Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day, especially for middle-aged men who may be putting themselves at risk for coronary heart disease.
A new study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association found that men ages 45 to 82 who skipped breakfast regularly were 27 percent more likely to die during 16 years of follow-up care, and those who ate late at night were 55 percent more likely to die.
"There's lots of things we know that we can do to reduce our coronary heart disease risk," said co-author Eric Rimm, ScD, in an interview. "This is a cheap one, it's a simple message, [and] it can be part of any primary care provider's message to a patient."
Other studies have found that skipping breakfast is related to weight gain, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Researchers noted that further studies are needed to further confirm the connection.
Older Dads Have Kids With High Cholesterol
Kids with older dads may have high cholesterol later in life, a new study in the journal Clinical Endocrinology found. They’re also taller and skinnier.
Researchers found that kids born to fathers over the age of 30 were about 0.79 inches taller than kids with younger fathers, and kids with fathers over the age of 35 had a lower body mass index.
But kids with dads over the age of 35 had 21 percent higher “bad cholesterol,” or LDL levels than those with younger dads.
Single Men and Smokers Have Higher HPV/Cancer Risk
Single men and smokers have a higher risk of getting oral cancer linked to human papillomavirus, or HPV, according to a study published in The Lancet.
Smokers had nearly three times the risk of getting a cancer-linked HPV infection and single men were three to four times more likely to be infected than those married or living with someone else.
Oral cancer is rare, but more people are contracting cases linked to HPV. Researchers don’t know why these two groups are more at risk, but researchers believe single men may be more likely to participate in risky sexual activity, and that the inflammation caused by smoking could make a person more susceptible.
Fecal Transplants Get FDA OK
The Food and Drug Administration is no longer requiring doctors to ask the agency's permission to perform a fecal transplant to treat C. difficile infections.
In May, the FDA said doctors needed to get an Investigational New Drug (IND) application before administering the transplant. In emergency situations, a doctor could request immediate FDA permission.
Now the FDA is asking doctors to get consent from the patient and make sure they’re aware that using a fecal transplant to treat C. difficile is still experimental.
Erinn Connor is a staff writer for Health Matters With Dr. Sanjay Gupta