New research, partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the USA Rice Federation, shows that consumers can improve their diets simply by enjoying white or brown rice as part of their…

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women who are carrying extra weight before pregnancy or early in gestation are at heightened risk of having their infants die shortly before or after birth, according to a new analysis of past research. The risk was greatest among the most obese women, the authors write in The Journal of the American Medical Association. “The main message of the study is that maternal overweight and obesity increases the risk of fetal death, stillbirth and infant death,” said Dagfinn Aune, the study’s lead author, from Imperial College London. “Since excess weight is a potentially modifiable risk factor, further studies should assess whether lifestyle and weight changes modifies the risk of fetal and infant death,” he told Reuters Health in an email.

(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Tanzeum injection for treating adults with type 2 diabetes, in combination with diet and exercise. Tanzeum will carry a warning on its label that tumors of the thyroid gland were observed in rodent studies with some drugs belonging to the same class. However, it is unknown whether Tanzeum causes thyroid C-cell tumors, the FDA said on its website. It also asked the company to identify any increase in medullary thyroid cancer cases related to Tanzeum.

Supplement use among American adults is more prevalent than previously thought, says a new study, which used year-round, long-term usage data.

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People who eat the most protein, especially from animal sources, are more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, according to a study of European adults. Instead, it compared the diets of people who went on to develop diabetes and those who did not get the disease. “Several previous studies have found that higher intake of total protein, especially animal protein, are associated with long-term risk of developing diabetes,” said Dr. Frank Hu, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. Hu, who was not involved in the new study, researches prevention of diabetes through diet and lifestyle.

BOSTON (Reuters) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing Herbalife, the nutrition and weight loss company hedge fund manager William Ackman has called a pyramid scheme, a person familiar with the investigation said on Friday. The news, first reported by the Financial Times, sent the company’s stock price down nearly 14 percent. The source said that the investigation has been going on for some time. Former Herbalife distributors have told Reuters that they had been contacted by agents who were interested in finding out more about the company’s business practices. …

Life-prolonging effect of a commonly used food supplement in worms and miceGlucosamine has been freely available in drugstores for many decades.

“Cameras add additional weight to photos and when you’re taking a selfie you’re also dealing with bad lighting, angles, close-ups and a lot of other factors that make people complain that the photo isn’t an accurate representation of themselves,” said Susan Green, co-founder of the Phoenix-based company Pretty Smart Women that created the app. It was originally designed to help overweight adults show a leaner version of themselves, but Robin J Phillips, the other co-founder, said the app has also motivated people to lose weight. But some critics fear the $1.99 app, which only works on single head shots, could encourage an unhealthy body image. Lauren Dickson, a social worker in the eating disorders and addiction clinic at the Center of Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, said the app is one of many factors that could contribute towards a young adult developing an eating disorder.