It’s been a busy week in research news releases!

• For those who haven’t seen a newspaper this week, new epidemiological results implicate DAILY red meat intake and increased risk of mortality – total-, cancer- and CVD-related. Take away: don’t eat red meat everyday, especially hot dogs or bacon. No further insights into how much red meat is “safe”. There are also several confounding factors that the authors mention so intepret with caution.

• Total fat intake may influence men’s reproductive health – avoid trans fat, eat less saturated fat and boost your omega-3s for the healthiest “swimmers”.

• More reason to catch your ZZZZZs. In a study looking at short-term sleep deprivation of only 80 minutes per night, not getting enough sleep was associated with increased caloric intake without increases in EER (despite being “active” for longer. A cross-over component in the study design was not used though.
• We’ve discussed the hazards of too much TV before, and new research suggests that you can reduce this damage (but not eliminate it) by walking an hour per day. Activity doesn’t have to be intense to be effective! Take in easy, but don’t be lazy.
• Sugar-sweetened beverages should not be on the daily menu – drinking one 12-oz (375 ml) sweetened beverage daily may increase risk of CVD in middle-aged men. We suggest following current recommendations and limiting added sugars whenever possible; keep to no more than 10% of total calories per day.

• Trans fat and behaviour? UC San Diego team found increased impatience, aggression and irritability with higher trans fat intake. No wonder there is so much road rage in the drive-thru line!

• The Science Daily title says it all. How to best help your child lose weight: lose weight yourself. Healthy families, healthy kids.

• Researchers identify five distinct eating patterns among US adults. How stereotypical is the Southern eating pattern? The Alcohol diet pattern (protein, alcohol and salad) sounds like a boozy Paleo Diet – it was most common among well-educated, well-paid Caucasians.