According to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of people over the age of two consume too much sodium.

The problem isn't potato chips and french fries. Rather, the CDC places much of the blame on bread products. Just one slice of bread can contain over 200 milligrams of salt.

The recommended amount of sodium per day is 2300 milligrams, but the average American eats about 3300 milligrams daily.

This is a concern because too much sodium can raise blood pressure, which can cause heart disease.

Some highlights from the study include:

• Reducing the sodium Americans eat by 1,200 mg per day on average could save up to $20 billion a year in medical costs.
• Types of foods matter-More than 40% of sodium comes from the following 10 types of foods: breads and rolls, cold cuts and cured meats such as deli or packaged ham or turkey, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, sandwiches such as cheeseburgers, cheese, pasta dishes, meat mixed dishes such as meat loaf with tomato sauce, and snacks such as chips, pretzels, and popcorn.

Women may get more than more than just a pick-me-up from their morning cup of coffee. According to new research, caffeine may alter women's estrogen levels, and the changes differ according to race.

The study looked at more than 250 women aged 18 to 44, and found that in white women, caffeine appeared to lower estrogen levels, while in Asian women it seemed to raise them.

Women involved in the study were analyzed one to three times per week over the course of two menstrual cycles. Exercise, eating, and smoking behaviors were recorded and reviewed along with blood samples. Participants, on average, consumed about 90 milligrams of caffeine daily, which is the equivalent of one cup of coffee.

Asian women who consumed 200 milligrams of caffeine or more per day had higher estrogen levels than those who drank less. Among white women, however, the opposite was true: those who drank at least 200 milligrams of caffeine daily had lower levels of estrogen. Among black women the results were similar to those of Asian women, but did not reach statistical significance.

The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A new study which was recently published in the British Medical Journal found no association between the frequency of fried food consumption in Spain and the incidence of heart disease. This adds to the mounting research which suggests that it is the type of oil used and whether or not it has been used before, that really matters.

It should be noted that in Spain olive and sunflower oil are mostly used for frying. The British Heart Foundation was quick to warn its citizens not to "reach for the frying pan" just yet, and noted that the Mediterranean diet is healthier than that of England, or the U.S. for that matter.

Researchers in Spain followed more than 40,000 people, of which two-thirds were women, from the mid-1990s to 2004. Participants were asked at the outset how often they ate fried foods, either at home or while out. Then researchers looked to see whether eating fried foods regularly increased the likelihood of falling ill from having coronary heart disease.

Researchers divided participants into four groups, from lowest fried food intake to highest. They found no significant difference in heart disease. In total, there were 606 incidents linked to heart disease, but they were split pretty evenly among the four groups.

The study's authors concluded:

While drinking regularly during pregnancy is known to increase the odds of children having fetal alcohol syndrom, scientists have now discovered that the risk to a woman's baby is highest if they consume alcohol in the seventh to 12th week of pregnancy.

Haruna Sawada Feldman from the University of California, San Diego, lead a research team studying nearly 1,000 women during their pregnancies over three decades. They found that drinking during the second half of their first trimester was linked to growth deficiencies in weight and height, as well as facial deformities that are the tell-tale signs of fetal alcohol syndrom disorders (FASD).

For each daily drink, a woman's baby was found to be 25 percent more likely to have an abnormally shaped lip, 12 percent more likely to have a smaller-than-normal head, and 16 percent more likely to have a low birth weight.

Study co-author Professor Philip May of the University of North Carolina said:

There is more bad news for the office-bound working population: according to a new study, sitting at your desk all day may not only put your health at risk, but it's also bad for your mental well-being.

Last week, scientists presented research at the British Psychologica Society's Annual Occupational Conference in Chester, England, and warned that the more you sit, the more your risk for both a higher body mass index score and decreased mental well-being.

Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 workers. Of those surveyed, more than 70 percent did not meet recommended guidelines for exercise. Their findings also showed that the more sitting you do at work, the more likely you are to sit on your off work hours, which only increases your risks of mental strain and health problems even more.

According to the study, people spend on average five hours and 41 minutes per day sitting at their desks and eight hours sleeping at night. Researchers warn that this is "too much sitting".

This new study just adds to the growing body of research that suggests that sitting can raise risks for numerous problems, including diabetes and obesity. This is even more true if you also spend time outside of work lounging in front of the TV or commuting to and from work.

