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For a new report, dietitians from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a consumer-advocacy group that focuses on health and environmental issues, analyzed data from a little-known government program called the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, which is intended to track foodborne diseases. Each year, the program’s researchers buy samples of meat from supermarkets nationwide and test them for bacterial residues. “We were pretty shocked,” says Dawn Underraga, RD, nutritionist and lead author of the report....

Numerous studies have investigated the supposed link between consuming fake sugars and suffering from these symptoms, but few have found any direct links. Yet accusations that sugar substitutes are the root cause of countless health problems pervade. But is there actually a cause for concern? And how can we be sure? 67 Science-Backed Ways To Lose Weight Sweet Poison? The Need-To-Know Like any flavor enhancer, artificial sweeteners only sneak into snacks, beverages, and other goods after passing a rigorous approval process conducted by the FDA....

That’s why health experts have repeatedly warned against their overuse—especially for those with less-severe complaints. But a new report raises questions about whether people are listening. The findings: Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston analyzed the records of more than 1 million patients hospitalized for reasons other than surgery, finding that more than half were given some opioid pain medications, such as codeine, morphine, or oxycodone. Of those, one-quarter received the equivalent of 100 milligrams of morphine at one time—enough to pose the risk of overdose, says study author Shoshana Herzig, MD, MPH....

Media Platforms Design TeamChef Sonya CotéOwner/Executive Chef, Eden East & Hillside FarmacyTwitter: @chef_sonyacoteWhat’s the best thing about being a chef?Buying local ingredients from my favorite farmer friends to create artistic & unique dishes.Your food philosophy in three words.“Past, Present, Future.” What is your go-to easy, healthy breakfast?Steamed rice, poached egg & furikake How has Austin has influenced you as a chef?The urban farms in Austin have affected me greatly, especially the community of east Austin....

In a new study published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, researchers gathered data from 117 studies from 47 different countries and other supplemental surveys. Lower back pain is the top cause for years lost due to disability (calculated by adding years lost as a result of early death and the number of years lived with disability). About one in 10 people suffer from lower back pain, and prevalence is highest in Western Europe and lowest in the Caribbean and Latin America....

Round face: Cut layered wispy pieces that graze the tops of your brows. Square face: Wear bangs long and side-swept to soften angles. Long face: Add blunt bangs that fall just above brows, giving fullness to a thin face. More from Prevention: Amazing Age-Defying Hair Makeovers

“Yoga is meant to be a nurturing form of exercise, not a rigid imitation of poses,” says Richard Faulds, author of the upcoming Kripalu Yoga: A Complete Guide to Practice On and Off the Mat. It’s very possible to stretch and strengthen your body without having to touch your nose to your knees or your feet to your head. Here’s how to help ensure that you leave yoga class serene, not sorry!...

The research: The study team asked roughly 1,500 people to take tests measuring their levels of dementia, as well as their tendency toward cynicism—or the belief that other people are mainly motivated by selfish concerns. After about 8 years, they repeated some of the tests, while also checking for dementia diagnoses among the study participants. Compared to people who measured lowest on the cynicism scale, those who tested highest for the pessimistic trait were about three times more likely to have developed dementia, the research shows....

That was the question Bruce Wydick, PhD, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, aimed to answer in a new study published in the Journal of Political Economy. Wydick and his team looked at 10,000 adults in six countries and found that those who were sponsored as children were 50% more likely to obtain a college education and 35% more likely to have a white-collar job, when compared to children who weren’t sponsored....

Radical Resistance Every second of your life, your cells are bombarded by dangerous particles called free radicals. In a split second, they can alter your DNA in ways that cause cancer. Or change LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) so it sticks to artery walls. Or damage collagen and make skin wrinkle-prone. Over time, changes such as these accelerate your aging. Fortunately, you can fight back. The trick is to load your diet with antioxidants—the natural zappers of free radicals—by eating lots of fruits and vegetables....

Among 439 consecutive erectile dysfunction patients, 26%—or 114 of the men—were under age 40, the study shows. The researchers assessed those patients based on dozens of lifestyle and health factors like testosterone levels, smoking history, body mass index, length of relationship with sexual partner, and drug use. The results indicate younger men aren’t suffering from ED for the same reasons as their fathers (and grandfathers). While the sub-40 ED sufferers had normal testosterone, BMI, and hypertension levels—all of which tend to cause dysfunction in older men—they were more likely than older ED patients to be addicted to cigarettes and illicit drugs like cocaine and marijuana....

Music can do it, and so can the support of a gung-ho gym buddy. But those aren’t the only ways to pump yourself up for a workout: Just saying the right words can actually enhance the effort of your muscles during exercise. That’s the new finding from a team of French researchers at the L2C2 Institute of Cognitive Sciences in Lyon. In a study on 25 people, each participant was asked to grip a sensor after hearing a series of different sentences....

A study out of Cardiff University in the UK found that not only does chewing gum not help your short-term memory: It impairs it. In a series of three experiments, 97 university students were asked to recall either a short sequence of letters or identify the missing item in a list. They performed significantly worse when chewing gum, no matter how vigorously or how lazily they chomped. Researchers speculate that the tongue, mouth, and jaw movements of gum chewing disrupt short-term memory....

[sidebar]Turns out, even the healthiest people face regular pitfalls—moments or habits that sneak in to their lives even though they’re eating well 99% of the time and working out five days a week. “They often ignore the other things because most of the time they’re really on it health-wise," says functional medicine physician Susan Blum. But those things that seem tiny sometimes aren’t. Blum helps sort through some of the most common trip-ups you may encounter on your own healthy journey, so that you spot them a mile away....

[sidebar] While that may sound like the worst way to get over an ex, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, find that sad music can offer the same relief as an empathetic friend, in that it’s supportive and makes you feel less alone. (See how else music can heal you.) To arrive at this conclusion, researchers asked over 200 participants a series of questions having to do with negative scenarios, such as losing a personal relationship and failing an exam....

Eat Colorful Produce Every 4 to 5 Hours As you age, Forberg says, your skin’s natural antioxidant protection drops; eating a diet rich in colorful fruits and veggies can help protect against wrinkles. There are hundreds of antioxidant nutrients, but the most important include vitamins C (found in tomatoes, citrus fruits, and bell peppers) and E (nuts and avocado), polyphenols (natural cocoa powder and berries), quercetin (onions and broccoli), and carotenoids (leafy greens, sweet potatoes, and other bright orange vegetables)....