Researchers reported Tuesday that they have linked 180,000 obesity-related deaths worldwide to sugary drinks, including about 25,000 adult Americans.

Overall, 1 in 100 deaths of obese people globally can be blamed on too many sweetened beverages, according to a study presented at an American Heart Association scientific conference in New Orleans. Mexico leads the 35 largest nations in deaths attributable to over-consumption of sugary drinks, with the United States third. Japan, which has one of the lowest per-capita consumptions of sugary drinks, had the fewest sugar-related deaths.

In New Orleans, the Louisiana Public Health Institute and the Crescent City Beacon Community are striving to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes through the txt4health program. Txt4health is a mobile health information service designed to help people understand their risk for type 2 diabetes and become more informed about the steps they can take to lead healthy lives.

Click here to read the full story.

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed sweeping rules to curtail food-borne illnesses that kill thousands of Americans annually — and, in the process, to transform itself into an agency that prevents contamination, not one that merely investigates outbreaks.

The rules, drafted with an eye toward strict standards in California and some other states, enable the implementation of the landmark Food Safety Modernization Act that President Obama signed two years ago in response to a string of deadly outbreaks of illness from contaminated spinach, eggs, peanut butter and imported produce.

The first proposed rule would require domestic and overseas producers of food sold in the U.S. to craft a plan to prevent and deal with contamination of their products. The plans would be open to federal audits. The second rule would address contamination of fruit and vegetables during harvesting.

Click here to read more from the LA Times.

Do you have bloating, gas, upset stomach, abdominal cramping, and discomfort after eating? Poor eating habits, such as inadequately chewing food, eating late in the day and “eating on the run” can wreak havoc on your digestive system by causing inadequate production of digestive enzymes.

Food safety is especially important as you prepare a holiday meal and the CDC has some great tips for safely thawing and preparing your Thanksgiving turkey this year. Within the last couple of years, the CDC has investigated outbreaks of foodborne illness that were caused by bacteria in jalapeños, spinach, peanut butter, frozen pizza, frozen pot pies, and frozen beef patties. Many consumers are now more aware of the ongoing importance of food safety.

Check out the tips here.

As we all prepare for the upcoming holiday meals for Thanksgiving, food safety is something that can fall to the wayside along with the discarded scraps and trimmings. However, there are a few good tips from the Washington Post’s recent article we can all follow to help keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy, safe and happy this holiday season.

For example:

• A colander (or strainer) allows you to wash fruit and vegetables quickly and safely because it lessens the risk of contamination from other foods, such as raw meat, that might have been in the sink earlier.

• Wash refrigerator bins with dish detergent in warm water. Crisper drawers hold more bacteria than any other part of the refrigerator. Wash them often in a clean sink.

To read the full article, click here.

Kellogg is recalling boxes of Mini-Wheats cereal due to the “unlikely but possible presence of fragments of flexible metal mesh from a faulty manufacturing part,” according to the company.

The recall covers roughly  282,000 cases of Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size Original and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size cereal with the letters KB, AP or FK before or after the best-before date. Most of the recalled products are cereal boxes, but some are single-serving bowls.

Click here to read more.

According the Mayor of New Orleans and the Times-Picayune article below, the boil water advisory for Orleans Parish has been lifted.

“The advisory to boil tap water across the east bank of New Orleans ended Tuesday at 2 p.m. after state health officials and the Sewerage & Water Board declared the city’s water supply safe to drink. Scientists tested the city’s drinking water for coliform bacteria, a mostly harmless group of microscopic organisms whose presence can indicate that more harmful bacteria is lurking nearby. The testing takes roughly 24 hours to process.”

Click here to read the full story.

New Mexico-based Sunland Inc. has expanded its recall of peanut butter and almond butter to include cashew butters, tahini and blanched and roasted peanut products. The company, which sells its nuts and nut butters to large groceries and other food distributors around the country, recalled products under multiple brand names last month after salmonella illnesses were linked to Trader Joe’s Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter, one of the brands it manufactures.

In addition to Trader Joe’s, the recall over the past week has included some nut butters and nut products sold at Whole Foods Market, Target, Safeway, Fresh & Easy, Harry and David, Sprouts, Heinen’s, Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, Giant Food of Landover, Md., and several other stores. Some of those retailers used Sunland ingredients in items they prepared and packaged themselves.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been 30 salmonella illnesses in 19 states that can be traced to the Trader Joe’s peanut butter. No other foods have been linked to the illnesses, but Sunland recalled other products manufactured on the same equipment as the Trader Joe’s product.

Some of the brand names included in the recall are Target’s Archer Farms, Safeway’s Open Nature, Earth Balance, Fresh & Easy, Late July, Heinen’s, Joseph’s, Natural Value, Naturally More, Peanut Power Butter, Serious Food, Snaclite Power, Sprouts Farmers Market, Sprouts, Sunland and Dogsbutter.

Sunland’s recall includes 101 products, and several retailers have issued additional recalls including items made with Sunland ingredients.

Read the full story on WWL-TV by clicking here.

Researchers are studying the ability of beneficial micro-organisms – or probiotics – to treat a range of conditions from eczema to inflammatory bowel disease. And the idea that “good” bacteria are healthy for us is gaining traction. Because of this information, lots of people have turned to yogurt, with the belief that the bacteria added to the milk as part of the fermentation process are helpful. And there’s some evidence that yogurt affects digestion. Others are trying specialty yogurts or supplements made with specific strains of probiotics. There are hundreds of products on the market.

Check out this great article from NPR for more information about probiotics, how they can help, and the studies going on around them.

Research is continuing to find that inflammation is at the root of many medical conditions and diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, joint pain, allergies, digestive issues, skin problems and more. Thus, we should try to  include these 5 anti-inflammatory foods in our daily diets so we can reduce our risk of these conditions and improve our health.

Click here to check out the article.