Study: Why The Mediterranean Diet Works to Prevent Heart Disease

Nutrition: If you've ever wondered why the Mediterranean diet seems to work so well in preventing heart disease, researchers may have an answer: the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fats appears to be ideal, Alice G. Walton reports for the Atlantic.

Heart Disease: For those who don't follow the Mediterranean diet: Scientists are working towards a better way to predict heart attacks after finding deformed cells that appear to indicate that an artery has cracked, a precursor to a heart attack, Lauran Neergaard reports for the Associated Press.

Insurance: Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to lower its rate increases for its policyholders after announcing controversial hikes of up to 30 percent. Now, the highest rate increase for consumers will be 20 percent and the average increase will be about eight percent, Chad Terhune reports for the Los Angeles Times.

Tuberculosis: Rates of the infectious respiratory disease have dropped to their lowest level since 1953, when officials started tracking infections, but the increasing number of foreign-born TB patients in the United States means it will be difficult to entirely eliminate the disease, Julie Steenhuysen reports for Reuters.

Assisted Suicide: An 88-year-old California man who had been caring for his sick wife has been arrested on suspicion that he helped her kill herself, Elliot Spagat reports for the Associated Press.

Photo credit: Hispanita Design via Flickr

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