Harvard Health Content API

Eating more meat in middle age may increase people’s risk of death, particularly from cancer, a new study finds. But older adults who ate more protein lived longer than those who ate less. The study was based on diet surveys from more than 6,800 adults. Researchers kept track of deaths during the next 18 years. People were divided into 2 groups: middle aged (50-65) or older (over 65). Diets with at least 20% of calories from protein were classified as high-protein. Middle-aged people with high-protein diets were 75% more likely to die during the study period than those with low-protein diets (less than 10% of calories). They were 4 times as likely to die of cancer. Cancer-death risk was 3 times as high in the moderate-protein group (10% to 19% of calories). Most protein came from meat and dairy products.

A standard healthy diet may help prevent kidney stones as well as a special diet, a small study suggests. People who have had kidney stones often are advised to eat a diet low in “oxalate.” This chemical binds to calcium to form the most common type of stone. But the diet also prohibits many healthy foods. Researchers randomly divided 51 people into 2 groups. One group followed a low-oxalate diet. The other followed the DASH diet, which helps prevent high blood pressure. This diet is high in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and whole grains. It is low in fat, salt, sugar and meat. In all, 41 people completed the 8-week study. People on the DASH diet had more oxalates in their urine than those on the low-oxalate diet. But the DASH group was less likely to have oxalates bound to calcium in the urine. These are the compounds that form stones.

Childhood vaccines save about $10 in total costs to society for every $1 spent, a new study finds. But another study finds that messages about the value and safety of vaccines may backfire. The first study found that vaccines led to nearly $69 billion in medical and economic savings for U.S. babies born in 2009. In the other study, more than 1,700 parents answered questions about their attitudes toward vaccines. Then they were randomly divided into groups that received different messages. One message explained that there’s no evidence that the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism. Another discussed the dangers of the diseases that MMR prevents. A third message featured a mother talking about her baby’s severe illness with measles. The fourth message included photographs of children with illnesses that vaccines can prevent.

A public health campaign that appealed to emotions as well as facts was able to boost hand washing in India, a new study reports. The campaign was called SuperAmma (SuperMom). The purpose was to help reduce severe diarrhea caused by germs. Fourteen villages were randomly assigned to receive the campaign or not. Public health workers conducted events in schools and the community. They included animated films and comic skits. At some events, women pledged to wash their hands before preparing food, after using the toilet and after cleaning up a child. They also promised to get their children to wash, too. The campaign appealed to feelings of disgust at contaminated hands and the desire to have healthier children and higher social status. At the beginning of the study, very few people washed their hands. After 6 months, 37% in the participating villages washed hands.