By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Consumption of chamomile tea was linked with a lower risk of thyroid cancer in a small Greek study. Researchers interviewed some Athens residents about their lifestyle, eating and drinking habits and found that people who reported drinking more chamomile tea over longer periods of time were less likely to develop thyroid malignancies or benign growths than those who didn’t. While the study doesn’t prove tea prevents cancer, it adds to a growing body of evidence pointing to the potential health benefits of a Mediterranean diet including lots of lean fish, fresh vegetables and healthy fats in addition to tea, study co-author Dr. Athena Linos, an environmental health researcher at Prolepsis in Greece, said by email. “The finding was not surprising to me because many aspects of the Mediterranean diet have been shown to be protective towards cancer in general,” Linos said.

The South has a long tradition of using cheap cuts of meat often cured and smoked to season dishes. A couple of ham hocks will flavor a big pot of beans, smoked turkey butts make collard greens a wonderful dish. With all the talk about a vegan diet being the best, carnivores are rebelling. They are clinging to meat with a white hot passion….

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages can suppress the hormone cortisol and stress responses in the brain, but diet beverages sweetened with aspartame do not have the same effect, according to a new…