HealthDay - THURSDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Experts hope that letting kids have their fingers do the texting will increase compliance with the food diaries that are such a critical part of successful dieting.

AFP - Cholera and starvation are spreading in Zimbabwe as a political deadlock and economic meltdown trigger a manmade "food and health emergency," the US ambassador to Harare James McGee said Thursday.

Reuters - Foodborne diseases appear to be on the rise in both rich and poor countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

A ban on fast food advertisements in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent, according to a new study being published this month in the Journal of Law and Economics. The study also reports that eliminating the tax deductibility associated with television advertising would result in a reduction of childhood obesity, though in smaller numbers.

A drug based on a chemical found in garlic can treat diabetes types I and II when taken as a tablet, a study in the new Royal Society of Chemistry journal Metallomics says. When Hiromu Sakurai and colleagues from the Suzuka University of Medical Science, Japan, gave the drug orally to type I diabetic mice, they found it reduced blood glucose levels.

In lean economic times, we may need to tighten our food budgets, but it is important to do so wisely. Processed foods are definitely cheap. A dollar buys 1,200 calories of cookies or potato chips, but only 250 calories of carrots; or 875 calories of soda, but only 170 calories of orange juice. Filling up on cookies and soda, however, is a prescription for weight gain, cardiac disease, and other health problems.

A low kilojoule diet made up of higher protein meals improves the ability to burn fat among overweight and obese people and may be the key to shedding excess kilos, according to new Australian research. The study, in Nutrition & Dietetics published by Wiley-Blackwell, found higher protein meals may have a subtle fat-burning effect in overweight or obese people.

Osteoporosis is a growing concern among breast cancer survivors and their doctors, because certain cancer drugs can cause bone loss. But a new study has found that cancer drugs aren't the only culprits. Among 64 breast cancer patients referred to a bone health clinic, 78 percent had at least one other cause of bone loss, including vitamin D deficiency, excessive calcium excretion in urine and an overactive parathyroid gland.

AP - A little less "I'm Lovin' It" could put a significant dent in the problem of childhood obesity, suggests a new study that attempts to measure the effect of TV fast-food ads.

AFP - Take a walk through a supermarket in any wealthy nation and the promise of omega-3 health benefits screams off food products from bread to milk to juice. But are consumers getting the superfood they paid for?