In the past year, the FDA has rejected three weight-loss drugs over safety concerns. In October, Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. s lorcaserin was one of the drugs on the chopping block after the agency cited certain rat studies that showed it was tied to a possible cancer risk.

What s in a name? Well, when it comes to marketing, most people believe that what s called sea salt is healthier than table salt and also packs less sodium. Although, in truth, the two varieties are hardly different, you can t blame folks for these false impressions, since many food manufacturers insinuate that sea salt is a healthy seasoning added to all natural and healthy products.

In one of his most pompous and slanted columns yet, The New York Times' Mark Bittman alleges that the U.S. government is in cahoots with large agricultural biotech companies that sacrifice the environment for profits. Bittman accuses USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack perhaps under pressure from the president of succumbing to the demands of Monsanto.

A new study in the journal Menopause shows that the benefits of hormone replacement therapy aren t just hypothetical. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that the nearly 81,000 postmenopausal women who discontinued their hormone replacement therapy were at a much greater risk of a hip fracture due to lowered bone density, as compared to those who continued on the preventive regimen.

A new study in the journal Menopause suggests that too many women are being unnecessarily screened for osteoporosis.

The media are suddenly abuzz with the latest on the putative health benefits of one of our favorite foods: a study just published in BMJ reports that chocolate may improve cardiovascular health.

Cardiovascular disease affects more than 100 million people worldwide, yet the inexpensive drugs that could lower the risk for recurrence of these life-threatening illnesses are not getting to the majority of patients who need them.

In a special series on obesity, The Lancet haspublished four papers, the first of which warns that nearly half of all U.S. men and women will be obese by 2030. Led by Dr. Claire Wang at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, researchers caution obesity will replace tobacco as the single most preventable cause of chronic non-communicable diseases.

Losing weight may not be as simple as just cutting a prescribed number of calories, finds a new study published in The Lancet. Led by Dr. Kevin D. Hall of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, the new research finds that the standard weight-loss rule that one pound is equal to 3,500 calories is actually flawed.

We say potato, but the National School Lunch Program is saying potat-no. According to the agency's proposed federal nutritional guidelines, cafeterias will not be allowed to serve more than one cup of starchy vegetables per week a category that includes white potatoes, corn, peas, and fresh lima beans.