All of the 123 women in this study were postmenopausal and overweight or obese, and 97 percent of them reported having one or more snacks per day during the study. However, the women who snacked in the afternoon and reported having more than two snacks a day probably were more successful at losing weight because they had a higher fiber intake and ate more fruits and vegetables than participants who didn’t snack as often, the researchers found. They suggested that the mid-morning snacks that slowed weight loss might reflect recreational or mindless noshing rather than eating to satisfy hunger.

Planning Snacks

Snacks do have a role when you’re trying to lose weight says Elisa Zied, RD, a dietician and author of Nutrition at Your Finger Tips. “I’m definitely an advocate for mid-afternoon snacks,” adds Zied, noting that there may be more hours in between lunch and dinner than between breakfast and lunch making it more likely that we’ll get hungry before dinner time arrives.

The key to making snacks work for you is to plan them, instead of grabbing something — anything — when you’re famished or bored. Zied suggests that dieters are better off sticking to snacks that are a combination of protein and fiber. Here are her picks:

* 5 whole grain crackers and either an ounce of cheddar cheese cut in slivers or one tablespoon of natural peanut butter

* A cup of nonfat Greek yogurt topped with ½ cup of blueberries or sliced strawberries

* A sliced banana or apple with one tablespoon of peanut butter

* 1 cup of whole grain, flaky cereal topped with ½ cup of nonfat milk and 2 tablespoons of almond slivers

* 3 cups of air-popped or low-fat, low-sodium popcorn

* 2 tablespoons of walnuts, cashews, pecans or almonds mixed with ¼ cup crunchy whole-grain cereal and 1 tablespoon dried fruit (with no sugar added)

Study leader Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., advises limiting afternoon snacks to 200 calories. Her suggestions:

* Low-fat yogurt

* String cheese

* A small handful of nuts

* Non-starchy vegetables, such as celery, green beans, or zucchini

* Fresh fruits

* Whole grain crackers

* No-cal beverages (such as water, coffee or tea)

How many snacks do you eat per day?

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Do you think you need to lose weight for the sake of your health? Calculate your body mass index to see whether you’re okay, overweight or obese. Here’s where you can find advice on healthy weight loss and check out the Mayo Clinic for the skinny on snacks. For more ideas and some cool tools to help with weight-loss, also check out these Healthy Outlook blog posts, “Free Weight Loss App Combines Calorie Counter and Food Diary,” “Pic Healthy Photo Food Diary Mobile App,” “A Winning Weight-Loss Recipe: Self-Compassion,” and “Small Steps Can Lead to Long-Term Weight Loss.”

But a new type of polymer gel that mimics key traits of human vocal cords may provide a remedy. The material, known as polyethylene glycol (PEG), appears to act like a natural vocal cord that also restores vibration to vocal cords that have stiffened due to scarring. PEG is used in certain other medical devices that FDA has approved.

“Currently, there is no solution to this problem and it is highly unlikely that, at least in the foreseeable future, a drug will be developed that can create a biological response,” notes Robert Langer, PhD, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Dr. Langer has worked closely with Steven Zeitels, MD, FACS, a professor of laryngeal surgery at Harvard Medical School, to advance the technology.

Sandeep Karajanagi, PhD, an instructor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and a researcher at the Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation at Massachusetts General Hospital, developed the gel while working as a postdoctoral researcher at MIT. Although it degrades over time—and those with vocal cord problems would require a re-injection every 6 months or so—it could significantly change the way doctors treat vocal cord maladies.

Many who suffer from vocal cord problems are children whose cords were scarred from intubation during surgery or people with laryngeal cancer. However, a significant segment of society, including teachers, actors, clergy, trial attorneys, politicians and singers, wind up with voices strained from overuse. “We live in a society in which 90 percent of jobs require substantial voice use,” Dr. Zeitels says.

Human trials will begin in 2012, and Dr. Zeitels believes that a commercially viable product is 3 to 6 years away. For now, researchers are studying how to fine tune the biomechanical properties of the gel while conducting clinical trials. Concludes Dr. Zeitels: “This would be so valuable to society because every time a person loses his or her voice they are unable to communicate ideas and their contributions are lost.”

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For more information about throat, larynx and voice problems visit The Institute of Laryngology and Voice Restoration (ILVR) and the National Institutes of Health site Disorders of Vocal Abuse and Misuse. If you rely on your vocal cords for your livelihood, read these tips from the University of Texas Health Science Center concerning general voice care and vocal hygiene.