More than half of children aged three to five years old in the United States attend daycare centers, nursery schools or preschools, but due to pressures from both the state and parents to focus on pre-academic learning, those children aren't getting enough physical activity, say Ohio daycare providers. A survey of staff at daycare centers in Ohio revealed that possible playground hazards, boring play equipment, and a focus on classroom learning have children spending too little time being involved in physical activity while in daycare.

Researchers surveyed 49 child care providers in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area about potential barriers to kids' physical activity.

Kristen Copeland, a professor at Cincinnati Children's Hopsital Medical Center who led the study, says that physical activity is important for the 3 to 5-year-old age group to help fight obesity and promote normal development. She says children are "still learning how to skip, how to play with balls, how to share and take turns. But the teachers were saying they were pressured by the parents and somewhat by state early learning standards to emphasize classroom learning."

Diet fads aren't just an American thing; strange new food phenomenon hit other countries as well, and now thanks to a new fat-rich diet, Norway's entire stockpile of butter has been depleted.

Lars Galtung, a spokesman for Tine, the country's biggest farmer cooperative, sales of butter soared 20 percent in October, and then 30 percent in November as the new low-carb diet swept Norway. He said:

"Norwegians are not afraid of natural fats, they love their butter and cream."

Consumers, however, are none too pleased that butter isn't on store shelves, especially with the holidays. Some stores have reportedly been without butter for weeks. Many blame the Tine for not addressing the butter shortage sooner, and being too slow to acquire butter from other countries.

Others, however, say that the shortage of butter shows a bigger problem with Norway's economy. Experts blame the country's protectionist economic policies for the shortage, saying the butter problems show a huge problem with the market.

The lack of butter in Norway has also made the country the subject of a new crop of jokes. Earlier this week, a Danish morning show offered to send 1,000 packets of butter to help.

The average American is now 20 pounds heavier than they were in the 1990s. The annual Gallup Health and Healthcare Survey found that on average men reported they weight 196 pounds and women say they weight 160 pounds.

Both the 196 for men and 160 for women are 20 pounds heavier than reported 20 years ago. The poll also showed that as American's actual weight has increased, so has their ideal weight. For men, the ideal weight is now 181, which is up from 177 pounds. For women, the ideal weight is 138 pounds, up from 137 pounds.

Researchers say that this not only means that Americans are getting fatter, but they are also moving further away from their ideal weight. The average man now weights 15 pounds more than his ideal, compared to 9 pounds more in the 90s. The average woman weighs 22 pounds more than her ideal now, compared to 13 pounds in 1990.

The current figures for both men and women are the highest that Gallup has ever measured to date. Gallup has asked Americans to report on how much they weigh each year since 2001, and in 1990 and 1999.

I have been on Nutrisystem for over one month now and I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am with the program. I have lost over 12 pounds and it has been pretty effortless. I had one stumbling block- I forgot to order my new food shipment and was out of the nutrisytem food for about a week. Unfortunately my bad habits returned and there I was eating fast food cheeseburgers and fries again. However I did avoid most desserts because I knew I did not want to totally sabotage my great results.

I have no excuses now because my new food package came today. I will mark on my calendar when I need to reorder, so that I can stick to my program. So far I am meeting my goal weights and this is without any kind of exercise program.

Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visiting www.nutrisystem.com/nsblog.

Disclaimer:
As is the case with all of our product reviews, I have received free Nutrisystem products for the purposes of this review series. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any manner. I am disclosing this information in accordance with FTC 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

NUTRISYSTEM WEEK 3 REPORT
STARTING WEIGHT: 238 CURRENT WEIGHT 228

After only three weeks on Nutrisystem I have lost 10 pounds! I am shocked at how effortless it has been. I have not been hungry and have been very satisfied with the food choices. I have enjoyed all of the frozen selections and I wish that they were available in the grocery store. I also like the chili and the bean and bacon soup. I let my father try the bean soup and he loved it, too.

With 10 pounds gone, I am feeling the positive health effects. Previously, I would wake up several times a night before starting Nutrisystem, now I sleep for 7-8 hours straight. I also had been having knee pain which now has disappeared. I encourage anyone interested in an easy effective weight loss program to try nutrisystem.