Influencers Suggest No-Fluid Diets As Way To ‘Reset’ Your Kidneys. Experts Say: Don’t Do This.

Los Angeles Times: What ‘Dry Fasting’ Is And Why You Shouldn’t Do It 
A new fad diet making the rounds on wellness influencer Instagram won’t actually help you lose weight. And it could cause dehydration, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, organ failure – even death. It’s called “dry fasting.” It goes beyond what most of us would consider fasting – abstaining from solid food or liquid calories – and requires consuming no water or liquids of any kind for many hours or even days at a time. (Roy, 2/14)

NBC News: Are Sneaky Sugars Hiding In Your Food? Use These Healthy Swaps To Cut Back
Reducing added sugar is one of the best things you can do to improve your health. But it’s not just cakes, cookies, candies and sugary beverages that you need to watch out for. You’d be surprised how much added sugar sneaks into many packaged foods, including savory ones like soups, salad dressings and sauces and supposedly healthy foods like cereals, granola, nut butters, yogurt and “health” drinks. You might think you’re eating healthily, but you’re consuming a lot more added sugar than you should. Three times too much, in fact! That’s because added sugar is often hidden and it’s undermining your health. (Lee and Patel, 2/16)

CNN: Struggling To Quit Sugar? You Might Not Be Sleeping Enough 
If you find yourself eating too much added sugar and unhealthy fats, it might be because you’re not getting enough sleep, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers from Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center examined the associations between measures of sleep quality and the dietary patterns of nearly 500 women who participated in the AHA Go Red for Women program, a year-long study of sleep patterns and cardiovascular risk in women. What they found was that the poorer their quality of sleep, and the less they slept, the more the women consumed added sugars, saturated fats and caffeine. (Rogers, 2/17)

CNN: A Later Bedtime Linked With Obesity For Children Under 6, Study Says 
A new study has linked a later bedtime with an increased risk of obesity for kids — although the researchers say parents shouldn’t rush to put their preschoolers to sleep earlier as a result. Instead, concerned moms and dads should focus on maintaining a regular routine when it comes to scheduling meal and bed times, said Dr. Claude Marcus, a professor of pediatrics at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and an author of the study, which published Tuesday in the journal Pediatrics. (Hunt, 2/18)

CNN: Mediterranean Diet Scores Another Win For Longevity By Improving Microbiome 
Yet more bragging rights are in for the Mediterranean diet, long considered to be one of the healthiest in the world. A new study published Monday in the BMJ journal Gut found that eating the Mediterranean diet for just one year altered the microbiome of elderly people in ways that improved brain function and would aid in longevity. The study found the diet can inhibit production of inflammatory chemicals that can lead to loss of cognitive function, and prevent the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and atherosclerosis. (LaMotte, 2/17)

The New York Times: Video Game Makers Want To Get Players Off The Couch
Tiffany Ruiz had tried various gyms, apps, workout routines and diets, all in an effort to get fit and lose some weight. “None of them worked because none of them kept my interest,” she said. Now, Ms. Ruiz is working out at least four times a week, thanks to a video game. In her bedroom, she sprints, squats, stretches and performs other exercises like knee lifts and shoulder presses, all while battling a musclebound dragon and its toadies in Ring Fit Adventure, a new game from Nintendo, the Japanese consumer tech giant. (McConnon, 2/17)