna bought mostly in the New York City area. They found all the samples contained measurable levels of mercury, ranging from 0.018 to 0.774 parts per million. Samples of white tuna had 0.217 to 0.774 ppm of mercury and averaged 0.427 ppm. According to Consumer Reports, if a woman of childbearing age ate about half a can of any of the tested samples, she would exceed the daily mercury intake the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe. Read Consumers Union raises concerns about mercury in tuna on CNN Health The FDA has sent Hillandale Farms of Hampton, Iowa, a releasing letter allowing the company to start shipping its eggs, beginning Monday. Hillandale Farms was one of two companies that recalled its eggs in August 2010 because of the potential for Salmonella poisoning. According to the FDA, since August, three egg-producing houses owned by Hillandale have been extensively tested and have been found to have no evidence of Salmonella contamination. Four others overseen by the company still are undergoing further testing before they are allowed to ship. Hillandale has also promised to enhance its systems in order to detect Salmonella in the future. CNN Health has the FULL STORY See all egg recall information on Eatocracy |
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