Among the 5 articles that influenced or significantly contributed to health research, according to a poll by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in January, is a study on the use of Twitter to track disease activity and public concern during the H1N1 flu pandemic. Analyzing tweets has established an intriguing model for monitoring future disease outbreaks in real time, the researchers found. As healthymagination recently reported, scientists are also using tweets to discover patterns about allergies, cancer, obesity and insomnia, among other disorders.

With so many different diets out there, how do you pick the best one? A new report from the government’s Weight-control Information Network (WIN) offers advice to help you talk to your healthcare provider and ask the right questions. If your doctor agrees that you need to slim down, WIN suggests looking for a program that reduces calories without banning specific foods, includes tips to boost moderate-intensity exercise, encourages slow, steady weight loss, and provides a plan to keep the weight off once you reach your goal. A cool mobile app from GE, My Diet Diary, is a great way to track what you’re eating.

The researchers discovered that fruits and raw vegetables counteract the effects of a gene called 9p21 that raises the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack. The gene, discovered in 2007, is the strongest known marker for heart disease. Eating these foods appears to significantly modify the gene, notes Sonia Anand, joint principal investigator of the study and a professor of medicine at the McMaster University School of Medicine.

The fact that 9p21 dramatically affects heart health is well established and came as no shock to researchers, notes Dr. Jamie Engert, joint principal investigator of the study and associate member in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University. “But it was a surprise to find that a healthy diet could significantly weaken its effect,” he says.

The study, one of the largest ever conducted on cardiovascular disease, involved an analysis of more than 27,000 individuals from five ethic groups—European, South Asian, Chinese, Latin American and Arab. Researchers pored over data from two major studies of heart disease and food consumption patterns. Patients in the high-risk group who ate raw vegetables, fruits and berries had up to half the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack.

Anand says that the finding “supports the public health recommendation to consume more than five servings of fruits or vegetables daily as a way to promote good health.”

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Click to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) site for a general overview of the benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Visit the Produce for Better Health Foundation website for information about healthy ways to cook and prepare fruits and veggies as well as recipes and serving suggestions. For more news about heart health, check out our blog posts, “Run For Your Life: Fitness Levels Predict Heart Disease Risk,” “How the Mediterranean Diet Helps the Heart,” and “Workplace Stress Linked to Heart Attack Risk.”

While many Americans don’t get enough exercise, others take their zeal to get fit too far, the New York Times reports. Physiologists are concerned about an extreme focus on working out that’s become a trend among some recreational athletes. It’s important to build in rest periods to let muscles recover, pay attention to fatigue or pain, and not push yourself so hard that you hurt yourself. Looking for an enjoyable workout? Check out our post about the top 10 fitness trends for 2012.

* Instant Crowns. The CEREC machine, which uses CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) technology, allows dentists to make instant crowns, inlays or onlays in their offices in one visit.  A camera is used to take a digital picture of your tooth, software converts it into a three-dimensional virtual model on the computer screen, and the dentist then sends the data to a separate milling machine in the office.  About ten to twenty minutes later, your all-ceramic, tooth-colored restoration is finished and ready to bond in place.  No temporaries, no return visits for fittings. The cost of an in-office crown is about the same as one made in the lab.  It’s mostly used for back teeth, since the restorations it creates aren’t aesthetic enough for front teeth

* 3-D imaging. Those flat x-rays your dentist used to put up on a light box in his office are obsolete.  In addition to digital x-rays, today dentists have technology similar to cat scans, called cone beam 3-D radiology, which allows the dentist to see the whole tooth structure rather than just one surface.  “This allows more precise placement of implants, making it easier to avoid nerves, and improve orthodontic care,” explains Howard S. Glazer, DDS, a dentist in Fort Lee, New Jersey and spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry

* Better dental materials. The latest is lithium disilicate, known under the brand name, Ivoclare Vivadent, a harder material than any ceramic previously available.   The usual method of making a crown involves bonding two dissimilar materials (metal plus porcelain or other ceramic) which can be problematic.  Studies show that lithium disilicate allows for fabrication of all-ceramic CAD/CAM crowns that are cosmetically attractive but also can withstand chewing forces with less fracture.

* Pain-free anesthesia. The worst part of getting a tooth filled for many people is the dreaded Novocain shot which is not only painful, but causes your face and lips to go numb for hours.  A new type of injection called Vibraject uses a vibrator clipped onto the syringe to eliminate pain, which also facilitates a more precise delivery of anesthetic.   Dr. Glazer explains how it works: “Pain is caused by heat and pressure, so if we can distract you by giving you something vibrating, you won’t feel the pinch of the needle.  I use an injection technique that infiltrates on a tooth-by-tooth basis.  This allows for a short duration but equally effective anesthetic.”

