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FRIDAY, May 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Are you overweight or struggling with type 2 diabetes? Try going vegan, researchers suggest in a new data review.Vegan diets are high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and seeds and have no animal-derived foods.The meta-analysis of 11 studies published through March 2022 that included a total of nearly 800 people found that following a vegan diet for at least 12 weeks helped people lose weight and lower their blood sugar, more so than a Mediterranean diet, different diabetes diets or portion-controlled diets did.Compared with the other diets, vegan diets significantly reduced weight (an average of 9 pounds) and body mass index or BMI (a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters, or kg/m2) by -1.38 kg/m2. The...

FRIDAY, May 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Your chances of dying or having severe complications from COVID-19 are much higher if you're unvaccinated and have heart problems or heart disease risk factors, researchers warn.In a new study, British investigators analyzed 110 previous COVID-19 studies that included a total of nearly 49,000 unvaccinated patients. The researchers found that unvaccinated people with evidence of heart muscle damage when they were hospitalized for COVID-19 had a ninefold higher risk of death. This group was also more likely to have major complications such as severe lung failure (acute respiratory distress syndrome) and acute kidney injury. They also had higher rates of intensive care admission and mechanical ventilation.In addition, unvaccinated people with...

THURSDAY, May 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Citing the accumulated data on a raised risk for a type of dangerous blood clot, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday greatly restricted the recommended use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.With safer two-dose vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna widely available, the one-dose J&J shot should be limited "to individuals 18 years of age and older for whom other authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines are not accessible or clinically appropriate," the agency said in a statement. It may also be used by "individuals 18 years of age and older who elect to receive the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine because they would otherwise not receive a COVID-19 vaccine [at all]," the FDA advised.While the J&J vaccine has appealed to some because...

THURSDAY, May 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- As the Biden Administration weighs the possibility of broad student loan forgiveness, a new study finds that people mired in student debt face a heightened risk of heart disease by middle age.The findings are not the first to suggest that student debt can take a mental and physical toll.Young adults who are paying off huge loans have been shown to have poorer sleep, higher blood pressure and higher rates of smoking than their debt-free peers -- though why remains uncertain.The new study suggests that while student loans can bring big benefits -- namely, a college degree -- there may be health consequences for people who struggle for years to repay them.Researchers found that Americans who were still carrying student debt into their 30s and...