This was a hot week for nutrition news. IIN faculty members Deepak Chopra and David Katz offer their insights on health and wellness. Kale is a buzz word thanks to a Vermont t-shirt maker. EWG put out a report on sugar cereal that has Kellogg's scrambling to defend their products. And Monsanto's corn is for the bugs. Plus, more hot topics we collected here in one spot for you to easily digest. 

Can positive thinking make you well?
By IIN faculty Deepak Chopra
CNN
Observers may have noticed recently that mainstream medicine is taking a harder line against positive thinking. Surveys of the leading research in the field conclude that recovery rates from cancer, for example, are not higher among patients who take a positive attitude about fighting their disease. Studies that show the reverse have been small and, according to their critics, flawed in serious ways. Read more.

Reimbursement for Obesity Counseling: So What?
By IIN faculty member David Katz, MD
Huffington Post
Medicare recently announced new regulations that authorize reimbursement for obesity management counseling by physicians. That's good, assuming the counseling is good. We are a long way from being able to count on that, however. Read more.

Superfood Kale in the limelight
NPR
What is it with kale? That's what one of our producers asked this week, after hearing about the "Eat More Kale" standoff between Vermont t-shirt maker Bo Muller-Moore and the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A.  It's true that kale seems to be enjoying a certain limelight these days, and not just because Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin was willing to say publicly, "Don't mess with kale." Read more.

Caveman & paleo diet mix with HIIT workouts?
Fox News Latino
As yogis have shown a tendency to practice mindful eating, HIIT followers have done their part by following the “caveman diet” or "paleo diet." Regardless the names, in general, both diets are based on mimicking the way our distant ancestors used to eat: mostly meat, seafood, nuts, fruits and veggies while avoiding grains, sugar, processed foods and dairy. Read more.

Hanging with like-minded friends is healthy when they are
CNN
Who you know influences how you behave, a growing body of research is showing. Networks of people who know each other can spread the good (happiness) and the bad (obesity, STDs and loneliness). But it's not just any social network that propagates behaviors and diseases. New research published in the journal Science suggests that having social network contacts of similar gender, weight and body-mass index could help people pick up on healthy behaviors. Read more.

America's health gets a bad grade
WebMD
Americans' health report card is out, and there's plenty of room for improvement. That's especially true if you live in Mississippi and less true if you call Vermont home. For the fifth year in a row, Vermont earned the title of the healthiest state in the nation, according to the United Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization that issues the annual rankings. Mississippi was last. Read more.

Can yoga and meditation help bring peace to Afghans?
Reuters
As the Afghan government's Western backers pour in cash, and tens of thousands of foreign soldiers patrol the country, a French human rights activist is trying a new way to break the cycle of violence in Afghanistan: yoga and meditation. Read more.

Insects find crack In biotech corn's armor
NPR
Hidden in the soil of Illinois and Iowa, a new generation of insect larvae appears to be munching happily on the roots of genetically engineered corn, according to scientists. It's bad news for corn farmers, who paid extra money for this line of corn, counting on the power of its inserted genes to kill those pests. It's also bad news for the biotech company Monsanto, which inserted the larvae-killing gene in the first place. Read more.

Give kids a Twinkie for breakfast?
Washington Post
At least three popular children’s cereals are packed with more sugar in a one-cup serving than a Hostess Twinkie, and an additional 44 are loaded with more sugar in a cup than three Chips Ahoy cookies, according to a study released Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group. Read more.

What news has you buzzing this week?