* Drills with electric motors. Until recently dentists have used air-driven high-speed drills which whine and vibrate.   The new electric drills generate one-third of the noise, are far faster and more efficient than air-driven drills, and cut more smoothly and painlessly.   The result is a more precise interface between your tooth and your new restoration (crown, veneer, or filling).

* Lasers. The hard tissue laser can replace the drill in some instances for painless dentistry but “it won’t remove old fillings, it’s very costly and not necessarily as effective,” according to Dr. Glazer.   The real advance is in soft tissue lasers, called LANAP, for periodontal work such as cleaning out pockets or gum surgery.   “Soft tissue lasers have revolutionized gum surgery, which now can be done virtually painlessly, without stitches, swelling or risk of infection,” says Glazer.  “I use it for gum recontouring, partially erupted third molars, a whole variety of different uses.”

* The smart drill. The Smart Bur II removes only tooth decay, not healthy tooth structure. With this device used to access decay that is close to the nerve, dentists can remove just the decay without damaging the nerve, which can help avoid root canals.

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What is the future of high-tech dentistry?   Here are some exciting developments we may see in the next few years:  a pain free way to reverse decay and re-build teeth; prevention of periodontal disease by testing saliva; and regeneration of gum tissue with gene therapy.

Surprisingly, scientists are using viruses to reverse antibiotic resistance in bacteria, in a novel method to combat superbugs under investigation in Israel. In a process called lysogenization, researchers isolated genes from antibiotic-resistant E. coli bacteria, genetically engineered them to reverse the resistance method, and then loaded the genes into bacteriophages (viruses that can infect bacteria). In lab experiments, the method appeared to make the targeted bacteria more sensitive to the antibiotic streptomycin.

Enter RunKeeper, a smartphone app that helps you takes strides toward a healthier lifestyle. It relies on a phone’s GPS to track your running and walking route along with distance, speed, duration and other information. What’s more, the app lets you instantly share your results on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Already, more than 6 million people have downloaded the app.

But RunKeeper is also emerging as a way to manage overall health and well-being. It includes a new service called Health Graph that tracks everything from workout data and diet to sleep habits and social interactions. It grabs data from 30 other devices and apps that are now RunKeeper-compatible. Think of it as a data hub with a dashboard that helps you boost your health IQ.

For example, Withings manufacturers a Wi-Fi Body Scale and a separate Blood Pressure Monitor that transmit data to your iPhone, where it can be imported into RunKeeper’s Health Graph. Meanwhile, Body Media’s FIT armband tracks calories burned and consumed as well as sleep quantity and quality. It too can be used as a standalone device but it also sends data to Health Graph. Yet another product, Swimsense, serves as a performance monitor for swimming. It can track distance, stroke type, stroke rate and pace.

A good way to think about RunKeeper is that it’s essentially an “ecosystem of health and fitness apps, websites, and sensor devices that really work, based on a user’s own historical health and fitness data,” says RunKeeper CEO Jason Jacobs. Integration with the social networking application Foursquare (which lets users check in based on location and activities) also makes it possible to run a race using RunKeeper and earn and automatically post badges, a.k.a. virtual awards, for events ranging from a 5k to a marathon and share the results with friends and family.

The result is a more comprehensive view of your exercise, diet, sleeping patterns and overall health. Concludes Jacobs: “You can keep data from different apps and devices across a very broad range of health categories in one place. You can get insight into this data in order to make changes to your training and improve your health. RunKeeper makes tracking, measuring, and improving your health and fitness accessible and fun.”

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GE offers a number of health related smartphone apps at the Healthymagination site, including My Diet Diary, Sleep on It and Fit Frendzy. A previous Healthymagination story, Feedback During Exercise Can Improve Results, supports the power of tracking and analyzing workout and lifestyle data.

It’s not flashy and doesn’t offer any secret tricks, but the DASH diet has been rated “Best Diet” by US News for the second year in a row. Designed to prevent and treat high blood pressure, this sensible healthy eating plan puts an emphasis on low-salt, high-fiber foods, 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, along with fat-free or low-fat dairy, whole grains, fish, poultry, seeds and nuts. It’s tasty, easy-to-follow, and helps you slim down while doing your heart good. No wonder it receives such high praise so consistently! For more healthy nutrition ideas, also check out our post on 7 “superfoods” you should be eating.